Top Tip

As long as I can remember I've always had a fascination and have been interested in 'old wives tales' - or the labour saving concoctions and devices from generations long gone.

Anything and everything has gone down in my little mental note book.

Grandmothers tips passed down within the family. Over heard conversations between older ladies at the bus stop. Shared advice from friends and colleagues. Old notes, diaries, scrap books and pieces of paper that fall out of long ago once forgotten cook books, uncovered from lost family members or routing around in junk shops.

I keep everything.

You know - the kind of life saving top tips on how to clean 101 things with lemon juice or how bicarb is a fantastic scouring agent. Leaving white linen out to dry in the sun to help with bleaching or lavender to ward off moths and conkers to deter spiders.

And many, many, many more.

Well my top tip, the one I've discovered from raising babes by the coast - and a sandy coast at that - is talcum powder.


Now I know it gets a bad press, talc that is - or was that the new 'no, no' like eating shark and tuna when I was pregnant with the little Boo? The rules are forever changing.

Anyway. Talc is an absolute essential if you're planning a day out at a sandy beach.

It is the best (and only thing I know) in getting off that tricky, sticky, stuck in between the toes (and everywhere else) sand.

And it has been an absolute life saver in coaxing little ones feet back into their shoes, sandals, socks or flip flops at the end of a day on the beach.

If you have little ones then I know you will appreciate how difficult it can be trying to get them to put any item of clothing back on again. But when you add 'uncomfortable' into the mix then forget it - those feet are not going back in.........for anyone.


Plus it's so painful walking in footwear with sandy feet don't you think? I hate it, can't think of anything more irritating to my feet - so why would I expect my children to.

There you have it - my little top 'beachy' tip passed on to you.

So if you're heading to the beach this Summer and you know sand is going to factor into the equation then talc is your new best friend.

Even friends that came home from spending the past three years living on a beach in OZ - with children may I add - were agog when I started sprinkling talcum powder onto the kids feet just before we left the beach and put their shoes back on.

Magic dust for the beach I think they called it.

So when you pack the beach bag make sure you pop a container along side the sun block and floppy hats - it is one of my top life saving (moment) solutions and I would honestly be completely lost without it.

How about you. Do you have any top tips?

xXx

Cherries

The eldest Boo came home from a friends house yesterday evening huffing and puffing laden down with what looked like a very heavy carrier bag.

I say this in a casual kind of way - as if it's an every day occurrence.

Just trying to get our eldest to carry a dirty sock to the laundry basket is more effort then he can cope with!


More crap - I muttered under my breath as I caught a glimpse of the bag in hand.

'I thought I told you no more swapsies!' mumble, mumble, mumble. 'You're not Noel bleeding Edmond's - don't you know!'

And..........

'You're late' I grumbled at him as he closed the front door.

'But muuummmmmmm' he wailed 'I had to wait'

'My friends mum wanted you to have these' thrusting the carrier bag in my direction.

~ Cue squeal ~

'CHERRIES' I uuummmmmmm, squealed!

A bag full of wonderful, fresh, red ripe cherries. Oh my goodness - you beautiful, beautiful boy.

(Teach me to be one of those nagging parents)

The only tricky part of this story was trying to get the smallest Boo to keep still while I took some pictures. Cherries are her achilles heal!

The colander was quite full though, but she did do a wonderful job - holding, keeping still and not diving into her temptation.

I still had to bribe her with the odd cherry - or two.

Now they are sat on the side in their beautiful mint green colander winking at me every time I walk past - what to do with them, what to do with them - apart from eat......of course.

Any ideas?

xXx

Now that's what I call......

~ SUMMERY ~

I hope you're not suffering too badly with the heat today - if you have it that is.


Just pictures and not many words from me today as I am suffering with a horrible, horrible cold.

So much for me saying (tongue in cheek) my friend has flu.....in June!


Which also explains why I was feeling (and acting) so crabby last week.

I think I may of had the symptoms of a jolly good old cold, but thought it was just plain old hay fever so suppressed any manifestation with anti histamine. If that's at all possible?


Until last Friday night that is when it all just came to a (sneezing) head - so I'm sat here today (sweating it out) feeling rotten and very sorry for myself.

So I will love you and leave you now. Have a lovely day and I do hope you get to enjoy some of the sunshine - here's leaving you with some more summery pictures.

xXx

Nina x

Progress

Not quite my ankles, but I've had my toes out today - definite progress I would say.

I've spent the past two days trying to organise a certain princesses very messy bedroom - if you have a six year old princess you will know exactly what I mean.

Two bin bags later and it still doesn't look I've done a thing. In fact if anything........it looks worse!


So at lunchtime I decided to take some time out and sit on the back doorstep nursing a cup of decaff and the latest Marie Claire that conveniently plopped through the letterbox this morning.


Have a beautiful weekend and I hope to come back next week feeling a little (hopefully a lot) cheerier!

Nina xxx

Tiffin

~ Pistachio, fig and rose Tiffin ~

From this months (June) Sainsbury's magazine.


Just...........


........because!


And I like the colours.


When only chocolate and a good colour combination will do.

xXx

I searched everywhere online and couldn't find the recipe or even came close to the method so unless anyone minds me sharing..............?

~ Pistachio, fig and rose Tiffin ~

200 ml double cream
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp rosewater
350g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids) in pieces
250g unsalted shelled pistachios
7 dried figs - chopped

1. Line a very lightly greased 16cm square tin with clingfilm. In a pan warm the cream with the sugar and rosewater, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Melt the chocolate in the method you prefer and stir in the cream until incorporated. Add the remaining ingredients and fold together. Press into the tin until smooth over the top and chill for at least 4 hours.

