Christmas Shopping Trip

I must confess that even though I had planned to do some Christmas shopping today, I actually bought more things for myself than actual Christmas presents. This is partly because I've already bought everything I needed except the couple of things I picked up today, and partly because I don't really know what anyone else (brother & sister-in-law) wants/needs. 

I've had most of the presents for the other half sorted for a while now, as well as extra ideas for things the family can buy him, so today I bought him one last thing as I decided he needed it. 

I bought a bag from TK Max which I sort of liked for myself, but now I'm thinking I might gift it to my Mum. I still can't decide on that one & I might end up returning it as I'm not sold on it being perfect. Other than my Mum is pretty easy to buy for so I'll just have to buy something else if I return this bag. 

Then there's my Dad. It's his birthday later this month and he's sent my Mother & myself an email with some items from his amazon wish list so I've just ordered those to split between his birthday & Christmas. He's the kind of person that buys what he wants as & when he wants to & he doesn't have any notable hobbies that would offer up useful gift ideas. I saw an episode of some Dave Gorman show on Dave where he was talking about the difference between a 'present' & a 'gift' & my Dad already has any 'presents' he would be interested & wouldn't have any interest in 'gifts'

The premise is that a present is something you would buy for yourself to actually use, whereas a gift is something you would only ever receive as a gift because it serves no other purpose than to be a gift.

For myself I bought a pair of trousers from the Next petite range because I'm finding it's a bit too windy for tights and a skirt, although saying that, I also bought a skirt from Primark!

Overall it was quite a nice day out and an opportunity to have a day off for myself. It's the first time in a couple of weeks that I've managed to get two days off work together so I knew I could spend today doing my own thing without feeling guilty that I hadn't found the time to do some washing or to clean the bathroom! All I've wanted to do lately is jump into bed with a hot water bottle as soon as I get home, so I have! 

Tomorrow is supposed to be a date night for myself & the other half so I'm looking forward to that, although probably more the thought of a Nando's than the film we're going to see (a showing of Muse's Rome concert), but it's one of his favourite bands so I bought us tickets as an early Christmas present.

Baking

There is a fantastic cafe called Moose Coffee in Crosby (there's also one in Liverpool) and my favourite thing on their menu is their pancakes. But when I don't have anyone to go with I like to make my own at home. 

I picked up this recipe when I went to America last year with my family. It was my job to make up the pancakes when we were having a lazy morning in our villa. My boyfriend much prefers traditional English pancakes but I'm more of an American pancake fan as I prefer the sweet over savoury. Usually I just add even more sugar to serve, but I've become accustomed to dunking pancake into maple syrup. Unfortunately, the syrup I bought isn't a patch on the one that Moose Coffee uses so I'm still on the hunt for the perfect syrup. 


You can add plenty of different toppings to these pancakes, anything from bananas and ice cream to bacon. Absolutely anything to suit your mood. 
When I used to babysit some friends I would add food colouring and we'd have crazy coloured pancakes. Mix up two colours and swirl them together to make patterns. The opportunities are endless!

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoons salt

1 large egg

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoons melted butter

Mix up all the ingredients in your bowl until it's a nice consistency. It shouldn't be too runny like English pancakes and in fact should be quite a thick batter but it still needs to have some run to it so it spreads a little in the pan.

Heat up a frying pan with some butter and wait for it to get to temperature. I can't quite master this step as usually my first pancake either burns or takes forever to cook! But hopefully you'll be better than me.

Laddle in a dollop of batter and when the top starts to bubble flip it over. Then leave it for about ten seconds and serve. 

This amount makes 6 pancakes (not including the first 'test' pancake)

NB. I realise that this is a 'cup' recipe, but I picked up a set of baking cups from Asda for £2 yesterday. They're only plastic but they do the trick. Alternatively, I've used a small glass cup in the past. I think the trick is to make sure you're consistent in the size of the 'cup' you use.

Going exploring

On Sunday I went to the Welsh Mountain Zoo with my family. I run a Brownie unit with my Mother and we decided that as we were doing the Friends to Animals badge with the girls we would take them to the zoo. As the original trip was cancelled because of snow it's been postponed which gave us the time to have a reconnaissance mission as now my Mother is concerned about what would happen if it rained.

It's been years since I've visited so it was a really fun day out. It's not a huge zoo by any means and it is lacking in some of the larger animals like elephants or giraffes which are my Brother's favourite animals, but you can get right up close to the animals which you don't get at Chester Zoo. The camel was right by the path and the penguins were right up to the gate. I couldn't put my camera right up to the wire for fear the penguin would peck me with its beak. 

During the afternoon we watched the bird and sea lion show. Now I've seen the shows I know the best place to get the Brownies to stand to get the best views. It was really interesting the detail they went into about the birds they showed us and the sea lions were of various ages so some weren't perfect in terms of the tricks they were taught and it was lovely getting an insight into how they train the animals in their care. It was a much more genuine show. 

 

I was really impressed with the zoo. We ate lunch at their 'Safari Cafe' and even though it had the usual price tags of tourist food places the portion sizes more than made up for it. I only managed half of my pasta and my family eagerly helped me finish off my chips! 

We were concerned about taking 26 Brownies for an entire day as we weren't sure if there was enough to keep them entertained but the size of the play area is absolutely fantastic! There's a smaller area for younger children and then a massive area with a number of slides, climbing frames and a zip wire. I think our girls would be perfectly happy spending the whole day there.

I would definitely recommend taking a day trip if you have a family. It's cheaper than Chester Zoo and even without the wider range of animals you certainly get a better view of them. 

