30 Day Photography Challenge Day 5: From a high angle and Overnight Oats

Ok here is day 5- from a high angle. It's taken from our spare room window looking down. I wanted to get the wall of the house in as it has  little design on it :)

Has anyone else joined in on the challenge? Do you want to? The first post is here.

I had a big love affair with oatmeal a last year and then went a little while without it. Why??? Love the stuff. Fear not I'm back in the swing of things now. However instead of my usual peanut butter, DF chocolate and walnut mix I've been preparing the overnight oats.Easiest breakfast ever.

It's not really a recipe as you just throw in whatever you want but here is the one I had this morning.

Overnight Oats


1/2 cup porridge oats
1/4 cup oatmeal/oatbran
1 tbsp flaxseed
2 tsp light brown sugar
Handful raisins
1 cup milk (I used almond milk)

Mix all together and leave in fridge overnight I eat mine cold in the morning and topped with some Raspberries. Other good things to add- chocolate chips, sliced banana, some cinnamon, almond butter, peanut butter, top with granola for some crunch etc. Sorry it's not in a pretty bowl- saved on washing up :)

Jess
xx

30 Day Photography Challenge Day 4: Something Green

Ok day 4 is something green. This pictures combines two of my favourite things- coffee and Cath Kidston :)

I drink way too much coffee.

Yesterday we had Elliot's christening. Here is the post from when he was born :)

Catherine asked me to do cupcakes for the reception so here they are- I loved doing the Farm Animals. You can also follow my Jessica's Cupcakes Blog here and my Facebook page here.

I've had a lot going on with a lot of cake orders but also getting the new business off the ground. Please like me on my Facebook Page :)

Right I'm off to have dinner and watch Eastenders! And then a bit of business admin before bed :)

Bedtime Reading

137 Ways to Pamper yourself, Lift your spirits or recharge your life

30 Day Photography Challenge Day 3: Clouds

Hi guys, just popping in very quickly to do my photo post. Today was clouds, there wasn't any "great" clouds in the sky so just took my pick from the few that were knocking around.

Great to see other people joining in on the fun! Don't worry about taking picks on your iPhone- that is what I am doing as I don't have a snazzy camera :)

Jess
xx

30 Day Photography Challenge Day 2: What I wore today

Hi guys, good to see a few more people joining in with the challenge. Remember to post below if you do join in :) Here is the first post with the picture on explaining what you need to take pictures of.

So today's picture was "What I wore today"

As one of my businesses is Jessica's Cupcakes I had a large order to do today so I wore jeans, white t-shirt and my apron! Not very exiting sorry!!!!

This week I've been so busy. As most of you know I left my day job in December to carry on with my cake business and have also set up my Virtual Assistant business. I've been so busy working very late into the night. And no rest today. But looking forward to a chill out tonight and staying off the computer!

In health terms I've started back on the exercise wagon and on Tuesday I'm joining a circuit class. It's run by another local business Michael at Flexercise. I'm really looking forward to it.

I've put a little plan together which will change around a bit depending on schedule and how I'm feeling but as a guide here is what I have:

Day	Workout
Mon	Turbo Fire
Tues	Circuit Training
Wed	Yoga/ Resistance
Thurs	TurboFire HIIT
Fri	Rest
Sat	Walk/Swimming
Sun	Yoga

Do you know what I'm really happy about? This....

Almond milk! I love Almond milk, it's my favourite DF milk but the issue was that I could only get it in the health shop. Which means a trip into town which I don't do every week and it cost over £3! But now Sainsbury's are selling it! So no special trips to make and it's only £1.79. Lots cheaper :)

Right I'm off to spend the evening with my scrummy man.

I'll leave you with a couple pics from the furries.

Jess
xx

30 Day Photography Challenge Day 1: Self Portrait

Me and Keely have decided to do a 30 Day Photography challenge. Just for a bit of fun really. So follow us and join in if you want! If you do join in please comment below so I can check them out :)

Please do not expect great pictures from me, if you want that then stick with Keely.

