If you follow me on twitter, you may be aware that last week I took a little trip to Amsterdam! I booked it as a birthday present for my other half away back in June! Here is what we got up to on our trip!

We arrived in Amsterdam rather late on the Tuesday night thanks to Easyjet changing our flight time from 11am to 7pm! We were staying the NH Grand Krasnapolsky hotel right in Dam Square. It was a beautiful hotel. Our room was newly refurbished to a very high standard! The bed was so comfy I could have slept for the whole trip but that would have been a waste!

We arrived too late to go out for a meal so we got some famous dutch chips with mayonnaise to take out! 

The next morning we headed down to breakfast. The breakfast was served in the most beautiful room I've ever seen (see last photo). We enjoyed some eggs benedict followed by poffertjes (dutch pancakes)

After breakfast we decided to take a walk down to the zoo! 

The zoo had an amazing butterfly pavilion  where you could walk about whilst they fluttered around you. 

On the way home from the zoo we stopped in this quirky little bar for a drink, then grabbed a waffle at a bakery. 

After a quick change, we went to this awesome cocktail bar called tails & spirits. They did these amazing cocktails, including the Zombie which is so strong they only serve 2 per person! 

After a few drinks we headed on to an Italian restaurant called Vasso. We had researched the place and knew we wanted to try it. I had the Salmon Tagliatelle which was probably the best pasta dish I've ever had. It was so flavoursome! I then had lemon sorbet and strawberries for desert. The sorbet was creamier than your usual sorbet. It was devine!

We then headed off to Freddy's Bar. My other half collects and occasionally smokes cigars and he really wanted to try this bar which has an indoor smoking room. It was such a cool place to just relax with a glass of vino!

So that was day 1 in Amsterdam! Part 2 is coming up soon! 

xx

FoodieFriday: Chicken and Mushroom Pie!

Hello! This week I started my diet again after a long break from it! The other night I was really craving a nice hearty meal after a busy day at work, so I decided to make this delicious chicken and mushroom pie! With only 550 calories for half the pie, this is a great meal to make when you need a bit of extra fuel! 

Ingredients: 

1 leek, chopped thinly

150g button mushrooms, sliced 

75g peas (frozen is fine)

2 rashers smoked bacon, cut into small squares

2 roast chicken breasts, tear into medium sized pieces

500ml chicken stock

25g plain flour

2tbsp reduced fat creme fraiche

3 sheets filo pastry

Method:

-Pre heat your oven to 220 degrees celcius.

- Heat a small amount of sunflower oil in a frying pan and add the bacon and mushrooms. Cook for 3-4 minutes. 

- Add the leaks and chicken, cook for a further 1 minute.

- Sprinkle the flour over the mixture then add the chicken stock slowly whilst stirring.

- Add the peas to the frying pan and simmer for 4 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the creme fraiche.

- Transfer the mixture to a medium sized pie dish.

- Roughly place the filo pastry sheets over the mixture (the more crinkles the better), making sure to oil each sheet with a pastry brush as you go.

- Put the pie in the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes until your pastry is golden and crispy!

Voila! Your pie is ready to serve and enjoy! 

This does make quite a large amount so feel free to make it for 4 people and have some sides!

Let me know if you decide to make it! I'd love to see your results!

xx

Amsterdam Haul

Hello Everyone! I thought I'd show you a few of the purchases I made whilst in Amsterdam last week! 

Checked Cardigan - €29.99 from Bershka

I instantly fell in love with this as soon as I saw it! I wanted to buy an item of clothing from a brand which I cannot buy in Scotland so this was perfect! It will keep me nice and cosy at my desk!

Amber Romance and Mango Temptation Body Spray's - €14 each from Victoria's Secret

Love Spell Eau de Toilette - €14 from Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret is another brand I can't get my hand's on in Scotland! I've heard lots of good things about their beauty products so I took the plunge and grabbed these in duty free! They had a 3 for €30 deal on so these were a bargain! I also grabbed 2 pairs of undies whilst there!

Cat clothes hooks- €2 each from Flying Tiger (Dutch version of Tiger)

I've been looking for some hooks for my bathroom door so I can hang up my towels on the back of the door! When I spotted these I just had to have them! They are also the perfect colour for my bathroom! They came in lime green and red too! You might be able to pick these up in Tiger stores in the UK too!

So, along with a lot of cheese, these are my little presents to myself from Amsterdam! 

I have to say, the shopping in Amsterdam is pretty good! If I didn't only have hand luggage, I'm sure I would have come back with a lot more! 

xx

A little slice of December

This post is a little later than usual, but here is my roundup of December!

1- The start of the month saw lots of Uni deadlines! This meant I spent the majority of my time in the library! I was so happy when the Christmas Break came around. Unfortunately it is now over, and it's time to get back to it for my last semester ever! 

2- After all my deadlines, I went out to celebrate with a group of my close uni friends! It was a great night! 

