Scrumptious EASY cookie recipe

As I write, I am sitting in my kitchen with the yummy smell of cookies baking wafting around me. I have some already cooling on a rack and some more in the oven... HEAVEN!

I just thought I'd share with you a recipe that I came across for truely easy cookies that I came across online and have baked twice now - both with great results.

The recipe I have used is: Jasmine's Easy Chocolate Chip biscuits

Here is a photo of the first batch I tried last week. They don't LOOK massively enticing, but trust me - they TASTED amazing and didn't last long at all. I gave some to my parents, my sister snaffled a lot and I hid 5 to give to my friend for a taste test. I think it's safe to say they went down a treat!

The recipe is slightly vague about things like temp. and how long to bake so I read some of the comments and went for Gas Mark 4 and just baked until golden around the edges, which ended up being anything from about 15 - 25 mins. I prefer to have my cookies with quite a bit of bite so you might want to bake for slighlty less time.

I used the exact amounts from the recipe, I ignored the "cup" of this and "cup" of that and just followed the grams and it worked brilliantly. Don't be scared at how stiff the dough is before you add the egg (it didn't look right to me) because one the egg is added it loosens up a lot.

The only other thing I changed was to leave the chocolte chips out till the very end (after the egg was added). I did this so I could split up the batch and make different flavours from the same dough. You can make anything from 25 - 30 cookies from this recipe, so splitting it still gave me a good amount of each flavour and let me try new things without wasting a whole batch if it didn't turn out.

So far I have tried:

• Milk Chocolate Chip
• White Chocolate Chip
• Milk Choc Chip & Peanut Butter
• Oats & Cinnamon
• Milk Choc Chip & Hazelnuts

They have all been very yummy and approved by my expert panel of testers! haha! My personal favourite is the Milk Choc Chip & Peanut Butter!! I always love that flavour combo anyway and it just works so well with this recipe. I didn't use measurements for the flavourings, I just added what felt right. It is really easy to see what looks/smells right.

If you have any other suggestions for flavours I could try or if you give this recipe a go and love them as much as I do - let me know!

My Saturday Project

I am being a bit lazy today - I can't really be bothered writing a step-by-step guide to what I did so here is a photo version! It is all pretty self explanatory. What I will say is that:

A - it did take a lot longer than I expected to strip it back to the bare ottoman because whoever had it befor me was lazy and kept putting new layers of material over the old grotty one beneath! It was rather disgusting! Safe to say that I found 3 layers of material, a million upholstery tacks/staples/nails and the wadding could have crawled into the rubbish bag with no help!

B - I should have bought a spray primer to layer underneath my matt cream spray paint, but I thought I would have enough cream to completely cover the pink. It was 90% there, but I could still spot bits I wasn't happy with. That being said - to most people it probably would have been ok, but I am a perfectionist. I used a spray paint because I wanted to keep as much of the detail in the weave part as possible. I used normal paint on the inside because it was a lot cheaper and I didn't have enough spray paint anyway. If I had had any spare spray paint - I would have given the inside a light coat to finish to hide any hints of brush strokes.

C - I would have preferred to use a big piece of foam for the wadding instead of loose fibres, but I didn't want to wait another day to finish the project and I didn't have foam in my studio. It doesn't really matter either way, but to make the top more of a seat I think it would have been preferable.

So... I had all the materials (apart from the spray paint, which was £7) already and I bought the ottoman from a charity shop for £3. Do you think it was worth £10?! The only thing I haven't yet replaced was a little handle for the front which I doubt will cost me much, but will finish it off nicely.

One of my FAVOURITE dresses...

Anyone that knows me, knows I love a dress... or two... or hundred! I have built up quite a collection over the years with anything from charity shop finds to vintage, high street to designer making appearances.

This is the first of my favourites from my collection. I will also be showing you an amazing Vivienne Westwood number and a vintage gem when I can find the time to photograph them!

This little number is actually a high street buy from the Pearl Lowe range at Peacocks. I have to say that as far as celebrity endorsed high street ranges go - this was definately a winner in my humble opinion! I have many dresses from the range, but this one in particular works for me everytime. It is a very 40's looking tea dress which is beautifully cut and has lovely little floaty sleeves (hidden by my cardigan), a waist cinching belt and has a ladylike length.

I think the main thing I like about dresses in general is how the outfit built around the piece can completely change the overall look of the dress. This dress I have worn everywhere! I have been to job interviews in it (which were successful I might add - perhaps its a lucky dress), been shopping in it, spent lazy days in it and also dressed it up for a few nights out. It can look anything from quirky retro to quite edgy with the right styling! 

I love how you can were dresses with bare legs and sandals in the heat of summer or layer them up with tights, knitwear and scarves for winter. Belt them, add jewellery or change your accessories to update your look and I genuinely find the right dress THE most flattering and feminine outfit a woman can find.

