2013...YEAR OF THE PLAYA.

I really can't believe this year is over already, I said to my Liz it's weird as it went from a zero to hero year. I had a bit of a rough time towards the end of 2012 and still wasn't feeling myself at the beginning of 2013. However I'm pretty lucky to have some of the best friends and family who helped remind me what kind of thing a full time playa like myself enjoys and I've ended up having the best year with the best people.

I'm not being big headed in saying I have achieved a lot but I honestly feel like I have. Not necessarily in career or financial advances but I have learnt a lot about myself and found some pretty fun things that make me happy.It was New Year's Day last year when I went for my first run, I couldn't even run for five minutes without feeling sick but I kept trying harder each time and eventually it went from a chore to something that I now really enjoy and at one point this year I was whacking out 10k days like nobodies business. I mean one month I actually hit 135k for the month and I was working two jobs then?! Although I have slacked slightly this past couple of months I have no doubt 2014 with see me get back in the running game with full force and one of my New Years resolutions is to complete a half marathon. 

Another great thing to come of this year is hip hop baking, all from one tweet saying "I should incorporate hip hop into my baking" to which a few people started replying puns and the rest is history, I have mixed,baked and decorated some absolute bangers this year and there's no stopping me now. 

Now one of the biggest highlights of my year and probably a lot of people I know was seeing two of my best friends get married, Liz Holt now Mrs Bega is the oracle of my life. Any problem and she knows and helps about it and I was so happy to help her with the plans for the big day and spent most of the day in tears at how beautiful she looked alongside fellow lush babe Alex who needs a massive congrats (well nearly) when little baby mart comes along in a couple of days..a mini lush babe yay!! 

Which leads me on to the ultinate highlight of my year... Realising what amazing friends I have and how bloody lucky I am. Liz and I have spent at least one evening a week for the past year at the pub discussing life, weddings, careers, love, dating, clothes and families and I just don't know where I would be without her. I have got so used to having my pal just down the road and being able to drive round in 5minutes for a earl grey and a good chat and I am gonna miss it so much over the next couple of months. Luckily for me we email every day with updates of our day, what we are wearing, eating, what lipstick we are wearing so I'm pretty sure we shall remain the best of playas even in different cities and I will most definitely be coming home for a DA or dog walk in the forest every so often. Also Liz was kind enough to give me another photo of us two which I packed last night do no matter where I go or how I feel I will always remember how much fun we had that day led in her bed with our hen do sunglasses on, hungover waiting on Steve to deliver us Mcdonalds whilst we took multiple selfies.

Also little B.unit who I see a lot of the time at home and has helped me this year will be greatly missed. We've been pals since we were 10 or something like that but when I went away before we drifted however B.unit reunited for good this year and I'm going to miss my partner in crime when away, luckily for me she made me this sweet card below and is promising to come visit once a month for fun times. Also how amazing is the card, the best one she has produced this year though she had to confess she didn't make it but ''commissioned'' her sister Holly to create this exquisite creation.

Whilst being back home this year I also went back to work at Size?, I worked there part time throughout uni until I left for London in my third year but on returning back to the forest I remembering meeting Sarah for a cuppa like a dog with her leg between her tails saying ''Earl grey and reemployment yeah''. So I have spent the year at 586 and have met some more really great pals. Amelia and I bonded over our love of OG sugar free Kicks, Kyle has been providing me with a much needed father figure, Georgia was a bloody bad influence on me but I love that little scamp, Rap offs with Gus, Fun times and tears with Sam who has put up with a lot of full time playa drama been told to him, Food sharing photos with Shok, Rap interview talk with Sean, getting bullied by Antonio, chatting drawing and music with CJ, having an old friend Drew aka D Money back as a christmas temp and fellow selfie taker at the Begas wedding (I have a collection of around 30 photos of us drunk in a car if anyone wants to see them) and being reunited with Jack Allen has been exquisite.  I evened lived with Sam and CJ for a couple of months and I am really gonna miss going in every day and seeing all of their lovely faces. I remember I gave a card to Sarah at the start of the year which said ''I don't get emotional and we don't do this but thanks for being my friend...'' well I am bloody grateful I have a pal like that and if it wasn't for Size? we would've never met. We have been pals for 4 years now and she is one of my best friends, again always around for a cup of tea and chat and some of the best times I have had this year have been spent with her and Pete at the pub in the summer, at the pub in the winter and in their garden drinking beer and discussing all things playa status.

Its not only friends that I already had like these girls here but also my uni pals, I have been on visits to Godamling to see Tors, Brighton to see Jen, Kingston to see Little Soph..pimping all over the world to visit my pals and enjoy catching up in the real world where we all have to work full time jobs rather than party and lounge our lives away after evenings out. We did have one wild weekend in Southampton which resulted in me getting Playa tattoed on my finger, certified. They have all decided to take the travelling route after uni but one day I hope we all re-unite and live together cos that would be amazing and I'm pretty sure grown up living would be as fun as student life with them around.

New pals have been made at second jobs throughout the year with the lovely girls from Memento studios who I am still friends with now, the best thing about the fun house twins (Emily and Jenna), the Mcintosh sisters, Amy, Hayley Lucinda, Helena, Lulu Clare is we are all pretty similar and many fun times were had in the office, out doing promo and of course them getting to sample the hip hop baking delights.

