the {R}esurrection

Well, it's been a year...and a bit more.  What have I been up to since then?  Let me see...

My beautiful little boy, Dylan, was born on New Year's Day and growing him in my belly took up a lot of my energy last year, and now he's born, he takes up a lot of my time!  But I would like to resurrect my blog. I have lots to share and I promise it won't all about the baby!

So let's start anew and see where it goes....

xx

I {did} a cake!

This weekend called for only one thing - Banana Cake.  My favourite recipe is a basic banana bread recipe of Nigella Lawson's, although I adapt it because I never have dark rum, saltanas or walnuts in my house.

So here's what I used - everything just came from store cupboard:

175g plain flour

150g sugar (white caster or any type of brown sugar is also delish)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarb of soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

125g unsalted butter, melted (i do this in the microwave)

3 largish (approx. 300g), over-ripe bananas, mashed

50g dark chocolate broken up into smallish bits

1 tsp vanilla extract

Loaf tin

1. Preheat the oven to 170'C (fan)

2. Mix togther the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a medium sized bowl, just using your hands or a wooden spoon

3. In another bowl, mix together the melted butter and sugar by hand, until blended (this should only take a few seconds - another reason why I love this recipe is that I don't have to get my electric mixer out!!)

4. Next beat in the eggs, one at a time

5. Then tip in the mashed bananas, and stir together

6. I then went off piste, and added those chunks of chocolate and stirred them into the mix

7. Scrape into a loaf tin (mine was non-stick but I still buttered the sides), and put into the oven

8.  Cook for 1 hour, or until a skewer or knife comes out clean. 

You may need to cover the top with tin foil about 45 minutes into baking, just to prevent the top getting too brown (oops I forgot to do this - so decided to slap some cream cheese icing on the top!)

Voila - the finished result, jazzed up by a bunch of Muscari from the garden.





Wishing you a scrumptious Sunday x

Second thoughts...

...I'm thinking about changing the look of my blog.  I like a bit of whimsey as much as the next person, but I'm starting to get tired of looking at this.  Time for a change.  Time for something cleaner with a large photo capacity.  Now I just have to figure out how.

That's all.

{Woop-de-doop} for Collective Nouns

Don't you just love a good, old fashioned collective noun?  A colony of bats, for example, or perhaps a herd of elephants.  Now imagine how much more fun they could be if turned into colourful prints for your wall!  Well, someone has made your wildest imagination come true...and they are...Woop Studios.

Now, this next part is like being an ickle me in a joyful old fashioned sweet shop, back in 1984.  What to choose?  Well, here are some of my faves to share with you.

A {BLOAT} of Hippos - how appropriate.  What a fun print!  Their googley eyes make me laugh.

A {CIRCUS} of Puffins - what a wonderful circus this would be.  I love the colours on this print - it reminds me of both the English seaside, and old book illustrations.  Maybe old London Underground posters too.

A {MURMURATION} of Starlings - wow, what a word!  Again, loving the colours here.

A {BALE} of Turtles - I think I'm in a sea-green mood today!

A {COMFORT} of Cats - just had to include the catties.

A {GAZE} of Racoons - love these little guys.  Look at them gazing at you!

An {AURORA} of Polar Bears - reminds me of the glacier mints.

A {PARLIMENT} of Owls - oh what a hoot (sorry), to think of Owls in the Houses of Parliment :)

A {KENNEL} of Dogs - j'aime those chiens!

And finally, (I don't want to stop, but I must), A {PECCADILLO} of Kisses - mmwah!

{all images from http://www.woopstudios.com/)

Prints range from £69.00 to £349 depending on size and whether you choose to purchase framed or unframed.  All are limited edition.  They would look fab in any nursury or child's bedroom, or indeed, anywhere in the house.  These are going on my {Want List}, pronto!

{WOOP} for Woop Prints!

xXx

What's In My Handbag?

I noticed today that my handbag is currently rather full, so I thought it would be {FUN} to do a "What's in my handbag?" bloggy post.  So here goes (just click on the pics for a super-size view):

Here's my bag - it's by Kipling and is the Bonaire style bag.  My mum & dad bought it for my birthday just gone and I love it.  I wasn't so sure about the colour at first but now I love it - it's so fun.  It also has zillions of pockets and is pretty cavernous.

Let's start with the front pocket which contains various make-up items that I've been using over the past month or so.  I pop them in here for easy access and never seem to get around to clearing it out.  I don't wear all this every day! 

