7/3/12- The gift of cake

A friend made me a lovely earl gray tea loaf recently- what a cute way to wrap it up!

1/2/12- Yup, thats cold.

February is upon us, and here in England its cold. This is the coldest week this winter I believe, with lows getting to -8 in our area. Yikes. 

If you've never had the pleasure of experiencing that damp cold, you may think -8 is not so bad, but the way that everyone describes it is "the cold goes right through your bones". 

Days are looking like this...

So on days like this, its nice to make some homemade scones with some lovely jelly. 

I made Mary Berry's scone recipe, which worked out perfect! 

31/1/12- Perfection?

I tend to read a lot of blogs. The majority of them are similar to mine- daily musings, baking, cooking, travel, fashion. (Though I don't really talk about fashion, I do enjoy reading about it). 

At one time I was following so many blogs, that it got to the point that I wasn't even reading the posts, but scanning quickly to get onto the next one. Seems wrong. So I've cut back, and only follow a small handful. I've gone back to the days of enjoying blogs, taking time to comment, and trying suggested recipes or DIY. 

One thing that I've always noticed with the blogs I've read is the perfection of bloggers and what they do. No one seems to blog about a bad day... Would the reader be interested in a ruined outfit, a loaf of bread thats not risen properly, or a rainy day in paradise? Do we read blogs to divulge into the perfect-well organized-good looking-quaint-twee-always baked to perfection- lives of others?

This past week I tried and failed a number of new recipes. New dinner recipe- failed. Lemon curd- failed. Onion marmalade- failed. Macaron filling part 1- failed. But did I blog about these failed attempts? Nope. I will try them again, and share my successes with you. 

Funny isn't it?

Rose macarons with a lemon buttercream filling

8/1/12- The Perfect Mix DIY

A couple of weeks before Christmas a friend and I got together to create some holiday gifts. 

I didn't post photos at the time as I know some people that read this blog, were getting one of these. Now that Christmas has passed, and gifts were given and received I thought I'd share what we created. 

My friend found this idea on another blog (where many DIY ideas are found these days!). We created "The Perfect Mix", all the important items needed for a good cup of hot chocolate. 

Simple and cute... See the steps below. 

15/12/11- Homemade love

As mentioned in a previous post, a friend and I got together recently to do a little crafting to make some homemade gifts. 

Every Christmas season I have a enlightened moment where I consider whipping up fantastic homemade gifts for family and friends, but the moment leaves and I don't do it. Saying that, I always make truffles to give away and have been doing so for years and years, but would love to do more. 

I also spoke to a friend the other day who is giving away homemade gingerbread, shortbread and Baileys. (Homemade Baileys! I had no idea!!! I think I have to try that just for fun). What a great idea.

I'm thankful for the motivation from my friend to create these gifts, of which both turned out perfect! 

So...do you create any homemade gifts for friends and family? Do you have an annual treat that you make each year to give away?

A little peek at our creations. Apologies for the poor image. The flash on my lovely camera decided to stop working and I am now left with poor photos and no camera. Boo.

9/12/11- Christmas Crafting

Last night my friend and I got together to create some Christmas gifts for friends. We made a few very cute gifts that she had found on a blog. (Oh blogs, what would we do without you?)

Cute Christmas crafts deserves great supplies. 

We went to the local quilting shop in her town to find some fabric, and what a treat! This was no ordinary quilting shop. The building which it was located in was well preserved and loved. 

The floors, ceiling, lights- and all the little touches around the store were beautiful. 

Now, you may want to see what we created...but I will have to save those pics till the gifts are given. I don't want any recipients to see the photos on here in advance of Christmas!

8/12/11- Gingerbread house time!

Yesterday I had the pleasure to make a gingerbread house with my cousins children. Oh so fun! 

I purchased one of those pre-made kits, as though I do love to bake, I am not an architect. ha! The thought of making each piece to an exact size was too much- maybe another year.  

The kiddies did a great job of decorating, I was the builder of the house and icing squeezer. 

Do you make a gingerbread house every year? 

'Look! There's the one I put on'

24/10/11- Life Made Lovely Monday- Vinyasa

Lululemon has to be my number one fave store here in Canada. I adore it all, but have to restrain myself from buying excessively when I go there. 

