Weekend Summary #30 - Breakfast Date & Leeds Christmas Market!

I only mentioned in my recent favourites on Wednesday that last weekend we ventured to the Leeds Christmas market but like I usually do I wanted to write up one of my weekend posts so soz if you're reading about it twice. As I always say these are my fave posts to read back so I do it more for me than anything. Anyway I'm gonna get started as I have lots of photos to share.

Now George and I have Bear we really try to make time each month to go out for the day or sometimes just for a few hours if we're busy because life with a puppy is full on! It's easy to get caught up in it all and let weeks go by where we've hardly spent anytime together so it's something we set time aside for when we can and last weekend as Christmas has officially started, we went to our first Christmas market of the year. You all know how much I adore a Christmas market, I legit look forward to them all year so I'd been counting down the days for this. After visiting a few markets in London and going to the Manchester markets year after year, this time we went to Leeds. We started our day off with a breakfast date though at Giraffe as Bear went to daycare early (he was one tired boy that morning). I think we both underestimated the portion sizes though as just look at these pancakes! I mean, they were absolutely delicious but wow they were a struggle to get through. I had the Nutella and Banana Pancakes and I think they might be the best I've ever had, even beating The Breakfast Club which is no mean feat.

After a long browse around Trinity which was looking very festive and a sneaky purchase in the Lindt shop, how can you go and not buy anything? I picked up a few bits from my fave The Yorkshire Soap Company and then we headed to the Leeds Corn Exchange which is somewhere I've seen online loads and always wanted to go to. It's full of independent boutiques and quirky shops so it's definitely worth a visit if you want to buy from small businesses this Christmas. It's so cute inside too.

We then walked upto the Xmas market which is based at Millennium Square this year. Pretty much straight away I didn't get that feeling I usually do when we go to a Christmas market, it might sound silly but if you're as Christmas obsessed as I am I'm sure you'll know what I mean. It just looked quite bare and compared to the photos I've seen online, there really isn't loads to see. We did have a delish hot chocolate though and the stall doing these crispy fried potatoes are 100% worth checking out if you're visiting the market. I could totally eat them again right now. I'm still really glad we went and it's another ticked off our list but I just don't think we'll be making a point of going back again just yet. Next up is the York markets which I have a feeling are going to be really special and I'm already making note of a few others to visit next year so let me know if you have any recommendations!

Later on that day before picking Bear up from daycare we had an impromptu cinema trip to see Last Christmas and this might be my highlight of the weekend because it was just exactly what you want in a Christmas film. It was a little cheesy of course but it was just lovely and better than I could have predicted. I cried A LOT, just so good.

The rest of the weekend ended up being full of cleaning, cooking and catching up on work as I have been seriously slack with writing blog posts recently so pretty boring but I still found time for a spot of baking, we watched Christmas films and of course on Sunday it was time for advent calendars. I splashed out a little this year and treated myself to the Treatbox Advent Calendar and I'm loving it so far. It's a mix of lifestyle, beauty, home and more so I really have no idea what I'm opening each day which I love. So far I've received this pretty Christmas countdown from Sass & Belle, a lovely manicure set, a Cinnamon & Apple candle which is basically Christmas in a jar, a gorgeous bracelet, hand cream and handmade cards. Bear is also enjoying having an early morning treat each day too!

Last weekend was a perfect way to start of December, I just don't want this month to fly by! Anyone else feel like Christmas is coming around so much faster this year?

Have you visited any Christmas markets or seen Last Christmas?

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Recent Favourites - & Juliet, The Politician & Christmas Markets

It's been a while since my previous favourites post so I thought I would do a final one before the end of 2019. How are we so close to Christmas already?! I'm not ready for it all to be over. Over the last few months I've been keeping note of some products I've been going back to over and over again, TV shows I've binge-watched and places I've been so let's get started.

& Juliet Cast Recording

Okay we have to talk about this first because I AM OBSESSED. In case you didn't see last month I shared my review of this brand new musical and honestly I am just waiting to see it again now. It's a twist on the classic love story of Romeo & Juliet - what would happen if Juliet lived? It's just so much fun, cheesy at times, full of heart and the cast are out of this world. After a run in Manchester, it's now open in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre and to tie in with that they've just released the original cast recording. It's full of songs you are guaranteed to have heard, some with a little twist and I just can't stop playing it. AMAZING.

Autumn Walks

The cold crisp weather is my favourite and there's nothing better than going for a long walk and then getting back to a cosy home afterwards. We took Bear for a lovely Autumn walk recently to somewhere we'd not been before and he absolutely loved it! We all met so many other dogs so I was in my element just as much as he was and the place we went was beautiful. The sun was shining but there was a chill in the air and the ground was covered in crunchy leaves. Autumn and Winter are just the best months.

