Exploring Hebden Bridge

Saturday 23rd May

I have to say our meal out was lovely on Friday and such a good way to start the holidays after a long week of exams and coursework.

Anyway now they have all finished for a while, we can have fun in the sun this week.

So yesterday, I went to Hebden Bridge with my family for the day. We started the day at around 11:00 am with a scenic car journey through lots of little country roads and cute villages.

As you can see it wasn't the best weather when we set off, but I didn't mind.

When we arrived at Hebden Bridge, it was quite difficult to find a parking spot but Dad ended up finding a free parking space at the top of town. This meant Mum and I got to look in all the nice shops on the way down and Dad didn't have to pay for parking. What a great way to start our adventure in Hebden Bridge.

Walking down into the town we couldn't help but notice the bubbles that were floating around above the shops. As we got closer you could see that the bubbles were coming out of the window, of the Yorkshire Soap Company's shop. It smelt very nice from the outside but we were very hungry so continued down the hill to get some food knowing that we must come back here.

Dad and my sister had fish and chips for lunch but Mum and I found a nice little bakery near by so we had a pasty from there. We both had  a mediterranean vegetable pasty. It was nice but not as good as Friday's pizza. I also got a loaf of sunflower seed bread on the way back to the car to take home.

After dinner we walked back up to the car to go to Hardcastle Crag. We went past a small fruit and veg shop where I saw some strawberries outside that looked good. I had them for my pudding as well as sharing them out. They were only £1.50 for fresh home grown strawberries, such a bargain and the staff were lovely too.

Near to the fruit and veg shop was a flower shop which had some lovely flowers outside on display. We didn't go in but I had a good look and the nice flowers outside the shop. The Marguerite's were my favorite because they look a like big daisies. 

As we got closer to the car we spotted the Yorkshire Soap Company again and went in this time. Two friendly shop assistants welcomed us in and got talking to Mum, whilst the rest of us looked round this cute little shop filled with freshly made soaps, candles, bath bombs and shower butters. I was looking round and could hear one of the girls telling Mum that they have other shops in York and Leeds. They also had music playing from musicals, this made the shop so much better.

The shop in Hebden Bridge is lovely and I can't wait to visit the other shops. Their bags are so nice and I like how you can smell the soaps without opening the neatly wrapped packaging, by smelling the cotton wool that is in the glass bottles next to each soap on the front table.

Once we had finished in the Yorkshire soap Company's shop we got in the car and drove through more country roads with lovely views as we could see down into the valley. After driving for about 15 minutes (as I think we got a bit lost) we arrived in the car park of Hardcastle Crags. We got out of the car, ate some of the bread and chose a route to walk. We chose the green and white, Crags Constitutional walk. The description on the map says you would have views of The Crags, and there is, but we couldn't see them very well because they blended in with all the other plants and greenery that surrounded them.

Though what we could find on the walk was: lots of wild garlic - the pretty white flowers; dandelions, but these ones were not like the ones that you find in your gardens that are all scattered around and look messy, these dandelions were pretty they added different a colour, a burst of yellow into the shades of green and brown you could see around you, in the trees and on the floor. Bluebells were painting our paths with delicate shades of purple and blue, their flowers made you smile - the little hats were flying in the wind. If you looked closely you could see lots of tiny bugs and insects living peacefully in the forrest.

Dad also found a little den further along the route, on a pebble beach of the river that followed our walk. It was just big enough for him and my sister to fit in. Once we spotted the den and had checked it out, we sat on the huge rocks that were next to the river for a while just chatting and soaking in the views of what was around us.

It was such a nice sunny day surrounded by amazing scenery, spent eating lovely food and enjoying the company of some very great people.

Have you had a good bank holiday weekend?

Joyfully Light

Healthy Eating at Restaurants

Pizza Express

Looking for healthy food at restaurants can be tough, but its not impossible. So here I am showing you some of the ways you can choose healthy food whilst eating out. 

Last night my family and I went out to Pizza Express for a meal to celebrate my Auntie's birthday.

