Found on Pinterest #18

Source: justmakestuff.com via Freya on Pinterest

Isn't this the cutest idea!

I sew this and decided quickly that I needed to make one for our own place!

I had to decide on white board vs. chalk board, and settled on chalk, because I'm having a love affair with it!

Last summer Dave and I made a whole bunch of chalk boards for presents etc, this is the last one we had left- it's so lucky it's the perfect shape for this project!

I used acrilic paint on top to write the 'I love <3 you because.....'

Ta da!

I wish I had come up with another way to write on the first bit, I'm not a big fan of my own handwriting, but It makes it match with the rest of the note when I use it, I guess.

What do you think?  Now Dave and I can be super mushy even when we don't get to see one another in the
mornings or whatever.

Freya May

Thrifty Thursdays: Date Night

Hey, I wanted to share an outfit I wore when Dave took me out for drinks last weekend- We don't go out very often because we're on a tight budget at the moment, but there is this one pub we love!  It's about a 15 min drive away, and it's so lovely! A proper country/gastro-pub.  They do a great menu too, and we've gone there a few times with my parents-in-law for end of term treats.  The sharing platters are too die for!  

And, it's quite a classy place, so I had to dress the part.  

The blouse is originally from Dorothy Perkins, I picked it up last March for £2.95 from my favourite charity shop.  And the bag is originally from H&M, purchased for £2.50 from another charity shop in Loughborough.

I love this outfit, comfy, but smart enough. I struggle to wear this cardigan with out feeling just a little bit trashy, so I'm pleased to have found one item to pair it with.

Cardigan; Zara 

Blouse: Dorothy Perkins (Thrifted)

Jeans: New Look

Shoes: F+F Tesco

Bag: H&M (Thrifted)

Freya May

Squash and Red Pepper Soup Recipe

Another great soup to warm the cockles of your heart :D

This is a beautiful and easy soup that I made with butternut squashes from my MIL's alotment, I LOVE fresh produce!

I've been really enjoying making and freezing soups for us for cold lazy days, when we get home from work and don't want to put any effort into cooking.  It's been a busy week so far, I'm working hard to stay on top of uni work, and Dave's slogging it out for school as usual.  Man, those kids are darn lucky to have a teacher who puts in this much work.

Makes Thee Portions

Ingredients
2 small to medium butternut squashes cut into 2cm cubes
3 Red peppers
2 Onions
A glug of olive oil
1 pint of stock
(Isn't it awesome how few ingredients you need!)

1. Fry off your onions in the olive oil until soft,
2. Put in the squash and the stock and bring to the boil, simmer for 5 min.
3. Add the peppers and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
4. Take off the hat and blend until smooth.
5. Season to taste.
6. Serve with crusty bread- Yum!

And we're done, in about 25min- How easy, quick and (trust me) tasty!!!

Have a go, let me know what you think!

Freya May

*For my potato and leek soup recipe, click here*

Found On Pinterest #17

I love date nights!  Spending time with Dave, without coursework or marking or planning to get in the way is precious.  But between us, we are two of the most indecisive people you might ever meet.  Perhaps it's because we're both quite easy going, we want to do something, but don't mind what that is!

So this pin is going to save us some arguments and wasted time trying to think of things to do on our date nights.

Source: lifeinthegreenhouse.com via Freya on Pinterest

Instead of coloured sticks, I have gone for an easy option of coloured paper to differentiate date types

I've used Red Paper for expensive date, costing more than £30 a time.  It's likely that these dates will only get selected once, maybe twice a year, for special treats!  I included-

1. Groupon Weekend Away
2. Theme Park Tip
3. Theatre Trip (London)
4. £££ Meal Out (her choice)
5. £££ Meal Out (his choice)

I used pink paper for less expensive dates, costing between £10-£30.  I imagine we'll select these to do one of these dates every month or so.  Ideas include-

1. Cook Three Course Dinner Together- Go all out, cook your favourates and enjoy
2. Bookshop Date- buy coffee and pick up a new book each
3. Pub Walk
4. Weekend Cinema Trip
5. ££ Dinner Out (her choice)
6. ££ Dinner Out (his choice)
7. Order Take Out
8. Bowling
9. Dessert Only Date- head somewhere a little fancy and pick from the dessert menu (yum!)
10. Dress Up for Drinks- make the effort to get all dressed up and go to a local bar.
11. Breakfast Date

Then, white paper, dates which cost less than £10.  These are the ones we'll use most, maybe weekly or fortnightly if we're busy.  My ideas so are are-

