"heeeeeey good lookin' whatcha got cookin'?"

So today for Dinner I made a DELICIOUS chicken and leek pie mmmmmmmm. One day in work, one of the staff made it for us all and as soon as I tasted that, I was in heaven!!!! I just had to try and make it myself for Matthew and I. So I did and now it is definatley one of our favourite meals.
So I thought I would put up the recipe on here so that others can make this great big bowl of absolute deliciousness haha. So here goes..

Ingredients

• 4x Chicken Fillets
• 3x Large Leeks
• 1 Large tin of Sweetcorn
• 2 Tins of Mushroom Soup
• Just Roll Shortcrust Pastry (obviously you can make your own pastry but I'm too lazy)

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. 
• Cut the chicken into small pieces, fry in a large pan until it is white all the way through. 
• Chop the Leeks into small pieces and add them to the pan to lightly fry them. 
• Add the sweetcorn and again, lightly fry. 
• When the veg is lightly cooked add the tins of mushroom soup. Mix well and bring to the boil. 
• Pour into a pie dish. Sprinkle flour on the work surface and roll out the pastry. Place ontop of the filling and chop off any long sides. Pinch the sides together, put a very small cut in the middle and add decortaion with your left over pastry. 
• Crack an egg and whisk it up and brush all over the top of the pie. This will make it lovely golden brown. 
• Pop in the oven until golden brown and VOILA! BON APETIT!

I usually make broccoli and mash as a little side dish with my pie but you can do whatever you like. Hope you enjoy!!! 

 I love putting hearts in the middle. 

Here's one I made earlier ;)... How delicious!!

Happy Birthday Maffry!!

On the 10th of January we celebrated my Maffry's birthday yayy!!  He is now 27... saayy whattttt?!? When I first met Matthew he was only just 23 so that is just soooooo crazy that now he is celebrating his 27th birthday, where the heck have FOUR years gone?!

    This was when we had JUST started dating. Maff was 23 and I was only 17 WOWWWW!! 



With Maff's birthday always being sooo close to Christmas, I would say it's always pretty sucky for him. I never know what to get him as it's just been Christmas, and I would already buy him everything he wants, and it was always around him doing exams in uni so he would be stressed out preparing for them. So we usually just go for a cinema and a meal and get him a little gift (usually with him being there to chose it.)
So for his birthday this year, I wanted to make it really special for him. Matthew always spoils me soo much and treats me like such a princess it's about time I treat him the same.. (obviously not like a Princess haha.) So I decided I would take him away for a couple of days. I had it planned since the beginning of December. As I thought about what I should get him for his birthday, he just turned to me one day and said "Melissa, I want to go to Warhammer world." BINGO! 
For those that don't know, Warhammer is Games Workshop. It's tiny army figurines and you collect them, paint them and then play with other nerds haha. I LOVE Maff collecting them, he's actually BOSS at painting them and I love that he has a hobby and the fact that really he's the biggest Nerd known to man but a super secret one.
Anywho, back to business... So I booked 2 nights away for us at the premier inn in Nottingham and I was soooo excited about telling him. I had it all planned out and could just picture his face. He was asking me and my family every day where I was going to take him and it was just killing him that he didn't know. He did say it a few times but I would reply "Matthew, seriously you honestly think I would go to Warhammer World with you?! You'll have to go with your brother." He believed it too, because he know's I can't stand being in the Games Workshops. Matthew seriously gets his geek on when he's in there, talking to the workers about Space Marines and Dwarfs. I totally nod off haha. But my plan was going GREAT!! I was so proud of myself for not telling him. We travelled to Nottingham the day before his Birthday so the night before that I was making tickets (Warhammer World is free so we didn't get tickets.) All day he was playing on the playstation with my brothers and didn't come in the office ONCE and then just when I decide to make these tickets he walks right in there!! GUTTED! He pretended like he didn't see anything but I knew he did and then he just came out with it. He was still excited about it and I still made him tickets so that's good.

                            The tickets I had made for us that were MEANT to be a surprise. 


When we arrived at the hotel we were exhausted!! I fell asleep at about 8.30. It was really wierd being on our own again after living in a house of 7 people for a couple of months. But it was nice. We just chatted about everything and laughed loads! On his Birthday we had a delicious breakfast and then went on our way. Warhammer world was actually pretty good. I did think it would take all day but it was just this room with allllll the armies in there to look at, hand painted and a huge castle that was made and painted by the staff. That was pretty amazing. It reminded me of Hogwarts from Harry Potter so I was loving it.
After Maff had spent about an hour in the shop buying his paints and chatting with the workers- surprise surprise. We decided to go to the cinema's to see the new film, 12 Years a Slave. Okay, I encourage EVERYONE to see this film. IT. WAS. AMAZING. It was about a black freeman who was like a celebrity with the whites for playing the violin. He was kidnapped and sold into slavery. It was very sad, brutal but soooo real! I love learning about the black's in America so this was definatley my kind of film.  Maff loved it but he said he probably couldn't watch it again at how violent and real it was.

