Sunday 28 February 2016

Random Thoughts No1 (there will be more)


Hi everyone, this week is something a bit different, I've found myself have so many random thoughts lately, a lot of them are short and simple, others have been playing around my head for awhile and others have been full on deep thoughts that have even plagued me while I've tried to get to sleep at night!  So while I'm sat here enjoying the last of my birthday cake, I thought I'd tell you about some of them.  Some of them are a bit ranty, sorry!

Hair My hair is driving me nuts.  I can't do a thing with it, it's constantly full of static which is probably down the acrylic cardigans I wear most of the time and no matter how much I try and tame it, it sticks to everything and knots up in seconds!  My hair has got very long and very unruly over the last couple of months and even though I've been saving up to get it cut, so far I'm having to put up with it and it's just peeing me off!  I like long hair, I do, but mine is SO thick and long it just annoys me.  It flops in my face every time I bend down (even though I always have it up in a ponytail) and as for trying to get it dry OMG!  I don't have the time or the arm-strength to stand there drying it with a hair dryer for half an hour plus, hello more dry air equals more static!  So I have to just brush it through best I can and leave it to nature to gradually get it dry, 5 hours later, it's still damp!! ;-(

Weather This kind of leads me on to my next thought, winter weather.  It's cold, it's too cold.  I get out of bed and it's freezing, I pull my clothes out the drawer and they're like ice.  I find myself sat cuddled up to a heater for half the day and shivering like crazy for the rest!  I don't know if it's just me because I've always felt the cold or it's just plain freezing.  When I go out I have to put so many layers of thick clothing on I can hardly move, I can just never seem to feel warm at the moment, and it sucks!  When is it gonna be spring, I miss the sun :-(


Age why the heck is everyone so obsessed with age.  I'm not thrilled about my age and the thought of yet another birthday (last week) and being yet another year older has been making me feel pretty down, as it does every year and of course it only gets worse.  But then I thought why!?  Ok so I'm friends with people younger than me, because we have the same tastes and things we both enjoy, I watch youtubers that are younger than me but I still find them funny and enjoyable to watch!  I'm not married yet nor do I have a child, which always bothered me as women my age usually do.  But then I though, who cares!  Why should I or indeed we, feel we can or can't do things, wear things, watch things because we're not of that age group!?

A few years ago I was sitting in a cafe waiting for my friend and this lady walked past the window.  She must have been in her 60's but she was wearing this gorgeous fitted tan leather jacket, a nice shirt, flared jeans and a very lovely pair of boots that I would quite happily wear, more like the outfit a 20-something girl would wear.  She walked along with a real air of confidence and style and just thought, wow I want to be like that when I'm her age.  So my thoughts are; it doesn't matter about age, it's just a number.  If you like doing something do it, wear it, say it, never feel you're too old or too young (of course there's exceptions if you're 90 you probably shouldn't go bungee jumping etc!) :-)

I just hate it when people say oh you're too old to do that now, why?  Or, you should be married and settled by now, I was at your age!  People in our parents generation lived more by age, certain things were expected, like having a family by the time you were 25!  But things are different now and I think I've finally realised that.  I don't want to feel under pressure or feel upset because I'm the age I am and don't have a family, right now I'm single and I'm happy, I have more time to do the stuff I want to do!  All the rest will happen when it happens!  I don't feel the age I am, but why does that matter?!  Live by how you feel not by your age group :-)


Random Accidents I went to defrost a croissant early, over cooked it and burnt my finger on the plate, and it's hurts like hell now :-(  It got me thinking about how suddenly things like that can happen when you least expect it.  Moral of that thought, be more careful.


Blog posts I'm struggling again to be honest, I sit down with my planner and my thoughts and try and write something, nothing happens.  I go online for inspiration but nothing inspires me enough.  I used to read so many other blogs but I'm ridiculously behind and have missed so many, same with a lot of the youtubers I usually watch.  So no inspiration is coming from there either.  I'll get there eventually.


