toggle the tortoise

I hope everyone has been enjoying their bank holiday weekend. It's been really rather windy and chilly here, I even ended up lighting a fire on Saturday night- I hope it warms up before our last camping trip of the season next week. We've just spent this weekend pottering- going swimming, trying out a new indoor play centre, visiting the sweetie shop  and snuggling up indoors with dvds from the library.

This morning we popped over to see my dad who was tortoise-sitting for a friend, who has had him since his childhood. Cue much hysterical excitement from two little girls...

It's hard to believe that this handsome fellow (who goes by the name of Toggle) is in his forties- beats the five years my childhood guinea pigs lasted!

mad men collection @ banana republic

Yes it really is true! A collection of Autumn/Winter clothes based on the costumes from the most stylish and chic television series of all time, for us mere mortals to own at Banana Republic. 

Feast your eyes on my favourite bits....

Shame it is all so very pricey....

car booty

 More carbooting this morning- how cute is this little 70s dress-up doll for 50p? The girls love her...

some Pyrex dishes, 50p the lot- loving the ducks...

and I'm especially stoked with this g-plan corner table for £4...

Happy days!

stainglass biscuits

Ingredients: 100g self raising flour, 50g caster sugar, a pinch of salt, 50g butter, 1 large egg yolk, boiled sweets (we used Foxes Glacier Fruits), strawberry laces.

1) Sift flour, sugar and salt into a bowl. Chop the butter into chunks and rub into the dry ingredients.

2) Mix in the egg yolk and squash the dough until it comes together in a ball. Leave in the fridge for ½ hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180º / Gas mark 4.

3) Roll out the dough and use cookie cutters or a sharp knife to make the biscuit shapes. Don't forget to make holes in the middle, for the pattern. Pop them on an over tray, covered in baking paper and pop boiled sweets in the holes- if it's a big hole it will need 2 or 3 sweets. Prick holes in the top, for hanging (I used a knitting needle).

4) Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until golden brown. When out of the oven, let the sweets set a bit and then transfer them on to a rack. Leave to cool for about an hour and then thread through the laces. 

Enjoy!

electrelove

source

Electrelane is my favouritist band ever ever ever. I can't count the number of times I've seen them play- some of my finest memories of living in Brighton are of being at Electrelane gigs. They reformed this Summer for a little European tour and, whilst I was gutted that I couldn't make along to any of their shows, we managed to catch their entire performance at La Route du Rock in France, live over the interwebs last week. You can watch it here. Mesmerising.

bun fight

I've been growing my hair for the last couple of years, mainly because I've been too lazy and frugal to go to the hairdresser. My hair now falls quite a way past my shoulders- the longest it's been since I was about 12, so I've been struggling to think what to do with it.

from here, here & here

I keep seeing pictures of these lovely high buns, so armed with a bun ring (£1 in Primark) and a few You Tube tutorials, I set about the daunting task of trying to recreate something similar...

At work yesterday, my colleague fixed me with a long, curious stare, trying to think what my new up-do reminded her of. And then she remembered...

Aunt Flo from Bod. Not really the look I was going for, haha!

strawberry ice cream

Yesterday I used some of the strawberries we picked to make Nigella's strawberry ice cream. I was a virgin ice cream maker and this turned out well for a first attempt and really benefited from the juicy fresh berries I crammed into the mixture. However, the finished texture was a little crunchier than I had hoped for, despite me whipping it like mad every hour, to stop the ice crystals forming. I wonder if it's just not possible to make perfect, smooth ice cream without a machine?

Happy Monday- enjoy the rest of the week, whatever you're up to!

car booty

I woke up with a tingling feeling in my fingers in my toes this morning- I just knew we were going to be in for some luck at a little village bootsale we were heading off to. And my thrifting instincts did not let me down- just look what we picked up! 

An Agfa camera & a Super 8 for £2 each...

Two bright yellow camping mugs for 20p the pair...

A Stylophone for £3 (Steve's wanted one of these forever)...

and he also picked up a mountain of records at 50p each...

 

I picked up two house leeks at 80p each- I've been meaning to get some for ages to pop in these vintage sugar bowls...

 

and I also came away with this jolly vintage vanity case for £1...

Even with the inevitable bags of plastic tat and stuffed animals the girls picked up along the way (including a rather noisy rollerskating Dalmation)- we all came away very happy with change for a £20 note- hurrah! I'm off to admire all your car booty treasure now, before I tuck into Sunday lunch! x

succulent strawbs

Our strawberry crop has been pretty dismal this year. I think the long drought at the end of Spring didn't agree with them, despite our desperate attempts to keep them well watered. So this afternoon we went to fill our boots at a nearby PYO.

We grabbed two punnets and split off into teams- Steve and Flora stuffing one and Peal and I hunted for the juiciest berries to fill the other.

 

After a good bit of hunting, we soon had two punnets brimming with red, plump berries (and two kidlets with rather juicy chops!)

These babies are destined for some scrumptious Eton Mess and I thought I might also try making ice cream for the first time. That's if there's any strawbs left after Pearl scoffed a load and shared them with a guinea pig she made friends with...

Happy weekend xx

a novel scenario

 
I will bashfully confess to being a rather picky and infrequent reader these days. Well, pretty much all of my adult life really. Uni was consumed with reading mountains of text books and beyond then, my poor brain has struggled to concentrate amid juggling all the other bits and bobs it has to think about and remember. I've become too accustomed to being interrupted by an impatient kidlet, or my hen-pecking subconscious inciting me to do something more productive. I find it hard to relax and am generally too wired to curl up with a book, having fallen into the habit over the years of fidgeting with things- the knitting, sewing or social networking. A world away from the library junkie I was in my youth.

So on our camping trip last week I did something I haven't done in so long, I can't even remember the last time it happened. I went into a bookshop. And bought a novel. For myself. Not as a present for someone else. Not a gardening guide. Not a knitting pattern. Not a dusty old Penguin Classic from a charity shop, purchased because the cover was pretty. An actual, real, recently published novel for myself. To read.

I browsed discerningly amongst the shelves for some time, wrinkling my nose at the bubble-gum pink, cupcake or handbag-embossed covers, that seem to be aimed at women my age. Raised an eyebrow at numerous shadow-written autobiographies of people I'd vaguely heard of. Dismissed others for looking rather too earnest to read on a beach holiday. Eventually I selected a book that appeared to be a happy medium between serious literature and feminine appeal.

I absolutely loved the book I chose- I am no critic, but I can guarantee if you are looking for a fantastic, clever, subtle, humorous, heart-warming and riveting read, you will not be disappointed. It contains two interwoven story lines- one set in 1950s Soho and the other in modern day North London. As the plot unravels, the gentle hints dotted around the chapters begin to piece together, but it is only towards the end that it becomes fully apparent how the stories are connected, finishing with a remarkable twist. I was in tears at least three times throughout reading this book and I could not count the number of times I laughed out loud. It was utterly charming and I cannot wait to read more of Maggie O'Farrell's work.

So I do believe I am a converted bookworm. Would anyone like to recommend me a book to read next- old or new, anything brilliant will do...

sycamores & sunshine

I'm back at work this week and missing the girls like mad. So much so my heart aches, especially after all the wonderful fun we had while we were away. The warm, light evenings we been having are much appreciated, as it has meant we've had a little bit of extra time to lark about before bedtime. Life is pretty perfect when the sun shines.