A little foodie review: The Green Cat Bakery

Ahhhh, I just love this little place! For those of you that don't know it, let me introduce you to the Green Cat Bakery in Eglinton.

Finally, after months of my mum and I going here separately or with other people, we actually had lunch together at the Green Cat Bakery! 

One of the many things I love about this place is their menu. They have a breakfast menu, which you can order from at any point of the day and they specialise in afternoon teas. 

Today, I was determined to try something from their lunch menu... It was so hard to resist the eggs benedict and French toast!! 

(Eggs benedict - Uhmazing!!)

I had a falafel salad, and as always they didn't disappoint. Not only is the food great but the service and atmosphere make for a really enjoyable experience.

As always, it won't be long til I'm back!! French toast next time 💕 

Much love, Beth xxx

P.S. Don't you just love their cups & saucers! 

A letter to anxiety...

Dear anxiety, 

oh you.

yes you, anxiety.

The thing that turns simple situations into my nightmare. 

 

Quite honestly, there are times when I really hate you.

You make a crowded room feel like one of the most daunting prospects. But what you don't know, is that room is full of people who love me. 

You make me second guess myself, you crush my confidence. You hide and then suddenly overtake me, stopping me in my tracks.

What's even worse is a lot of people don't know you exist. Or the ones that do know you, might not know what it's truly like to put up with you. 

Even though I can't get rid of you, I'm working on giving you less importance. No matter how much you cause me to freak out, you remind me I am human. You help me to relate to others who suffer from you. 

I cannot avoid you. But I can defeat you, one day at a time. You won't stop me being myself. You won't stop me socialising. 

Sometimes you might win. But I won't give up. 

Your (not so much) friend, 

Beth 

Being completely in denial... Food affects your health!

Ok... Time for a confession.... I have been wholeheartedly in denial that what I eat has an affect on my health. 

It's obvious, I know, but it's easy to convince yourself of something if you want to. 

In the past, people have pointed out to me that what I eat has an affect on my inflammation, my digestive system and my general well being. I knew this was true at the time but to be honest I wasn't ready to delve into it. At the time I was focusing on getting my head in the right place and trying to deal emotionally with being diagnosed. 

I've always been fairly healthy however recently life's been getting in the way and I've had a rough few weeks. However I now feel ready to approach the whole topic of food affecting your health & arthritic conditions.

So I decided to blog about it. It will definitely be gradual. I will try to look at what foods I can add in to my current diet rather than focusing on what foods i should eliminate - I know doing this in the past has made me feel so restricted that I haven't stuck to it! 

Initially i plan to take two weeks adjusting things in my diet, trying to focus on something new each day. I will do a blog post in two weeks to let you now how I'm feeling and if I'm noticing a difference in my health. If any recipes or amazing finds come up in between time then I'll definitely blog about it! 

If you've read this whole post, then thank you, it means a lot ❤️ 

Much love, Beth xxx 

Benefit stay flawless 15 hour primer review

Hey folks!

So recently I took a big chance on buying Benefit's stay flawless foundation it's priced at £24.50 and I'll do a review on it soon!

In with the foundation I got a sample of Benefit Stay Flawless 15 hour primer so I thought I'd do a little review for anyone thinking of purchasing it. 

First off, if your unsure about any of Benefit's products then go find a Benefit stand in your local Boots or Debenhams. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions and ask them to demonstrate the product on you. I have to say I wasn't convinced about Benefit until a shop assistant asked if she could do my makeup with the products. 

Back to the primer! The consistency is really thick which is completely different to my regular serum primer. But the thick consistency makes sense when it's supposed to last 15hours.

I found it a little difficult to put on initially, you kind of have to warm it up on your hand first. When I put my stay flawless foundation on I found the coverage was a lot heavier than normal. 

I'm not sure this is an everyday product for me because I like a more natural look. However, it would be great for social events or times when you'll need your makeup to last all day. 

This primer is priced at £24.50 for a 15.5g stick. It is definitely a high priced item but I think this product would last you a long time! 

Here's my before and after with the primer and foundation: 

Excuse the blotchyness!! :) 

What's your view on Benefit products? Do you have a favourite? 

