Salted caramel truffles recipe.

Hey readers,

Truffles are fairly straightforward to make so why not have a go with my recipe below and enjoy :)

Ingredients.

* 70g of milk chocolate buttons. 

* 20g of salted butter caramel pieces. 

* 8g of chocolate powder. 

* 40ml of double cream.

How to make the chocolate truffles. 

1. Put the chocolate buttons into a bowl. 

2. Measure the cream into a jug and boil it in the microwave (this will take approximately 40 seconds). Alternatively, you can boil the cream in a pan on the hob. 

3. Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow it to stand for 3 minutes. 

4. Using the spatula, combine the chocolate and cream until you reach a smooth texture. Then add the caramel pieces and combine these fully into the ganache. 

5. Put it into the fridge to set for approximately 2 hours. You'll know when it's set when the ganache is firm enough to roll into a ball into your hands. 

Rolling the truffles.

The ganache will typically make 11 truffles using a teaspoon. Make sure you have clean, dry hands before rolling the truffles. 

6. Put the chocolate powder on a plate ready to roll the truffles. 

7. Take a teaspoon of the ganache and in the palm of your hands, roll it into a ball. 

8. Roll the truffle in the chocolate powder coasting fully and plate it on the plate. Repeat for the remaining ganache. 

Once made. 

Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge and consume them within 3 days. Enjoy at room temperature.

Cheers for reading X

100 outdoor things to do with kids

Hey readers,

Sometimes I can find it hard to think of ideas on how to entertain children especially outside. So if you're looking for inspiration then look no further as below I have a whopping 100 children's activities. The activities vary and different seasons depending but it is always good to plan now and again. 

 1. Roll down a big hill.

2. Camp outdoors.

3. Skim a stone.

4. Build a den. 

5. Create some wild art. 

6. Go paddling.

7. Watch a sunrise.

8. Explore a cave.

9. Discover what is in a pond. 

10.  Catch a crab.

11. Fly a kite.

12. Make a campfire.

13. Toast marshmallows.

14. Pooh sticks.

15. Make a leaf collage.

16. Play conkers.

17. Collect shells.

18. Go sledding.

19. Swing on a rope swing. 

20. Make a daisy chain.

21. Plant a tree.

22. Run a mile. 

23. Climb a tree.

24. Go fruit picking. 

25. Count 60 when hola hooping. 

26. ride a bike. 

27. Blow some bubbles.

28. Play frisbee. 

29. Play duck, duck, goose.

30. Make a birdfeeder. 

31. Feed a horse.

32. Visit a farm. 

33. Have a picnic in your garden. 

34. Go bug spotting. 

35. Enjoy a nature walk. 

36. Create an obstacle course in your garden.

37. Enjoy some tie-dying outside.

38. Paint some rocks and put them in the park for others to spot.

39. Create a nature diary.

40. Make up some potions.

41. Do some bird spotting. 

42. Find a shady tree and read.

43. Make a floral crown. 

44. Learn cartwheels. 

45. Have a water fight.

46. Build a fort.

47. Dance in the rain. 

48. Imitate a bird's call. 

48. Blow dandelions into the wind.

49. Dig up worms. 

50. Sleep under the stars. 

51. Explore a skate park. 

52. Jump in a pile of leaves.

53. Build a snowman. 

54. Make a walkie-talkie out of two tins and some string. 

55. Go fishing. 

56. Find a walking stick. 

57. Catch snowflakes on your tongue. 

58. Make a crayon leaf rubbing. 

59. Whittle a stick. 

60. Collect 6 different types of rock. 

61. Rollerskate.

62. Draw a hopscotch board on the floor. 

63. Eat homemade ice lollies.

64. Sing as loud as you can.

65. Water the plants. 

66. Run through a sprinkler. 

67. Pick flowers.

68. Walk barefoot on the grass. 

69. Make nature confetti. 

70. Ice-skating.

71. Snow paint. 

72. Christmas light walk.

73. Go caroling. 

74. Construct a mud pit. 

75. Jump in muddy puddles.

76. Photograph flowers.

77. Go on a scavenge hunt. 

78. Paint fairy houses.

79. Stargaze. 

80. Go for a swim. 

81. Kick a ball. 

82. Create twig frames. 

83. Battle with shaving foam. 

84. Float a paper boat down a stream. 

85. Use a compass.

86. Yoga outdoors. 

87. Listen to a waterfall. 

88. Nerf gun wars.

89. Geocaching.

90. Pokemon Go. 

91. Fly a drone.

92. Go ape.

93. Orienteering. 

94. Hide and seek. 

95. Plant a vegetable garden. 

96. Go to the beach.

97. Build a sandcastle. 

98. Jump over waves.

99. Press flowers.

100. Pick up rubbish. 

Have I missed any good activities that you think are perfect to do with children outdoors? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down below. 

