Beyonce - Why Don't You Love Me

this is just a little post to say that i'm still firmly alive and that i'm now residing in Warsaw, Poland! it's been very hectic and kerrrrrazy these past few weeks, hence lack of updates! additionally, my cruel brother decided not to let his camera travel across the continent, and so i've been left without one for while - HOWEVER, this has been remedied and i have one winging it's way over to me thanks to the magic (and convinience) of Amazon.eu.

so, hopefully, i shall be able to resume posting in the next week or so! cue pictures of nails, makeup, outfit posts as i battle with Polish weather, all with a smattering of culture as i snap Warsaw with my digital device.

now here are some puppy/doggy pictures of my Lily, to try and convinve you all not to leave me.

 

City and Colour - Northern Wind

1. new pjs!

2. playing ball with lily <3

3. leopard print nails

4. going away present from my bestest best friend 

5. listening to moosic 

ps. one of my favourite blogs Being Little, is having the most generous giveaway to celebrate Being Little's 1st birthday!

Donny Osmond - Puppy Love

lily never needs or wants anything more from me other than kisses, food, walkies and plenty of cuddles. oh, and to hog my entire bed whilst pushing me into a teeny tiny corner (her limbs stretched out seriously rival my length of 5ft and a half inch!). who or what else do i need?

The Call - Regina Spektor

these past few days have been filled with puppies and muffins - surely a winning combination in anyone's books?

my puppy Lily has grown so much in three short months - our black lab came to us weighing a tiny 3.5kg and 7 weeks, and now is a HUMONGOUS 15kg and 20 weeks old. she's gorgeous, clever and the most loving pet we could have ever wished for. even though taking care of her can sometimes work your fingers to the bone (limitless supplies of puppy energy can wear out even the most determined of owners), she's worth it. she's the heart & soul of our family and we feel so lucky to have her!

i also ventured into the sphere of muffin-baking, having previously just exercised in the arena of cupcake-making. and they turned out BRILLIANTLY for the first try - possibly even better than my cupcakes as they were mouthwateringly moist and yummy. they were also stupidly easy to make. i made plain choc-chip and chocolate choc-chip.

if you want to make these gorgeous muffins, this is all you need to do!

ingredients
- 175g self-raising flour
- 50g cocoa powder if you're making chocolate ones!
- 50g butter
- 50g caster sugar
- 125ml milk
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- as many g of choc-chips as you like!

tools
- a muffin tray
- cupcake/muffin cases
- bowl
- sieve
- wooden spoon

method
1. pre-heat the oven to 180 degree celsius.
2. mix all the dry ingredients together - flour, suagr, baking powder & cocoa powder if you're making chocolate cupcakes - in the big mixing bowl.
3. mix up the wet ingredients - eggs, milk, vanilla essence and butter (i find it helpful to melt the butter in the microwave for ease of mixing) - in a separate bowl.
4. add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix a few times - it doesn't matter if it's lumpy. chuck in the choc-chips and mix a bit more.
5. put the cupcake/muffin cases in the muffin tray and then spoon in the mixture, almost to the top - you want almost full muffin cases!.
6. bake for 10-14 minutes or until cooked through, leave to cool then ENJOY.

tip!
- put a oven-proof baking dish full of water at the bottom of the oven while you're baking for extra moist muffins ;)

Cactus Tree, Joni Mitchell
(Joni Mitchell's music is so inspirational and beautiful).

ladies, gentlemen, hold onto your heart because it's about to be stolen by my newest family member.

introducing... Lily!

she is my family's first pet (aside from a hamster a few years back) and ISN'T SHE GORGEOUS? she is a seven week old black labrador puppy and is truly the cleverest, most gorgeous and sweetest puppy i've met! she is incredibly smart and although we've only had her for two days, she already knows that she needs to go outside for the toilet and sits by the back door waiting to be let out (though we do have to be quick because about a minute after this, bladder control disappears).

expect many more pictures of her as she grows and grows (hopefully not sideways though - labs are notoriously greedy!)