Glimpses.

Well the 'pungkin' soup was a hit. I managed to acquire bright orange splotches on at least three different tops!

It's been rainy today in England so I've been planted in front of the t.v. watching Glen Close in '101 Dalmations' with hubby's laptop on my.....lap of course....until I was distracted by my little friend. Yes, he's back, scurrying around, frantically collecting his nuts!

I promise this is the last photo of him (or possibly her), this Autumn, at least. He's just so photogenic!

So seeing I had actually gotten up out of my chair and had the camera in hand I thought I would take some shots around our little rented house!

The lounge room is rather hard to photograph with all that southern light streaming in the window..

This is the armchair that I bought in Australia before the move. Hubby hates it as it's a bit on the narrow side, so really nobody ever uses it....it just sits there looking gorgeous!

Our master bedroom, again at the front of the house so it's always nice and light....especially at 5am on a summer morning!

An old chair in the corner of the bedroom. I love this chair because I can change the look simply by plonking a different piece of fabric onto the cushion. At the moment it has an old coffee sack on it that I bought in Germany.

The spare room, which doubles as hubby's dressing room...that's why you only get to see this corner!

A corner of the dining room, with my apothecary bottles and my 17 pound Ikea curtains.

A kitchen corner...don't you love the power point!

Flowers in the entry....Autumn tones of course!

 

I lied!

Pungkin Soup.

Don't you love the way small children say the word 'pumpkin'. My husband used to jump in and correct the kids when they would say something cute like 'pungkin' or 'hostabil'....and I would discourage him saying that they will not say 'cute' things forever...in fact they later graduated to more annoying words like 'whatever'....

Anyway, getting back to'pungkins', I decided to make some soup last night as I had a variety of strange looking specimens that I had bought as decorations. I was worried that they might start to rot...so into the pot they went.

My pumpkin soup recipe really amounts to just throwing in whatever I happen to have at hand. I usually use leeks, but if I don't have any, a brown onion will do fine. Also lots of garlic is good if it's hanging around.

Just chop the garlic finely and throw into a pot with some melted butter, follow up with sliced leeks or chopped onions and just sweat in the pot.

Then the fun part, chop all the bleeping pumpkin, as well as a couple of potatoes and any other veges you might like to throw in. I sometimes use sweet potatoes and a carrot.

45 minutes later (including a couple of trips to check out the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony on t.v.) and all the bleeping pumpkin was cut up and ready for the pot....not my favourite job...

Throw in with the leeks and garlic and finish off with a litre or so of stock. I tend to use vegetable stock but low salt chicken stock is probably the traditional option.

About an hour later and some fun with my new handblender (I only managed to splatter over half of the kitchen wall) we have this....

A sprinkling of parsely and into the bowl....

Don't forget the cream....if you want to be naughty!

A Delightful Surprise.

Today I heard the mail arrive with the familiar 'clang' of the the letter slot in the front door....and a knock from the postie to let me know that he had left something larger at the door.

After ripping open the end of a large postage packet, little paper birds fluttered onto my knee! I then extracted this beautifully wrapped parcel.....

I realised that it was my copy of "Jeanne d'Arc Living" magazine from French Larkspur....

but the magazine may have to wait to be read because I can't bring myself to unwrap this parcel!

This little 'arrival' this morning has simply made my day...it's terrific to think that there are people like Tracey who put so much thought into the presentation of their products. Thankyou Tracey!

If you haven't discovered French Larkspur already, have a look...I'm sure you will love it!


Now if I can just bring myself to open it, I will make a coffee and sit and read my new mag!

Last Week's Haul!

Last week I intended to drive to the Antiques and Collectibles Fair at Newark. This is a fantastic fair, with hundreds of sellers spread over the Nottingham Showgrounds. However, due to youngest son feeling 'poorly' I couldn't go.  So to compensate for my inability to spend my husband's hard earned money on what he calls 'crap', I trotted off over the next few days to a favourite emporium and a small local fair....and actually I did alright!!

Skittles!

 

Two terrific little boxes..... I decided I had to know about H. Samuel in Manchester, so I googled and found out that the company is a very old retail jewellery business. H. Samuel began in 1862 when Harriet Samuel took over her father-in-law's clock making business. She ran the mail order side whilst her son developed the retail side of the business.

After reading this message on the inside lid I'm convinced that these cute little boxes  were designed to send watches (perhaps fobs), back and forth in the mail.