Favourites I used to do a regular post about my current favourites, most bloggers/youtubers do monthly favourites but I always knew that would be a stretch for me, so I did seasonal ones instead.  But as you may have noticed I kind of stopped doing them a while back.  Apart from the general things I love, which I talked a lot about in my Addictions post a couple of weeks ago (in which I forgot to add notebooks btw), I just don't have any other favourites right now.  I literally can't even remember the last time I bought any makeup, which is crazy considering I used to go in to my local Boots so often, the cashier got to know me by name!!  But these days I've been saving my money for other things I feel I need more and that I feel are more use to me.  But I guess that's just how it goes sometimes.


And lastly Films I went to the cinema with one of my besties last Monday and we went to see Triple 9, which was a really cool action movie (I like that kind of thing), it has some great actors in including Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul and my fav Norman Reedus :-).  I sat there waiting for it to start and I said to my friend, do you know it's been over a year since I last went to the cinema.  Yet the amount of great films that have come out that I've wanted to see, I should be there every month!  I've been longing to see Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (totally me) and I really wanted to see Deadpool too.  So I said to myself, right that's it, from now on more cinema trips!  You heard it here first!


I also just wanted to mention 'cos I was quite happy about it, I posted a pic of the movie poster on my Instagram on Monday night, and the first person to like the pic was only Norman Reedus's body double on The Walking Dead, oh yeah!! :-D  A very cute guy called Kirk Riley.  And it also got a like from Decatur Redd, who features on the very cool soundtrack from the movie, and incidentally who now follows me on Instagram!! :-D  Feeling happy!
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I hope you like this rather random post and I hope you like these chatty type of posts in general, because they will definitely be cropping up more here and there.  If you fancy telling me a few of your random thoughts in the comments, I'd love to read them :-)
Until Next Time Stay Happy

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Monday 22 February 2016

How to Make Rocky Road Brunch Bars


Hi everyone, I haven't done a baking post since before Christmas when I made my cute little shaped Christmas Biscuits.  So today I thought I would show you how I make these yummy Rocky Road bars.  They're really quick and easy to make, so if you fancy having a go keep on reading :-)

click for a larger view & to save the recipe


Once you have all your ingredients sorted out, measure out the butter. . .


The chocolate, all broken up. . .


And the syrup and mix it all together in a saucepan on a low heat, until everything is fully melted together and smells amazing!  Keep stirring it all otherwise it may stick and burn.



Next put half the amount of cookies into a clean food bag and and carefully bash them with a rolling pin.  Don't go too crazy as you'll want to leave some pieces bigger than others so you have some nice big crunchy pieces in the bars.


Add these to the mixture and then do the same with the rest of the cookies.  Add them slowly and stir in well.


Then it's time to add the final ingredient, the little marshmallows.  It's so funny, I never even liked marshmallows before I made these bars but I thought well they're part of the recipe I'll go with it, but now I love them lol :-)  Again add these a little at a time and stir in well.  One thing I would say, is make sure you use a big enough saucepan, unlike me, it nearly overflowed everywhere!! :-/


Once everything is well mixed, carefully pour the mixture into the tin, make sure you've already lined the tin with greaseproof paper first.  Pop the tin in the fridge and allow it all to fully set for about 2-3 hours or even over night if you have the time. 


You'll need a good sharp knife to cut them in to pieces but once done, they look great.  You can add a sprinkle of icing sugar if you like to add some decoration or just have them without, totally optional.


Finally, enjoy!  I hope you like this post, if you have a go at making these, send me a pic of them on Twitter @DaniJ72 I'd love to see them :-)
Until Next Time Stay Happy

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Sunday 14 February 2016

My Addictions

Hi everyone, Happy Valentines Day Today is all about love, so I thought I would tell you about all the things that I love, I'm obsessed with and I'm totally addicted to :-)


Poodles -


Just Poodles in general, they are totally adorable, fluffy, over the top cute and I love them, the smaller the better!