I have also acquired many a treat in the clothing department due to my lovely mama sourcing charity shop treats on the regular, one of the highlights of being home is I usually arrive back to a parcel on my bed. I am also massively proud of her from going from a volunteer at a charity shop to running and managing her own in the space of a year and of course winning the charity shop window display..with a little help from me of course!

So now the next chapter for a full time playa begins..I am moving back to London tomorrow to go back to school with much help from my aunty. Another key playa for me this year she has been there for sunday hangovers where I go round nap, eat her food, drown my hangover sorrows in tea and moan about life to buying me new training for running when I was hitting the treadmill hard in New Balance 410s, its not about that life now I'm strictly fly knit crew but anyways without her I wouldn't have achieved half as much this year let alone be going back to school next monday.

Who knows what will happen in 2014, I have a lot of high hopes for it though. I know for the next three months I am gonna be working pretty hard at school and then I guess I will see where I end up after that, until then though I shall be back to running, baking and full time hustling as well as missing all of the above playas greatly whilst I'm in London. Luckily for me I am moving in with two pals who I am sure will look after me swell as having the infamous Lizzie Brown just down the road, I think her and Martyn are really looking forward to being my new tasting rats as the cookie recipe I gave Lizzie didn't exactly go down well and I'm not taking any of the blame for that...it was definitely a chef malfunction. I will also get to spend more time with my favourite newly engaged couple (Massive congrats to Lisa P and Craig B on this BIG news) and I am already looking forward to tea, cakes, hip hop work session with Lis perhaps and of course an antipasti lunch.

So here is a little video my instagram app thing made which makes me really happy when I see it this fast and you can see...money hoes and clothes is all a playa knows. Well cakes, shoes and clothes actually.

Happy New Year Yo!

Mariah Fairy Cakes

I had to have a quick bake off this morning just in time to take to work to keep my fellow Size? elfs spirits up for the Christmas eve shift. I went for a mint chocolate vibe as thats Sarahs favourite and she has been working so many days straight she's gonna need some serious sugar by 6pm.

Mariah Fairy Cakes

You will need:

8oz Butter

8oz Sugar

4 Eggs

8oz Self raising flour

2 large bags of Aero bubbles

Peppermint extract

For the Icing:

150g Butter

300g Icing sugar

50g Cocoa powder

Peppermint extract

Spare Aeros

Method:

These are just a basic sponge recipe with a twist, a minty kinda twist. Simply cream the butter and sugar together, crack the eggs in one by one making sure you are beating the mixture as you add each one. Sift the flour into the mix and you have yo self the basic sponge recipe which when you're a pro takes about 10 minutes whip up and thats without the help of electrical goods. Melt the bags of Aero bubbles but leave a few to decorate the top with and treat yourself as you decorate. Add the melted chocolate and teaspoon of peppermint extract and pop in the oven on 160oc for around 30 minutes. Once cooled you can ice these bad boys with the simple buttercream recipe...mix the butter, cocoa and Icing sugar together with a splash of peppermint extract and then you can pipe or if you are in a hurry like me whack it on with a spoon! 

Now I was feeling pretty festive this morning after my annual food delivery, I love christmas and I am very lucky that I have a family, warm home and I would even go as far to say a job as a few of the people I saw this morning would probably give up their left arm to work Christmas Eve in a warm shop rather than be sat out on the streets. When people say to me ''Oh thats shit you have to work Christmas'' I don't really think it is, I get to spend Christmas day with my family and Christmas eve and Boxing day at work with some of my best friends so its a win win situation. 

Anyway every Christmas and Easter I like to go out and deliver some food to homeless people, I think this time of the year people get so caught up with excessive present buying and getting as sloshed as possible on mulled wine that lots of people forget how lucky they are. So for the past couple of years I have spent a bit of Christmas Eve taking some little food packages and having a little chat with some homeless people around where I live after all I think christmas is about giving and also spending time with your family because at the end of the day thats all that counts. 

Unfortunately the bake off was after the delivery as it was a last minute thought for a pick me up for me little Size? elfs so on that note I hope everyone has a very merry christmas and enjoys all the festivities of this time of year, also it wouldn't be christmas without Mariah so get your apron on and sing your heart out...just don't film it and send it to someone..I have made that rooky mistake before and I'm still single now. 

Catch me if you can

I should probably explain my lack of being able to keep up to date with this blog, I have been running...not as much as I would like too but thats because of two things. The first is I work in retail, its christmas and I am like Santas little helper working a fair bit until next saturday. And the second isn't an excuse but I have become obsessed with Leonardo Dicaprio. Its probably pretty obvious that I have an addictive personality; the running..I liked it so then I had to do it every day, the baking...loved doing that so it became bake off at any spare second, luckily I have tamed these activities to a healthy amount however the latest addiction is currently out of control and I can't see it stopping.

I have said before I have never been a big film watcher, I haven't seen a lot of the 'classics' and I definitely go through phases of what I am willing to watch like when I made Sam watch the best rom coms of 2012. I didn't realise what was gonna hit me when I got in the other day, had been for a cheeky 7k run (see picture above, how lucky am I to live in such a beautiful place) and thought ''I will have a lazy day today'' I often try and do this but it results in me getting bored of being lazy and making something, baking something or going out but I was willing to commit to this day and enjoy not doing anything. Browsing the TV I watched Lorraine, This Morning and then just as I was about to leave the sofa I saw 'The Great Gatsby' on movies.It wasn't even Leo that drew me in, it was Carey Mulligan, love that playa so went full force into movie mode and since that I haven't stopped.

