Tea and Crumpets at Tsp

You know when your friends show you somewhere that they've discovered and you know that it's just going to become one of your favourite places? This is exactly what has happened!

Yesterday I went to 'tsp', a small coffee/tea shop café in Hanley City Centre and it's quite possibly the cutest most chilled out places I've been for tea in the local area. Way to go tsp! 

It's only a tiny place, but it's jam packed with life. The staff were so lovely, friendly, helpful and chatty (and we had a bit of a boogie with them before we left- far too much energy for a Thursday afternoon)!

Best part is...THEY HAVE TEAPIGS!! Nothing beats that, hands down! And CRUMPETS!? And oh my life, the brownies! Everything about it is just so cute, milk served in milk bottles, tulips on the tables and all of the furniture feels like something you remember from childhood: stools, wooden chairs and cute little tables. 

I started following tsp on Facebook after my visit yesterday (you should go and do that too) and I found out that they actually do 'suspended' coffees. This is where you pay for a drink so that someone in need of one can come in later and have one for free. I love this idea, and as someone who works in a soup kitchen, I know how much that can be apreciated! 

Yesterday I didn't even know this place existed and now I have a feeling that it'll be my go-to coffee (well tea) and cake fix! In fact, I had such a lovely time, I went back there today (so cringey going back somewhere two days in a row, but I don't care) and had a really chilled tea meeting with some friends. They're going to be seeing a lot more of me! If you're in Stoke-on-Trent, then go and check it out! 

Tried and Tested- Homemade Easter Rocky Road

I freaking love rocky road- like really really love rocky road! I always knew it was super easy to make at home, but I'd never gotten round to try to make it, and then I saw a picture of rocky road made without cherries, but with mini eggs instead! And that was it. It just had to be done. 

I employed the help of my gorgeous friend Holly, because we're both as barmy for Rocky Road as each other! So together we went to tesco, bought the ingredients for our Wednesday treat and got started! 

We win at life right now! 

Look at that!! 

Here's how to make it.

You'll need :

-750g Milk Chocolate

-100g Mini Marshmallows

-400g Digestive Biscuits

-3 packs Mini Eggs (we actually used the Smarites Eggs, but you could use whatever you fancy)

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water. This melts the chocolate gradually. (I guess you could probably do this in the microwave, but we love being awkward)

2. Break the digestive biscuits into small pieces (we did this in a bag with a rolling pin). Remember you're trying to break the biscuits into pieces and not completely into crumbs, or that sort of defeats the object. 

3. Mix the marshmallows and Eggs into the biscuits in a large bowl.

Hello blurry hand! 

4. When the chocolate is completely melted, add it into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix together until all of the biscuit is covered with chocolate.

5. Spoon mixture into a tray of some sort, we used a flan tin and a casserole dish, both lined with baking parchment. (We are obviously the Queens of improvisation) 

6. Put your trays into the fridge to set! 

And then...ta da! After an hour or two the whole thing will be set and ready to eat! 

TOP TIP: Do NOT eat this straight out of the fridge because the whole thing becomes so hard that you could probably break your teeth on it. However when left to come back to room temperature then it's perfectly enjoyable to take a bite into.

Hope you enjoy this little treat, me and Holly certainly did. In fact we filled in the hour of waiting for the rocky road to set with jumping around in the conservatory to Busted! So all in all, definitely a productive day! 

Little Bears, Illness and Tea with Jam and Bread

•There's nothing better than spending a morning cuddled in your dressing gown when you're feeling poorly. My mum bought me this dressing gown with ears for Christmas and I was so happy. I love pottering around the house like a little bear in a morning.  

•Someone was interested in my breakfast as soon as I did it. She's so cute, I can't tell you how much I love her! But I do feel like she's always more interested in me when I'm having food. 

•But strawberry jam on toast...I don't blame her.

