The domestic novice

Loving your library

2012-01-26T23:48:00.003Z

When was the last time you went to your local library?

For me, it was probably last year. Why? Because I'm lazy. It's in the opposite direction to the flat, on the other side of the tracks, up the steepest of hills. My charity book habit is also to blame - my bookshelves are teeming with unread pages - making it difficult to justify to myself and Mr M why I've brought home six more books that have to be read at vast speed to avoid the 40p fine.

Despite my lack of attendance, I am utterly sentimental about them. Every Friday when I was small, my family would go to the library after school to choose our books before heading home for bangers and mash and a new story. There's a certain airlessness, a moment suspended when you enter through the doors. My grandparents lived in a little hamlet and would be visited by a mobile library. A Postman Pat affair, it would throw open its doors, revealing words, prose and pictures for those hidden from the main A roads. It was a lifeline before the internet, Kindle and mobile phone.

So why the decline? In an age of austerity, and the surge in allotment holders, surely libraries would be next on the success list. I know that charity bookshops and online sellers are driving small traditional bookshops out of business, but are they hitting the libraries too?

Is it because we're all looking for the most cost effective and time efficient read? I for one confess to scanning our charity shops for my monthly book club read before hitting Amazon. It's only if I've left it to the last minute that I go to a bookshop - and even then I still baulk at the £7.99 hit.

Or is it because we're increasingly becoming non-readers? The number of friends who tell me that they've never enjoyed reading, that they don't have time or were put off at school seem to be all the more common. My friends sit very firmly in one of two camps - those who do and those who don't.

I was, and still am, a bookworm. I've often wondered if it had anything to do with the large age gap between me and my sister. She's the same. I would lose myself in a book - a quick, easy and quiet way to entertain myself. Swallows and Amazons, The Famous Five and Nancy Drew were all read in a tent in the garden or under the bed covers with a torch.

Finding time to read is increasingly difficult - my short commute, laptops that are on until we go to bed, a weekend to-do list that never seems to get much shorter. That said, I do try to read a couple of pages before I turn out the light.

Yesterday I ventured into Charing Cross library. A doorway I've passed numerous times, I only noticed it the other day. It wasn't buzzing, but there was a definite hum of activity - browsing, checking in, checking out.

The long and short of it is that it would be a travesty for our communities to lose their local libraries. A safe environment for children to learn and explore, somewhere for those out of work to access facilities that they may not have at home, a place that has the latest fiction, cookery books that you can use before forking out for them if you like the recipes, DVDs to rent. And all for free!

The Evening Standard Get London Reading Campaign is gathering momentum. If ever there was a time to keep our libraries going it's now.

How can we drive more people to use them? Would a cafe work? Meet a friend for a cuppa and a browse. More late night openings - in a similar vein to the V&A Lates? Could we donate our books to reduce costs Most of the secondhand ones in our charity shops are as good as new. Could publishing houses twin with a library? Or can we just point out to people that if they don't use them, these beautiful (and some not so) buildings will end up standing empty as a piece of history?

The WI campaign this year is Love your Libraries. There is a Government petition that you can sign and a National Libraries Day on the 4th February.

How are you going to Use it, Love it, Join it?

Southbank blues

2012-01-25T18:30:00.000Z

I never tire of this view.

Nor this.

Simple supper

2012-01-24T18:00:00.000Z

Smoked trout, scrambled egg and giant blinis. Deliciously easy.

Today

2012-01-23T19:42:00.002Z

I had a day off.

I attacked the wardrobe and cleared out another bag for charity.

I recycled our collection of dry cleaning wire hangers and spare plastic bags.

I pottered around the local charity shops and added to the bookshelves.

I paid in a cheque that's been pinned to our noticeboard for months.

I made a carrot cake - currants and raisins instead of nuts and sultanas.

I caught up on email.

I stumbled across this foraging calendar at Howies.

I had an early supper.

And I've still got time to spare before my WI meeting.

Note to self - must have more days off.

Da Vinci

2012-01-19T23:48:00.000Z

Have you been to see the Da Vinci exhibition at the National Gallery? I've been amused by the queues. With all the hype, you do find yourself wondering whether you should go. The exhibition is coming to an end and they appear to have thrown in a couple of extra 'late' nights - I'm thinking of nipping along after work to see if they have room for a little one.

Have you been? Would you recommend going?

5 minute sketch

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000Z

Dilly-daffs

2012-01-17T18:30:00.000Z

I couldn't resist them.

Nor could Miss P.

Chilly blue skies and warming chilli

2012-01-16T22:56:00.001Z

Blue sky and a big bold (Texan chilli soup). People watching in Eat on the corner of Bedford Street. The perfect way to spend half an hour over lunch.

Jack Frost

2012-01-15T23:29:00.001Z

We woke to a thick frost on Saturday and a long to do list. Mr M cracked on with his weekend DIY project as I attacked the flat with the hoover and cleaning products. Pickle refused to leave the warmth of the radiator - I would have happily joined her. Instead, I drank copious amounts of tea and ate a ridiculous number of digestive biscuits and custard creams in between chores. A cosy, productive weekend - just what the doctor ordered.

Hope you had a lovely weekend.

Bygone blooms

2012-01-13T16:00:00.000Z

The blooms lasted a week and were magnificent. The sitting room feels a little emptier, but definitely smells much fresher.

The early daffodils on the Embankment flower stall are starting to call to me. December would have been too soon - like creme eggs in November - but now that it's January, I think it might be time. And I did have my first creme egg yesterday.

What are you up to this weekend? We're seeing the lovely Mr and Mrs F, doing a spot of DIY and trying to book Hockney tickets.

New year, new issue

2012-01-12T19:00:00.000Z

My heart sings when Marie Claire Idees arrives through the door. A super subscription from my marvellous sister. She's a French teacher - I, on the other hand, am very far from being fluent. I did however pass my 'Allo, allo' GCSE with flying couleurs*. C'est la vie.

* For those non-British readers, a brilliant comedy set in WWII France vhere zhey spok vith ze Franche aczent. As an impressionable 8 year old, I expected everyone in France to speak English vith ze Franche aczent - apparently not...ahem.

At a snail's pace

2012-01-11T18:00:00.000Z

I'm easing myself into 2012 (and not just because I can hardly move from the gardening yesterday). It's funny how quickly one falls back into the patter of long, un-blinking work hours. When it starts to niggle, I'm trying to counter it with something lovely - a natter with a friend, a bowl of tomato soup at my favourite work cafe, a purposeful stroll amongst dawdling tourists, 10 minutes spent browsing through books.