They have a great scarf in store these days called the 'Vinyasa scarf' which is made of a lovely jersey material, and has snaps for closure. I love it, but my crafty brain said 'You could make that!' (Does anyone think this too?)

So I went to the fabric store to get some rather inexpensive jersey fabric to give it a try. My Mom also has a fantastic new sewing machine here, a nice change from the old girl in England.

A short time later (hand sewing on the snaps took the longest!) I had my very own Vinyasa inspired scarf :D Happy days! 

(Teaming up with Life Made Lovely today for this domestic moment)

(Lovely plaid shirt I have on isn't it? No, just cause I am home in Canada does not mean I wear plaid, it just happened!)

26/9/11- Oreo

The other day I whipped up these homemade oreos, a recipe I found via Canadian Livings Pinterest, via Flour Child. 

They were SO easy to make, and delicious. If you check out the original recipe and read her commentary on the cookies, you will want to make them too. 

19/9/11- Life Made Lovely Monday- Zipper-de-do-da!

Today I am linking up with 'Life Made Lovely Monday', sharing the lovely-ness it is to install a zipper!

I am working my way through the Amy Butler 'Style Stitches' book, with my first project the Cosmo Bag shown here. (Which I use all the time, and have received some nice compliments on). 

I skipped the second project, as it wasn't really a style of bag that would suit me. So next was the Origami bag set. 

This pattern gave you six different bag sizes to sew, and I tried the small and medium sizes. 

Like last time, I also followed along using Jem Jams blog to guide me, as she always has helpful photos and notes about each step.

I admit, I was nervous in installing the zipper...I don't think I've ever sewed a zipper, and without my Mom to help me I wasn't sure if I could do it! I shared some frustrations with my sewing cousin, and glad I wasn't the only one that found zippers annoying. I broke about four needles in the process of learning, but later found out that was my 1970's machine acting up, and had nothing to do with the zipper.

Once I got the hang of the zipper foot, it was a breeze! You will see the finished product below- and may notice I used some of the Cosmo bag fabric on this project. 

I whipped up two of these bags no problem, and even made two more just this past weekend. (In an afternoon!). A few tiny details to alter for my next zipper project, but all and all I think I am over my fear! :)

15/9/11- Sewing woes

So after being inspired by Teka's blog post about her skirt, I decided to whip up a skirt of my own. I got inspiration from both this blog, and this fuller version. 

After making a few bags I am feeling more confident about my sewing machine, which is very exciting and slightly addictive. The material I chose was a nice grey color, with a bit of sheen. Because it was a wee bit sheer, I even sewed in a lining. Whoop whoop!  

So this is what the skirt looks like in the end. 

I have mixed feelings about it. It goes just below my knees which I think is a bit too long, so I will have to shorten it. I love that it has a bit more body, as I prefer a more gathered 50's style look. However, at the same time it's the fullness of the skirt that I am unsure about. I think any skirt you make with a elastic waistband has this sorta 'bulgy look', but I am unsure if I may have put too many gathers round the waistband. 

(Oh, and I didn't make the waistband tight enough, so its too big for me!)

For you sewing gurus out there, what do you think? Any suggestions?

12/9/11- Farmhouse White

On this blustery Monday I had a bit of time to make some bread. I had found this recipe for Farmhouse White bread on Pinterest, and I believe it was Canadian Living where the recipe came from.

Oh Canadian Living :)

Anyways, this recipe used milk instead of water which was new for me...I would also normally make a granary (whole wheat) loaf, but wanted to try a plain white loaf. I have a fantastic bread book called "Dough" that I often use for bread, however its always nice to try something new. 

The bread tastes delish, and I am happy with the consistency of the bread and the crust texture. Only concern was it did not rise as high as I would have liked. My sleuthing makes me think it could do with the warmth of the kitchen, as it could have been a touch warmer. 

22/8/11- Cosmo Complete!

The Cosmo bag is complete!

I blogged about this project earlier on this week, and completed it today. These aren't the best photos, but you get an idea of how the first project went.

