Book Review | Housework Blues

Sorry for the quiet couple of days, I won't lie there was my dreadful hangover which dragged on till Monday and yesterday inspired by this weeks read I took on the task of tidying my flat (also suffering a hangover from Saturday night!)

Housework Blues is "a survival guide" on "how to cope with the mental and emotional challenge of keeping a home"

Now don't fear I'm not suffering serious emotional and mental issues to my housework but I do find I can sit around very often doing very little and I'll take all the help I can get!

So far it's interesting, rather like talking to a friend who is offering sensible advice on tackling work that has to be done and if not by someone else by you!

This evening I've arrived home late from work, tidied my flat, washed one load of laundry, put the rubbish out, been to Tesco, made a chilli, washed up, tried on some outfits, paid a bill, ordered some new underwear and wrote this post! Not bad! So far I'd say it's having a positive effect!

Successful Weekend!

Firstly thank you so much all of you that wished me luck at yesterdays fair... it worked!

Whilst I did not sell any candles I did sell a lot of vintage tablecloths, pillowcases and  Ladybird books!

I covered the cost of the pitch and made a profit so not bad for a days work!

I think the candles will sell better nearer Christmas when people will buy for presents and I now know that I need some of the smaller priced items that people can pick up in passing

After the fair I rushed home to get ready for my dad's 60th and uncles 50th birthday meal - 20 of us sitting round a table in our local Prezzo's!!

It was a lovely evening and I've spent today sitting on the sofa nursing the effects of it!!

I hope you've all had a great weekend... do we really need to go back to work tomorrow??

My Corner

More tweaking has been done in a corner of my home this week where I'm often found sitting watching TV with the laptop

I was falling out of love with my letter rack specifically

Its purpose had become somewhere to hold letters I was putting off filing or actioning but I did need something to hold receipts so instead I brought this blue envelope, add a Cath Kidston sticker and VOILÀ!

The envelope is now hidden in a draw and my receipts are no longer a feature of my home!

The next problem was the my sofa arms becoming dirty due to general wear. I turned to a box of vintage linens which I was yet to find a use for and found some pillowcases I loved but no longer matched my bedroom

Perfect thrown over and easily whipped off when they need to be cleaned!

It's so much fun making these simple changes

Supper Club!

Two friends joined me again for dinner yesterday evening in what is regularly becoming our Wednesday night supper club!

The night before I prepared Nigella's Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

For dinner we had Toad in the Hole

I used meatballs instead of sausages and served with a BBQ gravy which when I explained to my friend I'd made myself she commented "it tastes like real BBQ sauce" so I guess that's a good thing!

What have you been making for dinner recently?

Under the Sink!

This month I am finally delving into Brocante Home's Puttery Treats for June and the Trash it or Treasure it Program

Some areas' might not necessarily apply to me or be something I want/need to do but they inspire other jobs in the home loosely based on the treat of the day, one of these being my cupboard under the sink

Here it is in it's previous state

Now the Brocante Home mantra is "decant, decant, decant" so I sought out the perfect storage for my washing powder capsules. I had in mind a vintage tin as it needed to be something I could reach into easily as I'm usually holding an armful of washing but the rain has prevented boot sale foraging and charity shops haven't had anything available

As I walked through Primark recently this caught my eye

Very Cath Kidston in style, less CK in price and perfect for the job in hand

Next I wanted to line the shelves in some oilcloth and turned to a tablecloth to help me out at a good price for my first attemp

This took more effort than I expected but I was pleased with the results 

(and there is an awful lot of tablecloth leftover to line more cupboards!!)

Everything was returned neatly to the cupboard but that pesky bottle of Comfort just didn't look right

Yesterday's trip to the charity shop offered the perfect replacement bottle

Now that looks better

(and yes I've noticed that the edge of the top shelf has dropped down and stuck it back since looking at this photo!)

Simple but effective!

What jobs at home have you been doing recently?

Book Review | Beautiful Creatures by Lulu Taylor

I took longer than expected to finish Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe which is surprising because I really enjoyed it and highly recommend you pick up a copy!

Anyone who dreams of opening their own cupcakery will want to do so even more by the time they're halfway through the book if not before!

And what am I reading this week...

Lulu Taylor's books are my favourite style of reading! Her third novel Beautiful Creatures will hopefully be as good as those I've read previously

I just need to put my iPhone down and concentrate reading on the train and I won't take so long to finish this weeks read!!

Fun Fair!

The rain held off yesterday so my family and I were able to visit the local Town Show

My SIL and I enjoyed a beer

Brody had fun on the rides

as did the adults!

