Book Review - Yes, Please

I don't think I have met anyone who doesn't love Amy Poehler. She's funny personified. Parks and Recreation is one of my favourite shows I have ever seen in any genre. I knew this was going to be funny, and I knew I was going to enjoy this book. Is that OK to do? To go in with preconceived notions of how you are going to feel about a book? I dunno, I hate when people approach things already with their minds made up that they will hate it, so how is it different if you know you're going to like something before you start it? Sorry, I started monologuing. What I wasn't prepared for is how wildly different the Amy Poehler I got would be to the one I expected. That was a surprise.

A white, suburban, middle class upbringing in Boston isn't the most exciting childhood to write about and I think Poehler did a lovely, touching and funny job of describing her (pretty nondescript) childhood.

"We never locked our door. I had a younger brother whom I loved and also liked. I thought my mother was the most beautiful mother in the world and my father was a superhero who would always protect me. I wish this feeling for every child on earth."

I really enjoyed hearing all about Amy's experiences coming through the improv scene in Chicago, and the foundation of the Upright Citizens Brigade, a little of which I was familiar with from reading Tina Fey's Bossy Pants a few years back. I also found her retelling of living and trying to make it in NYC particularly funny. It was great to read all about the goings on of SNL and when Amy talked about this part of her career, you could almost feel the electricity.

As a personality, I was expecting a cross somewhere between the sassy Golden Globes host Amy and Leslie Knopes from Parks and Recreation. I wasn't expecting a character full of drug stories and tales of anger management issues - a surprise indeed! It was a funny read, trying to marry this side of her character with moments when she displays utter humanity, love and kindness.

"The only way we will survive is by being kind. The only way we can get by in this world is through the help we receive from others. No one can do it alone, no matter how great the machines are."

Overall it was a very enjoyable read, with lots of poignant moments mixed with moments of pure hilarity. Recommended.

Overall score - 4/5

Christmas in Toronto - trip report

In the air

PRESENTS

It seems but a distant memory now, but only a few weeks ago I was preparing (with my bronchitis in tow) to head off to the cool and snowy climes of Toronto, Canada. My parents live there, as I have mentioned before, and I have visited a good few times before. Notably, once at Christmas in 2012 when the love of my life asked me to be his wife. Toronto is like a second home to me and I love going there so much.

It's such an energetic city, with a lot of heart and kindness, which sounds odd for a city. But, trust me. Go there and you will see. The people make it, and it helps that it's so pretty.

We flew direct with Air Canada Rouge from Dublin, which is great on one hand as we don't have to faff about in London, Amsterdam or Montreal (as we have in the past) and the flight is only 7 hours long. On the other hand, Air Canada Rouge is not the best airline to travel with, somewhere between Ryanair and Aer Lingus, but it is cheap. In all I think our flights cost £690 return (for the both of us). So I can't complain!

We landed to unseasonably warm weather on the 23rd December, the day before Christmas Eve. My parents live downtown, and we got there around mid-afternoon. My brother and his fiancée arrived the evening before us, and were there to greet us as well. It was a lovely day spent catching up, laughing, settling in, going for a swim in the building's pool and a dip in the hot tub, before a lovely wine and dine and an early night ready for Christmas Eve - only my favourite day of the year.

Brookfield Place

We started the day, as is now tradition in our family when we are in TO, with breakfast at Marché in Brookfield Place on Bay Street. We love this place, not purely for the novelty either! The set up inside is amazing - each station is like its own separate market stall, selling its wares. Each diner in the party gets a card, which is swiped when they add an item from that stall. The food is also really good - and particularly the breakfast offerings, though I would definitely advise trying to get there before 10.30am. Christmas Eve was the most magical day. We went to the city Christmas carol service which is held annually at City Hall, before wandering around the shops, visiting the infamous Bay Window and stocking up on mince pies and mulled wine to bring home for the evening. When we got home, we chilled out all afternoon, I had a bath and a read, and headed up for our traditional Christmas Eve supper of Spaghetti Bolognese. (What else?) Dad has a little vegetable patch in the city, and he made his own sauce with tomatoes he had grown there, and Christmas pasta I had brought over for the occasion. We played party games, ate gorgeous food and drank gorgeous wine, before we all changed into our PJs, made mulled wine, laid out all our Christmas snacks and stuck on Elf. It really was the perfect Christmas Eve.

