Homeware Wishlist

I've been getting really into interior design lately and here a selection of a few items that I really want to pick up as soon as I get some money. I've got to say I'm really impressed with the home ware stuff in Asda at the moment especially their Luna themed collection! 

 Faux Fur Throw - £25 - George

Mixed Texture Print Cushion - £7 - George

Phrenology Head - £10 - George

Metal Storage Basket - £6.99 - H&M

Framed Butterfly Wall Art - £19.99 - Argos

Easy Chocolate Biscuit Recipe

I've had this post stored away in my drafts for a while now as it's one I started working on in July before the whole hospital fiasco, so I figured it was about time I finally got round to publishing it. So admittedly this recipe was more a case of experimenting in the kitchen and seeing what the end result was. What was supposed to be Toffee Crisp Cookies sort of ended up being chocolate biscuits instead which made me feel ever so slightly reluctant to share the recipe, however they did taste really good so I decided to post it anyway. They're so easy to make and if you're anything like me and never have a cupboard stocked with baking ingredients then it's a pretty ideal recipe as it only involves a few ingredients (most of which you should probably have lying about anyway) 

You will need:

1 Cup of Flour (150g)
1 Egg
1/2 Cup of Sugar (I would recommend caster but granulated sugar is all we had)
2 - 3 Tablespoons of Nutella

and any additional ingredients you'd like to add, I decided to add in some chopped up pieces of Toffee Crisp for some extra flavour and crunch.  

First you want to pre-heat your oven to 180C. Then grab a mixing bowl and pour in your flour.

After that you then want to add in your sugar and your scoops of nutella. I added around 2 - 3 tablespoons.

After that crack one egg into the bowl and mix it all together until you have smooth consistency. Then feel free to add in whatever extra ingredients you want. I chopped up a toffee crisp bar and added in little chunks of that and then mixed it all together.

Grab a baking tray and line it with a sheet of baking paper. After mixing the dough to evenly distribute chunks of toffee crisp, you then want to roll tablespoon sized balls out and squash them down with a glass to create that flat biscuit shape. 

Then just simply place in the oven for 12 minutes and leave them to cool.

There you have it! A simple easy to follow recipe with minimal products involved. My only advice for this would be to make your biscuits larger and wider rather than small and thick, as the larger ones are more like a cookie whereas the small ones end up quite hard and crunchy. 

Freshers Week

Freshers is the most highly anticipated event of any young persons life. The idea of moving out, making new friends and doing nothing but dressing up and partying for two weeks is undoubtedly very exciting. I was unable to do re-freshers this year as I'm recovering from surgery still so I thought I'd do a little post reminiscing about my freshers week.

I started off freshers with literally no money whatsoever so I ended up going to the local convenience store and getting the cheapest drinks I could get my hands on and making some truly unforgivable concoctions in the hopes of getting really drunk on a tight budget. (Strawberry Lambrini and Vodka anyone?) Not only was I drinking absolute rubbish but I was eating it too. I was too lazy to cook most days so I either didn't eat as "eating is cheating" or I ate cake. Yes that's right cake for dinner. (Living the dream)

Freshers itself involved playing a lot of drinking games. Mostly ring of fire which I had never played before in my life so needless to say I think I was pretty annoying having to ask what every card meant. Still to this day I can't remember the rules but maybe that's just a sign that I was already drunk enough when they were being explained to me. 

My freshers involved quite a few themed nights so dressing up was a must. I probably spent a little bit too much money on buying my fresher outfits hence why I ended up with £10 to pay for drinks, taxi rides and junk food for the first week until my loan came in. Let me tell you now that £10 is NOT enough for multiple nights out. I was always the one getting out of paying for a group taxi (sorry guys) and I was always willing to accept a drink but not buy that person one back (sorry once again) and when that loan money finally dropped in my bank account I almost cried tears of joy. I could now buy my end of night cheeseburger and 6 nuggets without feeling guilty.

