Some Amazing Pieces of Coffee Art

I am a complete lover of coffee. It's such a beautiful drink. Part of my ability to gain a first in my degree was definitely partially down to the excellent coffee in many of the university cafes. 

For all the expensive coffee places - Starbucks and Costa, both of which provided many excellent memories - some of the best coffee was from a £1 machine in the 24 hour suite. I was regularly in uni from about 7:30 in the morning - my husband dropped me there before heading over to work. The only place I could get a cup of coffee that early in the morning was the little £1 machine. Even though the coffee was very cheap, the mocha hid the taste of cheap coffee. That early in the morning coffee tastes fantastic whatever the quality of the beans. 

Even though I that coffee was beautiful, what was missing the experienced coffee barristers. They are usually super friendly and a friendly face in the morning can work wonders on your outlook for the day. Some barristers are also skilled artists. Some of their work remarkable and keep being shared on my Pinterest feed. 

The images always make me smile, so I thought I'd share a few of my favourites with you.  

This one of the Eiffel Tower is really beautiful. Paris is somewhere I would love to visit. It's supposedly one of the most romantic cities in the world, so a long weekend with my Husband there sounds like heaven. 

The Eiffel Tower: Discovered by:  http://birds-and-baking.tumblr.com/

Photographer = Unknown

This next one is also stunning in its simplicity. The blossoms are so simple by it just looks amazing. I think the coffee would taste nicer just because it's there. 

Blossom tree coffee art
Pinned from ClipZine
http://www.clipzine.me/u/clip/1291173713328951041

I personally can't believe it's already been 2 months since Christmas! The last couple of months have flown by ridiculously fast. This year though is looking really optimistic. I'm really enjoying my work, my relationship with my husband is probably the best it's ever been and I am feeling really productive. Also found out this week that I passed my Professional Certificate in Social Media :) So that also made me feel more confident about the choices I've made since graduation. 

Hopefully by next Christmas I will have some coffee art skills. I would love to add this onto some Christmas Mocha's when we have some friends over for a party!

Christmas Tree
Pinned from Stellar Sky
http://stellaresque42.tumblr.com/post/68842186098

I love animals. When I was in my teens my aim was actually to be a vet. Although plans change, I still love animals. When my husband and I get our own place the plan is to get a couple of small dogs. Personally, I would love a Scotty Dog or a Border Terrier. My parents have a cat and a Border Terrier that are best friends. It is so adorable - the dog worships the ground the cat walks on. Currently my husband and I have an adorable pair of female gerbils. 

Based on my love of animals, I couldn't help but find this cat adorable. Can someone please teach me how to make this? It is seriously the cutest thing I've seen today. 

Pinned from imgur.com
http://imgur.com/gallery/VQEsGHz

Coffee art is something I personally find amazing. 

Hope it has also brightened up your day!

Pinned from eecards
http://www.someecards.com/usercards/unsubmitted/MjAxMy0zOTRiYjJjOTJkNzRjODU2

Today the Internet gave to me

Firstly, my apologies for the lack of blogs over the last couple of weeks. It's been rather tense for my as I was waiting for the results of some exams for my Professional Certificate in Social Media Marketing. It hampered by creative juices somewhat....

I have been reading around the internet though. There has been some really interesting content floating about - and some rather odd stuff.... Just in case you missed any of it I've included them below.

1.
Frozen Game of Thrones Throne

How amazing is this beautiful throne!

I found this on the Game of Thrones Official Facebook page. Each of the swords has been carefully sculpted out of ice.  There is a certain beauty about something that has taken so much time to make but will simply melt away.

2. 

When you shouldn't trust estate agents to photograph your home

Some of these photos are awful. But this photo makes you question the sanity of the photographer. 

At what point is the uncovered toilet in the bathroom a redeeming or sellable feature? Is there seriously no other place in the house it could go?

3. 

Photo gifts that don't care how good the resolution of your phone camera was

I think this website has a fantastic idea. My friend's birthday will be next month and so I may look at something from here for a personalised gift. Will update when I organise ordering! 

4.

Ghosts at Hampton Court

According to this rather interesting article by the Daily Mail (Yes it does happen occasionally!) Hampton Court is full of courts. Personally, I'm rather agnostic about the concept of a spiritual afterlife. But I find the prospect rather intriguing. 

Apparently the photo below was taken by a school girl visiting the palace. The lady was apparently a ghost seen by the girl who disappeared minutes after. Spooky....

Ghostly Apparition
News Group Newspapers Limited 2015

5.

