The bird dress

Hello my dear readers (all two of you)! Have you missed me?
It feels like forever since my last post and I'm afraid it will be few and far between posts over the next few weeks as life and other adventures will be getting in the way.. you all know how it is!



However, I was very lucky to squeeze in a tiny amount of sewing on the weekend. Its not my usual style of fabric but I have been reading this book called Homemade living by Lotta Jansdotter (flicking through the pictures is probably a more appropriate description) and I have been feeling inspired by all the amazing, bold prints that those clever Swedish are so famous for..



So when a little Swedish meatball craving (don't ask) took Sophie and I to Ikea the other day, I was excited to find this cool monochrome bird print for next to nothing. It is exactly unlike any other fabric I own.. not pretty, not delicate, not vintage inspired, but I like it!

I decided that it would make a cool beach dress/ kaftan for Sophie, so I got to work. I couldn't find a kids kaftan pattern so I used a summer nightgown pattern, which worked fine. (No one will know she is wearing pyjamas to the beach, right?)



And although Sophie was happy to pose on the dining table for me, she did tell me that it was far too big for her and that she looked like "a flippy, floppy scarecrow"! Kids...

Easy no-knead bread

I love making bread but it is one of those things that is always on my 'to do' list and never actually in the oven.
But when I found this NY times recipe, it looked so easy that I thought I would give it a shot..



There is nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread filling the house, and this one is actually baked in a cast iron pot, so it looks amazing when it is pulled out of the oven.. Will definitely be trying this one again.

Welcome back my friend

I am of course talking about my dear sewing machine that has been neglected for the last week. With all the jam making and sickness around here, I had no time (or energy) to sew.



But, before I could get back to my sewing, I decided to give my fabric cupboard a good tidy up -this was a good idea. What was not a good idea was to leave my mess on the dining room table, so when Tom got home he could see exactly how much fabric I had hidden away!



Needless to say I may be banned from buying any more fabric for a while!

The cook and the chef

Anyone who knows Tom and I, knows that Tom is the master chef around here. He is just one of those people who is naturally good at cooking. He just seems to have this uncanny ability to know exactly what needs to go together to taste good!
Not only is he good at cooking, but he loves to cook. I would not be exaggerating if I was to tell you that he spends at least 3 hours in the kitchen on any given Saturday or Sunday. (during the week I do all the cooking, but the weekend is all his).

To give you an idea of the difference in our cooking style.. If I come home and find some tuna steaks in the fridge, I will make grilled tuna and steam some veggies to go with it. Dinner = done!
Tom, however, will make seared tuna with white bean puree on a bed of wilted spinach with a garlic and white wine sauce.. on a weeknight! Seriously.. the man is obsessed! One night last week I found him in the kitchen rolling out fresh pasta at 11pm!

Yesterday I woke up to find him and Sophie making eggs with fried tomatoes and wilted spinach for breakfast (okay, pretty normal). But, then at about 10am he made a dozen blueberry friands. For lunch he whipped up a grilled haloumi salad and then he got started on dinner..



This may not look like much, but it is actually a whole leg of lamb that has been slow roasted for 4 hours, then placed on a bed of seared chick peas in beef stock and covered in cous cous, apricots, sultanas and spices. Then it is cooked for another 2 hours and served with garlic yogurt and coriander.. This is Tom's idea of a casual weekend dinner!



Now, please don't think that I am complaining.. I know I am sooo lucky to have a husband that loves to cook.. but my darling, how about we just order pizza this weekend?!

The jam session

What a busy week! I spent most of the week in bed and whenever I managed to get up, I was forced into the kitchen to keep making all the goodies I had promised to Sophie's pre-school for their spring fete. I made orange marmalade (that's what all the oranges were for) and lemon cordial..



The fete went really well, but I am now exhausted, so excuse me while I go and have a very long sit down and a cup of tea!

Lazy days..

Can you guess what I am making...



Yes, I am slaving away in the kitchen (not really) while Sophie hangs out in the washing basket..



And Tom pulls carrots up from the veggie patch..