Birthday Kisses for my Birthday boy! hehe!

 Maff was in his element hahahaha!! Also, these are the figurines that Maff wants to paint only alot alot smaller. 

Alright, I have to admit that is pretty cool! This was handmade and painted by the workers. 

Amazing film!

After the movies we had a yummy TGI Friday's yayy!! Then back to the hotel and we had Shloer, Lindt Chocolates and had another early night... we are actually so old, we love having early nights haha. So the next day, we travelled home but we went by Liverpool. Maff finished off spending his birthday money. He bought 2 t-shirts, a shirt and a gorgeous new coat. He looks soo scrummy in it!! Then at night I had planned a surprise birthday meal at his favourite restaurant MEET. I had invited his family, my family and his best friends. He LOVED it!! He said he has had a perfect birthday and tonight totally topped it off being with everyone that he loves yayy!!

 In his new shirt and coat and his trainers I bought him for Christmas.. How hot is my hubby?! 

 Ready for his birthday meal.. 

Happy Birthday Maffry!!! 

That cake was delicious!! 

So glad everything worked out how I had planned and it was just perfect for my Maff. Now to start planning his next birthday trip away hmmmmm.... 

!!2014!! HaPpY NeW YeAr !!2014!!

It's a brand new year and I am soooooo excited for what this year will bring. Matthew and I have so much to look forward to and so many adventures I just know we will go on this year.
So as it's the start of the year, it's goal setting time. Every year I always set goals and they last for a month and then I just fall back into my old ways. But this year Matthew and I are both going to try super hard to keep the goals that we set as a family and our personal goals. So I thought I would write my goals on here so that any one reading can keep at me, making sure I'm completing all of the goals that I set because I am just useless. Sooo....
1. Finish reading the Book of Mormon. I have read it once already but I really want to finish it again. Sometimes I think I forget the feelings I have when I read the Book of Mormon, I feel at peace and I feel so close to my Father in Heaven and my Saviour- why would I not want that in my life?!
2. Attend the Temple ATLEAST once a month. This is a goal for both Matthew and I but it's one that is very important to me. Matthew and I live 40 minutes away from the Temple in Preston. That is nothing when members used to travel for 4 hours to get to the London Temple before Preston was built. I just love going to the Temple. Just walking through those doors I really feel like I'm home. Every trial that I'm facing in my life just leaves me for them few hours that I'm inside the Lords house, it's so peaceful and beautiful. So Matthew and I are really going to try and make an effort to go a lot this year because we definatley need the blessings.
3. STOP BITING MY NAILS!!! This is my goal every single year and I really can never seem to stick by it. For as long as I can remember I have always picked and bit my skin and bit my nails. It really is a horrible habit. So 2014 is going to be the year that I stop for sureeeeee.
4. Save some money. To be honest, Matthew and I are both pretty good savers. But we really don't want to be staying at my parents house for years. So at least by this Christmas, we are hoping we will save enough to have our own house again.
5. To be less selfish. I absolutely love being a wife. I have always dreamed of being a "desperate housewife" with the huge house, lovely neighbours, neighbourhood parties and staying in all day baking pies haha, but sometimes I can be quite selfish and often I will think of my own needs and my own problems over Matthew's. So my goal for this year is to show Matthew how much I love him by always thinking of him over myself. After all that's what marriage is all about, loving one another, making sacrifices and ALWAYS thinking of your partner over yourself.
6. To become closer to my Saviour. Last year I feel like I wasn't as close to my Saviour as what I could have been. Yes, I went to Church every Sunday and I would work really hard in every calling that I had but that was it. I wasn't reading my scriptures, saying my prayers or having family home evenings or going to the Temple as much as I wanted. I would only really do these things when I needed help from my Father in Heaven. Joseph Smith once said "one of the greatest sins a member of the church can make is the sin of ingratitude." I was being very ungrateful. I have been blessed so much and helped through so many trials but why would I be blessed any more when I only come to Heavenly Father when I really need something in my life? So 2014 is going to be different, I'm going to go back to my cheesy Mormon self (even though Matthew hates the cheese in Mormons haha) listening to EFY songs and church songs all the time, reading my scriptures and praying every day and, as a family, we are going to have family home evening every Monday. Then, I know for sure we will feel close to our Saviour.

So, 2014 is going to be a brand new start. This year is going to be OUR year.