A Secret Space Fleet and a guy who was trained as 'child super soldier' 

Enough said. Feels like a parody. But I'm pretty sure that the presenter actually believes what he's saying. 

Knitting, Sentry guns and Airsoft

Apologies for the lack of content posted up this week. This week has been a strange few days.






Thursday night was a straight finish work and go. My husband and I were picked up by my parents and driven off. We were taking a trip to see my brother for the day. So that was a really cool as it was the first time we've seen him since he moved out. It's amazing seeing him growing up as an adult.

After arriving home on Friday afternoon, we discovered that we had a puncture! That was so not funny as we still had to make a drive up to Coventry for a show the following morning. Thankfully though my husband and father-in-law are both mechanics. So after an our we have a successful puncture repair and a new valve. It was also a good opportunity to do the same to the 'spare tire'. By 6 we were on the road.

We arrived on time to allow us to have some dinner before going to bed. Win!

The following morning we started out early. We had been invited by our friends to meet this at the British Airsoft and Shooting Show. Our very clever friend at Beltec has partnered up with Red Wolf to create some amazing Airsoft products.

This amazing contribution from Beltec to Redwolf's stand definitely stole the show.  It is a seriously amazing bit of kit. It stands over half the height of an average man and is fully controllable with a remote control. Thankfully it did not fit in our car - although if you added a chair it would be an awesome alternative for getting to work.

Here's a preview of it heading around the airsoft hall at the show. It clunks as it hits the floor as there is a concrete floor hidden below the carpet!

As part of RedWolf's stand they had also set up a home invasion game. Here is where my airsoft inexperience was made evident. Although, I managed a head shot on the first shot, my time was a fairly unimpressive 36 seconds. My husband managed a rather more impressive 14 seconds. That's why he runs an airsoft company and I help with the marketing/admin. Playing to strengths and all that....

We arrived home (after grabbing some cheeky takeaway food) late. We were both exhausted. To my utmost excitement we were met to a pile of post! 

One of the first things I found was this amazing core professional development certificate from the Institution of Direct Marketing. So this was pretty exciting. My results from my Professional certificate in Social Media Marketing should be through in the next couple of weeks. 

Another super exciting package that arrived was this box. It's got my 2 & 3rd issues of the Art of Knitting. It also has my freebies of some new knitting needles and a free pattern for a beanie hat with the required wool!

My Sunday was suddenly planned. With the arrival of the 10mm needles and my chunky emerald wool (which had turned out the week before) I suddenly had all the ingredients to make my cowl scarf. Having never done any chunky knitting before this was pretty exciting. On Sunday I managed to finished about half the rows.  I was feeling really pleased with my colour choice!

The issue I was starting to find on Monday morning was that the needles were about half the length I needed to cope easily with 150 stitches. Highly recommend longer needs (min 40cm) for attempting this chunky knit! We had a few holes in holes in the finished piece as I didn't notice when I dropped stitches. But I am rather proud of it!

It's super warm as well. Which was really useful as Tuesday and Wednesday have been really cold! 

Netflix UK recommended watch list - Feb 2015

Whenever I finish a series on Netflix UK, I suddenly find myself at a loss. What do I watch next? Do I watch a documentary or a thriller?





So for when you next have the "What shall I watch now?" moment I have put together a recommended list! All these series are live on Netflix at the time of writing.

1) House M.D 

House is the Sherlock Holmes of the medical world. He, with the help of his diagnostic team, is able to solve the 'impossible cases', If I was seriously ill, I would definately want him treating me.

However, for all his medical brilliance, House has huge social issues. Netflix has all the series of House online, so you really get the time to understand his character.

I had watched random episodes of House on the T.V. - but watching all the series made for some fantastic TV.

2) Fringe

I discovered this on Netflix. It was probably suggested due to my love of crime dramas. But this crime drama has a serious twist.

The interesting point comes in with the implementation of the concept of alternative universes. As you move through the series there are other characters introduced that threaten the fate of both universes.

With the recent addition of series 5,  you also have the completion of the series. It does not leave with the same feeling as 'Lost'. I really enjoyed the finally of Fringe and it's worth a look.

3) Gossip Girl 

This was something I wasn't sure about trying out. However, it kept coming up as a suggested series to watch. So I finally gave in last year.

The concept of the series is a society fictional series with a twist. At the beginning of the first series the characters are in an exclusive private High School. There lives are shadowed, and enriched, by an anonymous blogger who details some of the secrets of Manhattans Elite soceity.