Much love, Beth xxx

Get your hands on your own Benefit Stay Flawless 15 hour primer

Matcha munchie muffins! So yum!!! // teapigs matcha challenge

Ok dokes folks... Oh look at me rhyming!! 

Time for another Matcha recipe! I'm 5 days into the challenge and I'm sick still but really enjoying being inventive with the matcha powder :) 

This time round its Matcha muffins. Let's get straight to it, here's the ingredients you'll need: 

1 cup flour - I used plain but would seriously try wholemeal next time 

1 tablespoon linseed

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1.5 tbsp lemon juice 

Pinch salt 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup of milk - any kind you like

1/3 cup golden syrup

1/3 cup melted butter

1 egg 

1 tsp matcha powder 

Dark chocolate 

Handful of dried fruit and nuts (you decide what combination you like)

Method: 

Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius.

In a bowl combine milk, lemon juice, linseed and vanilla extract. Cover for atleast 5 minutes. 

In a microwaveable bowl add butter and syrup together and heat gently via the microwave until melted. Set aside. 

In a large baking bowl add flour, matcha powder, salt and baking powder together. Slowly add the milk mixture to this, once added, then add the butter/golden syrup mix too. Finally add the egg and stir well.

Line a muffin tray with muffin cases. Spoon the mixture into these, filling them up 2/3 of the way. 

Then into the oven for 20 mins. Be sure to have a cooling rack ready to go for when they're done. 

 Enjoy! 

Much love, Beth xxx

The secondary healing stage and an update // Endometriosis surgery

So I wanted to do a little update since my surgery. It's been 3 MONTHS since my Endometriosis laparoscopy (3 months! That's crazy!!). 

Ok, so this is something I feel like no one talks about. I haven't figured out if that's because not many people go through it or simply no one talks about it...

My external scars healed within 3-4 weeks post surgery however for the last few weeks they've been hurting. It's a weird sensation though, it's not the area that hurts, it's the skin itself. Also, it's not a normal type of pain that I'm used to, rather it's an itchy, really, really annoying type of pain. 

After doing a bit of research apparently scars can hurt or be itchy up to 6 months after surgery, particularly when the weather changes. I hope it'll go away in a few months!!! I've nicknamed this 'the secondary healing stage'.

This is probably the main thing affecting me after surgery as it pretty much happens everyday. Ok, time to talk about the dreaded 'P' word!!!  I had been warned that the first 3 periods after surgery would be awful! Well I've only had 2 so far and yeah it's been extremely painful but they are wayyyy shorter than normal and I'm hoping the pain will improve as time goes on.

Overall, I've been very impressed with how quickly I could move on with my life after surgery however I still really am not fully recovered yet. 

I'll be doing another update in a couple of months. Meanwhile, if you've been through the surgery or are suffering with endo, comment below with your tips to cope.

Much love, Beth xxx

P.S. I found this earlier and I thought it was perfect for us spoonies ❤️

Chai matcha latte // teapigs matcha challenge

The teapigs matcha challenge couldn't have come at a better time, I woke up this morning to a swollen throat and an inability to swallow... Meh!

So I'm taking a challenge to have teapigs matcha powder in some form for two weeks and see how I feel at the end of it. I'll be doing a review post at the end of the two weeks but for now I'll be bringing you all the recipes I make along the way.

The first is a chai inspired matcha green latte, this was so yummy!!! 

So here's what you need: 

• 1/2 tsp teapigs matcha powder

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg 

• 1/2 tsp brown sugar

• 200ml milk (any kind) 

• add 50-100ml water if you want 

Personally I prefer to heat this on the hob. So I put all the ingredients into a pan and heat to a boil. Keep stirring it, Once it boils turn down the heat a little and keep it simmering for a few minutes. 

Then fill a mug 1/3 full with the mixture and use a electric whisk to froth up the milk. Then add the rest of the milk into your mug. Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar. 

It tasted so good! Different to any other drink or latte I've made before but a great way to have my daily green tea :) 

I hope this inspires you and if you're doing the matcha challenge too then be sure to say hey to me in the comments or over on Twitter! 

Here's where you can get your hands on some teapigs matcha powder: 

http://www.teapigs.co.uk/m/tea/shop_by_category/matcha_shop/matcha.htm

Much love, Beth xxx