On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher

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Evie Snow is eighty-two when she quietly passes away in her sleep, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. It’s the way most people wish to leave the world but when Evie reaches the door of her own private heaven, she finds that she’s become her twenty-seven-year-old self and the door won’t open.

Evie’s soul must be light enough to pass through so she needs to get rid of whatever is making her soul heavy. For Evie, this means unburdening herself of the three secrets which have weighed her down for over fifty years, so she must find a way to reveal them before it’s too late. As Evie begins the journey of a lifetime, she learns more about life and love than she ever thought possible, and somehow, some way, she may also find her way back to the only man she ever truly loved…

First published: 2016

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Blueberry and Mango Muffins

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I haven’t really baked a lot lately, but the weekend before last I suddenly got the urge again. I didn’t feel like going to the supermarket, so I had to make do with what I had lying around. I’d completely forgotten about it, but I still had quite a lot of blueberries in my freezer, and also some frozen mango pieces from the last time I baked these mango blondies.

Muffins are kind of my go to baked goodies for when I want to whip up something delicious but easy, and that’s how this blueberry and mango muffin recipe was born. I also added a little ginger to the recipe for a bit of extra flavour – but it’s a very subtle bit of extra flavour, so if you really love ginger you could a little more. I wouldn’t add more than 2 teaspoons of ginger in total, though.

Anyway, these were a definite success! My boyfriend (who hasn’t yet gotten used to my baking skills – which is nice) was kind of blown away by them (always a nice reaction to get), and my mother came over especially the next day to also taste them – and loved them as well. Turns out, mango, blueberry and ginger is an excellent combination!

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

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A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of peculiar photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its decaying bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that miss Peregrine’s children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.

First published: 2011

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Meringues 2.0

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Those of you who’ve been following the blog for a while now might remember that back in the summer I tried my hand at baking meringues. They didn’t come out exactly as planned as I couldn’t get the egg whites to whip up stiff enough, but they looked pretty cute and tasted all right too, so it was a semi-success.

I vowed to try again, and when my parents got me a Kenwood stand mixer for my birthday in October, I was already excitedly planning another meringues-making session in my head. Didn’t actually get around to it until the day before Christmas, but isn’t that always how it goes. Cut to another 2,5 months later and here I am finally posting about it.

Anyway!

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Why La La Land is My New Favourite Film of All Time

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*puts on La La Land soundtrack for the gazillionth time*

So, here’s the deal. I love La La Land. A lot. And I want to write a post on why I love it so much, but I also feel as if everything has already been said about it. So I think I’m just going to go on a rant and see what I end up with (edit: oh, it’s become a rant, all right).

The first time I saw La La Land was with my friend Esmé during one of the previews at our local cinema. I’d been excited for the film for months after seeing the trailer – Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling together again in a beautiful-looking film about music and working for your dreams and falling in love… What’s not to like?

I came out of the cinema feeling euphoric and larger than life. I honestly can’t remember the last time I felt like that after seeing a film. There was something so utterly magical about it, and that feeling only increased after seeing it a second time. And a third. I think it was after the second viewing that I said to my friends: “I’m pretty sure this is my new all time favourite film.” In the meantime I’ve gone from “pretty sure” to “absolutely sure”. In fact, I haven’t been this obsessed with something for a long time.

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The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton

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A high school sex scandal jolts a group of teenage girls into a new awareness of their own potency. The sudden publicity seems to turn every act into a performance and every space into a stage. But when the local drama college decides to turn the scandal into a show, the real world and the world of the theatre are forced to meet, and soon the boundaries between private and public begin to dissolve…

First published: 2008

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Happy New Year?

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Sooo… Happy New Year!

I’m a bit late with that one, aren’t I? Oh, well. It’s not any less sincere! I wanted to do the End of Year Survey on the 31st of December but didn’t get round to it, and then it kind of went downhill from there.

BUT! My internship (you know, the one I’ve been blaming my lack of blogposts on since September) ended yesterday which means I have a lot of time all of a sudden. I do need to write a report and fix all kinds of boring things related to graduating (yay!) and adulting (yegh), but all in all it seems like I’m going from being very busy all the time to doing very little indeed. Seems like the perfect opportunity for lots of blogging!

It is a little overwhelming to be back, to be honest. I haven’t written anything in over a month and haven’t read any blogs lately either. But I’m looking forward to it a lot! Same goes for reading. I’ve hardly read anything over the past couple months and I’ve been reading My True Love Gave To Me since Christmas. It’s nice to still feel a little festive in the new year, but to still be reading Christmas stories in February is pushing it a little, I think. So finishing that one’s on my To Do-list for this week.

As I’m writing this post I keep getting ideas for all the posts I want to write after this one, but it feels wrong to just get back into the swing of things without acknowledging the fact that I’ve been gone for a long time or talking about what I’ve been up to, so this is just a very short post of me doing exactly that.

Life’s been good the past couple of months. Busy, but fun! My internship went really well and I also passed the last university course I was taking at the same time, so I’m well on my way to getting my MA degree at the end of this month. My personal life’s been pretty darn wonderful as well, so all’s good in the life of me. Now all that’s left to do is to get back to those hobbies of mine. You know, the books and the baking and the blogging…

Here’s to the New Year!

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Gingerbread Cookies

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I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I had a lovely day with my family, eating lots and lots of food – including these gingerbread cookies, which turned out to be a huge success. Definitely one to remember for next year!

I hadn’t expected to make quite as many cookies as I did – I’m pretty sure there were about 120 of them! Of course, they were quite small and not very thick, so that may have something to do with it. If I had actual gingerbread man cookie cutters there might not have been this many. Not that I’m complaining! They turned out to be delicious, and I had a lot of fun making them, especially once I got the hang of piping the icing.

This week is technically a week off, at least from my internship, but I’ll probably spend most of it working on my very last university project/assignment/thingy. January will be the last month of my internship and then I’m done with university… Out into the ‘real’ world I go – terrifying yet exciting! I do think I’ll have much more time to blog again, which is something I’m really looking forward to.

But first things first; let’s get to the recipe for these yummy cookies!

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Lemon and Ginger Chocolate Brownies

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This weekend, I had one of those days where I was just completely exhausted and done with everything. I was wound up about a couple of different things, and as a result I kind of just broke down. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has days like that! In my experience, you just have to let it happen and try to be kind to yourself and do things that make you happy.

To me, that’s baking brownies.

I had the idea for these lemon and ginger brownies for a while now, ever since I first tasted what’s become a new favourite chocolate bar, which (unsurprisingly) featured … lemon and ginger. After tasting (and loving) that flavour combination I thought: “I’m sure that’d work amazing in a brownie.”

And I was right! These brownies may look like regular ol’ brownies (which are pretty freaking good as well), but they do indeed feature ground ginger and the zest of a lemon – it adds a great kick to an already delicious brownie!

Oh, and I’m feeling fine again, by the way. It must have been all that chocolate…

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Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #5)

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This post contains spoilers for the first four books (here’s my review of the first book, though)!

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don’t.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin’s journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?

First published: 2016

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