Hi everyone!! Wow we made it to the end of the second week of our new routine and I won’t lie it’s been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. On Monday it seemed like the whole world had a bad day.   I wonder if it was something to do with the novelty wearing off of no school for the kids or possibly the fact that the weather wasn’t quite as lovely as it had been the previous week, but the message amongst almost everyone I spoke to that day was ‘how are we going to get through this?’.  Actually I think the answer to that question lies in that exact paragraph, by talking, sharing, connecting and being there for each other.  There’s a lot floating around at the moment about enjoying this unexpected free time and actually I’m really trying to embrace that, but I also think it’s so important to recognise the bad days for what they are, talk about them and share them because there will most definitely be someone out there going through the same feelings as you at the exact same time. 

Despite the fact that there have been times of real joy for me this week, there have also been times (more times than I’d have liked) when I’ve laid awake in bed and felt really scared wondering what might be around the corner and when things might return to normal if they ever will.  I’m terrible for trying to control things and situations and it’s hard to accept that so much of this is out of my/our control all we can do is do what we are told, stay home, wash our hands, try to find a new or temporary normal and keep on keeping on. 

So, that said, with the intention of sharing a little bit of positivity, here’s a little round up of just three things from our week that I’m loving. I’d love to hear yours in the comments below too if you want to share…

Baking

Like so many of us we’ve baked loads since being at home more and I’m really enjoying it.  There’s something so comforting about it and it’s reminding me of how much I used to bake with them when they were little.  So far we’ve baked a fruit tea loaf, scones, brownies and our absolute favourite in this house, banana and chocolate chip bread – I’m sharing the recipe for this one below if you’d like to try it, it’s great for using up all of those old bananas.

Good old waste not want not

I’ll let you into a little secret about me.  I love reading 1950’s housewife and homemaking books and magazine articles (shock horror I know how dare I admit such a thing in this modern age!). I love to read about how things were used up, rarely wasted and how people really seemed to find joy in cooking, baking and eating a family meal together.  I’m not saying I’m enjoying the fact that I can’t get a simple bag of pasta in Tesco for love nor money at the moment, far from it, but it really has made me think more about how I’m cooking, how we’re eating and how much we’re usually wasting eek!!

The other day I made an inventory of everything we had in our cupboards and freezer and the meals I could make from those things.  I joked to a friend that I don’t even know who I am anymore but I secretly enjoyed it.  I even cooked a beef casserole the other day and gave it to the kids too where I usually would give them something else.  We ate it as a family and guess what, as there wasn’t another option, the kids ate it and enjoyed it too! 

Finding a little routine

I’ve been trying to get up before the kids in the morning so that I have a bit of time to myself to do my yoga, pray, write in my journal and read a little bit.  I’m an avid follower of Yoga with Adriene on YouTube and this week I’ve tried branching out from my usual videos to start following her Home series.

These are things I know help me to cope with the day a little bit better, this hasn’t happened every day due to the afore mentioned lack of sleep, but on the days it has I’ve felt better for it.  We’ve also changed our walk time to the evenings now so that we can all go as a family and it’s been so lovely in these lighter evenings. 

What little things have you enjoyed about this week, I’d love to hear in the comments below…

Thank you for reading – stay safe and well! 

Lots of love, Sally xx

Chocolate & Banana Loaf

250g self-raising flour | 150g caster sugar | 100g unsalted butter melted | 2 eggs beaten | 2/3 ripe bananas | 75g dark chocolate chopped (we sometimes use a pack of choc chips instead) | a pinch of salt | a lined loaf tin 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas 4

Mix the flour with the salt and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Add the melted butter when it is cool and the beaten eggs.  Mash the bananas with a fork and add to the bowl. Add the chocolate or chocolate chips and mix together until combined.

Transfer to the prepared tin and flatten the surface.  Bake for approx 45/55 minutes, I tend to check after around 45 and give it longer if necessary or if a clean knife inserted is still coming out sticky.  

Leave to cool for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely (although it is delicious if eaten still slightly warm)!

Enjoy – I’m currently checking our bananas every day to see if there are any ‘on the turn’ so we can make another one hehe!!