Nayu's Thought of the Day #7 Days off are important!

I've nothing pre-scheduled for today to post here, and I am having a day off from blogging since I try to do this once a week (regardless of when I can't blog due to life). I do have to do more than decide what to drink today - got to decide what to eat with a friend at lunch (& I haven't looked at the menu beforehand...) but I do like this kind of day all the same ^o^ It's important to take time out for yourself! Go put your feet up! 

Nayu's Craft Time #119 The week ran away with me..

Good old Eeyore expresses how I feel! Picture source

It did! It really did run away! Or rather I had a few days getting my super strong pain meds ketamine through my system. Usually I feel rough for a few days. This time I felt hyper (like I used to feel) on Tuesday, rough on Wednesday, and fine but extremely exhausted yesterday. Guess I'll stop trying to predict how my body will feel and just go with the flow, something else Eeyore does.

Yes there is always something, but there's always a positive aspect when plans

Due to the volume of reviews I've been putting up this week, and to various issues that required more than a simple reply by email, this morning I haven't been able to post any reviews on social media! 

Again this is an Eeyore thing and a life thing that there is always something that crops up. Initially I

was a teensy bit frustrated because I like my schedules going to plan. I suppose it went to God's plan today, rather than mine, which is fine as He is the best planner there is. As I'm being stricter on time spent online I'm going to simply post everything on Sunday, or, possibly tomorrow afternoon after I've had lunch out with a friend (resting up lots beforehand in prep for all the chatting!). On second thoughts I try and keep Saturday's as my non work day so won't be doing that!

Days off are important. Saturdays I try to avoid doing blog work which while fun uses up brain cells & energy.

So feeling a bit 'behind' even though I'm not really. I'm sure most of you can relate to that! Plus side is getting unexpected Amazon credit due to a Kindle update issue which did muck the review books in my carousel which has me hoping that I haven't missed one out. Tomorrow I'll figure out what to buy with it ^o^

Craft has been on the backburner this week as I've had zero energy for anything other than watching stuff & reading. It's annoying but I know tomorrow I'll be doing lots of cross stitch (Yay!). I wanted to do something today but I'm still not quite on what is normal for me, plus I have to do laundry and sort my now once a month organic box, both of which need zap arm strength. Might just cross it off today's list so I'm not frustrated by not being able to do any. 

What I am going to do today is do my weekly email to a friend, who only gets a regular email because she puts together a blog post for me using the info I give her *waves at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers*. My actual email list is a long one I'm very slowly tackling. Then it's rest with Aikatsu anime as I'm a bit too tired to play video games today. Oh & I need to sort out the stuff in my room that piled up from the days of not being able to do anything - think I'll do that relaxing otherwise I may get distracted by Other Things to do. I'd better stop babbling and let you get back to whatever you need to do!

Blog marathon over!

Finished day 2 of marathon blog work - almost all caught up! Crashing with anime & books now ^o^ Too tired for craft, but happy. Have a great day!

Nayu's Product Review #2 Favourite Fromage Frais!

Original small pots

 This is a non-sponsored post, but you can find out more about Petits Filous on their website. 

Fromage frais, defined as a low-fat soft cheese with a smooth texture by Dictionary.com has been a part of my life since I was little. Petits Filous was a real treat! I used to have homemade yogurt (not so fond of it now). Petits Filous is creamy, has a strong and not artifical flavour, comes in cute little pots and bigger ones, in the original flavours of strawberry, raspberry, and apricot as well as others. I never had the tubes (Frubes?), and they don't appeal to me at all. Same goes for the dessert flavours, although I may try them eventually. Last week I tried the greek yogurt style version with a fruit layer at the bottom - they are absolutely delicious! 

Big love for these little pots!

Last year I tried several other brands to see if I like them These included Marks and Spencer own brand, Aldi own brand, plus Yeo Valley. Unfortunately despite some being organic they don't stand up to my all time favourite Petits Filous. The M&S + A&C were either too runny or barely had any flavour. The Aldi ones taste fairly good, but are a bit more artificial than I like. I was disappointed with the results, but I can see why Petits Filous is such a widespread brand. 

