Next workshop....

These people know where its at! Via

It's next workshop time again, and as always YOU are invited! I'm feeling pretty excited for it as we are going to be trying something I've never actually done before- tie dying! I've been doing a bit of research lately and it turns out tie dying is not just for the hippies of yesteryear, there are some gorgeous designs that can be achieved. Obviously I cannot guarantee success but I'm looking forward to having a go! 

I made this pinboard of ideas I found on the web (check out those watermelon shorts!). Asel is going to tie die some converse, I've found a tunic dress I'm gonna try and make pretty.

 All you need to bring along is something light in colour which is 100% cotton! This could be clothing or it could be a tea towel or pillowcase. As always the workshop will only cost £1!

This is what I am hoping to replicate. Via

Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can do this in the garden whilst catching some rays and sipping on something cool!

Everyone is invited, the more the merrier! Just get in contact if you would like more details :)
It will be on: Wednesday 25th June, 6.30-8.30pm at St.Marks, Beckton ( Beckton DLR stop), 218 Tollgate road, E6 5YA.
See you on Wednesday!

Super cheap, super easy, super unique phone case tutorial!

This is a really simple and cheap little tutorial which you can customise however you like depending on what you have and how great you are at nail art!

You need:

Clear plastic phone case (mine was from poundland)

Nail varnish

Paper and pencil

Lay your phone down on the piece of paper and draw around it. You now have a template to draw your design onto. We decided on this geometric pattern and drew it onto our template. You could choose absolutely anything to draw, the more nail colours and skills you have the more options you have.

 We then laid the case over our design, masking taped the case onto the paper and set about painting it, using the template as a stencil. To start with we tried to make the lines as straight as possible by using masking tape but it didn’t work very well so we stuck with messy free hand. 

Once you have finished the design just let it dry and voila, you have a one of a kind phone case!

I also learnt from doing this that top coat, spray deodorant and body spray all work as nail varnish remover, did you know that?

And thanks to Becca May for her help :)

Baby talk

Dad, Mum and little me

Sometimes I wish I was pregnant. There, I said it. 

I have hit that stage of life where big eyes, tiny fingers and chubby legs get the best of me. To be honest it’s a bit of a relief. When Matt and I first got married I certainly didn't feel ready to have children (which is no surprise given that I was 19 years old and only a year in to my degree) but more than that, I was worried I would actually never feel broody enough to want to have a baby.

I always remember my mum telling me how she never wanted to have children, which is a little confusing as I am one of four. The story goes like this; my mum and dad joined the staff of a hospital ship that sailed around Africa providing medical care wherever it docked. As you can imagine, spending so much time on a ship can make you a little seasick. It was with one of my mum's bouts of seasickness that, along with her breakfast, up came her contraceptive pill (sorry for that image). When she started feeling really sick in the mornings she assumed it was an African bug she'd picked up. Not for a minute did she consider that she could be pregnant, that was, until the nurse phoned her cabin and told her to sit down for what was coming next.

My parents often say it wasn’t a mistake, rather it was God helping them with timing ;)

(the same may be true of my 3 siblings)

Why is this story relevant I hear you asking? Well, let me introduce you to Bump & Blush!

I have the great privilege of being part of a babe-tastic event organised by Aurélie at Bump and Blush. I had the pleasure of meeting up with this Parisian gem the other week and discussing her vision for a mum-to-be meet-up. She recognises how important and valuable it is to have a community around you, especially when going through challenging and life changing events, like having a child. For people who don’t have their family and friends there to support them it can be a lonely time and, sadly, this is the reality for scores of Londoners who find themselves isolated amongst millions. 

Aurélie wants to create an event which will not only be really fun (yummy food, drinks and craftiness) but also a great way to build community! The best part is that I have been given the chance to run the crafty part of the day. You can find out more about it in this interview I did for Bump & Blush.

 If you are an expecting mum you would be soooo warmly welcomed to this event on the 28th June at the Abby Centre in Westminster. Take a look at the link here to find out more about the event, her brilliant sponsors and to purchase tickets.

