Perfecting Pru

Going, going, going, moved!

2010-01-23T21:42:00.000Z

Hello.

Have moved the blog to Wordpress. Please follow the blog at http://www.perfectingpru.wordpress.com/.

It's going to be so much more fun, with lots of more posts from now on.

Pru
x

Martha Mondays - Lemon Souffles

2010-01-19T07:41:00.000Z

For, I think the first time since beginning the Martha Mondays projects I did the project on Monday.

I was looking forward to the souffles as they have been on my list of things to cook for ages and after buying ramekins I was all set.

The recipe is pretty easy. I did manage to get a bit in a muddle when I halved the recipe and I was doing it in a hurry. This is the second time that I have cooked from the January issue this week (chicken paillairds on Saturday which were wonderful) but each time I have wished that there was some guide at the top of the recipe saying roughly how long it will take (both preparing and cooking). I always skim through the recipe and see that I need a couple of minutes here and a couple of minutes there, and then all of a sudden I've been in the kitchen for half an hour!

Enough of my rant - but if you are looking Martha Stewart people - please take note, it would help me so much.

The verdict was surprising. Dad liked it (which was a shock) but mum and I thought they were too eggy and not that lemony. All three of us had never tried souffle before. I only ate the top of mine as I wasn't keen on the texture. I don't know if I will make souffles again but I may give a cheese one a try, maybe.

Thanks for a great choice of project Brette, I'm pleased that I got to cook something completely new.

Lessons Being Learnt #1

2010-01-12T13:48:00.000Z

This is a quick, rambling post as I have something that needed to be written down which has been bothering me since Friday. I told someone something that wasn't mine to tell. It won't cause the person to lose their job, go to prison, go to Court or anything bad. But I shouldn't have told the person the truth when they enquired about my friend. Instead I should have held my tongue and said that I didn't have any information.

It seems that it would have been best to have lied. I hate lying to people especially for something where everyone is really concerned about the topic/person involved.

I have apologised to all concerned and I have apologised to them again as well. But I cannot apologise anymore. I don't know how this will end up being resolved, I hope that it will just fizzle away and my apologies are accepted or a good shouting match ensues to clear the air. But mainly I hope that my friend continues to get better and is well again to return to work shortly. I miss her.

I didn't mean any harm in telling the truth when I was asked.

But as it is my aim to 'perfect' myself, I must learn from this mistake, and I have. I have learnt that I don't want people to tell me information if it can't be passed on because I'm not good at having to look at someone and tell them the wrong thing. Secrets are different and I can hold those for eternity, but general hush-hush information is best not told to me.

I have felt guilty about this, cried about it and continued to think about it for four whole days. I have learnt my lesson dearly and hope that friendships haven't been lossed over it.

So I send this into the blogging world, not wanting any response but just to put my thoughts down and hopefully start to feel better and continue to learn my lesson and to stop thinking about it all the time.

Martha Merchandise

2010-01-11T13:51:00.000Z

A trip to New York and a morning spent seeing a live taping of the Martha show would not have been complete for me if I hadn't bought lots of Martha products. Apart from the magazines, Wedgwood collection and books (which I order on-line as book shops over here rarely have Martha books in stock) there are no other Martha products to be found. I always hope that Martha will find a supplier over here to carry her products - Harrods would be ideal for me.

So, mum and I took ourselves to Macy's in New York. Mum and I had both been to Macy's years ago and never thought too highly of it then. We still don't. I find the staff to be pretty rude, the building quite shabby and the products are never displayed greatly. I think Martha could do with making a one of her staff from head office go in and neaten it all up (something that mum and I took to doing whilst we were in there). We didn't purchase bed linens (something that I had wanted to do) due to their price, which maybe if the pound had been stronger against the dollar I would have done. We didn't buy Christmas items either as there was very little displayed and I didn't like the glittered seashells that they had in store. However, I did find the Martha products for kitchenware to be in good order (I hate having to hunt around for products too much and as such am never a good shopper in the sales) and purchased a bowl for utensils, a cake tester, a recipe calculator (so clever - it divides the measures, multiplies them and triples them) and measuring cups. Bearing in mind that we had our luggage allowance otherwise I would have been tempted to buy more. A skillet was on my list but I never found one. I had also wanted a Martha Stewart mug, with the logo but it seems that they didn't do them. Maybe they don't do them at all.

On the day of the Martha show mum and I stood in line with our Martha merchandise order forms which a member of staff had been handing out and ordered two aprons (one for me one for mum, a tote bag and a hooded jumper).

We are both so pleased with our purchases. I have used all of the items and they are great. The measuring cups are especially great as you fill them to the top as opposed to the old ones I had (Nigella Lawson ones) which had the measure inside the cup. The hooded jumper has proved to be warm and soft and although I do not usually wear clothing with names or logos on it, I am happy to have the logo of the show on my right arm. The tote bag is sturdy and carried Christmas presents into work with ease.

A trip to Kate's Paperie also saw the purchase of Martha's Crane & Co. Christmas cards which are beautifully designed and I will take great delight in sending these next year.

The products we picked really were 'good things'.

Snow in London

2010-01-06T17:54:00.002Z

Last year snow in London and the UK in general, brought everything to a standstill. This year is no different. Whilst I like the snow, I want a lot of it so that I can stay inside and hibernate. But it was not to be. It snowed from 9.00pm last night here and I still managed to get to work (there was only an inch). We had snow on and off all day but at 3.00pm it started to really come down and they closed work at 4.00pm so that we could go home. I was so glad.

Here are photos I took with my gorgeous new camera at work and in the back garden.

Martha Mondays - Silver Dollar Pear Pancakes

2010-01-03T16:11:00.000Z

It was my pick for Martha Mondays and I chose Silver Dollar Pear Pancakes. This was new to me as we have the crepe variety at home and had never tried making buttermilk pancakes. I couldn't find Bosc or Bartlett pears and went for the Comice variety. They were fine. I didn't have a clue how to core an apple with the peeler so cut the pear into rounds and then used an icing tip to remove the middle. They looked quite good. Mum requested that we take the peel off the pears so I did. They marinated in the maple syrup and cinnamon as I made the batter. This was easy to make.

We don't have an electric griddle so mum and I worked together using two frying pans and made four at a time. They weren't the prettiest of pancakes, as they fell apart when we tried to flip them but I didn't mind.

(I will be keen to see how everyone else's turned out and will want tips on getting them into rounds for next time!) We loved them. I served them at the kitchen table on New Year's Day. We had maple syrup on them which we usually never have in the house and both mum, dad and I really enjoyed them.

I hope everyone else enjoyed the recipe.