The Body Shop Pear Range

I was a little disappointed when it was revealed that The Body Shop weren't bringing back their peppermint range this year so I wasn't going to get anything but then I had a sniff of the brand new Pear range when we were in Leeds last month and OMG I think it might actually be their best yet. It's surprisingly festive but is fruity enough that you could use the scent all year round. I got the shower gel, a bath bomb and the body yoghurt which is just divine to use after a shower. I'm hoping it will go sale after Christmas so I can stock up!

Home Bargains Vanilla Sugar Cookies Candle

This candle is bloody brilliant. Forget paying over £20 for a Yankee Candle, get yourself down to Home Bargains and pick up one of these for just £2.99! I mentioned in my Christmas Homeware Haul that I'd stocked up on the Vanilla Sugar Cookies tealights but I couldn't resist the big candle too and for the price, it's an absolute steal. It makes the whole living room smell gorgeous for hours and it is honestly just as good as the the more expensive candles from various brands, I have no idea how but it is. I keep burning this but I don't want it to run out. There are a few other festive scents too though so I might try and grab some of those whilst they're still available as it's just too good of a bargain to miss.

Christmas Markets

God, I ADORE Christmas markets! Every year George and I try to get to a couple at least and normally we visit the Manchester ones in Albert Square as they just do Christmas SO well. We also usually have some sort of festive trip to London so Winter Wonderland and the Southbank Market have been enjoyed many times but this year we switched it up. Last weekend we went to the Leeds market for the first time and whilst it wasn't the best we've been too and not one I'd really plan a visit to again over others, I'm still glad we went. We devoured the most delicious fried potatoes, struggled with the spiciest currywurst I've ever had in my life and drank a beautiful hot chocolate in the cutest mug which I definitely snuck home with me. It was such a festive day so I'm still really glad we went somewhere new and now I'm just uber excited to see what York's market is like in a few weeks.

Last Christmas

As we had lots of time to spare before picking Bear up from daycare after our trip to Leeds we went to see Last Christmas finally and I'm still not over it. I'm sure it won't go down in history as one of the best ever Xmas films but for people like me who love any sort of Christmas film, it was PERFECT. It was so heartwarming, funny with brilliant acting from Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding, all the music is George Michael which felt really special and of course it was #emosh. I cried A LOT which I wasn't expecting and if I think about it I can feel myself ready to go again, but seriously if you've been thinking about seeing it, do it! It's a lovely, feel good film that's sure to get you in a festive mood.

The Politician

You know when you find a TV show where as soon as it ends you want to go right back to the beginning and re-watch? Well The Politician made me feel that way. I mentioned this in my latest Netflix recommendations so I won't go on too much but it's just absolutely brilliant. It follows student Payton who knows one day he will be president but for now he has to tackle becoming his school's student body president. Ben Platt is incredible as the lead but the whole cast are fantastic and I can't wait to see where they take it in the next series. The music throughout is stunning too.

So that's everything I've been wanting to mention over the last few weeks. I'd love to know if you've been to any Christmas markets too, or if you have any other Netflix recommendations?

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My Festive Snowmen Cupcakes Recipe

I love baking. I love Christmas. But it's not often I actually do much festive baking. When I bake I tend to stick to the usual chocolate cakes, brownies (as I'm sure you've seen with the variety I've been sharing recently!) and biscuits regardless of the time of year but this year I really wanted to try a few new things in the lead up to Christmas and one I was really keen on trying was Snowmen Cupcakes. There are a variety of recipes online and ideas for decorating but I kept it quite simple with a basic chocolate cupcake recipe and then I improvised with the toppings. I found the marshmallow snowmen in Asda for £2 (it's a huge bag too!), the Marshmallow fluff was just over £1 in B&M, M&M's are basically a cupboard staple for us 😂 and Matchmakers are a firm fave at Xmas so it's not too hard to get all of the bits together for these. To say I fully expected these to end up looking a little dodgy, I'm so pleased with how they turned out!

Ingredients:

100g butter/margarine

100g caster sugar

2 eggs

75g self-raising flour

25g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

Marshmallow fluff

Snowmen marshmallows

Matchmakers

M&M's

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees (180 fan) and line a bun tin with bun cases. This recipe will make 12 cupcakes

2. Add your butter, caster sugar, eggs, self-raising flour, cocoa powder and baking powder to a bowl then beat well with an electric whisk for 1-2 minutes until smooth. You could add in the ingredients one by one and mix by hand but I find with certain things throwing it all in and using an electric whisk works much better!