Speaking of books, Mr and Mrs M Senior very kindly gave me a book token as part of my Christmas present. It might sound silly, but it really is such a brilliant gift. I read like there's no tomorrow. I marvelled at the number of people reading books or Kindles on my commute home the other day, instead of being plugged into their percussion providing iPods. I'm not ready to be converted to an electronica-bookummy-thing. I like to crease the corner of the page I'm reading. To bend the spine. I like the smell of a new book, and that of an old. I like to have my nose buried in a book. I wonder how long it will be before those words are no longer uttered.

Here's my round up of books for 2011. The ones I would recommend are highlighted in bold.

Fashion Babylon - Imogen Edwards-Jones
Family Album - Penelope Lively
Going Loco - Lynn Truss
The Flight of the Falcon - Daphne du Maurier
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender [BC]
The Tiger's Wife - Tea Obreht [BC]
Pearl of China - Anchee Min
Tiger Hills - Sarita Mandanna
The Swallow and The Hummingbird - Santa Montefiore
The Virgin's Lover - Philippa Gregory
The Room - Emma Donoghue [BC]
How to be a woman - Caitlin Moran [BC]
The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters
The Behaviour of Moths - Poppy Adams
The Winter Ghosts - Kate Mosse
The Last Empress - Anchee Min
Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother - Xinran [BC]
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters [BC]
The Rose Labyrinth - Titania Hardie
The French Gardener - Santa Montefiore
Love Letters - Katie Fforde
Two lipsticks and a lover - Helena Frith-Powell
The Dud Avocado - Elaine Dundy
One Day - David Nicholls [BC]
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark [BC]
The Shack - William P Young [BC]
Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger
The Future Homemakers of America - Laurie Graham
Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes [BC]
An Equal Music - Vikram Seth
The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton

My books for 2012 are starting to pile up. I don't know how the judges of the Booker or Costa book prize do it. They must do nothing but eat, read and sleep.

Sounds like heaven.

Miss P's foe

2012-01-10T18:00:00.000Z

Scamp - A lover of feet, craver of company and general getter-in-the-way when it comes to stepping foot in our garden.

Confessions of a culinary kind

2012-01-09T11:00:00.000Z

Nutella on toast is actually very nice.
Sneaky teaspoons of nutella are even nicer.
We bought this julienne gadget last week and it's brilliant.
I'm afraid I didn't make the curried chicken soup last weekend - Waitrose did. I am tempted to have a go - this recipe seems pretty close if you up the liquid, use red lentils instead of the potato and add green beans and red pepper...

The first snowdrop

2012-01-08T22:27:00.000Z

So slender and elegant. We cleared the garden of the final fallen leaves this weekend unearthing the new shoots that have been hidden away - wild garlic, bluebells, daffodils and sedum - some poker straight, others politely growing around the objects in their way.

Black and white

2012-01-06T12:30:00.000Z

We're ignoring the usual resolutions of joining the gym, giving up chocolate and the like. Instead we're enjoying a guilt-free January and merrily making our way through the latest case from Laithwaites. This one caught my eye. Very Poirot.

Have a great weekend!

Uncovered

2012-01-05T17:30:00.000Z

On top of the lurgy, our bathroom plumbing decided to play up in the run up to Christmas. Late night emergency plumbers and showers with the plug in (aka the ankle bath). The permanent solution is coming this week, but these sort of mishaps often unearth unexpected things, like these original tiles Mr M found under the bath. It looks as though the laminate flooring has been laid directly on top, however it being a concrete floor I would imagine the tiles underneath must have been somewhat cold for bare feet.

Boosting the immune system

2012-01-04T18:00:00.000Z

Curried chicken soup and lashings of turmeric. Apparently a spice for all sorts of ailments. Here's hoping!

Nutella + filo + butter

2012-01-03T18:00:00.000Z

We saw in the new year with Mr and Mrs R. We were on pudding duty. It didn't take long to work out what we were going to make. In fact, when we saw the Hairy Bikers make their chocolate and hazelnut filo rolls, the jar of Nutella went straight on the shopping list.

These are seriously the easiest little bits of loveliness you could make. The trickiest part was peeling the filo pastry off its wrapping. We ignored the requirement for rectangles and went for rounded triangles as the filo sheets we had were circles. Unsalted butter over salted. We also opted for a generous end of knife smear of Nutella instead of the tablespoon recommended in the recipe.

The added bonus is that we still have half a jar of Nutella left. Just perfect for a sneaky teaspoon of heaven every so often...

Applauding the amaryllis or is it hip, hip, hooray for Hippeastrum?

2012-01-02T21:00:00.000Z

I spied these beauties at the market on Friday and, inspired by some beautiful stems that Mum had on display over Christmas, I thought I'd indulge myself with a few. I hadn't expected the stall owner to offer me a whole box of 15 stems for £15. I'd handed over the cash before you could shout 'Taxi!'. Laden down with bags, a giant open box of flowers and a distinct lack of London black cabs - my inner Girl Guide gusto kicked in and I huffed and puffed my way to the bus stop. In my bargain blissful state, I'd forgotten that I had to get off the bus to pick up dinner, which meant going into battle at the fish counter at Waitrose - thank goodness for the invention of the small trolley - and walking the half mile home. It was so worth it.

These magnificent blooms were the topic of much discussion on the bus. The similarities between Rhubarb and the stems, Amaryllis v hyacinths and paperwhites, how can you not like the smell of hyacinths? [me - easily. They smell horrid], the cost of growing a stem yourself v buying one and favourite colours [apparently pillar box red].

Some of the stems have four blooms on them - it really is quite astonishing. Sarah Raven recommends popping a cane inside each stem to stop them collapsing from the weight of those pretty heads. I must confess that I came across her article after I'd popped them in the vase and couldn't face wrestling them out again.

Thanks to Hugh Dennis reading Mark Forsyth's The Etymologicon on Radio 4 each morning (He has a brilliant blog here), I've started to pay a little more attention to certain words and where they've come from. The wonder of Google ta daared the following from the book Amaryllis -

Hippeastrum: the name is a combination of hippos, Greek for horse, or hippeus, rider, and astron, star, which loosely translated means the horseman's star, sometimes elevated to the more aristocratic knight's star lily.

And Wiki offered wisely -

Amaryllis is taken from a shepherdess in Virgil's pastoral 'Eclogues', from the Greek amarysso meaning to sparkle.

Not sure about the horse, but I agree with the star and sparkle. In true Victoriana spirit, the flower was seen to represent pride and splendid beauty.

It was only in 1987 that it was finally agreed that the giant bulb we give as Christmas presents (with firm instructions for 'this way up') should be classified as Hippeastrum and not Amaryllis - 150 years after the 'H' word first surfaced . It's not really caught on in the main - even the box that my stems came in were scrawled with Amaryllis and had flown in from Holland, a far cry from their South American heritage.