When I was watching Leo I remembered when you really fancy someone and started thinking of all these funny things in my head, ''What would happen if he asked me out'', '' I wonder if he would be like this to me when we are married'', ''I wonder if my family would like him''. Anyway one thing lead to another and I have ended up watching 7 films in the space of 4 days which is probably more films than I have watched it my life, all including Leo of course however the creme de la creme came last night.

Obviously every playa has seen Titanic, nope not me so I sent a fellow pal to purchase it at work whilst my best pal Liz arranged a delightful spread and provided and ambient space for my first time viewing accompanied by some House of Lords Champagne from Liz's mama Debs. I was pretty hyped for it all day, I mean he has taken over my life, my current background is his exquisite face (below), I ran to the Gatsby soundtrack pretending I would run into his arms in the last kilometre and my recent google searches are just embarrassing.

I arrived at The Begas in my pyjamas and my lord I was not ready for this, I was a wreck half way through the film and I could see Liz looking at me laughing whilst I sobbed my eyes out for the last half an hour, it was emotionally draining by the end and I had to go home and rewatch scenes on youtube before bed in some sort of dire hope I might dream of Leo.

I didn't and woke up this morning with the puffiest eyes I have ever seen, you may have thought someone had died if you looked at me and all I can say is now is I now realise why every single woman on this planet loves Leonardo Dicaprio and also why a lot of women are single. I mean if you can't have someone like Jack Dawson why be with anyone at all.

So we shall see how this running week goes, I completed 40k last week which the majority being before The Gatsby and to be honest when I woke up this morning the first thing on my agenda wasn't a lovely sunday morning run but where can I locate a Leo Calendar, Pencil Case and rubber set!? Unfortunately after searching I couldn't find any of the above however I am ready to settle down to another film night and fall further in love with Leo in Romeo and Juliet.

Kentwix Lamar Brownies

Now I whipped these up last sunday evening for the playas at work on Monday, mainly because a few of them miss out on hip hop baking due to us all working shifts so I made enough to make sure all playas were haps.

Kentwix Lamar Brownies 

You will need:

400g Caster sugar

225g Butter

60g Cocoa powder

1 Teaspoon of almond extract

225g Plain flour

1/2 Teaspoon baking powder

4 Eggs

3 Twix bars

Method:

Literally one of the easiest bake offs of my life and a real crowd pleaser these take around 40 minutes to make and bake which fits in perfectly when you are a full time hustler. You will need to mix the sugar and butter together, similarly to as you would beat for a sponge and then add in the Cocoa powder. Whack in the 4 eggs, plain flour, baking powder and almond extract. To be honest you don't even need to worry about the order, its a all in the bowl mix a lot job. Once all ingredients (except the Twix) are combined you can spoon the mixture into a well greased baking tray and place the chopped up Twix around the mixture. Quick tip I saved two fingers of Twix to throw in half way through the bake so there were a variety of textures, y know gotta keep them playas on their toes. Bake for 25mins and you'll have yo self around 15 brownies! Its gonna be a hard one to say what track to get the bake on with, I am a mad lover of Overly Dedicated..probably now because it reminds me a lot of summer when I rinsed it on the runs however this track always gets the hands up high...

Ja Roulade

I'm a bit late on updating with the latest hip hop bake off, like Ja said ''Im not always there when you call but I'm always on time...'' or not quite. Anyhow it was the Size? christmas party on Sunday evening and I thought I had better treat the playas to some treats starting with the milk chocolate yule log/ roulade...

Ja Roulade 

Now I was gonna use a Nigella recipe however unfortunately I didn't have any dark chocolate and I had already been to Tescos once on Sunday so googled a Dairy Milk recipe, kept it OG and used the Cadburys recipe which can be found here. 

Going to be honest I'm not sure it was my best bake-off, although it looked aesthetically pleasing when I took the sponge out of the oven it wasn't very thick and the majority of the log is cream and milk chocolate icing. Thats another thing I also added in whipped double cream as I wanted to make it like one big cadburys mini roll, the reviews were good but I wouldn't say it was one of my most exquisite bakes.

Also what is quite good about this dessert is it doesn't take long to make which leaves quite enough time to get your rap on, its best to have a partner for this bake as you need some one to be Ashanti/ J-Lo/ Christina Milian. The J-Lo remixes album always reminds me of my dad as he had it in his car and used to try and sing/rap along when I was about 14, I thought he was pretty hip and then when he lost it man he kicked off! Also who didn't love this video and wanna be J-Lo...J to the L O..HELLO!!

Sorry but it had to be a double whammy for this duo, Velour tracksuit...check yo bad self J-lo.

No treats November...Sock it to me yo!

Well the title is kind of a lie as I have definitely had a lot of treats in November however for the second month running (or not running more to the point there are no treats for my Feets.) With a mere 60k under my belt for the month there is no way I can hit the minimum of 100k before Sunday however I am gonna point out I have been an injured playa so have been taking a lot of rest days in between each run. I have just got back from a 6am Saturday 5k and feeling pretty tip top with no back pain what so ever which is such a relief as I have been having to cut longer runs down to 4-5k to stop it getting worse.

