sweet sweet music

this bands vinyl plays quite frequently at work and is one of the very few albums i actually enjoy listening to on a daily basis. this song in particular brightens my day. oh and if anyone knows where i can get hold of the vinyl super cheap then i would be very grateful as we sold out before i was able to get my hands on it.

my little german friend

for the past few weeks my friends and me have played host to a lovely german girl called evelyn. she is the sweetest and i have had the rare chance to play tourist in my home town. i have visited museums, had breakfast in betty's (my favourite), eaten out almost every day, attended an evening held by local magazine aesthetica, drank copious amounts of gin and slimline tonic, pug sat and spent my evenings and weekends with some of the best people i know.

sundays cake

as part of my twenty four before twenty five list, you may remember that one thing i wanted to do was cake sundays. well let me tell you, i have been busy baking away nearly every sunday evening now. this sundays cake was a little special, a farewell cake for one of my managers who is starting a new job down in london (good luck harriet). she requested a cake i'd never attempted before, a black forest gateaux. i browsed the internet for two evenings trying to find the perfect recipe, until i finally stumbled upon this absolute peach of a recipe, it was perfect. surprisingly the cake used no butter and plain flour not self raising - new to me, but it worked! i have given up refined sugars for lent, so unfortunately i was unable to sample it for myself, but i received some lovely feedback from my work kiddos who demolished the whole thing in a day. i promise, promise, promise that the recipe is so easy, a lot easier than it may seem at first, and decorating cakes with fruit always makes a cake look a million times tastier.


sincerely alexa

sunday clears away the rust of the whole week

this sunday afternoon was spent rooting through the beautiful treasure trove that is PASH, near easingwold in north yorkshire. i only recently discovered PASH via my monthly subscription to the simple things magazine,  and i am so grateful that they shared this hidden gem.

if you haven't visited this beautiful warehouse yet, then i highly recommend you do. everything was arranged so beautifully, nothing looked too over crowded or as if it was well balanced so you daren't touch it. i fell in love with the mason jars and the etched glass bottles. i was surprised at how fairly priced everything was too, 

there was not one item there that seemed overpriced.

the sweet little market town of easingwold is just down the road and it is the perfect setting for afternoon tea, which of course we had to have. i have given up refined sugars for easter and so i was pretty jealous of my mother and godmothers choice of high tea and instead opted for a delicious sandwich made on homemade, sugar free (i checked) bread.

we ventured to PASH on a sunday afternoon, but if you'd like to make a full day of things, then i'd recommend visiting on a saturday as there were some pretty sweet looking shops and antique stores in the town centre which do not open on a sunday.

sincerely, alexa

sweet sweet music

i have recently discovered this girl and she is pretty darn amazing. i didn't realise how many of her songs i already knew. this song is an absolute peach and i cannot wait for her vinyl to arrive.

cocktail favourites : the old fashioned

an old boyfriend of mine got me hooked on whiskey - well maybe not hooked, but i am a pretty big fan. since giving up diet sodas (and full fat sodas) i have had to find an alternative for my usual jack and diet coke. i am a massive fan of a cocktail called, the old fashioned. it's pretty strong, and something you'd usually think of as a mans drink of choice, so i have found several ways of making them a tiny bit more girly.

here's the basic recipe -

2 shots whiskey.
a few drops of angostura bitters.
a splash of sour mix (lemon juice, water, sugar)
a dash of soda water (or lemomade if you have a sweet tooth)
1 slice of orange or orange peel.
1 lemon rind twist.
1 maraschino cherry.
ice cubes.

mix the whiskey, bitters, sour mix and orange in a glass.
pour over ice, add the soda, cherry and lemon rind (i tend to opt for a chunky slice of orange instead).
i serve mine up in a jam jar or a short tumbler.

if you want to make this drink more girl friendly, here are some ideas of things i have added, a dash of lavender, elderflower or vanilla syrup, an edible flower instead of the orange/lemon.

what are your favourite cocktails? let me know any amazing recipes you have!

sincerely, alexa

sweet sweet music

this song will forever remain one of my favourites. i recently purchased their vinyl and it's just beautiful. i am in love with this sweet video too.

sincerely, alexa 

bits and pieces

one. fifties hair

 two. a gift from my brother

 three. best friend photobooth photos 

 four. birthday cake from my best one

five. dang, i miss this gal, she's away traveling the globe.

six. leah goren cat print dress.

seven. birthday night and dancing in nicolas flat.

eight. the most beautiful bottle of rum i ever saw.

nine. festive fireplace.

ten. this book is pretty much my bible.

eleven. liberty of london dr martens, utter bargain with my works discount.

twelve. old fashioned, probably my favourite cocktail.

thirteen. driving to the farm shop in the snow earlier today.

fourteen. cath kidston christmas plates and yorkshire pudding starter.

fifteen. cold december walk.

sixteen. the most ginger i have ever made my hair, i am in love.

you can follow me on instagram here.

sincerely, alexa