When I first embarked on my freshers week I was determined to make every event. Start as you mean to go on and what not. However I had to give myself 3 days off from partying as I just couldn't hack it, especially as I was going out in 6 inch heels every night and doing a ridiculous amount of slut dropping. Although I did go to as many nights as possible as it was quite exciting going out when everyone was in high spirits and chanting "T R E N T - WE ARE THE TRENT ARMY" 

Freshers was an interesting experience to say the least and it did teach me a two lessons;

1. Save some money as it can be pricey

and most importantly..

2. Don't expect to stay friends with the people you meet in freshers week (chances are you will occasionally pass them in uni and it will be super awkward and neither of you will say anything)

Invisible Illness Awareness Week #GoodAndBadDays

The 28th of September marked the beginning of Invisible Awareness Week and it also happens to be the same time Crohn's and Colitis UK are running their #GoodAndBadDays campaign where people fighting Inflammatory Bowel Disease post images of themselves during times of remission and flares. As I want to continue raising awareness and helping support this charity I felt like it was only fitting that I make another blog post regarding my fight with Crohn's disease.

These pictures show a variety of my good and bad days. The first image was November time last year where I was unaware I was ill. The second image shows the medication I was on at one point during this summer where I was in a short period of remission (1 Omeprazole, 1 Azathioprine and 5 Prednisolone) The 3rd photo is an image of me in the intensive care unit, 1 day after having 16 inches of my small intestine removed. I had been injected with a high dose of steroids 4 times a day for a period of two weeks which lead to my face becoming incredibly puffy and round. I'm also very drugged up with Morphine in this image which is why I look slightly out of it. The fourth image is a photo of my surgical scar - as you can see the bottom of the incision began filling up with fluid which has since burst and left an open hole in my stomach. However it is now almost healed up. The 5th image shows me having an iron infusion, something which may have to become a regular thing if I continue to experience problems absorbing iron. The 6th photo is a recent photo of myself, I'm currently in remission and I feel the best I have in a long time.

Crohn's is a horrible, degrading, invisible illness with no cure. Looking at the first photograph with my hair done and a full face of make-up, you would have no idea that I was chronically ill. You wouldn't be able to guess that inside my small intestine would be incredibly inflamed causing horrific abdominal cramps and not absorbing any nutrients from the food I was consuming - leaving my body malnourished and weak. On the outside I appear normal which is what makes an invisible illness so difficult as it makes it harder for people to understand and sympathize with what you're going through as they can't physically see it. I'm thankful that the people closest to me have been there to witness my struggles as they now understand my illness and just how it affects me, both mentally and physically. Invisible Illness Awareness week is an important reminder not to judge people based on what you can see as you never know what that individual is going through. 

If you can find it in yourself to help support people like me and put money towards research into finding a cure or alternative forms of treatment then please text DAYS22 plus your amount to 70070 to donate to Crohn's and Colitis UK. Thank you!

Living with Crohns Disease - My Story

It's been a while since I last posted anything on my blog and that's because I very recently experienced a flare up of my Crohns disease which resulted in me being admitted back into hospital and going through a serious, life changing operation. I decided I wanted to blog about my experience with Crohns disease - I want to raise awareness for this terrible disease and I want to help others who may be in a similar position. So just a warning, this is going to be a long post, it's going to be very personal and it is going to touch on topics which some people will find embarrassing to discuss. I want to be honest and I want to tell my story. 

What is Crohns Disease?

Crohns Disease is a long term condition which causes inflammation of the digestive system. Inflammation can effect any part of the digestive system, from the mouth to the back passage but it mostly occurs in the last section of the small intestine (ileum) or the large intestine (colon).

Symptoms include;

Abdominal Pain

Diarrhoea

Fatigue

Weight Loss

Blood and Mucus in your stool

It is currently unknown as to why people develop this disease and there is no cure at this moment in time. There are however a few methods of treatment to help control the disease, such as steroids, infusions, injections etc and of course there is the option of surgery. It is estimated that roughly 7 out of 10 people with Crohns disease will require surgery at some point.