What do you call yours?

Happy new year

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000Z

It's all been a snotty blur

2011-12-29T18:49:00.001Z

We're at the end of our second week off and it's been bliss. If you ignore the fact that we've both got the dreaded lurgy - Mr M has now gone down with my nasty from week one, and I've picked up something new which has somewhat knocked me sideways. Our grand plans have given way to very late starts, Star Wars and glasses of fizzy Solpadeine. On the plus side, it has meant that we haven't gorged ourselves so the jeans are feeling a little looser.

Snot aside, we've had a lovely Christmas. Family get-togethers, great presents and homemade grub - Mr M's amazing first festive ham was a particular highlight, with the squash stuffed with leftover pigs in blankets and devils on horseback a close second. Nom nom.

This year has been a tad higgledy piggledy. Here's to 2012 being back on schedule. Keeping it simple. Spending time with those who matter. Learning new things. Catching a breath.

It's fixed!

2011-12-11T22:27:00.000Z

Mr M fixed my poorly camera. We had the comedy 'don't-move-where-did-the-screw-land?' moment, and then the very technical 'smack-it-hard-on-table' step and ta daar - one fixed camera. It feels teeny-weeny next to my new shutter love.

No. 5

2011-12-05T23:32:00.001Z

Every good stocking should have some. It's funny how tastes change. I was never particularly keen on nuts - freshly cracked or toasted. I would diligently pick them out of brownies and fish them out of the trifle. But something has changed. We've started to have nuts with everything. Toasted almonds between the layers of filo of the strudel, walnuts in carrot cake, pistachios in lunchtime wraps. I'm definitely in the toasted camp. Delicious.

No. 4

2011-12-04T22:36:00.001Z

A new Christmas decoration - ceramic angel wings from Paperchase. I love the way that they balance perfectly.

A new Christmas recipe tested on Mr and Mrs F last night, and made again this evening.

A slightly fuzzy headed white wine induced lie-in this morning.

A second candle lit on the advent crown.

A little bit of help with the construction of our Christmas 'tree'. Garden sticks diligently collected by Mr M, some sprayed white, some not. All popped in an earthenware pot.

A busy week ahead.

No. 3

2011-12-03T17:46:00.000Z

A button wreath made at our WI Christmas craft evening back in October. Quite addictive to make.

This is the first photo from the new camera. So many options and functions. Wish they'd provided a printed manual rather than a pdf!

On the 2nd day of Christmas

2011-12-02T21:54:00.001Z

A mince pie from the Real Food Market at Southbank.

And I picked up my new camera. Excited. Moi? Abso-blinking-lutely.

No. 1

2011-12-01T23:24:00.001Z

Clementines from Covent Garden. So Christmassy. Lucky Mr M. Perhaps we'll have a go at making these.

A friend persuaded me to go to the Seven Dials/St Martins Courtyard Christmas shopping event this evening. To be honest, not much persuading required - free mulled wine, champagne and crumbly mince pies. Our first stop was Banana Republic where I picked up two work dresses in the sale. I also booked myself onto a flower arranging course at The Covent Garden Academy of Flowers - it's been on my list of things to do, and a wee festive discount was the little push I needed.

What advent calendar do you have this year? As you can see, we're freestyling.

My not quite five golden rings

2011-11-29T14:00:00.000Z

Mum has been doing a silver jewellery course this year. She has made some incredible things. As a birthday present, she very kindly booked Mr M and me on a day course with her tutor, Janet Richardson at Norden Farm.

We sawed, and twisted, and soldered, and bashed, and polished all day. I even made my own silver balls. It was so much fun. How great to spend 6 hours learning something new and come away with 3 new pieces of jewellery to wear straight away.

An advent crown

2011-11-27T17:39:00.001Z

Mr M - I want an advent crown this year
Mrs M - Ooooh, with wire hangers, tinsel and candles like Blue Peter
Mr M - Huh?
Mrs M - You know - plastic, sparkle and flame hanging from the ceiling.
Mr M - I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't really watch Blue Peter when I was younger
Mrs M - WHAT?! What were you doing?
Mr M - I dunno. It's got to have red candles.

Fast forward to Saturday - battle weary Mr and Mrs M fight their way through hoards of shoppers to M&S to pick up an 'investment piece' for the advent crown. A sigh of relief when said candle holder is spotted and purchased.

But where are the red candles? M&S - no. Clas Ohlson - no. *Sigh*. Back to John Lewis where Christmas fever has broken out. Mr M admits defeat and removes himself from the narrow candle aisles leaving Mrs M to grit her teeth in the queue as her legs are gently knocked for a whole 20 minutes by some oblivious shopper who has entered the lack-of-spacial-awareness final phase of Christmas fever.

This morning we bought a block of oasis from the lovely florist next to Waitrose (where they had advent crowns for £45!) and then spent the afternoon finding greenery and the odd berry that the birds hadn't found in the garden. They don't appear to like pyracantha.

A festive pile of green. I think Father Christmas will agree that a flower arranging course is in order...

Have you got an advent crown? How did you make yours? Did it involve wire hangers?

Where's Watson?

2011-11-23T23:18:00.001Z

It's been Sherlock Holmes weather this week. Like snow, fog casts the everyday in a different frame - the sewage works at Berrylands, the fields in Runnymede, the train tracks, St Paul's, the fairy lights on Southbank. It makes you want to wrap up from head to toe in a floor length winter coat - like this one from Hobbs.

Would it be wrong to add a hat? And ear muffs?

Throwing things together

2011-11-16T22:39:00.001Z

Houmous with toasted pistachios, cumin and fennel seeds

Mr M has been away on business, so I've been experimenting in the kitchen.

The surprise success has to be the grilled chicken that was briefly marinaded in yoghurt and curry spices whilst on the phone with my parents. And the thrown together paprika baked beans. The grey cooked lamb that had to be saved with copious amounts of tomato puree and tumeric was a bit touch and go but turned out fine. Smoked trout and scrambled eggs remains a firm favourite.

What's yours?

Just because

2011-11-13T22:45:00.001Z

I'm drawn to the vivid blue and typography.
And this - we caused a bit of a scene when we saw the new Nails Inc magnetic nail varnish demonstration. Loving the names too - Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and Houses of Parliament.
And this - quick and easy to make, just don't do it in a Le Creuset pot unless you were looking for grey meat - thank goodness for turmeric and tomato puree.
And this - lovely clothes, quite pricey and a new brand for French Connection.

Hope you had a great weekend.

