Hello

I feel terrible, it has been such a long time since my last post. Life has been a bit crazy with work, helping my sister-in-law with wedding favours, our Great Gatsby inspired joint birthday party....time just slipped away! I am glad to say that our birthday party was a hit - a selection delicious nibbles and drinks were flowing throughout the night. As for my sister-in-law's wedding, I made 150 gingerbread electric and classical guitar biscuits as wedding favours. Even though I made so many gingerbread biscuits a week before Easter, I still made a few Easter bunny gingerbread biscuits for my husband. Gingerbread biscuits are delicious throughout the year either eaten on their own or for dunking!

It has been a long time since my last post - I have been so busy with various things on the go, not mention a few long weekends away. We had a lovely long weekend in Bridlington and then another long weekend in Norfolk - nothing better than being on the coast enjoying fresh fish and chips. I also started a book club a few months go and everyone gets a turn to host the evening which also gives me a chance to try some new recipes - tomato, basil pesto and feta tart, hazelnut puff pastry wheels, butternut and beetroot salad with feta and pine nuts. I love to entertain and I am busy planning a Gatsby inspired evening when the latest version is released on DVD later this year.

Cumin, butternut and carrot soup

I tried a new recipe this weekend - cumin, butternut and carrot soup with a hint of chill 1 large onion chopped finely 3 cloves of garlic chopped finely 1 tsp of ground cumin 1 tsp of ground ginger 1 tsp of coriander 1 red chilli deseeded and chopped (optionally) 1 medium size butternut cubed 500g of carrots cubed 1 1/2 litre vegetable or chicken stock Fry the onion and garlic with frylight in a pan Add the cumin, ginger, chilli, butternut and carrots to the pan Pour the stock over it and bring it to the boil Simmer for 10 minutes but I generally simmer for longer than 10 minutes Pour into a blender and blend until smooth Fresh coriander for decoration I have freezed the soup in 4 individual portions

One year on....

This past week, I have celebrated my 36th birthday, Valentines Day twice just because we could and on Friday, 15th February it was exactly a year since I became a British citizen. I cannot believe that it has been a year since I pledged my allegiance to the Queen.

2013 - a new year

It has been so long - 2012 was a year filled with mixed emotions, hospital appointments and a lovely summer with my mom and fabulous husband. So 2013 brings us hope, new adventures and endless love - bring it on - I know that it is going to be a good year for us!!!

Summer fun 2012

Well it's been while since my last post - my mom arrived on the 28th July in time for my British Party which took place the following day. We had about 45 people over for a BBQ summer party - we had a gazebo which came in handy to shelter our guests when we had a few showers on and off throughout the day. I even iced a vanilla sponge with royal icing to look like the Union Jack flag. It was also the day that 3 of our kits went to their new homes so now we only have Flopsy and Dipstick. They have their very own 5 star accommodation of two storey indoor hutch. While my mom was here, we managed to fit in a lot by visitng a family friend in Oxford, mom visited family in Scotland, we took her to Norfolk where we had our honeymoon. I also took my mom to a one day international cricket match between SA vs England. It was a rather intense match but SA defeated England. On her last day,Scott and I took my mom to Chester for the day. We had lovely day walking through the Romian Gardens and then had lunch in The Boathouse overlooking the River Dee - some beautiful grand homes on the other side of the river. Sadly my mom left last Saturday after fantastic holiday with us - just wish she was here with us permanently. This weekend, Scott and I had Friday off and went to Bridlington for the long weekend to celebrate our 5 year anniversary since we officially started dating and 3 years since we got engaged. It was a fantastic weekend and just what we needed. Now we are home enjoying a cozy fire!

Bunnygate update

Well - I am pleased to say that we have 5 healthy, happy and loving rabbits. The kits are so big and cute to watch. However, we will only be keeping Flopsy and Dipstick (the kit with the complete brown coat). The the head vet reimbursed us and I am glad to say that we had a moral victory!! In a few, mini me, Schumacher and fluff ball will be leaving us to start their new life!

