Armed with rhubarb and custard

On Saturday I was lucky enough to take a trip with my boyfriend to visit Manchester. It was just a flying visit, as we went to see Robbie Williams and Olly Murs at the Etihad stadium, but we had some time during the day to explore the city centre and have a spot of lunch.

Since I was a wee nipper I have loved going for a daytrip, and there is still the same excitement about getting in the car and going on an adventure! When my boyfriend first learned to drive we spent lots of our days off going anywhere and everywhere within about an hours drive from our homes, but Manchester is somewhere I have never ventured to as it is quite a bit further than that!

Obligatory car sweets purchased, we headed off and arrived just in time for lunch.

 

Who doesn't love a proper vintage rhubarb and custard?!

Have I mentioned that my other half is a wannabe Jamie Oliver in the making? He lives, breathes and is happiest when cooking. Our kitchen is a bit of a Jamie Oliver shrine, and he can’t pass up any opportunity to spend some time being near to his idol (I can’t judge, as I am exactly the same with Cath Kidston!). It just so happened that we were wondering up a quiet street and we came across the Jamie restaurant quite by accident....or was it pre-planned...hmmm.

We had to wait about half an hour for a table but we were quite happy sipping cocktails in the beautiful bar area. This is the second Jamie restaurant we have visited (Edinburgh being the other one), and I just LOVE how he keeps the original features and purpose of the building intact, it adds to a wonderful character. This Italian is within a former bank – and you can even hire a table in the underground vaults of the building!

 

Inside the open vaults were tiny tea-lights. So adorable!

 

We both had a burger – the menu described it as

“Prime British chuck & flank

steak with smoked mozzarella,

mortadella, sticky balsamic

onions, tomato, pickles

& chillies”

Don’t ask me what mortadella is. The only thing I know is that it was DELICIOUS.

 

After lunch we wondered around Piccadilly Gardens and towards the Arndale centre. I wanted to go inside SO. BADLY. We saw this brilliant street performer...

 

...and this wonderful sign outside a truly vintage-looking jewellers. That’s a little disclaimer underneath saying that actually rings aren’t sold this way anymore.

Here’s the best picture of the night, it was a wonderful experience!

Hopefully I'll get to visit Manchester again soon!

Until next time,

K x

Rumours

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/8720973/?claim=e9skfmrchxm">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Rumours. Not just one of my favourite Fleetwood Mac albums, but also something which I have been hearing recently about Google Friends Connect, which I hear is set to disappear  at the end of this month?

A couple of my favourite bloggers have mentioned that Bloglovin will be taking over when GFC ceases to exist, and as someone who HATES change, and HATES to be unprepared, I am not ashamed to admit that I was beginning to panic about what it all meant!

Enter stage right, the fabulously timed blog post by HipsLike Cinderella, which included a link which would transfer the blogs I follow on Blogger simply and easily to Bloglovin.

 

In other news....I changed my blog title. Again. This is the one....really....honest. I can FEEL it this time!

I promise I won’t change it again! (Remember when I said I hated change?!). Please don't judge.

I hope to see you on Bloglovin and not lose you before the big change...eek!

Until next time,

K x

Partial pastry success

Just a quick one tonight – I decided that the best way to enjoy the longest day of the year (and the last of the sunshine!) was to throw open all of the windows, hang umpteen washes on the line and BAKE!

Some of my latest baking creations – ones which haven’t made it to the blog – have been nicely filed away by the boyfriend under “not even if it was the last food on earth”...but this one was met by a nod and a “you can make this again if you promise to buy pastry from the shop instead of making your own”...partial success?!

 

This is a lovely, summery cheesecake which tasted great with fresh strawberries and a dusting of icing sugar.

 

I will post the recipe if anybody would like it – but the boyfriend was right – unless you are competent in pastry then perhaps stick to shop bought!

Have a good weekend!

Until next time,

K x

Nipped and tucked: Chair re-upholstery

When we moved into our house last year we ‘inherited’ a lot of furniture which was a godsend as we would still be sitting on cardboard boxes, drinking tea from old plant pots if we had needed to buy everything new! My mum recently downsized so we inherited her great big pine table and chairs. I grew up eating family meals and doing homework at this table so it means something special to me, and it was important for me to make it ‘fit’ into my home.

The chairs were originally covered in forest green gingham which matched a green Aga which we had in a previous life. The theme in my new dining room is slightly nautical, so I have been looking for a deckchair type material to cover the seat cushions with for a few months.

