Placeeeeebo :D

New Placebo song, where have you been? It's been so long! I cannot believe how much money I willingly parted with to get an album. Ok, so an album with a few extras. A box set worth of extras....extra songs, live albums, books, handwritten lyrics, vinyls, etc, etc. It's worth it, right? Right? I suppose my collection wouldn't be complete if I didn't get it, and I'd only regret it later if I didn't get it. Right?! I've got all the other albums, the special editions of them, the DVDs, a few of the singles, some vinyls, posters, a neon light for god's sake (see below)!






I don't know why this is the only pic I have of this...














The album is a good'un though.

It's Spring, and suddenly the sun comes out.

Oh no! I'm slacking at this blog writing malarkey!


The weather has been amazing this past week! Considering how much snow we had a few weeks ago, it's pretty much summer!

Makin' Cakies

So, a little off from what I normally blog about, I've been baking today and thought somebody might enjoy what I've been making, so here is a full step-by-step instruction blog complete with photographs to help you along as you make the wonderful cakey goodness that is Cakies. I call them Cakies because they aren't quite cakes, but aren't cookies either. Sort of in the middle, but you can make them go either way depending how you prefer them.

So first up, ingredients and other things you will need:
- 4oz Sugar
- 4oz Butter
- 6oz Self Raising Flour
- 1 Egg
- Chocolate (I've gone for a bar, but chocolate chips work great too)
(Click Here for a good site for conversions)


- A mixing bowl
- Scales
- Baking Tray
- Greaseproof Paper
- Whisk (if you don't have one, just use a wooden spoon)
- Wooden Spoon



Step 1: Prepare!
Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4/350F, and get your greaseproof paper on your tray. I know some people like to grease trays, but I always just use paper for these Cakies and I've never, ever had a problem. This is always a good time to get your chocolate chopped up if you're using a bar, I like big chunks in mine, so that's what I've got!


Step 2: Butter & Sugar!
This is the part where you chuck it all in and get it looking like more than a collection of ingredients.
First, put your butter into your bowl and add the sugar to it (just as a note to my picture - if you use your mixing bowl with your scales, make sure you always set it to Zero when you put the scale tray back on!)

Then, give it a blitz with your whisk until the butter and sugar have mixed together to form a creamy yellow substance, like so:





If you don't have a whisk of any kind, just use a wooden spoon. This will mean more arm power, but it gets the job done just as well.




Step 3: Egg & Flour!
Crack your eggs into the butter/sugar mixture and add a small amount of your flour. Give it a whisk until it's all mixed in, add the remainder of the flour, and whisk again. By this time you will have a thick sort of cake mix.





















Step 4: Chocolate!
Pour your chocolate chunks/chips into the mixture, and fold in with a wooden spoon, until you're happy that it's thoroughly distributed.

Step 5: Baking Tray!

I always go for a whole tray of Cakie, but it would work the same if you wanted to spoon blobs of the mixture onto the baking tray instead. I prefer to bake it all together, and then cut it into slices. This way, the centre pieces are amazing and so soft! This choice is obviously completely up to you though! Note - smaller cakies will take less time to cook.

Step 6: Into the Oven!
Go on, pop it in! My Cakie took 15 minutes to cook, obviously this will depend on the oven.
Please take note! Your Cakie will come out soft. Do NOT judge it by how firm it feels - it will firm up when cooling. I have made this mistake before, and the outcome isn't great! It will have started to brown off at the edges, but will probably still be pale in the centre (see my picture below). Just take it out of the oven, and leave it as it is on the baking tray to cool down. When it feels firmer to the touch, slice it up into squares, and use a spatula or other flat utensil to gently peel each slice from the baking paper, which should happen with ease.


If you want it to be more like cookie dough, take it out sooner, you just want it warmed through really. If you want it to be more like biscuit, leave it longer in the oven to dry out some more.

I love it the way it is - soft and Cakie! ^_^


Step 7: ENJOY!!

It's been a cold week....

Ok, this is going to be a picture heavy post. (Click them for the full sized image)

I'll start with Chinese New Year - went into central London with a couple of friends, their baby & my young cousin to see a bit of the celebrations. It was absolutely packed! We watched some of the singers/dancers in Trafalgar Square for a bit, which was good. Saw this incredible picture drawn on the floor in chalk by a homeless man. My drawing talents stretch about as far as stick men....


It snowed heavily all day on Monday, and apparently will do again this weekend. I don't think Winter is gone at all.
So, some pictures of the snow, which includes the 'Gigantic Balls' phenomenon:













And the first hint of Spring:


















Also, I've been making. Well, customising actually. These are for my best friend's baby:
























And here are some shoes I attacked for a friend in my infinite boredom:















Right well this is overly long now, and no one even reads it so it doesn't matter too much!

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Indeed, Happy (Chinese) New Year! Welcome to the year of the Ox!


Just wanted to say, how awesome are these shoes?! Just to point out, I am really not a shoes person. I own 10 pairs of Converse that I live and die in, and a pair of flat black shoes for placement. But yeah, if they weren't over £60, they'd be mine already! :(

I love the little robot on the buckle! Awww. Anyone feeling generous?



:)

So much for blogging...

Well that went out the window quickly. I completely forget, should get myself into a routine or something. So, it's been a while. Done half a year at Uni, had my 21st birthday, Christmas, and now it's the first day of a new year. Welcome, 2009.


So what do I envision for this new year? No resolutions - I can make silly claims that I know I can't stick to at any time of the year. Therefore, I've decided to go in with a new approach - 'Do It'. It's for times when I'm unsure. When I've got to make a choice. What's the worse that will come of it? Looking a bit foolish? Oh well, that's life. You have to grab it by it's proverbials and shake it about a bit. I've been far too bored recently and need a bit of a wake up. So here it is. Doing It.


I'm going to celebrate every occasion and get my work done. I'm going to volunteer somewhere and I'm going to make some friends and some money. I'm going to get round to seeing people I haven't seemed to have time for, go on some interesting holidays and I'm going to relish every moment. I'm gonna learn stuff. New, interesting stuff. I'm going to learn things about myself, about my friends, and about the world. And then I'm going to see if I'm a different person this time next year.


Happy New Year everyone.