While not my usual dish, as these are fresh berries, this is similar to my night time snack. Picture source.

I generally stick with plain yogurt, adding frozen berries to get a fruit flavour because it has no added sugar, but flavoured yogurt like Petits Filous make a nice change. 

Do you like fromage frais? I'd love to hear what your favourite brand is!

And the big pots, which don't have aprioct flavour.

Nayu's Craft Time #118 Craft from my past!

I'm excited to share a craft from my past with you!

I have recently remembered making a stool like the one above from a kit similar to the one below when I was little.

I loved this so much!

Sadly I no longer have the stool, but I remember being proud when it was made and loving it in my room. I think I was too little to make it all by myself, but I didn't care because it's so cute! Maybe I'll make one again in the future and keep it this time. Have you ever made something like this?

Nayu's Craft Time #117 Peach Crumble, Mushroom & Leek Quiche, Bok Choy stir fry

Saw this when search for cute kitchens - I adore happy looking clouds! Picture source.

I'm not sure how but I've managed not to do any craft over the last few days. Been busy sorting a few bits out, visiting friends, and  baking, all of which take lot of energy from me. I'm nearly back to what ressembles a normal schedule for me, which is exciting.

I didn't need to use any of these! I didn't buy them from this seller, but they are my Hello Kitty plasters!

Sunday was a long day of baking. No matter how long a recipe says it will take, I have to almost triple the time (yes it took 4 hours to do everything, excluding clearing up). I narrowly avoided burnt fingers, had lumpy cornflower mix, was convinced I was going to have soggy pastry due to it looking like the quiche mixture went over the sides, and I know there was another mishap but I can't remember what it was. What can I say - I'm very accident prone! It was heaps of fun, if extremely tiring. 

The main dish was the mushroom and leek quiche, which ended up like this. 

 It's super yummy, can be found on the BBC Good Food website. I think I used the suggested quantities, which were too much for the quiche (I've remembered the other mishap! I thought my pastry was too thick, but it was ok in the end). Back to the leftover veg and cheese, I made up some quesadillas for the freezer with the extras. ^o^ Oh and I didn't use gruyere cheese, I used smoked cheese and one with herbs and garlic in. Very yum! 

I made this too!

 I also made some stirfry - somehow the bok choy became hidden, but I promise it's in there with sweetcorn, yellow pepper and a bit of onion (I think I put onion in it...) Again it's all in the freezer, ready to have some more veg added when I want to eat it. Yum yum! 

Fresh peaches would be nice, but this is all I had to work with.

Using 2 cans of peaches I also made a vegan gluten free peach crumble! 1 friend is vegan, another is gluten free. Neither could eat the honey cake I'd made for everyone else, so peach crumble was what I ended up making. The recipe was a mishmash from ones online which I didn't save the details for. I promise it's easy though!

You wouldn't know it was vegan or gluten free either. I mean that in the nicest way, because I've tried food from both categories in the past and just didn't like them. I'm hoping next time I'll have the time to make the vegan cupcakes I want to try out, may do my usual of making them in advance and freezing them. Vegan buttercream will be interesting! 

I wish my skills extended to gorgeous and delicate looking cupcakes like these! Picture source.

Nayu's Craft Time #116 Blanket Love & A Crochet Hurdle

My current project, folded several times so you can have a close up of it.

With a lot of rest at the start of the week prior to my annual visit to the pain clinic which went well, today I'm returning to crochet! Focusing on trying to get a blanket finished, although 1 row can take a long time because it's rather large now. Still, perfect for while I catch up with TV and audiobooks.

A cute crochet obstacle

Naturally I love my cat sitting with me while I crochet (all items washed prior to shipping to eliminate stray cat hair). However, as you can see from the photo taken as she lies across my legs on the heated blanket I use, I can't spread my crochet project out as much as I like. She doesn't like crochet on her, so I have to bunch it up to the side. As soon as she leaves I instantly put it in a more comfortable position ^o^ And yes if she returns I resume the squashed crochet position again. I'd love to hear how you accommodate your pet(s) in your life!

