Hello Friday

Here comes the weekend. My oh my April is nearly over and summer seems to be making an appearance here in the UK - Please stay Summer! So it's the weekend and here we go....

 

Less than two weeks until we go to Italy, tres excited! We are staying with my friends out there and I can't wait to show H one of my most favourite places on earth

Speaking of holidays you know you are a food blogger when your friend sends you descriptions of recipes when he's halfway across the world. It ends up in you making a rather awesome Thai salad though. Try it - so fresh, so healthy

 

H is away this weekend which means I am having some sister time, some friend time, some in-law time and some quiet time to myself. I love spending time by myself, It restores me and just makes me happy.

Just like I talked about reading a lot of articles on relationships last week, I have also been reading a lot about the choice on not having children. It's something I think about a lot. Maybe one day I'll do a post about it. When you love children as much as I do and are good with children like I am I think its really easy for people to assume that you want children of your own. I'm totally undecided on the matter but articles like this, this and this make me think. Oh, and to all you Mama's out there trust me I have so much respect and your job is an awesome one I am in no way anti motherhood, I just think it's good to look at both viewpoints and to acknowledge it can be a choice.


I've finished reading The Ice Twins by  S. K. Tremayne which was pretty blah and had a rubbish ending. I'm now on to The Good Girl by Mary Kubica which I'm really enjoying so far!

 

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with the girls at The Farmers Wife and September Farm for 

All the Friday Feelings

These shoes are probably my favourite purchase of my summer wardrobe so far. I love lemons and to wear them on my shoes makes perfect sense. Well to me anyways, 

Happy weekend. It's been nice to have a short week and it's nice that spring seems to have arrived in Kent, it feels like the winter has lasted long this year. Some suggestions for your weekend if you are short of things to do....

How about baking some desserts: this one is good as is this

Some really really interesting articles on relationships and marriage can be found here, here and here. I'm a bit like a sponge when it comes to reading things like this at the moment. H and I seem to be going through the stage where everyone keeps asking us "when are you guys going to get married?" and I read articles like this and wonder why we would change something that works so well and yet at the same time I like to think I believe in marriage and maybe we would be the ones to break the cycle.... who knows for now I'll just keep on reading, lets just call it research!

I'm almost finished reading Us by David Nicholls and I've downloaded this to read next. Can't get enough of reading at the moment - makes my commute much more bareable 

Shopping for summer clothes is my favourite thing to do at the moment. I'm loving this playsuit from M&S and I really feel like I need these in my life too. Questionable trousers are my jam.

Alfresco dining for the win - try making these 

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with the girls at The Farmers Wife and September Farm for 

Currently........

{Source}

Firstly big thanks to Pinky! for the inspiration for this post! I had no idea what to write about today and saw her "currently" post so figured I would do one of the same - check out her post here

Reading - I've just finished Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Hawking. I downloaded it to my Kindle after seeing the wonderful British film The Theory of Everything. Both Felcity and Eddie deserve Oscars for their performances they were great!  I'm now starting on Committed: A Sceptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert, because I loved Eat Pray Love and lets face it I can be a bit of a marriage sceptic. All a bit of a departure from my usual fiction but I'm enjoying them! 

  

Buying - A couple of David Bowie CD's for H - Nothing Has Changed and The Next Day. Also the ingredients for a Lemon poppy seed cake that I have been developing a recipe for.  

Hating - going running in the cold but feeling very proud that I am sticking with it!

Wanting - to be back in the cosy cottage in Norfolk with the roaring fire.... along weekend is never long enough! But very grateful that we have the opportunity to return in the summer!

Hoping - to continue to build on my running and that soon i'll be making 5k runs look like childs play (we can dream can't we)

Listening - BBC Radio Two at my desk at work. And pretty soon i'll be listening to some David Bowie methinks!

Watching - Spiral - a french police drama that I have recently become obsessed with, since I've started on season 5 I think I'm going to have to purchase the previous seasons on box set. Also Wolf Hall mainly because Damien Lewis and Mark Rylance are two of the finest British actors on TV at the moment and also because since I studied Tudor history at school it has been one of my favorite periods to learn more about. 