2. Lift the slab from the tin, turn on to a chopping board and peel away the clingfilm. Cut into 20 pieces.

Enjoy.

Organized

With the rain beating down on the roof tops today I thought it would be a good excuse to get myself a little organized.

Naaaaaaah - only joking!

Well not about the rain or the getting organized bit because..............I've had these labels for over a week or so now.

So it's not strictly something I've been doing today.

I discovered them a couple of weeks ago whilst doing a little internet shopping hopping - don't you just love that phrase - shopping hopping?

Or should that be 'hopping shopping?'............I've just made that up by the way.

Anyhoo, staying on the love theme - how cute are these?

Sorry I meant to say practical and functional and all those other sensible words.

They are cute though and you can order them to your specific requirements.

These are just a few I ordered.

I had a shuffle around the kitchen and pantry and chose the words I wanted to symbolised and make certain items stand out without stating the really obvious like - the butter is in the butter dish or sugar in the sugar bowl.

Except that is exactly where they are kept........of course. I hope that makes sense?


Anyhoo, on a completely different note - Thank you for all your lovely messages yesterday and sorry for the grumps.

It was so nice to feel that I am not the only one that is 'a little' crabby at the moment with the good old British weather.

I do worry sometimes (and ask myself a lot) if I'm saying the right or wrong things or if I may be a little misconstrued.


Because - I know it's June, I know it can be unpredictable, I know the rain is good for the garden, I know it was glorious in April. I just can't help but get a little carried away sometimes.

Anyway it's not good (or healthy) to be cheery all the time is it? Not for me anyhow. I need a little grumps to get my courage fired up sometimes.

She says shyly with her bottom lip shoved out, head hung low and cheeky little grin flitting across her smile.


I did stay up late last night until the sky had turned an inky black - snuggled on the sofa in the window under a blanket waiting until I could safely say to myself 'it's OK to go to bed now'

:: If you want the link for the labels see below ::

Have a beautiful day and I'll take some of that sun if it's still on offer? Just send it special delivery to Tabiboo HQ.

xXx

ps. gawd knows what's going on with the font, but 'I give up' trying to mess around with it............for now. N xxx

Solstice

Today is the longest day of the year and I don't know whether to feel happy or sad.


Some call it the beginning of Summer - I tend to call it high Summer, but I'm feeling like Summer hasn't even started.............yet.

Oh yes there are some signs and the odd sense of false hope and promise, but without that Summer feeling I feel I have nothing to celebrate this year.

Looking back over my three years of blogging - and pictures - this time of the year has been glorious, sunny and sometimes even very, very hot.


Holidays, pictures of smiling faces sat on the beach, eating ice creams, bare toes wiggling in the sand, sun dresses, shorts and flip flops or lazy days in the garden - mostly spent sat on the back doorstep sipping tea and reading a mag listening to the birds softly sing to me - because of course they are singing only to me.

But today and since the beginning of May (I have to confess) I've found myself sat here still in my jeans, wrapped up in a cardie, wearing coats when venturing out - mainly rain coats - taking a hot water bottle to bed and lots and lots of wellie wearing and umbrellas. Good old festival gear.

My sun dresses still hung eyeing me very suspiciously. You wish!

But I'm not at a festival and all I want to do - at least - is get my ankles out, but bbbbrrrrrrrr it's too cold and I'm considering putting some socks on!

So today I feel like a grumpy old woman.

I want to celebrate the solstice like we do every year with a shin dig around the campfire, sat up until the first star in the sky gives us a twinkle and a nod, but I just can't be bothered with the wind and the rain and the cold and the sniffles. A friend of mine has flu - flu in June.......how dandy.


I wanted to take some pictures today of happy, sunny things, but instead ended up scouring through some old ones to try and find a bit of cheeriness. And they are very thin on the ground to be honest.

Sorry for the grumps - I didn't mean for this post to turn out so negative when I started writing it, but sat here thinking as my fingers do the typing it's all kind of just poured out.


I feel like Raymond Briggs 'blooming' Father Christmas - darn and drat I wish these blooming seasons would make their blooming minds up!

xXx

A Classic Cake

Hellllllo - she says in a a long and drawn out kind of way.

I have that Monday morning feeling - in fact I have that feeling most mornings, but today it's really hit me hard. Hormones and the weather I'm guessing!


Anyhoo, did you have a lovely fathers day/relaxing/being organised/out in the garden or all snuggled up because of the rain kind of weekend?

Ours touched on most of those areas at some point with the odd plane bombing over head from the air show every now and again!


And for me a weekend wouldn't be the same or even half decent with out a jolly good old cake.

A Victoria sponge to be precise.

Now in all my humble years of baking - there was a time when the man of the house did all the cooking because I was that clueless (uh huh!) - have I ever made a good old fashioned, traditional 'Victoria Sponge' - the reason why? I haven't the slightest idea!

I guess I've always been a chocolate baking cake kind of gal.

But at the weekend I thought I'd give it a go.

We always have all the ingredients to bake a cake in this house plus with fresh double cream in the fridge ready to be whipped and homemade strawberry jam for spreading I had no excuse not to.

Another strawberry and cream combination.

I did weigh up on my hands whether to opt for jam or fresh strawberries. I kind of figured the jam would make the cake last a tad bit longer rather then fresh strawberries that would go all mushy and not taste so nice within hours.

I may make a lot of cake, but we don't really sit here shoving it into our faces all day long - we do like our cake to last - at least two days I'd say!


Anyway, I'm glad I gave it a go, it was very nice but as it goes - I think I'll stick to the chocolate variety from now on and save the fully loaded fresh cream classics for special occasions.

Here's to another week......and left over cake.

xXx