Apple crumble sponge

2011-11-08T23:22:00.000Z

This is the view from my Grandpa's house. Spot the apples. So juicy and sweet, they have a beautiful rose blush. We were lucky enough to come home with a bag full when we visited the other week.

Determined to use the final few, I decided to have a go at Eric Lanlard's Apple crumble sponge cake. Can you believe it's a year since I went on his baking course? This one was so easy to make - whip up the cinnamon sponge, slice the apples and make the crumble. Pop in the oven for 45 minutes and take a moment to marvel at just how wonderfully Autumnal baking cinnamon smells.

I used a tin liner - like these from Lakeland, although I got mine from the 99p shop down the road. What a marvellous invention to reduce the time spent on washing up. I'm all about the practicalities.

Absolutely delicious. Even nicer with cup of tea.

Whizz, bang, pop.

2011-11-06T18:55:00.000Z

Miss P's preferred spot this weekend. She was reading up on Pets at Home.

Hope you had fun. We went to a local display with Family R - brilliant fireworks and an impressive bonfire that seemed to have been conveniently built under some very dry trees. I know our council can be tough on tree maintenance, but this did seem to be rather extreme action on the school's part. Mr M somehow managed to get hit by the butt of a spent firework that ricocheted off his poppy and hit Mrs R. All very exciting - no flames, just confusion. Do you think that's the Guy Fawkes equivalent of a lucky bird dropping?

Par avion

2011-10-24T22:30:00.000+01:00

These beauties were earmarked for recycling at work. I just had to save them. They reminded me of my grandparents trips to America in the 80s when they would write letters home to say hello, long before email, text and twitter. I'm going to use them to say a long overdue hello to our friends on the other side of the pond.

Not enough

2011-10-23T22:58:00.000+01:00

The cliches of hours and days ring true at the moment. Weekdays are a blur with time spent at home to eat and sleep - and not much else.

Weekends have become our focus. Monday is spent ruing the loss of the weekend just gone, Tuesday wishing Friday was nearer, Wednesday spent sighing that we're almost there, and Thursday just hanging in there with an extra glass of something to help. Friday itself whizzes by until I turn off my PC and head for Waterloo long after everyone else.

Weekends are a blur of catching up - chores, family and friends.

Last weekend, we popped down to Wiltshire to visit my Grandpa. A glorious day on all counts - we had a delicious lunch at The Beckford Arms (I want to move in), discovered a never-ending Antiques shop and helped clear the garden in preparation for Winter, netting ourselves a huge bag of eating apples and pears in return and the beautiful hydrangea stem you see here. Mr M then magically turned the apples into pies for the freezer - marvellous.

This weekend, we cooked up a storm - Hugh's Root Vegetable Boulangere from the October Waitrose magazine with some token sausages last night and some scrummy lamb shanks cooked in white wine this evening. Chores both inside and out were ticked off the list, as Miss P soaked up the rays, and I had some much needed catch up time with a couple of friends.

I also had a little Blue Peter fun this evening with the WI Christmas invitations - all it took was a printer, Stanley knife, eraser and some ink.

I recently resigned from my WI committee (see opening paragraph...), so these are one of the last few things on my to do list. Four more and then I'll be able to close that guilty door...just a couple more doors left to shut.

Autummer? Sumtumn?

2011-10-09T23:01:00.001+01:00

What do you call it when two seasons come together? Does it fall under the 'Indian summer' category that everyone mysteriously talks about each September? The last couple of weeks have been marvellous, and we're due more this week. Some nights have been as balmy as an Italian night in August - Southbank has been heaving each night with people enjoying the warm extension to their Autumnal evening. All out of step with the month of October, but heck - who's complaining?

We went to my in-laws last week to celebrate Mr M Senior's birthday with a scorching BBQ and I made a dogs dinner of a birthday cake...

...hard to believe I've been watching the Great British Bake Off...

...but it did taste mighty fine. Note to oneself - in silly humidity, cream doesn't take quite so long to whip.

Autumn

2011-09-21T23:35:00.000+01:00

The low sun casts a warm, golden glow on the crisp leaves underfoot, taking the edge off the chill. There's no doubt that Summer is over and Autumn is upon us. A time for soup, hot chocolate, jacket potatoes and a search for all things cosy and snug.

Meadham Kirchhoff - crazy cats

2011-09-20T23:00:00.000+01:00

Powder puffs, a Courtney Love dancing troupe performing the can-can, a little group of ballerinas bursting with pride in their red ballet pumps and Anna Wintour (hidden behind a balloon column, and pointed out to me once I got back to the office - gah!).

Their shows always deliver when it comes to debate and this was no exception. It was difficult to decide which part of the show to watch - the dancers or the models. A riot of pastels delivered for Spring/Summer 2012, in typical MK style, and dedicated to Tavi. This was quite literally the pink icing on the cake - I wasn't expecting to go, but was given a last minute ticket and dashed there during lunch. I almost didn't go - but am so pleased that I did.

One last fashion event to go (I've won a competition to go to a special Telegraph shopping event at the Matches townhouse in Marylebone - all the more comedy as I am one of the least fashionable people I know. In fact, I wore Hobbs again today...so you can imagine my traumas for Thursday) and then normal business will resume in the M household. Baking, WI and crochet.

By the way - just spotted this British online magazine (thank you Tea for Joy). Rather liking. Am popping it in this post to remind me to read it when I have a mo.

Lovestruck

2011-09-20T10:00:00.000+01:00

My favourite shoes have finally given up the ghost. It was only as I threw them away that I spotted their name.

London Fashion Week

2011-09-19T23:29:00.001+01:00

'Tis the season for the beautiful and the bonkers to descend on the Strand, and more importantly Somerset House, for London Fashion Week.

I popped out for coffee this afternoon and was somewhat dwarfed by the giant waifs ordering skinny-soya-mocha-fresh-air-lattes, which is an oddity in itself as I'm used to being the giant at 5'9''. I ordered my skinny-decaf-americano, threw in a Millionaires Shortbread for good measure, and went on my short, non-waif, merry way.

On Friday I saw Boris open London Fashion Week, in only the way Boris can, and this evening I made it to my one and only show of the week - Todd Lynn.

I love watching the anticipation build as people wait on the glorified school benches, film cameras and microphones descending on the famous as those not-so-famous jostle to see who is being interviewed. The catwalk cover is drawn back, the lights dip, the beat begins and the bright lights lead the way for the first model to stride out.

Todd's Spring/Summer 2012 collection was light and beautifully draped, bustles and silk rustled alongside laddered knitted dresses, sharp tailoring and the odd dash of leather.

As always, the Louboutins were sky high. The silk cornflower blue dress flowed dreamily and the lines on the tailored bustle cream jacket were sharp yet soft enough for SS/12.