Also this weather is so disheartening for a running playa, its so cold and dark outside at 6am and I get a little bit scared running through alley ways and up the tracks, although this does spur me on to run a little faster so could be a good thing. In the summer I really enjoyed going to the gym after work maybe thats cos I would do something afterwards so would squeeze in the gym then head out to enjoy ciders in the sun where as now its all about getting home from work, cosy socks and hot chocolates. However this can not last, I have had my month of rest aka lounging in a variety of socks ( I looked at my instagram and thought..hmmm I used to take pictures of where I was running, now I take pictures of my feet in socks...Get back in the game)  and also eating and testing different shops mince pies as Lizzie Brown and I currently have a review system going however I shall be handing in my notice to the mince pie committee and return to my running ways for December. Just to be kind to myself and all in the festive sprit, I am gonna set my target to 100K so ease me back in to game and also I need a treat for my feet yo.

So why not enjoy a few pictures of socks I have worn this month, though mind out for my kankles, they are really feeling it this month.

The winning sock...glitter bombs..currently owning in purple, silver, gold, turquoise and pink. Topshop treats though I have seen some in primark though I don't reckon the glitter will be long lasting y'know. 

The love sock, a H&M purchase which was included in a 3 pack, the other two weren't worth a mention...didn't fancy having boys across my feet. 

The floral...can never go wrong with a floral sock if you ask me, these beauties were from New Look actually in a double pack alongside a black pair. They of perfectly with my dusty pink Clarks. 

The Happy Sock... everyones favourite value for money fashionable sock..I have loads of happy socks and gottta say they never disappoint on design or function.

The Rosie sock, an ultimate christmas treat with a little west highland terrier dressed in an elf costume, these were from Topshop and are gonna be my staple Christmas sock this year. 

And I am currently lusting after these Pendleton sock treats and they are going straight on the christmas list, though to be honest I'm not sure my family are down with paying over £20 for one pair of socks however I think the sock game is almost as important as the shoe game...no one wants boring feets ever.

The track to accompany the internet sock browse, or the chillax in the sock avec le hot chocolate...

So let's flow on this snow with a sack on my back, cos Santa's tryin to mack in his Cadillac...

So today was my last day of my holiday before the manic christmas period and I decided to help my mama out and make some bits for her shop window. Her charity shop is entered into a window competition and we have been acquiring ladders, jars, christmas decorations, making gingerbread houses all ready to smash it. I had a browse of Pintrest last week and came up with the concept (literally taking this very seriously and if she doesn't win I doubt there will be a christmas in our house) so today I made these jars which I think turned out pretty good considering it was a collection of things in the cupboard and some kindly donated jars from Sarah and Pete.

It is as easy as it looks, simply make layers out of brown sugar, flour and hot chocolate and decorate accordingly. I spray some fir cones I had collected from the forest and also popped down to the sweet shop and brought the candy canes then kinda just rolled with reels of ribbon, brown paper, a trusty sharpie and some scissors. 

My favourite one is the centre one which is kind of like a forest scene with accompanying flour as snow. They took me about an hour to make and I think they are a really great christmas decoration with a twist. Im all about a traditional feel but too much tinsel is not how playas roll, though note I have been wearing a velvet bow in my barnett all day and then did dabble with a tinsel belt for a while. 

I feel so christmassy already and I 100% had the christmas bangers on, the lyrics to this one are off the chain. Santas trying to mack in his Cadillac...TLC you tha bomb! 

Rolo Deeps

I woke up Saturday morning pretty hyped after a lovely week catching up with friends and gallivanting around from Bristol to London, a week filled with playas, tea, cakes, a few runs and some christmas window decoration ending with an evening with my lovely friend Jen in Tunbridge Wells. I have previously mentioned Jen as my number one surviving cancer bad ass biatch and its been a couple months since we've seen each other so thought I had best whip up some treats to take along with me for the stay.

Now not technically hip hop baking, I slightly verged towards grime but hey who's judging so here I present ''The Rolo Deeps''.

Rolo Deeps

You will need:

For the Cupcakes:

8oz Butter

8oz Caster sugar

6oz Self raising flour

4 Eggs

2oz Cocoa Powder

a pack of Rolos

For the Icing:

3oz Butter

3 Tablespoons of milk 

3 Tablespoons of Cocoa

12 oz Icing Sugar

Large Milky Buttons

Method:

Now these are simple and easy much like the KRS Sponge, its just an easy quick sponge recipe with a little surprise in the middle and treats on top. I am all about the exquisite kinda flavoured cakes but sometimes you can't go wrong with a chocolately delight. Simply mix the butter and caster sugar to a cream adding the eggs one by one, slowly sift the flour in and fold the mixture making sure it gets a fair bit of air so they rise nicely. There is nothing worse than a flat cupcake yo. 

Add in the Cocoa, making sure the mixed is all combined and spoon into the cupcake cases. I'm lucky enough my good pal Lizzie Brown treated me to some Great British Bake Off cases for my birthday and this was their first test run...it might seem trivial but the correct case is essential. Cheap ones just collapse and leave you with a spongey messy with no room to decorate, not ideal, however the bake off ones are nice and sturdy as well as offering 4 different patterns for a playa...what a treat. This is the best bit and you could use a variety of different fillings depending on the hip hop bake but just pop a rolo into the middle of the cupcake case and cover with mixture else it will just sit at the top of the cake and burn. Now bake for 25 mins on 150c or until risen and the sponge is bouncy. 