Anthropologie Purchases

2010-01-02T14:33:00.000Z

I'm just back from a trip into London to Anthropologie on Regent Street. After hearing about the sale in US stores I figured a trip was due to the one here. I am so happy that I went. Anthropologie prices are pretty expensive and I still think that they changed the dollar for pound sign on the price tickets without changing the prices but I will have to overcome that.

Two tops, a scarf and a paperweight for my boss's upcoming birthday were purchased and I couldn't be happier.

2010 here we come!

2009-12-31T11:12:00.000Z

Wishing you all a very happy New Year. I am looking forward to 2010 and hope that this is my best year yet. I have lots of exciting things planned for this blog, so I can't wait to get going.

Happy New Year.

Pru

2009 Review

2009-12-26T17:49:00.001Z

As soon as Christmas is over I start thinking about what I want to achieve in the New Year. I have been thinking a lot about my achievements in 2009 and I am incredibly proud of what I have done in the last 365 days or so.

I decided that 2009 needed to be my year of change. Oprah was changing her life, America was getting a new president who offered the hope of change and therefore I decided to follow suit and do the same thing. I set myself two goals - to lose weight and sort out my finances. I decided that I needed to document what I was doing so I set up my blog in May 2009.

Weight Loss

The year started well and I took off with my very healthy eating, but it soon fell by the wayside and in February a friend and I joined Rosemary Conley weight loss classes, with a weigh in first and then an exercise class. In total I lost 8lbs but as my friend got sick I started to find excuses not to attend the classes alone and by June I had given up. It took until the end of September to start on the Special K diet and I am pleased to say that I have now lost a stone and a half. There is more dieting to be done but I don't pig out as I used to but feel more in control. I look forward to continuing to lose weight next year.

Finances

This has also gone well. I didn't use my credit card from January until October. However, from October I have used it and when I look back I have used it for really silly things - Starbucks coffee comes to mind! I have managed however, to pay off a lot of my credit card and I am really proud about this. I will continue to pay off the credit card next year, and I hope that by the end of 2010 I have got my spending really under control.

Family

I hold family as my top priority, but although relationships with my parents have grown stronger I have not made any inroads with my sister. She lives a couple of hundred miles away and I very rarely speak/communicate with her. My sister is 18 months younger than me and I have always seen comparisons made between us and this is where we don't get on. My goal for 2010 is to be a better sister. I would like to understand her better and get to know her again.

Health
As I write this I have a sore throat, but I have been in good health this year. I took three days off sick from work this year - two with a bad headache (caused by stress which I didn't manage too well) and the other with this sore throat. My teeth caused me problems in October (which caused the stress mentioned above). This has been sorted out now though, and it gave me the opportunity to look more closely at my health and making sure that I took care of myself better for the future. I also had my first hospital procedure where I had a benign lump removed from my right arm. I now have a one inch scar on my arm which I will continue to treat with Bio Oil to reduce the scar.

Other

My diary informs me that I have been to one gallery in 2009 (National Portrait in London), been to the ballet once (Swan Lake), the theatre once (Lion King), the cinema seven times, a book signing (Bill Granger) and away to Sheffield once to see my sister graduate and to New York with mum. I also saw a taping of the Martha Stewart show.

I am looking forward to seeing what I can achieve in 2010. My diary shows that it has been a busy year and I hope that in 2010 I focus more on relationships, try new things and develop into a better person, I also want to make this blog more personal, better designed and something to be proud of - a love life wouldn't go a miss either!

Martha Mondays - Vinegar Glossed Chicken

2009-12-21T15:36:00.000Z

December has been a difficult month. My grandad continues to be in hospital following another fall as soon as he came out of hospital. And in general the month has been pretty chaotic juggling work, parties, Christmas chores and everything else that seems to happen just when you could do with a break.

But, I found time to do the Vinegar Glossed Chicken. I am keen to start trying more of the flavoured oils and vinegars and found the red wine vinegar with ease in the supermarket. I changed the recipe only slightly in that I did skinless chicken breast instead of skinned chicken. I never eat meat which has the bone in it, and we never buy chicken with the skin on.

The recipe was easy to make and it was enjoyed (I served it with Muse in the Kitchen's garlic rice). I wish there had been more 'sauce' on the chicken and I would be tempted to use more sauce next time. I see this as work in progress. I will definently try it again and might cook it with some onion next time.

I'm sorry but there is no photo this time as my camera on my phone is not working (another thing to get sorted out)!

I hope to do a post before Christmas, but if not, then I wish you a very wonderful Christmas full of fun, warmth and holiday spirit.

Christmas in the Singer household

2009-12-06T17:31:00.004Z

There is no denying that I love Christmas. In fact I start thinking of Christmas in summer (which is like winter anyway). By September I have already started shopping and by October I am singing carols.

This last week has been very hectic. A trip to New York (which I will blog about some day) and then straight back to London to learn that my grandfather had had a fall and was in hospital. With our suitcases still to be unpacked we drove up to see him (he lives about 150 miles away) and when I saw him again today, he is progressing quite well in hospital. Although at 92 we are taking each day slowly.

Anyway, as both mum and I are tired after such a hectic and stressful week we decided that the best thing to do for a day of 'rest' was to deck the house out for Christmas.

So, here are the first photos of our decorating. Wreath (ala Eddie Ross) photo will come shortly when I find some decent ribbon. And we always get our tree the week before Christmas (the 18th I hope).

This jug and bowl with the blue small bowl always sit on this ledge above our stairs. The candles were plain Ikea ones which mum added ribbon to.

A little tree sitting on the stairs (I think I may add to this at some stage).

The fireplace in our living room. Our theme in the living room is gold and red but we decided to stick to red with the baubles. We added a piece of wood to the top of the mantel piece (a Martha suggestion) so that we could hang the snowflakes without damaging the wood.

Red baubles at the window in the living room. The silver ones were left up after last year and look great all year round. The garland on the window sill has red and gold baubles and there are two red candles holders at the end.

I hope you are all getting very festive.

Pru

Martha Mondays - Birdseed and Suet Feeders

2009-11-22T17:56:00.005Z

Brette from Martha & Me choose this weeks project and I was pleased to do a craft instead of cooking as I already knew what I wanted to cook this weekend.

Back to the bird feeders. Mum had already attempted this but was a bit mean with the bird seed and they were not put up. We did this as a joint task with me being more generous with the bird seed this time! We used lard instead of suet as we have always done. And we re-used the lard from the birdfeeders that we had not used. They were easy to make and we hung them in the garden this evening. No bird have touched them yet, but the rain has been falling and it always takes a day or two for the birds to suss them out.

We also did a task which we had seen in Country Living. You get a pinecone which you have ribbonned at the top and drip lard on to it and then sprinkle seeds on to it. We left them to set and then hung them outside also.