Time for an 'awww' photo! Not my bunny, but so cute!

Nayu's Thought of the Day #6 It's Wednesday!

Just a few more days until the weekend. Congrats on making it this far in the week!

Nayu's Thought of the Day #4 There's always a cat!

Saw this online for when you're having a bad day - made me smile! Got my annual routine appointment at the pain clinic today, so will be offline today and tomorrow while I recover from the trip. Being at 9.30am means it's an early start but that means I can be home hopefully by lunch!

I travel by train so get to see a bit of the countryside (which I live in) before arriving in London and taking a taxi to the hospital.

Nayu's Craft TIme #115 White Noise

White noise isn't a song

 

I've hear about white noise for years. According to Dictionary.com white noise is 

Also called white sound. a steady, unvarying, unobtrusive sound, as an electronically produced drone or the sound of rain, used to mask or obliterate unwanted sounds.

I have friends who use it at night to help them sleep. The other day a blog I regularly read mentioned using white noise to help their family sleep. I decided to find out what the fuss about white noise is.

Big mistake. I tried about 6 white noise tracks on Youtube and I disliked 5 of them. The thunderstorm one terrified me as I hate storms. The rain and the sea one made me want to use the bathroom as well as making me scared because any expanse of water bigger than a bath freaks me out.

Calm and tranquil if you aren't me. Picture source

The other tracks were just bad for my ears. The only one I vaguely liked I may use for relaxation, but definitely not for sleep. I'm an earplugs girl! Need it very quiet for me to get to and stay asleep.

These are my favourite brand! & this is not a sponsored shout out

So there you have my view on white noise. It's a no for me, but I'm glad it helps so many people relax. I'd love to hear your views on white noise! 

Since fans are used for white noise I'm fairly sure wind turbines might be too!

 

Nayu's Craft Time #114 Techno Gremlins, Book Themed Crochet

This would be a nice working area! Random pic found online. Picture source

Afternoon! Thank you for being patient while I've been absent. I was a bit peaky, and I've been working hard on writing the backlog of reviews. I'd hoped to blog earlier today but my laptop decided to do a 2 hour update. I only agreed as it usually takes under 5 minutes. And, apparently there are more urgent updates! Needless to say I'm only doing those once I'm done with my laptop for the day. I've learnt my lesson! 

I will show you the promised sneak peek of crochet goodies tomorrow.  This week I've made 1 turquoise fingerless glove and 3/4 of a grey fingerless glove, which I haven't taken a photo of, but you can look at my first crochet bookmark.

I used multicoloured yarn in rows for the middle, then edged it with purple yarn.

Hop! goes the bunny charm ^o^

What do you think? I possibly will make more, but really into my fingerless gloves for some reason so will stick with those for a while. Have a good rest of the day!

When they work and don't have a mind of their own!

Nayu's Craft Time #113 Drinking Water Tips

We can't live without this wonderful source of life (Picture source)

This possibly seems an odd topic to discuss, as surely the answer to drinking water is to simply drink it, right? That's correct, but I've got a few tips on how to enjoy drinking water. 

What's your favourite fruit juice/squash? (Picture source)

We are all encouraged to drink more water. This can be in the form of fruit juice. I think fruit juice is an occasional drink, due to the sugar content. I'm not the sugar police, not by a long shot, but fruit juice and squash is one thing I drink moderately. Apart from lime cordial (I know I should just add limes to water but I adore the cordial sometimes), I try to stay clear of any squash. The ones I've seen are almost always from concentrate, although they may not have added sugar they do have naturally occuring sugar in them. 

Take advantage of different nutrients and drink a rainbow!

The drinks in the above picture look like smoothies, which is another option for drinking water not discussed in this post. Here are links to my carrot, orange, + tomato smoothie and my blueberry green smoothie. My preference for not from concentrate applies to fruit juice too: when I buy juice, I only buy not from concentrate as it means it's the whole fruit, not processed through I'm not sure what. Just my personal taste! Often for budget reasons juice/squash from concentrate is the only option, which is fine. 

