New direction

So i was thinking last night (as i often do in the middle of the night) how this blog needs some sort of direction. I mean i truly do love to write but i like to know what i'm writing for, if that makes sense. And so, the most random of ideas came to mind. did you ever play that game when you were young, the alphabet game- you take a letter then have to name a boy's name, a girl's name, a flower, an animal etc. Well it got me thinking, that whilst i'm still unsure of the direction in which to write, for the next 26 days i'm going to play my very own version of the alphabet game.


Each day will have a new letter (obviously) but the categories will be the same. It gives me a chance to write about things and go form there i guess. And it may not be thoroughly entertaining but writing is a form of escapism that i value too much to let my blog go again.


So, the categories that will be featured in the 26 posts are;
Country/place i'd like to visit;
Item i'd like to own;
Recipe i'd like to bake;
Favourite saying;
Favourite flower;
Favourite vegetable.

So here goes, who knows what the next 26 days are going to uncover, if you want to join in then lease feel free to do so, the best thing about life is learning about others.



***


A.


Country/Place;

Alaska.

Oh my days for as long as i can remember i've wanted to go to Alaska. I've been to the USA many times and have travelled all over but Alaska is one place i'm yet to explore. The beautiful scenery, the absolutely spectacular nature and the peace, the beautiful peace of a place so untarnished by the drive for absolute modernity. I'd love to just walk along routes with a camera and a friend and jut soak up everything it has to offer.

Item:

Abstract art;

I#m no art expert- far from it, in fact most things that seem to be well acclaimed just don't do it for me. I know there are some masterpieces and i can appreciate the skill involved in them but they don't speak to me. So i am forever on the lookout for artwork/wall art that is not only individual but that displays a message to me and maybe only me.

Recipe:

Apple snow.

This is something my Dad's Mum used to bake for him when he was growing up. Sadly never got to know my Ganny but y Dad has talked about this recipe with such fondness that i would love to give it a go. It's not a recipe i can find easily though so i'm going to have to go through Granny's old recipe file to see if i can find it!

Saying:

" A bird in the hand i worth two in the bush".


Flower:

This is hard as i love so any, but i'm probably going to go for Allium. I love the globe purple spheres that seem so heavy but are oh so light that just wave around on the green stalks.


Animal:

Albatross.

Even though it's a big thing you don't hardly ever see, the habits of this bird are just fascinating. Did you know they mate for life but spend month apart flying across the oceans, yet they know exactly whom their spouse is and where they will be when they do meet back up. I'm a sucker for things like that!



So there we have it, A is done, probably bored most of the readers silly but there we go, look out for B tomorrow!


xxx

Handmade goodies

Happy Sunday one and all. Hope you're all having a nice and relaxing weekend. The weather here is just grey- hasn't changed all day, i even had the fire on for a while to help banish the cold- brr.

Anyway, i needed something to do and as my family are out visiting relatives i thought it would be an opportune time to take over the kitchen and bake. I had planned on a glazed apple cake but i found less butter in the fridge that i had thought so decided that the rapidly ripening banana's in the fruit bowl should be used up and the result, a banana and walnut tea loaf (that i had to save from the jaws of my cat!)

And as this is a sort of handmade post i thought i'd share my latest embroidery, it's a solar system pattern, slightly adapted but nevertheless a hugely wonderful pattern from theflossbox on etsy- check her out if you love to sew her patterns are inspired. It is a present for my sister's boyfriend for Christmas, he teaches physics so i thought it rather apt!

And seeing as it's Sunday it means i know have the joy of the F1 race in Brazil. Yep, i adore F1, have done for nearly 17 years now, i know for a lot of people they think it must be very boring to watch cars go round and round and round but for me i thrive on the tactical elements, and Brazil is shaping up to be one hell of a race.

So happy Sunday whatever you are getting up to,

xxx

Return

I've had an epic dose of bloggers block- i just haven't been able to find the words to make a decent post! However, i miss this lovely place and now that the crispness of autumn is upon us i feel more motivated to get back into the swing of things.