Thanks for the task this week Brette. I won't be doing the task next week as I will be in New York. If anyone has any last minute tips of where to try please let me know. Mum and I have managed to get tickets to see Martha and I can't wait!!!

Martha Mondays - Apple Tart

2009-11-15T16:44:00.007Z

This weeks project was chosen by AquaSunday from the November issue of Living. I had looked at the tart and was keen to try it - I was glad to have the excuse to make it.

As 'Jazz' apples were on offer in the supermarket (2 for 1) I bought those, and got prepared and made the applesauce on Saturday night. Today (Sunday) I baked. I had planned to make it and then bake it later, but in the end decided that it was easier to get it done and then reheat some later. The recipe was easy to follow, although I didn't need 2 tablespoons of butter or all that apricot jam but it didn't matter.

The tart is lovely, the apples turned out a little dry but this could have been due to the type of apple and we had the tart with cream so it didn't matter at all. I think I might adapt this and add some sultanas and cinnamon for a Christmas treat.

Thanks for a great Martha Monday project - I think I will go and have another slice now!

Ragamuffin Garland

2009-11-09T13:36:00.007Z

I always find it strange how from starting at looking at websites I spend most of my lunchtime and any time on the internet looking at blogs. As far as I am concerned, they are the best invention. Ordinary people opening up their lives so that we can look into them. I love it.

After a trip on Darby's 'Fly Through Our Window' blog I saw that she had done a guest blog on the 'Life In Grace' blog. This opened up Edie's 12 days of Christmas event in which she has asked friends to give projects for Christmas. I loved The Nester's ragamuffin garland and knew that I had to make one.

The instructions are posted in the link here and I urge you to make one. They are so easy and I am so pleased with the results. I used pink, grey, blue and cream for my colours. The pink was from a skirt which I tried on and was way too big! : ) At the bottom of the skirt was ribbon and sequins so these were cut into separate pieces as was the bright pink silk lining.

The garland is easy to make and looks wonderful. I have hung mine at my bedroom window and hung Christmas baubles underneath. I am so pleased with the results.

This Week Recap

2009-11-09T09:53:00.003Z

After last week's manic week where I managed to not get alot done, but got slightly stressed by not having enough time to do things I took things slower.

I had a wonderful time with Jackie going to see the lights in Oxford Street and Regents Street. Whilst we couldn't get out of work early to get up there to see them being switched on they were still wonderful. And it has made me even more festive than I was before!

I baked Martha's Pumpkin Cake With Brown Butter Icing after seeing a mention of it from The Blushing Hostess who had been recommended it by Eddie Ross. Whilst Thursday's attempt wasn't great - a little undercooked at the bottom. Sunday's attempt was perfect and I brought 2/3rds into work for colleagues today.

Mum and I did a wonderful walk from Waterloo Bridge through St James's park to Buckingham Palace before going shopping.

I wrapped presents for my sister and her partner as mum is off to see them next weekend.

I watched wonderful fireworks celebrating Guy Fawkes Night with mum.

I did my Martha Monday's project with great results!

Although it wasn't the busiest of weeks, I really enjoyed it. I took things slower and loved every minute of taking the time to wander around London and enjoy being a tourist for a couple of hours. I loved decided on Thursday afternoon that I would do some baking and then going home and getting on with it.

I am planning to be able to spend my weeks last this for the timebeing. Not rushing around, but enjoying the autumn and spending more time with friends and family as winter draws in.

Martha Mondays - Pasta with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

2009-11-09T08:40:00.003Z

It was my turn for the pick for Martha Mondays and I chose a dish that I had wanted to do for ages. I don't know why I don't just cook it when I see it in the magazine, but I always feel there needs to be a good reason for me to cook instead of bake.

The ingredients were easy to find, unlike my last pick for Martha Mondays which required a lot of different ingredients.

The recipe was easy to follow and was quicker than the 45 minutes it gives as a guide. I had never cooked bacon without oil and I was amazed that it produced crispy tasty bacon very quickly. Although I see many Martha recipes with chicken stock in the UK it is quite rare to use it. But it worked wonderfully. I ended up with a sort of gravy and it was delicious.

Mum and I had this for our dinner after wrapping a ton of Christmas presents and we couldn't fault it. I thought it was perfect. I can't wait to see how everyone elses turned out!

Blogs I Love - Andrew Ritchie's Martha Moments

2009-11-04T17:00:00.002Z

Andrew Ritchie's blog Martha Moments was the first blog that I ever looked at. A couple of years ago I Googled 'Martha' and found Andrew's account of attending a Good Things event where he critiqued the day including what they had done that day, Martha's presence at the event and the food that had been served. I loved it.

As I continued my search on the blog I found such detailed information on Martha it was as though Andrew had sat on Martha's shoulder for many years. How he manages to find such wonderful information and know so many facts is beyond me. Subject matters include all of Martha's houses, the magazines, Good Things and details on the business.

The joy of the blog, which I read before I even check out Martha's blog is that it is real. In the past Andrew has commented on things that he feels could be modified, and changed for the better. His annual review of Living is superb and I can't wait until the end of December to see what he thought about the 2009 magazines.

If you are after information on Martha and what is coming up, Andrew's blog is the likely place to find that information. Andrew has twice helped me with information on Martha and he has always been very gracious about my rambling emails.

I truly love Martha Moments and can't wait to have my own Martha Moment so that I can tell Andrew all about it.

If you haven't stopped by at Martha Moments, I urge you to. Andrew keeps a wonderful blog and I love him dearly for keeping me updated on all that is going on in Martha's world.

This Week Recap

2009-11-02T12:05:00.003Z

This week has flown by. I am now gearing up completely for Christmas, lists have been made, cards are all written (see last week's recap) and I am beginning to look through magazines for recipes for Christmas.

Have decided which cookies to make for Christmas (Snickerdoodles, chocolate and peanut butter cookies, chocolate meringues from Smitten Kitchen.

Made my first ever trip to Anthropologie which has just opened on Regent Street. I was dissapointed. The clothes are lovely and so was everything, but it was so expensive! I purchased nothing, but did find many items for my Christmas wish list.

Bought my sister and her partner's Christmas presents.

Brined a chicken for dinner.

Carved my pumpkin for Halloween.

Maybe it just seemed like a busier week. I didn't do the Martha Mondays project as nuts around here are ridiculously expensive and I don't own a glue gun. I do know that I was changing my bed at 8.00pm last night and still putting clothes away at 10.30pm. Maybe I just need to be more organised.