•Say hello to Nigel the box of tissues, genuinely my best friend today! When you're feeling ill but can't just take the day off, I am a strong believer that you should have your own box of tissues with you at all times. It saves from mad dashing to get some when you need it. 

•Something quite funny happened yesterday, I had been looking at Teapigs on the internet and toyed with purchasing a few boxes, but eventually decided that I didn't need more tea bags. And then when in tesco, I saw some boxes of teapigs reduced down to £1.13! So naturally it would be wrong not to buy them. And these Spiced Winter Red teabags were AMAZING! It's a rooibos red tea with orange peel, cinnamon and cloves and a really gorgeous warming treat!

•This was my little study set up when I got to college. Oh deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. Please note Nigel sat on the left hand side of this picture. 

•Twice in one day someone made a comment about the smell of my hair. And that's not in a bad way. One of my friends said 'Can anyone else smell Parma Violets?' and it was actually my hair! More specifically it was the shampoo I use on my hair! And here it is, this is it... 

•Today was not a bad day actually, despite the illness. I managed to get an early night, I cuddled down in bed with my candles (obviously I blew them out before I went to sleep), a cup of peppermint tea and some Mary Portas on the telly. Not a bad way to round off the day methinks. 

6 Important Things I Learned from My Mum

My mum is the single most important person in my life. She's my best friend, rock and psychiatrist all rolled into one! I honestly don't know where I'd be without her, and everyday I remember just how lucky I am that she's around. As Mother's Day has just passed, I thought that I would collate some of the gems of wisdom that she has bestowed upon me during the last 20 years. Love you Mum, thank you for being amazing! 

1. 'Buck up and be a rabbit' 

I'm never 100% exactly sure what this means and why a rabbit is so significant, but all in all it's about picking yourself up, brushing yourself off and carrying on. She says this all of the time to me when I get down or are having a struggle with things and it always makes me smile: even if it is just because it's quite a funny phrase that she says. 

2. Familiarise yourself with DIY! 

My mum is an enormous advocate of not having to depend on anyone else for anything that you need. That includes painting, wallpapering, putting up shelves, tiling walls and fitting kitchens. She has always encouraged, and often taught, me to do all of those little (or large) jobs that many people need the help of someone else to do. She's pretty much superwoman! But going forward I feel confident enough to face flat-pack furniture single handed, re-decorate a room and hopefully in time I'll be able to do all of the crazy things like remodel the kitchen or bathroom! 

3. How to write a damn good letter/email

This is something that I think I'm actually quite good at, phrasing correspondence with between people is something that I would class as a skill of mine. The ability to just trail off contents for letters and emails is something that I've definitely gained from my momma! Whenever I was stuck on how to write something I would always query it with my mum and within a few minutes I'd have a fully functioning 'ready to go' letter or email that says exactly what I want to say. 

4. The best revenge is a smile!

She was bang on with this one. Whenever someone has tried to get you down, alls you have to do is smile, it makes you feel better and it makes them question whether they've hurt you at all (even if you just want to consume a whole tub of Ben and Jerry's and cry uncontrollably inside). We used this one when me and my first boyfriend broke up, for about an hour I was inconsolable, until mum broke out the girl power music and told me just to smile. So I went back to school the next day and smiled nonstop. She was right it drove my ex absolutely crazy because I was 'supposed' to be moping and sobbing over losing him and yet I was beaming from ear to ear. And I'm not going to lie, I felt incredible! 

5. Rise above it.

This is one that I have to call upon all of the time. Mum has always taught me to try to take the most adult approach, brush off childish arguments and silly comments. It's one I'm still working on because I take things far too much to heart and I let things affect me far too often. But it's getting there.

6. You can do anything! 

The biggest lesson that my mum has taught me is this one. She has always been an enormous source of encouragement for me and has always pushed me to dream big and achieve big! My mum is my biggest critic but also my biggest fan! She just wants me to do well, she offers me advice and ideas of where I can do even more and congratulates me when I have done good. She inspires me, pushes me to go further and picks me up when I've been knocked down. Everyday I have the courage to go out and follow my dreams because she has given me the confidence to do that!