Devouring - after a weekend off (having a lovely break in Norfolk) I am now back to devouring vegetables and protein with very little carbs or dairy!

Drinking - All so water....so.much.water.

Loving - my Papermate Flair pens and Pentel sign pens - stationary porn and all that! And my new running trainers - thanks H!

Feeling - a little tired, content and better for having eaten better the last couple of days! Cheese is my love but not my friend!

Wishing - for a spiralizer! I feel like I need one in my life *HINT*

Linking up with the lovely Miriam for the "Lets Grow Together" series - Welcome to my blog!

Finding my stride...... {Week 2 Couch to 5K}

Week two of couch to 5k is complete! And when I think about it the fact that I have now done six runs in two weeks makes me feel pretty accomplished - I'm coming from nothing here guys! I found this week pushed me harder but getting into my groove was a lot easier. There's a repetitiveness to jogging that this week I started to fall into - where you don't even think about your breathing you just concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other... I just can't wait for the day when I can do this for even longer periods of time! 

Bought myself some new running gear and H bought me a new pair of running trainers so I'm all ready for week three! Bring it on! 

I am NOT a natural runner...........{week one couch to 5K}



What a great opening to a blog post! Source:here

One of my "owning my 2015" goals was to run a 5k and another was to loose weight. I am on a pretty strict diet which I actually seem to be sticking with and so far I've lost 8lbs. I've been going to yoga classes to help with toning and I've been swimming once a week. I have also been running....GASP. Anyone who knows me will know that this is a shocker because I am not a natural runner. Oh no I am not. All those ladies you see jogging along in cute outfits and sweatbands, barely breaking a sweat? Well I'm not that lady, I'm the one bright red and panting away after a couple of steps. I'm not sure I'll ever master the graceful running thing, mainly because,you know, I'm trying desperately hard to remember to breath! But lovely readers at least I'm running.  

Source: iTunes

This is not a sponsored post at all but I could not to it without my Change for Life couch to 5k app. I've long been a fan of the Change for Life scheme (God bless our NHS) and the way it promotes a healthy lifestyle that can be adapted by the whole family, and this app is just one of the great initiatives they have. I just love the encouragement the lovely lady gives you (it's nice to read her story too) and the way it gives you gentle nudges but doesn't patronise you. Plus I can listen to my music whilst I run as well. Tracking my progress is the only thing that keeps me going and this app suits me perfectly.

I have done my three runs this week and I am actually quite surprised at how enjoyable and not too tricky I found them. two of my runs I have done with my fitness buddies Danielle and Rhiannon at the park and yesterday I did my first run by myself. It was also my first run on the pavement (sidewalk) and I did feel the difference. I did find that I pushed myself a bit harder by myself (I ended up jogging an extra 5 minutes) and I quite liked being alone with my thoughts BUT running with friends is great motivation.

SO my first week was surprisingly enjoyable - wish me luck for week 2!

Any of you runners? Any tips you can give me? Especially for the aches the next day?

Today I'm linking up with the lovely Miriam at Farm girl

The best plan is no plan....... {Unplanned tapas}

"sometimes the best plan is no plan" 

H says this to me a lot. He hates plans he likes taking things as they come where as I'm probably the exact opposite. But then opposites attract. We went round to my friends Pete and Charlotte's yesterday and the plan was just to chill out and play a few board games (dry January strikes again) and Char was going to dye my hair. Instead it was her sister in laws birthday and her family were round as well and we ended up dancing in the kitchen with utensils as microphones (and yes, this was all not fuelled with alcohol although others present may have been a bit tipsy). 

Charlotte and I decided to feed people because that's what we like to do so after raiding the fridge and freezer a table of tapas was produced. There was paprika chicken with peppers and hallomi, chilli and garlic prawns, chorizo in red wine and an amazing salad with avocado, roasted tomato and parma ham. All made from scratch and   And what a table it was. I am proud of our table it fuelled even more dancing, laughter and lots of love. Food does that - enhances an already great evening.