This Week Recap

2009-10-25T19:18:00.002Z

This week was slightly hindered as I didn't feel well for the whole week and ended up off sick on Thursday and Friday. I am still feeling a bit fragile but managed to:

Send Australia presents before the mail strikes took place.
Write all my Christmas cards.
Check out the Harrods Christmas department.
Do the Martha Mondays project.
Have lunch with ex-work colleagues.
Visit Brighton and Arundel for Christmas shopping (even though very unsuccesful).

It was not a great week for getting things done. I missed out on the opening day of Anthropologie which has finally opened a store in the UK. I also moped around quite a bit but will make sure that I stay on top of things and have a really good week this weekend.

Martha Mondays - Texas Red Chili

2009-10-25T19:07:00.002Z

It was Megan's turn to choose the Martha Monday project and I was pleased that she choose the chilli as it meant that a meal would be cooked instead of part of a meal. I had liked the idea of the chilli but looked at getting dried chillies and had decided to leave it. I was pleased that I got to make it in the end.

I managed to get the ingredients. Although I substituted beef chuck (still don't know what it is) for stewing beef and the chillies for Kashmiri chillies as this was all the supermarket had.

The recipe was easy to make and I made it on Saturday and we ate it on Sunday.

We liked it, although thought the beef was a bit tough, which was my fault. I would make the sauce again but probably do this with mince as we usually do when we have chilli.

Thanks for a good Martha Monday project.

Decorating with Gourds

2009-10-22T19:17:00.004+01:00

Last year I was in Australia at this time and therefore missed out on both Halloween and Bonfire Night. This year I am here and have been gearing up for Halloween for quite a while. We like to keep the decorations to a minimum and decorate more in relation to the season rather than the holiday. However we will add the finishing touches next week with a pumpkin or two. Halloween isn't celebrating a great deal in the UK but there are quite a few children in our street so there are always knocks on the door on the 31st.

With dad having an allotment and spare space there was room for gourds to be planted. They have come out well and on Monday night I sorted them out, cleaned them and arranged them.

There were about forty gourds.

Sitting on the mantelpiece. The large gourd was a gift from a fellow allotmenter.

The orange and green gourds sitting on top of my adored cake stand which was a present for my birthday.

This Week Recap

2009-10-18T19:28:00.006+01:00

I have decided to document my week so that I can see my accomplishments and what happened that I am proud of.

Since last Sunday:

Dinner with Charlotte (a good friend and ex-work colleague).

Tried seabass for the first time.

The doctor gave me my test results for the lump removed from my arm and it was benign : )

I did a huge clear out of my makeup and found that I had been holding on to many things that I should have chucked out a long time ago.

I started my Christmas shopping - books and things from Baby Gap

I did a trip to Fortnum and Mason with mum and bought teas to be sent to Australia.

I wrapped presents to be sent to Australia.

I managed to get into two pairs of trousers that I haven't been able to wear for two years as I bought them needing to lose weight - which I have finally done!

I finally managed to work out how to put a hyperlink into my blog.

I had a lovely dinner with Charlotte and we had a great laugh. Since getting my test results back I have been a lot calmer. A good week I think!

Martha Mondays - Pork & Chive Pot-Stickers

2009-10-18T19:17:00.002+01:00

This week's project was chosen by Brette, the founder of Martha Mondays. There were two tasks to choose from but due to time restraints I chose the pot stickers. These were completely new to me and I watched Martha and Lucinda on the show to see how to do them.

I made a special trip to the Asian supermarket to pick up wonton wrappers but mine were square and not circular like Marthas. I wasn't fussed. I knew I wouldn't have time to locate circular ones anywhere.

The recipe was simple and apart from omitting the sherry I had everything else I needed apart from sesame oil. I could only find toasted sesame oil but this has been a revelation and I love it.

I made the pot-stickers on Friday night and then cooked up a few which we really liked - the photos were taken on Friday night.

I did have trouble cooking them in a tablespoon of oil as they just stuck to the pan and I ended up chucking those ones out. Instead I used a lot more oil and it was easier to stop them sticking. I then placed them on kitchen towel to absorb some of the oil. The rest we had with a 'Chinese' dinner on Saturday night - pot-stickers, sweet and sour chicken and Muse In The Kitchen's garlic rice - so good.

We all agreed that they were very tasted. I will make these again. To keep them from sticking I laid them on a plate covered in semolina - it seemed to work. Next time I will try to be more like Martha and make them a bit neater and try to keep the air bubbles out.

Thanks Brette - I would never have tried them without Martha Mondays!

Martha Mondays - Sticky Toffee Pudding

2009-10-11T19:00:00.005+01:00

Oh Boy! Sticky toffee pudding! Chosen by Lorraine of Sweet Lorraine Bakeshop, I was in heaven just reading the name, knowing that I would be able to come off my Special K diet for this treat. It was strange as although it is known as an English pudding and as someone who lives in England I have never tried it and neither had many of my friends. It is on dessert menus a lot but it has never taken my fancy.

This was a great recipe as apart from buying butter and cream, I didn't have to stock up on anything else which I have had to do with other Martha Monday recipes.

The recipe was easy to make, and I halved it as there are only three of us.

Things fell apart (literally) when I tapped out the still warm cake as directed. I had greased and floured the pan well and the cake was fully cooked so although I thought it crazy to take a warm cake out of the pan I proceeded.

Expletives rolled around my kitchen as the cake fell apart, I had planned to serve it at dinner as a special treat for us. But I continued and 'stuck' the cake back together.

The toffee sauce was lovely and I poured this all over. It was wonderful.

I managed to get one reasonable portion out of the cake, but the rest is a bit of a mess. I had some left over and so put this in a jug to be poured over the cake - true joy!

We however loved it despite the way it looked (a good lesson here I think) and dad even had seconds. I will have my second portion whilst watching the X Factor tonight.

Thanks for a wonderful Martha Monday project - the most successful in the Singer household so far!!!

I'm Feeling Better

2009-10-08T12:25:00.004+01:00

I had such a fright on Friday when after eating dinner (and nothing hard at all) one of my back teeth felt strange. I ran to the mirror and saw that I was in need of the dentist as a crack had appeared in the tooth.

In the UK if you get a problem with your teeth on a Friday night, unless you pay for an emergency appointment (which is very, very expensive) or go to the hospital to have the tooth pulled out you have to wait for Monday morning to arrange an appointment.

I stayed strong over the weekend (only breaking down twice in tears) and on Monday morning at 9.00am I rang for an appointment, by 10.30am I had managed to get through and I got an appointment for Wednesday afternoon.

Anyway, today is Thursday and my tooth has been sorted out. I stayed strong despite the enormous needle, drilling, and laserlight.

