My favourite things

Alas studying for my A Level course and various wedding planning appointments (more on that soon) have meant that I haven’t blogged in quite some time. Did you miss me?

I thought I’d celebrate the upcoming long weekend (5 days for me!) and share a few of my favourite things this week. Enjoy.

1. Comic Book and Superhero Movie mash-ups by Butcher Billy

Image by Billy Butcher

I’m so captivated by these images – they’re just so brilliant.

2. A short history of detective fiction

Sherlock Holmes – Image from Interesting Literature

If you’ve read my blog before you’ll know I enjoy a whodunnit (particularly Agatha Christie).

Learn more about the history of detective fiction with this fascinating post on my friend Oli’s bloomin’ brilliant blog Interesting Literature.

3. Neverwhere

Neverwhere – radio adaptation now available on the BBC website

Neil Gaiman + BBC + James McAvoy + Benedict Cumberbatch = Perfection

Listen to BBC Radio 4′s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere on the BBC website now.

4. Video games

Lego Batman 2

Nial and I have been obsessively playing Lego Batman 2 on the PS3 this week. An immensely playable and enjoyable experience. So many collectables!

Plus Lego Flash is officially the cutest and funniest minifigure ever.

Aww look at him!

However our current obsession is due to come to an end today if my pre-order of Lego City Undercover for the Wii U arrives. Eeeee!

Lego City Undercover

Lego + Open World game + Muchos Collectable + Voices by Adam Buxton & Peter Serafinowicz + Very happy Emma

Update to follow next week!

5. Book vending machines!

Book Vending machine

It’s the dream. Read all about the history of them on the Huffington Post.

6. The Great Gatsby

This weekend I’ll mostly be trying to justify repeated viewings of the latest trailer for The Great Gatsby as revision for my A Level. Reckon I stand in good stead. 

7. LOL of the week

The Walking Dead and Toy Story are the SAME!

The Walking Dead + Toy Story = EXACTLY THE SAME

You’ll be surprised.

My weekend in pictures

I have had a bad cold on and off now for what seems like forever (at least since January!) so this weekend was mostly spent indoors (apart from a trip out for a medicinal hot chocolate!). This meant lots of crafting and lounging around in PJs which I’m ok with.

My red velvet cupcakes were in the Nottingham Post Weekend magazine – woo!

We framed some silly pictures we had taken in a vintage photobooth at our friends wedding

I love this hat!

Nial put my new hooks from Dot Com Gift Shop up for me. So pretty!

ArtWorks Beeston have a great selection of embroidery fabrics – I bought some navy and silver sparkly fabric for upcoming projects

Lots of DMC thread in ArtWorks on Chilwell Road, Beeston

Sunday night cross stitching

Can’t wait to finish this PixyStitches patterm – just the black thread to go

I crafted our wedding bits and bobs box!

Marking the Oscar prediction competition I run at work

My favourite things

1. Currently reading – The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

I started reading The Handmaid’s Tale for WI Book Club and unfortunately I didn’t manage to finish it in time but I’m struggling to put it down at the minute. Gripping. It’s my first Margaret Atwood book actually and I’m really not sure how that has happened.

2. Party Rings

Party rings. Yum.

Party Rings aren’t vegetarian and they are certainly not healthy but I’ve been feeling ill this week and these have saved my life

3. Mottmott the hugging monster

Mottmott the Hugging Monster

I came across Mottmott the Hugging Monster on The Infinite Curio and I just fell in love. Look how adorable he is?!

I now need to improve my knitting so I can make him.

Mottmott the Hugging Monster

4. Felicity

Felicity – my latest addiction

I have recently discovered the 90s American tv show Felicity on Netflix and I am unashamedly addicted. I ship Noel & Felicity. Ben’s cute but come on…

5. Saga

Saga – Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Recommended by my friend Tara, I read Saga vol 1 last week and… wow. Stunning artwork, beautiful wistful narration and just… great. Read it!

6. Ni Nu Kuni

Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of the White Witch

I recently treated myself to this new Japanese RPG game on the PS3. It couldn’t be any more perfect for me as a game. The main character has a welsh sidekick. It’s good stuff.

Studio Ghibli animation + Level 5 (makers of the Professor Layton series) = emiliahearts happiness

7. Fondant stars cake

Fondant Stars Birthday Cake from bakearama

Isn’t this one of the most stunning cakes you’ve ever seen? I might make this for my boyfriend’s 30th. See more pics and the recipe on bakearama.

Revisiting Sliding Doors

Sliding Doors (1998)

Last night me and my boyfriend decided to watch the 1998 (eek!) hit film Sliding Doors (after our usual feature film length heated discussion on what we feel like watching and eventually coming to a mutually acceptable conclusion).

Having both not seen the film for ages we had forgotten a lot of stuff including the number of completely jarring American references in the film.

Here are a couple of examples:

Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) remarks to her inquisitive friend: “They have less questions than this on ‘Jeopardy’”

Russell friend of terrible boyfriend Gerry comments that “I must say, being friends with you certainly makes the wait for the next episode of “Seinfeld” much easier to bear.”