Cheers for reading X

My Sunday Photo 02/01/2022

 

                                                  

6 ways to earn amazon vouchers!

Hey readers, 

Looking to earn a few quid which would be ideal as we are heading closer to Christmas.

 Well, I can tell you some simple money apps that you can earn Amazon vouchers simply by scanning your receipts and it is really simple to do. 

1. Snap My Eats.

With Snap Eats you have a set amount of receipts you can upload which is  25 receipts. They need to be done within the month and then you get a £10 reward. 

Of course, if you don't have 25 receipts depending on how many you upload you will receive £1-£4. 

Once you are up to £10 you can cash it out as a gift card which can be used in selected stores such as Virgin, Amazon, and Google Play store. 

The receipts are for anything food-related, whether it be food from the supermarket, restaurant, or coffee shop. As long as something that is food-related is purchased then it will be accepted.

The app can be downloaded via the Play store and the Apple app store. 

2. Shopprize. 

Pretty simple all you need is receipts, take a picture of them and scan them into the app.

 Make sure that you tap to focus your camera and take a picture of your receipt. Check that your photo is readable and not blurry or cut-off.

 Use your coins to enter to win the offers give-away or save up your coins in exchange for Amazon or play gift vouchers. 

To qualify for a gift card you will need to have 500 coins to cash out a £5 Amazon or play gift card. 

Once clarifying you want the gift card you will receive an email confirming your details fairly shortly after and you can use the code straight away. It on average takes about 2 weeks if you are consistently scanning in receipts. 

3. Huyu. 

My referral code is GVCXNXFR and gets 50 points. 

Again another receipt app where you can earn points from your receipt. 

You can cash out once you hit the 500 points which can be exchanged for a five-pound Amazon voucher. 

They do send you an email with the gift code which then you just copy and paste to your Amazon account under managing your gift cards when you can it to so don't have to spend it straight away. 

4. Shoppix. 

Shoppix is similar to Receipt Hog where you can scan in your receipts and collect rewards.

Also, you get scratchcards also given an opportunity to win additional coins. 

There are also quick surveys where you can win more points.

 Once you reach certain coins you can exchange them in Amazon vouchers, below is how much money equals the number of tokens. 

3200 Tokens = £5

6000 Tokens = £10

11500 Tokens = £20

5. TopCashback.

Referral link - http://www.topcashback.co.uk/eef/member634642761305.

Basically, go on the website before purchasing anything and click on the shop page (you will find it by typing the name of the store into the search bar). 

Then just click to shop which will take you to the site that you want to go to. Each shop has percentage money back and you can request to transfer money earned on Top cashback in Amazon vouchers.

6. Storewards.

Storewards is the latest app you can get rewarded for uploading your receipts and there is no limit to how many receipts you upload.

The receipts can be anything such as a supermarket, bus ticket, and even charity shops.

This app is now my favorite app because it is the quickest one to earn coins which you can transfer money into your Paypal or other gift codes available. 

Make sure you check in each day as you will be rewarded 600 coins for simply opening the app.

It is also levels involved so the more you snap and earn coins you go up a level and this means more bonuses for you. 

Cheers for reading X 

How to deal with post Christmas blues.

Hey readers,

Well, it is officially the end of Christmas and the holiday season but what now? It can be a hard period where you deflated and in a post-slum. These feelings can be hard to shift so let me give you some tips on how to overcome the holiday blues. 

Get outdoors.

It can be easy to sit at home feeling meh, ok you don't have the money, you might have put on a few pounds and just a general feeling of flatness. One way to help lift your mood is to shake off the cobwebs and go out for a walk and breath in the fresh air. Walking in the open can be really beneficial and trust me you feel so much better after choosing to do it.  

