Birthday fun

A bit late as always but I thought I would tell you about my fabulous birthday. It was two weeks ago now but I have only just uploaded the photos onto the computer as I have been too busy with work.

It was such a beautiful day and my lovely fella decided to take me to one of my favourite places for the day. Whistable is so beautiful, I love to be by the sea plus it has great food and some good shops so what more can you want. We walked all the way along the beach before stopping in a beachside restuarant for fresh seafood. I had shrimps and then local fish and chips washed down with a local cider. After lunch we went to some shops and the looked in some estate agents, as is the done thing if you belong to my family. I would love to live here, some of the houses here are beautiful, there are some renovated black weatherboarded fisherman huts which are just my ideal home.

In the late afternoon we went off to my family home in Kent to open my presents (WOOHOO) and then eat more food, this time a chinese, and of course the obligatory cake. My bro is the king of the cake and I have previosly requested an amazing sounding cake that we found in one of his cook books. It did not disappoint. Blueberry crumble cake is what it was called but it was so much more. Moist blueberry cake topped with a pecan crumble, we had it warm with cream but I had some more cold the next day and it was just as delicious. God I love cake, I want some more now after seeing this photo.

Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes and to my wonderful friends and family for spoiling me as always. Now I will stop or this runs the risk of me starting some oscar speach and naming everyone I have ever met.

New look

I decided to give my blog a make over, it was looking very un-laurafallulah-esque all plain white and grey so now it is pretty in shades of pink, red and green. I also thought while I was making it all colourful that I should try and learn a bit more about blogger and what I can do with this thing. So I have added in a etsy mini showcase for my supplies shop and also a list of all the blogs that I follow, I will add in more later when I have more time. I know to most of you this all sounds very easy, but those who know me will know that this is not easy for me as I am not great with computers. I am one of those people who can type lightning fast but ask me to change something and im screwed. One of my new years resolutions was to get better at the sides of my business which I think I am weaker at and computer based work is definatly one of those sides.



Also just because I cant have a post without something visual here is a picture of me talking to snoopy with woodstock hanging about in the background.

Home sweet smelling home

More new things, this time for my shop on notonthehighstreet. I am expanding my range to cover some home items. These are my new lavender hangers, to make your home smell as good as these look. Also soon to be added are some cushion covers, a different type of lavender pillow for your drawers and a few more pretty things for you to adorn your house with. Hope you all like this new venture.

Domestic Goddess

Well hardly but I do try. Not in the Nigella way that her kitchen is alway neet and tidy, as I am the messiest cook in the world but I do enjoy cooking a lot. We have recently had our flat renovated and the piece de resistance has to be our new kitchen.

I am a big lover of 50s design and we tried to emulate that kind of look in our kitchen. Cream gloss units, bamboo wooden work surface, travatine tiled splashback and the most gorgeous eau de nile coloured walls. As with all our rooms the main design had to be fairly plain and simple as all my storage pots and nick nacks are very patterned.

As you can see I have spots everywhere with the odd touch of stripes and florals. It is all practical but just pretty and over the top too. These polka dot mugs from Marks and Spencers are great, not only are they in my favourite pastel colours but they come in there own stackable storage tower and they hold a good big cup of tea. Plus the top is wide so they are great for dunking the odd digestive or two.

I do like a bargain and the last and next picture show some of my best. My £5 60s floral coffee pot, its such a great pattern, along with a tealight holder left for me from my lovely friend Sini when she moved away. Below is my £4.50 cupcake stand, or as I use it fruit stand from a DIY store, sitting next to another charity shop find these beautiful old rose teacups, the saucers and just out of shot. You can also just about make out my pink weighing scales behind which were a present from my lovely boyfriend. He also got me the most amazing cream enamelled pan set for christmas.

So even though I may not be the tidiest girl around I do try to make my home a nice place to be. Plus I do make a mean cheesecake so I can't be all that bad.

New things

Some of your may know and some of you may not but I sell on a fabulous website called HannahZakari. It is run by the truely wonderful and also talented Rachael Lamb. Not that I am biased or anything. Anyway I just sent her some new items and they are up on the site already, lots of lovely new things for summer. I am one of those people whos brain never stops and am constantly thinking of new appliques, patterns and ideas, so I love it when I get to design something new.

My two new favourite things are my stripe circles brooch, I have been making the floral ones since before christmas.

The other item in my new circles flower purse using some of my favourite things, polka dots, flowers and felt, whats not to love.

Please pop along and have a look through Rachaels site, she really have selected a great range of designers and products. I must say it is very flatering to be represented along side such talented designers.

Springtime

I love spring, it is possibly my second favourite season after winter. Our garden looks so lovely and bright after the greyness of the last few months, plus the sun is actually shining so I couldn't resist taking some photos. We seem to have lots of yellow flowers and then a few pink but not much else so I think I will be buying some more varied plants at the weekend.

We also have every kind of daffodil I have ever seen, these are my favourite with the white outside petals. We also have the normal all yellow one, yellow with orange middles, frilly middle ones, multiply layered ones that almost look like roses and tiny weeny ones. See I know all the technical names.

However this is my favourite plant in our garden at the moment (till my roses start coming through). I have no idea what it is, so if anyone does please let me know. The has long hard stems coming from the base with hundreds of these lovely yellow pompoms clustered around small green leaves. I know the sunshine is here when I see these flowers.

So heres to more sunshine and happy days. I was hoping to grow more veggies this summer but I think I am already a little late for most of them. I think a trip to the garden centre is needed soon to see what late bloomers I can get my little mitts onto.

Waste not want not

I am a huge believer in making the most out of what you have got. I love to cook and try to bring my resourceful nature through into my food. Every week we get a fruit box from one of the many food box schemes which seem to be growing ever the more popular. We only get fruit as it is the only thing that we can't buy a huge variety of from our food market here in blackheath. Anyway we always get bananas every week, and I love bananas, but sometimes it gets a bit too much so by the next weeks delivery we have two or three browning very ripe bananas in our fruit bowl. So I decided to look up on the good ole internet a recipe to use them up. I added a few of my own little touches too as I am a sucker for spices. It was so delicious that I thought I would share it with you. Eat it still warm with a big cup of tea, it will store in a tin or container for up to a week as it is very moist.

4oz Marg or unsalted butter

6oz Caster sugar

8oz Self Raising Flour

2 Large eggs

3 very ripe Bananas

2 teaspoons Honey

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

Firstly grease a loaf tin, I add a small piece of baking parchment into the bottom so that it wont stick and pre heat the oven at gas mark 4. You will need 2 bowls, in one roughly mash the banana with a fork and add in the honey and spices. In the other bowl cream together the marg/butter and sugar until smooth and pale, then add in the eggs and beat until combined. Then mix the banana mixture into the other bowl and mix until combined, it may curdle a little but dont worry. The sift the flour and fold into the rest until completely combined.

Pour into the loaf tin and bake in pre heated oven for 40 mins then reduce the heat to gas mark 2 for a further 25-30min depending on your oven. If you are like me, and cant wait for something sweet, you can lick the bowl of cake mixture while you are waiting for the cake to cook.

It should come out looking a bit like this. The ends are the best bit as they are a bit crunchy and then the cake inside is really moist.
Please make this cake, honestly it is so delish I am actually hoping that we dont finish all our bananas again this week so I can make another one.