With Crohns it is very easy to become anaemic as your body won't be absorbing nutrients from the food you consume. Fistulas and ulcers are also quite common. Crohns can also lead to problems with joints, skin, eyes, bones, liver, blood circulation and slightly increases your chance of bowel cancer.

What Causes Crohns? 

Despite research being done the exact cause of Crohns disease is not known. Researchers believe there's a strong link between the genes you've inherited and an abnormal reaction of the immune system to certain bacteria in the intestines (which they think may have something to do with environmental factors) Viruses, smoking, diet, bacteria and stress have all been suggested as possible triggers although there is no solid evidence that any of these cause Crohns.

My Story

  

Midway through 2014 I began noticing I was having occasional mild stomach cramps that always seemed to start in the evening. Some nights I experienced them, some nights I didn't so I didn't think too much of it and put it down to uncomfortable bloating or snacking too much. It wasn't really until I started uni that I began realising these stomach pains were becoming really frequent and I was having them pretty much everyday. Freshers week in particular I noticed that I felt really sore and that my body physically ached. My stomach was incredibly unsettled and (embarrassingly) I was visiting the toilet more frequently. Once again I put it down to simply overdoing it during freshers week with poor diet and too much drink. Then as my stomach pains continued during the uni year and I started experiencing them in the day time too, I put it down to Social Anxiety and then stress.

Things then escalated and I noticed that whilst eating certain foods I would feel the urge to gag and throw up. Although it would never actually result in physically throwing up, I would always gag on certain textures of food. Anything potato / bread based seemed to trigger it at first. I've always been a fussy eater so I convinced myself that it was just me being awkward with food. Fast forward to February / March 2015 and I noticed that I had lost weight and had dropped from a comfortable size 8 to a size 6. I was now 6 and a half stone.

In my last term of university I experienced my first ever full on Crohns flare and dropped to 6 stone. Almost all food made me feel ill, sometimes the smell alone was enough to make me feel sick. Anything I ate I began throwing up almost instantly. My stomach cramps became even more intense and I'd wake up multiple times in the night with sharp shooting pains and covered in sweat. I felt tired all the time, I'd come in from uni, sit down to do my work and fall asleep instantly. I began feeling really weak and even the slightest physical activity would leave me completely breathless. I couldn't stand for very long so if I was out doing food shopping, I'd have to regularly squat down to take a break and pretend to look at stuff on the bottom shelf so I didn't look odd. I had sores on the corners of my mouth, I was incredibly pale and my heart was constantly beating fast. To any of you reading this you may be thinking "Why didn't you take yourself to the doctors?" well as someone who has never really experienced being ill throughout their lifetime, I was pretty stubborn to admit that something was wrong and that I needed help. I put my education first and decided I would go to the doctors once I'd finished my first year of uni. Stupid? Yes. I put my life at risk for something so silly considering whatever grade you achieve in first year does not actually count towards your degree.

My mum and boyfriend had both noticed how sick and frail I looked and began worrying about me. My mum was convinced I was anorexic and decided to contact the doctors about me without my knowledge. She arranged an appointment for me once I returned from uni and I agreed to go. When I returned from university, my health declined and I physically couldn't even stand for more than a minute. I couldn't even shower, I just lay on the couch writhing around in agony with a hot water bottle. After a few trips to the doctors and some blood work being done, I was told my bloods came back abnormal and I was admitted to the hospital to run some tests and receive some form of treatment.

After waiting four hours in A&E I was finally called through and seen by a nurse. She inserted a cannula, took some blood, requested a urine sample, weighed me, took me for x-rays and did a rectal exam and that was it for the night. The next morning a bed became available and I was moved to a ward where I was put on fluids for a while. I met with multiple doctors who questioned me about lots of different things and felt my stomach. They then sent me for a CT scan, requested that I had an iron infusion and took more blood. After waiting a little while a doctor came back and informed me that the CT scan revealed that it wasn't bowel cancer like they first feared, but was instead severe Crohns disease. It was a relief at first to finally have a diagnosis, but then when I actually started looking more into the full extent of what Crohns disease can do, I became incredibly upset. I also felt really cheated, no-one in my family has the disease, I don't smoke, I rarely drink and my diet is pretty normal. I didn't understand why I had it.