3. Spoon the mixture into the bun cases (I used just over a tablespoon per case) and then bake in the oven for 20 minutes

4. The cakes should be well risen after 20 minutes then leave to cool on a wire rack

5. When the cakes are completely cool, you can start to assemble the snowmen! I used a teaspoon of marshmallow fluff on each cupcake and spread with a knife. I then added the snowmen marshmallows to the top, used 1 matchmaker per cupcake for the arms and two M&M's for the buttons

And that's it! A really simple cupcake recipe which goes so well with just plain milk chocolate on top or icing sugar if you'd rather do that instead but one that can really become something fun with ideas like this. These cupcakes could be a great one to enjoy over the festive period, you could maybe take them into work to enjoy or even make them with your kids, it's a recipe all the family can get involved in!

Let me know if give these a try or if you have any other christmassy recipes you recommend.

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My 2019 Pets Christmas Gift Guide/What I've Bought Bear For His First Christmas

After sharing my Women's christmas gift guide, Men's gift guide and a Food & Drink guide last week, today I'm sharing something a little different. A pet's Christmas gift guide! Well I say pets but it's all for Bear, though all of the shops I'm about to mention obviously had loads to choose from for all our furry friends. This kind of doubles up as a what I've bought Bear for Christmas too, and whilst it's not something I necessarily planned to do or something everyone will be bothered about, this is my first Christmas as a dog mum so why not? I've no idea if what I'm about to share is too much in some people's opinion or not enough in other's eyes but I wanted to get a variety for him and if I can't go over the top at this time of year, when can I?

Webbox Reindeer Toy £5*

First up we have Bear's first bit of blogger mail! Webbox kindly sent over one of their Christmas items and I knew this reindeer would be perfect for him. It's a really decent size so can occupy dogs for ages and it has a lovely pair of ears and antlers for them to nibble on (Bear has already taken off both ears and 1 antler, it's like some weird initiation all the cuddly toys have to go through when they're new!) This is available in either plain or corduroy and both are gorgeous. £5 aswell is a reasonable price given how big it is and the quality of it. It feels really sturdy like it's going to last a while, regardless of how much it gets dragged about!

M&S Light Up Ball £6

I can't wait for him to play with this! I've been wanting to get some sort of light up toy for Bear for a while as it's exactly the sort of thing that will be ideal when he's in that mood to chase something round and really get his energy out. Every time this hits the floor it lights up different colours for a few seconds so I can just imagine him being absolutely shook when he discovers this!

Various Treats £1 - £3

We've got quite the selection of tasty treats this year for Bear but he gets through them so we like to keep the cupboard stocked up! We've picked up more of his favourite Pedigree Tasty Bites, some turkey flavour Jumbone mini's, Baker's bacon & cheese whirlers, bacon flavour rawhide bones and we've also got him a Baker's stocking which was £3 from B&M and that has another selection of different treats in it. Bear gets bored with the same things over and over so we tend to try and have a few different things in to switch it up so I think we've got that covered with all of these! We picked all of these up from B&M and Home Bargains.

Selection Of Toys £1 - £3

Also from B&M and Home Bargains, we've picked him up a few other toys to play with over the festive period. We probably won't give them to him all at once as he's already got loads and it's more exciting for him if he just has one or two new ones at a time. I've already mentioned the light up toy which was £6 so the most expensive thing but some of the cheaper toys we got are a chew rubber ring, a soft candy cane toy which I think squeaks aswell (joy) and finally a rope reindeer toy. It also has a crackly material inside so it's something that I think he'll really enjoy playing with.

Scooby Snacks Advent Calendar £2

Finally, we have a doggy advent calendar! I knew I was going to get him one of these as soon as I spotted them in B&M. It was £2 and you get 24 carob dog treats so now he can have a little treat each morning when we open our advent calendars too. The treat breaks up into 4 which is great as it is quite big and it also means we can spread it out over the day if we want to.

So that's pretty much everything we've picked up for Bear for Christmas. I did order something in the Matalan sale last week for him so that's another cuddly toy for him to chew to death but they're his favourite so I can't resist. He's already a lucky boy with the amount of toys and treats he has but I was always going to be that dog mum that buys far more than he needs at Christmas. I'm fully aware he will have no clue what's going on and will just want either our presents or the wrapping paper but I don't care, I just can't wait.

Do you buy Christmas presents for your pets?

*Products marked * are PR samples

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