A "Poppy" Catch up
26 Apr in Brush Cottage | Comments (1)Poppy, our little Cairn Terrier was due to be stripped this month. It seems that a lot of terriers have coats that are treated in this way and most of the people I know who have Border Terriers just do it themselves. Cairn’s are a little trickier as their coats are much longer and you can easily lose their shape if you don’t know what you are doing. The breeders recommend doing it once or twice a year. The guy who I go to in Ringwood told me that he does it once a year in spring, which means that the coat is short for the summer but grows in for winter.
Her loveliness had a really great winter coat – It needed brushing every day though, otherwise she did tend to look scruffy and mud, well yes, mud can be a bit of a problem…. fortunately the little petal doesn’t even like getting her paws wet, so we do manage to avoid it most of the time.
So off we went on Saturday morning – Poppy to her personal hairdresser, Tessa and I to mooch around a garden centre for a couple of hours … and eat cake! ( or as my daughter puts it..”Murder a slice of cake!”)
This is what Pops looked like before the trip:
And when we picked her up, she had shrunk in size… and was much more of a wheaten colour, soft and fluffy and reminded me so much of when she was a puppy!
I came home with a whole bagful of soft fur, which I have strewn out on my lawn – the blue and coal tits are taking it for their nests – so sweet to watch them!
London
19 Apr in Brush Cottage, Links | Comments (1)I love London – From the moment I get there I feel as though there are a million exciting things that I am missing out on. Having said that – I do feel as though I have the best of both worlds – our home is in a very picturesque, typically English village – with a real sense of community and we are very lucky to live here. It’s also only an hour on the train to Waterloo. Added to that are a very hospitable sister and brother in law – who never mind us invading for the odd weekend….
We spent this weekend in London – and with perfect weather, it couldn’t have been a nicer place to be! Tessa brought a friend along – the lovely little Miss F.
We took the girls to the amazing exhibition at Kensington Palace – The Enchanted Palace – It’s a collaboration of some amazing designers and actors who have transformed some of the rooms to tell the story of some of the woman who have lived there and it’s very, very well done – truly an enchantment!
We took a walk past the Albert Memorial – a favorite spot of mine – so poignant and romantic.
Yesterday, we took advantage of the perfect weather to visit Kew Gardens – The Magnolia’s are in flower right now, and they are a favorite of mine, a sight to behold.
Kew have some amazing artwork/sculpture too:
There were also trees to climb (although that might be frowned upon!)
But I have to be truthful here – our real reason for heading in this direction was to visit a Pizza restaurant…… not jut any old Pizza restaurant, oh no, this one is special…..run by real Italians – wearing proper funny hats…..
And who serve homemade lemonade in these pretty bottles…..
Who make salads, laced with delicious honey and mustard dressing…
But we came for the Pizza…. the sourdough Pizza….. the authentic Pizza, cooked in a traditional woodburning oven , imported from Italy, that takes longer than a week to heat to the optimimum temperature…..
And it was worth it! A trip to Chiswick just to eat at Franco Manca is worth it!
Chickpea and Feta Salad
13 Apr in Brush Cottage, Links | Comments (1)Many years ago David and I used to be vegetarian. It’s a lifestyle choice that I still admire and aspire to, but for a number of reasons (one of them being a completely carniverous daughter) we are now meat eaters. Some of the things I learned to love while vegetarian were chickpeas, beans and lentils. My daughter refuses to eat lentils (I think it’s just on principle….) but fortunately she does like beans and chickpeas and so when I came across this recipe for chickpea and feta salad I thought I might give it a try.
I made it about half an hour ago and it is sitting in my kitchen as I write this, and I can’t wait to eat it….! It’s delicious! I did not use canned chickpeas – as I find them bland, so it’s a bit of a long haul, soaking them and cooking them till soft. I also only have tiny tops of my mint starting to sprout , so I haven’t used the full quantity of mint that the recipe recommends, but it still tastes great……… oh yes, and I threw in some lettuce, just because…. and now I am off to gobble and watch The Great British Menu.
