Cushion d'jour!

In love with this 'Concourse' cushion by Andrew Martin available at John Lewis.

Love it, want it, need it!

xxx

Charmed I'm sure!

Okay, okay, okay.

I may just have found the perfect gift for the special women in your lives.

Guys listen up!

What could be sweeter than a completely individual and personal charming charm necklace?

As usual Anthropologie have nailed it with these babies.

The idea is you choose a chain, (from memory there were 5 different styles) priced at a very reasonable £14. Then you add whichever charms (all £12 each) take your fancy.

All the charms have that 'found at a flea market' feel about them.

Likey likey!

xxx

Sofa LOVE

Check out this super cool sofa my friend Holly had made for her son Artie's playroom.

JUST....LOVE....IT.

xxx

Today

Nesting mode went into overdrive! The nursery is DONE, pics will be posted soon.

Displays were arranged......

A very moving parade went by our house.......

The farmers market was heaving with autumn vege and I went to town making these chicken & vege pies.....

Decided to do even more veg in the form of sweet potato & potato mash tops......

Looking forward to tucking into these bad boys later!

What did you get up to?

xxx

Dummy Wars!

Oh man! Oh man, oh man, oh man!

What a morning.

My son is seriously addicted to his dummies and I am at a loss.

He is like a drug addict needing a fix!

He wails like a banshee if I attempt to hide them.

I have tried cold turkey but it is just too hard. I crack after the first 3 hours of screaming and pleading.

Dear readers, can any of you offer me advice here?!

I am putting it out there right now - I have to get Max off these hideous things before baby two comes along. And NO DUMMY for baby two.

My Mum threw my brothers dummy into the fire in front of him when he was three and he still talks about it like he is scarred for life (he is now 35!!!)

Not sure if I am ready for such drastic measures?????

HELP!!!

xxx

Winter project - Tapestry

I have decided to make one of these fab tapestry cushions designed by Emily Peacock.

But how to choose, how to choose!?

This is the PERFECT crafty project to take me through winter. Something I can have on hand, which does not make a mess and can be put away from busy little hands at a moments notice.

I am pretty sold on 'KISS' or maybe the 'HOPE' anchor.

Do you have a favourite?

xxx

I won't be SAD this winter!

It's that time of year again when darkness descends. November - February for me is just bleak bleak bleak.

I'm such a summer girl, and I find these dark London winters hard to cope with.

A couple of years ago I was really suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. It was so bad that I had to leave the UK and head back to New Zealand to recuperate.

As much as I would LOVE to be heading back to the sunny shores of NZ over the winter, there are two things holding me back this year........

1. I am hugely pregnant.

2. I am slightly poor.

So each morning while I am blogging, emailing, facebooking, drinking my coffee and eating my marmite toast I sit in front of my SAD light. (It should really be called a HAPPY light though!)

And bask in it's summery glow.

It is amazing the difference it makes for me. I can literally feel my serotonin tanks filling up!

Getting my daily fix of sunlight!

There are a huge range of lights on the market and you need to spend a couple of hours parked up in front of them, (no hardship for me!)

What coping strategies do you have to get you through winter?

xxx

Raspberry Sweethearts

I have just finished making and eating these glorious friands.

Oh my word they are just too moreish!

They are light but slightly chewy to the bite and bursting with fruity goodness.

(I substituted raspberries for fresh blueberries.) I love that they are mainly composed of egg whites whipped into a frenzy and ground almonds. Sounds almost healthy???!!!

The recipe can be found in 'Fay's Family Food' by Fay Ripley of Cold Feet and Tesco ad fame,

or below........

Raspberry (or Blueberry) Sweethearts

• 115g unsalted butter
• 30g plain or white spelt flour
• 130g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 100g ground almonds
• 3 large egg whites
• grated zest of 1 ½ unwaxed lemons
• 100g fresh or frozen raspberries

Pre-heated oven 180C (fan), 200C, gas mark 6

1. Melt the butter and use a little of it to generously grease a 6-hole muffin tin. (I use a heart-shaped muffin tin for extra show-off value).
2. Separately sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl. Add the almonds and mix.
3. Whisk the egg whites in another bowl to soft-peak stage. Then tip the eggs in to the flour mix. Add the zest. Pour in the butter and gently fold the whole lot together, using a big metal spoon.
4. When combined, pour into the tins. Then drop 2 or 3 raspberries on to each cake.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out and leave to cool.
   To serve, dust with icing sugar.

Storage: These keep really well for up to two days in an airtight container.

xxx