Thrifty But Glam

It isn't impossible to enjoy a meal out and stick true to your vegan beliefs, but it is extremely hard and time consuming.  It kind of takes the fun and spontaneity away from enjoying a meal out, which is perhaps why so many slip up and stick to the mainstream vegetarian meals rather then Vegan. There are many websites that can assist with vegan meal planning while out, but be prepared to have quite a limited selection.  You will also need to speak to your wait staff to specify you need a vegan meal - not the easiest thing to do if there is a language barrier. Some chains do offer a vegan selection, but it wont always be possible to force your none vegan friends to eat where you need to. Last night I went to Wagamamas, a past favourite restaurant of mine that we haven't been able to enjoy since Chris's misdiagnosis of being coeliac.  It was rather impromptu  I didn't check their website and when I found the menu lacking marked vegan foods, I chickene...

You may remember that last October I finally gained a room of my very own to work in.  I was very excited and set to work turning it into something functional but on a minimal budget.  Well we definitely have the function side sorted and I personally like how it looks.  We are sadly having to move next year and so I won't be decorating, but I am very pleased with my work space and thought it would be nice to give you all an update. I have two main work areas; the large table is set up to cut designs and the smaller work bench under the window is usually used to assemble items. This is a very new addition to the room, my lovely Mother in Law gifted it to me and I think it's the bees knees :) It is already full of crafting supplies, my dream is to fill all the shelves with glass containers stacked full of crafty bits!  I also end up storing a lot of my makes on here as it helps to keep them out of the way when I'm working. Sugar and Spice (I th...

My lovely mother in law bought me some wonderful icing stencils for Christmas.  They were from the Great British Bake Off and were such a wonderful, yet simple idea to decorate a cake.  I knew instantly that it would be something I was going to replicate with my Silhouette Cameo. Initially I wasn't sure that I would be able to find a suitable material to make the stencil from.  I knew that the Silhouette would not be able to cut the thick plastic that my stencils were made from, and so a lot of research was needed.  After finding out that my machine could cut acetate, I decided to give it a go. It was my father in laws birthday a week ago and I offered to make a cake to celebrate.  It was just a simple sponge, so I knew that livening it up with a stencil would be perfect! Although the cocoa powder was trickier to stencil with then the icing sugar, I still think it came out quite well.  My stencil is a lot thinner then the orig...

I have always had very strong views when it comes to animal cruelty.  About 10 years ago I started becoming more aware of how farmed animals were treated and the sometimes inhumane way in which they were killed and processed for meat.  I do truly believe that humans were designed to be carnivores, but I also believe that animals that are destined for the table should be given the best life possible and slaughtered in a dignified way that is as free of pain and stress as possible. I was suckered into the organic movement a few years ago by Jamie Oliver and co.  He led me to believe that organically reared animals had a much better life and were slaughtered in a humane way.  To my ears it was perfect, the benefits of meat without the cruelty.  I carried on blissfully buying organic produce, (when money permitted) but after reading 'The Fertility Diet ' by Sarah Dobbyn, I started to question the effects of consuming meat and dairy.  I even tried cutting out ...