Tag: Inspiration

Friday thought #12 The joy of baking!

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I’ve always loved cooking and am perfectly at home pottering around my kitchen, surrounded by ingredients, trying out a new cookie recipe whilst simultaneously making a lasagne and a loaf of bread!

Having more free time on my hands recently I’ve been thoroughly enjoying spending more time cooking and baking, and especially experimenting more with new recipes. I have rediscovered some of those cookery books which have been gathering dust on my shelves for the past few years, geekily bookmarking recipes I like the look of and writing comments under ones I’ve tried. I find so much pleasure in taking the time to cook something delicious and feeling proud of the result, rather than grabbing something from the freezer and throwing it in the oven because you have no time. Now I am aware that many people either don’t have the time to do this or sadly have no interest, so I count myself lucky that I not only currently have the time but also the inclination to get stuck in to some experimental baking!

I’m not sure what inspired me of late, but this week I had a sudden urge to attempt to decorate cakes. I don’t think I’ve ever tried to properly decorate a cake before, and wisely so I imagine! But I decided to set my sights low and begin easy with some simple cupcakes. I can see why so many parents choose decorating cakes as an activity to do with their children, it’s so much fun! Especially when you let loose with the piping bag! Here is the evidence of my first attempt, banana cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Although they may not look quite shop-bought, they’re super tasty and I think not a terrible start! I definitely plan to continue with my newly found cake decorating enthusiasm, although it might have to be planned around visiting friends or dinner parties as there’s a definite limit to how many cupcakes a person should eat!

Before frosting
Before the frosting fun began…
The finished product!
The finished product!
Trying to be arty!
Trying to be arty!
Trying to be arty!
Having fun with the piping bag!

Do something every day that inspires you…

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Ok, so maybe every day isn’t possible! Understandably life often gets in the way, but it’s so important to try and do something as often as you can that either inspires you, takes your breath away, or simply makes you smile. It doesn’t have to be anything spectacular, it could be stopping to look at a beautiful view, making the effort to watch the sunset, pulling over in the car to admire a rainbow, or simply pausing to appreciate where you are. All too often people find it difficult to look past the negatives in their day, without stopping to appreciate their great friends, their comfortable life, the people that love them, and the food in their fridge!

It is perhaps an old cliché, but I do think the simpler things in life are often the most pleasurable. Daily life is so hectic, juggling the work/life balance, that people often don’t feel they have time to even stop for a minute, myself included, because in that minute that you paused to take a breather, imagine all the things you could have done, the emails you could have sent, the phone calls you could have made… We’ve all felt like there’s just not enough time in the day, but if you take on too much and never pause for breath, you begin to lose perspective of why you’re here in the first place. Money is a huge driving force behind how much you take on, but there has to be a balance somewhere, and I see it as so important that every now and again you sit back and appreciate what you have, and where you are.

Have you ever stopped to think about how much worse it could be? The answer to that is probably ‘a lot ‘, so next time you feel overwhelmed, try and find time in your day to talk to that person you didn’t have time for, or to stop and take a photograph of the light through the trees that you may never see again. In a hectic day at work, take five minutes to get in touch with that friend you just haven’t haven’t had time to reply to, because if you’re anything like me, an e-mail from an old friend is a ray of sunshine on a never-ending day, and a sure way of making you smile!

Despite being tired and with a million things on my mind, I managed to get out for a quick ski tour after work yesterday afternoon, and wow was I pleased I did!

The sun sets over a spectacular vista on the ski down
The sun sets over a spectacular vista on the ski down 

A lonely peak peers out through the cloud inversion
A lonely peak peers out through the cloud inversion