It's amazing what I can learn simply by spending 2 pounds!

On a slightly larger scale, I stumbled across this small piece of furniture. The front opens out into a magazine rack, while the top flips up providing further storage.

 

I'm going to give it a paint (possibly black) and upholster (I use the term lightly) the cushion with this old grain sack. Will post a shot when it's completed.

The best finds were these religious bits for my collection.......

The little bracelet appears to be a baby's christening gift, made up of small medals. The card is a remembrance token of poor Hannah, aged 88...she had a good innings! The heart looks to be homemade but is very charming.

A Christmas prayer....I really love this...and it was thrown in for free with the next item.....

a Book of Psalms in it's own (grubby) box...

well thumbed I might add!

A Day in Chelsea, London.

Today I went shopping in Kings Road, Chelsea. After arriving via Sloan Square tube station I made a 'B' line for Anthropologie. This is their second store and quite a bit different from the Regent Street shop. It's got a real warehouse/old factory feel to it, with high glass skylights. In it's previous life the building was known as the 'Antiquarius' building, housing many antique businesses, and apparently prior to that was at some stage a gentleman's club!!

 

I snuck around inside, surreptitiously taking a snap here and there. I was really more interested in the vintage props, some of which are for sale.

Really big old books!

Old gal never looked so good!

Right slap bang in the entry.

Vintage french bottle racks.

Entrance to the fitting rooms.

Strips of fabric hanging from the ceiling.

One of the gorgeous sales girls told me that Anthro have a full time visual arts department (I think based in the Regent Street store)! They are extremely talented people...it's always so stimulating to see the latest looks and effects that they pull together.


A bit further up the street I had to stop for some sustenance at the Bluebird Cafe. This is an interesting concept which includes an indoor cafe, outdoor cafe cum bbq area, a food store, bakery, wine cellar, the Bluebird Restaurant and Bar and the Shop at Bluebird.

After inhaling a coffee and a serve of eggs benedict I was re-fueled and ready to shop some more. The Shop at Bluebird is, like Anthro, a little bit outside the square...very edgy and different. In it's large space it houses some really great fashion as well as quirky pieces of furniture and interior products.
The styling is amazing as these photos will tell....

Light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

Old ladders, painted white used as props.

Who let that fox in!

Old cases and theatre seats.

I know these photos aren't fantastic, but again I was sneaking around taking quick shots.


Along the way I passed some really interesting windows, have a look at these....

Ready for Halloween.

Side view of  'tea' shop.

Lovely door to the 'tea' shop.

Then I found these little beauties!

These windows at Osborne and Little blew my mind! Each beetle represented a fabric collection by a particular designer. I think the first one was Liberty, but in my excitement I forgot to look at the others. Each window is opaque with just the centre circle a clear view to the magnificent beetle amidst clumps of bamboo.


The other thing that always catches my eye are flowers. There are little kiosks everywhere, as well as the odd florist shop. The flowers here in London always look amazing (usually with amazing prices), but unfortunately (or perhaps not), I am always travelling home on the train....five minutes in the tube and my purchases would be wilting badly.

I need that planter!

I've saved the best for last, but alas the photos are pretty ordinary as the reflection was drastic.

Cabbages and Roses is my favourite shop in London. It's a gorgeous concoction of white and gal and old timber, with beautiful clothes, props, fabric, styling....... I have some better photos, including some interior shots (I wasn't game this time as the sales girl was hovering), but I can't find them...will definitely hunt them out and post soon.

In the meantime have a look at Christina's site at http://www.cabbagesandroses.com

C'est Magnifiquiche

This is a great recipe that I ripped out of a magazine. It's actually an advert for Maille mustard and is pretty quick and simple.

Ingredients: 

                   24cm savoury shortcrust pastry base

                   (I usually blind-bake ready-rolled pastry)

                   40g butter

                   1 leek, thinly sliced

                   4 bacon rashers (I use pancetta)

                   3 eggs

                   2 tbsps Maille dijon mustard

                   80ml cream

                  100g Gruyere cheese, grated

Method:  

                   Gently fry leek and bacon in butter until leek softens.

                   Whisk eggs, mustard and cream together.

                   Add the cheese, season and pour into pastry case.

                   Bake at 160'C for 20-25 minutes or until set.

It's also great cold the next day....I'm eating this piece for breaky right now....

Enjoy....