Crafty Goodness and Some Sweet Loveliness

Before I begin with all the loveliness can I show you my cottage pie? It was just such a perfect looking pie we didn't want to eat it! But I quickly came back to reality when DN3 said "you're taking a picture of that?"

I know, moving right along...

Craftiness. Not a word used around here lately, but I did manage two of these little cuties. One for me and one for Mother. It is a crocheted granny square done in pure, lovely wool. Then I felted it! My hot pots are very comfy now.

Then I lined the back of it with this lurvely fabric. If you plan on making one please email me and I will give you a few hints.

This charming bit of goodness I ordered for myself. Love it except for the fact I cannot get the melted candle out.

Gorgeous rose scented candle and holder from Ikea. I received two of these for Christmas from DN1's BF and adore them. Simple beauty. Did you see the pretty books? From DN1. My sweet daughter believes that mother should get everything she writes on her list. And I did!

Where did I get this darling little gem? Well my best friend, Clara, felt I needed more cornishware. And voila.

See how it fits in ever so cosy like? Too much happiness over here!

Isn't it just so easy to love Cornishware?

Clara also treated me to this delightful Limoges plate.

My heart is warm.

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The painting has begun. Sort of. The pre-painting chores. But this weekend? It's all about the paint.

Thanks for dropping by

xoxo

It Burned to a Crisp

For those that were waiting with bated breath to find out what happened to Mother's cake. I just felt so bad for her I did not have the heart to post about it. The problem was, and I really hesitated to tell her, was the use of TWO smaller pans instead of one large one as Delia states in the recipe. But let us not dwell on the mistakes of last year. As a new year begins I, like so many others, want to do a huge clear out of junk and begin some serious painting. Starting with my bedroom that has patiently been waiting for a make over. The iron bed I now have but I would like to start painting and am thinking of a pale blue or blue/green. Don't you just love the bedroom above?

And how pretty is this? But I often wonder how dirty/stained a padded cloth headboard would get? But so terribly beautiful.

Oh and my holidays were spectacular. My girlfriend and I drove down to pick up my daughter at uni on the 13th and she was here for two glorious weeks. Two weeks of eating, movie watching and cosy cuddles under eiderdowns. She had to return to school on the 30th for one and half weeks training before school even begins, but I am thankful for those blissful days together with ALL the family.

And it was a Sorel Christmas. The far right black ones were hands down my favs but not so practical. So I went for the fur trimmed ones second from the left. DN1 recieved gorgeous tan leather ones from her BF and DN2 got the short black ones.

Bring on the snow!

I do hope everyone of you had a festive, safe and fulfilling holiday.

And all the best, my lovely readers for 2011!

I have missed you so.

xoxo

Delia, Darling

Okay, Mother and Father have undertaken the daunting task of the Delia Christmas Cake. So far the ingredients have cost them 45.00. I cannot wait to see how this turns out!

Updates will follow...

Scones and other things...

Made scones for a dear friend today. Do you have a favourite recipe?

(ooops forgot about that no carb thing)

She came and dug up some of my elderberry shoots. I make a syrup in the fall with the berries that the kids originally hated. Now DN2 plans to take it away to uni and sell it for those suffering from coughs/flu. Enterprising little thing ;)

What are you up to on this fine day?

I will guess you are just dying to know what I am up too, right? I am so funny. I am eating, savouring and well not to put too fine of a point on it, pigging out totally on the long sought after, previously mentioned biscuits. I FOUND them! Oh the excitement is palatable here. Shortly after I touched on this subject, right here on my little blog I discovered them at my grocery store under a new name. They are now a President's Choice product and are still the same biscuit I have bragged about so many times. After spotting them I had to tell my husband to turn around while I scooped the lot off the shelf. They are now safely hidden in the sideboard in the dining room. Ahhh, relief.

The curtains have been made by my lovely and talented seamstress. I could not get a better shot as the sun is quite hidden in this spot of the house. But they are lurvely. Trust me. I will try and get a better picture so that you can truly appreciate the Sanderson beauty.

Sock knitting at its finest. Slow but beautiful. I knit a pair of these about 3 or 4 years ago in a mauve colourway. They wear like iron. Four winters of wear and not a hole. If you like sock knitting I cannot emphasize more the durability of this yarn. The camera did not pick up the gorgeous colour. It is a pink and pinky red with a moss green.

And finally, washing the green linen curtains that are usually hanging here. I won't get into too much detail but the dog basket sits right beside the curtains on the right and they were quite, um, dirty in that area...however last time I washed them the linen shrunk a wee bit and of course the lining didn't and well I guess that's another job to put on the list.