The thing is, the tooth thing really set me back. I had been coasting along pretty fine (apart from a lot more work at work) but this really did stop me in my tracks. I felt useless until my tooth was sorted out and moped around quite a bit. And of course, talked about my tooth all the time.

But I am pleased to say that I am happy again. My tooth is sorted, work has got a lot better since the secretarys had a meeting about helping each other out more, the weather has improved and I am looking forward to gearing up for a great weekend ahead.

Hope you are all well and not having setbacks with teeth or anything else.

Martha Mondays - Warm Vanilla Cider

2009-10-05T10:28:00.002+01:00

This weeks Martha Mondays project was chosen by Teresa of http://homemadeiowalife.blogspot.com/. She chose Warm Vanilla Cider from the October issue of Living (which I can't wait to get my hands on).

I think this is our first drink that we have made and I was excited (although I did check with Brette to see if apple cider was alcoholic as it is in the UK and was informed that it wasn't. This explains last Christmas when I made a spiced apple cider with alcoholic cider and then added brandy - there were a couple of merry afternoons during Christmas!!!

I had the ingredients that the recipe called for but had decided that I would not add the addition of cream or the honeyed walnuts as I didn't have the time and it would have ruined all my hard work of dieting.

This was good. The recipe was easy to follow and it tasted good (although I couldn't taste any nutmeg). With the addition of brandy (I didn't have bourbon). I had a very merry afternoon and will make this recipe again.

No picture this week I am afraid, as I drank it pretty quickly!

Thanks Teresa.

My Beauty Regime

2009-09-30T13:43:00.000+01:00

This regime of mine is nothing new (at least the products aren't) but I am on a real kick to look after myself better including skincare.

I have been addicted to Eve Lom Cleanser since a shopping event at Space NK last year where the goodie bag contained the travel size cleanser. Since then (as the price tag is huge) I have given it to myself as a prize for finishing a charity walk and I had it on my Wish List for Christmas last year.

I love the whole ritual with the cleanser - from applying it to a dry face, placing the hot muslin cloth on your face and then using warm water with circular motions to remove any dirt/makeup. Finishing off with a cold flannel (to close the pores) makes it even better. I highly recommend this product.

On a week day I don't use a morning moisturiser - my skin is currently in good condition and I am always worried about overloading it too much. I therefore use the daily moisture from Garnier at the weekends or when I am not wearing makeup.

At night (and this is stuck to religiously) I use the Garnier night cream and then the Eye Roll-On. My skin always feels lovely afterward and I have been happy with the results.

Lastly, following a tip from Martha that she uses a Serum one hour before she gets out of bed (seems she sets her alarm clock an hour early to apply) I had to get one. Martha uses a YonKa product but that is not in my price range. Instead I turned to trusted Garnier again. Now, I don't do this every night, as I quite like my sleep, but when I do wake early this little tube is on my bedside table waiting for me.

Martha Mondays - Apple Brown Betty

2009-09-27T16:52:00.003+01:00

This weeks task was chosen by Abby from abbysweets.blogspot.com. I was excited. I love apple crumble (although mum's version is so floury that we have many other names for it!!!) but this sounded really interesting and was completely new to me.

I did this for dessert on Saturday night whilst we watched Stictly Come Dancing and it followed on from roast pork for dinner so I thought I was on to a winner.

It was easy to make and I followed the recipe to the tee. Even the oven instructions were right.

I had given strict instructions to mum and dad to prepare themselves and that they had to eat some of it before adding extra sugar or cream (which always happens in the Singer household). They agreed. Although dad then ate trifle and didn't try any pudding (I'm still annoyed), mum and I were game - we both agreed that it had the winning ingredients - bread and apple for mum - and apple and cinnamon for me.

We both decided that it was a bit bland - mum blamed the apples of which she suggests using cooking apples and I wished I had used the demerara. Usually I find the Martha puddings to be so sweet. We both added cream and sugar.

I will try this recipe again and change it slightly. Thanks Abby for a good Martha Mondays project. I look forward to next week!

My photo doesn't show the dessert in a great way (if anyone knows of a way to show good looking crumble please let me know).

Martha Mondays - Mollases Spice Cake

2009-09-12T20:36:00.003+01:00

It was my turn to choose the Martha Mondays project and I had had it worked out for weeks - the Mollases Spice Cake from the October 2007 issue of Living. Ever since I had seen the cake I had wanted an excuse to make it but there was never a good enough reason to use every spice known to man (I know, I exaggerate - slightly) and then cream cheese, sour cream and brown sugar glaze.

But the time had come. I printed out the recipe and ingredients from the internet and headed to the supermarket. I had most of the ingredients although ground mace still is nowhere to be found, and I ended up using blade mace and mashing it through a sieve, but everything else I managed to find.

As I had Friday off from work I put everything on the counter and got to work. Just one problem - the Singer household had only 1 cup of brown sugar so I used caster sugar as well. (Martha I know would never have run out).

The cake was easy to make, besides using up three different bowls. I often wonder what would happen if I just dumped in the flour and spices in one go, but I persisted. The cake for me took an hour to cook, but my cake pan was slightly smaller in size and deeper.

We all liked the cake. I did the cream cheese frosting in a separate bowl so we could add as much or as little as we liked. I wouldn't add the butter to the cream cheese again as I don't think it needed it. And I didn't make the brown glaze as we had no brown sugar.

To anyone who makes the cake, I'm sorry that it had so many ingredients and probably wasn't a good idea if you were on a diet. I hope other people liked the cake. I will certainly make it again and am thinking of trying it as cupcakes for Christmas.

Book Review - The Help

2009-09-06T21:17:00.005+01:00

In June I had seen a review for The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I was intrigued and quickly asked in the bookshop but was informed that the book was not released until the end of July. I had to have it. For weeks I kept on nipping into the bookshop to see whether they had put it out early, mum gave it to me as a surprise when it was released. I loved it.

The book is centres around two maids (Aibileen and Minny) who work in Mississippi in the 1960s. The book tells a story about life back then from both Aibileen and Minny's perspective and their bosses.

Everything about this book is wonderful. I could imagine every character and every scene. It was a book that I couldn't put down - I would read on my way to work, at lunch, on the tube - everywhere. But as the last 20 or so pages came up I was in two minds as to whether I wanted the book to end or whether I should leave it so that the book never had to end. Of course I finished it. And it was beautiful from the moment it started until the very last page.

Since I have read it, mum has read it and loved it (although she didn't cry like I did) and I have now given it to a friend. I know that I will pass this book along to all of my friends and then read it again.

It was truly wonderful.

Martha Mondays - Apple-Honey Challah

2009-09-05T21:04:00.004+01:00

Well after being so late last week with the pom poms I am extra early in posting this weeks (next weeks) Martha Mondays task.

