Happiness is....

Going around and around and around my ripple blanket.

Just for today mind you! I do like to be fickle.

After spending an age umming and ahhhing about what to do I finally decided to just go around and around in a rather ordinary way to highlight the beauty within.




Well the ripple within really, but to be honest just doing this is taking me 'for'ever....the balls of wool seem to be going down rather rapidly, but my blanket is growing ever so slooooowly.


At this rate I will have to buy some more yarn - if there is any left that is - just to get it to a decent 'wrappable' - is that a real word? Sounds good though, eh? - size!


But for today I am just content going around and around - even if it is very slooooow work.

xXx

ps. excuse the hobbit feet - hideous I know.

Welcome

{click on to enlarge}

...to Broadstairs.

Think that will be me avoiding for the month of August then!!

xXx

New Stuff

...for the pantry!!

Don't you just love the name - fluff?!? It sounds naughty and delicious all rolled into one.

OK, so not the most healthiest of products to stash away in the larder, but yum-mmmmy!!

Have I ever told you I have a 'thing' for American food products? No? Oh well - I do....hence all the pancakes and waffles I tend to make at the weekends.

Anyhow, so why so much fluff?? Love that name.

Well apart from being used to make the most amazing fudge I've also been assured that it is the most addictive thing from Lina at Linaloo and as my addiction for Whoopies has not subsided 'yet' nor my appetite then marshmallow fluff is the way to go....and the major ingredient needed for a whoopie filling.

So instead of dragging my lazy bones all the way over to the next town - a couple of miles away 'uh huh' told you I was lazy. I could even walk it! - where there is a Waitrose and where I have been told (by a very lovely and reliable source) that they stock 'fluff' I decided to order online from my all time favourite American sourced (internet) products shop.


Did you know........this is the place where Nigella gets some of her bits and bobs from for her pantry? - just keeping up with the Lawsons! - anyhow I kind of figured that whilst I was online - shopping that is - I may as well pop a couple of other things into my virtual basket.


Well I couldn't buy American and not include Reese's and Hershey's now could I.

And it does all look 'oh so' pretty nestled on the pantry shelves along side the homemade strawberry jam and cornflakes.




And for all you lucky folks that live in Aldershot, your very own shop (if you didn't already know) has opened up in your very own town - I will be popping in for a visit the next time I'm down!!

Have a fabulous day - got much planned??

I have the beach on one hand and a massive clear out on the other - I wonder which one we will end up doing??

ps. I've only dipped my finger into the raspberry fluff so far - it tastes like candy floss - though not as sticky.

xXx

Weekend Stuff

Creativity, new 'Twistable' crayons and a mirror for the dining room, making a dress for the middlest boo and snuggling under blankets, a spot of sewing and organising photos (about time!!) a new sugar bowl and constructing thingys, a wedding present and curling up in boxes and.........singing very loudly and ever so badly to Paloma Faith!!

Hope you had an amazing weekend too??

Here's to the first 'proper' week (for us) of the Summer hols - mid morning and we are all still in our jim jams......bliss!!

xXx

ps. is it just me that hates the new blogger 'new posting' technical stuff they've messed around with?? Things may get a little tense around here or I am going to stop blogging if I can't figure even the basics out!!

Today

The weather is getting to my head today so in search of therapy I headed down to the front earlier in hope that a walk and some fresh sea air would help clear some of the cobwebs away (and my headache) but even better I found masses of lavender that are grown in one of the seafront gardens and stood sniffing in the aromatic and healing scent plus with a little meander on the beach my muggy head has almost cleared.

Have a fabulous weekend - the school's are out, out, out..........yippee!!

~Hello pj's lazy mornings and staying up late sat underneath the stars!! ~

xXx

Making Whoopie

I made my first batch of Whoopie Pies last night.

Well I say first batch I did try and make a batch at the weekend (the egg free variety) and even though they were absolutely delicious they were also very flat and sticky - I have been assured sticky whoopies (in the pie variety!!) are the norm - though not very photogenic.


So last night I changed tactic and tried an oat whoopie hoping they would be a little less sticky and a lot more tactile - and they were 'whoopie!!'