The bag was labeled as 'easy' in the book, and once I got the hang of the instructions and the many many pieces, it was a great starter project. I also got some help from this blog Jem Jam, as she had some great photos of the many steps involved.

Overall shape & look of the bag:


The side view & exterior pocket:


The inside lining, which also has four side pockets:


The bag is very roomy and I love how it turned out. Onto project two!

18/8/11- Cosmo

I received this beautiful sewing book for my birthday last month, and this week decided to take on the first bag.


Amy Butler has included some beautiful bags in this book, and I love the patterns of her fabrics. I was a bit nervous starting such an intense project, as though I love to sew, it's been ages since I used a pattern. I was so surprised to see that the patterns she uses are just normal paper, not the flimsy tissue paper style like the old days. (I know, for those of you that sew you are probably thinking- paper patterns have been around for ages! This just tells you the last time I used a pattern).


The first bag I will be making is the Cosmo Bag- which is seen on the front cover of her book. So far, its going pretty well! I don't plan to show you the step by step process, but will share the final result with you. Here are the fabrics I chose...


I LOVE the pretty skull/rose pattern on the one fabric. It's got that nice mix of tough & pretty.

15/8/11- Life made lovely- a bit of cushion

On my bike ride with Betsy (fyi Betsy is my bikes name) yesterday I had my purse, and some other bits and bobs in my basket. Loving that basket, as its so handy to have. I found however that there was some rattling around, and my bits were creating an unpleasant noise in my basket. Not what you want on a lovely sunday ride.

I decided to whip out the sewing machine when I got home to create something to alleviate this issue.



I am not a professional seamstress by any means (what's that saying- "Don't quit your day job"), but I do enjoy it and that is what matters right? So without a pattern or any internet influence I took my leftover Liberty fabric, and whipped up this little diddy.



Sure, call it a pillow, or maybe it looks like a chair cushion but I don't care! It has a pocket for my mobile, camera and keys. The best part is, it stops that jingling and jangling that was happening before. :) (I will be taking orders if you want a bike basket pillow for your bike. hah! Kidding).

Linking up with Heather for...

Cinnamon. 3/7/11

I made this very odd looking cinnamon pull apart loaf today...I got the recipe from Dinner with Julie a Canadian blogger that posts some amazing recipes.

This was interesting to make, and turned out great! (However, I think that certain types of baking does not photograph well. Take a look at Julies website to see how it really looks ;)

My Mom arrives tomorrow for a few weeks of quality time. I'm excited to have her here, and therefore may be posting a little less.

Stylish- 29/6/11

I was so very lucky to get some beautiful and thoughtful gifts for my birthday...(which reminds me I've not share many Paris photos!). Birthdays make a girl feel so special don't they!

I made my first drink with this yesterday morning, a latte macchiato. It was amazing! I think it was better than some coffee that you'd pay for in a cafe!

Does anyone else have one of these? What is your fave drink? How did you live without it?

Taste of Britain Tuesday- Victoria Sponge. 28/6/11

A exciting day here at "This is Great Britain", the first installation of Taste of Britain Tuesdays.

Every tuesday will feature a British food (or drink), allowing me to share with you a recipe that is quintessentially British. There are so many different foods here than at home, why not share them?!

Today's first Taste of Britain Tuesday (or TBT in short) is Victoria Sponge cake by Nigella Lawson.

It's a beautiful and light cake, and perfect for raspberry season- right now. I have a baking guru here in the UK that I am lucky to know. She bought me these double cake tins, used for a layered cake such as this. She's also shown me the beauty of creaming very hard butter and sugar, and whipping up a cake without a recipe. She also explained that making a layered cake does not always need to be for an event, but just a regular day. I agree.

Chutney 16/6/11

Yes, this post is about chutney.
I have a friend here who is such a lovely domestic goddess- so inspiring! She made this tomato chutney the other day and gave me this lovely little jar of it yesterday.

(Chuntey- like bread- does not photograph well. But believe me, its delish)

Have you ever made chutney? Jams or preserves? I am so interested to do it, but would love to hear if you've dabbled in this process.

5/6/11

I walked by this wardrobe set at a charity shop the other day- isn't it unique!? I would take a certain type of interior decor to house something like this, but I think it could be quite interesting in the right home.