Happy Christmas

Christmas day was a marathon present opening session, and a marathon eating and drinking day. We had all the traditional bits: turkey, ham, three types of stuffing... the dinner of champions, and the one you look forward to all year! We napped, took a nice walk, and did all the traditional Christmas Day things with the family. It was a lovely day.

The rest of the week we spent relaxing, visiting some nice restaurants and bars. We had a great meal at Wurst, which is a German restaurant in the city. They specialise in sausages and beer - so it's obviously amazing. But the star of the show was definitely the duck fat fries on offer, DO NOT PASS THESE UP. Far.too.good.

I love this city, and will definitely be back. We have lovely memories of Christmas 2015.

Toronto on Christmas evening

Toronto on Christmas evening

Winter TBR List 2015/16

So this post is mega late. I should head right back to the start and explain.

The end of 2015 got right on top of me. As you know things were crazy enough that everything was put on hold: my blog, my reading, my weight loss, and I pretty much stopped taking care of myself. I stopped being organised enough to give myself the tools to do that, and let work dominate. As an extra side effect of this, I ended up running myself into the ground, catching a cold, developing bronchitis, and pretty much ruining my life. Enough. Keep taking the vitamins, y'all. And give yourself food your body needs and wants, along with sleep and water.

I digress.

Long and short of it was that my autumn reading list blended into my winter one. So here I am going to take a hatchet, split the two up and tell you what is coming up this winter (let's pretend its November end, shall we?)

Winter TBR

A Kindle read

1. Yes, Please by Amy Poehler
Amy and Tina, Tina and Amy. I Loved Tina's Bossy Pants, so undoubtedly, I'm going to love Amy's book just as much, right? I look forward to witty anecdotes, life advice from a pro at living and lots of Parks and Recreation tales. Winter laughs, please.

Bathtime bliss

2. The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere
It's no secret how much I love a trashy Christmas novel. I schedule one every single year, and this year it's The Christmas Shoes. And the best place to read your trashy Christmas novel? The bath, of course. Wine optional.








3. Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala
I have wanted to read this novel ever since I heard of the Netflix original movie of the same name that was coming out. I love to read the novel before seeing it on the screen, like so many others. My husband has already read this and has prepared me for how difficult a read it will be, so I am looking forward to it. As much as one can look forward to child soldier stories.

4. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
I'm pretty sure this one came on my radar as part of Oprah's Book Club way back. It has been on my shelf (literal, not hypothetical) for the longest time, and this winter is when I am going to get it read! I love a book that has a lot of online presence, so you can read all around it, watch videos on it and listen to podcasts about it. Looking forward to this in 2016.

5. Wake by Anna Hope
Back in 2015, one of my resolutions (and part of my 32 things I want to do before I am 32!) was to read up on both World Wars. I have a really keen interest in history, and I knew very little about these, WW1 in particular. While reading some hard-going history pieces on the time, watching some documentaries and reading magazine articles, I also wanted to make the era come alive through fiction and film.

6. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
In the same way, War Horse is intended to bring the first World War a little to life, and I've also seen the stage show which I loved. Looking forward to this, and I think it will be quite a quick read.

7. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Another of my 32 things to do before I am 32 is to read ten classics. Before I started the challenge, I had never read any classics (that weren't essential in school). I am looking forward to Oliver Twist - a tale everyone already knows, and one with a lot of TV adaptation and discussion to get involved with afterwards.

And there you have it. Only one non-fiction book on the list this season, it's a fiction-heavy list this time! I also think this number of books is quite ambitious for me, so I will try to power through as many as possible before the end of February. Have you any Christmas or winter reads planned for this year? Let me know, I'd love to hear about them!

Slimming World - week 1

I know this says week one, and I know technically it's not my first ever week on the plan, but in order to start back in 2016 with a clean slate and a belly full of nothing but ambition, I am treating it like I am starting again. So week one came and it left. I was really happy with my progress this week, losing 3lbs in total! :)

I don't know whether it's the welcome relief of salads and soups after a glutinous festive period, or whether starting from scratch again made me really stick to the plan, but either way, a 3lb loss is a very welcome thing indeed.

This week was all about getting back to work and back into routine, and as a result I didn't really have many things standing in my way this week. No challenges, meals out or workarounds. Just plain old healthy eating, which is exactly what I needed.

