Easy festive holiday spiced mulled cider

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas!

This is my only festive post and the final post of 2015.

So what better way to end 2015, than to toast the year passing and a new one beginning?

Here is my super easy, quick and delicious homemade mulled cider recipe. 

You can find most of the ingredients knocking around the kitchen, which is great at this time of year. 
This is greqt to make in advance and store in air tight containers. The flavours intensify and it is one thing off your to do list.

Ingredients

3 litres of cider- you can have 1 litre of dry

2 large cinnamon stick

3 cloves

1/2 a bottle of medium sweet white wine

1 vanilla pod

3 star anise
1 teaspoon of grated nutmeg

50g of sugar- soft sugar (if you don't like sugar don't add or use less)

2 heaped teaspoons of Marsala tea

200 ml dark rum (if you have it, that is fine)

6 cardamom pods

1 level teaspoon of mixed spice

1  bay leaf

3 oranges and one 1 lemon

1 orange and lemon peel

1 chopped apple

Method

Ok so you have all your ingridients. 

Squeeze the juice from 3 oranges and 1 lemon. Then thinly slice zest.

If you have a muslin cloth going spare then place all your dry ingredients in there and tie it off.

If not then chuck your ingredients into a big pot, along with the cider, wine, sugar and scrapped vanilla pod. 

You can sieve all ingridients once finished.

The mixture should be on a LOW heat and allowed to simmer for approximately 30-40 minutes.

If it is a little strong add a a cup of water and add until you are satisfied.

**Tip** You may find the citrus oils very strong if you put them in straight away. 

Either place fruits in hot water for a few seconds then add to the mix.

Or add peel into the mix in the last 10 minutes of simmering.

This is also great with champagne or wine so get creative and mull what ever tipple takes your fancy!

This is an alcoholic drink mixture but is just as delicious with non-alcoholic drinks.
Remember guys, drink safely and my underagers -Apple juice will sustain you!

So that's my incredibly easy, show stopping mulled cider. 

Your family will sing your praises and it shall be great.
 Sit back and lap up the adulation.

Drink it hot, warm or even cold and its amazing!

Thank you so much for your continued support this year.

Have an amazing Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Enjoy your holidays and see you on the other side (very Adele)!

Merry Christmas, Afenhyiapa, Feliz Navidad, Meri Kirihimete, Sung Tan Chuk Ha, Gledileg Jol, 
Bada Din Mubarak Ho... so on and so forth

Smooches

Stephanie aka Wednesdays Girl

xoxo

Don't forget to come find me and  Follow @GirlWednesdays

Read of the month: Sent From Heaven (Blogger book edition)

Hi Loves,

So I am coming to you with a very special read of the month.

Oghosa of SincerlyOghosa, 
asked  me and along with other bloggers, if we would review her first E- book,
 Sent from Heaven and being the bookworm that I am obviously I said Yes!
I have been so inconsistent with my book reviews so in the giving spirit of the holiday season. 
Here is my second book review for December and from a blogger who seems to be going from strength to strength no less!

Set in modern day London. We follow Chioma Amara.

A woman cut down in her prime.

Taken from her son, just as their relationship was back on track and her determination to finally right wrongs and help give him the chance to live a fulfilled life.

Chioma seemingly can not catch a break! After becoming pregnant at university and having no other option once she is deserted by her boyfriend. 
Chioma puts her son Sam into care with the promise to come back for him. 
After several turbulent years Chioma and Sam are finally reunited. 
However that is only the beginning of their struggle.

In death, Chioma doesn't catch a break either.
 Despite being in the unearthly realm, Chioma is assigned to hell through no fault of her own. 
Now on the verge of an eternity in purgatory, God steps in to save the day.
 Having spotted Chiomas’ unblemished soul within, a crowd of those more deserving of hell. 
God intervenes and gives Chioma one last chance at life, in order to help her son heal some his wounds and begin his own journey. 
Chioma must return to earth and guide him to happiness, love and acceptance all before Christmas.

Now first off I have to say I am not particularly religious, I don’t often go in for Christmassy “feel good” cheer books or films because I just can’t with all the faux cheer and predictability.
This however keeps Christmas as a  back drop to a wider story but is not all consuming.

Nor do I often go in for the self published religious fiction as I find them to be a bit zealous at times and find the cringe factor to be extraordinarily high.

That isn't to say however that I don’t enjoy books that have underlying religious themes/imagery.

 A Christmas carol, Dan Brown books or even The chronicles of Narnia to name a few. I start with this as by not reading these genres often, it gives me a different view point.