1. Keely did a photography course...... I didn't
2. Keely has a snazzy camera....I don't. Mine will be taken with the iPhone or in today's picture- webcam

He he!


Anyhow below is the challenge and also my picture for today :)

Jess
xx

So glad it's the weekend

Hi everyone,

Sorry about the lack of posts. My broadband has been down for 10 days and only came back on Friday morning and I've had some tough things going on family wise so thanks for bearing with me!

Today was a sorting out day, just general bits and bobs round the house. Then my nephew Connor came over and we went for a long walk round the farm. He loved it, we saw a deer and got a bag full of clay pigeons which he had never seen before! For those who don't know they are clay disc that are projected in the air for people to shoot. I much prefer this than animals being shot at! Below is a picture of a clay pigeon.

So after this little update I'll be making red curry (Tofu for me and beef for Phil) with rice noodles and then I think a night snuggled on the sofa watching a film sounds like a great idea!

I also need to finish off the meal plan for next week. Having to be really careful with money at the moment. With me leaving my last job and working for myself things will be even tougher for a while. And the 10 days without broadband meant I couldn't do a lot.
So meals are going to be pretty basic, veg, jacket potatoes, pasta dishes etc. Maybe the magic money fairy could drop some pennies by? Well more than pennies....

I'm just going to read a few of my fave blogs as not had much of a chance with the broadband down and I have withdrawal symptoms!

Bedtime Reading
30 days, 30 ways to build self confidence

As there aren't many pictures to share apart from the uber boring clay pigeon one! Here is something cute :)

(Source)

Jess xx

Recipe Post- Asparagus Curry (Vegan Friendly)

Happy Tuesday guys. I want to Start off by congratulating Gina and Tom on their new arrival. You can check out Gina's blog here.

Now I had a curry from one of our local curry houses, it was an asparagus curry and it was awesome! I loved it. But with trying to cut down unnecessary spending I wanted to try and make it at home for much less.

So I made it last night and loved it- and have some left over for lunch today :)

Asparagus Curry- Serves 2

Ingredients

1 bunch of asparagus- I had about 10 spears

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp cashew nuts

1 tbsp almond flakes

1/2 Green chilli de-seeded (more if you like extra hot)

2 tsp Garam Masala

1 tsp Tumaric

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

1/2 onion chopped

Handful chopped coriander

1/2 can chopped tomatoes

1/2 can coconut milk

Method

1. Start by washing your asparagus and cutting off the woody ends. I simply do this by snapping them where they naturally snap. Chop asparagus into small pieces. I did mine in about 0.5 cm rounds. Place into a microwavable bowl with 2 tbsp water and heat for 3 minutes and set aside.

2. In a large pan heat olive oil and add onions and all spices. Gently heat until onions are soft. Meanwhile place cashews, almonds, green chilli and 1 tbsp olive oil into a food processor and mix until a paste.

3. Add nutty paste to pan and cook for 1 minute. Then add chopped tomatoes and cook for a further 2 minutes. Then add the coconut milk and chopped asparagus and stir continuously on a low heat for 5 minutes. 

4. At the end of cooking add in some chopped coriander and serve. I served mine with rice and a chapati

Happy New Year!

So Christmas is over :( But we have a new year to deal with. Hopefully lots of positivity in 2012.

As I may have mentioned before I am now working full time for myself. I'm running Jessica's Cupcakes still but have also set up my new business Pink Chilli Virtual Assistant. So exciting times ahead. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

This week I'll be working on my 2012 inspiration board which I'll share with you all :) We'll talk about goals and aspirations.

So I didn't post what we had for Christmas dinner- Vegan Style! So better late than never!

To start we had Tempura Vegetables

Main was Chestnut and Mushroom Wellington with lots of vegetables and Vegan Yorkshire puds!

And dessert was this amazing Pumpkin Tiramisu from Chef Chloe Coscarelli

Even Phil who's not vegan didn't feel like he was missing out.

Mama Pea over at Peas and Thank You has done a great post on taking 5 recipes and creating 25 dinners. Check them out.

I'm off to do some housework then get started on the inspiration board :)

Jess
xx