10 Things to love about Winter

The leaves are done falling, the temperature is dropping and everything feels a little different. It can only mean one thing. Winter is here!

Let's face it. Living in a country with such a spontaneously varied climate (*cough* RAIN! *cough*) like Ireland can make the simplest thing like deciding what to wear when venturing outdoors a task in itself. But let's turn this on its head and focus on what wonderful things Winter has to offer and why we should embrace the season:

1. An excuse to stay in and put your feet up.

Image from Blogher.com

Long gone are the Summer days when you felt guilty about playing around on your laptop indoors when the sun was splitting the stones. Now that the weather has taken a turn you've the perfect excuse to stay in and just relax! Catch up on a boxset, play a board game or video game or catch up on books you've been meaning to read. You've got the time!

2. Halloween

Image from funnyimagesgallery.net

It's one of those holidays where there's something for everyone. Sweets for the kids (and big kids!), Halloween parties and horror movies for the grown ups and Irish folklore about our links to Samhain for everyone in the audience. Plus, who doesn't like to dress up once in a while? Each year brings new and innovative costumes.

3. Being cosy

Gif from Gurl.com

Onesies. Fluffy socks. Blankets. Hot water bottles. Electric blankets. Winter duvets. Hot chocolate. Need I say more?

4. Christmas

Image from funnypictures.me

Every year the adverts seem to get closer and closer to Halloween, but the commercialism of modern day Christmas has been noted. When you get to the core of it, Christmas is about spending time with loved ones, exchanging gifts and watching the odd cheesy Christmas movie whilst vowing to never eat Brussels sprouts again.

5. The Late Late Toy Show

Image from Broadsheet.ie

One can't talk about commercialism and Christmas without talking about the Toy Show.. I jest!

The Late Late Toy Show is an institution at this point, where children and adults alike tune in each year to see the must have toys, talented Irish children (be it dancing, singing, or being a mini Culchie), or even what festive sweater Tubs dons. It's part of our cultural heritage, and I for one am a fan.

6. Happy New Year!

Gif from thegloss.com

Bubbly! Parties! Ringing in the New Year with loved ones and making resolutions. Gotta love that optimism!

7. January Sales

Image from telegraph.co.uk

After all the celebrating that comes with Christmas and New Years, it's time to treat yourself. It's a great feeling when you find something you want.. In your size.. In the sale.. For at least 50% off. Victory!


8. Snow

Gif from vustudents.ning.com

Every now and again, it makes an appearance in Ireland in varying abundance. And admittedly it can cause chaos, but there is an ethereal beauty to watching snow fall and wondering if there'll be enough for building a snow man or at least gathering enough snow to make a snowball or two. Snowball fight!

9. Sitting in front of a roaring fire

Gif from lorilynn101.wordpress.com

There's nothing to make you feel quite as snug and festive as watching a roaring fire, even if the wind and rain are howling outside. And the ambitious marshmallow roasting if the mood is right.
(Also as someone who loves open fires but isn't skilled at building them, a huge thank you to whoever invented firelogs!)

10. Feelgood festive ads

Image from coca-cola.ie

It's at this magical time of the year that the feel good vibes wiggle across broadcasting systems and make us go "Aw!" Whether it's 'the' Coca Cola ad which puts the smile on your face or something more touchy feely like this year's nostalgic Tesco ad or tales of Friendships from the formidable advertising which is John Lewis. Embrace it. Everybody has one.

These are my top things to love about Winter. What are yours? :)

Lisa Bakes: Spooky Pumpkin and Walnut bread

Whatever it is about the Autumn and Winter time, I just love all things cosy. All the foodie people I know say to use seasonal fruit and vegetables where possible so with Halloween, there's an abundance of pumpkins! When better to try my hand at making pumpkin bread?

So with cautious optimism, I took to the kitchen after trekking through the baking aisle in Tesco for supplies. Also, baking question - are baking powder and baking soda the same or is there a difference?

Ready to be whipped together to make some tasty bread!

For this recipe, I needed to make pumpkin puree. I had read a few different ways online and opted for the microwave method, which was the same way I cook potatoes, so no new territory there! I used about half of a small cooking pumpkin for this recipe which made about twice the puree I needed, so in future I'd probably only need a quarter of the pumpkin.