1. Orange Wednesday Cinema Trip
2. £ Dinner Out (her choice)- to a fast food place or something
3. £ Dinner Out (his choice)
4. £5 Tesco Challenge- Pick a main course, like pizza, then each get to choose a side and a dessert, not costing more than a fiver total.
5. Blockbuster Film Evening (her choice)
6. Blockbuster Film Evening (his choice)
7. Walk at Bradgate Park- with or with out visiting the cafe.
8. £10 Dinner Date- Tesco or M&S meal deals
9. Trip to Starbucks
10. Charity Shopping- each is given £5 to buy the other a gift
11. Board Game Evening with wine
12. Picnic
13. Indoor Picnic- set up a rug, or a den, and enjoy the feeling of the whole world disappearing.
14. Cook Dessert Together

These are ones that I've thought up over this afternoon, but I want to keep adding ideas (and ask Dave for his ideas) as life goes on. 

It was really easy to put together, I'd recommend it to any couple that, like us, can never decide or agree on what to do on date nights.  And the fun is not knowing what you're going to get!

Easy as pie,

Love
Freya May

Back Again

Hey all!

So, the summer. Kinda left wondering if it really came at all... But none the less, I've been very very busy.  Too busy to keep up with blogging.

However,  I have decided, after my short break, two things. The first is that I wish to continue writing this blog.  I felt like I've missed it, so expect frequent posting from here out.

You might be wondering exactly what I've been doing to keep me so busy.  Well, here is the run down of our summer...

First, I went Blonde!

The went to a wedding (congrats to Mim and Eddie!!!)

Then it was Dave's last week of work, so I mooched around a lot.

Then Dave got his teaching qualification! Woop!

Then we went to see Handball at the Olympic Park in London (Awesome game, btw.)

Then we drove 6 hours to Cornwall to see two of our best friends get engaged! (and Dave scored best man duties, get in!)

Then we headed north, to Yorkshire, for another Friends wedding (Congrats to Becky and Luke!)

Then we went to Centre Parcs in Sherwood Forest for a romantic getaway, just the two of us (until the Thursday when we had my family visit for the day)

Then we went camping with a small group of friends in Derbyshire- beautiful, if a tad wet.  And a great walk in to Bakewell.

That weekend, we were meant to go to the Lake District to visit family, but the trip was cancelled (boo!) and we went bowling instead (yay!)

Then, we drove back down to London to visit the Harry Potter Studio Tour!!!  Which was amarzing and I so want to go back!!

Finally, last weekend we went to Greenbelt in Cheltanham, and had an amazing, yet totally muddy, time.  Listening to music and thought provoking talks.  And just keeping calm and carrying on as the mud reached our ankles (Thank God for wellies!!!)

And here I am, after one heck of a summer, tired, happy and ready for the lot of challanges I have to face.

My masters starts in almost exactly one months time.

Am I ready for it? No! But will I be? You can bet your ass!

Now, you may be wondering what the other thing I have decided is going to be...

And I'm not a mean person, so I'll tell you right now... I'm starting a second blog!

The Dressmaking Diaries, to be exact.

Where I shall be documenting my dressmaking adventures and clothing based DIYs in the future.  I've come to the conclusion that I want my blogging to be more focused.  So, one for my day to day adventures and one for my favourite hobby seems sensible.

Now, if you have reached the end of this wordy and, some might say, boring post, I applaud you.

Love,

Freya May

Apple Crumble Tastiness

Apple Crumble is one of my favourite puddings to make for one simple reason- its super simple!  And it doesn't hurt that Hubby loves it :D

What is also great, is that it can be made in small portions as well as a whole dish.  I often make two ramekins of crumble for just the two of us during the week.

Here is my fool-proof recipe, enjoy!

Ingredients

• Apples (aprox 1.5 per person)
• Sugar (or sweetener if you prefer)
• Flour
• Butter
• Brown Sugar

Method

Cut up your apples, pop in a pan, with a cup of water and a table spoon of sugar/ sweetener.

Stew until soft.  Now, you have two choices, you can stew until the apples are just soft- how I prefer my crumble- or until you've got apple mush (also very yummy).  Obviously the second choice takes longer, so you'll need patience.

Once it's soft, about twenty minutes later, drain excess water and pop the apples into a ceramic dish.

For the topping on a pudding for 4-6 people use a cup and a half of flour and two heaped table spoons of butter, and rub them using your finger tips into the consistency of bread crumbs.  Then add a cup of brown sugar.  Pour this mixture on top of the apples and bake for 25 minutes.