 

As I was aimlessly wandering through TK Maxx recently I spotted some beautiful tea towels by SOHO Living. As soon as I saw them my mind went into overdrive and I grabbed all six which they had in stock. I rushed home and set to work removing the gingham fabric and hundreds of tacks which were holding it in place...

Firstly I removed the base from the chair and placed it on a flat surface. I began to remove the tacks / upholstery nails / staples which were holding the fabric to the base. I used a flat head screwdriver because my other half isn’t known for his DIY abilities so we are a little lacking in the tool department! I tried with the back of a hammer but the nails were so deeply embedded that there was nothing to grip onto. There were 150 tacks and staples in each chair and 6 chairs...at this point I had lost all of the feeling in my fingers – and no doubt my fingerprints too!

The staples had gone quite rusty, and some broke as I was removing them – so this was a time-consuming, fiddly task.

I placed the fabric pattern side down and used the material which I have removed from the chair as a template to cut the new fabric. Unless the foam in your chair is really awful you shouldn’t need to replace it, just reuse and recycle it!

Making sure that I was stretching the material nice and tight, I began to replace the tacks. I tackled one side, then the opposite side next, so that I could stretch the material taut. My chair base had a white piece of material to cover the uneven edges, so if yours has one too then you will need to reattach this last.

Lastly, I fit the chair base back to the frame and voila...! Beautifully recovered chairs for a smidge of the price of a new set – the tea towels were only £1.50 each!

I’m so pleased with the result! I think the material should be fairly hard wearing and washable since it was destined to be a tea towel, so it should be practical as well as pretty!

Let me know what you think of my first re-upholstery project, I’d love to hear your comments!

Until next time,

K x

What's in YOUR handbag?

There aren’t many feelings as lovely as waking up when your boyfriend’s alarm goes off at 7am, pulling the covers a little further over your head and wiggling your toes in the toasty-warm bed, safe in the knowledge that you don’t have to get up ALL DAY! Of course, the guilt of the dirty kitchen calls and you know that in an hour or so you will have to relent and get up to do some chores...but those waking moments are just perfection!

When I have any time off I always spend half of it doing all the jobs around the house as fast as I can so that the other half of my time can be used doing things that I love. Usually it is shopping or baking at the moment, and I spent the evening in front of the TV cross stitching.

I hate sitting still just...watching.

I have always got to be busy doing something in the background...stitching, searching for bargains online or...napping. 

I have taken some holiday from work to finish some projects around the house which are beginning to pile up, so you can expect a flurry of productive blog posts from me this week!

This morning as my boyfriend left for work I was having a good nosey at the neighbours across the road as there have been a lot of ‘comings and goings’ there recently. I am a self-confessed ‘one woman neighbourhood watch’ at the moment – moving from a tiny village to a more urban street I’m not used to seeing people going about their daily lives!

I have also been ‘nosey-ing’ on a couple of my favourite bloggers lives this week too – as some of them have been posting ‘What’s in your handbag?’ posts for the most recent MoneySupermarket blogger challenge (http://www.moneysupermarket.com/home-insurance/competitions/whats-in-your-handbag). I thought it might be interesting to add up all of my own daily ‘essentials’ which I lug around and share it with you!  

BAG – Zara £50.

DIARY – Waterstones £4.99. BOOK – Surfacing by Margaret Atwood £7.19. GLASSES CASE – Fiorelli £9.99. GLASSES – Specsavers £79. LIP BALM – Cath Kidston £5.00. SUNGLASSES – Dorothy Perkins £4.99. PHONE – iphone 4s £449. PURSE – Billy Bag £9.99. BODY SPRAY – Impulse 99p. UMBRELLA – Pandora (freebie!). WATER – Buxton £1.00. COIN PURSE – Cath Kidston £12.00. HAND CREAM – No.7 £3.00. NAIL VARNISH – Maybelline £4.09. 2 x Nails Inc £11 each. LIPSTICK – No.7 £9.50. POWDER – Calvin Klein £5.95. PERFUME – Dolce and Gabbana £4.45. KEYRING – Cath Kidston £4.00. MIRROR – Vintage compact £3.00.

The expression “everything but the kitchen sink...” definitely applies to me! I can’t believe that I carry around so much stuff! It frightens the life out of me.

The total is - £690.13. WOWSERS! This doesn’t even include any money in my purse (usually just pennies!), or days when I take a full make-up case or change of shoes to work.

I’m off to de-clutter my bag now...no wonder it feels so heavy most days...

What about you – how much unwanted baggage are you lugging about?!