Sharing

1. Horse Power Nail Fertilizer by Butter London 2. Ben de Lisi Black Horse Head Lamp 3. Anorak Kissing Horses Duvet Cover Set 4. Black Beauty Horse Brooch 5. Pandora Horseshoe Charm 6. Horse Print Shirt

I'd intended for this to be posted earlier this afternoon but I clearly don't understand how to schedule posts just yet! 

As you may know today was the Grand National. Now, considering I've lived in Liverpool since I was born I have never had any interest in the event. I remember girls in school who would come in proclaiming that they had won £X on the race, which really meant that they'd chosen the nicest sounding horse and their parents had put a bet on for them. 

Last year, I put a bet on a horse because it shared my surname. Although I only did so because my manager sent me to put a bet on for him so I thought why not.

I have to say though, I don't understand why it's such a celebrated event. I don't understand the fashion and I don't understand why a race is allowed to go ahead when there are so many fatalities. I know I'm not the only one who thinks that. 

Anyway, I've picked out some horse related items I have found that are much nicer than standing outside in the cold watching a ten minute race. You can never have too many shirts, as proved by my post earlier in the week and I think that the duvet set is such a lovely colour. Also, counting horses is much more pleasant than counting sheep. 
I love brooches that have some literary connection to them (I have a Sherlock one, remind me to show you one day) and of course, Black Beauty is a must read. Everybody needs a little bit of luck in their life so the horseshoe charm is delightful and I'd much rather wake up to a horsehead on my bedside table than in my bed, wouldn't you?

The nail varnish is a little bit of a wildcard really as I stumbled upon it and I must say I'm intrigued. It contains horsetail which is supposed to be a good supplement to take to help combat brittle nails and I'd be interested to see if applying it topically via a nail varnish would actually have an effect. Unfortunately, at £18.50 it'll have to stay on my wishlist unless I come into some extra money. Maybe I should have put a bet on after all.

Wearing clothes

  

Cardigan: New Look

Top: L - Dorothy Perkins / R - Dorothy Perkins

Skirt: Marks and Spencer

Shoes: Next

So, in my previous post I mentioned how I was dressing smart for work. As you can see I purchased two tops from my wishlist and started wearing them this week. Unfortunately I was told on the Tuesday that as I'm paid as a supervisor I should dress as a supervisor, which means I have to go back to wearing my uniform. I don't understand why it's okay for me to be 'acting manager' then when I'm not getting paid to do that, as I do feel it's different than if I was covering holidays or a day off which as a supervisor I'm expected to do. Anyway, we won't get into that as this isn't the time or the place. Needless to say it means I've been returning a few items I picked up as I won't have the need to wear them now. 

Dress: Jack Wills

Shirt: New Look

Jumper: Dorothy Perkins

Shoes: Celtic

Please excuse the face today as I've been for a filling so I cannot feel the left side of my face, or move my lip to smile properly so I look like I'm smirking. It was an early morning appointment so I grabbed my boots before I ran for the train. The dress is my absolute favourite although I think it's quite tight around my chest so I don't like to wear it on its own, I always try to wear a cardigan or a jumper. I should have had the sense to try on a larger size but it took me forever to find the fitting room when I bought it (I had to ask someone) I was blinded by how lovely it was. 

The jumper is a one size fits all so the neck is very tight but the body makes me feel very frumpy as it expands to fit. I'm not complaining though as I do think it's lovely and the perfect shade of red. 

You can't see the shirt very well in this as I added it purely for the collar peeking out but I'm so pleased I bought it. I don't wear shirts very often as my large bust usually means shirts are too tight around my chest and gape whilst they're too baggy everywhere else. However, with the cold weather meaning that jumpers are a must I don't have to worry too much right now! 

The benefits of having an early appointment on my day off means that I have finished a couple of errands I had to run today which leaves me with the rest of the day to do other things. I've spotted a couple of other bloggers (namely Amy of cocktailsinteacups & Hayley of strangenessandcharm) have been dyeing their hair and I'm toying with the idea of doing my own. I already have the ombre thing going on due to growing out the bleach from a couple of years ago but ever since last Autumn I've been itching to dye my hair red like I used to when I was younger. I'm not 100% certain that work would be okay with it as the area manager is very strict. I might not get around to it today but I do want to do something to it as I feel it's looking a little dull. 

Planning a new wardrobe

L-R Oriental print / Hummingbird print / Polka dot all Zara

L-R Polka dot / Bird print / Swan print all ASOS

L-R Rose print / Floral print / Sleeveless floral print all Dorothy Perkins

So a lot of changes have been going on since I started my job in December. I finished my induction and was moved to a neighbouring store for reasons outside my control, then I was working at both locations before finally returning to the original store. That has lasted two weeks and now it's the next big change. 

The manager at the store handed in his notice and finished on Saturday so from today I am 'acting store manager' until the new manager starts. There isn't an eta for this as it will take as long as it takes so I have been spending the past week putting together suitable outfits as it's the first time I've worked in a position that doesn't involve a uniform. 

Having attended a managers meeting and worked in a store with a female manager I can see that the suggested wear of a white shirt and suit isn't fully adhered to, so I have been searching out interesting tops to wear with the simple black skirt I already wear. I think my favourites are the Oriental print from Zara and the Swan print from ASOS. 

Today was the first day of dressing smart (I wore the Rose print tunic from the last picture) and it does change the way you work in a mental way. I certainly felt more in charge than I used to when I would cover the manager's day off. 

Introducing...

So, I thought I'd like to start a blog. Everyone is doing it. 

Of course, now I've started I'm not sure where would be best to start. My name is enid and I'm a twenty-something (isn't everyone?) girl from Liverpool. I honestly don't feel like I'm anything special though so we'll see how we get on here. 

I'm hoping to entertain you with a variety of posts, much like every other blogger out there. Look out for outfit posts, wishlists, recipes, crafts, etc.