Yesterday was my birthday and I had to fly back from Romania really early in the morning. When I got to arrivals, at Gatwick, my dad was holding this helium balloon for me. Really cute! Poor thing he had had to stand there a while for me. It takes so long to walk through the airport at Gatwick North!


I had a really lovely day despite having not really slept because of flying.  I went for a lovely meal with my family yesterday and my mum baked me a yummy chocolate cake. I would add a picture but there isn't much left now! I like to space out my birthday so am off for a mexican dinner with some friends tonight and comedy and dinner with some more friends next week. Yay! Hope you are all enjoying your weekend. Thank you to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday yesterday. I thought I would share with you a few things that I received as gifts.

This beautiful owl pendant from gemandmetal on Etsy.

I promised myself I wasn't allowed any more cookbooks unless I borrowed them from the library and tried them out first. I have so many and don't always use them but this one by Nigel Slater was brilliant. It works really well with the veg box I get delivered from Riverford.

I just love Adele. Such emotional gorgeous music. 

There were plenty more lovely things including Lush goodies, a turquoise cardigan and a teal coat for the winter. I am definitely spoiled. Thank you everyone.

Hello all. I have just been in Romania for a few days and thought I would quickly share a few photos with you. I was there for work and only got to see a little bit of Cluj and the village of Cojogna nearby. The people were really friendly and it is definitely now on my list to go back and explore a bit more.  

Been super busy today so here is a very quick post I meant to stick up the other day. The other weekend I drove over to Kent and spent the day in a really beautiful garden chatting and enjoying the September sun with a friend. I thought I would share some pictures of the lovely garden.
Absolutely shattered so off to bed. 

Inspired by nature and Autumn? Why not make a lovely hanging.

What you need
Twigs
Dried leaves or seed pods
Hand made paper 
String/ thread
(anything else you want to add)

1. Start by taking one of the larger twigs and wrapping it in string. Use this yo also make the hanging string.
   
2. Cut leaves out of the handmade paper or use real dried leaves and carefully thread them on to the string.
   
3. Add beads and anything else you like.
   

Enjoy. Let me know if you make anything pretty and autumnal.

I just bought  some navy blue nail varnish and I am loving it. It was only a £1 so I am a bit worried it will chip like crazy but I will let you know. The shade just goes to well with my uniform of blue skinny jeans. I got it from this store called Tiger which has just opened up in our shopping centre. It seems to be a scandinavian Muji or a bit like Tchibo if anyone remembers that store. Unfortunately it doesn't seem you can buy online yet.


Update: It lasts 2-3 days with undercoat and topcoat.

Ok. So this was Sunday's post and I'm going to stick with the title because it is a very Sunday type of thing to make scones for breakfast and not such a Monday thing. 

Yesterday was a little emotional. For a little while it looked like my laptop was a completely broken. Anyway back up now and think it is a shame not to share my scones.
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I got back from London yesterday to find a jar of apple and raspberry jam on my doorstep. Perfect!
This calls for Sunday scones. These are so quick to make and perfect served warm with butter and jam.



Sorry I only have the amounts in ounces. It is a recipe my gran gave me.

Ingredients

8oz self raising flour
pinch of salt
2oz butter
1oz sugar
1-2 oz sultanas (optional)
 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, mixed spice or ginger (optional)
Milk


Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C
   
2. Rub the flour and butter together with your fingertips until you form crumbs.
   
3. Add the sugar, spice, salt and sultanas
   
4. Gradually add a little milk to form a dough
   
5. Knead the dough together
   
6. Roll out about a 1.2cm thick and cut with a cutter or roll out blobs and then flatten
   
7. Brush the top with milk
   
8. Cook for 10 minutes 
   
9. Take out of the oven when golden brown

Enjoy!

I have a fully packed weekend . It's Greg's birthday so various celebrations with family and friends yesterday and today and tomorrow off to Jamie's for dinner for another friends birthday.

Anyway if you are around London this weekend I highly recommend the Thames Festival. I won't get the chance to go this year but I have been for the last 3 and it is fab. Such a lovely atmosphere and so much to do and see. This year their is a special craft trail too. Anyway hope you all have a lovely weekend.

This is one of my favourite recipes. I first baked these with my mum when I was a kid. The recipe is from the Usborne First Cookbook. The amazing yummy smell that these have when they are baking, got me hooked. I always cook these with the oz measurement even though I am perfectly used to grams.

These are lovely, they are crunchy and crumbly on top and rich and gooey in the middle. I made them for Greg's colleagues as it is his birthday on Saturday. I still don't understand why the birthday person is the one who brings the cakes in! 
Ingredients 
110g (4oz) butter
110g (4oz) dark chocolate
225g (8oz) sugar
2 beaten eggs
110g (4oz) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180c
2. Grease a shallow tin 18 x 28cm (7x 11 inches)
3. Break the chocolate and butter into a bowl and either melt in a bain marie or put in the microwave on a very low heat. As soon as you notice the butter melting and chocolate losing shape take out of the microwave and stir until completely melted. Be very careful not to put on full heat as you will burn the chocolate.
4. Add the sugar
5. Add the beaten eggs
6. Add the flour, salt and baking powder
7. Spread the mixture into the tin
8. Bake for 30 minutes
9. Loosen the edges whilst warm but wait until the brownies have cooled before cutting. Enjoy!

Don't worry if my photos look like they have more stuff than yours, I doubled the recipe when I made them as I now how popular they are!

So I was inspired by these below photos on pinterest to create my own pearls and ribbon necklace. Hence, the fake pearls buying in the charity shop. 

Hence, the fake pearls buying in the charity shop. My pearls cost £1.50. I already have the ribbon. I don't know if you have noticed but a lot of the tops come with ribbon hanging strands at the shoulders. I never hang my tops up and find the ribbons annoying so I cut them out and use them for crafts.

So unlike both of these I wanted mine to be a little shorted and understated. I do love both of these but I wanted this to be a necklace that could go with my work wear. 
The bottom necklace is clearly made by folding into four one long strand of pearls and by attaching a ribbon.

I cut my pearls in half (so that I could make two necklaces that were less showy). I then attached thin ribbon to each end. This is really easy and neat for the side that has been folded in half but more awkward for the side which has two cut ends. Here I tied and wrapped my ribbon around each strand just before the last peal. I then tied another ribbon in a bow over the pearls that were sticking out and Voila!

Have fun with pearls and ribbons and let me know how yours turns out.

I have lots of new crafty projects I want to start. I plan to try and make a lot of my Christmas presents this year and I hope to share these as tutorials with you all.

I have begun to pick out a few things to start making and have started to gather crafty supplies. First stop, charity shops. I love making something new out of something old. Upcycling, as it is now called. I plan to make things out of old jumpers, crockery and clothes.

In my latest visit to the charity shop I found gorgeous vintage teacups and saucers, fake pearls, a stamp set and some lace and wool to play with.

So keep checking back to find out what I do with all these crafty goodies. Do let me know if you have any great ideas for homemade gifts, you can either guest post, send me a link or add a comment.