Pretty please vote for me?

Please please vote for me! I have applied to Enterprise Nation's Fund 101 and need as many people to vote for me. You only need to put a couple of details in and you can vote for other people too. There is £5000 available each month and the rule is that however much money you apply for that is how many votes you need. I have applied for £400 so I need 400 votes. You can apply for between £50 and £500 so apply yourself if you are setting up or running a business. http://www.enterprisenation.com/funding-applications/pink-chilli-virtual-assistant/

Oh Hello Sun

The past few days the sun has been shining in the UK. It's so lovely to see!!! It's like we are all coming out of hibernation. Today I've been out planting some bulbs ready for next year and the crocuses I planted last year have started to come out :)

I'm hoping to be able to spend a bit more time on the garden this year. The 2 main things I want to get done is the big vegetable patch at the back and our patio/shingle/shed area, I want to make it more inviting and welcoming. Need to pressure washer the patio, re-paint he shed and get some nice pots and plants around. Oh and some nicer garden furniture. At the moment we have the horrid white plastic set. But it will do while funds are low. I always put a nice table cloth over it when we use it.

This afternoon I'm holiday a cupcake party and then I want to get back and do some business admin and menu planning for the next 2 weeks.

The 30 day photography challenge got forgotten a bit with everything I've had going on- very sorry.


Photo of me taken by Keely Jane who has gone to Vegas today! Have fun!!!

If anyone knows of any fab gardening blogs please post them in the comments :)

Jess

xx

Valentine's Day and Spicy Butternut Squash Soup and Happy Birthday Tom!

I love Valentine's Day. I know we don't need an excuse to tell someone we love them but for me it's an excuse to get balloons out!!! Yay.

We spent our Valentine's eating in as having to watch the pennies.  I made the table look a bit cheesy :)

And Phil left me a little note before he went to work :) This little board we always update with little messages. 

And for dinner we had Sweetcorn fritters with Mango & Avocado salsa (I made it vegan and will post he recipe soon). For main we had butternut squash, sage and pine nut pasta and for dessert strawberries dipped in dairy free dark chocolate- yummy. Oh and lots of wine.

Butternut squash is one of my favourite things to use in soup so here is a nice warming soup that's so easy and doesn't have loads of ingredients.

Spicy Butternut Squash Soup (Vegan)

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 butternut squash peeled, seeds removed and cut into chunks

1/2 large onion chopped

1 pint vegetable stock

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1.2 tsp paprika

3 tbsp dairy free cream ( I use alpro soya cream and it's great)

salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large pan heat the olive oil and place the onion and butternut squash in. Cook for about 5 minutes making sure to stir. Add the cayenne and paprika and coat the onion and squash.

2. Add the vegetable stock and simmer for 20 minutes until the squash is tender. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Mean while heat another small pan with oil and fry the sage leaves until crispy- about 2-3 minutes. Then transfer to some kitchen paper to soak up the oil. Set aside.

3. Add back to the pan and add in the cream and salt and pepper to taste. Serve into bowls and sprinkle with the crispy sage.

One last thing before I go. Just want to wish my baby brother a Happy Birthday. 

Here is his birthday cake I made

Here he is a few years back...

And here he is now, not so much a baby anymore.....

Happy Birthday Tom xx

30 Day Photography Challenge Day 11: Something Blue

Ok so was it in the rules that it had to be 30 consecutive days??? if so my bad. Lots been going on.

Here is my Something Blue. A blue post it that says smile. I am obsessed with post-its. I have to get them in all colours and sizes and stick them everywhere :)

And just because they are cute here are some bunny pics :) Trigger

30 Day Photography Challenge Day 10: Childhood Memory

Day 10: Childhood Memory.

In school we used to get a notebook and cover it with pictures and write letters to each other in it. I'd write a letter to my friend and pass the book to her, she would write on and so on. This book was between me and Louise Smith

Check out Five, Will Mellor and Matt Le Blanc!

30 Day Photography Challenge Days 7, 8 and 9

Hi guys, here are days 7,  and 9 of the challenge. I'm trying to have a weekend of the computer so I can spend some quality time with Phil. So this is just a quick photo post!

Day 7: Fruit. The lady next to me in Sainsbury's thought I was a fruit loop taking a photo of melons.

Day 8: Bad Habit- Sweets. Phil put these in my stocking at Christmas

Day 9: Someone you Love. Ok this is two people but I wasn't going to crop one of them out!!! Connor my amazing Nephew and Phil my soulmate and best friend.

Anyone else joining in on the challenge?

30 Day Photography Challenge Day 6: From a low angle

Hi guys, here is today's picture. It is our our Willow tree in our garden (our house is called Willow Cottage).

I love this tree, sitting under it in the summer and in the spring the bulbs I have planted underneath it come out :)

It looks a bit sad at the moment though as it's winter. Poor tree.