Bunnygate

So a few weeks ago my husband, Scott rescued Flopsy after she was seen roaming the gardens where he works for over a week - it turns out that the groundsman had been trying to shoot her with a air ruffle / pellet gun. After Scott rescued her, he contacted all the animal rescue organisations in the area but no one had reported her missing so he decided that he would bring her home to me as I was desparate to have a pet but as we both work full time, we were unable to have a puppy. A rabbit is perfect for us as we were planning to keep her indoors until we got her an outdoor hutch for the day and then we were planning to bring her indoors at night. So after only having her for 2 days we took her to the vet to be checked out and vaccined. We were told that she was female and definitely not pregnant - when we were ready, we should bring her in for spaying. So we decided to book her in for being spayed and microchipped and the appointment was for last week. Scott dropped her off at the vets and later that day, we received a call advising that she was on the operating table and had been opened up but that I needed to make a decision as she was pregnant! How ironic - here we are trying to prevent her from having babies and in fact she was pregnant! Anyway, we made the decision to save the kits and a day later she had 4 kits. It is now just over a week and there are 4 healthy kits!

Decadent Chocolate Cake

I made a delicious, decadent chocolate cake for Scott's great Auntie Joyce for her 87th birthday.

On the Wednesday prior to her birthday, I baked 4 chocolate sponges so I could save time on Friday night when icing the cake. Once cooled, I wrapped them in cling film and placed them in the fridge.

When it came to decorating the cake, I iced the individual sponges with chocolate buttercream icing, then spread raspberry jam and scattered fresh raspberries on top of the jam and then placed the next chocolate sponge on top. Once all the sponges were stacked on top of each other, I covered them with chocolate icing and then placed chocolate fingers around the cake and as the sponges were different sizes, I did a further layer of chocolate fingers around the cake. Then I placed fresh raspberries on top of the cake with "Happy Birthday" candles.


The cake was mouthwatering delicious - even if I say so myself!

Finally....the world is my oyster

I am so excited I naturalised back in February this year which was a very special moment to share with my husband and in-laws. My ceremony took place at the Matlock Town Hall - such a grand and imposing building. Just a few weeks ago, I had my interview with the Identity & Passporting which was the last hurdle to go through and a few days later, I received my passport so now the world is my oyster and we can travel all over the world at a drop of a hat!

Easter Treats

Last weekend was Easter so I decided to make some treats as our contribution towards Easter lunch.

So I made chocolate brownies with strawberry cream as well as chocolate crispier with chocolate mini eggs.

Both were slimming world recipes - I was so disappointed with the chocolate brownies as all I could taste or smell were the prunes that I had to liquides and remove the stone.

However the chocolate crispier were delicious!

Mothers

Mother's Day was celebrated throughout the UK yesterday - Mothers were woken by their loved ones eagerly awaiting to shower them with tokens of love and appreciation whether they be in the form of a cuddle, homemade card or breakfast in bed.

Mothers are so special - they always sense when you are feeling down or need reassurance or even a cuddle. They always know the right thing to say. Everyone needs their mothers whether they are little or big so always show them that you love them not just one day in the year!

Where has all the time gone...

I cannot believe that it is now March....

We had a lovely January celebrating Scott's nana's 90th birthday - It was aoperations fair planning her birthday. Scott's mother put a lot of thought into the day what with a lovely birthday cake, gorgeous flowers and high tea at Woodborough Hall - fantastic location around the corner from the cosy church that Scott and I got married in.

Our friend, Jayne re-scheduled nana's hair appointment from her usual Wednesday appointment to the day of her birthday so she looked her best on her special day. We always phone her on her birthday so despite taking the day off from work, we decided to tell a white lie or 2 while still in bed, Scott phoned to wish her and then I called her, both pretending to be travelling to work and that we would meet up with her on the Saturday to celebrate - little did she know that in a few hours we would be celebrating in style.

Scott's parents picked her up and took her on a scenic route so as to give Scott's cousin, Mark and his partner enough time to make it to the hotel before her arrival.