Whilst these are cooling you can make the icing heating the butter, milk and cocoa in a pan until melted. This will take a couple of minutes and you can then beat the icing sugar in and swirl on to the top of the cakes topping with a chocolate button or perhaps another roll..though I'm pretty sure they have been discontinued as I had great trouble finding more than 1 packet?!

Get your tunes on and oven heated as these bad boys only take around an hour to bake, make and decorate so shake a leg and get in the kitchen playas.. also I hope Wiley does another Christmas track, last years was hilarious. 

KRS Sponge

I got a bit lazy lately with baking, I was making things but it was all half hearted, I didn't even blog about it cos it wasn't worth my time however no more. I felt tip tops after the gym yesterday and returned to have a bake off with the king KRS One, now I took things back to basics as I just needed to reassure myself I still had my sponge game on lock and damn straight it was the baddest sponge in the game. Here I present KRS Sponge...

KRS Sponge

You will need:

For the sponge:

 4 eggs

10oz butter

10oz sugar

8oz self raising flour

3oz cadburys drinking chocolate

Couple of dashes of milk

Spoonful of Nutella

For the Icing:

Woman and Home chocolate fudge recipe... here

Smarties

Method:

So I borrowed (when I say this I mean I will probably try my hardest to keep it) Mary Berrys baking bible from my nan the other day, it was sat on the side and I just said ''Can I have it?'' I think she was taken aback so just said yes though I feel a little bad for just going ahead and stealing it however I was looking for some christmas recipes and then saw a recipe for the chocolate cake, it wasn't the one above but after looking at old Mary Bezzas, it used milk and I thought hey she's a certified G in the baking game I'm gon try it. I kind of just winged but with spectacular results. 

Yesterday was actually the first day of my holiday off work and I literally did all my favourite things in one day, gymed it up, baked this bad boy killa, made some cards and saw some lovely ladies for wine and dancing, this is how I see my week proceeding to continue. 

So back to the sponge, simply beat the butter and sugar together to the creamy light consistency. Beat in the eggs one by one as well as a few dashes of milk, I went for the free pour so I can't be sure of the exact amount. Once all mixed together sieve the flour and drinking chocolate into the mixture. Quick note, usually it says use cocoa but I didn't have any so thought hey cadburys has gotta do the trick and it worked fine. I then added a massive tablespoon of Nutella in the mix just for good measure and baked on 150C for 30 minutes. The icing recipe I acquired from a Woman and Home magazine, sometimes I don't know who I think I am sat in the kitchen rapping browsing the Ideal home and such magazines. The OG Playa housewife vibes. Anyway you can follow the link above to grab the recipe then a nice piping job on the top equipped with plenty of smarties and you can't go wrong. 

The reviews have been great on this, in fact there is one slice left. Lizzie popped over and had a slice with her tea and gave me a strong ''light sponge, delicious'' comment which is a compliment coming from an exquisite playa who knows fine cuisine. 

Simple yet effective and of course you need the beats for the bakes. Gonna be a playa pleaser here but gotta say I would get the Keep Right album on for this bake off...

Who knows kilometre November

So after the last post on my exquisite birthday I was ready to get back in the swing of all things full time playa, I'm talking running, gym, baking, making, painting everything. I was full ready to embrace novembers target and also get to work on some christmas presents/cards food ideas. However I went out Monday evening for a run another 6k completed however the last kilometre was just agony with my back, luckily it seems to be okay now but I'm gonna have to go back to treadmill running for a bit as I can't be dealing with any more injuries.

I have re-joined the gym this morning as I hadn't renewed my membership after a month of running outside and I am fully ready to go back in on healthy and fit vibes. Liz also gave me a little treat of a collection of runner magazines which Mrs Bega (Steves mama) had saved for me and I've been reading about half marathon training and tempo running. I'm feeling pretty hyped up for today after another pal Nav just linked me this website http://www.sweatthestyle.com/ which is Adrianne Ho's site and damn I wish I looked like that when I was running but hey something to aspire too. I've just downloaded Sweat the mix for the first november gym session and gonna see how the run goes to decide what target to set for November as we are already nearly half way through.

And then finally gonna get my bake off on this afternoon after over a week of no hip hop bakes its time to get back in the game yo!

My Mama finds this hilarious that she finds me in bed reading these thinking I'm some sort of pro or something but its really interesting to read about techniques and how to improve. Like I said before when I first started I was just running for fun but now I guess I do want to put my hard work towards goals and challenges.

With that said I have also got this bad boy on the playlist, need some motivation after time off, lets do this playasss

Yeah birthday, it's your birthday, If I die bury me inside that Louis store...

What a weekend...I am currently sat at my desk, with my birthday flowers spread next to me with a coffee in my pantone mug sat nicely on my birthday coasters. I couldn't actually believed all the treats I received, a pal said to me today '' did you have a nice birthday?'', I replied saying I felt although it was my 50th or something, all my friends and family made such a lovely effort. I woke up this morning about 5 stone heavier but very happy and surrounded my amazing gifts.

