Thursday 28 July 2011

A Tranquil Place

I know for a fact that most people will travel far and wide to find that perfect, ideal and tranquil spot of undeniable natural beauty. I also know that it isn't always necessary to go to such lengths to find 'the spot' and in doing so you may miss something right on your doorstep.

Being an inhabitant of a small, fairly average country town, I don't really find it hard to get to these places, though that doesn't mean it's hard for somebody who lives in a city like London for example, because there are lots of hidden gems about the place, you just have to find them. As I said before, I don't really find it hard to get to these spots but there are very few which really grab my attention. One such place that does grab me I visited just yesterday with my family and friends, and it was pretty perfect due to the good weather.

'The spot' is a little jetty (recently done up) that juts out slightly into a wide lake, owned I believe by the local fishing club. And let me tell you, it was gorgeous. The sun was casting light on the water which was unbelievably clear, gem blue dragonflies were darting in and out of the reed beds, the occasional fish leaped out of the water now and again, and swifts dive bombed for insects.

Places like these aren't just good for looking at, they can be great places to inspire you in areas like art or writing, or maybe to you they are just quiet get aways when you need time to think. Either way readers, I think its time you guys and gals, start checking out your local area to find your perfect chilaxing spot, because trust me when I say it is worth it.

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Notice To Readers

Hi, from the 29th of this month there will be no posts for a while as both Miss B's are on holiday, but after that we will resume regular blogging and you readers can look forward to many posts about our holiday destinations and what we did. I hope you enjoy reading them as they will most likely be chock-a-block full of interesting things. Thank you for following our blog so far! We really appreciate it.

Miss B xxxx

Summer Treats

The ice lolly. The epitome of a hot summers' day, bought cheaply from the local corner store. Thing is, when you purchase these chilled confections, you don't really know what's being put in them. Well with this simple recipe, sourced from DK Children's Cookbook, say adios to those icky additives and say hello to tasty treats that you cant trust!

ingredients                                                   
300g of strawberries                                  
300ml orange juice                                    
3 large kiwi fruits                                        
3tbsp of icing sugar                                    




Tools
sharp knife
chopping board
food processor                                                               
sieve                                                              
wooden spoon (to help with straining the fruit puree)
2 mixing bowls 
6 lollipop moulds
6 lollipop sticks



method

  1. Make sure you have washed the strawberries thoroughly before hulling and quartering them. When this is done put them into a food processor. 
  2. Carefully slice the skins off the kiwi fruits and roughly chop them up. 
  3. In the food processor, blend the strawberries with 1tbsp of icing sugar. Sieve the strawberry puree into a bowl and throw out the seeds. 
  4. Wash the food processor and sieve before blending the kiwi fruit with 2tbsp of icing sugar. Sieve the kiwi puree into a bowl and throw out the seeds. 
  5. Add the first layer of puree into the lollipop moulds and freeze for one hour. Add the next layer and push the stick gently into the first layer. Freeze for an hour and add the last layer. 
  6. Don't fill the moulds to the top because the mixture will expand as it freezes. Next, freeze the lollipops for another 1-2 hours before eating. 

Charity Garage Sale

There we were, outside our garage, my brother, big sister and two friends. My brother and I had just set up the garage sale and made a very desperate sign saying 'Garage Sale, we need to reach a goal of one hundred pounds' It caused a lot of attention as people drove by and read it, but when they noticed our stall, they simply smiled and drove on. It was really annoying because none of them actually took the time to stop and buy anything. Cursing them in my head, 'smiling can't save dying people in Africa!'
 
A few hours later one or two people had stopped and bought a few things, although it took almost five hours to get a big crowd gathering round our stall, it was worth it because in one day we had raised over seventy pounds. The next day my brother and I re-opened the stall and exactly the same thing happened. By the end of the day we were thoroughly sunburned but grinning from ear to ear, we had raised over one hundred and twenty pounds. Counting the money everyone was thinking the same thing, that it was enough for us all to buy and few nice gizmos, but we didn't...Instead we gave the money to charity and I believe that was the right thing to do because it makes you feel good about yourself and you know you are going to change people's lives with money that could have needlessly been spent on ourselves.

Written by Anon.
Edited by Miss B

Face Masks And Exfoliation

These recipes were sourced from The Girl's Book How To Be The Best At Everything...

Face mask: ingrediants
                   1 quarter of an avocado
                   2 tablespoons of honey (the runny kind)
                   1 egg yolk

method
  • Mash the avocado and mix with the honey and egg yolk in a small bowl
  • Next, spread the mixture over your face, avoiding the eye area, and leave for about 15 minutes before rinsing off with warm water

Exfoliation: ingrediants
                    A few spoonfuls of plain yoghurt
                    A drizzle of honey
                    A teaspoon of granulated sugar

method

  • Mix together the ingrediants in a small bowl before massaging into your face, especially over problem areas where there may spots or blackheads, this exfoliates your skin to leave it with a healthy glow. Rinse off with warm water.

Marshmallow Roasting

A camping tradition passed down through the generations, for years now humans have been roasting the gooey, sticky, sugary goodness known as marshmallows over open flames. But tonight we did the unthinkable, we roasted marshmallows in the middle of suburbia.

Blasphemy, you're thinking! Marshmallows in your back garden! An atrocity! And of course, you may be correct, perhaps such delicious treats should only be available as part of the cold,wet and occasionally just plain uncomfortable experience of camping, but sitting here, browning my marshmallow to perfection: slightly crusty on the outside and wonerfully soft on the inside, I honestly can't find it in me to care...