I was sent home the same day with an 8 week course of steroids (Prednisolone). For the first week I still felt uncomfortable, however after that first week the steroids began kicking in and I started to feel much better. My pain eased off, and I began eating normally again. Anyone who is familiar with Prednisolone will know that it drives your appetite through the roof and soon you start eating everything in sight. I started gaining weight and it seemed like everything was getting better. I was soon moved on to Azathiroprine - a drug to help control my Crohns in the long run as steroids are only a short term option. However 2 weeks into taking it, I was back to having stomach pains all day every day. Then my most recent blood test came back bad and I was told to return to hospital to receive treatment.

 Rather reluctantly I returned to the hospital on the 21st of July. At first I was told I'd be in for a few days whilst I had some steroids and fluids administered through IV. However, my inflammation refused to respond to any of the treatment and my condition began to deteriorate. It was after one night where my temperature shot up and my heart rate increased rapidly and there was a minor scare that I had an obstruction of the bowel that the decision was made for me to undergo surgery. My consultant decided that I should undergo a bowel resection, where they would remove the part of my small intestine where all the damage was and would connect the two healthy pieces of bowel together. Although there was no confirmation that this would definitely be the case. If upon inspection the damage was so bad they would create a temporary stoma instead. For those of you who don't know what a stoma is it's basically where they create an opening in your abdomen and join the bowel to that so you excrete through that hole and into a bag which attaches to your skin.

The thought of surgery terrified me. I was so upset that I spent the 2 days prior to my operation in a flood of tears. I didn't want to be scarred, I didn't want to be cut open and have my insides messed around with and I didn't want to wake up to find I had a stoma. It sounds so silly as I should have been grateful that they were going ahead with a life changing operation that would benefit my quality of life but instead I was scared of silly little issues such as would my boyfriend still find me attractive or would I ever be confident with my body again? On Saturday the 1st of August I was taken down for my surgery. I can honestly say that being wheeled into the operating room was the scariest moment of my life, I've never felt fear like it. The whole surgical team were lovely, they instantly calmed me down and helped distract me. They inserted a cannula into my hand, put an oxygen mask on my face and administered the general anaesthetic and that was me. My surgery lasted approximately four hours.

The next thing I knew, I was being woken up by either some nurses or surgeons (I can't quite recall) and I was in a lot of pain. The first thing I said was "Bag?" in which I was referring to did they need to create a stoma? Which they answered no. I then said "Pain" and passed back out. Later on I woke back up to find I was being wheeled to the intensive care unit. I could barely keep my eyes open but my parents and my boyfriend came to see me and comfort me for a few minutes before they had to leave. I was kept in intensive care for two days as there was a slight complication with the intravenous morphine pump that they inserted during surgery which is why I initially woke up in so much pain. When I fully came round I could see I had a large dressing in the middle of my stomach and a drain bag on the right side of stomach that was filled with blood and some sort of yellow fluid. The day after my surgery I was only allowed sips of water and was made to get out of bed and sit in the nearby arm chair. It was exhausting and incredibly painful but you have to get around and move to help blood flow and to kick start your recovery. I spent most of this day completely off my face on morphine, to the point where I could barely keep my eyes open. The next day I was allowed soft food so I was given soup, ice cream and one of my special nutritional drinks. I was relying on the morphine pump less so I was later then moved out of intensive care and into a surgical ward instead where later that night I was able to get out of bed by myself and walk without any assistance.

