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14 April, 2013 

Weekend

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We popped to the gardening center on Saturday to pick up some compost and came home with a couple of colourful ranunculus and violas.

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I also had some progress with the hyacinths which started to open and are bright pink, oh well.

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The husband baked a scorched rye sourdough bread which was amazing.

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And I made some delicious raw mango and cashew bites from My New Roots, then I I made more of them but with pineapple instead of mango. They are so good and ready in a couple of minutes I am going to make them regularly.

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Some time ago our kitchen cupboard with all our cups and glasses fell down, it included a lovely mid century coffee set I got for a song in a car boot sale. One saucer was saved. Ever since we have been looking for the perfect cups while we replaced the glasses with old fashioned school tumblers. The cups we were coming back to were giving us signs, they were in Tinker Tailor then in The Hour, then I saw them again in this great vintage shop in Rye, and last week I saw them again at Hendy’s in Hastings. The next evening we decided to collect them and started by getting a set of six on ebay. I couldn’t be happier with my first set of Woods Beryl cups and saucers and I am keeping my eyes peeled for the rest of this crockery, a tea pot in particular.

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Otherwise the weekend was full of pottering around, reading Stella Gibbons’ Nightingale Woods and watching Django Unchained. Also, Mad Men is back and I can’t wait to watch the first episode tonight.

29 December, 2012 

The post Christmas post

Hello! I hope everyone is having a restful and joyful break. I have definitely eaten too many cakes and puddings and am on a small sugar free diet, ahem.

It was great to be in a huge house in Wales over Christmas with all the rain and wind outside, even Freddie didn’t get bothered about staying indoors. And having five adults to one toddler meant I got some rest and could read books during the day, something unheard of! So I read whatever I could get my hands on, I came with fully loaded Kindle but my mother in law has got so many great books and magazines I decided to take advantage of these. There was a gardening book, interior magazines, Mariana by Monica Dickens (I couldn’t put it away and came back home with One Pair of Hands), Kitchen Essays by Agnes Jekyll and Hans Christian Andersen’s very sad Fir Tree. I also watched a great documentary about Tove Jansson, it’s on IPlayer so catch it if you love Moomins.

We went antique shopping in Newcastle Emlyn and I came back with a stash of glazed jars and ink pots.

We went to visit Jen Jones’ cottage filled to the brim with antique Welsh quilts and blankets but we found the door shut so we had to drive bit further to Lampeter to the Welsh Quilt Center where she also resides, we met the lovely Jen and bought a retro plate set. We were told by many that her cottage is a must-see so we promised to be back soon.

Detail from one of the plates.

We paid a visit to a Hellebores nursery in Llandeilo, I have been after these Christmas roses for some time and came home with two beautiful specimen. The nursery has a stunning spring woodland garden and is part of the NGS. One more reason to go back to South Wales soon.

And just before we started to celebrate we went on a steam train to see Santa. I am not sure if Freddie enjoyed it at all, he looked very confused and nonplussed. We loved it though especially when served glasses of sherry at 10am, and the scenery was beautiful.

How was your Christmas break?

 

7 December, 2012 

December things

Lots of cookies are being baked in my house at the moment, at last all those Pinterest recipes are being used.

Freddie’s birthday is coming up in 2 weeks but his actual party will be next week to catch his little friends before Christmas, I can’t believe he is two. This month is busy with parties for the wee ones, today we have two!

We are off to Wales for Christmas and have lots of activities planned, roaring open fires and mulled wine, Welsh blankets and vintage train rides. I cannot wait.

We went to see Cutty Sark last week and I can’t believe I didn’t share the pictures yet. Coming up soon.

My head is about to explode with The Killing and Homeland, and now The Hour is heating up too. The next couple of weeks will be full of excitement with the final episodes but what’s next? I remember finishing Sopranos and feeling bit out of place for few days, just like after finishing a good long novel.

I planned a whole lot of Christmas things to post but the little tote refused to sleep for decent amount of time in the afternoons so I never had the time to post them. I will try next week although it might be a bit late.

Have a lovely weekend and keep warm.

30 October, 2012 

Moonrise Kingdom

Having only recently watched Moonrise Kingdom (and loving every single shot of it) I thought these Halloween costumes were brilliant.

Freddie and I are treating the neighbourhood kids to some sweets tomorrow and we even carved a pumpkin. This is what happens to a person after having a child!