Way to go Mum, you're the best! 

Happy Mother's Day! 

That time I got upgraded to First Class...

So that actually happened...I win! 

Here's my little view on the train- living life as the other half lives. Quiet, spacious and more than enough room to stretch out my little legs. It was lovely. I now have a new ambition in life- to do well enough for myself to be able to travel First Class as a standard thing. 

I didn't tell people that it was my birthday or anything (not that it would have worked) but actually it was merely that someone else was sat in my reserved seat. For most people, this wouldn't be an issue, however for me a naturally extremely dithery person anyway, laden down with a suitcase and very heavy tote bag for my weekend down in Surrey, it was proving difficult to pluck up the courage to cause a fuss. But I was just about to ask the lady to move when the train's boss man came round checking tickets, he asked if anything was wrong and I told him what had happened. Instead of him asking the lady to move, he said 'I know where there's a free seat for you' and wrote on the back of my ticket 'go to first class'. 

And there we have it, that was the time I got upgraded to first class! I will of course be sending the train company a letter thanking them for their lovely and unexpected gesture. I would like to thank the lovely man on the train (think his name may have been Alan) for moving me, and thank you to the lady on her kindle sat in my seat, because without you this would never have happened. 

Blimey, this is sounding like an Oscars' speech! 

How to Sparkle Brighter- Thursday Inspirations

Sometimes life sucks balls and we all feel a bit low. Sometimes we all need a bit of a pick me up to get us through the day (chocolate is always a good bet). And sometimes we read something that inspires us to be better than we are right now. If you're in need of a bit of a boost then feel free to share in my favourite inspirational quotes of the moment, I know they've been helping me through a time of feeling lost, feeling defeated and constantly comparing my own achievements to those of others and thinking that I'll never manage anything as amazing as that. But if you're thinking like me, then you're wrong, so 'buck up and be a rabbit' (my mum says that, force of habit).

-Live Your Everyday Extraordinary

Let's start with this one...I first read this and it imeadiatley struck a chord. If I live an extraordinary life through the small everyday things that I do then who cares if I don't earn millions of pounds, don't find a cure for cancer or don't come in the top 100 at the London Marathon (that gets funnier the more you think about it). I may not be able to boast a ground breaking discovery or wealth beyond compare, but there's more to being extraordinary, and eventually all of these little efforts add up and boom- you have slowly started to lead that extraordinary life that you wanted to. (Or at least that's the plan). What I'm trying to saying, not very eloquently, is that living an extraordinary life is less to do with superficial or materialistic gain, and more to do with constantly achieving small personal goals, constantly growing and constantly giving to others that aren't in the same position as yourself. 

-Don't Be Afraid to Sparkle Brighter

This is an enormous one. I know for one that I am my own worst enemy, and I'm guessing that I'm not the only person. Sabotaging your own happiness and your own ambitions...Guilty as charged? Don't be afraid to do all of those things that you aim to and dream to do, don't let yourself be put off by fear of failure or by fear of pushing others away, if they are genuine then they will completely support you in trying to follow your ambitions and push yourself to be even more fabulous! 

-Have Big Dreams, You Will Grow into Them

A friend once told me: 'if you're dreams don't scare you, then they're not big enough' but I think I prefer this snippet better. It's pretty much the same thing, it's all about having the courage to dream big and aim for the stars. Like they say, if you don't aim high then you'll never push yourself to achieve anything. So here we are, have a dream and let yourself fill those enormous boots, because if we didn't dream big then we'd never give ourselves the opportunity to achieve big. 

-Life Doesn't Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful... 

And lastly, this one is so important. I think of this one when I'm having a crap day, when my hair looks like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards, I have no money until payday, my skin looks terrible, I'm not enjoying college, I feel left behind etc...the list goes on. But it's those times that I have to remember that even when I'm worrying about all of these small trivial things, life is still good and I have to slap myself around the face and remember all of the beautiful bits in life. 