Some of the details the blogger is able to gather on their own, but most of them are sent in by anonymous tips. Through all the series, you watch the group grow up and their interactions. You also see a hidden depths to what originally appears to be some very shallow characters.

At the end of the final series the identity of Gossip Girl is revealed. For the full shock of this reveal I recommend watching all the series. It's really worth it.

4) Warehouse 13

This is just the most amazing series concept. Again, it was suggested because of my love for crime drama.

The concept behind this series is that most of the mythological items etc are actually real. They have been hidden by a secret agency in warehouses with infinite space. It's got some amazing drama and the characters are really likeable.

5) House of Cards

This is a Netflix original drama. It's inspired by a drama that aired in the UK in the 1960's following the rise of an MP. I've seen the UK version and I personally find the US version better.

This version introduces you to congressman Frank Underwood and his wife. He's a ruthless man with an aim of furthering his career - but not leaving stuff to chance. What I really love is their use of 'breaking the 4th wall' - where the main character talks directly to the audience. It means the audience completely know what is going on inside of his head as he schemes his way through.

The best bit is that series 3 is arriving on Netflix at the end of March 2015. So you have plenty of time to catch up!

9 Feb - What I Found on Facebook Today

1)

Pay per minute, not per drink, at Manchester's new coffee shop - by Lauren Davidson 

Once I read this article I had to share it with you. The article is looking at a social space cafe. You can use everything in the space for free - including the consumption of food and drink. Instead you pay for the time you spend there. The organiser's aim is not to make money - it's the creation of social space cafe. 

I would love something like this in my local area. Personally, I love this concept. I work really well in a social space and it would be great to have something like this go to that opened late. The trouble with traditional concept of a coffee shop is it does not open late. Pubs, which are usually full of drunks and loud groups of people in the evening, are just not a great place to work. 

2)

Daffodils must be kept away from vegetables in case people think they're onions, shops told - by Faizah Malik

I honestly read this article and nearly wet myself. In my personal opinion, if you cannot tell the difference between daffodils and onions.... seriously you have problems. 

Although I had never wanted to eat daffodils, but until I read this I hadn't realised that they were poisonous. 

3)

Autism Group Urges Parents To Vaccinate Children: 'Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism' - Robbie Couch

Ever since the publication of the paper in the Lancet in 1988 by Andrew Wakefield there has been parents afraid of vaccinating there children (1) . This study was proved to be fraudulent. It was done on a tiny number of children in a tiny time frame. The whole thing was completely bias towards proving that their was a link. 

What this complete idiot obviously didn't realise was the consequences of his actions. The concern of parents not wanted to risk their children 'getting autism' has out off a significant number of parents getting their child vaccinated. This was linked to an outbreak of Measles (one of the infections protected by the MMR vaccine) in Swindon (2013). 1200 people fell ill - although luckily there was only 1 fatality. 

Ref

(1) 

(2)

4)

Game of Thrones endings: George RR Martin letter from 1993 reveals what might have been - by Jess Denham

Have you watched the TV series or read the books? I have watched the entire TV series and thoroughly enjoyed it. Off the back of this I have picked up the first book in a charity shop. I'm about a 3rd of the way through and finding it is taking more effort to motivate me to read it. 

The article is really worth a look at. Basically, the original typewriter typed letter to G. R. R Martin's publishers before he had properly written his first book. I won't try and explain it is much more interesting to read the article. But it's always interesting to see the inner workings of another aurthor's mind. You will also notice that the characters that he writes of are still important characters in the tale - although some elements of their plot may be slightly altered. 

5)

If Taylor Swift Lyrics Were About King Henry VIII - by Hannah Jewell and Luke Bailey

Personally I love this bit of history. It's such an interesting time politically and just generally interesting. If you are a fan this period of history check out Wolf Hall on the BBC IPlayer - all the episodes so far were up at the time of writing. 

This is why I love the internet! So much content and I don't have to leave the house. 

Did you find some interesting articles this week?

Comment below! 

January 2015 Resolution Update: Reading - inspiration

It's nearly the end of January. The year is quickly slipping away - although it feels like the month is lasting forever.

This month has been super busy!! This has probably been my most difficult resolution to keep. The only reading I seem to do regularly is blogs and news articles. I love reading and need to aim to make this more of a priority.





I haven't made enough progress to tick anything off my reading list challenge yet. In some good news, I have now got a few books in progress.