I do find the fashion world fascinating - those who are there to be seen on the front row, those who loiter outside in the hope that they will be photographed by The Sartorialist or Grazia, those who don't want to be seen and those who dress to make a statement that will never be known.

Post show, we grabbed a glass of fizz on Tom's Terrace and amused ourselves by people watching - the suits, the students, the models, the designers, the cogs behind the show. And then little ol' me. I can almost, without doubt, guarantee that I was the only one there wearing Hobbs...albeit on-trend in polka dots...and going home for Mr M's marvellous homemade chicken pie!

Duck eggs

2011-09-18T23:00:00.000+01:00

Duck eggs fresh from the market yesterday. Mr M wanted 6 white, but I couldn't leave the blue one behind.

Boiled egg and soldiers this morning. Scrumptious.

Photos taken with Mr M's camera. I'm experimenting with his as mine is broken, and needs to go to the camera hospital. When I say experimenting, it's more a case of pressing lots of buttons and making lots of exasperated noises. I'll get there in the end.

Short on words

2011-09-12T10:30:00.000+01:00

High street haiku

2011-08-31T10:33:00.001+01:00

Sunny days

2011-08-29T22:40:00.000+01:00

Hi de hi! Hope you've had a lovely bank holiday. We caught up on sleep. We walked and walked and talked. We discovered the greatest chicken sandwich ever in Hampton Court and a brilliant 'lottery win' cupboard. We howled with laughter watching Tim Minchin host the Comedy Proms, and will definitely be watching it again on BBC iPlayer. We sampled millefeuille from somewhere new. All nicely finished off with an ice cold beer and burger at Byron. How did you spend yours?

Sunday sun

2011-08-24T19:03:00.000+01:00

Fresh

2011-08-23T22:55:00.000+01:00

Rainbow goodies from the Farmers Market and homegrown blackberries. Mr M's scrumptious potato salad and Jamie's quick berry ice cream in the Kenwood mixer attachment (it's all still very exciting). A white nectarine a day.

I don't want Summer to end.

Just peachy

2011-08-18T10:00:00.006+01:00

For Mr M

Happy Anniversary

(peaches from Clovelly Court)

Sugary swirls

2011-08-17T23:04:00.000+01:00

Fish fight - a drum roll for the dab

2011-08-15T18:00:00.004+01:00

We've been trying different types of fish recently, in part influenced by Hugh's Fish Fight. Coley and tilapia are two of our new favourites. Mr M picked up some pieces of dab on Friday and made this delicious pile with pea and broccoli mash. Yum.

Olympic taster

2011-08-14T23:25:00.000+01:00

The Olympics came to town today in a blur of lycra. And it was really rather thrilling!

The freshest of salads

2011-08-10T10:00:00.000+01:00

My father made this marvellous salad box. It hangs under their kitchen window, capturing the midday sun. Salad leaves as far as the eye can see. Isn't it brilliant?

Saddened

2011-08-09T00:16:00.000+01:00

The chaos taking place in London tonight is a disgrace. There is no excuse for vandalism and theft. Our economy is in enough trouble without this.

Fellow London bloggers, I hope you are safe.

A summer wedding

2011-08-08T22:57:00.000+01:00

A day spent at Aldermaston Manor

with wedding vows in the library.

An unexpected country cottage garden.

Reflections at the bottom of the sweeping lawn,

clipped yew and box perfect for hide and seek.

A beautiful Victorian glasshouse that time forgot.

Fresh flowers for my usherette corsage.

Dried petals for the happy couple.

Congratulations Mr and Mrs L,

may your future be full of the most wonderful things.

The new Mrs L microwaved many a petal for her confetti

and the effect was just magical.

Red Admirals

2011-08-03T23:02:00.000+01:00

On a hot, dry afternoon, beneath the canopy of blue and green, three Red Admirals flitted and flirted. With each swoop they got lower, flying close to our ears disturbing the stillness with the beating thrum of their wings, until they settled to soak up the sun.

Greengages

2011-07-31T22:10:00.001+01:00

These made delicious mini crumbles - just add a spoonful of demerara sugar, a splash of vanilla extract and top with a nutty crumble topping. Yum.

Pottering

2011-07-27T22:59:00.000+01:00

The WI calendar is taking shape

2011-07-26T18:15:00.001+01:00

Not that sort of WI calendar! One with home baked cakes and recipes. We held a cake off last month at the pub. Being the rubbish WI committee member that I am*, I clearly wasn't paying attention and rocked up with my double choc chip cookies. Rather embarrassingly, I won - thanks to the barman who gave my cookies a whopping score right at the end. This was merely a temporary state, for I was humming 'we are the champions' by the time I got home to share the news with a rather WI-weary Mr M.

This evening at our monthly meeting, the winning cakes (and cookies) were eagerly baked again and lined up to be professionally photographed. All very exciting. Aga artistically prepared the shots with sprigs of this and sprinkles of that, then gave a little talk on how to achieve perfect photographs with point and shoot cameras. If that wasn't enough we then had a recipe swap followed by refreshments and cake devouring. A very good way to start the week, I think you'll agree.

*I really am dreadful, I'm surprised I haven't been booted off yet. I'm blaming it on the lack of a whizzy smartphone.

Purple haze

2011-07-25T18:00:00.000+01:00

We found ourselves in a garden centre at the weekend and were taken with how laden their flowers were with bees and hoverflies. It was so refreshing to see and prompted us to buy some colour for the green shady patch we lovingly call our garden. Sadly we couldn't take the honey bees with us - for they would have been mightily confused - but we did fill up the boot with purple and yellow loveliness.

I find the sound of bees going about their day incredibly calming. My grandfather was a bee keeper and kept hives in the garden. There was always a gentle hum in their garden. It's almost hypnotic watching a bee making its way around a flower laden plant.

We're relatively low on honey bees here, but have miner bees, hoverflies and big, lazy bumbles. Not quite as buzzing as the garden centre but certainly encouraging to see. I can't wait to have a sunny garden with bee friendly plants like verbena, scabious and lavender.

A moment captured

2011-07-24T22:08:00.000+01:00

Do you remember the sign in my last post? I spotted this great shot of my parents throwing caution to the wind.

Can't take them anywhere!

Seaside signage

2011-07-19T23:25:00.000+01:00

I love the last line on this sign at Hartland Quay.

Curlew Cottage and crochet

2011-07-17T22:57:00.000+01:00

Do you remember this lovely cottage? We went back last week and had a wonderful time. And my Mother taught me how to crochet. I can not begin to tell you how excited I am about having finally conquered that darn hook. Just to need to work out how to hold the yarn properly and I'll be churning out blankets and cushions before you know it.

