This week #4

This week we brought home this little guy and named him Bertie 

(though James calls him Bert or Herbert)

He is proving to be a fluffy ball of love, and also quite the little moster if there is human food around!

Welcome to the family little guy.

This Week #3

Wow what a scorcher this week has been! It is a shame it isn't forcast to carry on through the weekend as we have a VW event going on, but it has been a lovely week for just living in the moment.

• I baked some pretty damn good cakes for the charity bring and buy cake stall at Elsham Hall VW Collective this weekend, and I managed to resist temptation and haven't eaten any.
• Also made a pretty snazzy salad to accompany homemade burgers for tea. It had watermelon in it, my first foray into fruit in a salad beyond a classic Waldorf, and it was delicious.
• It was our regular VW meet on wednesday, and by a stroke of luck I was already very close to the venue due to something for work, so I had a couple of hours to spare to wander on the beach for the first time ages. It was so peaceful and relaxing as the summer holiday crowd were packing up and leaving. I climbed a breaker and just enjoyed the view.
• James's dad had a birthday this week and it was good to pop round and just catch up. His mum also had some very important info for us that could lead to some exciting news in a couple of weeks time. 
• Katie, the cocker spaniel I pooch sat the other week, has decided I am her human, and the other dogs aren't allowed a look in. She was full on defending me from Max who is about three times her size the other day and she just looked so proud, they never fail to make me smile with how cute they are.

How has your week been? Did you get to enjoy the weather?

This week #2

Only really have one thing this week, but its a big-un!

My little sister graduated from university on tuesday morning! 

After some wobbles at the beginning,  a whole load of hard work, and everything the last year has thrown at us, she did it, and she has also been given a deferred entry position at UCL for 2015 doing a masters course. 

I am one proud big sister.

This Week #1

Howdy all, it seems every blog I have read in the past week has said something along these lines but I'm going to say it anyway, how is it already nearly half way through July? I had one of those moments earlier where I couldn't pin point what the date was at all and was quite shocked to find it was the twelfth. It felt like maybe half that, Oh well!



I don't feel like I have done a whole lot with the month so far, though I have actually achieved quite a bit. Lately I have been feeling like I haven't been getting weekends. You know when you just don't feel like you have had those days of rest? Work weeks have been pretty stressful, and then a lot of stress has been piled on by my family lately that I had just about got to breaking point with too. Add to that the never ending to-do list I have for household projects and I have been feeling really swamped.

Because things have been a bit manic lately and I have been struggling to keep on top and stay positive I have decided to borrow what appears to be becoming quite a popular regular post on a fair few other  blogs, and just give myself a reminder of some positive moments from the past week.

•  I finally managed to complete two decorative projects that I have been wanting to do for years, and I mean years. I have had a fan that was given to me when I went to see To Kill a Mockingbird on stage at the age of 16 that I had an idea for framing and never got around to. Now I have walls to hang things on it is complete and I felt so damn satisfied, it was incredibly relaxing to take the time and exacto cut my favourite quotes into birds to go alongside it too.

• Room temperature watermelon for breakfast and snacks. I am an impatient person, but waiting a couple of minutes for it to warm up really allows the sweetness to shine through.

• This weekend I should have shelves in one of the alcoves, this is going to be some serious progress towards tidying up the many piles of things that have no home in our new home. My mild OCD is being driven mad by these piles (I know I shouldn't really term it OCD as I am pretty certain it isn't so I apologise to anyone that offends, but I am not sure what it should be called, I am unable to sleep if there is too much mess and go all Monica on it). I do love James for all the hard work he is putting in to try and make my ideas a reality.

• I pooch-sat Katie today (James's sister's Cocker Spaniel) for the first time in the new house, and she was good as gold, which means she can visit again! I miss the waggy balls of fluff being around and can't wait for us to get our own dog.

• I treated myself to a subscription to BBC Good Food magazine as a pay day treat last month (mainly to save some £££ on the shop price) and my freebie came in the post this week, I have been devouring Nigella's Summer cookbook. I love the redesign and am trying to resist replacing my copy of How To Be a Domestic Goddess to match.