It's Friday and here are my 5 things....

One 

I have purchased all of my Christmas presents - which must be a record for me. Plus last weekend H got most of his which is surely a record for him! So I feel smug. Then I stop feeling smug when I look at the mountains of presents I have to wrap. I have a bit of a tradition whereby I stick on Love Actually, pour myself a glass of wine and spend the evening wrapping up my gifts. I try and keep it as peaceful and as calm as possible!

Two

I have also ordered the Christmas meat - a ham and a turkey. I always want to try goose but then I worry that if people didn't like it then Christmas dinner would be ruined.  I have to confess I don't cook the feast itself - my brother takes on that challenge and he is AWESOME at it.... I will be making these for the starter / canape - perfect with a glass of champagne! 

Three

Check out these vibrant colours! I went a bit Mexican this week and shared some fresh and easy recipes for fish tacos and courgette quesadillas - check them out! Anyone else created something ace in their kitchens this week?

Four

(Not on the High Street)

I've been thinking about my Christmas outfit this year and is it a bit odd that this is by far my favourite thing I've come across. And its for kids. Man, I love petticoats and I love stripes! Even the pigtails I feel are inspired!

Five 

(New York Times)

We are going to my friend Lulabelle's for a Christmas party on Saturday and I am taking ingredients for a Christmas Cocktail - the one I have linked to uses pomegranate but I will make it with cranberry juice. 

1 part cranberry to 2 parts prosecco with a squeeze of lime. 

I'll also make some ginger fizzes:

piece of stem ginger, 1 tsp stem ginger syrup topped up with prosecco

Christmas is well and truly on its way! 

So many Friday link ups! Happy to be linking up with these lovely ladies!

A week away......

H and I had a lovely week away staying in Norfolk in a little cottage by the sea which was lovely and peaceful and relaxing. Now I am back at work and have so much to do! so this post is just some photos of our time away, oh how I wish the time hadn't passed by so quickly!  

As you will see we did lots of eating on this trip! 

To My Birthday Boy

Dear H

So it's your birthday and your another year older and the age gap between us widens that little bit more for a few months at least...... 

a year ago today we were still at the very beginning of our adventure together - look at us now, living together and about to let a cat into our lives..... who'd have thought it although I think we both knew how we wanted our story to develop

I'm so proud of you for getting your promotion recently and I'm excited for you as you start your new job when we get back from holiday..... You work so hard and I'm pleased your talents are being recognised

I can't for this week off we have together and I'm so looking forward to our mini break to the cottage in Norfolk, lots of walks, cozy nights in and visits to traditional pubs! I think we are both so ready for some R&R .........

I love celebrating your birthday because it's a celebration of the kindest, most handsome, special man I know........it's not a lie that everyone we meet loves you and i know how very lucky I am that you made the choice to love me.......... love is a choice and for us it wasn't the most obvious choice but the best decision i ever made was to persuade you to give me a chance - to look beyond the age and see the possibilities in store for us...... 

so thank you my darling one, thank you for loving me the best and for your patience with me as I adjust to this new period in our relationship......thank you for bringing me a cup of tea every morning........thank you for always being on my team and being my number one supporter.......thank you for endless cuddles and kisses....... thank you for taking me on walks and buying me red wine......thank you for embarking on dry January with me.......thank you for making me laugh every day and ironing my clothes.......thank you being the person by my side. 

I truly am the luckiest girl to have found you. 

Happy Birthday, I love you. 

R  

Blogtober Day 22 : My Pet Peeves.... {rant ahead}

Confession: I am a pretty irritable and impatient person. It's funny because even though I like to think I'm pretty chilled out and calm about life in general I definitely have things that I get abnormally irritated by. H also says I have a time limit on my patience - if he starts to exceed it I will just take over. I say if you want a job done well, do it yourself.

Here are just a few of the things that wind me up:

1. Chewing with your mouth open. It's disgusting, it makes you look ugly, just stop.

2. Talking loudly on the phone when on a train. I don't care that "what Cheryl said to Paul was so f**cking amazing babe", I don't know you, I don't want to know your business, Shut Up. 

