Instagram Appreciation #2

Well, it's been awhile since I last did an Instagram appreciation post, and as my love for it hasn't waned I thought it was time for round two x3

         Peacock | Face's Mum's Wedding Blessing | Austin & Morris
Meet the Artist | Motorway Breakfast | Gunga Din
At Hafen Y Mor | Borrowed Holga 35mm | Pocket Scavenger
As ever, you can find me at 'Thyaylii' on instagram and if you leave me a note with your username I'll be sure to pop by your feed too x3



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July Photo-a-Day ~Week Two

We're onto week two, and I've got to admit I'm already struggling to take a photo everyday, let alone with a theme! Let's see what i managed to get, shall we?

A Favourite Sweet
Okay, I've got to admit, I'm not sure if this is cheating or not XD A sweet isn't really a fruit and if someone offered me friut as a sweet I'd probably laugh in their face...but cherries are something else. Like, a level to themselves of awesome Xp And as cherry season appears to be in full swing I am pleased to have far more than I can eat around at the moment XD Even better that they're free!

In the Sun
This isn't my favourite interpretation of a challenge item, although it does fit it. I just hadn't planned of having to use it on a shot like this, but that's not to say I don't like it, and ultimately that's how this shot came to be here xp

A Playground
Also maybe a little cheaty? Can a merry-go-round count as a playground? I'm not sure but I think it's super cute so here it is ;p

In the Garden
In my head I'd intended this shot to be more like a blanket laid out on the grass with books and the like scattered around, my usual garden relaxation routine, but instead I've gone for my favourite lily this year! It's a beast of a plant with 40 flowerheads! I'd tried to google to see how many flowerheads was the most likely to grow on this kind of lily just for a comparison but I couldn't find much, shame. I'm starting to feel a guinness worl record going on ;p

Free Shot
I dragged Face to the safari park on Tuesday finally, I've been trying to go for at least the last 4 years XD I got some really good photos too (and a lot of mediocre ones...) but this one of the white tiger I thought came out really well, it kind of looks like he's got something on his mind to me.

A Pet Outside
I think I can be forgiven for actually having two pets outside in this shot? ;p Thursday was a lovely sunny day and i took advantage by cleaning the boys out as they'd started to really trash their tank ;p They weren't sure what to think- their first tank clean and their first time being outside! I even put them on the grass for a while, they weren't sure what was happening at all :x

Something Exciting
This is not only my favourite shot this week, but my favourite shot in a long time! It's exciting because African Wild Dogs are easily my favourite animal at the safari park and as we drove through their enclosure the whole pack walked right out in front of our car holding up all the traffic behind us, but giving us a great view and plenty of photo opportunities! I was so stoked and look how cute they are x333
Well, that's it's for this week, sorry about the late posting, it's looking like Sunday Catch up could be a Monday catch up too as I'm at work for at least 12 hours tomorrow. We'll get there :3
Are you trying this challenge? Let me know x3



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Sunday a Little Different- Introducing Austin and Morris!

Today I thought I could go through my week with the few pictures I took few and far between, or just focus on something I'm very excited about...and it's always best to focus on the things we enjoy, right? For a little back story- I've kept gerbils for a long time now (up to 9 at one point!) until recently, when my last gerbil in a 10 year run, Newt, passed away. At first I decided not to get any more and cleaned out the tank Newt had lived in. But as I popped in and out of the room the tank had been in, something seemed to be missing. There was no scuffling or anyone to give loo roll tubes to. So when I last cleaned out my degu, I put some sawdust back into the tank and put a bunch of toys in there too. I knew I was just waiting for some new babies to pop up somewhere! I looked round the internet and some duprasi jirds- fat tailed gerbils, stood out to me, and I'd never kept any before. As I read up about them they seemed pretty easy to look after, very similar to the mongolian gerbils I've kept for so long, but I tried contacting a few breeders and no one got back to me. So I looked around for mongolian babies people had bred, but couldn't find anything that wasn't miles and miles away.