Well...when they arrived and she walked towards the doorway and saw Scott, Jen, his sister, Simon, her boyfriend, Mark, Richard, grandpa Alec, Auntie Joyce and me, she started to tear up which triggered Scott's mom, Jen and myself to tear up as well!

All I can say is that she thoroughly enjoyed herself - the cakes, scones and sandwiches were all delicious and so was the glass of Moët and tea....!

2012 Resolutions.....

Well 2012 has arrived - both Scott and I made a decision that we would get healthy this year so on the 3rd of January besides returning to work that day, we joined Slimming World with 2 of Scott's colleagues.

So we sat down listening to a very friendly group leader introduce herself to us and speak so passionately about Slimming World. When we left that evening, we were all excited about starting our Slimming World journey and even bought several Slimming World cook books. By the end of the week, we were eagerly awaiting our turn to step on the scales and see if we have lost any weight - to our surprise, we both did very well - I lost 6 1/2 pounds and Scott lost 6 pounds! It comes down to making sensible decisions when planning your meals. I am pleased to say that I have lost a further 4 pounds and Scott has lost another 3 1/2 pounds. Besides healthy eating, I had a 1 to 1 session with a personal trainer and he has given me a great programme to do at home.

So, I am pleased to say that we have managed to keep our resolutions for more than a few days!

Merry Christmas to all

I cannot believe it is Christmas eve - I finished work earlier this week and Scott finally finished work on Thursday. We are spending Christmas at Scott's parents home with Scott's sister, Jen and her boyfriend, Simon as well as Nana , Great Auntie Joyce and Granpa Alex.

We have decorated the lounge tastefully and now we are all looking forward to the next few days of spending time together enjoying each other's company and some delicious food prepared by my amazing mother-in-law, Brenda and both Scott and I will be assisting her in the kitchen.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas! X

A night of murder on the Trans-Siberian Express

A few weeks ago, we hosted a Murder Mystery evening...the scene was set on the Trans-Siberian Express in the 1930's.

We invited 6 friends of ours and sent them a invitation with all the details of their characters that we chose for them to be for the evening. We had a Russian General, the General's wife, a Chinese Ambassador, Geisha girl (spy), old wise Chinaman, his daughter (another spy), a British Major and his secretary.

The host manual gave us tips on how to manage the evening and also menu suggestions but as we didn't like their suggestions, so we chose to serve:-

Starters:-
Smoked salmon with cream cheese with cavier on bellini'S

Main Course:-
Beef stroganoff with crunchy potatoes

Dessert:-
Apple and Toffee Crumble with custard

Between courses, we had to read extracts from each of the character guides and exchange information that was relevant at certain times of the evening.

The evening went well...glad to say that we were able to guess the murderer....lots of laughs were had by all as we all tried to speak in different accents some better than others.

We would definitely host another Murder Mystery evening!

Jane Eyre

Last week, one of my colleagues organised a ladies night and as she knew that we were keen to see the latest film of Jane Eyre, she booked tickets at her local cinema in Belper.

We all managed to leave work at about 10 minutes before close of business so that we could ride in convoy to the cinema. As I didn't know the area, so I drove in the middle and I just relieved that we weren't separated in the traffic.

The cinema is open to the public and one can purchase a membership but it is not part of a chain. It only has one screen and has a lovely feel to the place. There is a bar available that offers alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks as well as tea, coffee and cake is also available.

The cinema was packed despite Jane Eyre have been on the circuit previously.

We had fantastic luxurious seats in the back row - what a pleasure!!

I have always wanted to read the book but never got a chance and it was never part of my coursework at school but I did have a vague idea of what the story was about.

I was instantly drawn to Jane's character and the strength that she portrayed at such a tender age. Then there is Mr Rochester who is the older, stern man that sees her as his equal despite their age gap. I have to say that I fell in love with Mr Rochester despite his dismissive manner.