3. Vague Facebook status updates oh just spit it out or shut up 

4. Friends who don't put kisses at the end of texts. A text with no xxx at the end, is a text with no soul.

5. LOL, if i think what you say is funny I may just laugh out loud but please don't ever tell me too. 

6. And whilst we are at it ROLF, WTF, YOLO etc these are not cute, they are not clever they are just annoying, lest we forget! And don't even get me started to people who actually say it as well as write it 

7. People singing in American accents when they are British oh how I roll my eyes at this 

8. Not sealing food up properly so it goes stale H is THE WORST at doing this - it drives me bananas

9. Background noise when I'm trying to concentrate When I am trying to watch something/ concentrate on cooking etc and I can hear someones TV or people walking about in the flat upstairs I just can't cope with it. I like peace and quiet but so rarely get to experience it

10. Selfishness  I've just spent three and a half hours listening to you talk about your boyfriend's sister who just bought a puppy, after cooking you dinner and sharing my wine with you; you could at least ask me how my lunch was. 

Lets be honest, now I've started I could quite easily continue.......

What are your pet peeves? 

Linking up with Helene and Taylor for Blogtober!

Blogtober Day 15 : My Favourite Quote

I wrote a post about my favourite quote a while ago now and you're welcome to go back and read my musings about that. It's funny because that quote totally encompassed what I felt at that time and how I felt was mainly to do with the man I was sort of involved with at the time. I love how I said in that post that i knew how he was "the love before the love of my life" and he was readers, he really was.

Times change and so do favourites and now I've got to say that this is probably my favourite quote:

Firstly because it's from such a wonderful author who I loved growing up and secondly because it is just so very true and yet so easy to forget when we self doubt. I look at what I go through, at what people around me deal with, what my loved ones are going through and I always think of these words.  Our ability to cope and deal with situations always seems to surprise us but I think we are all as strong as bears underneath!

Linking up with Helene and Taylor for Blogtober!

Blogtober : Day 9 ........ Best and Worst Halloween

This prompt didn't real inspire me and here's why – compared to America,  Halloween is just not a big deal in the UK. It really isn’t. Sure some people dress up and they trick and treat but not everyone does that and it only tends to be the younger kids.

And here’s  a confession – I have never trick or treated. The curse of being a vicars daughter I guess. My parents were very much “Halloween celebrates the devil” blah blah as we grew up which I think is a bit extreme but each to their own. So growing up Halloween was the worst time for me as all my friends would be dressing up, sorting their costumes and I was never allowed to join in.

I digress..... so, the only time I have dressed up was at the pub I worked in a few years ago and they decided to have a Halloween themed night and being the good barmaid I am I dressed up as a zombie pirate and had a wonderfully fun evening!

Did you trick and treat as kids? Is Halloween a big deal where you live?

Linking up with Helene and Taylor for Blogtober!

Blogtober: Day 8...... { Dear Rachael, aged 38. love Rachael, aged 28}

Dear Rachael, aged 38

What an interesting idea this is writing a letter to you for ten years time. Do you still look at this blog of yours? Have you actually managed to gain more than 13 followers or is this space of yours on the Internet just a distant memory of days gone by? I expect you will be busy running Rachael's Kitchen and writing food columns and articles in your spare time, but it started here kid, it started here.

Is Rudy the cat still alive? Right now I'm still in the process of persuading H but I'm pretty sure that it's in the bag! I hope he was as much as a lap cat as you hoped he will be. 

Mentioning H, are looking down at the emerald on your ring finger? I bet he chose a beautiful one and i expect by now it's joined by a simple band signifying your eternal commitment to him. Did you have a beautiful day filled with laughter, music, good food, prosecco and all the people you and H love?  I bet you cried buckets and smiled until your face hurt.

Do you still tell him every day how much you love him? Because you really have picked a special one there, you still know that right? I hope you still appreciate him because he has really shown you what it is to love and what it is to have a happy and healthy relationship. I hope you have found the balance of independence and sharing your life with someone - you struggle with it a bit now! Appreciate him Rach, never take him for granted, always show him affection and hold him in the highest regard. And remember how you two are the special ones. 