On the 5th of August I was discharged from hospital and allowed home. I had spent 16 days there in total and was so relieved to finally be back home with my family and my dog. Since coming home my recovery has been coming along rather nicely. My staples have been removed, my drain hole on my right side has closed up, I've been able to progress from a soft diet back to a fairly normal diet and my strength is slowly returning. I'm not going to lie and say that surgery was a walk in the park as it really has took it's toll on me emotionally and the physical recovery process itself is at least 12 weeks, however - I can honestly say that it was the best thing for me as I instantly felt relief from the pain of Crohns. The mild aches I've experienced from surgery are nothing in comparison to the pain I felt from Crohns. I can now enjoy food again, I can eat without fear of pain and that is a wonderful feeling.

I still have a very long road ahead of me in terms of recovery, and there is always the chance that Crohns can re-appear in another part of the bowel but for now I'm pain free and happy so I'm going to enjoy it whilst it lasts and try not to focus too much on "What if's?" I plan on going back to university in October and continuing on with my studies. I don't want this illness to stop me from living my life and I certainly don't want it to define who I am as a person.

Slicked Back - Photoshoot

Here's another shoot from my recent university project. This set is entitled "Slicked Back" and is probably my most favourite set of images to date. I had some really amazing feedback from my fellow peers on this which was so amazing to hear as I normally feel like studio work is my weak point. Overall I'm so happy with the end results and can't wait to put these in my own personal portfolio! 

Model: Sanya @ Model Students Agency
Photography and Styling: Myself
MUA: Sanya

My Week In Photos #6

Once again I'll admit this isn't the most exciting round up of photos. It seems that whenever my boyfriend is working I don't really do anything! I did however do a little bit of cooking, tried pub golf for the first time (although admittedly didn't do a lot of drinking due to my condition) and I visited an adorable local cafe which I plan on doing a blog post about very soon! 

1. Cooking Sweet Chilli Chicken for my mum and my boyfriend

2. Made Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffins

3. New Missguided top

4. Tuna Mayo Sandwich and PewdiePie

5. Making my own fancy little jar of Fruit Infused Water 

6. Pub Golf Score Card

7. Pub Golf Team

8. OOTD

9. Visiting Tea Jenny Cottage 

Easy Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe

Now I don't claim to be the best in the kitchen - in fact I'm far from it! Today however I'll be posting about a super simple and fun recipe I came across for Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffins. Me and my boyfriend Chris had a wonderful time making these this afternoon and they turned out brilliantly. We decided to follow Laura Vitale's recipe, so please be aware that I'm not claiming this as my own - I'm simply reposting and showing my results. I'll post a link to her website below if any of you are interested in seeing the original post.

 You will need:

- 12 Cupcake Cases
- 1/2 Cup of Vegetable Oil
- 2 Eggs
-1/2 Cup of Sugar
- 3 Ripe Bananas
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
- 2/3 Cup of Self Raising Flour
- 1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Cinnamon (optional)
- 1 Cup of Chocolate Chips 

1. Start by pre-heating your oven to 200 C and by laying your 12 muffin cases out on a tray, ready to be filled with the mixture later on.

2. Take a bowl and pour in 1 cup of chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons of self raising flour. Then mix together until all the chips are coated with flour - then set aside.

3. Take a large bowl and proceed to add in the 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, 2 eggs and 1/2 a cup of sugar.

4. Take a separate bowl and place your 3 ripe bananas inside, then take a fork and begin mashing them up until you have a thick, lumpy looking paste. Remember to try and keep some banana lumps in tact as you want to be able to really taste the banana when you bite into your muffins. Once mashed add to the larger bowl containing the oil, eggs and sugar. 

5. Add 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract to your bowl and then begin mixing it all together.

5. After mixing then proceed to add 2/3 cup of self raising flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and then the optional step of 1/4 a teaspoon of cinnamon for extra flavour. Whisk until all ingredients are combined.

6. Take your bowl of flour and chocolate chips that you prepared earlier and begin to fold that in to your mixture. Whisk until everything is mixed together then simply divide the batter into your muffin cases and bake for 18 minutes. 

