New Blog Series
Hi everyone! Sofie and I recently discussed new content we wanted to share on the blog, in addition to our regularly scheduled recipes and cultural blog posts. We decided to round up some of the things we have been loving each week for you. These range from actual physical products to recipes, new habits, new hobbies, songs, or anything else. This way, we can share a bit more of our lives with you. And hopefully, you can enjoy reading about it and potentially discover new things or feel inspired! It can even help us keep a record of books, music, recipes, etc. that we are enjoying at the moment. Today’s post will be the first, but we hope to continue it on a weekly or biweekly basis. Enjoy!
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Thing 1: Running
You might be wondering what a strange addition this is to the list 😂 . But I’m including it because it is super relevant to something I just accomplished. And actually, something that Sofie also accomplished a few months ago. We ran half-marathons! I ran the Sheffield half-marathon in the UK (along with my dad!) a little over a week ago. Sofie finished the Philadelphia half-marathon (along with our mom!) back in November. Because of these races, much of our free time over the past six months to a year has been spent training. It has honestly been a great hobby to pick up. Personally, it helps me control my stress and anxiety and actually makes me more productive in my day-to-day life. Even though we are by no means people who have been running for years, it has been nice to stick to a schedule and train towards an end goal. We are hoping to run races again in the near future. Especially as the weather gets nicer, I’m super excited to get back out running and training for the next one!
Thing 2: My Planner
I mentioned above that I have been stressed, and that running is something that has really helped me. Well, in addition to this, I have been absolutely loving my planner from Papier. It really helps me get my life in order! My issue with planners in the past has been that I use them for a little while but then stop because it becomes another chore for me to actually write in it. However, this planner has the perfect amount of guidance; you can really use it however much or little as you like. For example, I don’t use the “monthly goal” pages, but I do like to make daily to-do lists. This is starting to sound like an ad for my particular planner, but it’s not! Personally, I love Papier’s planners because they have wonderful designs and prints, but I have also used many other kinds in the past. In general, a planner is just something that I would recommend for anyone who has a lot on their plate. Check out the daily planners or the academic year planners!
Thing 3: Easter Chocolates
It’s that time of year where it is very hard to control yourself in the chocolate aisle of the supermarket…Easter! At least here in the UK, Easter chocolate is everywhere right now. Whether you are buying it for yourself or others, you really can’t avoid accumulating a small collection at this time of year. Some of my favorites include Cadbury Mini Eggs* (very popular in the UK), Robin Eggs* (have yet to find these in the UK 😢 ), and Lindt chocolate bunnies*. But there are so many different types of chocolate available these days that I am sure everyone has different favorites. If you have read this far, do let us know your favorite Easter chocolate in the comments down below! We would love to hear from you. And if you find yourself with lots of leftover chocolate, you can always make brownies 😊
Thing 4: Homemade Granola Bars
This next one on the list could be categorized as both a new recipe I am loving and a new habit. I have been trying to make some healthy (and cheap!) homemade snacks over the past few weeks, and I have found granola bars to be a really great choice. They are really easy to make with whatever you have lying around in the pantry or kitchen and they turn out super tasty and filling! I just make a big batch on Sunday and then eat it throughout the week. The main ingredients are oats, seeds, nuts, some chocolate chips or chunks, nut butter, honey, coconut oil, and some flavorings (cinnamon, vanilla extract, almond extract, etc.). I use this recipe from Downshiftology as a general guideline, but do tend to switch up the ingredients depending on what I have on hand. Definitely try it out if you want to!
Thing 5: Hot Cross Buns
The final thing on my list today is hot cross buns. This also seems to be a seasonal thing in the UK, but hot cross buns have been popping up everywhere. Every Easter seems to bring with it a new slightly strange flavor of hot cross bun, whether it’s apple or banana or triple chocolate. Although I did recently have some triple chocolate hot cross buns from M&S and they were absolutely delicious! Sometimes, I do just like to stick to the original. So, I recently baked some for myself, and they turned out so yummy and beautiful that I had to share them here. I used Mary Berry’s recipe (the GBBO queen herself!) and it was very simple and straightforward and yielded an incredible result. Would highly recommend! And the best way to eat them is, of course, fresh out of the oven with lots of butter or toasted and topped with lots of butter.
Thanks for Reading!
Thanks for checking out today’s new blog post and new concept! We hope you enjoyed hearing about five things we are currently loving and that you took some sort of inspiration from it. Let us know if you have any comments or questions down below. We really love hearing from you! Until next time 👋