This was a joint task with my mum as we were both home to do it whilst doing other chores (mainly gardening). It turned out that it was lucky that neither of us needed to go out for a long period of time as this recipe took for ever!

We started at about 1.15pm and got it out of the oven at about 5.30pm.

Despite my dislike of honey, I embraced the recipe and bought all the right ingredients including Granny Smith apples which I don't really like (I'm more a pink lady girl!)

The problem for me was that it took too long, three times I had to take it to the airing cupboard, I found the instructions hard to follow (why preheat the oven 45 minute before it can go in the oven? - I disobeyed this).

We didn't like it either. I wasn't sure if you ate it as it was, had it with stewed fruit or something/cream/butter. Mum suggests that we through it to the birds and I agree. The pigeons I am sure will love it.

I will leave on a positive though, and say that despite us not liking it, it was good to try something new. I had never made Challah before (and probably won't again) but at least I can say that I have now made it.

Ready to (finally) go in the oven.

Just before being cut.

The leftovers - quite a bit - but the birds will be happy tomorrow!

Pru

Martha Mondays - Pom Poms

2009-09-01T13:46:00.001+01:00

I apologise for this post being so late - I started these on Thursday, then went away (for a disasterous holiday - see post below) and then stayed with a friend on Tuesday night.

I admit that when I first saw the project I said "Oh no!". Crafting isn't my strong point and I never have the things required. But I decided to give it a go and I enjoyed it.

Here are my results:

Instead of thin wire which I don't have I used pipe cleaners which were available in the colours I required in our stationary shop.

I was worried that I would end up breaking them when 'rouching' them up but I did not break any. I think they could look very effective in a big grouping.

I will be making these for Halloween (which I plan to celebrate in great style this year. In total I made one large one and then two napkin rings which I thought looked the best.

Thanks Megan for a great Martha Mondays!

The Best Laid Plans...

2009-09-01T13:36:00.003+01:00

Sometimes even the best made plans I make don’t go as I wish.

We went away to Devon for the August Bank Holiday this past weekend. It had been booked for a few months, a nice self-catering cottage in rolling hills within a complex which had a tennis court and indoor swimming pool.

I now see that holidays with my family just aren’t meant to be. We argue and as three very headstrong people (mum, dad and I) it just doesn’t work. When I go on holiday (and I hadn’t been away since Australia last year) I want it to be as perfect and stress free as possible. I want to relax, glass of wine on the table with a good book. A nice lunch, or food and see some sights whilst visiting a different part of the country. I enjoy being able to 'tick off the list' a place (or usually a county).

I admit that in some ways we are restricted slightly by taking Violet (my beautiful dog) with us. Until 30th September only certain beaches are accessible if you have a dog and going out and leaving Violet in the cottage is against the rules. However she was very good and enjoyed the different beaches that we took her to, walks in the fields she really enjoyed and she got used to her new surroundings very quickly. We even took her with us to eat one evening (the other time she stayed in the car until we brought her out some leftovers as a reward).

We stayed a few miles away from the town of Honiton. I had been led to believe from a friend that it was a pretty market town, with some good shops and a market on a Saturday. Maybe my expectations were too high, but it wasn’t great. Mum and I had walked up both sides of the road, stopping in shops and at the [very] small market within an hour.

As dad had decided to fish in one of the lakes at the complex on Saturday, mum and I made our way to Gittisham a small village a few miles away and then went for coffee at the Combe House Hotel (not as posh and well serviced as you would expect). Coffee with biscuits for two came to £10.00 – I was shocked!

I had been looking forward to this holiday since we had booked it (in May). Maybe my expectations were too high. I hoped that we would not argue, (and that started the afternoon before we even went), that we would go away and come back relaxed and refreshed. It wasn’t to be.

On the journey back I started to wonder ‘What Would Martha Do?’ I decided that she would have planned the venue more, looking up restaurants to try, places to visit. I also think that she would have back up plans. I am also sure that she would not have put up with the mood of one of the party for very long either!

Oh well, I have learnt my lesson for future trips and hopefully anyone reading this will see how lucky they are when they go away with family!

Martha Mondays - Chicken with Plums

2009-08-24T08:43:00.002+01:00

Brette was kind enough to email me the recipe for this week's challenge as the September issue hasn't arrived in the UK yet.

It looked quite good from the recipe and I was pleased to get rid of another pound of plums (we have been eating victoria plums for the last few weeks and they are beginning to get on my nerves!)

We don't like honey in our house, and never have it in the cupboard. I adapted the recipe and used brown sugar instead.

I had eaten one of the plums when I was chopping them up and they were nice and sweet. But when we plated up the dinner, the plums seemed to be more 'tart' which I thought strange considering the addition of butter and brown sugar.

The consensus was that we didn't like the plums. We ate the chicken with rice and runner beans and it was fine.

I am intrigued to find out what everyone else thought and as I haven't seen a photo I can only assume that I did it right until the magazine arrives.

Kew Gardens

2009-08-22T21:35:00.005+01:00

I am lucky to have Kew Gardens just over a mile from where I live, but I find that I hold visits for treats. I think if I went too many times it just wouldn't be special.

Mum and I had a free ticket last night so went along (it was an evening event from 6.30pm). We both loved it, as we hadn't been for a couple of years we strolled around the gardens and did the new treetop walk whilst other visitors sat on the park benches with picnic and enjoyed the cooler weather after a week of very hot, sunny days.

Below are some of the photos that I took on my phone camera. If you are ever in the area or travelling to London on holiday I would urge you to visit. It really is wonderful.

Huge urns with petunias were set around the pound in front of the Palm House:

The Temperate House (in the summer they hold concerts in front of the glasshouse, they are always finished with huge fireworks):

The Japanese Gateway:

The famous pagoda:

William Curley Cakes

2009-08-21T13:26:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago was my second anniversary of working at the company I work for. It is especially important as it marks a large change that I made in my life and the beginning of a close friendship.

Jackie and I started work on the same day. We sat in the same office for the first week and have been very good friends ever since.

We wanted to mark our anniversary in a special way. For months we have been gazing into William Curley’s shop on our way to the sandwich shop. The cakes always look amazing and we decided that we would treat ourselves.

These treats were not cheap – at £4.50 each I was expecting perfection, and would have been very tempted to march back in for a refund had they not been good.

However I just want to go back in for more! The cakes were fantastic; we chose a Passion fruit and Mango Entremet and a Black Forest cake. They were lovingly packaged up and after dinner we ate them. First slicing them in half, then admiring them and then devouring them. I ate the passion fruit one first and it was the nicest thing I have ever tried, the mousse was wonderful, the cake at the bottom was soft and just perfect. The Black Forest had just the right amount of alcohol and was rich from such lovely chocolate.