Hope everyone is staying safe in the East Coast. x

22 October, 2012 

Recently

Apologies for the radio silence, I had a mad week and this one is not going to be any easier with the RHS show, Freddie’s rash and husband’s birthday, relatives coming and going and lots of garden work. Oh my.

Five layer ombre cake with raspberry cream.

Despite all that we managed to have two productive weekends, there was a lot of coffee and pastry brunches, swimming pool for toddlers, London Wetland Center, a party cake for a two year old and my very first independent drive in pouring rain when I stalled the car twice, got beeped at and had my legs turned to jelly. We also managed to achieve some serious garden tasks like completing the garden fence (hubby) and digging the veg beds plus sowing green manures – Hungarian grazing rye and field beans (me). We also moved the back garden gate to the front and are thinking about interesting colours to make it stand out, it will be covered with wisteria in the years to come. I rather like this blue gate I saw at Sissinghurst Castle in the summer.

Sissinghurst. The sunshine!

Our gate and some very foggy weather.

Galvanised planter found in the depths of our garden. It will be perfect for succulents.

London Wetland Center, perhaps I should take inspiration from their Sustainability Garden, my water logged garden could benefit from some moisture loving plants.

 

11 October, 2012 

October things

We are well into October so here are few exciting things happening this month:

I am going to the preview of Hollywood Costume exhibition at V&A next week and I cannot wait. Imagine being close to the most iconic outfits you saw on the silver screen – Dorothy, Indiana Jones, Holly Golightly, Sugar from Some Like It Hot and a special section dedicated to Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep aka the masters of transformation. I will report duly next week.

I am also hoping to see Cecil Beaton’s war time pictures at IWM.

Even though my garden started to look sad and bleak there are lots of great things happening this month. Next week I will try very hard to get to Taste of Autumn at Wisley and the week after next I am definitely going to the Shades of Autumn show in London.

I should really go to Garsons Farm to pick some pumpkins and sweetcorn

Speaking of food, I am obsessed with G&B sea salt chocolate, have you tried it yet?

I am having a major reading block, it usually happens after reading a number of books in a very short space of time. My brain needs to take it all in it seems, but I started Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book which should be really read in summer but hey ho, it’s good anyway.

I haven’t seen any films lately instead there are TV shows I am hooked on like Downton Abbey and Homeland. And of course there is The Great British Bake Off which is coming to an end next week, I was going to make one of the cakes they bake every week but failed miserably and only managed the pineapple upside down cake. All male finale will be exciting, I can’t decide between the jumper loving student and Brendan.

 

 

25 September, 2012 

Recent bits

I have been rather busy these past few days, toddler activities, catching up with friends and we are off to Wales on Thursday for a few days meaning lots of packing.

Besides I feel awfully tense, my back is like a breezeblock so I started daily stretches which work when combined with lavender oil but by the time the evening comes I am feeling like my muscles are clumping back again (and here I am typing in a very none health and safety pose!).

There has been a lot of baking: retro pineapple upside-down cake, chocolate and fig mini loaves, chocolate and (home grown) courgette cake.

Lots of good food: Normandy cheese and gooseberry jam, grapes and figs from my local Lebanese shop, grapes from my neighbour’s garden.

Food from the garden: courgettes, patty pans, tomatoes and lettuce.

Tea, sedums and heather.

Isabella Plantation, Science Museum and general mischief.

 

18 August, 2012 

Away we go

The weather gods seem to be kind to us and we will definitely enjoy some time on the East Sussex beaches. After a week long search I finally got myself a swimsuit, the shops had very poor choice being the end of the sales and the one I wanted was sold out in every single shop. But I tried over and over again and at last yesterday it magically appeared online again (bless you return policies!) so I swiftly purchased it, it arrived today and is lovely.

So, my Kindle is loaded, the packing is done in my head, some plans are made. I will leave you with a list of my favorite summer reads, the sort of books that bring to mind reading in a middle of an overgrown meadow with crickets and bees buzzing around your head on a very hot summer’s day while sucking on ice lollies (I am currently obsessed with pure pineapple juice lollies, at 65 calories they are a guiltless pleasure).

