Couldn't Help It!

Brownies, just needed one! Nigella's recipe (but I omitted the nuts)

One Extra

My amarylis doesn't want to stop, it seems to be growing a new flower. It's nice to get something that I hadn't bargained for.(photo will come later today!- or a lot lot later!!!!!)



I also thought I'd show you my duck, that I bought in Scotland, a few years ago, in a lovely gift/ housewares shop in I think Falkland (we'd just been to the Palace). We don't have anywhere suitable to put it in our apartment, but we do our best from letting it get broken. I usually don't like "tat" and "shmaydrays" and ornamounts but I seem to have a weak spot for birds and ducks! Although this is the only duck I own. Although many years ago in York, in a lovely gallery shop, my now husband and I used to covet these ceramic dogs, which were so artistic and gorgeous and handmade. But they were hundreds of pounds so we never got one of those. Luckily the duck was something like £12. (photo later today! - sorry v v late with this)

Valentine's Day Roses

I've had to miss a few of my evening classes, which has been all about making roses. So I'm trying to do it myself, with what I was shown in class, and my book by Peggy Porschen, which shows the same method.

I do prefer the guidance of the teacher. These roses are all work in progress.They are made using flowerpaste. They're different colours due to the assistant telling me the wrong thing (yet again). I wanted the dark pink ones. That's more my taste.

Somehow I've managed to post every day this month so far, don't think I'll be able to keep it up, as I'm trying to post interesting things, even if no one reads them (or purhaps leaves a comment!!!)

How About Orange?

Have you ever noticed how a certain colour can creep into your life? Even a colour that you detested as a child? I even like my children wearing this colour!

I've always avoided orange, but over the last few years I've started to build a fondness for it. It started with a plastic cup from Habitat for my son. (Orange was his favourite colour at the time, wih green).

Then I recently decided to get colourful kitchen accessories, when I had to replace anything.

And low and behold it was orange that caught my eye, not pink, too girly and obvious, not blue, just not right, but orange nice and cheerful.

Then, my faithful pink purse has had enough of being crammed full of change, receipts, advantage cards and so on and started to fall apart on me. Time for a new purse, I could have had black, purple, brown but once again orange seemed just right! (Purse from Oasis)

We need a rug and some cushions in our living room, it's all dark brown (sofa, bookcase) and I keep thinking a citrusey colour would work well. We'll have to see if I have the courage of my convictions!

PS I just wanted to credit Jess from the How About Orange blog for my cheeky title! If you like orange, she's the person to read!

Marmalade Cake

Couldn't resist, made the cake last night. It's a Marmalade Cake from Jane Asher's Beautiful Baking book.

Will give opinion when it's eaten for elevenses.

Smells nice though.

UPDATE

The cake was put through rigorous testing. First we cut a slice.

Then we put it on plates and ate away!!!

We thought it was a bit dry, the recipe said 30-35mins, so I looked at it at 30mins, and it was done, so next time, I'll check at 25mins, and I think that'd be perfect. Other than that a nice homely cake!

Soup!

Today I made one of my favourite soups, it's easy peasy from Ken Hom's Hot Wok book, just chinese leaves, mushrooms, stock, spring onions, chilli, s+p and coriander leaves. V V nice, plus you can add rice, noodles to give it more oomph!

I'm thinking about baking a Marmalade cake from Jane Asher's book, that I got at Xmas. I keep reading it, and getting a very hungry tummy!! Time to test it out I think! I'm also planning, in my head, a cake for Valentine's Day (the decorative bit) I want to do a stacked cake, but there's only 2 of us (plus 2 children) so it seems a bit excessive!!! I just want the practice!!! I have to get round to drawing it out on paper.

I've been Memed!!!!

I never even knew about this, but Mrs B tagged me. So here are the rules of the game:


1. Link to your tagger and post these rules. 2. Share 5 facts about yourself 3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them). 4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their Blogs.

Here are five facts about me:
1. Can't speak a foreign language very well, but would love to live in Europe (France/ Italy/ Spain)
2. Lifelong ambition to run the London Marathon
3. Would secretly (or not so) like to bake, sew, knit all day long, all by myself, yet still be the best mum in the world.
4. I've lived in both the North and the South of the UK but I love living by the sea most of all.
5. Get v paranoid and guilt ridden re global warming etc. I've changed all my lightbulbs, take reusable bags for shopping, switch everything off. Still feel v guilty though.

So the people I'm going to link to are:
http://ravenhill.typepad.com/weblog
http://houseonhillroad.typepad.com/my_weblog/
http://brambleramble.blogspot.com/
http://alittlehut.blogspot.com/
http://www.cakejournal.com/

They all have very unique and fantastic blogs, making v inspiring things. (to the people I've linked to, I hope you don't mind, as we're not necessarily well acquainted)