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Oh my gosh, can't take the cuteness!!

Doing crafts -

cardmaking, scrapbooking, digital crafts, making things for my home, I love doing it all, I love sitting down and creating something pretty.

Drinking tea -


I could happily finish one cup and have another straight away, tea on tap!  Yeay for PG :-)
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Anything and everything sparkly -

I swear I was a magpie in a former life, if it's sparkly I want it, I love it, I need it in my life.

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Sleeping -
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sometimes this is by choice, sometimes not but either way cuddling down in a warm cosy bed or just shuttering my eyes for a little nap feels just so nice and welcoming :-) zzz

Eating cake -
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It doesn't matter what type of cake or if it's bought or homemade (although I do love baking), I've just always loved cake, it's so yummy!

Norman Reedus (something else yummy!!) -

Ok so this is no surprise to some of you ;-)  And admittedly he's a newer obsession of mine but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a long one!  What honestly is there not to love about this guy, he's funny, adorably dorky, incredibly sexy, so sweet and an animal lover, I'm 100% hooked for life!!!  I have a total 'Addixon' ;-)

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I mean just look at that smile . . . melts my heart every time ♥♥♥

Blogging -
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I may have had a wobble for a while there and things have been stressful blogging-wise but either way, I still love it.  I've had my blog for over 2 years and I don't see me stopping anytime soon.  Instead of seeing each new post as a worry from now on, I'm seeing it as a challenge and an exciting new project to work on every week :-)

Watching The X Files -

I could not have been more excited when the new series started last week.  I have been a crazy X Files fan since it first started back in September 1993, when I was at school.  My friend Jamie and I were totally obsessed, we would talk about it constantly, we called each other Mulder and Scully and even other friends at school new us as that too, I even had my hair cut like Scully's and I loved that it was already the same colour as hers!.

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When they announced it was going to be on tv again, I texted him straight away and said, Mulder we're back babes and he said, Scully can't wait :-D  The funny thing is, after all these years and both of us being so in to it, we've never managed to watched an episode together, so far!

Eating Pringles -

I must get through one tube every few days, easily.  When they say "once you pop you can't stop" they were dam right!  They're just so moreish.

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Buying and wearing slippers -

Every time I go to Tesco clothing I literally have to drag myself away from the slipper isle now because I have got so many pairs of slippers, I'm having trouble fitting them in my wardrobe!  No one needs that many pairs but I just love them, they're so cute and comfortable and I can't help buying a new pair every-so-often when I see lovely new ones on sale!
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How does he manage to even make bunny slippers look sexy!! ;-)

I mean, everyone needs bunny slippers right? (although I still need to get some of these) :-)

Buying lipsticks -

As with the slippers, I have a problem, I mean I can only wear one at a time right, yet I can't help seeing a gorgeous new shade or a new release from one of my favourite brands without adding it to my ever growing collection!  Just tell me I'm not alone here!?!

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Funny Minion quotes -

Every day I find myself on Pinterest, laughing like a crazy person at these Minion quotes, they're just so good, so funny and so sarcastic, just the kind of humour I love :-D



If you'd like to see more of these and join me in having a good laugh at all the ones I've re-pinned, you can check out my Funny Times board :-)

My friends -

My friends are the absolute best, I love chatting to them and spending time with them and I wish I could do that a lot more often.  They are always there for me with encouragement and support and a funny quip to cheer me up when I'm feeling down.  Girls - Helz, Shelley, Ambika, Lisa, Amy and FB, I love ya to bits xxx

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Watching The Walking Dead -

Could you honestly expect me to do a list of all the things I'm addicted to and not mention this!?! ;-)  I have been watching TWD for nearly 2 years and have already seen seasons 1-4, 4 times!!
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I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love this show, it's so incredibly good, so exciting and shocking and thought-provoking, and yes I am the nerd girl who already has an apocalypse survival plan already worked out and is convinced half the population is going to be flesh-eating zombie's one day!