Now if you're wondering what I wittering on about 'whoopie really, has she gone completely whoopie mad??' well no, whoopies are like little flattish cakey things which are sandwiched together with an out of this world whipped filling - not to be mistaken with macarons, because for me that just feels like too much hard work.



Honestly though 'whoopies' are fabulous darling!

I've had this book on order for an absolute age, ever since I first read about it over at Angry Chicken back in the land of......ages ago. Anyhow, it finally arrived last Friday and now the Tabiboo's have gone completely and utterly whoopie mad.


So OK I could of done an internet search for a whoopie recipe and 'yes' there are other books I probably could of ordered / borrowed, but to be honest - I'm a bit lazy in that department!!

Though if 'unlike' me you are not lazy (in that department) then get searching because these little babies are absolutely worth it 'oh yes' deliciousness in every mouthful - mmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmm!


Now all I need to do is locate myself some marshmallow fluff!!

Happy cooking.

xXx

Blossom Blouse

Well here it is.....my Sew Liberated Blossom Blouse.

Now before you ask the computer 'is' still down, but I've managed to retrieve some of my pictures so at least I can show you the finished article - kind of.

For you see this is a tale of many many parts.

Intrigued?? Well let me explain.

You see I made my blouse and 'oh' how very chuffed I was with myself - incredibly chuffed to be honest. The second makey thing I have 'ever' made for little old me - again me chuffed, pleeeease, big cheesy grin.......oh yes!!

But.....there's the but!! It just wasn't right.

No matter which way I turned it or tried it on it just didn't feel right. I guess the fabric didn't help - a very thick stiff linen which felt almost prickly soooooo not a Summer blouse at all I guess, but it wasn't just the fabric, it was something else.

The fit - perfect, the shape - 'oh so' perfect, but the sleeves.....way too blousy - do you know what I mean? I just felt like peasant over kill.

Probably didn't help (muttering under my breath) that I extended the sleeves slightly, but even taking them back to their original length (I feel) wouldn't of solved the problem.


And I just couldn't bring myself to pull it apart and start all over again - I just didn't have the heart. Especially as it was a very perfect fit everywhere else.

Also not being a dressmaker in any sense of the word at all I didn't know how to fix the problem. So I experimented!

No pictures (sorry) of my experimentation's as they were truly hideous.

Anyhow, first I put elastic in the cuffs to see if that would pull the blousyness of the sleeves in, but that just seemed to make them puff out and accentuate the sleeve even more.


Then I took all the elastic out of the sleeve, top and cuffs, but that just made the sleeves hang all loose and floppy.

Finally I decided to chop most of the sleeve off and sew a band of contrasting fabric around it's hem - though even this little sleeve still stuck out.....darn that stiff linen soooooo I then put a rather large pleat in to pull it all together and 'da dah' my Sew Liberated (kind of) Blossom blouse is finished!!!!!! Phew.


Despite all the faffing around I really love this blouse now though note to oneself ::

I will never use stiff linen again - not for anything that requires a wide or puffy sleeve.

Plus this blouse (because of the nature of the material) will be destined for my Autumn/Winter wardrobe as due to the prickliness of the fabric it will need a t-shirt or roll neck underneath - so watch out fall.

{you'll have to excuse the mucky mirror - it's one of those vintage distressed ones....plus nothing a little dusting wouldn't help either - ho hum!!)

I'm not deterred though - I'd love to make another one of these blouses (properly) but maybe in something a lot less ridged and a lot more feminine and floaty.

Well best tootle pip - much Summer holidaying to get planned to avoid moments of utter boredom....from the kids, not me!

Have a fabulous day - are you counting down this week as well?

xXx

Weekend Nothingness

Lazing in the sun, home brew, ripple, painted nails, a netted hideaway, flip flops, potting, crochet blankets hanging out to dry, caramel shortbread, a new book and posy of garden snipped flowers - can you see the spider hiding from the fly?

Simple. Relaxed. No pressure at all.

A perfect weekend filled with pure nothingness.

I hope you had a nothingness kind of weekend too?

xXx