The Fun Questions Tag!

Hey all!

It's been a long time since I last posted and in the past week or so quite a lot has gone on, some good some a bit worse but overall I'm so happy with the way it's gone on and things have worked out for the best. Anyway, I thought I'd do a tag because I've not had much tim to write content in the last week or so because we got a new tutor at college who is less than good but I'm sure she'll sort herself out anyway I shall get on with the Fun Questions Tag! Enjoy dearies! 

1) When is your birthday? 

December 14th 1995 - I'm a winter baby!

2) What are 3 of your favorite colors?

Silver, Gold and red at the moment, although silver is my absolute favourite colour.

3) What are your 3 favorites quotes?

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass, it's learning to dance in the rain" - I'm not sure who said that I just have a picture of the quote stored in my phone. 

"If you're always trying to be normal you'll never know how amazing you can be" - Maya Angelou.

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me" - C. S. Lewis.

4) Are you addicted to YouTube?

Um... Maybe... Possibly. Yes. I have a problem! *sobs heartily*

5) What are 3 of your favorite shows on TV or YouTube or both?

Once Upon A Time, American Horror Story Doctor Who.

6) What are 3 qualities you like in a best friend?

Humour, loyalty and kindness.

7) Do you like your name? 

My full name is Katherine Hayley Jazz Savage Simpson but I'm known as Katy Simpson. I hate Katy Simpson but I love Katherine Hayley Jazz Savage, if that made any sense at all.

8) If you have the choice to pick your own name, what will it be?

Ruby Pleasant, because rubies are my favourite gems and I'm obsessed with the Skulduggery Pleasant series!

9) What is your fantasy dream?

For Skulduggery Pleasant to save me from some danger and I become his partner... that's not weird right? Right?

10) Do you wear makeup?

I do, not all the time but I wear it o college sometimes and when I'm off out or going to a party or something. 

11) If you could write a book, what would the title be and what would it be about?

I have no idea about the title but I do write a little and at the moment I'm writing a short horror novella type thing with possession and demons and stuff. I love scaring myself witless to be honest. 

12) What makes you cry?

I cry when I see my friends and family upset, anything to do with hurting animals or children, Disney movies... pretty much everything. 

13) What makes you angry?

Ignorance, when people talk about others behind their back in a malicious way, homo/bi/transphobia etc and discrimination for any reason... and politics.

14) What makes you happy?

Books, books and more books, days out with my best friends, cosy nights in, spending time with the family. 

15) What is "Fangirling?"

See the picture? That is what fangirls/fangirling is.

16) What are your 3 favorites snacks?

I really like shredded coconut, sliced almonds and strawberries.

17) What are your 3 favorite foods?

Pizza, my grandmas sunday dinner and stir fry are my all time favourite foods. 

18) What are your 3 favorite drinks?

Water, Milk (with or without tea) and Shlœr, yummy.

19) Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Well, I'm 19, I'm a plus size blogger, I live in the North East of England, I'm obsessed with Harry Potter and Skulduggery Pleasant. I can sing, play piano and clarinet. I'm pretty cool and I love rainy days.

20) What are 10 random facts about you?

- I'm a Slytherin on Pottermore

- I can sing in German, Polish, Russian and Mandarin.

- I can perfectly recite every single line of Mulan throughout the whole movie. 

- I used to want to be a stripper when I was younger...

- I got my Mam to buy me a 'make your own skeleton' type thing but stopped buying after the head purely cause I wanted to recite Shakespear.

- I'm an only child.

- I have no idea what I want to do with my life.

- I want to live in the Scottish or Irish countryside.

- I'm single although I have various celebrity and non-celebrity crushes at the moment. 

- I have over 150 different types of nail polish.

21) What are your 3 fun things to do?

Read, draw and cross stitch are my 3 favourite things to do. 

Thanks for reading all hopefully some of you will fancy doing this tag, let me know and I'll check it out. 