Does someone call you Mama? At the moment your not sure whether this is a possibility but who knows what the future will bring. I pray that all of the pain of the past does not stop you or stand in the way of all you can achieve with family life. How are the siblings? I hope your remember all the time how blessed you are to be a sister and to have them, your loyal team always by your side. Are your nieces and nephews as gorgeous as you expect them to be? I hope you are "cool auntie rah rah" and you have bought them drums to beat really loudly and annoy their Mums and Dads!

You are so full of hopes and dreams right now - I hope that you have fulfilled some of them but still have more to aspire to. I hope that you have become kinder and more patient. I hope you have finally managed to find the right shade of red lipstick. I hope that you are still a good friend and still nurture and nourish those you are around. I hope you have a huge table, around which all your loved ones sit and you bring out plate upon plate of homemade food. I hope your garden and vegetable patch is flourishing and your passport is full of stamps. I hope you have found the perfect pair of brown leather boots. I hope you have learnt to give yourself a break. I hope you have run a half marathon (now there's a thought)! I hope your life has not been too marred by the pain of loss. And if your life is nothing like the one you think it could be right now at 28, I hope that you know that that is okay, that its just fine because as long as you are happy and healthy, all the rest will have written itself. 

Love, Rachael, aged 28     

Linking up with Helene and Taylor for Blogtober!

Blogtober: Day 7...... Io amo l'Italia {Best vacation}

I am lucky to have friends who live in Italy, just outside of Rome, but by the sea. I have stayed with them around 5 times and I am taking H for the first time in May. Every holiday I have there is the best. When you stay with a family abroad I think you get a much more genuine experience and in Italy that experience is amazing; 

long evening meals that go on for hours,

The amazing food and fresh produce,

BBQ's in the vineyard,

making vino with local grapes, 

visiting "a friend of a friends" new pizzeria, 

jamming and singing until the early hours, 

buying fish fresh from the boats.

visiting the beautiful city of Rome where there is something different around every corner 

the open hospitality and love you get from the people who live there

I love Italy and the life I have when I go there, everything tastes better in Italy

Linking up with Helene and Taylor for Blogtober!

Blogtober : Day 6 ....... {10 things you would have told yourself when starting blogging}

white space looks best

your lifestyle posts will always get more readers than your recipe posts

building a following is slow, but fulfilling 

regular posts mean regular readers. stop posting and they drift away

photos make a post, good photos are better even if they are irrelevant (see above)!

your boyfriend will quickly become use to you photographing every meal you make him 

its a waste of time to compare yourself  to and be envious of other bloggers

reading blogs will become part of your daily routine 

if someone takes the time to comment on your post, you take the time to reply and check out their blog

its easy to sit a wish you had more readers etc but just blog for yourself, say what you want to say. the rest will follow 

Looking forward to reading your top tens and maybe picking up some handy hints along the way!

Linking up with Helene and Taylor for #Blogtober!

#Blogtober : Day Three...... {The one thing I can't live without}

i phone, 

kindle, 

juicer, 

red wine, 

limes, 

oysters

good mascara

friends

 family

..................

  but really the one thing I can't live without is him. Just him. 

You were not what I expected, but I have found you to be everything that I will ever need 

Linking up with Helene and Taylor for #Blogtober!

Blogtober : Day One..... {if I won the lottery I'd....}

Blogtober - Fab idea! Can't wait to learn more about other bloggers and meet some new bloggers!

So here goes, if I won the lottery I would:

Get married to H and buy a house in Whitstable 

Open my restaurant "Rachael's Kitchen" (in Whitstable) and write food articles as a sideline 

I would always have champagne and prosecco in the fridge 

I would buy a house in Latina, Italy so I could always go over and see my family and friends there 

and I would treat my friends and family to a big party and buy houses in Kent for all of my siblings so that we can always be close by to one another!

What would you do if you won the lottery?!

Linking up with Helene and Taylor for Blogtober!