Millionaire Shortbread

It’s been a busy few days here at Jack and Ginger HQ as I booked a last minute train ticket to Scotland to visit the Ideal Home Show! I managed to blag a pair of free tickets from the Money Saving Expert website so I took my sister along to gain some interior inspiration.

A train journey calls for a picnic so I had a little dig around the cupboards and discovered that I had the perfect items to make millionaire shortbread.

 

Here is the slightly modified Simon Rimmer recipe if my pictures tempt you...it really was the most fantastic sweet sugary, calorific treat and wasn’t too difficult to make!

For the shortbread

175g unsalted butter

75g caster sugar

225g plain flour

Splash of vanilla essence

For the caramel

200g unsalted butter

1 x can of 397g condensed milk

4 tbsp golden syrup

1 tsp sea salt

For the topping

200g dark chocolate

 

Method

-          Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a square or rectangular cake tin.

-          Rub the butter, sugar and flour together to make a rough dough. Add the vanilla essence. Press the dough into the cake tin and prick all over with a fork.

 

 

-          Bake for five minutes, then reduce the oven temp to 150C and bake for a further 35 mins.

-          Place all of the caramel ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil for ten minutes or until thick.

-          Pour the caramel mixture over the cooled shortbread and chill in the fridge until the caramel has cooled and hardened.

-          Melt the chocolate for the topping in a bowl over simmering water. Once melted, pour over the caramel and chill in the fridge until the chocolate has set. Cut into approx nine squares.

 

 

 

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Until next time,

K x

Paint pot plant pot

I have recently developed a bit of an obsession with gardening. Well, maybe not gardening...perhaps potting would be a more accurate statement! Part of me wants instant gratification – beautiful flowers straight away, and the other part of me loves the excitement of tiny seedlings appearing and getting bigger everyday. There is definitely more satisfaction gained from growing from a seed, but I am quite impatient so I need to see some results in my garden immediately!

For my birthday I was given this cute wooden watering can sign from my sister (it’s from Matalan if it tempts you too!) and it now hangs proudly beside my back door. Ok, ok I don’t have a garden as such...more of a yard. But the plan is that it will be a space crammed full of a higgledy piggledy pots of all shapes and sizes and be an interesting...yard. 

 

Today as I was walking down the high street with the other half on the way to feed the ducks I spotted a lavender plant for sale at the greengrocer. After some eyelash fluttering I was given the nod and a sigh by the other half and it swiftly became mine. I love it because it looks nothing like traditional lavender, but still smells as sweet and summery!

 

After a dig around the ‘man shed’ I found an old pot of Laura Ashley paint which had been left by the people who lived here before us. After a quick wash I knew it would make the perfect plant pot! The other half bashed a nail through the bottom of the tin a few times to make some drainage holes and then...ta dah!

 

I’m not sure how long it will last as the wrapper is just made of paper. After a dose of the English summer rain it will disintegrate no doubt, but for now it looks pretty and makes me happy!

 

Hope this has given you some inspiration - I love quirky plant pots!

If you like my new look, why not follow me?

 

Until next time, K x

Upcycled photo frame

Whilst I was obsessively pinning my perfect life on Pinterest the other day (how many of my blog posts could start that way?!) I saw some tutorials on how to update photo frames. Living on a tight budget means that my first option is always recycling something before replacing it, and frames are no exception! I found this bright gold coloured one during a charity shop spree a few months ago and it has been sitting around the house waiting for some inspiration to take hold of me to ‘fix’ it. This week it finally got the makeover it deserves!

I’m not going to write a tutorial – because seriously, they are EVERYWHERE and it is pretty easy once you get started. But I will show you the before and after pictures incase it inspires you to dig out any projects which you have stored up!

 

I gave the gold colour a little rough up with the sandpaper before painting so that the paint had something to stick to. I just used regular white emulsion and gave it two good coats before I got messy with the sandpaper to give it the lived-in beachy look that I was aiming for.

 

 

Ta dah! One beautiful shabby chic nautical inspired frame.

It helps that the weather ‘oop North’ has been glorious for the past week or so and I have been able to catch up with all of my forgotten projects outside. I won’t mention the perils of sunburning whilst outdoor crafting, let’s just all take a minute to take advice from THAT Baz Luhrman song!

(Oh, and in case you were wondering the picture is a painting of the Bass Rock near North Berwick, a proper vintage British seaside town not too far from Edinburgh).

 If you like my new look, why not follow me?

Until next time, K x

Treasure hunting

Time for my latest round up of charity shop treasures – all clothes this week, which is very unusual! Although most of it is from the high street I think there is a vintage vibe to a couple of the pieces. This whole haul cost £11. Don’t hate me!