Peppermint Tea, Mismatched Shoes and Rocky Road Fridays!

Obviously today is not Friday...it's Monday. I know, but I thought I'd give you a peak at the antics of Friday! So here's my Friday in pictures! 

•I managed to start the day with a super healthy breakfast. I win! Peppermint green tea and natural plain yoghurt topped with a whole banana and manuka honey! 

•I received the Spring Edit Glamour Box from latestinbeauty.com and it's pretty amazing! 

•After watching 'This Morning' for all of 10 minutes I decided that I wasn't fancying a day at home, so went to visit my good friend Holly! 

•Spot the deliberate mistake! One shoe is size 6, the other size 8. Lesson: always check that both of your primark shoes are the same size! 

•Say hello to Poppy, the soppiest puppy in the world. She did nothing but pester for a fuss and cuddles all day! 

•Freaking amazing Rocky Road...I say no more.

•To round off the afternoon, we popped into the town centre and had a good wander, where we stumbled across this gorgeous little courtyard. How beautiful is that?! 

• This picture pretty much somes the rest of my night. But I'll tell you what, it was fantastic Cava! 

A happy Friday methinks! 

Monochrome Haul: New Look, H&M, Primark and Boohoo.com

We all love a good shop. Well, we all love a good shop when we've actually got the money to buy a few things. So that I did! This is a mix of things from my favourites: New Look, H&M, Primark and Boohoo.com and it's completely accidental that things are very monochrome.

First off I picked up this magazine print jumper from New Look. This is actually my favourite thing right now. I can't take it off! It's slouchy and super soft inside, I love the fit of it and the print on the front is really cute. 

   

Next, these were little things that my mum picked up for me from H&M when we went to Manchester for the day. Thanks Mum!! (Isn't she just the bestest?!). I love the cropped grey jumper, the texture to the grey is really different. However I picked this one up in a medium (when I would usually wear a small) and it is not a great jumper if you want to try to oversize as there is a lot of structure in the shoulders, so if you're looking for something slouchy then it's probably not for you. 

Me and my mum both saw the pencil skirt at the same time and it was just too gorgeous to leave behind. It has a stunning blue and silver kaleidoscope jewel pattern on it and a silver zip up the back. I've been loving wearing pencil skirts to go out in and have been looking for a statement patterned one for a while. 

And finally, I can not tell you how long I have wanted a leopard print cardigan! And now I have one! Yay! I love that the design on this one is quite small and is really easy to wear. I would always team it with a relatively plain outfit so as not to clash with any other print or colours, but it's definitely a new love of mine.

Who can resist Primark fitness wear?...I can't! I actually picked up more than just these two tops (but the pictures were crap). I was obviously channeling fluorescent yellow at the time and picked up the grey crop top and the black racer back top. I was surprised at how good quality these felt and having worn both of them I can say that they are really comfortable and didn't show any scary sweat patches! (Of vital importance of course). I also snapped up two pairs of jogging bottoms and will let you know how I go on with the patterned pair as I'm not sure my thunder thighs can pull them off. Haha.

And lastly, I put a little boohoo order through on payday and went a bit wild. Altogether I only spent £45 on 7 items (bargain) but still, it was a bit wild for me. This is another one where I bought more than I can show you (as the photos were yet again shite)- must try harder. But I thought that I'd definitely show you this basic grey maxi dress. Being only 5ft tall, I've never been able to find a long dress that doesn't drown me, but here it is! This one is from the boohoo petite range, which fits height 5ft 3 and under! Kudos boohoo! 

I also picked up a basic jersey pencil skirt and (another) plain black tube skirt, as well as 4 different tops of varying shades of grey, black and ivory. 

So there we are, a bit of a monochrome haul for you there. Have you picked up any 'exciting' basic pieces recently?