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I am going to assume that everyone had just the jolliest of holidays. We had several days of doing absolutely nothing. Snuggled down in comfy flannel jimjams watching movies and consuming loads (not exaggerating here in the slightest) of chocolate. Did I mention I found these?

Life is good.

PS You know I could have entitled this "Chocolate Biscuits" but I didn't. That would have been the THIRD time ;)

Chocolate Biscuits (Again)

These Milk Chocolate Rounds were available here at Sobeys and IGA. They were packaged under their label of Our Compliments (I think). I need them. I cannot find them. The sanity of this blogger is at stake. If anyone knows where I can find them please let me know.

Thank you.

Blimey, Marks and Spencer, where are you when I need you the most?

PS How sad and pathetic is it that one blogger has used the title "Chocolate Biscuits" more than once as a post title?

Nigella

As I was watching an episode of "Nigella Bites" the other night, I was totally struck by the appearance of Nigella. She had long stringy hair, parted in the middle, a not quite so beautiful complexion and nose that appeared much larger than what she has now in more recent shows. This particular episode was many years old, I presume. I wasn't even sure at the time it was her. I found this older photo of her and it is very much like what she looked like on the old program.

I'm thinking some polishing was done over the last few years. That being said I think she is a beautiful woman. I may even have a little girly crush on her. I think she exudes sensuality with that mix of domesticity that is charming and at the same time nonthreatening.

But that is just my opinion ;)

Pretty Flowers

A lovely vintage flower picture. Oh, how I adore these old pictures of roses and hydrangeas.

This is one of the poinsettias I had from Christmas. It still looks gorgeous. Isn't it the most adorable poinsettia? And it has barely dropped a leaf.

One of my many needlepoint cushions. Just because I love it.


A little vintage needlepoint lipstick case Mother gave me so many years ago and for whatever reason it sits in the drawer in the kitchen.

A little painted tin for the porch I picked up thrifting.

And a super crappy picture of cupcakes made last night and almost gone this morning. Which brings me to this week's question, how many cupcakes in one day are too many? My great friend Clara told me if you have to ask it is too many. We decided three is quite enough for one day. What do you think? Five too many? Just for the record, I had three yesterday, one of which, was not iced.

A Day in My Life

Not that it is exciting by any means. My days consist mostly of driving children to and from schools and subway stations. All three girls go to different schools, the oldest in university. In between jaunts I shop, cook, bake, knit and crochet. Notice I didn't mention cleaning, ironing and laundry? But there is that too. Today I went directly to the supermarket after dropping off the oldest, specifically for barley for the beef soup I am making from the Sunday prime rib roast.

That being done, I found a recipe for yummy brownies and decided we were in need of a chocolate fix.

My little man has been wondering when there will be time for a walk along the ravine. Poor guy. Mummy hasn't taken him for a good walk in days. Today is a definite coat and wellies day. The temperatures have really started to drop and leaves are blowing around like a true autumnal day.

And, finally, last night I did another row of the ripple blanket. And guess what? The yarn ran out about 15 stitches away from the end of the row. I do not have any more of this particular yarn. Don't you just love it when the wool gods are not on your side?

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Please forgive the super lousy photos. As you may have guessed, the camera is not fixed and I am still using the not so brilliant one.

PS I just loved all the comments on my rose fabric post. I am elated to know there are so many people out there just like me that totally love fabric and buy it with absolutely no plan for it whatsoever.

And then there were none...

We are down to our last camera. And it doesn't seem like it is long for this world. It kept shutting off while I was trying to take these pictures. Oh, boy. Who was talking about this kind of stuff happening in threes? Someone in blogland. Well, I dropped the iron today. I don't mean a gentle slip from the ironing board on to the carpet. I mean a "what the heck is stuck to the bloody ironing board, why isn't coming with me?" Yank, pull, ooops. It ricocheted off the dryer before it bounced on the concrete floor. Now that still works. This little spot in the family room/kitchen got a little makeover. Well, not really a makeover just a new table. Okay, new to me. Mother gave it to me and I painted it. It was a deep Chinese red. Really red. Super red. I feel calmer with it white. Above is the lovely print my parents got me for my birthday last year. Remember I just happened to have an antique frame the exact size hidden under my bed?

Moving on. A cute jug I found while I was away. $1.99 well spent, I must say. The hydrangeas are from the garden. They are lovely shades of purple, mauve, blue and blue/green.