7. After baking for 18 minutes, take a tooth pick and dip it into one of your muffins. If it comes out clean your muffins are ready to be taken out. If there is any mixture on the tooth pick, leave the muffins to cook for longer.

8. Leave to cool and then simply enjoy! 

That's all for this post, thank you again to Laura Vitale for posting such a simple and easy recipe. These muffins turned out so well and received a pretty good reaction from everyone who tried one! I really enjoyed doing this kind of post so maybe there will be more cooking related content on my blog from time to time. 

Laura's Website

My Week in Photos #5

Finally - a week where I've had something to do almost every day but today. It's been nice having so much to do this week (although some of it was just visiting doctors and picking up medicine) and it's been extra nice to feel well enough to do it all! I've recently started a new course of medication and so far so good. Hopefully my recent bit of good luck continues! 

1. Lunchables and PewdiePie

2. Made BBQ Chicken Quesadillas for the first time

3. OOTD to go and visit some friends

4. Failed cake pop attempt

5. Trying out a new primer - review to come soon.

6. A well deserved ice cream after having 5 bottles of blood taken from me

7. Strawberries, Banana, Muesli and Low Fat SKYR Yoghurt for breakfast.

8. Visiting the Dovecote Buttery for lunch

9. Strawberry picking for the first time

10. Trying out Vita Coco 

11. Nandos in Nottingham

12. Trying on stuff in Topshop (and regretting not buying them)

The Dovecote Buttery - Lunch and Stawberry Picking

Today I took a trip to The Dovecote Buttery - a restaurant and shop based at Dovecote Farm near Kettering in the Northamptonshire area. I've driven by the place countless times and today was the day I finally got to go in and experience everything it had to offer. 

In 1985 Dovecote farm began a pick your own fruit service, which over the years has expanded and now includes some veg too. In 2004 they opened "The Buttery" tea room, which has since expanded into a bigger restaurant area. The interior of the place is absolutely beautiful. It's very light and airy and is decorated in a New England kind of style with lots of shabby chic trinkets scattered all over the place. All of which are available to purchase as the place also doubles as a unique gift shop, full of candles, ornaments and various other things.

Just as you step inside the Buttery room you're met with the sight of fresh local produce, various jars of preserves, pies, cheese, pork products etc all of which are available for visitors to purchase.

We arrived at about 1pm and were seated instantly, which was a pleasant surprise as I had heard that they're often really busy and therefore being seated can take a while, however we were incredibly fortunate! The staff were very friendly and were quick to take our drink orders and give us the menus. After perusing the menu for a while I decided to get one of their delicious sandwiches served on doorstop bread. I went with the Tuna Mayo sandwich on granary bread which came with a side of crisps, salad and a helping of coleslaw. I've only ever tried tuna once before and I wasn't sure how I felt about it, however this was delicious and I can now confidently say I'm a fan of tuna! The menu had a great selection of items to choose from, ranging from jacket potatoes, soups, sandwiches etc. All of which are moderately priced. As for the drinks selection, they had a good choice of fresh juices, fizzy drinks, teas, cocktails, champagne and of course pimms! 

As you can expect from a tea room they have a wonderful selection of fresh cakes and scones on offer. Judging by this photo, the Baileys Gateux seemed to go down well with most people! 

After lunch we went out and picked some strawberries on site. Dovecote farm have a variety of soft fruit available for visitors to pick and even have a calender on their website so you can see when's the best time to go down and pick your fruit or veg. You simply pick the size of the container you'd like to fill and a member of staff will inform you which rows to go to in order for you to pick your selected fruit. Your containers are then weighed and priced at the farm shop. I've never been strawberry picking before and it was such a fun and enjoyable activity to do - especially when you have lovely weather like we did today. I've now got my strawberries chilling in the fridge and plan on having them with some fresh whipped cream later on this evening. Yummy!

All in all if you're ever in the area I highly recommend you stop by and check it out. It's a great place for all the family to visit. There's lots to do and the food is brilliant! A fantastic hidden gem - I can't believe it's taken me so long to visit!