Thankful Thursday

I am in the most happy of moods today because I have 12 whole sweet days of leave from work ahead of me. Tomorrow morning I'll be boarding the train to that beaut of a place called Aberystwyth to see the boyfriend in a play (where his character rapes people - cheery!), then we'll be off to spend the first part of next week in Liverpool celebrating his belated 21st birthday, then its back to Aber to enjoy relaxing seaside times. May even squeeze a quick trip to Alton Towers in too early the following week before I head back with a bump to Lancaster and the real world. With all this to look forward to naturally this week has draaaaaaaaaaagged oooooooooon and oooooooooon and oooooooooon and...you get the picture. Though I have been oot and aboot on fieldwork in the glorious sunshine and rocking the ol' freckle mustache (oh the woe's of a ginger!) so I guess I'm pretty lucky. This week I'm also thankful for:

My awesome new Five Year Memory Book

Being paid just in time for my little holiday

Owl patterned wrapping paper

Boots points = free Barry M nail polish. Winning!

Rediscovering old clothes you forgot you had

The most amazing weather this last week

The smell of sun cream

Making too much vanilla buttercream icing and being forced to eat the leftovers

A giant pile of library books

The prospect of imminent boy hugs

Bluebell fields

So I'm probably likely to go AWOL for the next week or so as I'll be off skipping along the beach singing "I'm free! I'm free!" or something to that effect. No doubt I'll be stalking you all on Bloglovin though in the meantime; it has literally become ingrained into my morning routine. 

One of our fieldwork sites this week. Love my job!

I hate wearing flip flops but it's just been that hot.

Excited to lounge around in the sun (hopefully) and made my way through this pile

Meat-Free Monday #4 - Quorn Pasta Bake

I am a bad, bad blogger and neglected to do this post last week. Maybe I was busy being a big, fatty carnivore last Monday, I don't remember. Still, never one to leave something half finished, here is the final installment of this Meat-Free Monday feature. And this week I thought I'd give Quorn a go. Quorn is made from something called Mycoprotein and looks pretty much exactly like meat. It's low in fat and high in protein and fibre so is great is you're looking to make your usual meals healthier. I've cooked with it a few times before and it absorbs the flavours you're cooking with really well without leaving that fatty residue that cooking meat can produce. I knew I wanted to do a Quorn recipe for this feature  but when I had a sneaky gander at the website it was just perfect; they're currently encouraging people to take part in the #makeonechange challenge whereby you change from meat to Quorn for one meal each week for a month. Sounds familiar?! Check it out here if you fancy giving it a go.

Anywho, onwards to the food! As a very busy (aka lazy) student I'm a big fan of the ol' quick and easy pasta bake. Literally bung a few ingredients together and whack it in the oven with a whopping load of cheese of top. Half an hour later a culinary masterpiece will emerge. Last night I was craving pasta bake. I got this recipe from a student cookbook I bought for first year at university and that book practically taught me to cook. Or at least how to survive between the holidays, I'd say actual competency in the kitchen came later. I went for this beefy pasta bake and simply swapped the beef mince for Quorn mince. To recreate my meal you will need:

250g Quorn mince

2 large carrots

1/2 onion

4 cups of pasta

1 can of condensed tomato soup

1 cup of grated cheese

Chop and fry the onion. Chop and boil the carrots. Fry the Quorn mince. Meanwhile boil the pasta. Combine the above and pour over the condensed soup. Mix ingredients together. Transfer into a oven-proof dish. Sprinkle over the grated cheese. Bung it into a pre-heated oven for half an hour. Whap together a salad or some vegetables to serve while you wait impatiently for the magic to occur.

Et volia!

Now...gobble gobble gobble!!

Admittedly not the most attractive of meals but who really gives a crap when it tastes this good?! Thumbs up for Quorn! Literally would hardly know the difference. Y'all should give it a try.

Warning: this meal is designed for two portions. You will want to eat it all though. I leave it up to you whether you resist or not...

How To Have Long Hair And Not Look Like A Tramp

Happy June to all your wondrous people!! Today I am experiencing the pain that only those who also had too many shots last night and danced til dawn can sympathise about. So I'm vegging on the sofa when I should probably be outside enjoying the sun. Still, I'm off work for 12 days from Friday and heading down to Aberystwyth so there should hopefully be ample time to play in the sun. Whilst I am largely incapable of movement I thought I'd do an easy post requiring the smallest about of brain power possible, whilst munching on a giant fish finger bagel of course. A hangover cure can come in many forms.

Introducing the tools of the trade. I've been growing my hair for almost two years now and try and drag the time out between having it cut as far as possible. So in the meantime I use these products to try and reduce the time I spend looking like a tramp. Without these products I can almost guarantee my hair would be one giant frizz-ball with the consistency of straw.

So first off, I wash my hair about three times a week and always with Herbal Essences. I think I may be a secret addict to this brand. It leaves my hair super soft, smells amazing, and I can usually find it on offer in some shop or another. What's not to like?! I've just started using the Soft and Smooth shampoo because I realised with such long hair the volumising one I used previously coverted probably wasn't going to be doing much due to the sheer weight of my hair now. I use the Beautiful Ends conditioner to try and reduce my split ends and I also use TRESemme Split Remedy hair mask every other time I wash my hair. You just smother it on after conditioning and leave for about 6 minutes before rinsing it out. I definitely feel that the combination of these three products keeps the ends of my hair in a great condition considering I only have it trimmed about three times a year.

Before I blow-dry my hair I always rub TRESemme Thermal Creations Volume Boosting Mousse through my hair to give it a bit of texture but most importantly to protect it from the heat. My hair is naturally wavy but is relatively malleable with just a hairdryer; I can use a diffuser to make it really curly or comb it through whilst drying to get a straight style. This is great because I don't have to apply unnecessary extra heat from curlers or straighteners. When its dry I quickly smooth some John Frieda Frizz-Ease Secret Agent Perfecting Creme through the lengths to control the flyaway ends. Da-da! Long hair to rival those Loreal TV advert models that doesn't look like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards.

Now I suppose I should actually do something productive with my Sunday. Or I might just watch Aladdin...