3- Before I knew it, it was Christmas day! I was so lucky to receive lots of lovely gifts! You can find my post on what I got for Christmas HERE

4- Of course, the Christmas break meant lots of lazy days spent snuggled up with Smudge! Here he is hogging the covers! 

So that was December. I would say it is my favourite month, once the uni deadlines are out the way! It was such a quick month and before I knew it, we were into 2015! 

What did you get up to in December? 

xx

TheSundayPost

Hello Everyone! After a week or so off, I am back with a SundayPost! This week has been a good 'un! 

This week I had a week off work for our trip to Amsterdam! I booked it way back in June as a birthday present for my other half! I won't go into too much detail about the trip as I plan on writing a full post about it and the places we visited! 

This was the first night. We arrived rather late (thanks easyjet) so we grabbed some chips and mayo! These are famous in Holland and they are delicious! 

We also visited a little cocktail bar called Tails & Spirits. I'd go as far as saying it was the best cocktail bar I've visited!

Our final night! There was a light festival on whilst we were there so there were lots of pretty lights to be seen! 

We came home with lots of cheese! These are pesto cheese, old dutch gouda and smoked cheese. Very tasty!

This weekend was the final weekend before the diet starts! We decided to treat ourselves to a very lazy weekend and lots of good food! It was great! 

Now it's back to work tomorrow (not good after 12 days off), and the diet begins! I've got my homemade soup ready to go in the morning! 

Hope you all have a wonderful week! 

xx

The Me Time Tag

Hey Everyone! I've seen this tag floating about the blogosphere lately and thought I would get involved! I love a bit of me-time, so here are my answers to the questions below!

What do you read or watch during me-time?

I usually read a book on my kindle or a magazine. My favourites are look and heat magazine! I love catching up on my favourite youtubers' videos too! Lately I've been loving watching the Saccone-Joly's and Zoella! 

What do you wear during me-time?

My PJ's of course! I love wearing the legging type PJ's as I find them the most comfy! I received some Ugg slippers for my christmas so I'm sure I will get plenty of wear out of them! As soon as I get home on a night I get my slippers on!

What are your me-time beauty products?

Anything from Lush! I've got a big box of bath bombs beside my bath which I like to keep stocked up! I received some bath things for Christmas so that will top the box up a bit! I'm also partial to a wee face mask from time to time! 

Current Favourite nail polish?

I have to admit, I don't really paint my nails that often! I constantly chip them then spend my day picking the polish off! If I do have anything on my nails, it has to be gel so I don't chip it! I do love Rimmel nail polishes though, and I have a little collection of them.

What do you eat or drink during me-time?

Hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream is a favourite of mine! I also love a little cider or disaronno on the rocks! To eat, I love chocolate (who doesn't) and I also love crisps! Sweet Chilli Sensations are my all time favourite! No healthy snacks in my house haha!

Current favourite candle?

Oh god, I don't even know where to begin with this one! I have a serious Yankee candle buying problem! I would have to say my all time favourite scent is Baby Powder! My other half bought me 5 of the wax tarts for christmas and I've just treated myself to the large jar! 

Do you ever have outdoor me-time?

Yeah, I love going for long walks in the countryside, either with or without company! My favourite place to go is up to the reservoir near my parents house! I spent a lot of my childhood there, walking with my family and it's really beautiful! 

Would you ever go and see a movie alone?

Probably not to be honest! I've never really had to as I've always managed to rope someone along with me. I see going to the cinema as a social thing where you can share popcorn and laugh together at the movie!

Anything else to add? What else do you like to do during me-time?

My favourite thing to do during me-time is put my favourite spotify playlist on, light some candles and get writing some blog posts! Or do some online shopping haha! 

Please feel free to copy and paste this tag to your blog! Let me know if you decide to do it. I'd love to read your answers! 

xxx

Hello 2015!

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful NYE! 

I thought I would do a little post on my resolutions for the year ahead! 

1. To start saving for a mortgage deposit - We've been renting a flat for over 2 years now. Don't get me wrong, I love our wee flat but I think it's time for us to find something to call our own! Of course, I'm fully expecting it to take me a few years to save up, especially because I have a spending problem!

2. To lose 2 stone by May - In May we are heading to Mexico as a treat for finishing uni. I've put a lot of weight on over the festive period and although I've been heavier, it would be nice to look slimmer in my holiday photos, especially as I'm spending a lot of money to get there! I'm planning on starting Hot Yoga classes and going back on my diet on the 12th January!

3. To be more organised! - In 2014 there were many instances where I had huge breaks from blogging because I had let masses of work pile up! I'd like to stop leaving all my uni work to the last minute so that this doesn't happen this year!

4. To secure a full time job after uni - I'd really like to stay working where I am just now, but I would need to be offered full time work! Hopefully this will happen in the near future! 

That is everything I've come up with so far! I'm sure I will end up adding to them during the year! What are your new year's resolutions?