TWEE

Yes this place actually exists... The Milton Maize Maze. Genius.

Me and Matt headed there on Monday for a little trip out; it was great fun and we played crazy golf and met a few goats too. I also bought Bramley apple chutney from the farm shop for my cheese and crackers ;)

I wore my Monki grey tshirt dress and Rocket Dog sandals (which are the comfiest sandals to have ever graced my feet!) along with a New Look backpack. 

PORTRAIT

I recently created this portrait illustration of two very dear friends for a birthday, I think I'll be offering custom portraits in my Etsy shop soon so have a look if you fancy something for a unique present!

As you can see I've also changed my blog title. I think the blog is still a work in progress to be honest, but I think this phrase sums me up pretty well. I feel like I'm playing make-believe most of the time, like a kid pretending to work and pay the bills... 

LE WEEKEND

Lovebox & the lovely village of Linton...

Lovebox was amazing, although it was rather hot at thirty-two degrees on Friday! I saw Chase & Status, M.I.A, Nas, Katy B, Annie Mac, Moderat, Banks, Mount Kimbie, Hercules & Love Affair and caught some bits of a few others as we were walking around. 

Then Monday I went up to visit some friends in Linton and had drinks and an explore of the village to feed the ducks and the infamous 'Waldo' the goose. (He is GIANT)

I'm off back home this weekend to visit family and friends too, hopefully I'll get to sit down at some point ;)

 

SHEPRETH WILDLIFE PARK

Today me and Matt made our second visit to Shepreth Wildlife Park, not far from Cambridge. It's quite a small zoo but very cute and old fashioned; although I was gutted that they've removed the petting zoo (My favourite!) where they had pygmy goats and lambs to feed... :( Yes I am twenty-six.

In spite of my upset (meh) we had a lovely day, one of our favourite parts is the nocturnal tunnel where they have fruit bats flying around you, and a slow loris :D I didn't get many photos as I only took my phone.

COOKIN'

 

I actually cook a fair bit but don't think I've shared much on here apart from a few pics... maybe I'll start doing regular recipes :)

My favourite is definitely breakfast food and I love making American pancakes in the morning. I usually just guess the amounts now as I've made them so often, but I started out using the Sam Stern recipe and sort of adapted it from there. He makes a lot of effort with separating egg whites etc. but I've never bothered with all that. Sorry for my 'pinches and sprinkles' - I don't really weigh everything properly!

American Pancakes

120g plain flour

15g caster sugar

2 eggs

150ml milk (or just add until consistency is right)

Sprinkle of baking powder

Pinch of salt

Knob of butter

Butter / oil for frying

Blueberries (optional to add into mix)

I generally just mix everything together in one, adding milk at the end to achieve a thick consistency which is similar to custard. Then melt the butter/oil on a medium heat in a good non-stick frying pan, and add a dollop of the mixture when hot (a ladle is a good measure for each one) 

Fry on each side for a few minutes until golden, then keep in a warm oven until they're all done. Then stack 'em high and add a topping...

Blueberry sauce

Punnet of blueberries

10g caster sugar

Water

On a high heat, add all ingredients to a small pan and mix together. Heat until bubbling and sugar has melted, then keep hot until the pancakes are ready. I like to mash up a few of the blueberries too for a good sauce. You could use any fruit for this, raspberry & blackberry or apple & pear is nice too. 

Bananas & Bacon

Bacon (streaky works well but any other kind is fine too)

1 banana per person

I fry the bacon off and keep warm, then in the same pan add some butter and fry slices of banana for a few minutes on each side. Great with maple syrup!

LATELY

Afternoon doggie walk

Not blogged in a little while so thought I'd update on my thrilling life...

I currently have a rather large illustration job on, which has unfortunately been going back and forth in terms of style but hoping to have everything sorted soon (and get my wage!) god knows I need to pay rent and all.

I also lost out on a magazine illustration job which I would have rather liked... I was quite miffed for a few days but kind of over it now. It seems a lot like that with freelancing; one minute you have more work on than you can keep up with and have invoices lined up, the next you can't please anyone and are being repeatedly told 'you're not quite right for this job'... hey ho.

I'm taking some of my London prints into a gift/print shop tomorrow to (hopefully) sell, as well as working on a lovely book cover and creating Twin Peaks inspired illustrations to sell at the Twin Peaks festival later this year. 

Also my hard drive packed up so I've had to spend an obscene amount of money to get the data recovered.... BACK UP TWICE - yes, I know. 

Aaand finally good news, I'm off to Lovebox next weekend! It's also about two minutes from my flat which is amazing. 

I've also been watching a lot of films as I'm home so much and never go out (woe is me); pretty much working my way through Netflix to be honest. I seem to have an obsession with cheesy rom coms and dramas at the moment and am very embarrassed when they start stacking up on our 'recently watched' list... Don't judge me.

Literally just scrolling through... I think these are from the last two months or so.

The Frozen Ground - NOT a rom com (ha) but pretty good 'based on actual events' crime drama/thriller.

Burlesque - I've actually watched this twice.... yeah. So cheesy but so good. Cher + Xtina, need I say more?

Coyote Ugly - An old fave from my yooot. 

Save the Date - Pretty cool indie movie with Lizzie Caplan as the lead girl. Also she's an illustrator in this :D

50/50 - Been meaning to watch this for a while... JGL very good, as is Anna Kendrick.

Safe Haven - Didn't realise this was a book by that mega rom com author.. was ok, nothin' spesh!

Like Crazy - A transatlantic romantic drama - I did enjoy this one although found the ending a bit confusing.

Fish Tank - Extremely good 'gritty' British drama. Watch out for an early career Michael Fassbender.

Donnie Darko - Another old fave - gave this a re-watch as it was the 'Director's Cut'. Best left as it was!!

Vanilla Sky - One of those I've been meaning to watch for aaaages. Not what I was expecting but good...

Adventureland - Another re-watch for me - really like this little theme park tale :)

The Firm - Not sure why I picked this, was bored of 'Net flicking' I think! An old 90's classic. Very long.

Equilibrium - Only ever watched a bit of this so wanted to check it out again - super good sci-fi drama.

Celeste & Jesse Forever - Cool rom com about a divorced couple who are still mates - nice watch.
Stuck in Love - Totally random choice and loved it. Partly to do with Mr. Logan Lerman being so pretty...

High Fidelity - Been pestered by the bf and bestie to watch this for months... 90's 'guy' film and very funny.

Hummingbird - Me and bf put this on for some reason one night - not the worst Statham film ever... 

The Birdcage - Ahhh, a classic. Armand's (Robin Williams) style is to die for. 

Angels & Demons - The second Dan Brown film... watchable if totally far fetched/inaccurate/cheesy.

Run for your wife - Don't ask. Really.

Stand by me - Amazing childhood adventure film, yet another re-watch for me. 

Midnight Cowboy - Not what I would usually go for, but amazing. Dustin Hoffman - 10/10.

So yeah, if any of that random lot tickles your fancy then I'm sure you'll find them on Netflix... I have so many films on my 'need to watch' list (which 99% of these were actually not on!) So I'll do another round-up once I've sat on my arse and watched another bunch!