i spy ...

tigs' school has it's annual fete in a month and i've been busy making goodies to contribute to the craft stall. we have a great bunch of mum's who are incredibly clever so it's going to be more like a craft market than a stall.
you won't find knitted coat hangers or toilet roll covers at this fete!

any way i've finished a pile of spy kits - as modelled by my beautiful but very unwell little boy. he's got the flu (the proper flu - not a bad cold). his temperature is all over the place - mostly very high and has been since saturday. i really hope he manages to get back to school even for a day, before the holidays begin. poor lad.

pudding

i suddenly had to have a sweet treat, and this one's a great pantry pudding.

bread and butter pudding - with scrumptious, sneaky chocolate bits tucked between the layers - ooh yum!
i merge a couple of recipes making it tickle my taste buds perfectly. i'd be happy to share if you'd like it - the recipe of course, the pudding is heading for my hips as i write :)

woo today

hellebores

surely one of the most humble and unassuming additions to any garden.
it makes them all the more attractive to me.
i really, really must plant some.
these lovely specimens came from my friend's glorious garden.

 

    

 

i've been working on these for a few weeks on and off, inspired by heather shaw.  i'd love some feedback as to whether you think they'd be best left on my wall, or donated to the school fete.  they are 8" x 10".

the canvas is painted in the most perfect shade of blue/green/grey it really is neither one nor the other.  i just adore it.  it was an unplanned purchase at the paint store.  i saw a mistinted sample and asked if they had any in blue/grey/green and rather than giving me the odd look you might be making, the man kindly tinted my tiny pot. 

if you'd like a sample of this perfect colour just let me know and i'll send you a swatch of it to take to your own paint shop for colour matching.

the objects on the canvas are vintage hymn book sheets and cotton + hemp swatches with organza overlays. the 'billy button', twig + sea glass were all found by tiggs and me.

baking

it's always so well received. this time i managed to wait until it cooled to add the luscious lemon icing. - oh the self-control!

friends

waiting ...

time flies hey?  sorry for the unexpected vanishing act. i guess it wasn't really unexpected for me though, i just rudely didn't mention it.  my gorgeous friend kylie and her beautiful children made their annual pilgrimage home from far flung abu dhabi.  it's a long year without them.

playing out                                                          playing in

we had so much fun together, plenty of lattes, too many yummy nibbles. 

eating out, eating in.  doing 'things', doing nothing.

intrepid exploring                                                    intimate times

there is nothing quite like the friends you have had for a long time, especially the ones from pre-children.  it's effortless; relaxed; peaceful and tear-streamingly hilarious; layers of inside jokes built up over years ('flaps up' kylie), the lightning glances that reveal exactly how the other feels - imperceptible to others and an entire conversation to us.

until next year i'll treasure the memories.  see you soon kylie-annie