Bake Sales & Butterflies

Sorry for the lack of blogging. Nothing substantial has happened in the last couple of weeks other than having to work and the possible answers arising as to why my health is how it is. If you're interested you can read more of that on my other blog which I created specifically to talk about my health.

And to make this post a bit more interesting, here are some lovely things I've found on H&M's and Wilkinson's websites.

  Wilkinson's £12   H&M 14.99   H&M £6.99
This weekend has been good, despite me being ill. Well Friday and Saturday were good anyway! On Friday my friend Hannah came to stay overnight to help support our Bake Sale we held at my place of work in order to raise some more money and awareness as to why my other half is running 1000km for the National Eczema Society. We had every intention of making all of our goodies gluten and vegan free to entice more people but we were so rushed on Friday that we only managed to make a couple of things. It was a fantastic day anyway and we managed to raise a whopping £152.77!!!

Pictured: Me, Shane and Hannah

As you can see from the picture, it was torture for 3 cake fiends to be sat in front of a table full of yummy cakes for 6 hours and not being able to eat any of them. We did however take a trip to Bunty's tea rooms for a much needed cup of tea and slice of heaven (cake). Delicious irony.

If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Baked A Cake...

This may come as a massive shock considering my love for cake but I haven't baked one myself since around the age of 8? That's what...? Nearly 15 years!!! Jeez Louise.

Well today is the other half's birthday and since he's now on a baking kick because he'll be doing a bake sale next month to help raise more money for his 1000km Challenge I felt very much inspired to bake one myself.  That, and last time I ate a shop bought cake my skin flared (still can't pinpoint the allergen though)  so I thought it would be the best option, not to mention cheaper!


  I decided, that since I'm technically a learner I'd just cheat with a ready mix where all you need is to add an egg and a few tablespoons of water. Simple right? Wrong. The cake tins we have are much bigger than what was stated so I found myself in a bit of a flap. In a rare moment of genius I decided to make up a white based mixture and make a slightly bodged marble cake. Using the 4, 4, 4 method.
  The best bit has to be licking the bowls. I did end up with a bit too much mixture overall so a lot of it ended up in my belly. Oops.
  Fresh out of the oven and it wasn't a complete disaster yay :D they were indeed cooked in the middle! 
  I also remembered that we don't have cooling racks (must rectify this) so I used the grill tray and just put some kitchen roll on a plate. You can kinda see the marbleyness (yep, new word right there!) The one on the left did end up a little bit bodged because it didn't quite reach the side of the cake tin but nevermind!
  I forgot to take a picture of the frosting in the middle so here it is sandwiched together. Looks lush!
  Messy, messy, messy but indeed yummy. I also ended up eating rather a lot of this too... don't judge me. It was also at this point that I realised how much better the cake would have looked were it centrally on the plate. Oh well.
Let me bring you to the finished piece. Can I have a drum roll please?


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Ta-da!!! I don't even care that it looks a mess, I'm just pleased as punch that it resembles a cake, and even a NICE cake at that! The Christmas decoration was an essential component into making this cake for the other half. He is a penguin fanatic.

Lincoln 10K & Cakey Goodness

Sunday saw the Lincoln 10K race which the boyfriend took part in to go towards his 1000km challenge. I think I've only mentioned it once on this blog, but I suffer from severe eczema and so my boyfriend has taken it upon himself to raise both money and awareness for other sufferers who don't have someone like him to support them. He really is such a sweet and selfless person and I'm so grateful that I do have him to lean on when times are tough - which they have been for a very long time now.

    Considering I live in Lincoln, it took us around 1hr and 20 minutes just to get the car parked. Here Shane is trying to stay positive that we would make it to the race on time.  When we finally did get there I took a quick pic of him being (un)lucky number 13. Considering there were 5,500 people entered in the race that's a bloody ridiculously good running number!   Managed to catch him defying gravity :p and also after with both cathedral and castle wall in the background whilst sporting his medal. I'm incredibly proud of him. He reached a new personal best of 40 mins 56 secs. What a champ. 

And what better way to celebrate than with a slice of cake from Bunty's? If ever you're in Lincoln please do check them out. The cakes are all made by hand with lots of love and care to create a slice of heaven that is served as a generous size - perfect for us cake fiends. Not to mention Matt & Jenny, the faces behind the business, are two of the most loveliest, friendliest people you could ever wish to meet! The decor is vintage themed with many knick knacks to feast your eyes upon and everything is served on vintage crockery. What more could you ask for?

Please ignore my face! I look like a bedraggled mess and was suffering a flare at the time but the toffee cake was too good and deserved a thumbs up. Shane devoured their lemon cake and agreed that it was very nom-worthy :D Thanks Bunty's!

If you wish to sponsor Shane's efforts please do so here: http://www.justgiving.com/shanes1000km or you can text "RACE55 £1" to 70070.* At the end of the day what is 1 measly pound to you? If everyone donated £1 imagine how much closer we could be to finding a cure for this horrible, often debilitating, condition. If you want to read more about my own story of living with eczema you can read my eczema blog here. Thank you :)

*All proceeds go to the National Eczema Society to help raise awareness and pave the way in finding a cure for eczema.

Love can grow from the last grain

I quite enjoy seeing people's lifestyle kinda posts in mini pictures so thought I'd show case a few of my own that have been lurking on my phone.

1st row: An outfit I wore recently, my mug, one of my wardrobes which now has even more in it
2nd row: Organising my buttons into jam jars (only a fraction of my collection there!), Card I made my Mum for her birthday, The latest addition to my shop which has since been bought
3rd row: Pic 1 & 2 Matching bed covers!, Tea & Marble cake from Bunty's in Lincoln - YUM!
4th row: Decorating a rented house, Pretty teabag rest from B&M Bargains, Today's Primark buys (I think I have a problem!)