July TBR Lists

How is it already that time of the month again?! We're only coming into month 7 of the year, yet both of us are well over half way with our Goodreads reading goals...however, I feel this month it might slow down a bit. Mr H has gone back to work pretty much on his original full hours now which takes away a big chunk of reading time. It also takes away my reading time somehow, but don't ask me how haha. Anyway, here is our TBR lists for the month of July!

Mr H's TBR List

Mr Sparks by Danny Weston - 340 pages

Nightmares! by Jason Segal [TBR Jar Pick] - 355 pages
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo [Mrs H's Pick] - 308 pages

- Page Total = 1,003

Mrs H's TBR List

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert - 355 pages

A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs [Mr H's Pick] - 480 pages
Haunted by James Herbert [TBR Jar Pick] - 228 pages

- Page Total = 1,063

(More) Easy Vegan Meal Ideas

Without going into all of my thoughts and beliefs etcetera on food again after everything I said in my previous meal ideas post, I actually have quite enjoyed putting these lists of meal ideas together because it comes together over a few weeks, rather than hours and hours of work in just one day.
That being said obviously all of these meals weren't consecutive through one whole week! We do also eat more basic things, plain pasta, repeated dishes and the rare take away.

Check out my first 'Easy Vegan Meal Ideas' post here.

[Note: Everything is vegan. It is also mostly Gluten Free but I only have a gluten aversion that sets off other health issues - I am not a coeliac. Therefore if you are gluten intolerant, obviously alternatives can be substituted.]

Vegetable Risotto 

Made with Arborio rice, peas, red pepper, vegan cheese and fresh garlic.

Bacon Cheese Burgers with Curley Fries and Broccoli

Made with Quorn Hot and Spicy Burgers, Cheatin' Vegan Bacon, Vegan Cheese and Gluten Free Rolls. 

Homemade Lentil Soup

Made with Red Split Lentils, Carrots, Onion, Fresh Garlic and Potato.

Rice Salad with Garlic Potatoes 

Made with White Rice, Black Eyed Beans, Peas, Chilli Flakes and Turmeric.

Soy Piece Enchiladas with Boiled Potatoes and Vegetables

Made with Gluten-Free Wraps, Meat-Free Pieces, Homemade Sauce and Vegan Cheese.

Basic Mash and Veg

Made with Potatoes, Vegan Spread and Soy Milk. Mixed Vegetables and Gravy.

Pan-Fried Cheesy Broccoli with Bacon Pieces and Boiled Potatoes.

Made with Broccoli, Vegan Cheese, Cheatin' Bacon, Boiled Potatoes and Chilli Flakes.

Chocolate Cake

Made with Gluten-Free Flour, Soy Milk with Apple Cider Vinegar, Cocoa Powder, Caster Sugar and Vegan Butter with Icing Sugar and Cocoa Powder.

Can you guess which of the above I made and which my chef husband made...?? Yes, I can cook too...just not as well as him haha. It's going to start getting difficult to produce more of these posts because we really do eat most of the same things on a loop. There are only so many basic, fussy eater, vegan, gluten-free options haha! But there may be more...Until next time!

Top Reads of 2020...So Far

We made it halfway everyone! It's been a hell of a year, but it's halfway over and a good time to take stock and then re-set.
I take a daily photo every day of the year and have for 8 years now which I share on my other blog, Adventures of the Hallows. The reason I mention it is because this year my very first photo on January 1st was of us reading in bed, with the hopes to continue the year the way we started! We have read almost every single night in bed since and a lot of mornings (and afternoons) too, meaning as of today our total books read stand at 29 for myself and 24 for Mr H. Out of those we've chosen 3 of our highest rated each to share here today!

Mr's Top 3

Eragon by Christopher Paolini
I was encouraged to read this by Mrs H, and it did not disappoint I thought it was a great debut for a fantasy series easy to read and kept my interest peaked. I can't wait to delve deeper into this series I also think it's crazy that the author wrote this first instalment when he was just 16 years old!

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
I had my eye on this book for a long time but never got around to buying it, eventually, when the time came I read it pretty much straight after it was bought which never happens here in the Hallow household. As I'm sure you have grasped by now from my TBR's etc that I love my fantasy books. and this was one of my favourites with its amazingly detailed world.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
This was a fantastic book, tales from Norse mythology told amazingly by Neil Gaiman while reading this I felt like I was around the hearth in a Viking hall I have heard /read this was by far the best re-telling.

Mrs' Top 3

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
This was a book Mr H bought for me from a charity shop months ago and although it's not a cover I'd usually go for, anything including the paranormal is up my street. It was an easy read, interesting plot and it's set in Edinburgh - a city I've visited a lot over the years and could picture the locations well.

A Pinch of Magic by Michelle Harrison
I'm not embarrassed to say I picked this up purely for the cover and title originally, but it ended up being a really cool story involving a curse, family and with a map at the start of the book it's always going to be good.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

This sat on our bookcase for a little while until I finally got the courage to pick it up. As you'll see I'm a big fan of children's literature and young adult, so going on to a book written for adults I need to be in the right frame of mind.
I obviously ended up loving it! The characters were appealing and it was a good mix of unpredictable and being easy enough to follow.