I chopped them into roughly the same size, put them and some water (about 1/4 of the dish) into a pyrex dish, covered and microwaved it for 11 minutes. Before stirring and microwaving for a further 5 minutes. The skin came away fairly easily from the the pumpkin and then it was just a case of mashing away!

My Mum always taught me to put all the ingredients to one side of the main mixing bowl, and then once the ingredients go in, to move them to the other side of the bowl. It makes it easier to check what has gone in the mixture at a glance.

I mixed the dry ingredients together, then added all the liquid ingredients. When I was mixing, it seemed to be a bit runny. But maybe this is normal?

Mm.. Er.. Squidgy!

Ready for its maiden voyage to the oven!

I lubed up a baking tin with a knob of butter, poured the mixture in and hoped for the best.

And it started to rise!

And then it rose some more! I was actually worried it was going to reach the top of the oven. Note to self: move oven tray down.

The smell of the bread baking filled the apartment and it created a wonderful festive ambience. But I wasn't done yet!

The first time I took the bread out to check if it was baked, it seemed a little squidgy so I popped it back in to oven. I didn't want it to be overbaked or burnt.

From watching programmes like the Great British Bake Off, I remember they would leave bread to cool on a wire rack. I had to settle for a steamer. Well, it has holes in it and should allow air to circulate. Needs must and all that jazz!

 
Then the best part of any baking adventure - tasting what you've made! It got a big thumbs up from Mr. Ree and the spices really made it tingle the tastebuds. It was moist and the top had a lovely sweet crunch to it from the brown sugar. Next time I might add a bit more walnut though, but that's just me! Although I had inadvertently bought walnut halves which required a bit more chopping, but it was worth it. Next time I'll be buying walnuts of the chopped variety!

All in all, I came out fairly unscathed from this recipe. It wasn't difficult to make either. Definitely one to try again!

Fancy giving it a go yourself? Here's the recipe. Good luck and happy baking! :)

Pumpkin and Walnut Bread

Ingredients

• 200g plain flour
• 2 eggs        
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda        
• 1tsp salt
• 1 tsp of nutmeg    
• 250g pumpkin puree    
• 1 tbsp brown sugar        
• 75ml water
• 30g chopped walnuts    
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon    
• 300g caster sugar

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Put sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices into a large bowl. Stir to blend.
3. Add pumpkin puree, water, oil, eggs and walnuts. Beat until well combined.
4. Pour mixture into greased bread tin.
5. Sprinkle brown sugar on top.
5. Bake for 50-60 mins. Skewer with knife/skewer through centre of loaf. Once it comes out clear, it's done!
6. Take it out of the tin and leave to cool. How you enjoy it is completely up to you! :)

Third speed engaged!

This year is officially flying by!

Next month will be pumpkin carving season, there are Christmas trees and festive decorations already for sale in some stores!

Any Sims fan will know what I'm talking about when I talk about the fast forward function on the Sims clock...

Third speed engaged surely?!

Think it's important to remember to kick back every now and again. I've taken my own advice and have bought a new tea pot and some exotic teas, it's a lazy Sunday must!

Perhaps I'm just 'feathering the new nest' a little bit, but I've become a little overenthusiastic about homeware goods. Although I'll buy myself and Mr. Ree the odd treat, I can't resist oh-so-subtly side stepping into the homeware department of any store I'm in.

I really want these Scrabble cushions..

IKEA is my mothership. There, I said it! There are soft furnishings and little bits and pieces to make the place homey. Anywhere I live will never be immaculate, manicured or kept like a show house, but I've always tried to make it feel like a home.

Adding this to the Christmas list!

 Let's be honest, home is where you relax. It's your haven from whatever is going on outside and it's a reflection on yourself. I'm currently surrounded by DVDs, photos, comic books and candles, all things that we both love. Life is already manic enough, it's so important to fit time into relax. If you can't relax at home, where else can you? 

Apartment Hunting

As I've mentioned, we have been hunting for a new place to live.

I am an out and proud culchie, oh yes! I even have a membership card somewhere..

Himself has lived in the city before, so paired with his insider's knowledge and my enthusiasm and love of property websites, off we went!

