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Living the dream (or my very own cake shop)

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In June of last year at a friend's daughters christening, I had a chance conversation about how great it would be to sell cakes in my very own cake shop. Another friend's partner is a chartered surveyor and so we were joking about location and where would be best suited, and he happened to mention a little unit that had recently come on the market. No more was said, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I mentioned it to Helen (we had had many conversations about running a cake shop) and decided it wouldn't do any harm to take a look. It was perfect for us, small, quaint, in a good little location, and reasonably priced. We got so excited and started doing cash flow forecasts and business plans....and it looked manageable! It looked like we COULD do it. However on closer inspection the unit needed a lot of work doing and we really didn't have the capital for that. We were really gutted but, having done the work, excited about the prospect. So we decided we w...
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Marshmallows: a new obsession

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Number 38 on my 101 Things list is to cook every recipe in one book. That book is Home Cooking by Rachel Allen. It's a great book and everything I have tried has been great. One of the recipes in it is marshmallows. Here is my first attempt. Just some plain ol' vanilla marshmallows. Marshmallow attempt 1 I wasn't really sure what I expected, but they were much easier to make than I thought. You do need a sugar thermometer to be sure, but they were pretty straightforward. The first batch I made were a little soft-set for what I wanted, more 'Tunnock's tea cake' than your shop bought marshmallow. I'm not sure if this is down to not using enough gelatine or not enough beating. They did taste great though! Then I found this recipe for Coconut Ice marshmallows by Sarah Cook in the BBC Good Food magazine. And it was amazing. A touch of Malibu in the mallow and tossed in toasted coconut - delish. This recipe used leaf gelatine rather than powdered (th...
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My Pantry

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We have been planning a pantry at our house for quite a while. Both hubby and I love to cook and we own many gadgets, as well as a vast collection of ingredients. We do have a big kitchen with plenty of storage - it just turns out its not quite enough... ;) It's also annoying that stuff ends up in the back of the cupboards so we end up buying more of stuff that we already have because we just can't see it. Anyway, we decided to turn our under the stairs cupboard into a pantry. It is right next to our kitchen, so its not too far away, and is an ideal size. We (well, by 'we' I mean hubby) emptied it out a while ago and painted it white. Then a few weeks ago the shelves were put up.  And last weekend we got the time to actually move stuff in. It still needs a bit of sorting out, and I want to put pretty labels on jars and shelf liners. Plus I need to sort out my spice storage. But I think it's looking pretty fab so far. I saw the idea for this plastic-s...
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5 ways to getting your 5 a Day

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I'm on day 9 of my #5aDay challenge & so far it's going ok. Some days (like the weekend) were a bit of a struggle as I was out and about and my eating gave way to drinking. But even then I managed to eat 5 different fruit & veg. It's beginning to wane a bit at the moment due to lack of planning, but I thought I'd share with you some tips that have helped me so far on my challenge. Get your fruit & veg delivered We stumbled upon a veg box delivery service and it has definitely helped make sure I get my fill. Instead of going to the shops and just buying what we need, we plan our meals around what we have. It means we will often get items that we wouldn't normally buy, and get a good variety. I know this isn't going to practical for everyone, but I would definitely recommend it if you can. Plan your meals and... If you don't get a veg box delivered (and even if you do) take some time to plan some meals and buy what you need. Making sure you...
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WIP: Tree Blossom Fairy

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I haven't had as much time for knitting and crafting as I'd like this last week. Mainly because of work committments, Evie being awake a lot more, and planning my birthday celebrations!! Yes, it's my birthday tomorrow, and today is my last day in my twenties. And I don't feel a day older than 17. I will say my twenties have been pretty great. I met my current husband. I graduated uni. I moved into my house. I got married. I gave birth to my daughter. I've made some great friends. I've met some amazing people. So all I can really say is - Thirties, you've got some living up to do! :D Onto crafting news, I have finally finished all the knitting for my first fairy, just need to find the time to sit down and sew it all together. Hopefully it'll be ready for FO Friday.
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FO Friday: Red Riding Hood

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It's finished! The duffle coat from Debbie Bliss' Ultimate Book of Baby Knits, was finally finished on new year's day. It's a lovely coat and a great fit for Evie. I made the 3-6 month size and it does have a bit of room to grow into. The knitting (all garter stitch) was very straight forward, unfortunately my making up needs a bit of work - but I won't let this put me off. The yarn used - Debbie Bliss Rialto DK - is lovely and soft and I love the colour. Plus I have 1 and a half left over balls of yarn, so may make a hat. I am  so pleased with this. I love the hood and cute little pockets, and will most likely make it in the next size up. (I would love to try and scale it up for me, but I think that's a bit beyond my skillset at the moment.) Now off to Tami's blog to see what everyone else has been up to...
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WIP: Knitted Fairy

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I've had my days a bit out of order this week so completely missed WIP Wednesday yesterday. Here is what I am currently working on. It's the Blossom Tree Fairy from Fiona McDonald's 'Knitted Fairies' book. I am using yarn from my stash, as per my January challenge and don't have the recommended yarns, but  have found quite good alternatives and it should look almost similar. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished fairy and get a feeling this could become quite addictive....
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