I felt myself longing for them to be happy and for Jane not to have any further heartache in her life! Therefore, when she is dragged to the alter, only to have her wedding ceremony interrupted by Mr Rochester's brother-in-law advising that the ceremony cannot be conducted as Mr Rochester was married 15 years previously and remains married.

A devasted Jane is taken to the room where Mr Rochester's mentally unstable wife has been occupying in Mr Rochester's home which is located away from the rest of the household. Only Mr Rochester and one of his servants knew and had access to that room.

Early, the following morning, Jane runs away from Mr Rochester and the life that she once loved but takes ill and ends up on the doorstep of a young minister. The young minister and his sisters nurse her back to health and when she has recovers, she tells them her name is Jane Elliot.

Jane starts a new chapter of her life but still longs for Mr Rochester....

It is a beautiful, moving story of love and the challenges one person has overcome throughout her life and the strength that she finds within herself.

The locations that were used in the film were breathtaking and we are so lucky to live in such a beautiful country!

Alicante

A few weeks ago, I attended the Annual Conference in Alicante, Spain. In the past, only the Advisers of the firm attended the conference, however, this time the invite was extended to all the support staff.

We all met up at the East Midlands Airport for our 6.40 am flight to Alicante in the bar.

Once we landed in Spain, it took us about an hour to board the bus that was going to take us to the conference centre. Instantly you could notice the difference in the weather as we left a very wet and cold England and arrived in sunny, dry Spain.

Thank god the conference centre was air-conditioned and we received the warm welcome as we were greeted by a local Spanish lady with refreshments and a fantastic tapas lunch.

So after a long day (as I had been up since 2.00 am), the delegates were transported to the Melia Hotel where our luggage would be waiting for us in our rooms.

Finally after standing in queues waiting to check in, it was my turn - unfortunately, I was not so lucky as I was told that they did not hold a reservation for me under either my Maiden Name nor my Married Name.

Then I suddenly realised that my luggage is missing...I was at breaking point as all I wanted to do was go to my room, have a shower and a quick nap. There was 3 of us that were in the same boat.

After about an 1 hour, it turned out that my luggage was in my room but the Spanish were unable to spell my Married Name so created a new surname for me.

Once I arrived in my room, I discovered that not only did I have my own luggage but I also had someone else's luggage as well - plus my room was, in fact, an Executive Suite with a private bar for all the guests on that floor, jacuzzi bath/shower with a free mini bar. The view was incredible as I looked out on to the beach and the castle on the hill.

So after a long overdue bath in my jacuzzi bath, I joined my colleagues at the Buffet Dinner only an 1 hour and half late so I missed the pre-dinner drinks and the speeches.

After a delicious dinner, a few of us decided that we would go out for a night on the town and headed to the Coyote Bar for a bit of dancing and plenty of drinks were flowing.

At about 3 am, a few of us were keen to go to the Casino but when we got to the Casino we were told that we required some form of identification so we had to return to the hotel to get our passports.

My one of my bosses decided that he would run down the corridors of our hotel floor and knock on random doors hoping that I wouldn't notice him doing this and when the people opened their doors, they would think it was me but I quickly realised what he was doing so I immediately started run after him so that I won't be caught.

However, some of my colleagues hadn't noticed what he was doing and when they walked down the corridor, a couple of the guests shouted at them.

We spent about an hour at the Casino on the Roulette and Black Jack tables. I don't mind gambling but I also don't like to lose so I only play with 10 Euros.

After the Casino, a few of us decided to go to a nightclub, as we weren't quite ready for bed.

By the time, we stumbled to the hotel, it was about 5.30 am.

Earlier in the evening, I was told that if I didn't want to go to the conference on the 2nd day, I could relax and do what I like so when I woke up, I joined one of our Advisers on the beach as he was suffering from a major hangover. However, before joining my colleague on the beach, I did get a chance to have breakfast in bed....nothing better than having someone to bring you breakfast in bed.

After a few hours on the beach, I returned to my hotel room to do some work and then spend the rest of the afternoon pampering myself for the gala dinner.