I hadn't really asked for anything as at this age i guess you are just grateful if anyone remembers however my mama brought me a selection of gifts including new Clarks Originals which every true playa needs especially in a dusty pink, Liberty Vans, a tartan dress and then some little bits including a book about fonts which I have already started reading and also made myself a bookmark, squeezed in some crafting this weekend. There was also a floral flask ready for my return to school so I am equipped with tea and won't have to go to Pret every hour, honestly I spend so much money on refreshments and once you're in Pret its hard to stop at just the drink. I'm all over their salad selection.
As you can see in the photograph below she also brought me ''The Great British Bake Off'' diary which also includes a recipe for each month, pretty suave. I was treated to a playa status breakfast and most definitely indulged in a croissant with Nutella as well as the granola, the run after this was pretty speedy with all the sugar in me!

I did actually run on my birthday mainly because all week I hadn't clocked any kilometres as my back was in so much pain. The guys at work were literally inhaling the sweet smell of deep heat for a good 5 days so when I woke up on friday with no ache I knew I had to get back in the game, after all its been a week and the kilometre reading stands at one birthday 6k.

Mama kindly also got me a Pantone mug which is the first of my collection, I wanted to start collecting a mug set so I could display them nicely in my playa pad (which I have been dreaming about all day) sometimes I think I have taken the wrong career route, I love house/interiors so much. 

As you can see it wasn't just the one mug I received but my lovely other half of B.unit got me one, now to be fair I have been going on about these for a while so it is such a treat to have them in my paws. I let Bryony borrow one but quickly washed it after she used it and put it back on display!  Also as an avid hot drink drinker  you need a good quality mug else they stain really easily and there is no staining on my watch I can assure you. B's card was a 1st, she said she was going for the 3D effect with I think she defiantly achieved and we both agreed it was a 100% improvement on last years piece of a4 folded with a present drawn on quickly in her car with a biro. What is better than a homemade card though and I have a fair few from B with this one standing strong as the best contender for composition, colour scheme and date delivered!! 

These weren't the only pantone wonders I received except I actually had these a few weeks earlier than my birthday as I was round my aunties who asked me to go upstairs and move something when my very beady eye spotted a pantone box to which I shouted ''Whatttt? you got pantone coasters..'' not realising they probably weren't hers as currently living under a pile of washing. My aunty was kind enough to let me have them early as I was so excited and wanted to use them, she also took a mental note never to leave any presents in the house. I'm like a hound, sniffing out playa items. As well as the coasters she also gave me some beautiful flowers which are currently sat on my desk brightening up the cold evenings. 

In the above photograph you can actually see one of the presents from my best Mrs Bega. It was so weird not seeing her for 2 weeks whilst she honeymooned it up in Mexico so this week we had a massive catchup looking through photographs, watching videos of zip wiring through the jungle, discussing the mischief I had been up to whilst my number one oracle was away. Thats what my mama calls Liz.. The Oracle, in a good way as in if I ever have any problems I go to Liz and she pretty much points me in the right direction..sometimes shoves me there. Again much like all my other presents a lot of thought went in to my gifts which I guess is the nicest thing about presents, well thats what I think. 

I haven't actually mentioned it but my favourite shop to visit is 'The Hambledon', whenever I feel a bit downbeat I will take a visit and literally leave feeling so happy, the basement is filled with exquisite menswear such as Woodwood, Norse Projects, Woolrich and loads more then the middle levels are sort of a lifestyle vibe. Including cards, wrapping paper, homeward, cake making tools, books, skincare but now I'm not talking any kind of books or previously mentioned these are the most exquisite items and every time I go there I want to re decorate, make a card or a cake. Upstairs they also have womenswear though I have never purchased anything, its a little out of my price range but maybe when I am a refined women in Laura Ashley/ Liberty/ Hip Hop crib I will be able to just kit my life out in that shop. 

So Liz very kindly purchased me some gifts from my favourite place in the world, when I opened the card I said ''This is a very nice card....'' inquisityively and she replied with a smug look ''Hambledon''. And the presents were a real treat, you may have gathered I love being at home and have pretty much planned out my whole house including the colour of the tablecloths so when I opened '' A place called Home'' I was quick to browse the pages for inspiration and thats exactly what it for, it gives you loads of ideas of tidy clutter (one of my favourite things) colour schemes and also the vibes for each room. Alongside the book Liz also purchased me  ''Home sweet home'' bunting to hang up above my desk and an updated classic...Basically wherever I go I have always had a photo of us out when we were 18 sat on my desk. Got to say we look pretty glam in it compared to the updated version which features us hungover the day after Liz's hen do still wearing our glasses and seeing how attractive we could look with no makeup! It was such a thoughtful present and my card read ''If you ever get sad when you're back in london look at us here'' and to be fair every time I think about that day I smile. 

On the subject of my favourite shop, I received another treat from that kingdom of all things gangsta. Basically about 2 months ago I said to my friends Pete and Sarah ''I'm going to buy Liz and Steve a custard cream cushion from The Hambledon for their wedding, its the best thing I have ever seen, if someone brought it for me I would be so haps'' to which Pete replied '' Why? Who wants a cushion for a present, thats not really a wedding present''. I then retracted my cushion ideas and opted for something else for the Begas, however Sar and Pete surprised me with the cushion of dreams. Yes they had taken a trip to Winchester and brought me the Custard Cream cushion, I was literally so haps and as soon as I got home from our gingerbread latee outing I placed it perfectly on my bed. I am in love with it and it is the start to my Nikki McWilliams biscuit collection for sure. I have to say as well they won the award for the funniest card which ended ''Enjoy your birthday as tomorrow it will be scone''. I don't think I will ever mature out of my love for puns! 