After being shown to our table, which had a great view of the kitchen; where we could see the chefs hard at work, spinning pizza dough and topping them with lots of fresh ingredients. We sat down and ordered our drinks. I ordered a glass of water and so did my Grandma so the waitress kindly gave us a large jug of water for the table.

 Once our drinks had arrived at the table we started to look at what we all wanted to eat. I couldn't  quite decide between the Pianta pizza or the Leggera Superfood Salad with Salmon. I had seen the  Pianta pizza on the menu a few times before and had thought it looked good, but I have never  actually tried it. I thought of having the Leggera Superfood Salad because of the pictures of it that  were on the tables and the nice things that were in it like avocado and salmon.

 In the end, I chose the Pianta Pizza which had spinach, mushrooms, pine nuts, artichoke and rocket. The base was spicy was nice too but I did get through quite a few glasses of water. 

My pizza was lovely but when the waitress handed out the desert menus I couldn't say no.

I got two scoops of raspberry sorbet. it was very good, they left the raspberry seeds in so that was a nice surprise.

Tips on how to eat healthier at restaurants

Order vegetarian food or extra vegetables.

Get a jug of water for the table to make sure you drink enough water with your meal. if you don't like the taste of water on its own then ask your waitress to put some slices of lemon or lime in.

Eat out with your friends and take your time whilst eating.

Avoid dishes that are deep fried or cooked with lots of butter.

If you want a pizza, that's ok. Order a pizza with a thin crust.

Hope you like this blog post and have a lovely bank holiday weekend.
What is your favorite restaurant?

Joyfully Light

Clothes I'm Loving at the Moment

Asos.


A lovely blue dress with                             
three quarter length sleeves
and a v cut out at the back. £22

A cosy light brown cardigan 
with long sleeves and pockets. £28

An over sized blue shirt 
with long sleeves and silver 
buttons. £25

H&M


A colourful sleeveless playsuit with 
adjustable straps and side pockets. £12.99


A crisp white kimono with interesting cutout 
details and bow at the waist. £29.99


A pretty striped top with a blue floral 
pattern and thin straps. £7.99

Whats your favorite clothes shop for summer?

 Joyfully Light




  

Perfect Porridge

Ingredients

3/4 cups of Wholegrain Oats
1 and 1/2 cups of Milk (I used Almond Milk)
1 Tablespoon of Honey

1. Add the oats and milk to a non-stick pan, bring to the boil.

2. Simmer for 5-10 mins, stirring occasionally.

3. Finally add the honey and cook until the porridge has thickened. 

Enjoy, your porridge and have a lovely day.

Joyfully Light

Things That Made Me Smile This Week :-)

Being woken up by the birds. I'm not sure everyone will agree with me on this one, but I love hearing the birds in the morning. Especially when I know that I don't have to be anywhere that day.

                                                                    7:15am "The early bird catches the worm" 

                         




James Bay. Listening to his album, Chaos and Calm in the mornings (with my earphones) was such a nice way to start each day. What was even better though was, hearing it playing out loud from downstairs when I was in my room. Such a lovely surprise.

Candles. Although it is spring now and the clocks have gone forward, some evenings were a bit cold and rainy. So this was a great excuse to light the candles, my favorite one at the moment is Thai Lychee. It smells lovely and fruity but not to strong. Perfect for cosy evening in.

Food. This week I had some wonderful meals: some being my homemade porridge which you can see in the picture below; one being a lamb pasta bake that I had last night, others being rice and beans which I had for lunch during the week.

Soft washed hair. I often wash my hair about every 3 days. My hair is thick, long and takes a fair amount of time to wash and to dry. So after taking care to shampoo my hair well, to leave my conditioner on for more than what it says on the bottle, then washing it out with freezing cold water. Air drying it with a towel round my shoulders. To finally brush it and realize that all this was worth the effort because my hair is now soft and smooth. Thank you Lush Cosmetics for, Brazilliant Shampoo Bar and American Cream Conditioner. These products are the ones that make my hair soft and smooth.

What made you smile this week?

Joyfully Light