Birthday Gift Round-up

It is official, I have been well and truly spoilt with both gifts and love! I thought that I would share with you some of my gifts and some things that I plan to treat myself to with some of my birthday money!

My family know that with Cath Kidston items they simply cannot go wrong. This is a brand that I love! So when I opened this beautiful British Birds Curved Saddle Bag I was over the moon. This is a bag that I had pointed out in the past to the hubby. It is smaller than my other bag and is perfect for me to take to work. As the bag is smaller he knew that I would also need a smaller purse, so also wrapped me up this lovely little leather Cath Kidston purse. As I have recently started my new job I also wanted some new work shoes. I like my shoes to be a bit different. If I am wearing all black I like a pair of shoes that give it a bit of contrast. These Elvington Rose Embossed Ballerina Shoes are a fantastic addition to my shoe collection!

Anyone that knows me knows I love gin! So receiving a bottle of Thomas Dakin small batch gin got the thumbs up from me! This is a gin that I have not tried before which made it even more exciting! For my coffee at work the kids also gave me this quirky quote mug that says "Do more of what makes you happy" this is a perfect quote for life!

All About the Drinks! Christmas with Aldi

This weeks is a fun week! Today I am going to tell you my top drinks and bargains from Aldi. In true Aldi fashion they have great, top quality drinks at a price we have come to expect from Aldi.

Today I thought that I would showcase a bit of all sorts. I have got some wines, gins, liqueurs, beers and even champagne. They really do have something for everyone and to suit all budgets! 

But you do not need to take my word for it. In a recent study by Which? Aldi champagne, malbec and even their turkey has been voted by the experts at Which? as their best buys!

Summer Berry, Mint and Arbikie Kirsty's Gin Jam

Over the last few weeks berries have been a huge part of our daily diets. This is all thanks to the bumper harvest of soft fruits that we are having. So far we have enjoyed fresh strawberry and mint porridge, homemade cordial, berries with meringues and plenty of berry topped cakes! Having the extra berries this year has even got me making preserves again so as to not waste any.

I recently made a softer jam to what I usually make. This was inspired by a River Cottage Fridge Jam recipe that I had found in my trusty River Cottage Handbook about Preserves. These are a treasured collection of books that I have found to be full of information about preserving foods, growing vegetables, using herbs, keeping chickens and of course contain some fantastic recipes!

I decided to make a fridge jam as they contain about half the sugar of regular, thick set jam. So it is simply a healthier option for a jam. But fridge jams are also fantastic additions to bakes and desserts like trifle! Yes, I will be using some in a cake, so keep an eye out for a future fridge jam cake recipe!

This jam also has an optional added extra. This recipe made three jars of jam. I made two plain summer berry and mint jam but with the final jar I added something special to give the jam an added kick of flavour. I added some of the deliciously floral Arbikie Kirsty's Gin that we found while on our last holiday in Aviemore, Scotland.

On one of our journeys we discovered a quaint little shop that has whiskey and gin from floor to ceiling. The Whiskey Castle at Tomintoul became a favourite shop to stop by. It is like no other shop, you immediately feel at home and in the company of friends it is so welcoming. While you are there if there are any drinks that you would like to taste, and they have a bottle open, you are welcomed to try it. It was here that I spotted Kirsty's Gin from Arbikie. It was a new distillery to me and as it had my name I just had to taste it. I immediately fell in love with the floral notes of lavender that come through. All of the botanics that are used in Arbikie Kirsty's Gin have been grown on the estate. It is grown, distilled and bottled on the one estate and is a true farm to bottle product. Even the water that they used is mountain filtered water that has come directly from their underground lagoon! We love finding products that are more unique and away from the mass produced products that you can find anywhere and everywhere and Arbikie is just that. Arbikie also produce Potato Vodka which is Scotland's first potato vodka, Chilli Vodka and they even have some Arbikie Whiskey that is currently sleeping in a variety of bourbon, sherry and red wine casks!

Back to my jam recipe with an added kick. The gin goes perfectly with the soft, summer fruits and makes this homegrown jam extra special!

This is what I did...