In the box – they had been glued on the bottom of the box to stop them sliding around
(the photo isn’t great because I used my phone camera)

I will be going back for Christmas presents (they sell a range of chocolates, hot chocolate kits and biscuits) and for the odd treat now and then. In fact I am wondering how tempted my mum will be to try these or some of the others (below). Surely another visit this weekend wouldn’t be wrong!

Martha Mondays - Grilled Vanilla Peaches

2009-08-09T12:11:00.003+01:00

This is the first Martha Monday and I was excited. Grilled vanilla peaches looked wonderful from the magazine and I like peaches (and ice cream) so it was a winning recipe from the beginning.

There was just one problem - grilling in England is broiling in America. It isn't warm enough to use the barbecue over here, and I wasn't about to get it out from the shed, set it up just for some peaches. Sorry Martha (and Lucinda), but I adapted this recipe!

Ingredients
These were fine. I had the basic ingredients and the supermarket had peaches. They also had vanilla extract which I had run out of - at £4 a bottle its not cheap.

Method
This was also fine. I halved the recipe as it served eight and there are only three of us so I did four peaches. I found it a bit messy cutting the peaches and stoning them when they had been peeled.

As I didn't have the barbecue out I figured that I would grill (broil them). They were due to take 15 minutes on a hot barbecue. I had the grill on hot, but after 25 minutes they still weren't done. By this stage I was hot, and ready for my ice cream.

I threw them on the griddle instead. They bubbled up nicely, the liquid turned more syrupy and I spooned them on to the ice cream.

Result
Mum, dad and I all liked them. They were tasty and I could certainly taste the vanilla. They were really quite good. If the weather in London heats up enough I will haul the barbecue out and do them properly.

I was pleased with the first of the Martha Monday challenges.

Martha Mondays

2009-08-07T11:46:00.005+01:00

Brette over at Martha & Me has created ' Martha Mondays '.

The idea is to do a craft or recipe every Monday as a group and then blog about it. As Monday's for me are busy I plan to do my task on a Sunday when I have more time and then blog about it on Monday.

The first task is Grilled Vanilla Peaches from the August Living magazine. As I only received the magazine on Wednesday I have yet to cook anything from it - the chicken salad with tomatoes and cucumber and the butterbeans are on the menu for this weekend.

Results to follow next week.

Look What I Bought

2009-08-03T08:58:00.004+01:00

Mum and I had a relaxing time looking around Westfields (my favourite shopping centre). It is so airy and free of people if you arrive early (we were there for 9am).

Here's what I bought:

A quick trip into Topshop revealed nothing great - and everything on sale was in very small sizes (enough to make me turn on my heel and run) but we kept going and upstairs was this lovely top. They also had it in cream and navy but orange worked best.

New Look has the most comfortable shoes. I get through flat pumps very quickly and this shop helps me to be able to continual buy more. The Purple shoes were £16 and the Zebra print £20.

Gorgeous Mark Jacobs Perfume. I previously wore Daisy but ran out. I love 'Mark Jacobs' before I loved 'Daisy' and feel that the original is more classic. I love it!

Of course shopping would not have been complete without lunch - and we ventured on to the South Terrace for lunch at Kitchen Italia. This was our first time trying this restaurant and we both liked it. The large wooden benches were comfortable and in the middle were bottles of different olive oils (extra virgin, lemon, basil, rosemary), a basil plant ready for picking and a cheese grater. The food was fresh and quick.

We started with garlic pizza which was thin and crispy, well seasoned and came on the most beautiful olive board ready for cutting. I then had gnocchi with peas, rocket and gorgonzola which was wonderful (but very filling as gnocchi always is!) and mum had the tomato spaghetti. We were too full to even look at the dessert menu!

Gardening Update

2009-07-30T13:30:00.004+01:00

The garden has been really great this year (I have seen it from time to time when it hasn't been raining) but it is now starting to turn more towards Autumn. The hanging baskets are beginning to droop and the petunias and geraniums in the window boxes have seen better days too!

With this in mind, we have been taking even more care of the vegetable box at the bottom of the garden. The sugar snap peas were brilliant and will be dug up this weekend (we are thinking of adding more green beans).

Below are some photos which I took last night.

A shot looking at the tomato plants. We have four plants this year.

A close up of some of the tomatoes. We plan to use some for salads and the bigger ones for sauces.

Weekend Baking

2009-07-15T10:12:00.004+01:00

Mum and I did some baking at the weekend with great success.

First up was Smitten Kitchen’s Blueberry Bait Boy. Just the name made me want to make it, and I will continue to make this cake from now on – it is good!

Of course, I didn’t stick completely to the recipe as I didn’t have any unsalted butter in and so used salted butter and added the teaspoon of salt to the flour by accident. I think it made it better as it then had a slightly salty taste to offset the sweetness of the batter. The recipe serving was for 12 and it was perfect for us to eat at home and for me to take into work. It saved well and was fine on the third day when the rest of it was devoured!

The second dish was Quiche Lorraine from Michel Roux’s book ‘Pastry’. I bought this book after receiving his book ‘Eggs’ which I adore. Mum had the task of pastry which was beautiful (even though the first pastry case fell out of the oven and had to be made again). I’m not usually a fan of Quiche Lorraine because the bacon is never cooked enough, so instead of boiling the bacon as it suggested in the book we friend the bacon slightly, then drained and cooled it before adding it to the quiche. Also we used cheddar (which was already in the fridge) instead of gruyere.

I’m sorry that the photos aren’t that great, I took them with my camera phone. But dinner and pudding on both occasions were fantastic. I can’t wait to make more quiches, and found the recipe so easy to follow from Smitten Kitchen that I hope to find another recipe for dinner next weekend.

Good News

2009-07-14T09:24:00.003+01:00

I arrived very early for my weigh in last night, in fact, I was there before the trainer had finished bringing her weighing scale in.

After being told off for not going to the classes for ages, I stood on the scale. I had a figure in mind - I was sure that I would be the same weight as when I started the class or more.

I was shocked - I have actually lost half a pound! Oh, I know that is only small but this is quite shocking considering that I ate out every lunchtime last week, also went to dinner with my mum and had a burger after the cinema.

I am completely spurred on. Already this morning I have drunk a glass of water and eaten my bran flakes (although Violet ate the last bit and drunk the milk!)

I have also been spurred on by www.marthaandme.wordpress.com who has lost 13lbs by following recipes from the Martha Stewart magazines and also thinking 'would Martha eat this?' I love the idea of losing weight whilst not really realising that you are doing it. There is no hardship in this diet at all, and from what I see from the website, the food eaten is very balanced with some naughty bits chucked in as well.

