Autumnal Walk Photo Diary

A few weeks ago, my family and I visited the grounds of a local museum. They have a children’s play area and so on. We went on a walk, and it was lovely to observe the seasonal colours. We bumped into a live turkey which seemed very friendly, I think it must have been missing its regular visitors because it was following us about hoping for bits of food. It was quite peaceful, and quiet. I took some photos of autumn leaves, and other things.

Have you been interested in walks at the moment?

Let me know if you have been appreciating the seasonal changes. :-) Xx

Recent Reads Reviewed #29

Paper Girls, Vol. 6 by Brian K. Vaughan - 4/5

If you are new to this series, we follow a group of time-traveling paper girls in a wonderfully, weird dystopian world. The illustrations and colour choices are beautifully done throughout. I recommend it to anyone who thinks they would like to get into graphic novels, as this is where I primarily started. Volume six was wrapped up really nicely. I can’t believe I’ve finally finished the Paper Girls series!

Sunshine and Spaniels (Primrose Terrace Series #2) by Cressida McLaughlin - 4/5

I started and completed the Primrose Terrace series this year and would recommend it to those looking for a quick kindle series. We follow Cat and her move to Primrose Terrace where she sets up a dog walking business. She quickly becomes friends with her neighbours, and romance starts to blossom. Part two was my least favourite, but overall, it’s a beautiful, heart-warming series. Anyone who likes dogs will love this!

The Busy Girl's Guide to Digital Photography by Lorna Yabsley - 4/5

This book is a great starting point to learn more about photography and gain confidence to develop your skills. Important information such as exposure, the big three and other technicalities are included in the first chapter. In the next chapter we move on to portraits, covering different types of people as well as composition. 

Different events are discussed later for example sports, weddings, etc and there’s lots more valuable information as you go through the rest of the book. Topics are explained in an accessible way, and everything is broken down clearly. I found it to be a fun, and interesting read.

Productive Life: Tips for Setting Goals and Being Productive by Scott Thourson - 5/5

This is a concise, profound look at how to be more productive in a work and home environment. It covers types of goals, why goal setting is important, golden rules of goal setting and much more. This was an informative, inspiring read about the psychology of goal setting and how to set goals successfully.

The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up by Marie Kondō - 5/5

This author previously brought out The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying in 2014 and it became a big sensation. I was a little late to the party reading it but it became one of my all-time favourites. I love learning about tidying, and when I saw Kondo had brought out a fictional manga book, I knew I wanted to read it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the story of Chiaki, a young woman in Tokyo with a messy apartment and needing a new direction in life; interesting. This graphic novel is fantastic in its own right, with its own share of valuable lessons to be taken from it. 

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell - 4/5

In this graphic novel we follow Deja and Josiah who work together at their local pumpkin patch, and are seasonal best friends. Finally, seniors, this will be there last season, so they want to make the most of it. The illustrations are wonderful, and the story is well-paced with lots of autumnal vibes. I liked all the autumn snack references throughout for example toffee apples, s’mores, kettle corn, apple cider slushees, and more. 

Live Green: 52 Steps for a More Sustainable Life by Jen Chillingsworth - 5/5

This is a dinky little coffee table book, with a generous amount of knowledge about how to live a greener lifestyle. Everything is covered from home and garden, eating green, slow fashion, natural beauty, a simple Christmas and so on. The book is beautifully presented, and I learnt a great deal from the authors extensive tips. It was a charming, and insightful read overall.

Have you added any of these to your reading list?

Do you have any autumn reading recommendations for me? :-) Xx

Autumnal Baking: Cocoa & Coconut Cupcakes

It’s been a while since I’ve put a baking post up so I’m pleased to be back with one. I was baking quite a bit over the summer and then other things got in the way a little bit. I’ve made cocoa cupcakes a number of times now, and one of my go-to recipes is from my Fast Cakes book by Mary Berry. Cupcakes are easy to whip up in no time at all.

Desiccated coconut is one of my favourite baking ingredients, I just love the taste and texture as well as adding a bit of natural sweetener. I added a small amount of the desiccated coconut to the mixture as well as some on the top of the cakes just before going into the oven. They turned out pretty well, the rich cocoa and sweetness of the coconut came through.

Have you been baking recently?

What is your favourite thing to bake? :-) Xx

Autumnal Baking: Rhubarb Crumble

Crumbles are perfect for this time of year, and one of my favourites to bake as well as eat. If you want to get into the spirit of baking this autumn, a crumble is a good place to start as there is not a lot of preparation.

I’ve been growing my own rhubarb over the summer for the first time, and decided to use it here. You can add so many types of fruit to a crumble, and it you are trying to more economical there’s nothing stopping you using either bought or canned fruit.

This dish went down well in our family.

Let me know what your favourite crumble filling is!! :-) Xx

Star Buds Café Visit & Share #7

Hope you are all well. Today I’m going to be sharing a visit to Star Buds with my family. I’ve featured Star Buds a fair few times now on my blog, and it’s one of the loveliest local cafes I know of. On this occasion I had a decaf latte and an unusual scone which I can’t quite remember what was in it, but it tasted superb. Star Buds Lattes are so rich, and tasty.

I had taken some photos while on our visit. On this occasion we sat in a summer house located just by the main café. It made some interesting shots in the end, I liked the brown tones that came through in the images, and the plants were atmospheric.

Do you like visiting cafes too?

Do you have a favourite café to recommend? :-) Xx

Autumn Bake With Me: Choc & Hazelnut Cookies

It’s soon going to be the beginning of autumn! I love baking this time of year; it’s one of my favourite pastimes all year through but there’s something so cosy about it in autumn.

I’ve done a couple of bake with me posts previously but today I’m sharing chocolate and hazelnut cookies. I used the toll house cookies recipe from Mary Berry’s Fast Cakes baking book as a guide but tweaked it a little, adding hazelnut’s, raisins and swapping sugar to a sweetener.

These cookies came out pretty well, the combination of chocolate, nuts and raisins worked nicely. Also on another note my Mum bought a reusable baking sheet, which I used here; I recommend them if you are wanting to be a little more eco-friendly.

Hope you are all doing okay.

Leave a link to any of your autumn related posts and I’ll try and give them a read.

Speak soon! :-) Xx

Photo Diary P1 | Commondale, North Yorkshire Holiday

At the beginning of autumn my family and I went on holiday to a cottage in Commondale. I thought it would be fun to share some of my photos from then as photography is one of my favourite pastimes. So this is part one of a series, there will be another coming soon hopefully. The three categories I will be sharing with you today are animals, landscape and plants.

We were extremely lucky with the weather while we were away and the cottage we stayed in was just lovely. The scenery was one of my highlights – it was so picturesque. There were many opportunities to photograph landscapes, including just by the cottage as well as a boating and fishing lake nearby.

I have a love for animals and there were certainly a few to choose from to take pictures of including cats, rabbits and sheep. I tried to make friends with the cottage cats and although they were a little shy they were still totally cute. There were also lots of sheep in the field by the cottage too. 

We went for a meal in Castleton and they kept enormous rabbits out back, their size was impressive although it’s not obvious from the photo. Also they had a fish tank which I happily stood by taking some snaps. Lastly I took some photos around the cottage and at the Danby Moor Centre of plants – my interest in this sort of thing has increased since getting into gardening.

I would love to know if you have a favourite photo!

Have you gone anywhere on holiday recently? :-) Xx