Love Katherine. X

All images for this post are  taken from Google. :)

Comfy Nights In - How To

Sometimes we all just need to take a break, take some time out, relax, pamper and treat ourselves. For  those of you who can't afford luxury spa weekends or cottage holidays (me included) every now and then to escape from the world, there is nothing better than having a night in at home just having a bit of 'me time'. I'm doing exactly that come this weekend if I manage to get all of my assignment finished today or tomorrow, so I'm going to let you all know the best ways to have a cosy night in. 

Face Masks - When I'm having a comfy, cosy night in the firs thing I go for is definitely my face masks! Face masks are a great way to unwind a little before really getting cosy. My favourite brand of face mask is Montagne Jenuesse because they have such a wide range of face masks, I personally love their Fruit Smoothie mask because it smell delicious and makes my skin very smooth. While waiting for face masks to dry you can do some reading or run yourself a nice bath. 

Run a bath or have a hot shower - Baths or hot showers with some lovely Lush or other smellies is an absolute MUST on a cosy night in. Nothing unwinds and relaxes you like being surrounded by hot steamy bubbles and pretty colours and smells. I also like to take some advice from Sarah Millican and have a cup of tea while in the bath, it's lovely ladies try it! 

Onesies - I highly recommend getting yourself into your favourite onsie or pair of PJs, getting all snug is the best part of the night! And nothing feels better than soft PJs after a hot bath. 

Get the Food in - You can either do this by ordering your favourite food in or you can make your favourite comfort food, personally if I'm ordering food it's either pizza or chinese for me, that's one way, however my favourite thing is to get some fruit and dipping chocolate and just take it from there. It's best to get a food you really like because it makes the night a little better.

Warm Drinks - Again warm drinks such as tea, coffee if you like or hot chocolate with all the trimmings. Warm drinks can make you feel sleepy and warm on the inside, so they give you that extra cosy, snuggly feeling especially on cold nights. 

Perfect lighting - Lighting is a really important aspect of comfy nights in I believe, it creates the right atmosphere and can make you feel really cosy and generally happy. Fairy lights  alone are great for these types of nights in, I don' usually recommend any brighter lights as it can overpower the smaller ones and that would be missing the point of having lighting. I really like scented candles for lighting as well as fairy lights because they don't just give the room a warmer and cosier feeling, they also make the room smell so nice, always a plus in my book. 

Music - Music is something lots of people find really comforting and if you pick the right music it can make a night great. Usually when picking music, if that's what you like to do on a cosy night in, I would probably say go for something relaxing or mellow. Personally, I have a few choices when it comes to night in music, one being Jack Johnson, another Taylor Swift or absolutely anything classical and relaxing. 

Tonight's book

Movie Marathon - Movie marathons are a really good and fun idea, particularly if you're having friends over or stuck for ideas. Even a TV show marathon would be fun, last time I had a night in I watched all of the Vicar of Dibley episodes and I regret nothing! I wouldn't recommend anything too scary because that can change the atmosphere of the night and nobody wants to be scared. 

Reading Time - This is my all time favourite thing to do on a night in, I love to chill out in bed or on the couch with blankets, tea and fruit with dippy chocolate, completing the night by sinking my teeth into a good book. 

Hopefully I've been able to give you guys some good ideas for next time you have a night in! Enjoy the rest of your weekend lovelies!


Love Katherine. X

Chocolate and Honey Cake: American Style Teacake Recipe

Hi again,

This last couple of days have been pretty hectic for me and it's been lovely to have a nice break and spend the whole day  having a baking day. A week or two ago I posted a recipe for Honey and Garlic chicken and I thoroughly enjoyed both making tha and blogging about it. So, I thought I would rope Aymie in to helping me make something sweet, this weeks recipe is Chocolate and Honey upsidedown tea cakes American style! Below you can find a list of things you'll need and directions to make these yummy teacakes!

Ingredients

•120g unsalted butter

•120g self raising flour

•100g caster sugar 

•40g chocolate powder

•2 medium beaten eggs

•1 hearty dollop of honey

Directions

Let's get down to the fun bit!