You might think it stopped there but your wrong, my birthday lasted all weekend with ciders at the pub friday, Starbucks afternoons, Vipizzas at prezzo and wine saturday evening and a Japanese affair sunday evening with my friend Amelia and Hayley. They kindly took me to ZEN which is one of my favourite places to eat AND had brought me some more treats including the holy grail of my life last week... a velvet hair scrunchie. I have been borrowing Amelias all week at work and when she tried to take it off me I exclaimed it was the only thing making me happy as I couldn't run! Guilt tripped her into letting me wear it for 2 days but now no need as I have my very own along side the much needed trainer wipes, Cath Kidson bits and as Amelia said ''A tin to put all your arty things in.'' I think it will actually fit some biscuits in for delivery! We had a lovely evening and stuffed our faces with wine and literally the whole menu, I have managed a handful of grapes today as I was still so stuffed from last night and thats not even exaggerating. Oh and the Milkway present too because thats my favourite cheat day scooby snack. 

 I have had other presents swell from various other family member including wine, chocolate, nail varnishes, baking books, socks, jewels, money and another pair of converse. I was absolutely spoilt rotten which makes me sound like I'm 5 but I really was. This whole blog post kind of seems like it was ''Look what I got'' but it was more ''Look how amazing and thoughtful my friends and family are''. I thought to myself this morning how much thought each of them had all gone too, there wasn't one present which wasn't thought about and I'm a very lucky playa to have such exquisite people in my life. Thats kind of getting soppy and I have definitely lost some playa points but I am so grateful to everyone who made my birthday amazing and to all my friends/ family for kitting out not only my playa palace but also my feets, hair and head.

So its back to normal life of a hustla now, working, baking (gonna have to make my pals some real treats to say thank you for all of this) and running. I am just going to go for an evening one now and see how we go on the back which will decide if I keep the target at 120 or take it down again, the thing is I don't want to hurt it again because not running for over a week made me sad so I don't want to push it. 

I thought I had better post a track and it had to be done, I have this on my playlist for squatting, such a banger...

 PS I love you pals and family! You're the best, I never wanted a big booty hoe you're presents were much more appreciated. 

120k October

There are no treats for my feets this month, unfortunately I really hurt my back last week which means I haven't been able to run this week therefore didn't end up hitting the monthly target and finished October on 95 kilometres. I did try and go out a couple of times but it has been too painful and also the last 5k I did nearly had me in tears.

This week has been weird; I can't imagine my life without running now. On Sunday I could barely walk and it really  made me realise how much I take for granted being able to walk let alone run. As you can imagine I have been a pretty grumpy playa all week and each evening has come and I have been more annoyed at myself I can't run, I invited Bryony over for dinner last night and barely spoke to her and then proceeded to have to walk around work today like I had something shoved up my arse because my back was hurting so much.

On my lunch I stumbled to Office to see that they finally have the fall drop of the Liberty X Vans but decided against purchasing any. Now this wasn't because I didn't want to or didn't have the cash monies but I picked them up, was about to ask for my size and then thought 'Whats the point in having a target if when you don't hit it you buy yourself the prize anyway?'. So I put the floral delight down and have decided to wait until I have racked up the kilometres, its also my birthday next week and my Mama said I had to be careful with what I purchased before hand so who knows they could be mine. I was also lucky enough that this week my good pal Kyle picked me up a Liberty Vintage shirt so its not all bad for a full time playa. How exquisite is this?!

I was going to try run this evening as I'm so dosed up on ibuprofen and deep heat I can't feel it but have decided to see how it feels in the morning and fingers crossed I can begin November running tings. I am setting the target at 120k as I didn't hit it this month and I am planning on starting to train for a half marathon which means I will probably be running for longer but less times a week rather than running 5-6 times a week.

So I don't have a running track but I think its only appropriate I post this track after Mr Blake won the Mercury Music award for his album 'Overgrown'. I am a massive James Blake fan and when I first heard this song I wasn't a very happy playa to say the least infact I wasn't even a playa..slight blip in my career as the OG FTP,  it was last year and after a few listening I fell in love with it and actually text my friend Nav to say ''I think this album has changed my life'', not even exaggerating this track actually did...

Thank you

A massive Thank you to everyone who sponsored me for my first ever proper run, I was so pleased to raise over £300 for The Teenage Cancer Trust; a charity that did so much to help one of my good friends when she was diagnosed with Cancer. It was an absolutely hideous day and so windy in Southsea but a playas gotta play and even though I looked like a drowned rat when I ran over the finish line I was pretty pleased with the achievement.

Even though it wasn't miles and I have ran quite a few kilometres in the past couple months I am pretty pleased that I can even run, I've mentioned before exercise really wasn't my kind of thing unless you count dancing drunk in nightclubs as exercise but now I would much prefer to go out for a run on Sunday mornings and feel fresh as a daisy rather than waking up with the hangover shame learning over me. With that said I did go out Saturday night for a few wines to celebrate but was home tucked up in bed with Bryony and a pizza by 2am.

I also have to share the lovely little celebration selection I came home to on Saturday, My mama had gone on holiday in the morning so couldn't come and watch but I think its safe to say she was pretty proud.

There are 30 kilometres to hit before the end of the week which should be pretty do able, I have been waiting for the Vans x Liberty fall collection to drop to pick my reward however after various trips to Office I am yet to find the floral fancies on the shop floor so I had better get to thinking of something to keep me motivated. 