Breakfasts this week were a mix of fruit and yoghurt, with the occasional omelette and eggs/bacon. Lunches were a good mix of salads and soups - my recipe of the week being one of these lunches. (See below) Dinner highlights this week included a wonderful hubby-concocted (and free) Chilli con Carne, while I made sesame turkey meatballs with chilli noodle broth, which I will definitely make again and do a recipe post for next time. They were supremely tasty, really filling and (best of all) very low in syns.

SW Saver - 1.5 syns

Cuppas in the evening with the telly were made a lot easier by my SW Saver this week - Lotus biscuits! If you haven't tried these, drop whatever you are doing and go bag yourself some. They are delicious, caramel-y and heavenly - and only 1.5 syns each, to boot.

My recipe of the week has to be this. It was so good, even my husband didn't mind the fact that I served him a salad. For dinner.

Not a picture of mine, but similar
to how the chicken *should* look (mine did not)

Warm balsamic glazed chicken salad

4 slices smoked bacon, all fat removed
4 chicken fillets
1 rosemary sprig, leaves torn off
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
596g new potatoes, halved
255g cherry tomatoes
Juice of 1 lemon
113g baby spinach leaves

How to
Wrap a piece of bacon around each fillet, secure with a cocktail stick. Place in a shallow bowl with the rosemary leaves and balsamic vinegar, turn a few times to coat and set aside to marinade for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until tender. Cook the tomatoes in a griddle pan until cooked through, turning frequently. Drain the potatoes, place in a serving bowl and keep warm.

Return the griddle pan to the heat, and add the marinated chicken and balsamic juices and cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.

Remove the chicken from the pan, slice and add to the serving bowl.

Add the lemon juice to the balsamic juices in the griddle pan and gently heat through. Drizzle over the warm salad and add the baby spinach leaves. Toss the ingredients together to evenly coat.

Serve.

The only things standing in the way this week are my dad's birthday, which means a cake I will have to try to resist, and a dinner out with friends. Other than that, things should be plain sailing this week, allowing me another good loss (I hope!)

This week's loss: 3lbs
Total loss in 2016: 3lbs
Aim for next week: 2lbs

Movies of 2016 (first half)

2016 is set to be another bumper year for movie lovers. I try to get to the cinema once or twice a week - and inhale my copy of Total Film each month. So, without further ado, here are the movies I am most looking forward to in 2016.

January


The start of the year is usually a great time of year for movie-goers, with award season approaching and 2016 is no different.

The Revenant - Leonardo diCaprio wears a bear for his latest extreme survival movie, due in cinemas in the UK/Ireland on 15th January
The Hateful Eight - We tried to see Tarantino's new movie when it was on limited release in Toronto but it was unfortunately sold out. Really love Tarantino's work, and looking forward to seeing this one.






February

Hail, Ceasar - the new Coen brothers film looks fantastic and has a stellar lineup, including George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson and Tilda Swinton.
Zoolander 2 - need I say more?








March

Zootropolis - Disney (which always will win my heart) has been on a particularly good roll in recent years, with releases like Inside Out, Frozen and, of course, the revival of the Star Wars franchise. Really looking forward to this sweet-looking movie.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - The latest instalment of the Batman series and the first since the departure of Christopher Nolan will be interesting as he faces another superhero.




April
The Jungle Book - Disney's foray into cartoons as live action movies continues with a much darker feel in the Jungle Book. Trailer was particularly interesting. And, you know, Disney.







May

Alice Through the Looking Glass - Another Disney offering in 2016. I really loved Tim Burton's take on Alice in Wonderland, and the trailer for this new movie looks stunning.



June

The Boss - Melissa McCarthy stars as a fallen national treasure trying to win the love of the people again. I have to say, I really like McCarthy and I am looking forward to a laugh with this one.
Independence Day: Resurgence - The sequel to the original Will Smith great will not feature Will Smith *sigh*. But only having seen the original in 2015, I'm looking forward to seeing the next installment.

New Year's Resolutions

Well, hello! It's been a while and I feel like we have some catching up to do. Christmas break was wonderful, I enjoyed some real time out with my loved ones and even though I had bronchitis again over Christmas, I tried not to let it spoil anything too much. My hubby and I spent a lovely week in Toronto with my mum and dad, brother and his fiancée. I will have a trip report for you in the coming couple of weeks with all the things we got up to. Coming back to Ireland was nice, as we got a few days before we were back to work to spend with my in-laws, and of course with our beloved puppy who was staying with family when we were gone, and was well and truly spoiled.