Elderberry Syrup. That's what this will be in another half hour. Elizabeth gave me a great idea. Finally, the bane of my existence may somehow be beneficial. I say this because the bleedin' bush is so enormous now it has crept into the neighbours yard and is beginning to take over there as well. They may make me start paying rent. It is humongous, so it better start paying its way.

The Three P's (Picnicking, Plum Cake Eating, Picking Fruit and Veg)

Picking the pears from our garden yielded me a small load today. They should be dropping off by the dozens by next week. My husband brought home goodies from his parent's house last night. More green beans, lovely Roma tomatoes (long gone) and some cucumbers. Much, much more to come, I am sure.
I have been picnicking with DN3. It seems the appeal of watching goldfish in the pond, running the dog at top speed and bird watching is lost on 16 year olds and 19 year olds. But the 10 year old loves it and asks everyday, "are we going to the park for a picnic today?"

And I made a plum cake. I always want to show you how brilliant my culinary endeavors turn out but, alas, I am greedy and always dive in before a proper picture can be taken. But can't you see I loved it? I poured some double cream on top of it. Is that bad?



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I will be giving you an update shortly on the Ripple Afghan which is coming along nicely, just so terribly wwwwide. Whose idea was it to make one of these in kingsize anyhow?



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Oh, and silly me, I forgot to mention in the set design post which movie I was showcasing. It is The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet.

Ask and You Shall Receive...

Tim Tams are the most delectable cookie ever to pass these lips. I wrote a whole post on them a while back and am ashamed to admit, still very addicted to them and am totally guilty of cleaning out a whole store, without any remorse whatsoever. I am such a pig. For those in the UK they should be available at Tesco's.
Skinny Sticks are usually in the organic section. They are kind of chip/crisp like but better for you. Well that's what I tell myself if I polish off a whole bag. Moving on.

I picked this up today. I got a brain wave at 1:00 am while lying in bed trying to sleep that I have a club chair in the family room that desperately needed a new slipcover and thought jeez doesn't Ikea have a chair like this? Don't they sell a slipcover for it? Wouldn't it look great on that club chair? Bob's your uncle. Did I mention we have three (3) Ikeas here within a 20 minute drive?

I think I'm a lucky puppy.

Things were going so well...

My thoroughly productive morning went out the window when I received a phone call from the school to tell me DN3 had a headache, can you come get her? I am home for half and hour and the phone rings. DN2 has cramps, mum can you come get me? An hour later all was well once tea, sandwiches and chocolate cake was safely in their tummies.
So other than cleaning the oven, nothing has been done, nor will it. I have laundry to put away and ironing to do but some of my old standby books are calling me and I just want to sit for a quiet few with my tea and thoughts. The above image is from the most charming book, Romantic Style.

These images are from English Country. The images are gorgeous and the wallpaper samples are divine.
Doesn't this bed look comfy cosy?
Well, that really is all I am doing right now. I may visit the country tomorrow for tea with Elizabeth and then a busy week from there. DN2 has been chosen as one of the athletes of the year by a large newspaper here and she needs to go for a photo shoot on Thursday. I also desperately need a haircut so I will squeeze that in too.

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I am still adding sites to my blog list but it has grown so much over the last few months, I think it looks a little tacky with so many. What do you think? Should I just start using bloglines? I have even left some that have not posted in a while. I just like them all soooo much. They put a smile on face. I hope some of you get that feeling when you visit me ;)

Have a great week!

Pasta, Pictures, Purchasing and Pillows

I am trying to concentrate my effort on achieving some kind of order in the house today. It is undetermined yet as to whether this will actually happen. I do know that we are having Pasta al Forno for dinner tonight, so I figure I am at least one step ahead. Right?
I have also been fiddling with my new camera, trying to not always use "manual" and to figure out some of the features I am obviously not using to my full advantage.

I have a lovely pink geranium that has doubled in size since bringing it inside in the fall. It has decided to bloom.
The beautiful mauve/green hydrangea I picked up for the holidays.
I have thrown this picture in to give you a little hint on my latest project.

Don't you just love spotty fabric?

Oh, did I mention I am suppose to be ironing RIGHT NOW?

My ebay delivery finally came. It was sheets I had ordered in a quaint little gingham pattern, however, gingham does not like to appear live. But it is there and it is adorable.

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Oh, and Colin and Justin are designers that have had many shows here and in the UK. They are hilarious with, I think and very skewed idea of what is desirable but I do love to watch their shows. They now reside, at least part time, in Toronto. I am very sorry to those that had no clue as to who they were. I tend to live in a tiny bubble here. But if you do get a chance to see them, let me know what you think.