Splash back

2011-06-30T18:00:00.000+01:00

Anatolia 'Mysia'

I'm very excited about our latest purchase - two blue and white tiles to act as a splash back for our sink. Comedy moment in Fired Earth when Mr M had to be reassured that it was okay to buy just one tile.

And yes, that is indeed a knitted dishcloth courtesy of my Mother. Isn't she marvellous!

Sweet memories

2011-06-29T22:00:00.000+01:00

I've been craving raspberry flan just like my Nan used to make. It takes me back to long Sunday lunches, furniture polish, hours spent playing Asteroids and baths full to the brim with Badedas bubbles.

Always served with sweet whipped cream.

Weekend baking

2011-06-29T00:21:00.000+01:00

Mint tea

2011-06-20T19:00:00.000+01:00

Our mint patch is being put to good use this year what with tum-settling remedies and summer peas.

Laid low

2011-06-19T23:05:00.000+01:00

I've had food poisoning for the last week and it is really becoming rather tedious. From an utterly sulky pants perspective, the timing couldn't have been worse as it was my birthday this weekend. The greatest of plans were scrapped with the promise that I can have my 'official' birthday next month. We still managed to have fun yesterday with my parents, sister and friends at the local dog show (we somehow ended up as judges), followed by cake back at ours (10 in our sitting room is most definitely the max). Mum made her chocolate fudge cake - my favourite and a staple through the years. I used to be packed off to University each term with a Tupperware box full of cake and would spend the first week eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ignoring my tum, I wolfed down a slice with a naughty glass of pink fizz, only to be reminded an hour or so later that if I thought cake was back on the menu I was very much mistaken. Back to toast and don't-rock-the-boat cuisine. *sigh*

A luxurious long weekend

2011-06-16T00:22:00.000+01:00

I have just spent a wonderful long weekend in Herefordshire in this beautiful barn with 9 other lovely ladies for Miss L's hen do. A barn that sleeps 12 comfortably, with outdoor swimming pool, croquet garden, sauna and table tennis room. Absolute heaven.

We spent the first night playing the legendary chocolate game. Take one chilled bar of chocolate in its wrapper, knife and fork, hat, gloves, scarf and dice. Roll a 6, throw on the accessories and eat one square of chocolate at a time. It got a little competitive...

After a nice leisurely start on Saturday, we went target shooting. So much fun. I got a bulls eye with my crossbow. All very exciting. Back to the barn for lunch and a pamper party - if you're in Herefordshire and need a little pampering, these are the ladies to call. I had my first pedicure and French manicure. Looking glam, we then went for dinner and danced until the wee hours. Sunday was spent cursing the rain, watching Midsummer Murders and relaxing. And marvelling at the fact that we are all clearly very grown up because we didn't wake up with sore heads. Particularly when you consider that I was in Barcelona a year ago for Mrs F's hen do and experienced the side effects of cava. Ahem.

Full marks to Miss L's big sister for organising such a super weekend.

Pouncing

2011-06-08T18:12:00.000+01:00

Miss P's favourite pouncing spot - between the two Hebe pots. It's a very serious business.

Cherries for the crows

2011-06-07T13:18:00.000+01:00

The crows, as always, have done rather marvellously with their brood this year. They have been learning to fly and 'caw' over the last couple of weeks making sure to practise early in the morning. We have a very tall cherry tree with branches that start some 15' up which produces a smattering of cherries each year. The cherries are so high up, that it's only when one has been dropped that you realise we have them. Lucky crows.

Devonshire blue

2011-06-06T18:00:00.003+01:00

There is a flower stall by Embankment tube station that never fails to delight. They often have reasonably priced seasonal blooms. I couldn't resist these Devon Cornflowers on Friday and merrily skipped homeward bound along Hungerford Bridge carrying my precious cargo. I now have two vases crammed with green and blue looking rather magnificent on our new (extending!) dining table. Happy days.

Living art

2011-06-05T22:58:00.000+01:00

I stumbled across this on Friday when I had to dash to Soho for work. The National Gallery are recreating A Wheatfield with Cypresses. This is only part of it. I'm looking forward to checking on their progress. I spied a large number of sunflowers through the open door. All very exciting.

Urban colour

2011-06-01T23:14:00.000+01:00

I'm liking the Southbank colour infusion at the moment. It looks like the skyscape has been Photoshopped.

Just deserts for Horace

2011-05-27T18:00:00.002+01:00

The wild strawberries have romped away at the edge of the wilderness. Horace the hedgehog always gets there first, but that's fine as he more than contributes to the garden by chomping his way through our army of slugs.

A little wild strawberry dessert, if you will.

Mixer magic

2011-05-26T17:00:00.003+01:00

Having spent far too long discussing our mixer requirements, we finally took the plunge and bought a Kenwood Prospero. We'd wanted a mixer for absolutely ages and hadn't included it on the wedding list due to a lack of space - but radical measures have taken place in the M household and our microwave has been popped into storage, leaving us with the perfect mixer space. If only we had thought of this when we were compiling the gift list.

Following said purchase, our oven decided to test us - so the lovely mixer has waited patiently in the perfect mixer space, gathering dust. Until, that is, we had a craving for pizza last weekend and we decided to go for it. Or rather Mr M did - as you can see from the pictures. I kept my hands clean by taking action shots.

I'm on a mission to make meringues this weekend with the balloon whisk attachment. It's all very, very exciting.

Pretty Peonies

2011-05-24T18:00:00.004+01:00

My parents used to have huge peony bushes with flowers the colour of claret and the size of a saucer. Flower heads packed tight with hundreds of delicate, almost velvety petals. They've been a firm favourite of mine ever since. We've tried to grow them in our shady plot but have only managed leaves not petals. So, I must be content with buying mine - a delicate pink - and enjoy watching it unfurl from its tight buds a little more each day.

Thrifty shopping lists

2011-05-22T22:35:00.000+01:00

Old envelopes, scissors, hole punch and string. Couldn't be simpler.

The lovely Miss H and The Breakfast Club

2011-05-10T23:34:00.000+01:00

I met the lovely Miss H at The Breakfast Club in Soho on Sunday for brunch. The queue was huge and my arrival couldn't have been more perfectly timed as she'd just made it to the front. It was well worth the wait - my American pancakes were delicious. A little bit of savoury and sweet. Yum! The queue above was at 3pm - for breakfast! Madness.

Wibble wobble

2011-05-09T18:00:00.012+01:00

It wouldn't have been much of a birthday for Mr M last week without jelly and ice cream and giant Jenga. Not quite on the same scale as the official jellymongers, Bompas and Parr, but darn tasty. Speaking of jelly, I spotted some marvellous jelly mould candles in the Royal Festival Hall shop yesterday.