Firstly, measure out 120g of self raising flour and place into a mixing bowl, measure out 120g of unsalted butter and place that into the mixing bowl also. Measure 100g of caster sugar and 40g of chocolate powder, add both to the mixing bowl; next you'll need to add your healthy dollop of honey to the mixture, if you want to be specific in the measurements 4 tablespoons of honey. Next you'll want to give all of that a good mix just to make the whole thing a little easier to mix once the eggs are in there. 

Once all that's been mixed to a fluffy texture beat those two medium eggs in a separate bowl and once beaten chuck into the main bowl and mix everything together until you have a smooth but thick consistency without lumps. 

For the next step I used my my American Originals Teacake Maker to bake them, this only took 6 minutes, this was £40 from Boyes. However, for those of you who don't have this Teacake maker just use your over on 250F form15-20 mins, checking at regular intervals. 

Once they're fully baked give them 5 minutes to cool and decorate how you like! You'll have delicious cakes in no time! 

I hope you all enjoyed reading this and I hope you enjoy making these yummy cakes even more!

Love Katherine. X

Travel Bucket List

Hi All!

I've said before that I'm not much of a traveller, however, recently I've been hit by the travel bug and I'm desperate to get myself out in the big wide world and see some of the amazing views, experience the cultures and basically have a whole load of fun! I'm not a great fan of the idea of flying although I've never done it but I love the idea of taking a ferry or going on a cruise so I should be good on the water front. Anywho, I thought I'd do a quick post of some of the places I'd love to go if I get the chance.

Caribbean

Regardless of who you are, whether you hate or love hot places, travelling or whatever you absolutely can't deny that the Caribbean has some of the most beautiful views in the world, everything seems so bright there and clear, just the idea of lazing about on a beach or swimming in the sea is heavenly. I'm usually not one for hot countries but I have to go to the Caribbean at some point in my life... it's simply unavoidable. I do love exotic places and I don't think you get more exotic than there, in fact I'm hopefully going to go on holiday there before I start university in 2016 *fingers crossed*.

America

This may be a cliche but I am obsessed with the idea of doing a road trip through America and one place I would absolutely need to go is Hawaii, partly because I love Lilo & Stitch so much and partly because I really want a grass skirt... and flower necklace. In all seriousness Hawaii is a stunning place and I couldn't die happy if I didn't go there. Route 66 is something I've always wanted to do, as is Christmas shopping in NYC, pride marches in San Fransisco and Disney World Florida of course! I'm not even American and I love America!

France

France is probably the culture Capital of the world also quite possibly the most romantic country in the world. There is a certain... atmosphere about France that basically oozes with passion and delicacy. I think it would be brilliant to go there and experience the whole country in all it's elegant glory, I love the French Décor style and the accent, I can't speak French to save my life but I'd be willing to lean if it meant getting to go here even for just a nice weekend away. 

Germany

I mainly want to go to Germany because I feel a sort of connection with the place, from being really young I've really enjoyed learning of German culture, history and I'm currently in the process of beginning my first course in Entry Level German so I can speak, read and write it fluently before I hope to go when I'm 21. Pretty big goal but still. I also love Chocolate and Beer and Germany is pretty well known for those... OKTOBERFEST! 

Ireland

I mentioned in a previous post that I would love to go to Ireland and I stand by that statement, Ireland feels like my home from home and if I had my way I would live in a country house in Ireland when I eventually settle down for good. I love typically bad weather like rain, snow, storms and the such and Ireland seems like the perfect place for that weather, also some of the views in the hills and countryside are gorgeous and I'd love to just go walking in the Irish hills. 
Just a note that all my images from this post are from Google and I take no credit for them at all. 

I truly hopes you all enjoyed reading this also, I mentioned earlier in the post that I love rain and snow... Well it's snowing here and I screamed with joy and almost terrified Aymie Louise to death!