Until next time,

K x

Friday I'm in LOVE...with rainy days

Phew! What a week it has been – I can’t believe it’s time for Friday I’m in love...already! I have been super busy over the past seven days – a combination of work and pleasure so I can’t complain! My boyfriend and I had a BBQ for his family on Sunday, so I spent most of the day baking and preparing vegetable kebabs and various marinades. My free days and evenings were spent finishing projects around the house – especially one with some reupholstered dining room chairs – blog post coming soon!

Earlier in the week we spent the evening with a group of neighbours, getting to know each other a little better whilst comparing original features in our Victorian terraced houses!

Finally, today was spent catching up with an old friend and her baby son. All in all, a lovely week of friendship and sunshine...who could ask for more?!

Today of course, the weather has turned more wintery (AGAIN!), and my thoughts turn to hiding away indoors whilst the rain lashes against the window panes. Here are my top picks of vintage rain-related goodies to make splashing in the puddles a pleasure!

Cath Kidston is ALWAYS on my wishlist...

www.cathkidston.co.uk

1920s style is EVERYWHERE at the moment

http://pinterest.com/pin/246431410832127744/

I just couldn’t resist this gorgeous cake stand!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/peonyandthistle

Not my tattoo but one which would make me smile every day!

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

Until next time,

K x

Friday I'm in LOVE...with typewriters

There can’t be many things more lovely than vintage typewriter font. It makes me think of love letters and poems from a past era. Emails and texts just don’t have the same air of romance as a handwritten or typewriter note!

I have started to see vintage typewriters everywhere I look recently and have begun to fall in lust with them...especially ones in beautiful pastel colours. Oh, and have you seen the bracelets made from typewriter keys?! Heaven! Where on earth I would put a typewriter in my house is a completely different matter...just like the Singer sewing machine which I have been eyeing up on Ebay. My other half would go crackers if he knew!

Here are some which have taken my fancy this week...

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqqo1z85jotgCO-LmihefqBJdeNTKJ3GdRVi2g34mBnH5ynOpnvC_CZ3DvSWCGlOFzv68zj2vsbB1By7zH4RDeZ-iO-5ajkyCyN_twVsNgUlIx9a72_S93c5-sQ6cL4Kcyal1k5ha0PM54/s1600/pastelshabbychic10.jpg

http://blog.alltheluckintheworld.nl/2012/07/15/waiting-for-the-sun

http://www.lillianaugust.com/portfolio/quinten

 

http://blog.idoityourself.com.au/2010/10/diy-project-typewriter-key-bouquet.html

http://pinterest.com/pin/266838346642045609/

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/fiona-watson-art/8387329269/sizes/c/in/photostream/

 

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

 

Until next time,

 

 K x

 

Blackboard paint makeover

Today I’m going to share with you a little project that my sister and I completed for her kitchen recently...

My sister and I love to have a ‘crafternoon’ on the rare occasion that we are both off on the same day. This week we were digging in the back of the ‘man shed’ looking for paintbrushes when we rediscovered a tin of blackboard paint which I bought last year in Wilkinson for a rainy day project! After dusting off the cobwebs we headed to the nearest charity shop to find some inspiration for our project and came across a cute picture in a wooden frame which was destined for a different life!

 

We dismantled the frame and painted the glass with the blackboard paint – it dries slightly streaky so we needed to give it two coats for a good finish. We also gave the wooden frame a couple of coats of white emulsion as her kitchen has duck egg blue and white colour scheme.

 

When everything was dry we reassembled the frame and glass and attached a hook on the back to hang the blackboard, but it just didn’t look right...

After a quick think I knew what would finish the project off....bunting of course! I dug out my old copies of Country Home Magazine and we found some pictures of blue fabric and attached them to some blue thread I had for cross stitching.

Ta dah! One beautiful new blackboard!

(Apologies for the DARK pictures...it was late evening when it was finally finished!)

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

Until next time,

K x

 

Black Jack

I have been abit absent from the blog this week because my gorgeous little kitty has been poorly. I thought it was the perfect time to introduce you to my co-writer and crafty partner Jack (or JJ, Ju-Ju or Jacky as he is affectionately called by everyone who knows him!). The plan was that we would adopt him from my mum last year when she moved house as a temporary home for him until she was settled. Nearly a year later and we love having him so he isn’t going anywhere!

 

Here is a pic of him as a teeny kitten when the family got him 8 years ago...

 

‘Helping’ me write this blog post...

‘Helping’ me to reupholster (look out for a post about these chairs coming soon!)

‘Helping’ me move house

 

 

Get well soon JJ!

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

Until next time,

K x