Even though it's been so long i've not done anything remotely exciting (shock horror), my sister turned 28, i turned 26- that entailed an awful lot of baking, i had a ball making some cupcakes for my sister with my wonderful aunt! I may post pictures although get scarily embarrassed!

And seeing that i've been away for so long and that i don't really know how to reintegrate i thought i would do a tag that the lovely Daisy has supplied.

Where's your cell phone: On the arm of my sofa next to me.

Your hair: In desperate need of a brush.

Your Mother: Fighting the biggest battle with grace.

Your Father: Dependable and my rock.

Favourite Food: Broccoli.

Dream last night: Oh trust me, you don't want to know!

Favourite Drink: Ribena light.

What room are you in?: The breakfast room.

Hobby: I flit between lots and nothing.

Fear: Moths!!!

Where were you last night?: Snuggled up in bed.

Something that you aren't?: Employed.

Muffins: Summer berries with a whole strawberry in the centre.

Wish List Item: Wall art.

Where did you grow up?: Same village i still live in.

What are you wearing?: Pink hoodie, dark denim baggy jeans and socks.

Your Pets: Boris and Roy my wonderful cats.

Friends: Few but amazing.

Something you're not wearing: Make-up.

Favourite Store: Handycandy.

Favourite Colour: Purple.

Last time you laughed: When my cat leapt at the shut window thinking it was open-oops!

Your best friend: Laura.

Place you go to over and over: Um i don't go anywhere, does my bed count?

Person who emails you regularly: Laura.

Favourite place to eat: Vegan cafe.

So there we have it, i apologise for my absence, i will get around as many blogs as i can to catch up with you all.

xxx

Random musings

Oh little blog- i have a million things i could write about but nothing that comes to mind, does that make sense, probably not but then life rarely does.

I've not been up to much worth commenting on, I've tried my hand at quilting and have made a tea cosy- inspired by my latest post of finds, and an ice cream sundae cushion cover. It's sort of therapeutic to take old fabric and bring them back to life again. Yet i'm feeling very self-conscious over my 'makes' mainly because i have the world's most creative and talented family and i've always been the odd one out! They can draw and paint, sew, craft- do everything basically and do it amazingly. My 'craft' as a young one was always poetry, i seemed to like to make patterns with words and yet as i got older i became embarrassed by that. And that's something that often makes me ponder.

If life is about living who deems what is embarrassing or not? Yet i feel driven to not be myself because i feel like an oddball, like life is the square hole and I'm a round peg. It's very hard to explain i guess, i just sort of feel like i don't quite fit in with what life is supposed to be.

I've been waiting for years to find that something that makes me 'me', something that sort of connects me to the world and it always alludes me. I don't even feel like this blog is truly me because i don't want to write about me- it's nice to post about things i like and so on and it does help me 'live' dreams that would never be 'lived' but i often want to just write- write thoughts, feelings, just let things out but i don't, mainly because i think i fear loneliness online even though I'm used to loneliness in real life. I want to be able to post and be the person of my dreams but how can i when she doesn't exist, and is life supposed to be lived with a constant illusion of life?

Who knows, maybe one day the real me will appear, maybe not, and i guess that uncertainty is what makes life...

xxx

Time for tea

For some reason today i've been drawn to tea cosy's. Now this is odd on multiple accounts, mainly because i don't drink tea (except for the odd cup of peppermint) and haven't done since i was 5, so that's 20 years now! Yet i have lovely childhood memories, sitting around on a Sunday with cakes and the teapot, i used to love to keep my hands warm inside the tea cosy when the tea was all drunk. There's just something magical for me in the padded thickness, the warmth and the pattern on them that takes me back to weekends of my youth. Even in high summer (and my goodness isn't this current one a let down) the teapot would always come out- cakes were always handmade, the creation of love from the heart of our home.

So here is my tribute to the humble tea cozy, thanks for the memories.

