An Alpaca Day

I love alpacas. And llamas. And donkeys. And sheep. Today I was given the opportunity to see these wonderful animals up close. In Hawkhurst, Kent there is a fantastic place called Lightfoot Alpacas, and today was their open day. My parents has been before, but this was my first visit and I was looking forward to seeing who I might meet!

We parked in a nearby field and were instantly greeted by alpacas, popping their heads up to see who had arrived. I loved the different colours and their kind and gentle faces looked so welcoming. 

We wandered up to the main buildings and there were lots of people- its always nice to see people visiting these events, it takes so much effort to host them. 

There was a craft tent selling lots of beautiful things, often made using alpaca wool. My eyes were drawn to some cat toys filled with alpaca wool and cat nip. The kind lady on the stall said they were a real hit with her cat so for the bargain price of 50p I picked up a pack for my girls. 

We then wandered over to the paddocks where we were greeted by gorgeous sheep (I want one!), llamas, more alpacas and donkeys. I was so impressed with how calm all the animals were, despite being surrounded by people. 

We had a little stroll round the paddock seeing the animals before making our way back to the entrance. The open day was free entry with donations to The Hospice in the Weald (http://www.hospiceintheweald.org.uk/)

gratefully received. I hope they raised a lot of money! 

When I got home I showed the catnip toys to one of my cats- she seemed to be a big fan! 

Thankyou to everyone involved in today's open day- it was lovely to see all the beautiful animals up close in such a picturesque location!

To find out more about the Lightfoot Alpacas please visit their website: http://www.alpacabreeder.co.uk/ 

Gluten Free bargains!

I am part of a Gluten Free group on Facebook - shout out to "Gluten Free and Me" *waves frantically*. It is a great place to hear about people's experiences and recommendations for recipes, eating out and products. The other day I spotted a post about Gluten Free food being reduced in Tesco. The trouble with gluten free food is that it is so expensive. My friend summed it up pretty well: "You'd think it would be cheaper considering it hasn't got gluten in!" So naturally, hearing GF food being reduced made my ears prick up! Reading through the comments it seemed like some Tescos didn't have the reduced items but stores that recently held a "Eat Healthy/Live Well" promotion did. Bingo! My local Tesco was one of these stores so today I headed off to see if I was in luck!

Driving home from Tesco I felt like a pirate with a car boot full of treasure! My local store DID have GF food! The priciest item I bought was £1.25 - everything else was under £1! 

Now I'll confess I am a huge biscuit fan and I have resorted to eating non GF biscuits when I craved biscuits (slap on wrist moment I know!) but in considering today's haul was mostly biscuit based I won't be a naughty biscuit eater for a while!

 Enjoy Life Sugar Crisp and choc chip cookies 75p per pack

Udi's Choc chip and pecan cookies and peanut coconut cookies both 75p per pack

Enjoy Life Soft Baked double choc brownies and choc chip cookies 75p per pack

Protein GF bars (choc peanut crunch and choc caramel peanut) 87p per pack

Enjoy Life Cinnamon Raisin Granola  £1.25 per pack.

Meridian Sundried Tomato Cooking Sauce 62p each

Earth Balance Peanut Butter £1 per jar 

Number of items: 18 Cost: £14.10

I've never actually tried any of these before so I will post an update post once I have got munching to review each product but I am rather exciting to try all of these goodies (purely for research purposes of course!)

Hello Autumn

As we enter September we also enter my favourite season - Autumn. Don't get me wrong I like the other seasons, but Autumn has always been my favourite.

Autumn Days

One of my favourite signs of Autumn is when the leaves change colour and fall to the ground- the result being the type of scene you find as a sample screensaver on a computer. 

I love the crispness of the fallen leaves and the child in me will always want to go stomp stomp stomp through them! I love the smell of bonfires in the air- for me it is a comforting smell and one of my favourite aromas.

Food and Drink

After stomping on the leaves and smelling the bonfire filled air there's nothing I love more than coming into the warm and eating and drinking something delicious.

A couple of years ago I taught a girl who was half American and after Thanksgiving she bought me in a slice of homemade Pumpkin Pie. It was delicious! 

Since then I have attempted to make my own using tinned pumpkin- it's become one of my favourite desserts.

To wash down my Pumpkin Pie, I have to have a hot drink- either a hot chocolate or even better, the seasonal Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Latte. I'm actually addicted to them so it's probably best they are only seasonal! 

Halloween

I LOVE Halloween! I'd love to go out to America and see the Halloween celebrations out there. My Pinterest is filling with Halloween ideas and I love seeing how people decorate their houses. 

For the past couple of years I have decorated my house- I have loads of Halloween props and I collect pumpkins. I love dressing up too and welcoming Trick or Treaters :) 

Every year I watch Hocus Pocus- it's a Halloween must see!

Bonfire Night

Where I live, bonfire celebrations take place in the local towns and villages each weekend from October onwards. Each weekend a town/village hosts a bonfire procession and fireworks display. I hope to go to my local one again this year- it's very busy but fun to watch! 

Fall Fashion

In the summer I practically live in flip flops and shorts, but in Autumn I love slipping on a pair of boots, skinny jeans, jumper/hoodie and scarf. It's pretty much my everyday look. 

One of my favourite pairs of boots are my Forever 21 cowboy boots I brought back from San Francisco! 

My Birthday

October 26 is my birthday, but this year it is also a special one- I'm turning 30!! Feeling slightly apprehensive about it and I don't have plans for the day itself, but earlier in October I am having a joint 30th celebration with two of my closest friends who also turn 30 in October- we are going with the rest of our closest friends for afternoon tea. An afternoon eating cake and drinking wine with my besties sounds like an afternoon well spent! 

So that is why I love Autumn... What about you?