I'm really looking forward to this and it would be great to see some of you lovely people there!

When your best friend gets married.....

When your best friend gets married it's quite a strange thing. I guess being young and the first person in my peer group to 'tie the knot' I never really realised the effect it can have on the people around you.

My best friend of all time, Chloe, got married last week. I love her with all my heart and have been consistently excited for her to be married. Having very few married friends makes the prospect of having someone to speak to about marriage topics very appealing, especially when it's the person you tell everything to anyway.

I've definitely not always been the best protector of our friendship over the years, but as time goes by you realise just how valuable true friendships are.

We went through all the stages of growing up. Her parents used to let us play in the park, whereas mine wouldn't let us out of their view from the window. She had older brothers, I had younger siblings. We were adopted into each others families, she was there the time I snuck downstairs early in the morning to dye my hair red before my parents woke up. I was there when she busted the wheel on her parents car whilst on a midnight hike.  We went through all those motions together, creeping into her parents freezing caravan in their garden late at night, going to those parties, regretting those decisions.

 Finding out who we were, whilst finding out what we believed.

Quite quickly life transitioned from being teenagers into being adults. I moved to London at 18, got married at 19. I would have found that such a challenge had it been the other way round, I'm so thankful that Chloe has more grace than me.

The wedding truly was a celebration, it felt like a celebration of all that is good. The merging of these two people and two families really is something to rejoice over. It's kind of like the welding process.

'Two pieces of metal get so hot that they melt and fuse together, resulting in a very strong seam. This generates bright light and intense heat"

The wedding day felt like it was filled with that light and heat, the glory of marriage with Christ at the centre. You couldn't help but notice it felt like something more than just words being exchanged in the service- it was the forging of a strong seam. Amen to that! 

I am so excited the see this next chapter unfolding, to see how our friendship evolves, to find out what adventure awaits us. In all our daydreaming about who we would marry when we grew up, I don't think we could have even understood the provision that was ahead of us. It has been a pleasure to see my best friend grow and blossom in the care of her now husband, to witness that gentleness of spirit and joy that radiates from her.  I know Joseph is a man of integrity, someone who will fight for her and encourage her gifts. 

I know it's not up to me, but for what it's worth, I would have chosen him for her too.

I am so thankful for all the above things and so excited for this next step, in life, in marriage, in friendship.

(We will just have to make sure we still make time to build dens together and do ridiculous things)

How did you feel when your bezzie got married?

I am lucky enough to have another friend, Jen , who is going on a massive adventure to Brazil next year. She is going to be working with women involved in sex trafficking, to help fund her trip she has made the absolute sweetest line of cards which are for sale on her etsy page. I think this or this are my favvvv. Have a look!

The DEFINITIVE best cookie recipe

I love chocolate chip cookies. They are my weakness whilst walking through bakery sections. The ingredients are pretty much always in our cupboards, ready to be made into late night snacks. This means I have tried many recipes over the years, some turned out too dry, too soft, too bland or too lacking in chocolate. Until now!
Last week we had our youth group over and the girls decided to cook some cookies. I didn't have past favourite recipes to hand so conducted a quick google search. Buried in the results was Sallys baking addiction and a link to chewy cookies, and within that post was a link to her original recipe. It's like a treasure hunt! We made these cookies and they were AMAZING- everyone loved them. In fact, I'm currently sitting in Cafe Nero with a cookie from a fresh batch I made last night. I snuck it in because I'm pretty sure it's better than theirs!

To be clear, this recipe is based on Sally's  but with a few changes.

It makes between 10-12 delicious cookies.

You need:

• 170g butter, softened to room temperature
• 150g dark brown sugar
• 50g granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 250g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 x 100g bars of dark, milk and white chocolate sliced into small 1cm pieces

1. In a large bowl cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornflour, bicarb of soda and salt. Mix into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick. Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly disbursed. 

1. This is the part where you should chill for 24 hours. If you are like me, split the dough in half. Half goes in the fridge for later and half in the oven for now.

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. 

1. Roll balls of dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough each, into balls. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. They feel very soft when you remove them from the oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!