These are my favourite type- padded bundles of loveliness, and who could resist this cute little guy- www.theblackrabbit.co.uk

I'd love to be able to make designs like this, perhaps one day i shall brush up my embroidery skills and give it a go- teaescapades.com

I have the most amazing love for bees. They get a bad press and i absolutely adore the little things. Mainly because the humble bumble bee is not supposed to fly, nature didn't design it to fly- but you know what, the bee wanted too and so it fought against the constraints and it learnt how to fly regardless- that is something that means a lot to me.
secondhandshopper.com

I love the vintage appeal of this one, it covers the vintage/modern crossover so well and the colours are just gorgeous.

www.notonthehighstreet.com

I have to admit i fancy having a go at making this one, the pattern is very kindly available on this knitter's personal blog and i have oodles of sirdar wool that could be put to good use!

lollipopknits.com

Being Welsh i had to get a sheep in here somewhere and this little lovely caught my eye,

kenanaknits.com

I'm always so impressed by hand knitted creations- i know how long it takes me to make a rose and this one is covered in them!

And strawberries and summer go hand in hand!

Both this and the one above are from laughinghens.com

Back to the style of my youth- i love applique, my sister is taking it up and is amazing at it, i don't think i have the required imagination so shall have to rely on her and others instead!

www.thehippyshopper.com

More chickens, i can't help but love their simple form and cute faces!

heartgalleryblog.com

This is one of my absolute favourites, and the proceeds of this one go the Eve appeal (my charity for July) making it extra special.

This design is so fresh and quirky, i absolutely love it!

belladia.com

And i now have a feeling that a post on bees and chickens may follow, what is it they say about simple things, simple minds...

xxx

More cakes!

So, this is not the world's prettiest cake- that much i grant you but if ever there is a time where you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover then it is this cake.

It may look like a heavy, sunken sponge but looks are deceiving! This in face is one of the lightest, moistest (is that a word lol) cakes and so easy to make it's almost criminal! The top and bottom of the cake is made from almond flavoured sponge- beautiful and fragrant but not too strong but the best part is the middle. For nestled away in the middle of this cake is a layer of sliced apples. As the cake cooks the moisture from the apples seeps into the sponge and the apples cook slowly and happily. The result- a delicious light sponge with a moist, apply centre that is just divine. It's best to serve it warm with icing sugar on the top and goes great with custard, ice cream or just on it's own. You can of course eat it cold for an equally delicious treat.

And if you don't have apples then don't worry- we have made this using pears instead for a really lovely cake- just make sure the pears are fairly ripe as they take longer to cook than the apples if too hard.

Mmmm, yummy!

xxx

Ready, steady, bake

Having had a hard few weeks, it was really lovely yesterday to spend a few hours with my wonderful sister in the kitchen baking. We may not be the typical best friend sisters but our bond is silently invincible. We aren't big fans of the sitting down talking feelings and we both have very different lives- hers unhindered mine, very much hindered yet we do both share the love for cooking.

So, the 2 of us spent yesterday afternoon baking cupcakes and decorating them. Mum said it was like having children in the house again- we are 25 and 27 but if it brings laughter and love then we don't care.

Recipe:

187.5g butter

187.5g self-raising flour

187.5g Caster sugar

3 eggs

1.5 tsps vanilla essence

3 tbsp milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180c- if you don;'t have a fan oven then 190c is probably better.

Cream the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.

Beat the eggs and add slowly to the creamed mix until all combined, then add the vanilla.

Sift half the flour into the mix and fold together.

Then add the milk and the remaining flour and mix gently but thoroughly.

Spoon the mix into paper cases and bake for around 15-17 minutes.

This mix makes 21 cakes.

To Decorate;

the cakes in the centre (only 4 shown here) are decorated with buttercream. to make you need,

150g softened butter

250g Icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2tsp hot water

Any colouring you like or none if you prefer.

Simply beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer, add the vanilla and the water until smooth and creamy and we find it's best when you can create nice peaks that stand alone in the bowl.

Top with edible sugar decorations.

The other cakes here are iced with, what can only be described as a very 'unique' blend of icing sugars and royal icing and water that i coloured pink and yellow (my sister's favourite colours).

Basically just mix up the icing sugar with warm, not hot, water until you get the consistency you desire- i wanted quite a thick topping so the cakes were well covered and once cold the icing would be set hard.

Unleash your inner child and decorate!

So thank you to my sister, i had a lovely time, and now the baking bug has hit my Dad and I are going to make an apple cake this afternoon.

xxx