The big question has to be plastic or metal jelly mould?

May madness

2011-05-08T23:40:00.000+01:00

Miss G and I went to the community sports day at our local park yesterday. It was great fun. Egg and spoon race, sack race, three-legged race and the obligatory tug of war. A rather keen mosquito the night before had put me out of action, so I was in charge of the camera and cheering. It was a very British affair - picnic blankets, live music, children running around, beer tent, dogs snuffling about for abandoned sausage rolls and the will it/won't it rain question. All very jolly.

Flowers in the City

2011-04-28T23:51:00.000+01:00

It was Mr M's birthday yesterday and we went to see Frankenstein at the National Theatre, followed by dinner at Skylon. The performance was incredible - Benedict Cumberbatch played Frankenstein, and Jonny Lee Miller the Monster. Absolutely brilliant. With a nice dash of wit to lighten the dark tone. I was mesmerised by the scenery and even though I knew it was there, jumped with each toll of the bell. As we sipped our post-performance drinks looking out over Southbank we spied a couple of green beds teaming with Allium. I do love how, in all that grey concrete, a slice of green can keep even an urban honey bee happy.

I have been away from my laptop for far too long. I am dreadfully behind with email and blogs. I daren't log into Google Reader. I hope you are all well, wonderfully over-indulged with Easter chocolate cheer and have bunting-a-plenty for tomorrow. I have just uploaded 150 or so photos from my camera that have been piling up, digitally speaking. I'm almost ashamed to admit that my neglect has gone as far as forgetting my camera last weekend when we went to Cliveden. A cardinal sin. Particularly as we got utterly lost in the new, rather magnificent, maze. Mazes rapidly lose their fun when you can't find your way back out again, and is utterly magnified when you find your way out and realise that you never actually made it to the middle.

Why, hello!

2011-04-14T22:50:00.001+01:00

Hello. How are you? Thank you so much for emails and comments. I do apologise for the silence recently. It's been a little busy - sadly with little to show for the madness. Whilst I gather my thoughts and get back on track, I thought I would share with you two shots that sum up the month of March. Sad, unnecessary vandalism - remind me again who will be paying to remove said graffiti...?

And our wonderful bleeding heart which seems to have thoroughly enjoyed the snow, thankyouverymuch.

I do so love how moisture is captured in the tear drop of the heart. I don't know about you, but our garden is simply roaring away in the glorious weather we've been having recently. It's simply divine.

Ruffled feathers

2011-03-27T23:15:00.000+01:00

We've found three of these beautiful feathers in the garden recently and haven't a clue who might have lost them. Any ideas?

p.s. Miss P's pillow is a mouse.

Miss P's pillow

2011-03-24T22:26:00.000Z

It's ever so sweet.

Spring

2011-03-22T23:00:00.000Z

It really does feel like it's here, doesn't it? The warming sun, the high blue sky, the nesting birds and the longer days. Beautiful pink and red primroses now happily potted up in an old sundae dish on the window sill.

This week

2011-03-13T22:21:00.000Z

Ricotta and ham pancakes

Old shirt bunting

A delicious crocus that the squirrels hadn't spied

Delightful frilly underskirts

Sultanas

2011-03-07T23:19:00.000Z

I'd forgotten how much I like sultanas. I'd had some lurking in the cupboard following that delicious carrot cake and decided to throw them into the standard fairy cake batch for tea with Mrs R and Master R on Saturday afternoon. Drizzled with Royal Icing, they were scrumptious. One bite and I was transported back to my Grandmother's kitchen, delving into her larder - a deep cupboard at waist height under the stairs - that went on and on, and always had a cake or two waiting to be nibbled.

How was your weekend? I went to a jumble sale - something that I haven't done in years. Times have changed - I'm sure we didn't used to queue or that people were quite so rude, but I still managed to get a nice pile of books and a couple of shirts for bunting. On Sunday, I finished Miss L's wedding invitation and made hot sausage sandwiches for Mr M and his friends after their Thames cycle ride - training for London to Brighton has begun in earnest. Miss P spent today rolling in dirt baths - she still feels a tad grim and sticky despite several brushes and 'washes' - and judging by her licking face she's regretting her choice of bath too.

The view

2011-03-02T22:12:00.000Z

We went down to Wiltshire at the weekend to visit my Grandpa and celebrate a somewhat postponed Christmas. We had such a lovely time - Christmas presents, crackers and family tales. This was our view as we ate lunch - a landscape that calmly moves from one season to the next, a reassuring constant for much of my life. Mr M spied the bouncing dots on the far right and we concluded that they must be early lambs. Sadly, the alpacas in Fonthill Bishop were no longer in their roadside field but the pigs were having a whale of a time in the mud just past the Stonehenge.

Talking of family, have you ever looked into your family tree?

Something new...

2011-02-27T23:48:00.000Z

...something blue

I popped into London Fashion Weekend on Friday night and fell in love with this little bag of lovely by Tamara Fogle. It was an absolute bargain. I swoon every time I open it and catch a glimpse of the ticking inside.

Hope you had a fab weekend.

Meadham Kirchhoff A/W 2011

2011-02-24T23:55:00.000Z

VIP seats. We were the row behind...*sigh*

Old Billingsgate - a beautiful venue

Mrs C

An army of models

Fast, furious and spellbinding

Non-conformist to the very last letter. Champagne and vegetarian curry. A collaboration with Penhaligons. Flowers, memorials and an eclectic crowd. Incredible outfits, models walking to double time. So fast, the majority of my shots are a blur. Over in the blink of an eye, still being talked about 48 hours later.

Spotted - one knitted jumper with a witch and broomstick motif. Brilliant.

Red is definitely going to feature in our wardrobes come October.

I have absolutely loved London Fashion Week. Am really rather sad that it's all over. What an experience. Hope you've enjoyed my little adventure. The final part will be a quick dash tomorrow after work to London Fashion Weekend.

Come Saturday it's back to baking, knitting and crochet - oh yes, you read correctly, crochet...

And so it ends...

2011-02-23T00:37:00.000Z

My last show. I'll post more tomorrow but for now, a glimpse of the invitation.

