Seven Happy Things #6

Anyone else got the Sunday blues? I know I do. I have had the most fantastic week filled with Disneyland excitement and good news. A lot of what has happened almost doesn't feel real. I have fulfilled my life long dream of going to Disneyland and I am finally getting back on my feet, after what has been an utterly terrible two years. So this post is coming to you from a very happy Katie!

• I started off my week in Disneyland Paris, perfect way to start the week, right? It was amazing, everything I have ever imagined and more. The boy and I went on all the rides a part from the ones that were closed (Space Mountain & Dumbo). Our favourite rides were Big Thunder Mountain and Buzz Lightyear. I took quite a few pictures in Disneyland, although they're not the best quality because I had to take them on my phone but there will be a post including them on Wednesday.
  
  
• On Tuesday, we visited the second park in Disney which is the Walt Disney Studios. This park has lots more photo opportunities and shows, including a studio tram tour and a stunt show. We met Buzz Lightyear, too. The first ride we went on was Crush's Coasters (Crush the turtle from Finding Nemo), it turned out to be our favourite, much less timid than we had imagined while queuing up. Later that night we stood and watched the Night-time show. I have never seen anything like it in my life. I'm not going to even try to explain it but you can watch it here. I highly recommend that you do, it nearly brought me to tears.
  
  
• We took a trip to the Val d'Europe on Wednesday. I was completely gob-smacked when I realised how massive it was. The best way I can put it in perspective for you is to tell you that there is an Aquarium with over 5.000 species of sea life below it on the lower ground floor. Definitely a must see for the next time we're in Paris. We spent the day shopping (and eating) and I managed to pick up a few beauty bits and kitchen pieces which I'm excited to show you tomorrow.
  
  
• I arrived back in Cork at 3am on Thursday morning, I stayed at the boy's house. Later that morning, I was woken by a phone call from my Mum, telling me that I had been offered a place at college, studying Professional Cookery. Not going to lie, I cried about it. The past two years have been rocky. I've never been completely certain of what I wanted to do with my life, until now. I also mentioned my blog (it was in it's early stages with barely any views or followers and mainly focused on baking)  in my interview, I like to think that that helped me secure my place.
  
  
• Friday was a pretty chilled day. I caught up with all my favourite blogs, replied to comments on my own blog, answered a few emails and wrote a blog post. It felt like a very productive Friday.
  
  
• A good friend of mine is moving to Glasgow on Sunday, so on Saturday I went to visit her for a few hours. I made her a special print as an engagement gift and put it in a frame, I am so proud of it. I could post it on Twitter if anyone would be interested in seeing it. She loved it, that's the main thing.
  
  
• My Sunday will be a slow one, aren't all Sundays? The boy and I are finally home with our pup and I for one, am extremely happy about that. I package also arrived for me on Friday, I won a giveaway over at BeautyAngel blog, so I'm excited to try out all the goodies today.
  
  
  
  
  I hope you all had a wonderful week. The whether here in Cork is amazing at the moment, hopefully it's sunny wherever you are. What have been your highlights of this week?

Paris In Pictures // Part 1

Good evening and a very happy Friday to you all! So, I arrived back home from Paris early Thursday morning. I am extremely happy to be blogging again after a five day break. I had the most amazing holiday and took a fair amount of pictures, which I spent yesterday evening editing while the boy watched football. As the title would suggest this is going to be a very picture heavy post and is part one of two! 

Apple & Cinnamon Muffins

When Spring/Summer rolls around I feel the need to start using fruit in my baking. Not quite sure why, maybe because most fruit is good this time of year, or the fact that we buy more of it. A few weeks back I posted a recipe for Blueberry & Almond Muffins , which were great according to most people but as I said in the post, I don't like blueberries, or almonds. However, I do absolutely love apple and cinnamon!

These would make a great breakfast or brunch snack, albeit a little sugary. To finish these off a dipped them in a mix of melted butter with a teaspoon of cinnamon, then dipped in sugar. In all honesty, I don't think it made them any better, they were already fantastic so I wouldn't recommend doing it unless you have all your teeth are sweet. I think we need to take a second to appreciate how cute these cupcake cases are, I wish you could see them better in the pictures, they have little strawberries on them. I picked them up in Dealz/Poundland, I am in love with them. This recipe makes 18 cupcakes or 10 full size muffins. Enjoy & Happy Baking! 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and line the tin with cupcake/muffin cases.

2.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. 

3. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Be sure the first one is mixed in before adding the second. Then add the vanilla. 

4. In a second bowl, sieve the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir together.

5. Fold the flour into the wet mixture, alternating with the milk. 

6. Grate the apples and gently fold into the batter until everything is combined.

7. Pour the mix into the cases, fill them to just above 3/4 of the way full. 

8.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer/knife comes out clean. 

9. Leave on a wire rack to cool. If you wish to add the topping, wait until the cupcakes have completed cooled. Poke a couple of holes in the top of them, dip them in the mixture of butter & a teaspoon of cinnamon then coat with sugar. 

