Spring wish wear list

Spring, please hurry. I've had enough of the cold, wet, dark days, and I yearn for brighter mornings, chirpier moods, lambs and daffodils! I have trawled some of the high street websites, to find some bright spring pieces I would love this season.

For work

Next - Print Fluted Sleeve Textured Dress - £28
Tesco F&F - Checked Slim Leg Trousers - £18

For chill

Next denim dress - £30

Tesco F&F - Striped wool jumper - £16

For play

River Island Green wrap front blouse - £36

Accessories

Asda - Faux leather jacket in brown - £30

Topshop - Glitter Eye Brooch - £6.50

Movies of January 2016

I think January, I think cold, not going out, saving money. Which are optimum conditions for cinema trips. And around this time of year, when awards season is upon us and everyone is full of Oscars buzz, the cinemas are usually full of really stellar releases. I am starting 2016 with a new monthly series, rounding up all the movies I have watched in the month, some new and some old releases.

The Revenant
We went to see this in the cinema one very cold and wet Sunday afternoon. I was so glad I brought a coffee into the cinema because this film makes you feel COLD. I don't know if I can say anything about this that hasn't already been said. We all know to what lengths Leo went to for this character. We know how arduous the shoot was and how much the cast and director put into it. The bottom line is this story was an amazing story, based on true events, which deserved to be told with the reverence it got. The picture is a masterpiece, the acting sublime and the story stupendous.  My favourite film of January.
9/10


Beasts of No Nation
In January I read this book, preparing to watch it on Netflix. Nothing prepared me for how disturbing the book would be. It tells the story of Agu, whose world is turned upside down when is family are killed in a raid on an unnamed African village following the breakout of a civil war. The movie takes some creative liberties and differs slightly in some plot points from the book, but overall I thought the story was told very dramatically and quite well. I felt less abhorred by the movie than I did the book, which I didn't expect. I think the movie could have been slightly bolder, and could have done more to make the commandant as hateful as he was in the novel. That being said, Idris Elba gives a stunning performance, while the real star of the show was Abraham Attah, who played Agu with unrelenting sincerity.
7/10

The Hateful Eight
I have really got into Tarantino in the last few years, and Django Unchained was one of my favourite films in recent years. So I was very much looking forward to seeing The Hateful Eight, as it seemed a similar genre of movie. I have to say, while I really enjoyed it, it wasn't as good as I had hoped. It may be slightly unfair, as I have different expectations of Tarantino than I would of someone else. I thought the start sequence was too long, and overall I thought the film could have been about 30-45 minutes shorter, and at times felt like a bit of Tarantino indulgence, which I don't mind in smaller quantities but could have done without in this picture. After this though, the script is good, the actors brilliantly cast and the action classic Tarantino.
8/10

Highlight of 2016

Room
If I could reverse time, and do my January favourites after having seen Room, this would have been my favourite film of January. What.A.Movie. I read the book a few years ago, but had really forgotten a lot of the smaller plot points, which was great watching this as everything was a bit more of a surprise. The performances were mind-blowing. How Jacob Tremblay isn't nominated for an Oscar is beyond me. The story follows Ma, who was abducted when she was a teenager by 'Old Nick', as he's known. Everything is told from the point of view of Jack, her five-year-old son, by Old Nick. It's harrowing and it's emotional and very raw. Brie Larson is a real star in the making.
10/10

The Boy Next Door
D and I watched this curled up on the sofa the morning after having been to see Room. I love a thriller and I love JLo, so what could go wrong, you ask? Well, just about everything with this film. Predictable, badly written, badly edited, badly produced and pretty shoddy all round. I don't like panning films, as I know people have worked hard for months at a time on them. So I will end with some positives. JLo is very pretty to watch. She actually played the part very well. .... I'm out.
4/10

Recipe: Rosemary and new potato foccacia

I had planned a special Italian date night with D a few weeks back, and I was determined I was going to try to make my own focaccia bread to go with it. I love baking, like really love baking. Our kitchen is quite small, and I don't really do it often. I have a bread maker, and a few years ago I went through a phase of making all our own bread. But then I got a job two hours away and it put paid to that!

I have never, though, made my own bread by hand. So I thought this would be a good chance to give this a go. And what's better than an Italian bread? I don't want to know.

I found the recipe on BBC Good Food and you can access the recipe here. I really liked this recipe, and it makes a large loaf. (Do you call a focaccia a loaf?) Anyway, point is this makes loads for just two people! You can freeze it, I'm sure though. We kept it wrapped up in our bread bin, and D ate it over the next few days, though it's definitely at it's best fresh.

Ingredients:

250g new potatoes (I used a tin of new potatoes, already peeled for this)
7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
8 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for kneading and dusting
small pack rosemary

Method:

1. Pour 175ml boiling water and 100ml cold water into a large bowl. Sprinkle over the yeast, 1 tsp salt and 2 tbsp olive oil. Mix well, then stir in the flour, adding a splash more water if the mixture feels too dry.

2. Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface and knead for 15 mins until smooth and elastic (dust the surface with a little flour if the dough is sticky), then shape into a ball. Grease the inside of a large bowl with olive oil, then add the dough to the bowl and turn a few times to coat in the oil. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 1 hr or until doubled in size.

Ready to prove

Rising dough

3. Grease a large roasting tin (about 26cm x 35cm) with olive oil and dust with a little flour. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Carefully stretch out the dough to fit the tin, pressing it into the corners. Cut the cooked potatoes into wedges and tuck them into the dough at regular intervals, along with sprigs of rosemary, and scatter a few sprigs over the top. Cover the tin with cling film and leave to prove for another 45 mins. Remove the cling film, pour over 3 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle over a little salt. Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins or until the bread is golden and the potatoes are browning lightly.

Spreading on tray ready for second prove

Adding ingredients and more oil

4. When the bread is cooked, remove it from the oven and quickly drizzle over another 3 tbsp olive oil while it’s still hot. Leave to cool for 10 mins, then turn out onto a board, slice and serve.

Finished product :)

I served this bread as a side to this which was the perfect accompaniment. It was oozy and saucy and perfectly luxe. Also, serve with a nice bottle of red, and a tiramisu to finish. 

Slimming World update - Week 4

I am so surprised! I don't know how and I don't think I honestly deserve it, but I will certainly accept with grace the 0.5 lb loss I achieved this week. In last week's post I mentioned a couple of pretty big nights out and parties I had to go to, and I had some drinks and food that were far from Slimming World-friendly. I find that after big weekends, it can be so hard to get your head back in the game for the rest of the week. A bit of a 'I've already messed it up so much' mentality. I really suffer from that.

Monday night I made a huge pot of poached chicken and vegetable broth from Jamie Oliver's website. You can find the recipe here. This makes so many portions I can't tell you. I froze half of it, which will definitely do some lunches next week. (I think it was my SW saver this week!) Next week is a busy week at work, which is a challenge. Every week presents its own challenges doesn't it? It's all about how you react to those, there will never be a time when those challenges don't exist. So I need to adapt, not them!

This week's loss: -0.5lbs
Total loss in 2016: 3.5lbs
Aim for next week: -1lb