I haven't been on a waltzer since my teens!

And it looks like my brother had as much fun on the Helter Skelter as Brody did!

 I was restrained at the bread stall instead saving myself for a roast beef dinner but did buy a piece of apple pie to enjoy at home

I hope you have enjoyed time with your families this past weekend

Happy Father's Day!

Today I'll be visiting the local town show (you can read about last year's here) and then joining my dad at his local for a drink to celebrate Father's Day!

Fingers crossed for some nice weather!

Peach Pudding

When I saw a very easy recipe for Peach Cobbler over at Emma Bear's blog and realised I had all the necessary ingredients I couldn't resist giving it a try

Admittedly it was very sweet and I wouldn't put so much sugar in next time but I recommend you give it a try for a quick dessert!

Rainy Sunday

Intentions to visit the boot sales yesterday were thwarted when I awoke to rain! 

So instead I spent the day cleaning up from the previous nights dinner party and used the leftovers for a lovely quesadilla lunch

I don't quite know what happens on Sunday's. The day just disappears and about 5pm I decide I want an afternoon nap which if I don't resist means I'll be full of energy in the evening and do all the things I should have tackled earlier!

My spare room being one of those tasks!

Please tell me I'm not the only one whose spare room becomes a dumping ground?

On the bright side my "jobs" were completed by 8pm in time for more chocolate chip bread & butter pudding snuggled on the sofa with a film!

Come Dine With Me - Nigella Lawson Style

Yesterday evening I had friends over for dinner and my table was once again laid in all it's floral goodness. I turned to Nigella's Kitchen and served spanish chicken with chorizo and potatoes. This dish is fantastic for entertaining as it is put into the oven and left to cook so you spend time with friends rather than struggling in the kitchen  (I also used foil trays so I could throw them away rather than dirty trays left in the kitchen!). The recipe serves 6 but here you can see the leftovers from 4 of us so do increase quantities if you are entertaining those with healthy appetites! 

(Nigella suggests using leftover in quesadillas which I will be doing later!)

Dessert was Chocolate Chip Bread & Butter Pudding

This was the first time I'd tried bread and butter pudding and I was pleased with the results! Another perfect dish for entertaining as it can be made as much as 1 day ahead. It takes approx 40-50 mins to cook so can enter the oven as you serve the main dish. Do try cooking either of these dishes - you won't regret it!

Now I just need to tidy up the debris from the evening!

Bloggers Email

Following this post a few of you were interested in learning more about the email options on blogger

Once again I'm no expert on blogger but have picked up a few tips along the way I'm happy to share with you so here we go....

If you look on my blogger profile you will see I have an email option

If you click on "email" you will immediately have access to my email address to contact me

To add your email address to your profile select Edit Profile, and tick the "show my email address" option

This means that anyone visiting your blog can email you directly and reply to your comments when received by email!

And what about comments to your email account? 

Go to your blog Settings and chose the Comments section

Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see "Comment notification email" - simply enter any email address(es) you wish your comments to be sent to and "save settings" and all comments on your blog posts will start appearing in your inbox like this

The area I have marked with an arrow will show a link that if clicked through takes you to the commenter's blog or you can hit reply and if they have the option you can reply directly!

I love comments arriving in my inbox as I can reply directly (where the option is possible) and think if you've taken the time to comment on my ramblings I like to acknowledge it. It's also how I've managed to strike up friendships with bloggers as often one comment leads to a week long of conversations between us! 

I'll also be in initial contact with the bloggers commenting on my post "first" which is helpful at busy periods when I might not have time to comment on everyone's posts

I hope this was helpful and remember to click on any of the images to enlarge if you want to make some changes to your settings

Picture Perfect

Yet another picture I picked up when I was able to pop into the charity shop last weekend

I'm unsure whether I will keep this myself as it's likely destined for a little girls room!

No Reply at Blogger!

I know many bloggers have been having problems recently trying to comment on blogs. Unfortunately I'm unable to offer any explanation for that (I seem to have escaped any issues!) but can advise a way to keep in touch with your blog friends!

Your comments arrive in my email inbox and love when I can hit reply and respond to them. It helps when I might be having a busy week and not able to comment on blogs myself. Unfortunately this is not always the case as some bloggers do not have an email option and there comments give the return address "no reply at blogger"

I'm sure some of you do this for privacy which I completely understand but if not you can simply amend your blogger settings! The great thing about sharing your email address is that when blogger goes down you can still keep in touch with all your friends! 

I'm no expert on blogger or blogging but I have helped a few new blogging pals out with hints and tips so if there is anything you'd like help on or some more "blogging" posts let me know