Guess Who's Back....Again!

Hello Everyone!

Lets start with me saying sorry...in the words of JB, "Is it too late now to say sorry?" :')

It's been a while since I last blogged about anything. Life and uni have just had me so distracted lately. Starting my second year of university, has seemed to have got me in a tizz. Once again I still leave work till the last minute, but this year also starts to count towards my final degree grade. But I have still somehow found the time to read other peoples blogs and not keep up to date with my own...Bad blogger!

I really do like blogging as I get to express myself, getting to write about things I'm loving at that moment in time. So I guess this is me making a vow to blog more?? I know I've probably written too many of these "I'm back" posts but I for sure hope this vow carries on.

Watch this space...

Lots of Love, X

Scones (Plain & Cheese) Recipe

Hello Everyone!

This is yet another recipe for your empty tummies to enjoy! I love cooking and baking so much, so this is the reason I have written so many posts of this genre. Sharing my experiences and recipes with you is a privilege, and I hope you like them so much that you even take it upon yourself to bake/ cook your own creations.
For this scones recipe, it was a very last minute decision to bake these. I was sat, bored in my IT lecture (it's just revision), when I was moaning as I was so hungry- I had no food or money. I could roughly remember the simple ingredients we had at home, and had a thought "I haven't made scones in a while…"so thats when my decision was made- I'd be baking scones, plain for everyone (mainly my dad) and a few cheese for me and my sister. I was very serious about making these when I got home from college that day, that whilst sat on the bus I messaged my sister with my adamant intentions.


Ingredients:
Plain Scones-
*350g Self-raising Flour
*1/4 tsp Salt
*1 tsp Baking Powder
*85g Butter (Cut into cubes)
*3 tbsp Caster Sugar
*175ml Milk
*1 tsp Vanilla Extract/Essence
Cheese Scones-
*Everything as above, minus the Caster Sugar and Vanilla Extract/Essence
*Instead add cheese-grated ( as much as you want)

Pre-Heat the oven at 200c/ Gas Mark 7

Method:
1. Place the flour into a mixing bowl, along with the salt and baking powder. Mix these together.
2. Add the butter to the dry mixture and rub together with your fingers until you get what looks like fine bread crumbs. 

3. Stir the sugar (only necessary for the plain scones) into the mixture. -> Here would be where you'd add the grated cheese.

4. Pour the milk into a jug and place in the microwave to warm it up for around 30 seconds. (make sure the milk does not turn hot) Add in the vanilla essence (only necessary for plain scones) to the milk.
5. Make a well (hole) in the dry mix and pour in the milk and vanilla. Quickly combine together (in a ball)-easier to use your hands.

6. Sprinkle flour over the work surface an tip the dough out. Knead the dough slightly to assure it is together well and a bit smoother.

7. Roll out the dough to the thickness that you require. (the thicker the dough, the less scones you'll make)

8. Take a cutter (or something round) and cut out as many scones as you can- place them on a greased baking tray reading for baking. With the left over dough, repeat the last process of rolling it out and cutting the shapes, until all the dough has gone. 

9. Place all of the 'cut outs' on a baking tray. Glaze the shapes with either a beaten egg or milk.

10. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until risen or golden on the top. Enjoy these on their own or with jam and cream (the plain scones).

Sorry for the quality of this image, I took it one handed! :/

I hope you enjoy making this really simple recipe, it involves simple, everyday ingredients and doesn't take that long to make or bake. Enjoy the simplicity of such a typical British food- loved all year round. 
Comment or upload images of how you found the recipe and your final result. I'd love to her how you all got on. :D

University Offers

Hello Everyone!

As of today, Friday 14^th February 2014 (also known as Valentine’s Day), I have received all 3 offers from the universities I have applied for. They are all conditional offers, in the hope that I achieve the grades to go in September, which is what I am aiming for.