Then this week when I went up to Pets at Home for my weekly quota of locusts for my bearded dragons I peeked in at the gerbils they had and these two just stood out to me! A new litter of babies had come in and there were some adorable colours, but this time I really wanted a dove grey, and there was one! He is patchy too so distinct from the other dove I've had in the past. As you always keep gerbils in pairs I picked his companion also for his nice colours- a patchy cream, a perfect match for a grey :]

I haven't been through the Pets at Home adoption process in a long time but it was very through, even though I said I'd owned plenty of gerbs in the past I was asked lots of questions to make sure I knew both what I was on about and what I was getting into, which gives me peace of mind that had I asked any major questions that they could've been answered clearly and knowingly. It was good also to think that hopefully the boys' siblings will go to homes that are going to know what they need.

As I left the shop their names came to me- Austin and Morris! I'm a sucker for old cars and these matching names just seemed to cute to pass up for a pair of boys! (If there had been a third it would've been called Leyland aha...) When we got home I let them make their way from the boxes they were brought home in into their new home. They were unsure of the tanks' tiers at first but soon their gerbilly curiosity got the better of them and they were up and down and checking everything out! I left them alone to get used to the place.
Two days in now and they are are much more confident of their surroundings, even little Austin is jumping from tier to tier with ease :3 They will nervously take sunflower seeds from my hand though the sound of the tank lid opening and closing is apparently very scary to them still! Poor boys. I'm sure they'll soon come to realise it means treats and new food xp


Dash, the degu, is getting used to having roommates again as well. For the first couple of hours she just sat and sulked in her bed to avoid all the noise and new smells, but she seems to have gotten used to it again, luckily! Maybe she's realised the newbies aren't around to steal all her treats ;p
Have you ever kept gerbils? I really think they make such interesting pets! I'd love to see pics and hear stories x3



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Sunday A Little Different- Hassleback Potatoes

So usually on Sundays I do a catch up but I thought today I would do something a little different as as I was looking back through this weeks photos I realised I'd pretty much already posted them all here, whoops! I guess the weather hasn't been too great this week to encourage me to get out, except for the first two days where I didn't do much but gardening.
So today I thought I'd show you how I made Hassleback potaotes for dinner one night. They were on my list of things I wanted to make and I finally found time! It was really easy too and super tasty, if you love cheesey potatoes like me I'm sure you'll love these as much as I did!
So, you'll need:

• A couple of jacket potatoes
• Butter
• Parmesan
• Cheddar Cheese (grated)
• Chives (optional)
• Sour Cream (optional, but totally worth it!)
• An Oven preheated to Gas Mark 6 (200C, 400F)

First you need to get the potoates, and cut slits in them but don't cut all the way through. Then cut up your butter and parmesan into thin little slices and alternately wedge them into the slits you made. It helps if the butter has only just come out the fridge when you cut it up, and put it into the potato as soon as possible so it doesn't squash. Now they are ready to go in the oven a while. I'd advise putting the potaotes on baking paper on an oven tray cause they make a bit of a mess as they cook! Some people say to put a dash of oil over the top of them before they go in but I have found this unnecessary, it's up to you though!
From here I'd give them 45 minutes to an hour. I checked mine at 45 minutes but they weren't quite done, so I left them to the hour. It all depends on the size of your potatoes I suppose! I had plenty to do in the mean time so I didn't mind the wait :] I grated the cheddar for the next step and went and got some chives out the garden.

Once the hour is up, don't eat them yet! You want to get them nice and cheesy right? So Get a nice little pile of cheddar and place some on top of each potato, I mixed some chives in too for a little extra flavour, I bet it would also be really good with some onion mixed in at this point! Once you've got a good amount of cheese on the top, they can go back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
Once that buzzer goes off, they're done! You can eat them straight away, but they are so good with a little extra sour cream on top! May as well add to the unhealthy XD
I served them on the baking paper they were cooked on, it kept the melted butter and crispy parmesan around the potato to enjoy with it!
Let me know if you give this a go, I'd love to see your outcomes too! Good luck x3


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