I also need to get back on my baking game and whip up some treats for everyone who sponsored me, I just need some puntastic inspiration...

Go go go go go go 'head

This month has been a really weird one for the running; I've barely been to the gym and have been mostly racking up the kilometres outside. I've been focusing on outside due to the fact its the Great South Run at the weekend and about a month ago I hadn't even ran a 5k outside properly however I am pretty haps and confident about running outside now.

One of my best pals Bryony said she wanted to come running tuesday night so we geared up and I explained I would have to listen to my music but would signal her every kilometre and told her planned route so she could stop and catch up if need be. Well there was no need for such a detailed route as she was cracking up for the first minute and then decided it was boring and walked home so I continued as a solo playa..until...I only went and got caught up in some sort of running team and with the momentum of team spirit ended up completing 7k in 35 minutes which I was really happy with. Not sure the actual members of the running club knew what to do with a candy flossed hair rapping runner in the mix but I definitely want to look into running with a club as its much more fun even if I still listen to my music its nice to run with other playas.

So I had October target set at 120K and the reading is currently standing at 67K which isn't ideal but I have been hustling hard at work and on various other personal commitments meaning the miles had to take a backseat however I am currently composing a motivational playlist for this evenings run and hopefully I can whack it up at least 5k, 10k if I get some proper club bangers on the mix.

My ultimate running song however is a little embarrassing but playas need the motivation and when it gets to that last kilometre I hit the power songs on the Nike App to which this plays...and I 100% imagine Drake singing it about me. There was no video but its probably a treat for everyone to have a rap along too..

Mos Zests

After what can only be described as the wedding of the year on Saturday, today (2 days later I may add) I still felt pretty vulnerable and baking was the only thing that was gonna get me through the morning. However a massive congratulations to my best friend Liz Holt who married the love of her life and the fat ox that is Steve Bega at the weekend, I'm not even being biased in saying that she was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen and everything about the day was perfect. It was a shame I managed to go from refined playa to falling over on the dance floor and passing out face in a pizza by the end of the night but hey your best friend only gets married once.

So I decided to whip up a treat for the Size? playas tomorrow and  went for a classic zesty carrot cake with a cream cheese topping. Mos Def got it right on these bad boys...''Is Sugar and Spice all you made of?''..Damn straight alongside a few other ingredients thrown in the mix you'll have yourselves your very own ''Mos Zests''.

Mos Zests Muffins

I actually tried to make these last week and freestyled some recipes resulting in another hip flop bake off so this morning in my vulnerable state I stuck very closely to a BBC good food recipe which you can find here. So obviously its pretty essential you have the tunes on for this as you spend most of the time waiting for them to cook which gives a perfect window for a rap off or practicing your best Beyonce dance, don't stoop to a Miley twerk.

 I should really go for something a little less cliche but this track is ULTIMATE Playa status..

Damn, why they wanna stick me for my paper?

I decided that running was taking over my life slightly, I have been known to get obsessed with things, once I like something then I really like it and sometimes the phase passes like the sun-bed stage and sometimes it stays, luckily I haven't got bored of running however I have been known to get in from a night out stuffing my face with a chicken land at 4am and then get up at 6 to go running thinking I can redeem myself from the chicken burger bonanza few hour previous. What I am trying to say is sometimes I forget it's okay not to do something even when you're used to a routine so this weekend I took the weekend off running for fun times.

Saturday I spent the day shopping for my outfit for my best friends wedding this weekend and then the  evening at the pub with a few of my favourite playas, unfortunately I had a baking disaster else I would've provided some treats for the occasion however I have found the flaw in the recipe and I'm planning a re bake this week. I had quite a few ciders on Saturday evening so was definitely a bit woozy when I woke up sunday morning but trotted on round to Bryonys for our B.unit day out which included breakfast at Halldays tea rooms which was a treat and a half, smoked salmon and poached eggs on toast with a skinny lattee, now if that isn't a full time playa brunch I don't know what is.

Following this delight we headed to the Seacity Museum for "The First Cut" exhibition, it's so weird lately I have become obsessed with paper cutting; my favourite Instagram at the moment is a lady called "Poppyspapercuts" which I saw ages ago in Vogue, everyone should check it out cos she is off the chain. So when I saw this exhibition advertised I thought my prayers had been answered and it didn't disappoint, featuring one of my favourite paper cut artists Rob Ryan and a new favourite James Aldridge it showcased 2d large scale papercuts to installations crafted from paper and other methods of creating via folding, creasing and collaging.

Rob Ryan.. 

James Aldridge...

 And a close up to show how intricately and precise this guy cuts that paper...

I was absolutely blown away by the work displayed and definitely recommend anyone who has a spare couple of hours in Southampton to go check it out, a lot of the artists draw on social and economical issues within culture which makes interesting pieces but you can also see personal perspectives of the idea of life from previously mentioned Rob Ryan. A mere 5 dollars and I guarantee you will leave feeling pretty inspired and ready to create your own masterpiece. Well that's how I felt, I got home found an old drawing and proceeded to think "Yeah I can be a papercut playa" on the kitchen chopping board with and old craft knife..lets me just say this didn't go as well as I had hoped and I have drawn out something new to try second time round... You can see below I hadn't quite realised you needed to keep the lines connected!

Can't lose tradition now and not post a track so here it is..I got the mac Biggie tell me what you gonna do?