Pecan & Caramel Blondies

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Pecan & Toffee Blondies

What the hell is it with Blondies and Brownies just makes me unable to photograph them well? I mean, nights are setting in so I cracked my lighting kit out for the first time this “Autumn” which didn’t help as I was only starting to get used to it before so now months without practise haven’t been good. I baked this back when Autumn was first starting up. There’d been a chill in the air for about a week or so, with a few cold days on top of the crisp mornings. I welcomed it. Summer is overrated. To quote Brand New (who I was seeing on that Friday)); The time has come for colds, and overcoats. Which is why I’ve made my first vaguely autumnal recipe of the year; Pecan & Caramel Blondies. (Since this I’ve done a ton more and they’ll be coming up over the next few weeks).

Pecan & Toffee Blondies
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Music Monthly: September Jams

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Apologies for the, slightly, late music monthly (you can see the others here). It’s been an exceedingly hectic couple of weeks and over the weekend I had a trip to Leeds for the #BloggersBlogAwards. However, September was absolutely bloody fantastic for new releases. The month started with me binging on Brand New (The Devil in God are Raging Inside of Me, in particular) as I was going to see them at Ally Pally (and later in Edinburgh, they played Deja in full and I can now say I’ve seen them do it twice), so I was already assuming that they’d be one of the main people to go in my music monthly for September.

I was very wrong.

Three different bands all put out superb records and I’ve been listening to almost nothing but a combination of these three records since they have. So here goes.

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My Love Affair With Edinburgh

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I’ve been to Edinburgh a few times over the years. It’s always been one of those places I’ve said “you know what, I fancy living there”. This last time around, just last week (after my visit to Mull), I was there on my own. Walking around the streets, exploring new eateries, coffee shops and generally just immersing myself in the city, made me realise that I don’t just fancy it, I’m going to have to do it. If I don’t end up abroad, then at some point in the next year or two, I’m gonna pack my things up (again) and move north of the border to Scotland.
edinburgh-81
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A Photo-Diary of Mull

- Michael 6 Comments

So I’ve just returned from a week at my parent’s on the Isle of Mull, just off of Scotland’s west coast. I followed it up with a couple of days in Edinburgh which I’ll be posting about later this week. The days off were very much needed. Despite a last minute break I had between jobs (when I went to Berlin), this was my first proper chunk of time off since Chicago last September (I don’t understand how that’s been a year) and with moving 4 times (soon to be 5) since then, I was starting to get burnt out. I had a lot of time to myself so the trip took in cycling, running and walks from the house, as well as a trip to the picturesque Iona plus a heap of cooking and baking (go see my biscuits here). It was rounded off by a walk along cliffs (including a clamber down a rusty ladder) to see the remains of a fossil tree. I’m simply going to let the photos speak for the rest of the trip:

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Oaty Chocolate Digestives & Mountains

- Michael 5 Comments

Chocolate Digestives

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So since I posted about my trip to Berlin last week things have gone a bit quiet. Apologies for that. But I was busy almost every night last week, and then I had a photoshoot for a feature in Reveal Mag last Saturday, before an overnight coach (megabus gold again, my FAVE) up to Glasgow. For those follow me on instagram you’ll know that I’ve been visiting my parents in Scotland. You’ll know this because I haven’t shut up about it, and I’ve posted about a million photos. If you want proof of this, go check out my instagram here. There’s a couple from my DSLR mixed in below though if you’re too lazy. I have however, been baking while I’ve been here.
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