Holiday Bucketlist - BLOGMAS DAY 10

Good day everyone! I hope you are having a lovely day.

On todays Blogmas post I'll be highlighting some places I dream of visiting in my lifetime. I've always been far more interested in visiting European cities than the wider places on Earth. However, there are a couple that stick out. So in this post there will be a few with a mixture of both. 

NEW YORK CITY 

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This is my dream and always has been since I was a tiny little human. Luckily I've met a boy who also wants to visit, my plan is that this will be our honeymoon destination. No hot, chilled holiday. I want a busy, jam-packed, sightseeing, unforgettable get away and New York will be the perfect place. If I could get up and move anywhere in the world it would be NY without a doubt. I was born for busy cities that never sleep. 

STOCKHOLM 

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I have visited a few places so far in Sweden - Jönköping, Malmo and Lomma - all quite quiet and sweet little places. I want to visit Stockholm to see what this part of Sweden is like, it would probably be the most touristy I would have ever been in Sweden. Rather than off my nut on overly expensive alcohol. It looks stunning. 

SYDNEY

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Again, another dream since I was young. Although, I think if my life had panned out differently I would have gone travelling to Australia but god knows what my life would have been like then! I would love to go on a long holiday like my in laws recently did, they did a cruise from Australia to New Zealand and it looked great. I'd love to do that one day with Dan! 

CREMA, ITALY 

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Dan and I have a plan to travel around Italy one day and Crema is at the top of my list of places to visit. This little Northern Italian town is the home of one of my favourite films 'Call Me By Your Name'. That movie made me fall in love with the thought of Northern Italy, it looks gorgeous. Crema looks like the perfect little place to visit on a warm Summers day and it'll be a dream come true when the day comes. 

Now I'm sure that has brought some sunshine to your Winters day, have any of these ever been of interest to you? Let me know! 

Shannon x 

Mental Health At Christmas Time - BLOGMAS DAY 9

Hey everyone, I hope you are enjoying blogmas so far! 

This post is one usual to my typical blog posts, mental health. Mental health at Christmas time is a tough one, always has been for me anyway. I LOVE Christmas, always have and always will but I also fall into depression and anxiety quite badly around this time of year. I think it's because my mind does not want me to be happy and enjoy what is happening. What a fucker.

It is a tough time of year, and that's okay! It is okay to not be bouncing off the walls, going out and getting merry because you would rather stay in and chill out and look after yourself. It's okay to still be sad when you're almost expected to be happy 'because it's Christmas'. 

I have one thing to say in this moment and that is to let go of the pressure of Christmas. Enjoy yourself as much as you can, but don't force yourself to just because of what Christmas is. No one is expecting you to have no mental illness for the holidays, that's not physically possible. You're doing just fine! 

This is a tough time of year as well if you suffer or have suffered from an eating disorder. I look back at times from previous years at Christmas and I've definitely stopped myself from enjoying it as much as I'd like to because I was listening to my anorexia. I would not eat any Christmas treats and be put off food completely. I'm not a massive eater anyway, so every Christmas is still a tough time for me even when I am recovered from my eating disorder - but some things stick! 

This is when you should look out for your support during this time, your nurses or therapists should provide you with emergency support over the Christmas period and use it if you need to! Like I said, it is a tough time and THAT IS OKAY.

TIPS TO HELP YOU THROUGH:

• Take time to yourself when needed and don't feel bad for doing so - Christmas is all about family, friends and socialising for most of us and this means that anxiety levels can be sky high. If this is the case, take some time away...if you're at a friends house just take a moment outside, that's okay! If you are at home then take some time out in your room for 10 minutes to collect your thoughts and bring yourself back round to the present. 

• Remember that you are okay whatever happens - If it is so overwhelming at this time, remember you've got through every other Christmas and even every other day before. You were okay then and you are going to be okay now too. 

• Drink sensibly - Of course people like a drink at Christmas but its good to remember your limits. Too much alcohol can trigger depression and anxiety tremendously, so look after yourself! 

• ASK FOR HELP - and don't be ashamed for doing so, your family, friends and loved ones are there to help and there are services to help you too throughout the season. I would recommend having the Samaritans number saved in your phone as they are open all year round, including Christmas day - 116 123

To conclude, I want you to have the best time you can allow yourself to have but don't give in to the pressure. You do you! 

Shannon x 

Christmas Tree Brownie Baking - BLOGMAS DAY 8

Hello everyone! As you can tell from the title I took on some Christmas baking. I got a recipe from Sainsburys here after looking on my trusty Pinterest. Usually I'm a decent baker, the same applies here but my opinion on the finished product may be slightly different... 

Ingredients

• 150g cook’s Belgian dark chocolate (76% cocoa solids), roughly chopped
• 150g unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 125g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• zest and juice of 1 clementine (I USED A SATSUMA, CAUSE THEY'RE JUST THE FUCKING SAME TO BE HONEST)
• 3 tbsp port (I USED RED WINE AS AN ALTERNATIVE) 
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• a good pinch of ground cloves
• several gratings of nutmeg
• 100g plain flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder

To decorate 

• 75g royal icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp gold and silver sprinkles – we used star sprinkles
• 12 x Cadbury chocolate fingers

Ingredients taken straight from the Sainsburys website 

I love baking at the best of times but at Christmas time it's even better to have fun and experiment with recipes you've never tried before. Dan and I are planning to make Terry's Chocolate Orange brownies again soon, they ruled last time and Dan definitely got a lot of credit with his work friends. 

I cannot wait for Christmas time in the future when I have my own home and can freely bake whenever the fudge I want, and be a mum who bakes cookies for their kids when they get home from school. Or the mum who makes gingerbread men as little presents for people, I want to be THAT extra. 

They turned out looking fairly decent, so pat on the back to me. A great way to spend only a couple of hours on a day off! 

I'd say the following out of ten: 

Taste - 5/10 (personal preference) Dan said 5/10

Ease of baking - 8/10

Disaster level on my part - 6/10 (they look OKAY) 

Just to remind you the entire recipe is here so let me know if you're trying these out for Christmas! (I'd advise you to avoid using ground cloves however, they made them taste WEIRD. What else do you have planned to bake or cook this Christmas season, let me know! 

Shannon x