 

Summer reads
From top left:
I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
Diary of a Nobody,Weedon and George Grossmith
Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbon
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Heartburn, Nora Efron
Emma, Jane Austen
Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell
Don’t You Want Me?, India Knight
Wigs on the Green and The Blessing, Nancy Mitford
The Making of a Marchioness, Frances Hodgson Burnett
What are you favorite summer books? I am hoping to read Mapp and Lucia, Pear Shaped and Nightingale Wood but would love any recommendations.
4 August, 2012 

August things

Few exciting exhibitions are coming up this autumn (BTW I am still to see British Design and Munch, I only managed to catch Picasso and was absolutely loving Ben Nicholson’s paintings)

You can get one step closer to your silver screen heroes at V&A’s  Hollywood Costume. From 20th October.

Valentino at Somerset House, I always like to look closely at couture dresses, the craftsmanship is painstaking. Starts 29th November.

The Imperial War Museum will show Cecil Beaton: Theatre of War , Beaton seems to be popping up everywhere these days, I am not complaining! I really loved his portraits of the Queen at V&A earlier this year. This exhibition will show something completely different to all his famous photographs of debutantes, models and aristocracy, I can’t wait. On from 6th September.

India Knight’s new novel Mutton is coming out soon, I know I will be laughing a lot. As usual the cover is excellent, created by Leanne Shapton. I am hoping she will make an appearance on Woman’s Hour when the book is out on 29th November.

The Potter’s Hand by AN Wilson, a very interesting sounding story of the Wedgewood family and their hugely successful company is also out soon.

Saw a very good indie film with Elizabeth Olsen last week, she is stunning and a very good actress btw, the film is called Martha Marcy May Marlene and is about a young girl who runs away from a sect and tries to live in normal world which proves emotionally difficult for her and the only family she has got – her older, very conventional sister. Dark and depressing if you like that sort of thing.

Are you hooked on The Newsroom yet? I certainly am. It’s not Sopranos or The Wire but still very watchable and Aaron Sorkin’s writing is sharp, fast paced and witty.

A brilliant documentary on BBC Amish: A Secret Life. Not only it is an interesting and rare insight into their life but it is also great to see some of the simple interiors, I have been a fan of Quaker furniture for years and it’s so refreshing not to see any plastic and bold colours sometimes.

Cherry chocolate and hazelnut pastry tart, I am officially addicted to Pineterst and collected few cakes to try. This one was good but a tad too rich, I am thinking hazelnut pastry and mascarpone Frangelico filling for autumn.

Roses, echinacea and lots of lavender in the garden. The slugs are at last receding, there is hope for my courgettes and squashes.

11 June, 2012 

June things

The rain is pouring down and I am happy to be inside sipping a cup of coffee after getting wet earlier today. There are many exciting things I have been enjoying in the last couple of weeks:

first crops from our garden: mizuna, rocket and spinach, sadly the rain makes slugs eat everything and all my courgette and patty pan plants are almost gone!

continuing the healthy eating/detoxing lark with a small dose of cake

good coffee and home made sourdough

visiting Petersham on warm and cold days, the boy loves their cakes

catching up with these three lovely ladies, what a great afternoon!

visiting three gardens yesterday (more soon) as part of the NGS open days, and planning more visits

discovering film crew on the Common and spotting the following names on trailers (heart racing): Charles Dickens!, Mrs Ternan, Nelly – The Invisible Woman, a new BBC production about Dickens’ lover starring Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas

upon further research discovering that the film is shot in Southside House, a wonderful stately home near me that has reopened to public and I will be visiting very very soon

at last read Cold Comfort Farm which instantly became one of my top favorite books, followed by Conference at Cold Comfort Farm – not as great but still pretty funny, I will be starting Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm soon. I can be very obsessive so needless to say I also watched the very good BBC adaptation

being a big fan of Nancy Mitford I squeezed in Love in a Cold Climate with Rosamund Pike as Fanny – brilliantly adapted two great novels, this mini series combines the above title with Pursuit of Love

I am fearing the last episode of Mad Men series 5, I might have to re-watch it from the beginning, or go back to The Wire or Six Feet Under

watching Girls which is realistically brilliant

really looking forward to this cookbook by the wonderful Katie Quinn Davies

I spent a fab afternoon at V&A visiting the Ballgowns exhibition and fell head over heels in this Vivienne Westwood dress (reminded me of Miss Havisham), I was also very happy to see Lady Diana’s Elvis dress

The month has just started and it’s looking very busy indeed!

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