I love New Year. I feel the need here to separate New Year's Eve and New Year as a concept. I hate going out on NYE - much preferring to relax at home and take stock of the past year and the year to come. This year we were invited to a family party, so I didn't get my evening in that I love! But the party was lovely and the craic was good, Sin-é. On the run up to a new year, (concept, not party) I always start reflecting on where I am and where I want to be, like approximately 95% of the rest of the world's population. This year, I have come up with 12 new year's resolutions which I will try to uphold each month, and each month I plan to check in with you and tell you HONESTLY how I am doing with each one.

So, in no particular order:

1. Planner - I have devised a planner on Google Docs which week-by-week will help me sort out everything I need to be doing, what I am planning to eat, etc. There is also space for little gratitudes each day. I intend to spend 5 minutes before getting up and 5 minutes before I fall asleep going over this and making sure I am on track for the next day or day ahead.

2. Time goals - I want to spend more time doing the things I love. I love the movies, and walking my dog, and I love listening to and practising my French and German (which I studied at university and which completely lapse if you don't maintain them - like I have been allowing to happen). I love my magazines and my books, as you know, and I love blogging and want to make more time for it. I have a target of minutes or hours I want to spend doing the things I love and I am going to try to keep up with that each week.

3. Make lunches the night before - In an effort to remain more organised, I plan to have my lunch packed and in the fridge the night before work, instead of scrambling to sort it in the morning.

4. Blogging - within my planner (see 1) I have a dedicated blogging calendar, which I see more as an archive of my life and I really want to keep up with.

5. Exercise routine - I have been extremely lazy in the last year with getting into a routine and practice of exercise. I plan to really address this in 2016, and have completed the first week of a couch-to-5k app from the NHS. It is a really useful tool for complete beginners like me. We are planning to have a gym room in our new house that we will hopefully be building this year, so we may start buying some equipment to fill it this year, so I have no excuses and no places to hide.

6. French and German - As I mentioned, I really have let these lapse. So I intend to spend more time listening to podcasts and reading German and French magazine articles to help me pick them up again.

7. Game of Thrones - I have never really been one for fantasy fiction (with the exception of Harry Potter of course), and I have tried and failed LOTR three times already. Enough, I said at the tender age of 25. Now I'm a little older, I think it's time I gave it another shot. I got my husband the boxset of books for Christmas as he wanted to read them before we joined the 21st century and started watching the series. So GOT is officially on my Spring reading list.

8. Wednesday morning routine - Working at home one day a week throws things in the air a little. I don't have to listen to that alarm telling me to get up so early. I can hit the snooze button and roll over for another 20 minutes. Enough. I want to spend Wednesday mornings getting a run in, doing my blogging and planning the following week in my planner, showering, dressing, breakfasting - all before I start work at 9.

9. Minimise eating lunch out during the week - I got into a lazy and bad habit last year of eating out at work during the week, which can hurt the wallet and the waistline. No more. It comes down to one thing - planning! If I am well organised and plan my meals, this won't happen.

10. Never start a week without a meal plan and groceries - Each Thursday, without fail, I intend to plan the following week's meals and have a shopping list completed and ordered online (to collect free from the store on Friday after work - genius invention). No excuses for eating out, eating poorly or anything of the sort.

11. Swimming - I really love this sport, and used to be good at it when I was younger. I want to take up swimming again, at least once every fortnight, if not weekly.

12. Weight loss - the old demon is still here. I feel a lot more focused this year than trying to lose weight in the craziness of 2015. Time to really focus on hitting target, maybe not hitting target by December, as I have a lot to lose, but I want to be well on my way there.

What are your resolutions? Do you make them? (Do you break them?) I'd love to know.

A little chat

Hi guys

Things have been a little crazy at Basecamp here lately. I am getting zero time for blogging at all! However, be assured this is very temporary and I am already working on my plans for next year.

Please bear with me as I take a little time off to finish off some major projects going on, spend quality time with loved ones, reflect on this year and return next year.

Love C x

October Favourites 2015

So October is upon us, it has visited, frozen us, scared us, entertained us, thrown us back in time by one hour and departed. Here's all the things I was loving in October:

Primed and ready

Favourite beauty product: 
I recently purchased this primer from Max Factor and I have really been loving it. It gives a really smooth finish to the skin before foundation. I tend to do my makeup on the train on weekday mornings, and this has firmly come as part of my morning routine. I put this on first thing as soon as I get on the train, then take 5 mins to scroll through Instagram and let it all settle in.