So we have from left to right: 

• Mac Tinted Lip Conditioner in 'Plum Perfect' - this is what I reach for when I'm feeling a little washed out and want a natural but kissable slick of colour on my lips.  It's moisturising too and smells a bit like chocolate.  Yummers!
• Rosebud Salve - a slick of this on dry lips creates an instantly lush, translucent, shiny pout.  Bit like Vaseline but sexier.  Smells of delicate rose petals.  You can buy this in the UK now for about £6.  I actually bought this in NYC about 5 years ago and still haven't reached the bottom.   I have two more pots in reserve - at this rate I won't be using them until I'm, about 45!  Haha.
• Laura Geller Matte Maker invisible oil blotting power - a dusting of this a couple of times a day keeps me shine-free :) 
• Mac Mineralize Skinfinish in 'Light Flush' - I think this is a Limited Edition, but it doesn't really matter because it's a baked product and is likely to last for yonks.  I don't use this too often - just if my blush needs a bit more of a glow to it.
• Few tester strips from SpaceNK - I think one had a Tocca fragrance and the other Tom Ford's Black Orchid, which I desperately want but don't have the spare ££ to buy :(

Next!

From left to right:

• Lancome Juicy Tube in - erm, I have no idea cuz it's a small size.  Smells like Strawberry though.  It's got pink and gold sparkles in it.
• Smashbox lipgloss in 'Enhance' - does what it says on the tin and in enhances my natural lip colour.  I really love this but I'm running out.  I hope finding a replacement doesn't prove too difficult.
• Clarins lipgloss - not sure of the name of it, but it's colour number 07.  My sister-in-law bought it for me as a gift and it's a lovely rosy plum colour with sparkles.  Non-sticky too which I like.
•  Clinique Long Last Glosswear in 'Air Kiss' - I got this free on the cover of this month's Glamour magazine.  It's quite sweet, but a bit too pale for me.  I'll still wear it though.
• Nars lipgloss in 'Metis' - Nars to an incredible range of colours and some of them are genius.  This is one of them.  Love it despite it being a bit more neutral than I'd normally go for.
• Stila Lipgloss in 'Nutmeg Spice' - this has a lovely shimmer and tastes of Nutmeg :)  Looks great when wearing camel or nude colours.
• Bobby Brown Shimmer Brick in 'Rose' - like the Mac Mineralise, I use this to make my usual blush that much more ethereal and lovely.  This one is lasting me forever.
• You can also just see my retro-print Orla Kiely make-up bag - the contents of which I'll divulge another time.  The makeup listed above is basically all the stuff that won't fit in the make-up bag, haha.

 Moving on to inside the bag:

Inner pocket just contains a random bunch of essential stuff: 

• Chewing gum - it's gotta be spearmint
• Teeny brush
• Hairclip and hairband
• Earphones
• L'Occitaine handcream - love this one (Peony).  It smells amazing and it was free on the cover of a magazine!
• A random hoop earring
• Vial of Tubereuse Couture fragrance which I love love love (perfumes are an addiction of mine), but once again, I cannot justify buying a full bottle of.  This is where Les Scenteurs comes in so useful...they post out samples for cheaps!

What else?  In the main body of the bag I have...

• Neutrogena Healthy Skin liquid make-up in 'Buff' - my current foundation which is so-so on its own, but fantastic when mixed with Clarins Beauty Flash balm. Apparently this foundation is a drug-store dup of Nars' Sheer Glow foundation.  Not so sure that's true, but it works for me with the added Flash Balm
• Impulse body spray - not my favourite smell ever but good for a quick freshen up
• My Chloe wallet which has proved to be a good investment.  I've been using this for about 4 years now and has easily paid for itself (which actually was only about £100 in the House of Fraser half price sale!).  If I didn't have it, I'm sure I would've spent tonnes more on cheap random purses over those 4 years.

And there's more...

 Some yummy Acid Drops from an old fashioned sweet shop in Tenby, Wales - these used to be one of my faves when I was little. 

• And also a bottle of Balenciaga Paris which my sister-in-law generously got me for Christmas.  It's a violet scented fragrance which is usually too sweet for me, but I rather like this.  I have a squirt when I want to smell posh.

• An apple which I didn't get around to eating at work.  Of course if this was a chocolate bar and not an apple, I wouldn't have had an trouble 'getting around' to it.
• Benefit's 'Maybe Baby' fragrance which I've recently rediscovered.  It's pretty cheap so I spray it quite liberally when I need to freshen up.  It's lasting power isn't great so it's just as well that it doesn't cost the earth.
• My glasses for tired computer eyes
• Laura Mercier 'Star Dust' loose setting powder which I didn't realise I had until a few weeks back.  I'm learning to quite like this despite it's slight shimmer.  Not quite as beloved as her Translucent powder but considering I didn't know I had it, I'm quite chuffed with my find because frankly I don't have money to buy a replacement LM Translucent powder these days.

And finally my car keys, and

...a Kipling monkey that came with the bag.  This one is called 'Fleur' and she sucks her thumb - haha.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my bag contents.  What I have learned is that (a) this bag hold a {LOT} and it still has room for plenty more and (b) I have quite an obsession with perfumes and make up...hee hee.  Not something that's ever going to change, I'm sure.