Although I am 18, which is the right age to go to uni in the UK, I still feel so young- like I shouldn’t be going for interviews, applying for student finance or worrying about money. I should be having fun being young, spending time with friends- but in reality I will still be doing all of this at university, if not having a great time then I will have made lots of new friends who are interested in the same things I am. Whilst writing this I am getting super excited for September to come, not only will I have just started a degree, but I will either be, or nearly be 19 (Woah! Getting old, aha :P).

The 3 courses I have applied to do are;

* Magazine Journalism and Feature Writing- Southampton Solent University

* Multimedia Journalism- Southampton Solent University

* Journalism- Portsmouth University

3 very different courses in the subject of journalism, but from all I anticipate to gain the same if not similar skills of getting me closer to my ambition of becoming a magazine journalist or designing magazine layouts.

As you can possibly tell (if you know Hampshire, or have heard of it) that the two universities are both near each other (about 30 mins drive between the 2) which suggests that I don’t want to move away from home. This is partly true! Instead I will commute daily to and from my lectures. I see it as a blessing that the course I REALLY want to do (Magazine Journalism and Feature Writing) is so close to where I live! :D It just means the whole 3 years of uni will work out cheaper for me. For the tuition fees alone, after the degree I will be in £27,000 in debt- however, this is the cheapest loan you will ever pay back. My dad has said to me ‘Just think of it as a tax, paying a small amount back each month, ONLY when you earn over £21,000’- what a wise dad I have!

For me now it is a case of replying to these offers, selecting my ‘firm choice’ and my ‘insurance choice’, after that I have to wait for August to come round and open that envelope which will contain my fate (Ooo, scary!)

Congratulations if many of you, like me, have received all your offers! And I suppose it’s going to be a shared ‘Good Luck’ in your exams to everyone in this situation.

Photos from the year!

Hello Everyone!

I hope we are all settling into 2014 just fine, and sticking to those resolutions you set yourself at the beginning of January. ;) Sorry I have been absent on this blog for a while, I have been so caught up with getting my University applications up together. Submitting pieces of work, here, there and everywhere. I've also been rather unimaginative when it has come to blog content, it can be so hard sometimes.

Anyway, that's enough of that! I wanted this post to be a creative, artsy one to show off my photography skills. And to also show the best times of 2013 through a documentary of photos. What a great start to 2014 blogging, eh!? 

January:

The skyline early in the morning.

The remains of the snow as it melted away.

February:

This month after ages I started to read again. It felt amazing.

Mine and my sisters list of films to get in 2013, we did quite well.

March:

Celebrating the Easter in delicious style.

April:

I put together a montage of funny images of my cat.

My signed Kodaline ticket.

My sister and I met Kodaline after the gig.

Saw 5 Seconds of Summer for the first time supporting One Direction.

Saw One Direction at the O2 arena on the Take Me Home tour.

May:

I decided to get baptised this month.

My final piece for my photography AS level.

June:

The levitation photo I made on Photoshop.

July:

My sister looked gorgeous at her prom.

I was blown away by the model of Hogwarts.

Harry Potter studio tour- best place ever!

Butter Beer!

August:

I passed my theory test first time.

Group photo with friends at Thorpe Park.

September:

My dad spoilt me and got me the best 18th birthday present.

My sister won tickets to see the Arctic Monkeys at the
 iTunes festival.

October:

The result of 'the storm' on my neighbours fence.

The panto was a great success.

I finally overcame my craving to make homemade pizza, yum!

November:

Oh, how Anoop helped us with our late purchase.

I DID IT! I passed my driving test first time.

December:

I got my first article published in Mayhem! magazine.

Even my cat got into the Christmas spirit. 

Winter Wonderland was so magical.

Went to JLS' last ever tour date with my sister.

So that is my year (2013) in pictures, it's great to look back at the images you have taken and bring back all the great memories. As I completed an AS level in photography, I think I have definitely got better at achieving nice photos and love looking back at photos taken years ago to see how my skills have developed. Getting an SLR camera for my 18th this year has made me set myself a goal to produce so many more wonderful photographs to be proud of.