 What I do go for is a book that has something different or striking about it that touches me in some way. Oghosa has managed to find a niche in the booming supernatural fiction arena that I haven’t seen before and works really well with it. This alone makes it interesting and I am very intrigued to see if she expands on this in future.

I am really happy that I agreed to review Sent From Heaven. 
As I said above I might not have gravitated towards it, if I had seen it. In many ways this is a very current book. Although a tried and tested formula (no spoilers) is used. Oghosa manages to make God personable and the idea of heaven and hell not so shrouded in mystery. 
She cleverly worked in very familiar elements to great affect. I do think that certain characters could be fleshed out more and certain points in the book to be expanded upon more but considering this is her first fully self published piece, I think she has done very well.

I actually enjoyed reading this and if you are a person who revels in happy endings, Christmas feels, that quintessential Christmas spirit and possibly that person who has their tree up on the 1st of December this is definitely a book for you.
 Equally if you are a bit more chilled like me, don't really go in for over the top excessive festivities and have an aversion to tinsel. You will enjoy it too. Alternatively this would make a great gift/ stocking filler for a loved one. 
It is incredibly apparent how personal this story is to Oghosa on many levels and that passion is so clearly woven into the storyline.


This is a great book to remind you what life is actually about. 
Finding and cherishing the people and things most important to you.

Check out Oghosa explaining why she wrote this book and why this more than just a story for her. 

Until next time.............

Smooches

Stephanie aka Wednesdays Girl

xoxo

Don't forget to come find me and  Follow @GirlWednesdays

*Disclaimer: I did not purchase this book. However my thoughts and my opinions are my own.
You can see my full disclaimer, should you wish.

Christmas Day outfit ideas 2014

Hi Guys,

I thought I would come by with one last post before Christmas and give you all some outfit ideas for the big ol' turkey day. We never have a dress code in my house so our outfit choices vary from year year. Regardless of how you are sending your day the options above have you covered. 

Lets get to it----->

The show stopper- old school glamour

Lavish Alice rose gold reverse sequin bodycon dress

Aldo LIVERGNANO heel

Monsoon Marjorie Faux Fur Stole

Christmas bloom- casual cocktails

H&M Fine-knit jumper

Miss Selfridges Chelsea block heel sandals

Newlook Black Floral Print Skater Midi Skirt

It's all about the boots- chilled times

eBay graphic Happy Birthday Jesus jumper (although evidence does show march is more likely)

Topshop Tall Ponte high-waist treggings

ASOS All that jazz glitter ankle boots (sold out) Alternative here

Totally dotty....I woke up like this

Tesco F&F Spot Print Cuddle Sweat Top

Tesco F&F Polka Dot Brushed Fleece Lounge Pants

Asda Penguin Socks

Have an amazing Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Don't forget to come find me and Follow @GirlWednesdays  

Christmas party season prep

The Christmas party season is now upon us and for those who want a few simple, quick and easy pampering treatments to see you through the whirlwind of dnners, bars, drinks, house parties and the infamous office party look no further!

To keep the drying effects of drinking and general wear & tear at bay reach for The Body Shop Warming Mineral Mask and AMAZING Brazened Honey from Lush.

The warming mineral mask is a lovely deep cleaning  clay mask that absorbs oil yet keeps the skin supple and moisturised. Coupled with the invigorating fresh ingredients in Brazened Honey you have a winning combination. Ginger, lime and fennel will add zing to your skin and as Honey is a humectant it will give the face a big moisture boost. All this equals plump and youthful skin.

I picked up I Sao Paulo over there (cheapest price found online) and Ciate Beach Hut (cheapest priced item online) in TK Maxx   for £3.99 each and have been alternating between them ever since. Neither are traditional winter nail polish colours but I absolutely adore them. The depth in I sao Paulo over there makes it a very sophisticated tone and think the reflective quality of Beach hut makes it very festive. 

Last but not least is the wonder product that is Lucas' Papaw Ointment. I have used this for years and recently started using it consistently this year. I use this for my lips but it can be used for absolutely anything and works so well. I even like the fomented papaw scent 0.o- I know.

This is an absolute must for me especially when using lipstick. With so many textured finishes, reapplying and wiping lipsticks off my lips are going to take a battering this season before thinking about how drying the English winter can be in general.

What are your Christmas party prep items?

Smooches

Stephanie aka Wednesdays Girl

xoxo

Don't forget to come find me and Follow @GirlWednesdays