• This is technically last week, as it was last Sunday, but I forgot to take any pictures so I will mention it here. James took me to a lovely little tea room in the Wolds as a surprise for brunch last weekend. I am not good with surprises, but he was determined and drove a good 15 miles out of our way just to keep me guessing about where we were going. The food was delicious, and I got to have chocolate cake with my breakfast, it was perfect.

I also thought I would tack on what I am reading this weekend, just in case you ever wonder what I am reading right there and then. This week it is The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker, it started off slow and I struggled to read the Hardback (think I was put off by the size) but since transferring to ebook I am steaming through it!

June

I thought I would have a little reminisce about June to keep things going while I slave away trying to get this blog shifted to Wordpress (SO not as simple as anticipated. It isn't just the moving of it, bright spark over here decided that if she was going to move it she might as well re-design the whole thing too, as my blogger layout just wouldn't work over there, if you want to monitor the progress, it is at the same domain just without the w's)

I finally replaced my very battered and bruised cream Toms with some lovely grey ones, my old ones were the best fitting shoes I have ever had, but I have to confess that they fit so well because they once got completely soaked at a Harry Potter premiere in the rain (remember the year when Emma's dress was almost see through, that one, LOVED that damn dress, so pretty!) and so were completely moulded to the shape of my dodgy arches. I adore those shoes but they had no grip left and had to go.

I am very tempted to wear my new ones in the bath... kidding (sort of not really).

I bought some rugs for the house, we have wood floors = cold even when it is boiling outside. Had to soften this place up a bit so got a bargain rug for £15 from B&Q. It is already a bit filthy but i like how it provides a bit of contrast and reduces the echoes.

I have cooked a million different things, and attempted to photograph them only to take half the pictures I needed, doh! Especially annoying when I made brioche buns from scratch and by hand this weekend, I was suitably damn well chuffed with myself for that one.

Lincolnshire show was an OK visit, but I got more out of Brocklesby Country Fair, I snapped pics at both so maybe I will do a bit of a piccy post. Suffice it to say there was an awful lot of moolah spent in the Joules tent at Lincs show, and I was oh so grateful for the chairs and posh loos that a vice presidential membership pass got me. Also ate quite possibly the best sausage sandwich I have ever had in my life at Brocklesby from Boston Sausage.

Must pause here for the Mr Whippy van, parked right outside my house!

James didn't want one, boo!

I went on a Lush spree (photos ago come) and subsequently sliced my hand open trying to chop a bath bomb in half. It needed butterfly stitches, was not good let me tell you. A lesson has been learnt.

I was bought some very pretty posies by my other half, and caved to blogger hype and bought myself some peonies when they died.

I am pretty sure there were many more things of note that occurred last month, but I will save those for another day, must get back to the grind stone and try and get my snazzy new layout fixed.

Cornbread Muffins

Last weekend J made a delicious Chili Con Carne for our tea. He started cooking first thing in the morning and by the time we tucked in around 7pm the flavours had all intensified and the smell was truly mouth watering. Unfortunately I forgot to get my camera out while he was cheffing away, fortunately I didn't forget when I cooked up my favourite accompaniment to Chili, Cornbread.



I always make mine muffin style, I think because the first time me and my Mum ever tried these it stuck to the pan big time, absolute disaster! You can make this in a cast iron skillet though if you prefer, just make sure it is well greased.
I also like mine plain, as there is nothing better than a warm cornbread muffin straight from the tray split with your thumbs and given a dollop of butter, it melts into a crumbly sweet mouthful that goes perfectly with the tang of tomato in the Chilli.


Adapted from about five different recipes over the years, but I started with Martha Hall Foose's version from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea

You will need:
170g Cornmeal
170g Plain Flour
1tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Ground Cumin
4tsp Baking Powder
3 tbsp Runny Honey
2 Eggs
250ml Buttermilk
50ml Milk
50g Unsalted Butter - Melted

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Centigrade (Gas mark 5) and line your muffin tins with muffin papers, I made exactly 12 muffins from this mix.



In a large bowl mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and cumin.



In a medium sized jug break in your eggs and mix in the buttermilk, milk, honey and melted butter.
I don't know about you but I always have to warm my honey to get it to go liquid again, I stick the jar in a bowl of freshly boiled water and it does the trick.



Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the liquid mixture in while mixing on a low speed using a handheld mixer (or using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer)



Once brought together scrape down the sides and mix on medium until the batter is smooth but for no longer than one minute.



Leave to rest while the baking powder does its stuff for a couple of minutes, then using an ice cream scoop, or a spoon if you don't have one, scoop one measure into each muffin case. Lick clean the bowl and scoop.



Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden on the top and springy when pressed. Allow to cool in the tray for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack.



Scoff the lot with a dollop of butter! Yum!

A few things...

This week has been both boring and eventful but in small ways, we have made some progress with small things around the house, J has officially got a garage he can work in and I finally have shelves in my kitchen.

My jars of ingredients have a nice home that isn't our worktop, but I now have a dilemma with labelling (for J's benefit rather than mine) as you can't see the ones I stuck on the top. I may have to get creative.

My tomato plants sprouted mid week and I did a little dance of happiness, no sign of my strawberries yet though.

I have got into a groove with using my cookbooks to plan meals. I have been collecting cookbooks for more years than I can count and it feels good to be finally using them properly, the pork chops with apples in Rachel Allen's book pictured was delicious for friday night tea.

Our canine friends haven't visited for a whole week because it has been so wet out, I miss the magic that the lid lifting on this jar can create. Bums on floors pronto!

This book has been a bit of a god send lately, helping me to suss out my new-ish camera, I highly recommend it and may do a full review at some point.

How has your week been? I hope you all have a lovely bank holiday weekend :)

Where have I been?

I did mention a couple of posts back that I was about to move house, and I have!


It has been a pretty manic couple of months that I have had away from this internet space, so much has happened I don't know where to begin really so a few pictures and a couple of bullet points seems like a good idea.

• I turned 26 last week, though it didn't really bother me it was very nice to receive some pretty flowers and a very cool cushion for our sofa.
• We lost a beloved canine friend suddenly in March, and I am even more grateful than ever that I took the photos on this walk because of that sad day as we all miss him so much. 
• We had the first anniversary of the loss of my Dad, and it wasn't great though not as bad as I thought it would be, hitting that milestone doesn't mean that it feels any different from the days and weeks previous. 
• I got fully on board with my new job and stuck in with making a difference and in the past week have finally had the rest of my team join me which is exciting and scary in equal measures. 
• I have spent a lot of stressful time dealing with the dreaded 'S' word (solicitors) fielding endless phone calls, but it was all made better when we got our hands on the keys. 
• I packed a mountain of boxes, and worried the whole journey from my Mum's to our new home about birds poo-ing on my mattress while it was on the back of a trailer. And the first thing we did once we were in was scrub until our hands were raw and slap a whole load of neutral paint on the walls, bye bye big blue wall!
• There have been multiple trips to Ikea, meatballs consumed, and visits to the Krispy Kreme nearby.
• My first VW show of the season has passed, a glorious day in the sunshine spent sipping cider and storing up on Vit D.
• I have gained green tips to my fingers growing plants to brighten our abode up a little bit, this weekend I will be giving tomatoes and strawberries a go.
• I have amassed a large number of food storage jars while I have been waiting for somewhere to store them, which arrived today in the form of the nice solid wood shelves for my kitchen walls that I pinned waaaaay back. Pin's do come true!

We are pretty much all moved in now, though there are a few lingering items at my mums and J hasn't even started on the garage (it is getting a make-over). We are experiencing life in our own space, and it really is beginning to feel like our space now. We are making changes, decorating and adding in furniture and I am sure I will be showing you projects we are working on along the way.

Currently I am oiling the shelving, and I can't wait to get creative in the kitchen trying a few more complex recipes and getting used to using both an electric and a fan oven! I have already been cracking on with trying a few recipes for meal times and yesterday whipped up home-made Naan to go with our curry, I was very proud. I may just have to turn that into a blog post in future.

I hope you are all keeping well and that you will enjoy this little home evolution journey we are going on :)

Blogger Love Tag

When Jennie posted her response to this tag last month I knew I wanted to post my own responses. Blogging is all about sharing the love and feeling inspired, I know I am sadly lacking in that department, I try to comment on blogs as much as possible but I often feel like I fall short so it is time for me to share a few of my favourite blogs.

What was the first blog you came across?