If you like, add cinnamon into the mixture before pouring it on the apples- yummy!!!

Serve with custard or cream or ice-cream.  Like I said, easy, yummy and perfect for week day meals.

Freya May

Charity Shop Challenge Day 22!

Top (Monsoon/ Cancer Research UK)- £3, Cardigan (Primark/Hand me down)- Free, Jeans (GAP/Cancer  Research UK)- £4, Shoes (Loros)- £3

Total-£10

Happy Sunday all :D  Hope you've had a nice weekend, filled with family and fun.

We've had a nice day!  Been to a new church and got invited to dinner at a couples house.  It was quite an odd day actually, because the church service started at 330- totally out of our usual habits.  But the service was good, interesting.  It was a church grown from a student church, much of the congregation was students or ex students of Loughborough University, so definitely a demographic we felt we fit in to.

The extra time in the morning was nice too, odd, like I said, but nice.  Kinda used it for extra sleeping in, blogging stuff, playing with my pets.  Dave used it to get to the gym and get some work out of the way.  Productive, eh?

Freya May

Charity Shop Challenge Day 15!

Top (RiverIsland/ Sue Rider Care)- £2.50, Cardigan (Peacocks/ Senses)- £2.75, Skirt (Pied A Terre/Loros)- £3, Belt (Hand me down)- Free, Shoes (Newlook/ Hand me down)- Free.

Total- £8.25

Heloo, I must apologise for not posting an outfit yesterday, but, tbh, it wasn't an exciting one anyway, so don't feel like you missed out! (Jeans, t-shirt and jumper- pretty standard and cost about £7.50, not including shoes)

I've had quite a lovely day, but it has gone far to fast as lazy days often do.  I'm back at work tomorrow, and trying hard to be positive about it, it's not like I hate my job, but I've enjoyed time off with Dave so much!!!

But back I must go :)  Hope you've also had a nice Easter.

Freya May

Paris in the Spring Time

Source: Uploaded by user via Freya on Pinterest

3 Days in Paris, the definition of perfect?  I don't know, but I sure comes close.  We're three days of art, arcitecture, food and walking ahead of us.  Naturally, it is super important to look the part in this increadably stylish city, so I took great care planning my wardrobe.  This is a polyvore version (i.e. I have never paid £500 for a cardigan, but have a topshop version).  And it's almost exactly what I have packed.  Except I've taken comfortable boots instead of the shoes pictured.

Freya May

Source: polyvore.com via Freya on Pinterest

Charity Shop Challenge Day 6!

Top (Miss Selfridges/ hand me down)- Free, Cardigan (Primark/Hand me down)- Free, Bag (Vintage)- £18, Skirt (Primark/British Heart Foundation)- £3.50, Shoes (Next/Loros)- £3

Total- £24.50

Been into Leicester to watch the Hunger Games for the second time, I've never loved a story that's quite so hard to explain before.  Every time I get 'sacrificing children' or 'fight to the death' people don't want to know any more.  But it is so good! 

Anyway, this cinema trip was particularly amazing because we used the vouchers Dave was given for his birthday to up grade to the 'Directors Screening'- private bar, snacks delivered to your table, tables! Enough space to actually curl up, and the perfect balance between small number of seats and screen size. The luxurious cinema experience.  We've decided it makes the perfect birthday treat.

Freya May

Charity Shop Challenge Day 4!

Cardigan (Peacocks/Senses)- £2.75, Top (Topshop/Senses)- £1.95, Jeans (GStar/Cancer Research UK)- £4, Boots (RocketDog/British Heart Foundation)- £6.99, Bag (Miss Selfridge/hand me down)-Free

Total- £16.69

Another really wet day, but we've made the most of it.  We went for a drive, stopped in a tea shop, jumped over the puddles to get in, and had a scone and cupcake, stopped to take photos at the nearby church, sheltering in the entrance porch and finished off the day making Easter nest cakes!

A perfect lazy holiday day.

What have you been up to? Hope the weather has been better where you are!

Freya May

Charity Shop Challenge Day 2

Top (Primark/Senses)- £2.50, Cardigan (Peacocks/ Senses)- £2.75, Skirt (Topshop/Cancer Research UK)- £2.50, Belt- Free!, Shoes (George/hand me down)- Free!

Total Cost- £7.25

Can't believe how cheap this outfit was! Total Bargain.  

Dave is doing well as my photographer, don't you think? We didn't get round to going outside today, so late night, indoor photos have to do- my glass of wine is conveniently placed out of shot...

