A Weekend At Home

I’ve had a lovely weekend at home. Some cleaning and tiding along with baking and making.

On Saturday I decided to make some more marmalade- this is my 3^rd batch and I probably won’t make any more this year (it seems to take a long time!) My marmalade is popular amongst family and friends so I use it for gifts. 

I use a Rachel Allen recipe whereby you boil up the fruit first and then remove pulp, liquidise then add back to the pan.

  I love to use labels and covers to make them pretty! 

I'm cooking for family today so I bought some fresh berries to make a special dessert for after Sunday lunch.

 This cake is made using a combination of recipe's so I guess its kinda my own creation. A rich chocolate sponge base with creme fraiche and fresh berries on top- perhaps some cream on the side to serve! yum.

I hope you've all had a nice weekend x

Craft Caravan

Lots of people have a 'craft room' or 'craft corner' in their homes, however I don't have a spare room for my crafting so instead I have a 'craft caravan'. My caravan has been neglected lately as I haven't had much free time at home, when not working we have been away on the boat. So on my day off I decided to give my caravan a 'freshen up' so that hopefully I will be spending more time in there on crafty projects. 

 (it was a dull and rainy day so apologies for the poor photos)

As you can see the caravan needs a good tidy and a bit of a de clutter- but despite the stacks of fabric, beads, buttons etc I know where everything is! I love spending time in here.

 

Whilst cleaning the caravan and moving piles of magazines and cushions I decided that I need to revamp the little caravan starting with some new curtains. I have enough curtain tape left from making curtains for the boat so decided to look through my hoard of fabric and find something to use. I found 2 vintage bed sheets bought from the charity shop for a grand total of £1.95, so all I need to buy is some lining fabric.

 The fabric is retro/vintage but luckily in very good condition so perfect to hang at the caravan windows. The brown/mustard colour should match the original caravan seat cushions well. 

I'm excited to get making and see the end result!

Thanks for reading and welcome to my new followers x

Crochet- Cookies- Canals- Cath

4 things I've been enjoying........

my random crochet blanket- one row of each colour

baking and eating cookies

a week away; Selby to Ripon on the canals and rivers

visiting the Cath Kidston shop in York!

x

When not at work we have been spending time on the new boat 'Lady Lou' we have had a lot of cleaning to do and jobs to complete but it’s coming together nicely. 

I made some scones in the boat oven to test its baking potential and was pleased with the results- the scones took longer than usual to cook but they were also on the larger side!

I’ve began the marathon task of making the curtains for Lady Lou. With the help and advice from my mum we decided on a Taupe Spot fabric, the chosen fabric was from Cath Kidston but at £20 per meter was an expensive option. After a quick shop around I found some almost identical fabric from Clarke & Clarke at only £8.50 per meter. The quality of the fabric is lovely and I’m pleased with the end  result-    only 6 more windows to go!

 

I also enjoyed the tiny glimpse of sunshine we had by having afternoon tea at my Mum’s lovely garden shed.

 Thanks for reading x

A week away

This week I have been staying at my Dad's house (we are house sitting and looking after his dogs while he's on holiday) His house is in Lancashire in the middle of nowhere (30mins to a shop) so it has been a quiet and long week! The countryside is beautiful, but unfortunately the weather has been horrible meaning a lot of time has been spent in doors. So I have been reading, baking, crafting and looking out of the window. 

My week in photos:

This is the view out of the kitchen window, showing the farmers moving the sheep and lambs.

Watching the birds at the bird table.

Baking a simple but tasty orange cake.

Crocheting granny squares for my latest project.

 

Finding a lovely book in the charity shop for only £2

 

Visiting my mum- we had a lovely day and enjoyed 'coffee & cake' with this lovely 

Lemon Curd Cake baked by mum.

I hope you've all had a nice week despite the weather x

Afternoon Tea

A couple of weeks ago I visited Hebden Bridge (a quirky little town in West Yorkshire.) There are lots of independent shops, one of which is a shop that sells traditional toys, sweets and old fashioned cosmetics and kitchen wear- a nice shop for unusual gifts. I went upstairs and got a great surprise....a 40s style tea room had appeared!

Unfortunately it was closed. I took the opportunity to take some photos to share with you. I think they have styled it simply and beautifully- I've always dreamed of having my own tearoom one day and this is how I imagine it!

The pretty china, rustic flowers and 'Ration Book Menus' all add to the style.

I'm sure you will agree this looks a lovely place to step back in time and enjoy afternoon tea!