The gala dinner was at a different location so we decided to all meet up in the private bar for drinks prior to getting on the buses. By the time, the rest of us met up, you could see who were still suffering from the previous night's antics. However, I was feeling on top form despite only having a few hours of sleep.

Once we arrived at the gala dinner, it looked like we had stepped out on a set from a James Bond movie. The dinner was held out under the stars in front of the restaurant and we were not far from the water's edge. It was a beautiful evening and I managed to watch the sunset as the moon rose from behind mountains. It was a perfect setting.

The 14 of us were split across 2 tables and I was definitely on the table that had more fun as the conversations were very revealing in a cheeky / naughty manner - definitely a good icebreaker for all of us as we had other people on our table that we did not necessarily see or speak to on a daily basis.

After the gala dinner, we returned to the hotel but decided that the night was still young so we went to the Coyote Bar. One of the Advisers decided to jump on one of the tables and dance but the foot of the table gave away and he landed with his nose on the beer bottle - luckily he didn't break any bones or get glass in his eyes but he did have a rather ghastly gash on his nose so there was blood everywhere.

At 4 am, I decided that I needed to go back to the hotel and pack my case and get some rest as we were going to check out at 12 pm that day.

I woke up at 11 am and missed breakfast but managed to get my stuff together and check out by 12 pm.

We spent the rest of the day having a relaxing paella lunch at a restaurant that overlooks the harbour. After lunch, we did our only thing, some went to the beach, others went for a walk.

Our flight was only at 9 pm so we had a leisurely day in Alicante and then a bit of rush to the airport but all of us made in one piece and boarded our flight.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip and I am hoping that we will have another opportunity next year!

In Loving Memory of Gregory Paul Russo

On Sunday, the 16th October 2011, it was the 6th anniversary of my late brother's untimely death...by now I should have, at least, come to terms with his death but yet, I find myself still questioning everything that occurred building up to his death and why his murder has yet to be solved!!

My biggest regret in life is that I did not speak to him in the month prior to his death and will never hear his voice again! God, I miss him so much....x

Romantic Getaways

Scott and I love to spoil each other by booking a night or two away every now and then!

So back in August we celebrated our belated 1st wedding anniversary in Bridlington on the East Coast of Yorkshire - 3 fabulous nights and 4 glorious days in the sun!

We both felt refreshed and ready for whatever comes our way - but sad to say, within 30 minutes of arriving at the office, we both felt like we hadn't had a break at all!

Definitely time to plan our next adventure...so we decided we would go away for a night to celebrate when we first got together 4 years ago and 2 years ago, Scott proposed!

So we ended up at Heathercliffe Country Hotel in Frodsham, Cheshire - very picturous part of Cheshire set in 10 acres of farmland not far from the City Centre of Chester. The owner of hotel was so friendly, nothing was too much trouble!

We were shown to our suite which was lovely and spacious. Once we settled in, we decided we would go for a drink in the bar before getting ready for dinner. Later in the evening we were greeted in the bar and given an opportunity to have drink while deciding on what to have for dinner before being shown to the dinning room.

As we were staying over and having dinner, we were given pre-starter course which was olive, French breads, dips and olive oil with Balsamic Vinegar. Scott chose the breaded mushrooms on a bed of rocquet salad with mayonnaise while I had the breaded deep fried Brie with caramelised onion and chutney - mmm delicious!

Scott decided to have the Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding served with a selection of vegetables. I decided to have the Cajun Chicken in a Tortia Basket - once again, we were not disappointed!

We weren't going to have dessert but they had a dessert table in the centre of the room with a selection of tempting sweet and savoury options.

After much deliberation, Scott settled on the Lemon Cheesecake while I had Death by Chocolate Fudge Cake - every morsal was a piece of heaven.

Today, after a wonderful hearty breakfast, we checked out and decided to visit the City Centre of Chester.

Chester is a lovely city with beautiful architecture, designer stores and lovely restaurants / coffee shops / bars.

As it is only 1 hr 50 minutes drive, we will definite have to back for another visit!