Freya May

Charity Shop Challange Day 1!

Top (Dorothy Perkins/RSPCA)- £3, Cardigin (Atmosphere/ hand me down)- FREE, Bag (Miss Selfridges/ hand me down)- FREE, Jeans (Cancer Research UK)- £4, Shoes (Loros) £3, Earrings (Loros)- £2

Total- £12

Check out my awkward 'Fashion Blogger' posing! I promised you it's be good!  So, outfit number one, starting off the month well, I think.  Comfy, casual and cheap!!!

Been a nice day- been to church, lunch and the pet shop.  I've got some new family members to introduce to you soon!!!

And, I'm finishing off the day with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince! Perfect.

Freya May

David turns 24!

Happy Birthday for yesterday to hubby!

Love you always :D

Freya May

Sniff...

I got a cold :(

Source: coolbeancake.tumblr.com via Freya on Pinterest

We all know I'm going to be fine, though I'm planning on making hubby sing 'Soft Kitty' to me, and I do quite fancy this jumper to get the sympathy vote :D

Freya May

Take Your Husband To Work Day!

Source: itthing.com via Freya on Pinterest

Yes, today I got to take Husband to work with me!  It was such a surreal experience having him in a part of my world that has been exclusively mine up until now.  But he was on his best behaviour!  Hasn't shown me up once, yet. 

And the best bit, not bus for me this week!

He's coming all week for his 'Second School Experiance' for his teacher training, observing lessons and meeting the teachers in the science department for advice and stuff.

He seemed to enjoy today, and has already felt like there is stuff to take away and apply at work- after just one day, I'm impressed!

I guess seeing the ins and outs of a school can make you focus on the negatives sometimes, so it's really nice to have Dave there and get his take on life at my school.  He'll never know it the same way I do, different perspectives (teacher vs. admin) and time will be the two biggest factors in this.  But, still, having him in my world always makes things better- even when I had an insane day like today!

So, I think I'd recommend it, take your husband to work, see what he makes of your work life and work friends.  For us, it's been good, so far!

Freya May

Mothering Sunday

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!  I hope you've all remembered to, at least, send your mother a card.

We've had a lovely day!  Been to the Baptist Church in town this morning which was really great.  We made prayer cards to hang on a tree, and card decorating and planted a flower, all in the name of worship and prayer.  It was dead fun! People were really friendly and they've loads of weekly activites and student type socials to get stuck in with.  We're away next Sunday, but we'll be back again soon!

Anyway- We invited both our mother's, David's dad and my little sis over for sunday lunch to treat our mums to a relaxed and, hopefully, stress free day. 

Roast chicken dinner, dessert, cupcakes made by little sis, and a very happy day! 

Freya May

The Hunger Games

Source: en.wikipedia.org via Freya on Pinterest

In anticipation of the up coming film, Husband and I have downloaded the book onto our Kindle, then had a desperate race to finish it first!

This morning I have crowned myself the victor, using the time Dave naps after work and my lovely lazy Saturday morning to race through the fantastic adventure.

The Hunger Games has been on my radar for about a year now, and, like Twilight, this is almost entirely due to the Internet.  I guess that die hard fans heard about the film and got so excited it almost took over Pinterest and the like. 

I'm someone who really likes to read books before I see the film versions.  This is because I think that the book is the true story, told the way it was intended by the writer.  Not to discredit any adaptations, for instance The Hunger Games film looks awesome!  But to see the original for myself.  Writing is an art after all.

And, so you know, I did think it was a fantastic story! Go, read it! Or, at least, come to the cinema with me and watch in on the big screen.

Freya May

Pancake Day :D

Happy Pancake Day!

Hope you all enjoyed tasty tasty treats:D  I had a great selection, I started with classic lemon and sugar, then went on to Nutella, then finished off with a maple syrup one- yay!

(is three too many?)

Freya May

* I know this was late, but Blogger was playing up :(

All the Fun of the (Vintage) Fair

The Vintage Fair was back in town today! Yay!

David and I took a wander round and enjoyed our selves some tea at cupcakes in the little vintage cafe. 

There wasn't anything that really grabbed my attention, clothes wise, this time, which I was disappointed about. Then I remembered I haven't much money at the moment, so it was probably a good thing!!!

Still, it was such a fun atmosphere and filled with beautiful home wares and handbags and jewellery and funky jumpers and many other lovely things.

Do you go to the vintage fir when it hits your town?  I would recommend it for the simple fun if it all  (and the cake was pretty good too!).

Freya May