So here you go - a dress that I love... what do you think?

One of my favourite photographs

This is a photo of my sister, which I believe was taken at her first day at school. I love how shy she looks, the positioning of her feet and the conforting hand popping into shot.

My sister and I don't look anything alike now, but I have a drawing of me from when I was around this age and we look spookily similar.

Hill walking a go go...

Today I went out for my first hill walk of 2012! It also marked the start to my preparation for The West Highland Way which I am walking in August.

Just a gentle walk to kick things off, but with the lovely weather and lots of other walkers it was a great little jaunt. Cheryl and I had planned to take on 2 munros (Mayar and Driesh), but because of time constraints we changed plans and went into Fife to go up the wee East Lomond. We parked down in Faukland and took the steepest ascent we could find which seen us taking on a seemingly NEVER ENDING wooded staircase. This opened out and then we went up the steep side of the hill, above the forest area to reach the summit. It only took about 45 mins to get up, but it certainly got the heart pounding.

It was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning and there were lots of friendly doggies to keep us happy - including an adorable Jack Russell puppy which was a mere 8 weeks old! Cheryl spied it on our way down as it was being carried up in a make-shift sling made my its owner. Basking in the sunshine and enjoying the ride, it looked very relaxed and was super friendly! I wish I had snapped a photo as it really was beautiful, but didn't think until I was further down the hill and I certainly wasn't going back for a snap!

Driesh and Mayar are still on my hitlist for the near future, so I will keep you posted and let you know when I have been. One thing that became apparent today though was a slight issue I might have with my knees. I will get it checked out before I know for sure. I have arthritis in my hands thanks to my basketball days and I just think that maybe my past has taken its toll on my knees also. Fun, fun, fun! :/

Enough of me moaning...

As I mentioned at the start of this post, I am walking The West Highland Way this year with Cheryl and some friends. Most of us are raising money for MS Society Scotland and Cheryl has stayed ever faithful to Cancer Research UK, who she has championed for many years now. If anyone would be interested in sponsoring us, please have a look at our Justgiving page at: http://www.justgiving.com/claire-crystal-jane-katie-nikki/. Anything you could spare would be so much appreciated! It is over 95 miles and we have chosen to tackle it over a 7 day period. I cannot wait to be honest - it is by far the most challenging thing Cheryl and I have undertaken for charity yet!

Here is a photo of us and some of our good friends when we walked Ben Nevis for CRUK a few years ago. Unfortunately it wasn't very clear at the top so you can't see much! I promise we were there!

A girl after my own heart...

Browsing through my Facebook news feed last night, I came across something from the Etsy page which caught my eye... One of a continuing series of interviews with artisans and makers who have managed to "Quit The Day Job". This particular designer was specifically inspirational to me because of the nature of her work. Andi, of Etsy shop hoakonhelga recycles vintage leather jackets into ever so lovely handbags!

Image: Nicole Irene via the Etsy interview

I have to admit that even though I recycle materials myself, I find it hard sometimes to find other recycled goods that I fall in love with. I think the finish on upcycled products can lack and I don't necessarily enjoy the whole aesthetic created by sellers in their shops or online spaces. Having said that - Andi's bags are simply to die for and her outlook on what she does, her passion and the visual representation of her brand are a breath of fresh air! I found reading the article very inspiring!

What I also loved about Andi was her honesty. Following the creative dream is not by any means a bed of roses (as I well know!) and to hear about someone's journey - the good times AND the challenges faced - was reassuring to say the least. Sometimes it is easy to believe that you are the only one who experiences bumps in the road! Please read the full article here: http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/quit-your-day-job-hoakonhelga/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Internal&utm_campaign=Community

One of my favourite designs (of which there are many) is this bag below. A camel brown version of the Tundra design, with the amazing colour of the navajo fabric accent. Priced at $225 (which is roughly £145) I really do think it offers great value for money. Is it an investment piece for some budgets?? Yes, of course. But look at it as a unique piece of quality fashion from a designer which has been handmade with love, a wardrobe staple with character, a bag that will look better and better with age and one that you can dress many different ways/wear year after year!

Whatever you do today, take 5 mins to go and have a look and see what you think! And if any friends/family are reading this... feel free to spoil me with a little gift from Andi anytime!! ;)

Image: Camel Brown Tundra with Navajo fabric via Hoakonhelga Etsy Shop

Folksy offer for 50 FREE Moo cards!

For anyone out there with a Folksy shop, there is a great deal just now with MOO to get a batch of 50 business cards FREE if they have the Folksy branding on them. Click here to be taken straight to the page which explains all about the offer!

I ordered some the other day and they have already arrived! Almost a WEEK earlier than they should have! Hooray! I chose to get the recycled card stock and they have a beautiful matte finish. With postage charge and VAT they cost me a total of £3.30!! What a bargain!