What are you having for supper?
April Secret Post Club
13 Apr in Links | Comments (2)A couple of weeks ago I joined the very clever Heather Sunderland’s Secret Post Club. It’s a lovely idea where each month you are randomly paired with another blogger. You then send your assigned blogger a gift. There is a £10.00 limit, but you don’t even have to spend any money as something you have made or just want to pass on is also okay.
I received my Secret Post Club parcel this morning! These lovely Roger la Borde notecards and envelopes, wrapped in a ribbon dropped through my postbox amongst all the other day to day uninteresting stuff – what a pleasure!
They were sent to me by Jacqui Paterson a features journalist in London. Thank you Jacqui, I love these cards - so pretty and a very useful gift!
About this whole "baking" thing…….
07 Apr in Brush Cottage | Comments (3)So, here’s the thing….. I feel a little inadequate…… a little below the par….. a little less than perfect…. the thing is…. I do not feel like a domestic goddess!!
I can cook a decent meal, I can manage something “idiot proof”, I can bake bread and I can make ice cream…….I cannot, however, bake something where there is no room to manoever……..like fairy cakes.
Those of you that follow me on Twitter will know that Easter for me, among other things, means fairy cakes – and this year I was quite determined to outdo my last attempt (which was pretty feeble).
Now, let me tell you, I do have enough cookery books. I follow some awesome foodie blogs, in the hope that some of their wonderfulness might just rub off on me – I even subject myself to some cookery television (although I have to admit that this might be for the visual feast rather than for the baking tips…..)
I do know all the “must’s” – make sure everything is at room temperature…., cream the butter and sugar, only use vanilla extract and the freshest self raising flour……. all to no avail!
The very lovely Helen Hutton (who is clearly a Domestic Goddess) took time out from tending her chicken pox ridden (5!?) children – to send me a secret “foolproof” recipe for fairy cakes and a whole plethora of tips. I was feeling confident, able, and ready to take on those elusive sponge wonders.
I creamed those ingredients to within an inch of their lives……
I’m not sure, but |I think this was the part where I let myself down… Helen told me that once I have filled my paper cases I was to get them into the oven as soon as possible…. It was at this stage that I was flumoxing around the kitchen looking for my other tray – I had prepared 12 paper cases and the mixture did fill more than that, so I was caught napping here.
Anyhow, eventually, there we were – and ready for the oven.
After the allotted baking time, we were looking good!
I had always used icing sugar and water for the icing – this time I thought I might try something more exotic ( for me that is…) – Butter cream!
The results were not so pretty……
I gave up on the piping idea and simply lashed it all on – the end result was disappointing, it looked messy and amateurish. It was not the sophisticated look I was after….
Sophie Dahl says that to bake well, one must stick to the recipe completely and it’s all about practice. I don’t know if I have the patience for this….. I must tell you, it’s quite a tricky thing - this fairy cake baking
Silver Lariat
23 Mar in Jewellery | Comments (0)I’ve just finished working on a new lariat for Katie. I was keen to try out one of my new silver lariat designs. Katie decided on Peacock colours as she liked the ideas on my Gold Cluster Necklace. I’ve used wonderfully iridescent peacock blue coin and stick pearls, faceted labradorite (still a firm favorite!) and an array of Swarovski crystals – Swarovski have recently introduced some gorgous new colours, some of which have worked really well with this lariat.
I’ve also made earrings to match.
And Katie has this to say about her new lariat :
“The necklace and earrings are gorgeous. I haven’t stopped wearing them yet – the colours are exactly what I was after. And I know that my friend will love her lariat too. Thank you so much!”
A day in the life of a Poppy dog!
