Calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean

Excuse my recent lack of presence on the Internet- I've been busy!
That's not to say I've given up on Book it or Cook it (unthinkable!), I'm just preparing for the holiday of a lifetime... and it's happening in just 6 days!

To keep myself well adjusted to reality, I've been filling my hours with work (organising corporate canape events for 100 guests plus. Updating every single listing Delifonseca's mentioned on, baking cakes, cleaning basements... all in a day's work I guess!) I've also been trying to shave off a few pounds for the desired 'bikini body' by cycling in between the torrential downpours of rain... so wish me luck with that!

In between all that, I've been trawling the streets of Liverpool to find the elusive straw hat of my dreams, which I don't think exists, as well as stretching my bank account to it's limit, splashing out on forthcoming birthday presents... but these are special gals I'm buying for!

I did spot something interesting whilst attempting to find something pretty to give to my sister for her 23rd and I can't quite decide whether it's a stroke of genius or a complete load of rubbish....some kind of Breville sandwich toaster that makes cupcakes in 10 minutes.

Image sourced from Lakeland.co.uk

Is there just cause for the enthused saleswoman on their website to rant and rave? I'm pretty sure a conventional oven does the same thing in about the same time? Maybe it's just me, but I can see this gadget gathering dust with the juicer and the fondue set hidden in the darkest corner of my kitchen....or maybe I'm just a cynic...

I shouldn't let things like this keep my awake at night. I should be proud to be a tradionalist who likes her golden cupcakes fresh from an oven, not an adapted sandwich press... perhaps I should just let these issues wash over me like the Indian Ocean, tranquil and serene... we'll see!

Speech! Speech!

Well guys and gals, it's been a whole year since this whole thing began. From being bed-ridden with swine-flu and going out of my head with boredom, sprang forth Book it or Cook it.

In the following months, Book it or Cook has progressed and grown, as have I and I finally feel like I know what I want to get out of blogging. Sure, it's about opinion and objects of fascination, but I feel it's also an intrinsic writing tool.

You can look back at posts that you've written in a hurry, or ones you took time over and scrutinise and frown all you want, but to me, these are the little glimmers of ideas that can be developed later on, when viewed with a little clearer vision.

The whole ethos of Book it or Cook it began from a frustration of lack of freelance work and some bad restaurant experiences.... the idea was to review each establishment and produce my own recipes which would shame the chefs and hopefully inspire people to give them a whirl themselves...

The feasibility of this idea however, suffered due to that fact that I work full-time, plus I don't really have much of a 'disposable income'...

The branches of Book it or Cook it stretched out and enveloped other ideas as I looked into things I could source from home i.e recipes, book reviews and blog reviews. This wasn't just for filler though, I hoped this would expand the scope for this blog and turn it into something bigger and better....here's hoping!

So as for the next year, I'm tightening the reigns on my blog. I'm reading more, I'm dedicating more time to my writing and I'm happily gorging away whilst doing it all. So thanks for reading and I'll try and keep up the good work!