 

This is the one vintage dress I got my greedy little mitts on this week...it is perfectly nipped in at the waist and I think it will look equally great with a leather jacket and some flat boots until the weather is warm enough to wear it with bare legs...brr!

 

Here is the pleated dress I raved about in my Friday in love post a couple of weeks ago...the iphone doesn’t do the colour justice but it really is a beautiful piece.

 

When I was making my way back home I saw this unusual board so I had to go and investigate! I followed some signs and through this tiny cobbled doorway I found a miniature flea market.

 

It really was a jumble of pots, pans, books, handbags and everything in between! It was the perfect place to have a little dig around and look for treasures – one of my favourite things to do. I didn’t come home with anything but I saw some fantastic vintage sheet music which is just crying out to be used for something crafty...

I’m off to Pinterest now to find some inspiration!

Until next time, K x

Friday I'm in LOVE...with new beginnings

No, your eyes don’t deceive you – my blog has a new title and a new look! I have been thinking hard about where I want to take my blog and I think that Vintage Crosses And Kisses explains a little better who I am and what I do!

Just a quick post tonight – some inspiration for us all!

 

If you like my new look....why not follow me?

Until next time, K x

Things to do when you are sad

 

(http://www.polyvore.com/things_to_do_when_youre/thing?id=39642393)

 

Yesterday I saw this list on Pinterest and it made me really smile! I don’t tend to get sad – I try to always see the happy side of things – but when I am blue, I AM REALLY BLUE. I thought I would make my own list of things to cope with sadness.

 ...

Watch YouTube videos of kittens

Eat a Crunchie

Listen to Cher

Wear a woolly jumper with leggings

Drink sugary tea from a Cath Kidston mug

Cuddle

Laugh at the ‘beard alphabet’

(http://www.behance.net/Gallery/beard-alphabet/80632)

Buy flowers

Try on all of the high heeled shoes in your wardrobe

Don’t listen to Fleetwood Mac

Spend hours on Pinterest

Hide under the covers

Paint your nails a bright colour

Watch a Disney film

Put on a face mask

Look for constellations

Tie ribbons on things

 ...

 

Do you have anything to add to my list...?

Until next time, K x

Friday I'm in LOVE...with pleats

As I was waiting for the bus to go to the Chic Vintique Fair on Saturday I decided that there was just enough time to nip into the local charity shop. There’s ALWAYS enough time to nip into a charity shop. I was so pleased that I did...within about two seconds I had found the perfect dress. Perfect is perhaps even an understatement! It is one of my favourite colours – very nautical navy blue, it has gorgeous little capped sleeves – perfect for the arm conscious, and it has the most beautiful pleated skirt. I have always been a little unsure about pleats since I don’t have a size 8 figure, but this dress sits perfectly and is so flattering.

While my mind was on perfect pleats I stumbled across an amazing vintage 1950s dress which my dress is an almost exact replica of. I love how fashion repeats itself and comes round again!

 (http://www.adoredvintage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=48&products_id=796&zenid=74Dtg7ebE3KT2KVa8,F331)


Talking about recycling fashion...pleats have a distinctly 1970s feel to them as well...
 

(http://patterngate.com/shop/mail-order-4665-1970s-misses-inverted-pleat-dress-pattern-womens-vintage-sewing-pattern-size-12-bust-32/)

This is so delicate and feminine...

 

(http://pinterest.com/pin/34058540903787527/)

 

(www.brasspaperclip.etsy.com)

Just couldn’t resist this one!

Until next time, K x

Stockton's Chic Vintique Fair

It was a grey, drizzly day on Saturday – not exactly perfect weather to visit a marquee in the heart of Stockton’s Parish Gardens – but the weather didn’t keep people away from Stockton’s Chic Vintique Fair.

 

When I arrived I was met with a wonderful array of stalls – from jewellery to handmade homeware, mouthwatering cakes to chic china. There was the sound of a bygone era drifting from the gramophone of Seventy Eight Spin (www.seventyeightspin.co.uk) at the back of the marquee and I felt the familiar flutter of excitement  that I get when I know I’m about to find some vintage treasures!

 

Don’t these cakes look divine?

 

 

I can’t get enough vintage suitcases...

 

I am desperate for a lacy removable collar!

 

As I am experiencing life on a budget I only came home with a beautiful cameo brooch – but it goes with EVERYTHING I wear so I couldn’t be happier to have snapped it up for £3!

 

The next Chic Vintique in Stockton will be the 20^th July so hopefully I will have a little more money to indulge myself!

Did you pick up any vintage treasures this week?

Until next time, K x