Julian MacDonald Autumn/Winter 2011

2011-02-22T01:01:00.000Z

There are moments in your life when you really do have to pinch yourself. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be hot-footing it across London to get to One Mayfair to the paparazzi scrum that was Julian MacDonald's show. Our tickets were standing only so we followed the throng up the stairs to the gallery, with a white chocolate bellini in the hand, past the beautifully scented candles and pushed our way to the front. Gothic, incense-filled, dark, atmospheric, hoards of celebs - Juliette Lewis (clearly stalking me), Jo Wood, Bianca Jagger, Amber Rose and Hilary Alexander in the biggest fur hat you've ever seen - I'm sure it had a tail. We were reading the tweets as we peered down from the Gods, and apparently 7 models had only just turned up and the show was already 15 minutes late. After 45 minutes, one Hilary Alexander got up and, to cheers, went and knocked on the door to chivvy them along. The lights were dropped, a theatrical voice started to boom and the show was on. Black, Gothic, lace meets Twilight, followed by glorious pale gold and pink creations that seemed to lap at the models feet like the tide, all to a pulsing beat.

And then it was over - and we were making a break for the tube. Madness.

Todd Lynn Autumn/Winter 2011

2011-02-22T00:30:00.000Z

So the invitation was dark and brooding, the music a melancholy classic meets rock and an air of androgyny. Slick ponytails with centre-parting plaits, sky high Louboutins and sculptural outfits. The palette ranged from pale cream to biker black to a beautiful slash of red. Leather, fur and tight. Exhilarating and fierce.

People spotted included Juliette Lewis, Jo Wood and the man who had tucked himself away like a hermit crab.

I'm afraid you'll have to put up with crowd photos as I really haven't got to grips with Mr M's big camera. One more show tomorrow, rumoured to have a certain American Vogue editor attending...let's hope I've worked it out by then!

Monday mwah, mwah...

2011-02-21T10:30:00.001Z

This is where I'll be this afternoon. Can. Not. Wait.

Loving the typography - black on grey. Fabulous.

Greaders - you got a sneak preview yesterday as I hit 'publish' by accident!

I spy

2011-02-20T22:10:00.000Z

Squirrel, bird, Mr M?

Hope you had a lovely weekend! Mine was less about fashion and all about food. Roast chicken, salad and sourdough. Toad in the hole and purple kale. Yum. Yum. Yum.

London Fashion Week - mwah, mwah!

2011-02-19T00:22:00.000Z

One of the things that has been keeping me rather busy at work recently has been London Fashion Week. I still can't quite believe that I have just spent the last couple of months dabbling in the fashion world - photoshoots, fashion designers, an awards do, the whole airbrushing debacle. I have always had closet fashionista tendencies - trust me, you certainly would have no idea if you were to meet me. My career path however has never veered in that direction, until now - and it is by no means the entire part of my day job, but it is a very nice way to spend part of my week and I am enjoying every minute.

LFW began today at a rather chilly Somerset House on the north bank of the River Thames. We were attending a breakfast for a little hobnobbing - or in my case, people watching and pain au chocolate. Rather unexpectedly we were taken, sans tickets, into Paul Costelloe's opening show. As we were whisked past the very long queue of some very serious fashion types, I must confess that inside I was squealing with excitement. I was like a child in a sweetshop.

We found space on a bench and settled down for a little more people watching, spotting Hilary Alexander in a fabulous feather collared coat and rather randomly Evan Davis from Radio 4.

It was fascinating watching the photographers snapping the front row alumni, the chaos before the calm, the rolling back of the cloth to reveal the runway signalling that it was almost time, the lights going down, the photographers moving into prime position for the show. Then the music began to roll.

First down the runway was Costelloe's daughter Jessica with the most beautiful red hair wearing a stunning tailored tweed coat and a radiant smile. The show had begun - the models marched down the runway in time to the beat, some super skinny, some not so - all wearing vibrant tartan, tweed and metallic outfits with a sixties swing about them - oh and the craziest red frizzy bobbed wigs. My poor little camera didn't stand a chance with all those big flashes...

And after 8, maybe 10, minutes - it was was over. Applause gave way to the scrum making for the exits - off to the next show. There are shows being held in numerous places so flat shoes are a must if you're walking. Clocking the skyscraper heels, I'm guessing quite a few weren't...

Next stop was Harold Tillman officially opening London Fashion Week followed by Samantha Cameron in her new role as Ambassador for the British Fashion Council.

I can't begin to describe the buzz in the venue - it makes your finger tips tingle. I was very well behaved considering I wanted to grab the nearest person and say 'Isn't it amazing! Can you believe we're at London Fashion Week?!', which considering I was standing next to Anya Hindmarch probably wouldn't have gone down well. It was a bit of a shame that we had to go back to the office as I could quite happily have sat in a corner and people watched all day. The glass of champagne in the hand by 9:30 was rather a nice touch too.

Don't worry though - Mr M will keep me grounded.

Although I must confess that I did buy a 'trendy' outfit today as I'm going to two more shows on Monday...

...oh dear.

p.s. Do you remember this post? I've finally managed to fix the pictures. The carnage is now far worse.

C is for carrot cake

2011-02-13T23:21:00.000Z

After a herumphy moment at Bill's yesterday, when I realised I couldn't have a slice of their delicious walnut cake with my coffee due to the rather odd ingredient of orange juice, I concluded that some baking was in order on my return home. Having rediscovered Pret's carrot cake (made with pineapple juice) last week, I decided to have a go myself. I've made Nigella's carrot cupcakes before, but never a large cake. As I'm slowly working my way through Home Baking, I thought I'd have a go at Eric's version. It's always odd making a cake with oil rather than butter - it just feels wrong, but it really does mean that you get a fantastically moist* cake. I opted for Nigella's cream cheese icing which seemed to be one of the few that didn't require butter. It was in the oven for an extra 20 minutes, and is absolutely delicious. Even Miss P agrees - ahem - a certain someone discovered that she too likes carrot cake with cream cheese icing. An extended face washing was deemed necessary. Little monkey.

Hope you had a lovely weekend!

*Utterly juvenile but this word still makes me giggle.

An early weekend

2011-02-10T23:14:00.000Z

What an up and down week. Blue sky and sunshine one day, neverending downpours the next. All very taxing on the wardrobe. I am feeling rather smug as my weekend starts tomorrow, for I have been granted a day off. Naturally, an impending day off meant that I had to work late making sure that everything was tied up for tomorrow and I had to send my apologies to the WI commitee meeting. But *deep happy sigh* it's almost tomorrow and I shall be on a train to Windsor to meet my mother at The Chocolate Theatre before ducking into an Antiques shop or two in Eton. Then it's home to talk craft, eat, drink and be merry. Happy, happy days.

Galanthus

2011-02-09T17:00:00.000Z

The snowdrops that we planted last year have popped up again to say hello which is very pleasing. From this angle they look quite orchid like. Did you know that snowdrop collectors are called Galanthrophiles? Apparently a single bulb sold for £357 in January beating the previous record of £265. I must confess that our bulbs were of the 99p multi-pack variety and a frenzied bidding war did not take place...to the best of my knowledge.