Plan. 

With all the fun and games of Christmas end sometimes you need to have a plan on how to move forward and do something constructive like choosing a book of your reading list or sorting out your wardrobe. Anything, that can distract you and do something that can benefit you and make you feel good at doing something that day.  

Have something to look forward to. 

Just because Christmas has ended doesn't mean you can't plan something to look forward to, whether it is going for a coffee somewhere or checking out the local art gallery, you can still get excited about doing something worthy after Christmas.  

Expect some letdown.

They say preparation is key and one way is to expect some letdown after Christmas. Doing this can cause let emotional response to the end of the event meaning it might suck a shock mentally and easier to manage when Christmas has ended.  

Be kind to yourself. 

Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy, it is important to understand that sometimes life can be tough and be gentle with yourself. It takes a little time to adjust from the comedown of Christmas and get back to reality and normality kicks back in. 

Make healthy choices. 

With planning and preparation instead of just eating all the crap food focus on eating healthy as this will have benefits of feeling better in your mood especially in reducing the feelings of sluggishness. Not only that but it will also give you more energy to cope with emotions and get more productive with your day. 

Write about it.

They do say that sometimes the best way of dealing with emotions is to write the feelings down, it can help clear your head and many come with some ways to help overcome the negative feelings of post-Christmas blues. 

Reflection. 

Looking back over the Christmas period and focusing on the positives and the fun times can help you feel better. Knowing that you have created happy memories and there will be many more Christmases in the future to experience the fun times of Christmas again can help with the pain of holidays ending. 

Write thank-you notes. 

Another way to bring on happiness after Christmas is to write out thank you notes to friends and relatives for the presents they have to send you. 

What ways help you overcome the holiday blues? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Cheers for reading X  

My Sunday Photo 26/12/2021

Merry Christmas everyone 🎅 

 

                                                  

My christmas traditions

Hey readers,

Today I want to talk about Christmas traditions that I and my family partake in.

So, where do I Start I guess with Christmas Eve I tend to now tune in to Channel Four's special Christmas movie they air each year.

 I have done this since the boys were little and it is just a lovely way to settle down in the eve before Christmas. Channel four are normally good at picking some really calm films perfect to watch just for bed. The kind of thing is The Snowman and the snowdog or we are going on a bear hunt.

Along with watching the Christmas Eve film, we make a luxury hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows, yummy.

Each year my boys 'help' with putting up the Christmas tree whilst blasting out old classic Jazz Christmas songs, I also prefer that music, and reminds me of my own childhood.

On Christmas day I love to go for a family walk, normally ending up at a park. When we go to the park it is bizarre because it is so eerily quiet when normally it would be buzzing with kids everywhere.

Can't be Christmas without an advent calendar to lead us up to Christmas. Nothing like getting tiny chocolate in the morning, lol.

Every year we go visit Santa locally (it was the same one I went to as a kid so happy memories associated) so it holds happy memories not just for my children but for me as well. It is really fun as there is a Santa sleigh ride where you are still in a sleigh and it moves. It is really pretty with the lights and the kids get all excited to go meet Santa.

My boys are now at that age where they love to write Christmas cards to relatives and friends. They love personalising it with their drawing and stickers - it is a lovely activity to do during Saturday afternoon.

Every Christmas I put up two stockings for the boys to enjoy small little presents and random items, which ironically are some of their favourite things they get over Christmas.

This tradition is more of my husband's thing, which is Christmas crackers at the table. 

Me personally I think they are a waste of money but I am sure I waste money on other things over Christmas. Nonetheless, the boys the surprise by the noise from pulling on crackers and we can have a laugh at the rubbish jokes that come with the crackers.

Going to school play at Christmas is magical to go and see as parents and see your little ones dressed up and singing Christmas songs. I always come away feeling cosy inside and the boys feel proud of all the effort they put into their roles.

Awful cheesy Christmas jumpers that are just glorious to wear during Christmas. My boys love Christmas jumpers especially when one of theirs has lights on it and sings songs, which adds to the excitement of Christmas.

Finally, the last tradition is, of course, leaving a plate out for Santa that consists of a glass of milk, mince pie, and a carrot for the reindeer. My kids after being super happy in the morning to see the plate empty bar a few crumbs, hehe.

Cheers for reading X