Meet the Pets - Aurora and Eos

We've caught up with Baker and introduced the snakes, so that leaves us with only 6 more pets to talk about haha! Next up are the pair who are collectively known as 'The Girls', Aurora and Eos. If you'd asked me 2 years ago whether I was a cat person or a dog person I would have obviously said 100%, dog person. I've always loved cats too of course and after having these ladies in my life for the short time I have I have to say I'm a 50/50 person! Look at these faces and tell me how you couldn't be.

A little bio and some quick facts about Aurora

Breed: (Assumed) Aegean Cross

Gender: Female

Age: 5

Birthday: 31st January

Temperament: Quiet, reserved, very food motivated.

Loves

Strings/ribbons

Sweeties

Sleeping under the duvet at night

Bird watching

Hates

Dusters

The noise when sellotape is pulled off the roll

Closed doors

Aurora is the epitome of the smallest sibling - butter wouldn't melt! She is usually the one being naughty but somehow manages to make it so Eos is blamed. Her worst habit is definitely clawing at the side of the sofa and using the wallpapered walls to stretch on. If you didn't know any different you'd think Aurora was a kitten because she is so small built and has a higher register voice...not that she uses that much (unless food or treats are involved). Despite being sisters, it isn't just their looks that separate them either...they have very different personalities! Aurora was usually the reserved, happy-with-her-own-company cat though over the past year or so of being in this house she has actually come out of her shell more and I often walk around holding her in my arms like a baby while she purrs.
After she's finished with napping all day and Baker is in bed, she'll come for a visit on the sofa then either settle on the arm of the chair or sit bolt upright directly in front of the TV to remind you to feed her. When food is on the plate that's when she makes her voice heard and not before long shes pushing her way under the duvet (making you build her a tent by putting your knees up) to settle down for the night.

A little bio and some quick facts about Eos

Breed: (Assumed) Aegean Cross

Gender: Female

Age: 5

Birthday: 31st January (Yes, they are sisters from a litter of 3)

Temperament: Loving, talkative and sporadically energetic

Loves

Boxes

Laying on my chest in bed

Catnip toys

Sitting on things that make a noise like bags and paper

Hates

Being held like a baby

Smells of certain things

Bin men/window cleaners etc

Eos is what you'd call the 'goofball'. She does the most random, silly, funny things. From sitting in weird places like the fruit bowl and laying like superman to getting the zoomies, climbing on top of the doors and sitting at the window growling at the post person or bin men. Eos on a whole is the shy, lazy girl who prefers her own company unless it's on her terms. She isn't as happy to be picked up and cuddled but more so comes to you for the odd fussing throughout the day and for huge cuddles in the evening when we are reading in bed.
Eos may disappear for most of the day just chilling in the bedroom, but when she is around you can't half hear her! She is a proper little chatterbox and you can have a full-on conversation with her if you know how to interpret what she's saying. Their personalities really do seem to have switched slightly and despite being the bigger, crazier girl she will let her little sissy check out things first...especially when it comes to saying hello to visitors in the house.
This is our bigger girl with lots of fluffy hair that she gets all over the place, luckily she enjoys being groomed. The most important thing about Eos is her love for boxes though and she has predominantly been the one who has enjoyed the cardboard castle we broke our backs making!

I didn't realize exactly how difficult it would be to sit down and try to describe our cats in words. It's not that easy because they seriously have such intricate little natures, that change often, probably more so than Baker, and it really should reiterate to people who do not believe animals to be sentient beings how much they do think, feel etc.
Life would certainly be much different if Mr H hadn't had these girls and they weren't a part of our big blended family.

Hedley Hall Woods - Our 5k Walk for Saving the Survivors

At the start of the month, I published a post of photos from our first walk in 95 days and I stated in that how these types of posts are one of the things that this blog was all about. We still aren't going out often, so they won't be taking over my content, however, it has only been a couple of weeks between these posts. 

The last walk (see photos here) was on the 27th May and the photos I'm going to share today were taken on the 17th June, which probably wouldn't have even been as soon if it hadn't been for the reason we went out adventuring. I signed up to take part in a virtual 5k distance challenge to help raise awareness and funds for a fantastic organization Saving the Survivors. Please do check them out, follow them on social media and donate to them if you can. Here is the link for my Just Giving page if you would like to support me on my 5k efforts!

Now for the photos...

As you can see from the first photo, we headed to Hedley Hall Woods and of course to try and beat any possible crowds we got up at our usual 6am and got there for just before 7. The weather, as it has been for almost two weeks now, wasn't great...it was actually super foggy with soaking wet grass and the views turned spooky! Because of all of that, it was a whole load of different wildlife around than normal. Slugs were around in abundance, as we're crazy spider webs and although they could be heard, the birds were pretty much in hiding. A couple of exciting spotting included a deer for Mr H that I missed because I was too busy looking the opposite direction at some blackbirds haha - typical - and what we assume was a Juvenile Buzzard!

We also took the opportunity to take our monthly couples portrait while we were out. To do this I had to take a photo of Mr H and he of me, then use the wonderous world of photoshop to fuse the two together because I didn't have my tripod with me. It wasn't quite a coincidence that we visited Hedley Hall a day off of 1 exact year ago too where we also took that monthly couples portrait. Take a look here to see that and notice the crazy differences!

Before I go, I wanted to quickly mention the photo of the weird post that only had a random URL inscribed as it's explanation. I took the photo so that once we got home I could go to that website and see what it was all about. It isn't anything major, but I found it a really interesting idea. You can see what it says by going to http://post.ukuu.org.uk/ .

As always we loved being out in nature and had a lovely walk together. 

Until next time!