Byesy-bye for now xoxo

Ps. Sorry for the drab colours in the shots.  Light hasn't been too forthcoming today *sigh*

No {Spring} Skips Its Turn

It's March 20th and Spring has sprung, yay (and I mean literally - I had some sweet pea pods hanging out in a bowl in my dining room, and today they decided to uncurl themselves and literally POP! open scatting their seeds everywhere - amazing!).

To celebrate the obvious change in season, I have gathered together my first posy of flowers of the year from my garden.

Amongst the collection gathered were:

1. Some of my beloved hellebores, which incidentally match a treat with my wallpaper

2. Good old Daffodills of various colours and sizes

3. Pink Hyacinths which smell like the beginings of Spring

4. A sprig of yellow Forcythia, which hasn't done so well this year. Perhaps I didn't prune it - hmm

4. Some other willow shrubby sprigs; and finally

5. A few tufts of a favourite mauve perennial Wallflower which has honestly been flowering all Winter.  Amazing.

It was kinda gloomy out today so the light wasn't great for piccie taking.  But that's OK - let's embrace the washed out colours, shall we?

I love this little shot of the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park that I took when there was thick snow on the ground and bright blue skies.  I love these cute frames too - it's like a big wedge of perspex that you put the photo behind.  I have two more that I'm saving but just cannot decide what pics to pop in them.  I got them from Paperchase a few years back - maybe you can still get them?

Back to the flowers - I had some shorter stems which didn't quite fit into the larger vase, so these got popped into this sweet little set of glasses & holder which I brought back with me from Morocco.  The only things I ever use it for are decoration and as little vases.

The photo to the right is my Nana - looking at her face in that photo is like looking the mirror.  It's scary, haha.

I hate hiding flowers behind curtains once they're drawn in the evenings, so I decided to pop these on the bookcase in the dining room.

This shelf in particular houses some of my fave books - a mixture of wonderful Folio Society books, precious vintage children's books and encyclopedias of plants and photographs.  Oh and even a little photo book of our wedding day that I got made by Bob Books.  It's only Volume I, mind you.  In the 3 years since our wedding, I haven't yet had another spare £50 to make Volume II!  Haha.

I don't really know who this little guy is - my husband keeps it in memory of his dad, who previously owned it.  Good enough reason to give him space on such a prestigious bookshelf :)

So in the weeks to come, my time will rapidly get taken over by the garden and our allotment.  Hubby has already hacked back the apple trees - quite harshly in fact, I hope they recover for next year (I think they are done for this year sadly).  I'm looking forward to blogging about the garden throughout these coming months - don't worry, I don't bore you with it too much.  I have other interests too - however, a gardener's work is never done, and neither is a bloggers.

I hope you managed to get out and enjoy some Spring sunshine this weekend.  Until next time...xoxo

Ps. I haven't actually started publicising this blog yet, so if you're reading then, yay, someone found me!  I suppose I wanted to get some content on here before name dropping it, and also build up a bit of blogging momentum.  I'm thinking about spreading the word soon though.  In the meantime, thanks for reading and I hope you like it enough to come back x

Opposable Thumbs

I had such a fun time in Wales last week.  One of our little daytrips was to Anna Ryder-Richardson's zoo!  Yes, that's Anna Ryder-Richardson from Changing Rooms fame.  (Little memory jogger picture for you...)

And that picture also contains a clue as to who my favourite animal friends were at the zoo.

The Lemurs!  At Anna's zoo you can walk through their enclosure and chum with them.  Unfortunately you're not allowed to pet them, but they're allowed to pet you!

Here's Captain Grizzles (ACTUAL name)...

He likes to just pootle along, ignoring the humans - that is unless the human stupidly puts their coffee on the bench in order to take a photo - perfect chance for an opportunistic lemur like The Captain to get a quick caffeine fix. (Oops, I got a bit told off by the keeper for that one).  Incidentally, that picture above was taken post-caffeine fix.  I'm struggling to see any evidence of it having much effect, unless that is a face of sheer delerium and delight!

  

Then there's this little guy who likes to stick his tongue out at the paps...

...and then do his Elvis impression.

 Some refused to wake up despite a lens being shoved in their face...

Whilst others did a spot of sunbathing - body and face soaking up the Spring sunshine...

And it seems they have a penchant for mobile phones and sunglasses too - this naughty ring-tailed lemur made an instant grab for both my mobile and sunglasses as soon as I laid them on the ground.  I had visions of having to make an insurance claim for the loss of my mobile phone due to a lemur theft!!

This is him subtley making a grab for my phone (bottom right of the pic)...he was cunningly trying to divert my attention from the {lemur robbery} by gazing into my eyes (well, lens)...



Look at that sneaky face.  You can tell he's planning his next robbery - which happened to be theft of my camera directly out of my hands! 

Lemurs are just so funny.  It's a shame that they're very sadly endangered as they'd made fantastically funny pets (ignoring the chaos, naughtiness and scent-marking in the house, of course).  It's the opposable thumbs you see.  Pets with opposible thumbs have a definite first-class entertainment factor.  So isn't it lucky then that cats will soon be available with opposable thumbs.