Reading challenge objective: A book by a female author.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

            This book is something I picked up over a year ago in a discount book store. Having grown up as one of the Harry Potter generation, I have a distinct love of anything magical. So this just ticked all the boxes for me. I'm a couple of chapters through and it is certainly meeting expectations. It also has the perk of being a concept of a hidden truth behind what we know as the 'real world'. So it seems to be one of those plots that could be happening in real life - we just don't know anything about it.

Jan blog update 2015 - Craft update

Last year did not see much progression of any of my craft projects. I spent so much time planning on Pinterest and not much actual doing. This I did feel quiet disappointed about as I had wanted to get back in to crafting after uni.

That is why I am vowing to actually do and finish projects (or at least significantly progress in them).

Project 1: That Scarf

I'm not going to lie. The scarf is currently in the state it was pre-Christmas. The feature wall took up a lot of my time this month (not an excuse). Now that the big decorating job is finished I am hoping to have more time in the evenings to get this finished.

The work in progress scarf

Project 2: Fabric Patchwork Quilt 

On some positive note, I did manage to find a few spare hours to get on with my patchwork quilt (yay!). So I am feeling rather pleased with myself.

The design is inspired by something I found on Pinterest. However, rather than being seperated by white crosses, all of the crosses will be patterned. My thought was that this would be the best way of mixing the pattern fabric as individual squares might look a bit overwhelming.

Cross quilt patterns

Here is a quick sample of some of the fabrics that are going into my quilt. I've got a mix of fabrics I have brought and some that have been donated by friends and family for the project. The plan is to mix the block coloured fabric with the ones that have more white in the design.

Work so far...

I have started sewing them into crosses and used a large white sheet to formulate my design. The plan is to use the sheet as an extra layer below the patched side between the stuffing. I'm hoping this will secure the patched design.

Fabric Samples

Samples of completed crosses

For the back of the quilt I have a red piece of fabric with a printed image of the Hindu God. I brought it in Portugal as I wanted something in the blanket to remind me of the holiday. It will also give me the perk of a reversible quilt! I'll give you a sneak preview of it further into creation - so watch this space!

January progress...

So post Christmas work on the blanket has progressed from pieces to some of the crosses of the fabric actually sewn together! Originally I had began the design sewing together using invisible plastic thread. During this stage I discovered that that was not my best plan as some of that stitching is coming apart. So I am now using white cotton thread and make small repair stitches where necessary.

So here is a photo of my progress so far! I've given up on pinning them onto the sheet. This was manly because I was being an bit impatient. I really needed to see some progress to get my motivation going on this project.

Some of the more eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that my attempt at free wheeling this without a pattern needs more focus. The bottom cross with with flowers needs to be unstiched and moved across and up one square. Apparently spending a bit of time doing a line drawing pattern could be a good move.

Project 3: Learning to Knit - New magazine subscription to "Art of Knitting"

The art of knitting

In another attempt to get my creative juices flowing I have also subscribed to a knitting magazine. "Art of Knitting" - if you want to know more about it this is a really good review of the first issue. I've been knitting for years (hence the resolution to finish the scarf) but have never progressed past the basic cast on, knit stitch, cast off. So when I saw this I figured this would be a great opportunity to learn some new knitting skills! :)

The first issue (as you can see) is only 99p, the second issue is £1.99 and then every issue after that is £2.99. So, in comparison to other similar magazines it is really cheap. Part of the method to teach you every stitch is to use a different stitch for coloured squares. Eventually over the course of the series I'll hopefully knit myself a throw.  I will keep you updated on my progress. By subscribing you also get some free gifts as well - I love free gifts.


As you can see I have finished the first square! It is white and garter stitch. As this was a stitch I was familiar with it was pretty quick to do. However, I was able to make use of the video tutorials to learn how to cast on properly! So I felt rather pleased with myself.

Garter Stitch Square

This magazine also includes patterns to help you learn other skills. So I will get started on those once the wool arrives. My plan of not starting new projects might flounder here.... But I'll hopefully learn some new skills and create some funky knits! So watch this space.

Jan 2015 New Years resolutions - Get Healthier

I seriously cannot believe how quickly January has gone by. This has been a really good month for me though. Having now finished the month, I now feel healthier (slightly) and really pleased with how the month has gone.

Exercise

I have not actually managed to get more exercise inserted into my schedule. Unfortunately, I have not prioritised the time. So I need to prioritised

I have successfully moved my push-bike home.





Eat Healthier

However, I have started putting together weekly meal plans (around the 12th Jan) to consciously start getting more vegetables into my diet.It's also had the added benifit of keeping down my weekely shopping bill. The weekends I leave unplanned as I have know idea where I'll be. So we tend to have some sort of pasta dish or use frozen food from the freezer.