Love Katherine. X

Garlic and Honey Chicken Pieces: Quick Lunch Recipie

Hi Everyone!

Today has been a pretty slow day to be honest, I woke up around 8:30 this morning and I've been on doing an assignment for college ever since so as you can all probably guess today's been packed full of fun. Anyway, I've been looking to post a few recipes on my blog but I haven't found any I really like enough to post until now. I am far from a good cook, in fact a personal goal is to learn to cook healthily as soon as I'm feeling better; today everyone is the house was out so I took the opportunity to test out a recipe I found in a book a few weeks ago - Honey and Garlic Chicken Pieces. Turns out it's delicious and I'll definitely be making it again. I'll put the ingredients and directions below if you fancy a go. 

Today I was making for my family so the portions/measurements were for several people. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 cup of sesame seeds
• 1 cup of breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce 
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Firstly, you're going to want to preheat your oven to around 370/375F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. 

Put the breadcrumbs into a medium sized bowl and mix in the sesame seeds, once you've done that put both eggs into a bowl and beat them, add salt and pepper to the beaten eggs to taste. 

Next, cut the chicken into strips or cubes of about 1 inch in size and put the chicken into the egg mixture, make sure each piece of chicken is coated thoroughly with the egg mixture. 

Next you'll need to place each piece of chicken into the bowl of seeds and breadcrumbs and coat generously, ensure the whole of the chicken piece is covered. Place the coated chicken pieces on the baking tray and place in the over for 20 to 25 minutes on a high heat. 

For the sauce:

Crush the cloves of garlic or mince them, add the minced garlic to the 1/4 cup of honey and 1/4 cup of soy sauce, add salt and pepper to taste. One that's all mixed together pour it into a saucepan and put that on the hob on a high heat. Leave it there stirring regularly until brought to a boil, once boiling turn down to a medium heat and leave to cook for a minute or two, stirring at regular intervals. 

Once that's done you're ready to plate up! You can either drizzle the sauce over the chicken pieces or you can have it as a dipping sauce, personally I prefer the dipping sauce but it's totally up to you.

I hope you enjoyed that recipe and let me know some of your favourite quick recipes.

Love Katherine. X

New Years Day Round Up

Hey Everyone!

I thought'd I'd make a really quick post just to sum up what my New Years day has been like, I'm doing this because I've finished the book I was reading, I'm sitting watching American Horror Story: Coven, listening to music and I've just finished squealing with joy at some of the clothes I've managed to order from the sale on Yours Clothing that I'll openly do a blog post on eventually... The point of that little paragraph is basically that I'm bored and have nothing better to do. 

So with it being New Years today I didn't get to sleep until around 2AM this morning because of fireworks (I live close to two very enthusiastic and rowdy pubs) so because of the late night I managed to get a good lie in until 10:06AM which was great and I feel totally well rested because of it. After that I hopped in the shower and used some of my lovely smelling LUSH cosmetics stuff i got for christmas the made me smell like a bath bomb... not complaining mind you. It's important to to say that I got dressed today in an aqua T-shirt I have that says "I like warm hugs" with a cute picture of Olaf... I swear I am an adult it just doesn't show. Anywho, I ended up just going for a quick walk around the block and coming home to the smell of New Years dinner cooking which was lovely, we always eat way too much this time of year, but then again, who doesn't?! We always have a laugh when we have a big family meal, usually me and my dad will have some form of food fight and my Mam and Grandma just sit and state in horror; today he flicked gravy at me. I was mature and waited a whole 10 seconds before putting squirty cream on his head. After lunch I ended up back in my hide hole known as my room, I did some blogging and that post can be seen here if you fancy a quick peek. I also ended up doing some online shopping and got some fantastic bargains, I've spent a ridiculous amount of time listening to One Direction's album 'Four' and once this has been posted I'm going back to reading. All-in-all it has been a fantastic start to the new year and I hope it continues this way for the majority of the year!
Let me know about your New Years day so far! I'd love to hear from you all.


Love Katherine. X