07 Mar in Brush Cottage | Comments (6)My name is Poppy, and I live with a little family in rural Hampshire. I am an extraordinarily well bred Cairn Terrier! This is Labrador land – so I am a bit of a novelty around here…. My proper name is “Elite Charm Angels Delight”, but please feel free to call me “Poppy”. My mum calls me all kinds of other names – “Gorgeousness”, “The Popster”, “Poplet”….sometimes she calls me “Bad Dog” but I don’t take much notice when she does.
Mum and I walk every day (sometimes we skip it if it’s raining – rain is sure to bring on a “Bad Hair Day” – to which both of us are susceptible!). My best walks are when Dad and T come with us.
More often than not, we walk up our road, which is a really pretty road.
At the top of our road is The Park. It’s where I often meet some of my buddies. There is some cool stuff for T to play on as well. Sometimes on a Saturday afternoon, the Upham Harriers come and play football here – I wish I could play with them, but I’m not allowed to. I get my lead taken off here!
And I’m free!
After we’ve crossed the football pitch, we head out into the fields. My family love to admire the view.
Upham is built on the top of a hill, so you can see for miles.
During World War 2, there was an observation point in this copse of trees. Soldiers were permanently stationed here to keep watch for planes coming over the channel from Europe.
My Mum loves the red berries on these trees, I don’t really care about them, because I can’t eat them…
I love this section of the walk – it’s often where we come across pheasants – and I chase them! I’m not really supposed to……Mum is a bit scared of the gamekeeper …..but that’s her problem, not mine!
A little later on, we turn up and walk adjacent to the pigs. They are much, much bigger than me, so I generally leave them alone.
Next is the really scary part we have to walk through – there’s a massive bull…..
Did you see him? Did you see him? He’s enormous! But whew, we do manage to get past him ……
And then we head back up our road – almost home….
The rest of my day is spent lounging around, sleeping, chasing the squirrels or pigeons that dare to enter my garden and hoping that Mum might leave a pair of her leather boots around for me to chew on….!
Corazon latino
16 Feb in Jewellery, Links | Comments (0)I am always on the lookout for new materials to try, at the moment I am getting to grips with copper (but more on that later…)
Amber is a semi precious stone that I have often seen, but never used, I’m not sure why, it might be that it’s a colour I don’t ever wear and so don’t gravitate towards. Lately though I have noticed amber in varying colours, some very unusual.
When I looked at Catherine D’ Arcy’s site I was delighted to see how many of these variations she is using in her designs. Catherine designs her range and commissions the Mexican Taxco silversmiths to manufacture to her specifications. Her pieces are bold and striking and she uses the most wonderful stones in her amber jewellery.
Some necklaces contain a Dominican fire amber pendant. This particular stone is a rarity outside of the Dominican republic and is considered a collectors item.
But my particular favorite piece of her silver jewellery is this necklace which has a collection of silver baubles attached, it’s whimsical and pretty, very unusual and seriously wantable!
Image courtesy of Corazon Latino
Valentine's Day
29 Jan in Links | Comments (0)So, since Valentine’s Day is coming up, I could really talk about my lovely Murano handblown glass hearts or my selection of Swarovski Crystal Heart necklaces, but since this blog is all about me, me, me…..! What I am really after for Valentine’s day …..are these gorgeous Ella Doran Orchid China Mugs! They are offering a 20% promotion at the the moment – so don’t delay!
Image courtesy of Ella Doran
Snow!
07 Jan in Brush Cottage | Comments (0)I’ve just heard that my daughters school is going to be closed again tomorrow. I’m so pleased that I work from home right now, I would hate to have to get in the car and drive anywhere, so I do sympathise with those who do have to ………but I do really LOVE the snow!
We’ve had loads, and what else can you do but enjoy it! I’ve taken Poppy out for a walk today. At some places she has barely been able to walk and has bounded her way through – it’s been an adventure.
Tessa and Charlotte have built a massive snowman.
Brush Cottage looks magical!
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