Our Blog For All Things Lovely!: December 2015

What a year 2015 has been! So much has happened and I really wanted to do a post to give an overview of the year, but this blog would be nothing without my fabulous guests (and also Lauren. D who you can find here and here) so I've invited them along to join in our little celebration of 2015!

New things we've experienced in the past 12 months:

'Driving' - Ella

'I have experienced a few new things in 2015, some sad and some happy. A new experience for me that was sad was loosing someone who meant the absolute world to me and learning to live everyday knowing she's not there for me anymore, to go alongside this I've had to learn how to deal with special holidays such as Christmas and my Birthday for the first time without her there.

A happier new experience was kind of finding who I am and morals I now hold and strongly believe in, I've experienced a feeling of not being afraid to fully be myself because the people who truly love me will stick by me no matter what.' - Emma. W

'Something new I've experienced in 2015 is taking my gcse exams and collecting my results. It was such a nerve wracking experience but I definitely think it has helped me get over my fear of going into the exam hall and given me the confidence that if I set my mind to something and work hard, I can do well.' - Lauren. D

'Taking my GCSEs and starting A-levels. It was very scary taking my exams but I'm so happy with the results I got. Going into Year 12, I was excited but also apprehensive, it was a big change but I was ready for one. I've made new friends, and started to pursue subjects that I really enjoy.' - Kate

'A new experience for me was starting my job back at the beginning of March, it's allowed me to earn money and be able to treat my family and friends to Christmas presents I feel they deserved and I probably wouldn't have been able to buy before I got my job, and I've also bought myself quite a few things too...;) I've made new friends and talked to so many people I would never get the opportunity to talk to if it wasn't for my job!' - Emma. C

'Concerts. I've been to 8 this year and I don't think I'll ever get over the noise of an audience screaming back the lyrics to a song you've listened to on repeat for almost 4 years.' - Lauren. M

Things from 2015 that will always make us smile:

'Being prom queen' - Ella

'Prom!' - Emma

'Prom, even though I was scared and spent a couple of months saying that I wasn't going to go, I'm really glad I did in the end!' - Lauren. D

'My holiday in East Sussex this summer. Despite it being far from our planned holiday in Mexico, this week exceeded my expectations and I really enjoyed myself! I got to spend a week in the sun, with my cousins, and we had a fabulous time. :)' - Kate

'All the times I've spent with my friends on birthdays and just days together! I say this a lot but I really have incredible friends and any time I spend with them is time I know I will look back and smile about! Like some of the other girls, prom will make me smile, despite the food not being too great, it was a lovely night that I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did!' - Emma. C

'I became friends with an old friend again. I forgave her for the things she did that caused our friendship to break. The night we spoke about it we both cried of happiness to each other on FaceTime; I guess that will make me smile!' Lauren. M

Things we've learnt this year that we will use to enrich our 2016:

'That if I push myself I can do things, even if I struggle at the time I feel better afterwards, and it will help me because I know I can do things now that I wouldn't have dreamt of before or wouldn't have felt able to do.' - Ella

'That life is very fragile and one person who is there one day may not be there the next so you must cherish every moment you have with people, whether it's someone you've known years or someone you've just met.' - Emma. W

'That if I work hard and have confidence, I can accomplish anything.' - Lauren. D

'To keep going and don't give up, even if you're finding things difficult, things will always work out in the end!' - Kate

'I've learnt or been reminded of a few things this year. Keep making sure that you find the positives in negative situations. Always take time to put yourself first, if you're ill, take the time you need off. As many teachers rightly pointed out to me, you have all the time in the world to do whatever you want, but you won't have that time without letting yourself get back to health. Health is so important to everything in your life, don't ever let it slip to the bottom of your priorities. And finally, life is unpredictable and you never truly know what's around the river-bend! Take every opportunity that comes to you in order to enrich your life, but don't be afraid to face changes and challenges that lie ahead of you. Go through life with courage, determination and you'll be able to get through any tough times you face on the Rollercoaster that is life.' - Emma. C

'I've learnt to accept my state of mind and that I will feel down, but there will always be someone or something to bring me back up.' - Lauren. M

One thing from 2015 we'd travel back in time to do again:

'I would travel back in time to do prom because it was an amazing night, to my GCSEs to try better or to the summer and tell myself that I should enjoy the experiences I had more than I did' - Ella

'Summer, it was so long and great and I had so many memories with so many different people, who I now no longer speak to as much or have drifted away from. I miss then! It was so simple and there was nothing to worry about (especially all of these A Levels that have now my full attention).

I'd also make myself make even more memories than I did and take up more opportunities that came my way.' - Emma. W

'The long summer holiday, it was amazing to spend some time to switch off and relax after doing my GCSEs, it allowed me to spend some time on my blog and start a YouTube channel. I also spent some time working and had fun with my friends, it is definitely a time I would love to re-live again.' - Lauren. D

'I'd travel back to repeat the summer again. We were off for such a long time, without the worries of any exams or school work. It was a nice break before the pressure of A-levels.' - Kate

'As with everyone else, I'd also go back to the long summer holiday. I think we ended up losing track of how long it had been since we'd actually learnt anything and everyone was so relaxed and happy! I'd also quite like to travel back to when I went to see S Club 7 in May with my friends. It was such a fun night, I felt so nostalgic and it was such an amazing evening! I'd also want to travel back to seeing The 1975 again. It was incredible but I'd definitely rethink footwear and try to push to somewhere that I could see more than just the backs of the people in front of us! I know it isn't one but I'd travel to one of the three haha!' - Emma. C

'The 1975 Concert on the 24th November. Never have I felt more alive.' - Lauren. M

A summary of the year in three words:

'Fun, difficult, eye-opening' - Ella

'Eye-opening, life-changing and a rollercoaster' - Emma. W

'Scary, eye-opening and fun' - Lauren. D

'Challenging, enjoyable, happy' - Kate

'Rewarding, challenging, positive' - Emma. C

'Craziest year yet.' - Lauren. M

Summarise your year in three words, we'd love to see how your year went!

Thank you for sticking with us for another year, we appreciate all the kind comments we get from you and hope that 2016 will be an even better year for the blog!

From all at Our Blog For All Things Lovely, Happy new year!

There's nothing quite like walking through the front door to meet the smell of freshly baked gingerbread at this time of year, and baking gingerbread is fun for everyone! Get your Christmas playlist on loud and get baking!

Ingredients:

350g plain flour (and extra for rolling out)
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g butter
175g light brown soft sugar (I only had dark but it worked just as well!)
1 egg
4 tbsp golden syrup

Start by sifting together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon and mix together.
Add the butter (in smaller chunks to make it easier) and rub in (use the tips of your fingers to mix in the butter with the dry ingredients) until the mix looks like fine breadcrumbs.
Stir in the sugar.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat your egg and golden syrup together, or at least attempt to, we all know how golden syrup can be hard to mix in! Add this to the rest of the mixture and combine them to get your dough.
Wrap this dough in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 10 minutes.
In this 10 minutes, preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line your baking trays with greaseproof paper.
Take your dough out of the fridge and onto a floured surface, roll it out. Use whatever shape cookie cutters you can find or go crazy and make freehand shapes and place on a baking tray (not too close together!).
Bake these for 12-15 minutes (or until golden brown) whilst dancing around the kitchen to various christmas songs you know every word to;)
Once the gingerbread has cooked, leave them to cool before decorating!