I honestly haven't a clue for this one, it was probably a knitting blog, as they are my first real memory of regularly reading blogs, but I probably came across other blogs long before those.

Favourite blog?

Currently I would go with Sailboat, which is a delicate blend of bunnies, beauty and lifestyle all written by the lovely Jennie, possibly the most down to earth and realistic blogger I have come across, she isn't afraid to tell you about the negatives in life as well as the wonderful things. 

Best blogging friend?

I find this a bit of a weird question because I wouldn't say I have blogging "friends" I find writing reviews to be quite insular, although I do enjoy commenting on other peoples blogs I am not sure they would be classed as friends yet.

Name a blog that enables your purchases

Absolutely without a doubt Bee from Vivatramp (and The Finer Things Club), I can guarantee that for every series of mini book reviews she does at least one of those books ends up on my shelves. Every. Time.

Five blogs everyone should be reading

1. Cider with Rosie - for the little things in life
2. A Beautiful mess - for great DIY inspiration
3. Honey Rose - for wholesome crafting
4. Ghostparties - for the best beauty advice for fair skin
5. Sunny Sweet Pea - for a bit of everything

What is your favourite way to read blogs?

I know lots of people love Bloglovin, but I find it awkward to use, especially as I generally read on my phone. I use Feedly to collate my feeds and Reeder on my iPhone and iPad to read them on the go. I save my favourite items to my Reading List or to Pocket if I want to remember individual posts.

Bloggers that inspire you

Cider with Rosie inspires me to enjoy the small things on a weekly basis, I love her 10 things posts. 

Favourite blog design/look

I really love designs that are quite neutral with a pop of colour but look very relaxed when it comes to reading other lifestyle blogs, they feel homely. My own is obviously quite clean and minimalist but that is supposed to be reflective of structure.

What is your favourite thing about blogging?

Honestly the creative outlet. For a long time my job hasn't offered opportunities for creative thinking and developing ideas and projects, and I crave the ability to say what I want to say about the world. Although that aspect of my working life is going to be changing soon I think it is still important to have a little space that is all your own where you can share your own opinions and that is pretty much what this space is for me.

Name a blogger you would most like to see write a book in the future?

There are a couple I would love to see cookbooks from (Smitten Kitchen, Cider with Rosie), but Vanilla Bean needs to release one stat!

This week

Has pretty much been all about Pinterest. I officially have an addiction to scrolling the Home Decor section. We have had our offer accepted on the house we were looking at so my head is full of ideas for what we would like to do to it. No purchases are being made until we officially have the house but a girl needs to plan these things!!

Here are a few of my favourite pins from this week, you can see the rest on my "Home Stuff" board here

Georgina Carr's pin on Pinterest. Georgina Carr's pin on Pinterest.

As you can see I have a bit of a thing for open shelving in Kitchens, and I am really loving the idea of Ochre yellow in the living room, but who knows what we will end up with eventually :) What's your favourite home decor trend at the moment?

Sunday Snowdrops

I have a thing for wandering around the gardens of posh country estates. I know next to nothing about flowers (my poor much missed Grandad George is probably watching over us all absolutely appalled by this having been a gardener) but I do know that I love how they look, how they smell, and how they make me feel.

Different flowers invoke different feelings to me, and there is nothing I admire more during the misery of February than Snowdrops, their delicate stems that appear in swathes and brave the crisp winter winds remind me to persevere through the tough stuff to get the joyous outcome at the end.

This weekend me and James popped back to Doddington Hall, a new favourite place of mine to visit since my trip before Christmas. Their gardens officially opened on sunday for the season and their speciality is bulbs, every sunday they are open for you to wander around the grounds admiring the landscape and the beautiful views along with the pretty flowers as new varieties begin to appear.


















Apparently, I had to post this last picture because James said it was the best thing we saw there, as Lister make old trucks. He will always choose engines over nature *sigh*

I am really regretting not just buying a season ticket for the gardens (£25), as I can see them being a new favourite haunt for the weekends. If you are nearby and fancy visiting it is £6 to get into the gardens, and when it is less wet there are hours worth of walks across the estate. The cafe is definitely worth wetting your whistle in too (best carrot cake I have ever eaten, no lie!)