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Weird But True

This is one I found in the Ripley's Believe It Or Not book... this one's for you Ripley!

The Road Kill Calendar. Yes you read that right, its not just the computer screen ruining your eyesight. I did in fact type The Road Kill Calendar and yes it is real. Founded by a legendary and mysterious man known only as Kevin Beresford, the calendar started off life as a simple creation for 2010 that soon became a huge hit. Beresford sold hundreds of copies of his freaky calendar which featured many a squashed fox and brained squirrel, complete with witty captions for the gruesome pictures.

To me, its not really the fact that this guy goes out snapping pics of dead animals to compile into a calendar that I find ever so slightly disturbing, its the fact that so many people went out and bought the thing. I mean, what does this say about the world?!

P.S Not quite sure why the sheep is blanked, but hey what can you do?

This Week's Epic Fail

As a treat for you readers, and since this is this blog's first ever Epic Fail post, I'm giving you two epic fails! Its like a bargain boutique buy, two for the price of one! 

  1. Cutting your leg, a bmx trick stunt known as a bunny hop and falling off your bike. Two days ago my brother managed all three after attempting to impress his friends with a bike trick. He preformed the whole thing reasonably well until, somehow, on landing his foot slipped off the pedal. Because his bike lacked the essential chain and chain guard (due to some tinkering in the garage a few months ago) he managed to puncture a bullet shaped hole in his leg. Nice. As a result he was promptly taken to A&E, head filled with the horror of stitches and tetanus shots. He returned with a few butterfly stitches, a plaster and a well done sticker. 
  2. Just today my other brother committed our second epic fail. Now answer me this, how many people go to a public swimming pool in a year? A fair few I would say, so it can't be particularly hard right? You go, you swim, you leave. Simples, as the saying goes. Or not, if, as my brother did, you somehow manage to lose the key to your locker, somewhere in the deep end of the plunge pool, and then find some poor employee to try and open it for you with numerous 'spare keys' aka previous epic fails, for 5 minutes before finally admitting defeat and finding a janitor to prise the locker door from it's hinges using a very impressive looking hammer. Something tells me that we won't be welcomed back at that pool anytime soon... 

Going Solo: Trains

Trains. At first glance a simple mode of transport, ferrying people to and fro between home, work and... well, anywhere else that takes their fancy. But now picture this: one girl, one train journey and nine hours with which to fill the time. Now that my friends, is a whole different kettle of fish.

When I was first faced with the prospect of travelling from a small train station in the south eastern corner of England to a slightly larger train station in the Scottish midlands via London, I was over the moon! Imagine the adventure, the excitement! I would by myself, with no adults hounding me over train times and packed lunches, in London! However London was only an hour-long pit-stop in my journey, during which I had enough time to acquaint myself with the train station, buy some magazines (the queues in Londonian WHSmiths are maHOOsive), cross the road to buy a milkshake from McDonalds  (traffic in London is just as bad as it's made out to be, which doesn't make for quick and easy road crossing), return to the station and board my train.

Once I had boarded, I was informed that actually it wasn't a service with seat reservation, after I had (politely) asked a woman to move so I could get to my allocated seat, 7A. I was then stuck sitting next to a woman approximately 30 years older than me who I'm fairly sure didn't want me there, the evil looks being something of a hint. But hey, 'que sera sera' right? Now, I spent the majority of my journey mindlessly listening to my iPod and eating my packed lunch (because sometimes parents do have a point when they tell you that food in London is ridiculously expensive, we are in a recession you know) but if you would like some ideas on more productive/interesting activities to do on a train then look no further:

Things I Should Have Done On My Nine Hour Train Journey

  1. Knitted  A Scarf - If I had started it then, it might even have been finished by the time winter comes around.
  2. Written A Short Story - I could've had it published and be hailed as the next F. Scott Fitzgerald *sigh*
  3. Created A Blog - Well, better late than never...
  4. Learnt How To Whistle - The woman next to me already hated me, so what would I have had to lose?
  5. Schoolwork - Urgh, maybe I should rename this as something I could have done but wouldn't have in a million years.

How To Host An Awesome Sleepover

  • Try having a themed night, you could have a really silly theme like Marvel superheroes or a simple theme like chocolate. Get your guests to bring in a few items to do with the theme, like maybe a themed duvet cover or an outfit.

  • Make sure you know if people are actually going to turn up. The worst thing that can happen at a sleepover is if the guests do a no show!

  • Think of something you can use to entertain your guests, for example a few boardgames or DVD's. My personal favourite is Quelf Antics (Google it), a ridiculously silly party game which is brilliant for making your mates look like fools.

  • Be a good host! Don't put all your attention on to one person! As the hippies would slur 'share the love man!' Its also a good idea to make sure your guests have somewhere comfy to sleep and know exactly where the bathroom is.

  • Pamper your guests. Try giving them a homemade facial (there will be a recipe for that on the blog soon) or a makeover and make sure you have plenty of food for your mates, including stuff for snacks and midnight feast.

  • Last but not least have fun!

Monday 25 July 2011

The First Post In The History Of The Blog

Hi, as you may have noticed from the title this is the first post ever made on this blog! We are making history people! And you, by reading this are witnessing something truly amazing!

But enough on the intro, we are posting this first ever post in the history of the blog to let you know the blog is still under construction and we will soon have a more appropriate first post, which won't simply be an introduction to the fact we are making a first post, but may actually contain something that you will find usefull and/or interesting...