I’m sorry… say what!?

I used to watch the American version of the game show Jeopardy on Sky in the early 00′s and there have been a number of UK versions but these never really took off.

Also, whilst I love Seinfeld as much as the next box set obsessive, it wasn’t very widely watched in Britain partly due to erratic scheduling. Russell would have had some wait in the late 90s without online episode streaming and on demand services!

Obviously all of these make sense when you consider that the film would have been marketed to an American market but it is set in the UK and Gwyneth is doing her British-thing so it really feels forced for me – even with the multitude of Monty Python references.

I’ll let them get away with the Baywatch reference though – that’s universal.

/rant

My fortnight in pictures

I’m afraid I’ve been a bit slack in blogging over the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately I came down with a cold that really knocked me for six and I could hardly face looking at a screen let alone blogging. Sorry about that.

Anyway to make up for it (sorry readers!) here’s a bumper edition of my weekend in pictures!

Around being ill I did manage to squeeze in some wedding venue and village hall visits (including one pretty impressive road trip covering 10 venues in one day!).

We mostly focused on venues outside of the city including village halls and then big venues like Colwick Hall, Woodborough Hall and the Carriage Hall at Plumtree (we’ve attended a wedding venue here before).  I forgot to take photos of some venues so I’ve used some of their official ones.

Colwick Hall

Colwick Hall

Woodborough Hall

The Orangery at Woodborough Hall

Rempstone village hall – more modern than a lot of places

Nial and his dad walking to Cropwell Butler village hall

Wysall and Thorpe village hall

Whatton in the Vale Jubilee rooms

Peter the cat at Whatton in the Vale Jubilee Rooms

Whatton in the Vale Jubilee rooms

Whatton in the Vale Jubilee rooms

Village hall

Little garden in front of the village hall at Cropwell Butler

Little garden in front of the village hall at Cropwell Butler

Hoveringham village hall – super cute village

Hoveringham church

Very pretty front of Burton Joyce village hall

Stumbling across a vintage, retro and craft fair at Burton Joyce village hall

Burton Joyce village hall vintage fair

Our new typewriter!

Our new typewriter!

Nial and me at our friend’s wedding reception at Thrumpton Hall

Our cold-fuelled shopping trip – ice cream, matchmakers and medication!

Our new Rob Ryan plates – an engagement present!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Love

Here’s my (belated) entry into the WordPress photo challenge from a couple of weeks ago on the topic of ‘Love‘. Be warned – It’s a bit of a soppy one…

I completely missed this topic last week but when I noticed it yesterday I knew I had to post about it. The sample image they used on the blog was of the Pont Des Arts in Paris - the bridge where me and my boyfriend got engaged just before Christmas. We were one of the couples who affixed our lock to the bridge and threw the key into the river. Yes it was a public proposal but to be honest, I don’t think anyone would have noticed.

That moment was so important to us both and whilst I don’t remember everything he said or even everything I said, I remember strongly what it meant to me and how I felt. It was a lovely, perfect moment and that bridge will always be special for us.

So my photo on the topic of Love has to be the following:

Just engaged!

It is not the best image in the world but it’s certainly my favourite – it’s one of the first photos we took of us after getting engaged. Simply to me this photo means happiness and love.

My first red velvet cupcakes

Let the frosting begin…

Last night I made my very first batch of red velvet cupcakes from the extremely popular Hummingbird Bakery recipe. I had made a batch of red velvet whoopie pies in the past which didn’t go brilliantly so I was a bit nervous but determined to proceed.

I’m making the cupcakes for a cake club we have at work – Cake Thursday to give it it’s actual name! I had considered making my friend Kerry’s Rainbow Cake but as there are almost 20 people in our cake club now – I needed something that would go far so cupcakes it was.

Red Velvet Cupcakes out of the oven

After a few difficult decisions regarding doubling the quantities (how do you double 2 large eggs when you only have medium? I went for 5 and it seemed to work pretty well) I was pretty pleased with how the sponge worked out. I then managed to persuade Kerry to come round and help me with frosting with the promise of cake and tea. I haven’t got a brilliant track record with cream cheese frosting but this seems to have worked out well. I’m actually really proud of them.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting

They certainly passed the Kerry and Nial test but will they pass the Cake Thursday test? Only time will tell…

Where can I find the recipe?

Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days

I used the recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days book which you can pick up quite cheap now (it’s only £4.99 from The Book People) but the recipe is also available in the first Hummingbird Bakery book and on various different websites. Again my lovely friend Kerry posted about using the recipe on her blog.

Hints and tips

I doubled the standard recipe which gave me A LOT of mixture – I easily made 30 cupcakes but only needed the standard frosting quantity. Thankfully I was persuaded to not make a double batch of this!

In all the Hummingbird recipe books it advises to use the Dr Oetker red food colouring but please note this has now been discontinued. I followed Kerry’s advice, well public service announcement really, and used lots of the Sugarflair Christmas Red which worked perfectly. I do have the new Dr Oetker gel in so I might have to try this and see what the effect is but some natural colours can produce brown cupcakes rather than red. Has anyone else used the gel or other colourings?