We didn't have a kajillion* euro to spend on a big swanky pad, but we just wanted somewhere safe and clean for just us two.

It has been.. eventful!

One place we went to was about the size of shed, had holes in the ceiling and the landlord did the electrics himself. To quote, "Snip here and snip there, sure it was all grand!" OK, no.

After searching for a few weeks and coming up against a few dead ends, we found somewhere! It's not big, but not tiny! We even have a little balcony and a BATH! Oh it's the simple things in life like having the choice between a bath or a shower that can make my day!

Yet we came away from the apartment hunt with a few lessons learned, so here are my tips:

1. Photographs can be ridiculously deceptive, seriously. With the art of lenses and angles, a cupboard can look 'spacious and modern'.

OK, so maybe not this bad, but you get the idea!

2. In Dublin, (and in other cities too I'd imagine) you have to move fast. Very fast!

3. You have a lot more stuff than you think you do. Uh-huh, you see those cupboards and those bookcases? They all hold stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. Think you have enough boxes? Get more! And plenty of bin bags. But don't cheap out on them! One of the worst first impressions you can give is letting your new neighbours see you pick clothes up off the road and stuffing them into a torn black bag... Trust me.

4. Go with your gut, if you don't like it and you can't put your finger on why then leave it.

5. Accept help from family and friends. They'll forgive you if the place looks like a tip, understand that you can't find anything. They accept that you'll probably be chaos personified, wearing a bin bag and crying because you can't find the kettle or the Christmas tree ornaments. If they didn't care, they wouldn't be there. Hm.. that rhymes. Could put that on a t-shirt.

6. Remain calm. Even if there is a flat tyre, or something goes missing. You'll get there. Rome wasn't built in a day, and some moves take more than one trip!

*Might not be real amount

Achoo!

Happy New Year folks! My body has decided to greet the New Year by embracing the common cold. At the moment I am a walking medicine cabinet, taking paracetamol, zinc, vitamin C and some seaweed thing that is meant to be fantastic for you.

Whilst at work today, a nurse let me know about the best way to kill a cold. I was intrigued, wondering if this secret was going to be pricey.

She leaned in to divulge said secret, and said "Whiskey, seriously. As much hot whiskey as you can handle." Well... After expecting the name of a protein, drug or vitamin I couldn't spell without wikipedia, whiskey?

I have worked in a museum dedicated to whiskey and had never sussed. Granted, my mother makes the best hot whiskies in Ireland, fact! But a medical professional backing up the medicinal uses of whiskey? I'm all for it.

And now off I go to combat the common cold with some Irish whiskey. Sláinte!

A staple read for modern women...

I have just finished reading 'How to be a Woman' by Caitlin Moran. I stayed up til 4am so I could finish it, it was the epitome of what one would call a page turner. Moran deals with how women are perceived my popular culture, in the media and of course, by other women. She rants and reminisces, all the time weaving her stories with humour and charisma.

For every woman who has read Bridget Jones, watched Sex and the City or has ever wondered why on earth we women jam our feet into horrendously uncomfortable shoes, this is a must read.

I have a confession...

Alright, I may as well just come clean now. My name is Lisa and I have a Yankee Candle addiction. Seriously, I cannot bring myself to walk past a Yankee Candle shop without nipping in for a snoop and a sniff.

I was having a little look on one of the Yankee Candle websites that I order from and they have a new collection called "My Favourite Things." Sometimes I wish, with all the technological advancements we are experiencing, that someone would create a scratch and sniff function on the computer just so I could try before I buy.

 



 I may just have to buy a small votive set of them, just as a trial run y'know? For research purposes of course.




 Have a little look.

http://www.yankee.ie/p.asp?id=498&cat=My+Favourite+Things

Heaven!

Mmm... Mulled Wine!

This Friday night, the Late Late Toy Show is on. For the past few weeks I have been squirreling away goodies of all sorts for the 'Big Event'. Yesterday a thought struck me, Why not make mulled wine?


I have the spices, oranges, cinnamon... But alas no wine!

Cue a quick trip to the local supermarket, and now the idea has snowballed. Not only will there be mulled wine, but gingerbread cookies, mince pies and now... A cheeseboard! Who knows, it could be a new tradition in our household?