Favourite music:
I found a band I could really fall in love with this month. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats released their self-titled album back in August, but it didn't come on my radar til this month. It is phenomenal. Nathaniel (I'm guessing that is the lead singer's name) has an amazing, husky, rusky voice with so much soul. The album is a perfect blend of new and old styles, and has a couple of great, catchy tunes. S.O.B is the first single to be released from the album, while my favourite is the first track I Need Never Get Old.

Favourite TV show:
This month we have been getting back into The Americans, watching the second season. We watched the first season a few months back, and really loved it. It is fast-paced and gripping, and I love me some historical fiction. I would recommend a lot!

Favourite movie:
The Martian, for sure. Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, space. Has it all. See my review posted earlier in the month.

Favourite book:
Shock of the Fall - I enjoyed this unsettling book quite a lot, review to follow - stay tuned.

Favourite article:
I read a great article in National Geographic this month, which talked about the recent discovery of a new species of human ancestor - which has been named Homo naledi. I found it fascinating that the discovery of these bones in South Africa has changed the face of human evolution once again, reminding us how far we have come and how small we are.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150910-human-evolution-change/

Favourite new recipe:
The rugby world cup featured heavily in our house this month. Poor Ireland. But during one of their Sunday games, I had family over and made this epic Guinness stew. We won that day. I am not saying we won because I made the stew, but when I didn't make it we lost, so...

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/beef-and-ale-stew/#xmYX5E80dDViFwBV.97

Favourite moment:
Getting unexpected praise for a good job on an article at work. When you work hard and it's noticed, there is no better feeling.

Favourite random thing:
Autumn walks have delivered this month, keeping me and my pup very happy, in nice scenery, wrapped up and dry. Plenty of colourful changes. Love this month.

Learned this month:
Losing your way, giving up on any goal nomatter how small, makes you feel pretty shitty.

Most proud of this month:
The start of the month, I was very very focused on everything.

Looking forward to most next month:
Visiting Oxford and seeing my brother :)

Slimming World weigh in - Week 12

Well hello there, stranger.

No, it's me. Yeah, we used to be friends, SW. Til I cheated on you with every bad food in the world.

It's been a hectic couple of weeks, and really that's an excuse I've been bandying about. I have been awful. I haven't followed the plan, I haven't been exercising, I've been going out. I've not been taking care of myself. Which really isn't cool.

So I fully deserved the 2lbs on that I had last week. Slip ups happen, only this week isn't going too much better. There's a lot of stuff going on as we try to secure a mortgage to build our house at the moment, and I've really let the slightest thing get on top of me. Which is my main issue, and probably why I ended up overweight in the first place. I need some kind of intervention! Send help, and fast.

This week's loss: +2lbs
Total loss in Christmas challenge: -2.5lbs
Aim for next week: STS at this rate!

Recipe post - BBQ pulled pork

Halloween is the epitome of autumn. It's often chilly, dark and there's a magic electricity in the air. Ghosts and ghouls lie around every corner waiting to pounce. So.. don't go out. Stay inside, by a cosy fire, put Strictly on and enjoy this absolute treat of a meal - which isn't too sore on the purse either. This recipe is free on the Extra Easy Slimming World plan, and the wholemeal roll to serve is HEB.

Ingredients:

Sauce doing its thang

• 1.5-2kg pork shoulder, all fat removed
• 5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 500g passata
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 3 tbsp sweetener
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2  In a small bowl, mix passata, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweetener and seasoning. Transfer to a small pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Fat removed, waiting for sauce

3. Once ready, pour over pork joined in a deep baking dish, well lined with tin foil. Make sure all of the meat is covered.

4. Cover the entire tray with tin foil, leaving space between the foil and the top of the joint. Slow roast for approximately 3 hours (check packaging for exact cooking time required).

5. Once out of the oven, shred with forks, the meat should come apart quite easily. Stir in among the sauce on the tray. Serve with wholemeal rolls (HEXB) and a crisp spinach salad, seasoned and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

This recipe was originally for a slow cooker from the Slimming World website, however I have adapted it for a shorter cooking time in the oven. I am SO ANNOYED with myself that I forgot to take a picture of the shredding and the finished product. It really looks (and tastes) great.