• Monday - Carrot + Ginger soup (home made!) with bread rolls (From Tescos)
• Tuesday - Left over and frozen home made curry with Indian style cucumber salad and rice. 
• Wednesday - Take away (Neither myselfor my husband could be bothered to cook
• Thursday - Mushroom and bacon kedgeree
• Friday - What ever is in the cupboards as my husband is out and I'm cooking for 1. 

• Monday - Lamb Korma (homemade) with Narn.
• Tuesday - Omelletes (Made by my husband) with leftovers from the fridge
• Wednesday - Sausauge taglittelli + fresh spagetti (this tastes so much better than the dried stuff)
• Thursday - Take away (we slipped again)
• Friday - Baked potatoes (frozen ones due to time and laziness) with beans, cheese and calslow.

• Monday - 'Quick and easy' carbonara (although I questioned the healthiness as I poured double cream into my saurcepan)
• Tuesday - At the In-laws
• Wednesday - Takeaway (we slipped again)
• Thursday - Fried egg sarny and chip butty (my husband cooked)
• Friday - Jacket potatoes with Chilli Con Carne

My lunches have gone from microwave and pre-prepped meals to below. I usually also bring in leftovers from the night before. So my diet is including much more fresh food.

Warmed lamb korma with salad

I'm really in the mood this month to try out some new recipes. If you have any favourites you would like to share please post below!

So how have you been finding your new years resolutions? Are you struggling or finding it easier than you thought? Post/ Comment below!

3 parent babies - Not the next step to designer babies

This article from the NY daily news popped up on my Facebook feed today. It got me really annoyed and very nearly (to my shame) became a long Facebook rant. However, I paused and thought I would put together a more thought out response and reply.

This article says that this could be the slippery slope to creating designer babies. The heading of the article shows a complete lack of understanding of the science involved by campaigners against the technique.

To create 'designer baby' there has to be an actual manipulation of the nucleic  DNA coding.

This '3 parent baby' is only for cases where there are issues with the mother's mt DNA. This is a different type of DNA that is present in the mitrochondria (the cell's "powerhouse" to simplify) in the main part of the cells. These are present in all cells.

Simple diagram of a human cell

The healthy nucleus is taking from the "genetic mother's" egg and placed, instead, in an egg which has had the nucleus removed but has healthy mitrochondria. So the 3 parents are: 2 Parents for the nucleic DNA (the egg and the sperm) & 1 additional parent provides the donor egg.

The process of transplanting a new nucleus

The mitrochondrial DNA will be then present in all the child's cells. However, the mitchondrial DNA (which would usually be provided by the mother) is provided by the donor of the additional egg.

While in a legal sense, I can see how this moves us closer to allowing designer babies. However, scientifically, it does not feature any manipulation of DNA in the traditional sense. I don't believe that we understand enough how different genes interact to fully be able to manipulate DNA to predicatable results. So the progress to wanting to create designer babies is, scientifically, a long way off.

Jan 2015 - Resolution Update Reorganising

January has become the month of choice to redecorate my bedroom. I've managed to take out 8 carrier bags of clothes to the charity shop. There was quite a bit that I found that I'd forgotten I owned to begin with! Any denim has gone in a bag to create something with - watch this space.






I've completely taken my desk apart and replaced it with a storage unit. We got one of those 9 box white units from B&Q. They do a range of fabric boxes to fit the shelves (although the colours are a bit limited) and additional shelves to half the height.

B&Q Shelving unit

This has massively reduced the space being taken up at the end of the bedroom. So we have now freed up some extra space for a seating area in the bedroom.

In addition to creating a new seating area, we have also now created a brand new feature wall in the bedroom. My husband loves graphic novels and so he participated actively in finding the prints for the walls.

Marvel Universe Feature Wall

The marvel wall was inspired by our new table. We brought it (for £55!) off our friend  (Shabbylicious) who is fabulous at upcycling  furniture. This new table is definitely one of my favourite things in my bedroom. We got it just before christmas. But we have finally sorted the room out enough to move it in! 

The room is definitely not finished yet. But it's a really fun project. It's on hold for the moment though. We're being given a second hand double bed this month. We have one of those solid ones with no space under the bed. 

Our current king size bed takes up a lot of our floor space. We'll be reducing this is to a double and gaining space under the bed. That should help me clear the floor space a little more. 

Keep tuned for further updates!