A small selection of the incredible variety of both tea and coffee

Water can also be drunk in tea and coffee form. However, both of these have caffeine which is dehydrating, so it's best to drink other liquids as well as these beverages. There are decaffinated version, although I've heard that they aren't 100% caffeine free. Caffeine in tea/coffee disagrees with me so I stick with herbal teas, which are 100% caffeine free. 

Go herbal tea!!!

My favourites include peppermint, spearmint, nettle, camomile, milk thistle, and a cherry compote blend exclusive to Nothing But Tea who I'm currently buying my loose tea from. I don't benefit by point you in the direction of their site, I just adore their tea!

Great source for loose tea!

  Drink as much herbal tea as you like, be it the more herbal flavours or the fruity ones. They are mega low calories, and are often great cold too! 

Simple, pure, and sometimes a bit dull.

Then there's water, which is where I got the idea for this post. Water is obviously the best form of water there is. Depending where you live you may need/prefer filtered water (water filters are inexpensive) rather than drinking straight from the tap (which I do), as it helps takes out natural impurities that aren't harmful but can make the water taste weird. I know there are some countries where it's safer to drink bottled water, so do whatever's best for your circumstances. 

It's fun to add citrus fruits like a slice/wedge of lemon/lime/orange to some chilled water. The colder water is, the better I like it. I seem to drink more if it's cold than if it's room temperature. 

The final tip is what you drink the water from. Yes, you can use a plain glass, your favourite mug, or

but you can also use a fun bottle/cup like this one! 

My family got it for me as a present, I think it was from Sainsbury's. It's pink, has a bunny, and is super cute! I'm a visual person, so since I adore all things kawaii (cute in Japanese) drinking plain water from this makes it way more enjoyable - I want to keep seeing the bunny so I keep drinking! It's easy to clean, although I'm not sure on the dishwasher compatibility as we don't have one. The straw is durable, thick, and what you can't see is that it has a ring around it at the bottom so it can't come out of the bottle. Not that you need to tip the bottle, because if you do the water comes out - yes I've had this happen to me recently in one of my clumsy moments. 

In summary to help you drink more water you can: 
drink fruit juice/squash in moderation

drink tea/coffee in moderation

drink as much herbal tea as you like, with a wide variety of herbal and fruit based teas in loose or tea bag form.

add citrus and other fruit/vegetables into plain water for a refreshing drink

put the water in a favourite cup/mug/bottle. 

I'd love to hear how you drink your water, and if you're inspired by some of the ideas I've chatted about today in the comments! 

Drink me!

Nayu's Thought of the Day #3 Beauty of Life

Something to bear in mind today!

Nayu's Craft Time #112 Craft Peeks & Spring Fever!

I love the feeling of spring in this blossom lined walkway (no idea where, random internet photo)

Hi everyone! It is a gorgeous sunny Sunday here in the South of England, and I hope it stays that way! Sunshine makes everyone happier, lifts my spirits, and, even better, tends to make the day warmer. The temperatures are slowly increasing, which means my body grumbles a bit less than it has over the last 6 months. Yay! That means I have more oomph, and slightly more time to do bloggy things. 

Craft peeks wise I'm hoping to show you peeks of what is going on sale hopefully next week by this Friday (so by Friday I'll show you the sneak peeks, & next week you can buy them!) I know I've been barely functioning on my shop, but it's been a tougher than expected winter, and priority has gone on my writing. One wip is out & although not all thoughts are in I know it needs a lot of work. The one I'm working on now is in better shape, at least I think so!

Warmer weather = able to do a bit more = happy Nayu!

When I searched for blossom images I saw this adorable tea cup which I had to show you!

That pretty much covers everything in the title. Got some topics for post ruminating (love that word, not sure if it's the right context) away so keep watching this space! (When I feel better I use even more exclamation marks than normal - sorry!!!!)

So true! As does anime, chocolate, friendship, cats, cute animals...