I'm quite behind at the moment, as everyone else is currently sat watching the second half of Season 6 on Netflix today, I'm not even up to Season 5, so no spoilers please, not all of us who live life on a budget get to have Netflix.  It's ok, I'm not upset :'''-(

But if you are a TWD fan, let me know in the comments, I love meeting fellow TWDers it's so fun chatting about it together.  I love that all my friends watch it too and we have long chats about the show and our crazy survival plans :-)



Going on Instagram and Pinterest -

I find myself on both of these far too often, I used to go on Instagram and have a scroll through about once a day, now it's at least 3 sometimes 4 times.

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And as for Pinterest, also known as 'the bottomless pit of inspirational quotes and Daryl Dixon images that draw you in and won't let you go for at least 10 minutes several times a day'!!  It's far too addictive but I just can't help myself :-/

Listening to music -

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Music is like oxygen for me, I feel alive when I hear certain songs and it always makes me feel better when I need a pick-me-up.  You all know how much I love Linkin Park, they will always be the ultimate music obsession for me, but lately I have also found another few tracks that I cannot stop listening to . . .


I recently found One Republic's If I Lose Myself about 2 months ago and Oh. My. Gosh, this song is just Amazing!!  I could honestly listen to it on repeat for the whole day every day, I love it, I love so much, and for me who loves so many songs but gets bored of them quickly, that's saying something.  Go and have a listen and you'll see what I mean, you'll thank me later :-)


This is another track that I found a couple of months ago, while watching a very enjoyable video on YouTube (you're welcome), it's called Animal and it's by Maroon 5.  Every time I hear it I think of the video I saw, which again, I could happily watch on repeat and have already seen it dozens of times ;-)  Plus it's just such a good, fun, catchy song, I love it :-)


Ed Sheeran's Bloodstream, I first heard this back in October when I was making a playlist for the Halloween party my friend and I had and she told me to add this one one on, I've not stopped listening to it since!  I've not really heard much of Ed's other music but I really enjoy this and smile every time it plays on my ipod, it's so good :-)

Jewellery making -

Maybe this should have gone under the category of crafting but I just had to put it in as a thing I love on it's own.  I've been making jewellery for many years and, lately I've really got back in to it.  I've been very naughtily spending out my well saved cash on lots of new charms, chains and beads and I'm in the process of making some very pretty and exciting new things, which is part of my big new project I mentioned in my last post.  Hopefully, all will be revealed soon and I can share my new creations with you.  But for now all I can say is, I'm very excited about it and I am absolutely loving making lots of jewellery items and a few other fun bits too :-)


Drinking Costa hot chocolate -

Every time I go in to Costa I think right, today I'm trying something new, and I still end up with a hot chocolate.  They're just sooo good I can't get enough of them!  Hmmm

Dressing up for Halloween -
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It may only be February and Halloween is a long way off, but who cares I LOVE Halloween, I love everything about it and best of all I love dressing up.  I honestly start planning my Halloween costumes for the following year the day after Halloween!  I love coming up with ideas and I usually make and create most of the costumes myself, I've never bought one so far, doing it myself is all part of the fun and I always look forward to it SO much, it really is my favourite holiday of the year :-)

There's so many other things I love - going out in the summer, singing, chocolate, buying shoes, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, swimming, seeing a new film, playing board games, watching YouTube, Twilight, kissing a new man!! (sadly not at the moment but still...)  I just can't list them all.  But these are the main things that I'm really enjoying and am totally obsessed with in life.
I'd love to hear about all the things you're addicted to in the comments.  I'm sorry it was such a long post but I've really enjoyed writing about it all and I hope you enjoyed it too :-)

Until Next Time Stay Happy and Happy Valentines Day 

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