What's In My Suitcase

So as promised in last week's  "My Travel Essentials" post, here is a look at what I have in my suitcase. Majority of this stuff is old so I unfortunately won't be able to link anything like I would normally do. I apologise for the state of my wrinkled clothes too, I did iron them but it lasted less than a day.

Jaws Tank - H&M
Red & White Striped T-shirt - Penneys/Primark
Blue T-shirt - Charity Shop

Beatles Vest Top - H&M

Skeleton Vest Top - H&M

Grey & White Striped Dress - H&M

Light Denim Dress - H&M
Bright Blue Skater Skirt & Belt - New Look
Dark Blue Skater Skirt - Primark/Penneys 

 Denim Shirt - Dunnes Stores

Black Cardigan - H&M
Black Sandals - Primark/Penneys
Blue & Cream Espadrilles - TOMS 

The long lost make up bag! 

Travelling Clothes 

Aaaand, that is it. I'm probably taking too much in some people's opinion, too little in others. I think it should be the perfect amount. I must also point out that I am in no way a fashion blog, this is just an idea of what I'm taking for anyone that's nosey or what's an idea. I'll let you know when I come home whether or not I actually wore everything. I hope you enjoyed this post & that you are all having a very happy Monday!

Seven Happy Things #5

I can't believe I've only been doing this series for a month. It seems like so much longer! Not in a bad way, I really like having a series of posts and it's a great way to round up the week. It's also the highlight of my Sunday. So, last week I told you seven things that I had been grateful for that week. I felt that the word "grateful" wasn't the best way to describe all seven things that I mentioned, so this week does include things I am grateful for, as well as things that I have just been really enjoying this week. 

1. Twitter Blogger Chats - I joined Twitter for the first time a month ago. I never saw the point of having one before I started blogging. I usually have nothing to say on social media and/or no one I want to say it to. I am so glad I did join though, my blog has grown so much in the time that I have had Twitter. Turns out I do have lots of things to say and lots of people that I want to interact with. That brings me onto the subject of Twitter Chats for Bloggers. There is one to suit every kind of blogger and a few that appeal to bloggers in general, no matter what kind of blog you run. They are such a fantastic way to interact and get to know other bloggers and become a part of the blogging community. 

2. Salads - I'm  a pescatarian, so I don't eat meat but I do eat fish. The main reason I decided to change my diet just over a year ago was because I wanted to try different foods and meals, not just stick to the same old things I've been eating for years. I knew that for me, the only way to do this would be to restrict my diet. I'm really enjoying salads at the moment, something I never would have said a year ago, I know you can have meat in a salad too, that's just something I had never had. The past two evenings I have had a salad which featured tuna, beetroot and cherry tomatoes, among other things. 

3. Travelling - When I say "travelling" I don't mean visiting different places, (I do enjoy that too but more on that next week) I'm talking about the actual journey you take to get there. I love planes, trains, car rides and I honestly have no idea why. I get really excited, the thought of the journey to get to the destination is just as appealing to me as being there. I started travelling on planes on my own when I was 13. I would go to see my grandparents in England, at that age at made me feel really independent and grown up so I think that's why I loved it so much then. 

4. Kind People - Now this is something I am grateful for. In the past few years I have lost an unbelievable amount of confidence in myself, blogging has played a massive part in restoring the confidence I had lost. Before I began blogging, I was quite afraid to talk to people. I didn't think anyone would care, I thought I would just be an annoyance. There are so many bloggers out there, I wasn't sure if it would be possible for everyone to fit in. I wasn't expecting everyone to be so kind, helpful and welcome. I have been proved totally wrong. It is a really wonderful community to be part of. 

5. The Sims 3 - I have loved The Sims since I was a child. I remember begging my Dad for the first one on the playstation 2 (we didn't have a computer) and when he finally gave in, feeling like all my Christmases had come at once. I would get up super early on a Saturday morning, park myself in front of the television and play it for hours before everyone else woke up. At the moment, I love playing The Sims 3 and listening to podcasts. Who's excited for Sims 4?! 

6. Photoscape & Picmonkey - These are the two best photo editing tools, in my opinion. I've been using Photoscape for the longest time. You download it onto your computer, I much prefer that to online photo editing. However, everyone seemed to be kicking up a fuss about picmonkey so I decided to give it a go this week. I'm almost fully converted. 

7. Google - Pretty broad, I know. To be more specific, whenever I want to change something with my blog, move things around, add things, take them away, I google it. I created my blog header and the click-able links with the help of a youtube video that I found by googling what I wanted. Ever want to know something about blogging, google it. 

I am in Paris as you are reading this (yippee) so I will reply to any comments on blog posts when I am home on the 19th. I hope you all enjoyed Jaimie's post on Friday & Becca's on Saturday, I know I did! 

I'm wonderfully pleased with this post. It took me longer than most of the ones in this series, but I like it, so hopefully you did to.