Am off to get a cup of tea and an apple!

Plans Changing and Continual Crying

2009-07-12T17:00:00.002+01:00

Oh goodness, I blogged that I would be going for my weigh in which I didn't attend. Instead I went to see My Sister's Keeper with a friend.

I had been expecting to cry throughout the film as I had read the book, and the ending I had read on a bus into London crying my eyes out. I had vowed therefore to see the film on a day when I had no mascara or eye make up at all on - panda eyes never looks good on anyone. You can guess what happened.

We had been due to see the film on the Thursday (and hence I would have made my weigh in) but the 2 for 1 with my Orange mobile made us think that we could save £10 if we went on the Wednesday - this was the day that I had made a real effort with my makeup and was therefore fearful that it would be a total mess when I left the cinema.

The film is sad, not as sad as the book, but I was crying within the first half an hour. In fact, by the end everyone was crying so much that this made my friend and I laugh - I had never heard so much sobbing before.

My makeup survived two hours of crying but I worry that I may soon cry again asmy waistline (I use the term loosely) has given up. Last week I ate out every lunchtime - two jacket potatoes, sandwich and chips in the pub, fish and chips and a bowl of soup.

Next week I start dieting properly again. The goal is 1,200 calories from the Rosemary Conley book and then take it from there.

The Big Weigh In

2009-07-08T08:37:00.002+01:00

Its a whole month since I last went to my dieting class 'fat club' as it is commonly referred to. Last time, I had gained, I hold out very little hope for tonight.

My mentality is this : best to aim for the worst possible result and then if it is anything better you are winning! Its the approach I take when I look at my bank balance as well.

The class is through Rosemary Conley and when you sign up you receive emails from her once a month with encouragement - mine arrived in my mailbox this morning. It stated that giving in to small temptations can seriously undermine everything (a plain rich tea biscuit holds 40 calories, a chocolate one has 80).

I will eat a healthy lunch, bypass the clotted cream biscuits a colleague brought back from her holiday to Cornwall, and drink lots of water, in the hope that it won't be too bad!

Happy 60th Birthday Mum!

2009-07-01T09:55:00.002+01:00

Building our snowman in the garden last winter.

It's my mum's 60th birthday today. We are not really celebrating, but I am going against her wishes and we will have cake and flowers will be delivered.

Our family is very small, there is Mum, Dad, myself and Violet (the dog) in our house, with my sister Polly living in Sheffield. Mum and Dad both have brothers and sisters but they aren't very close and we don't really see them.

I often look at these gatherings that people have for birthdays, Christmas, Easter and wish that we had the same. I always have plenty of ideas for these celebrations but we just don't do them.

Still, mum has chosen to have a quiet birthday, so maybe we might celebrate later in the year. (My birthday which was in February is still on hold, as there were no presents that I wanted and I went out with friends instead of with mum and dad). There's still time.

Happy birthday mum. I hope that you fulfil all of your dreams and start living more. Just make sure you don't end up in the category of 'and she never danced again'.

Love you lots.

Emotions Run High

2009-07-01T09:51:00.002+01:00

I am feeling very unsettled at the moment. This has been going on for quite a while. Ever since plans for my mum's birthday erupted. I think because I didn't jump in and argue from the beginning which is my usual way and instead sat back that it made things worse, because for a while I was angry at the wrong person.

My plans to take mum off for the day had been scuppered by dad who was no keen on being left out, not that he wanted to come out anyway and of course, comes up with no plans of his own - EVER.

I have felt sad about this ever since. Mum decided that she wanted no celebration at all - no cards, no presents, no cake, nothing. I love a good celebration, I get my Martha books and magazines out and start plotting. I was aiming for this to be wonderful, a proper celebration for the three of us. But it wasn't to be.

Last night I argued with dad (who is completely to blame for this). And then I cried, lots. My emotions have been all over the place recently and I feel very unsettled.

Weekly Report

2009-06-17T14:17:00.004+01:00

I meant to post on Monday, its now Wednesday and the week has slipped away from me (again).

The past week also flew by, trying to get birthday cards, Father's Day cards and gifts (I buy from both me and Violet the dog), looking at presents on Etsy and trying to figure out something to do with mum for her upkeeping 60th birthday.

The problem was, at work, the internet was down. From Tuesday morning until Monday morning. I love the internet, and as soon as you can't have something you just want it more. Which meant that I was spending my evenings trying to get things done without mum coming in and working out my plans.

So:

- Cards - purchased. except my card to mum.

- Presents - not purchased. The Father's Day gift is done. Quite boring - Boots things -but the offer on L'Oreal products was too much to pass up.

- Etsy - I have bookmarked items including a gorgeous pair of earring for a friends birthday even though it isn't until October.

- Mum's birthday - was all sorted out and then dad kicked up a stink about being left out and so mum has cancelled her WHOLE birthday!!! This isn't a whim either, she is more stubborn than me which is saying something. It's such a shame as well - I had the whole thing planned.

First, the train ride to Brighton (it wouldn't take too long and I planned on getting some goodies to take with us and for us to pick up a coffee before getting the train).

Then treatments at Champneys http://www.champneys.com/. I thought the Collagen Enriched Anti Ageing Facial and Luxury Manicure sounded pretty good.

Then on to Jamie Oliver's Italian Restaurant http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/brighton . The antipasti description had me hooked, and I was salivating just thinking about it.

It sounded pretty good. A bit of shopping in The Lanes. So far it is on hold, but I am ever hopeful of changing her mind. The thing is, it is meant to be a surprise trip out, and if I tell her what it is then there really is no fun in it!

The weekend went past quickly, Saturday was busy making cakes for a summer fete. In total we did Nigella's chocolate fudge cake (x2), lemon cake, coffee and walnut cake, Martha Stewart's peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. It was all hands to the stove, we started at 6.30am with tray after tray of cookies and were finished by lunchtime. I was pleased to hear that the two chocolate cakes had been sold for £25 and in total the fete raised over £600 pounds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

I had a barbeque in the afternoon and prepared a fruit salad and strawberry galette. There was so much food though, the desserts weren't eaten so were pretty much wasted. I brought them home but the galette had got a bit soggy and the fruit ended up being made into coulis to have with ice cream.

I always aspire to be like Martha Stewart, or one of these people from other blogs that I look at, who I know would never dream of taking a shop bought dessert, but I do sometimes wonder if all my efforts for the barbeque were wasted.

This week has started better. A friends birthday is today, and we bought a massage voucher and earrings. Also, had lunch today and am out with her tonight for dinner. We are also holding drinks tomorrow (I hope the weather stays good so that we can sip our drinks in the sunshine).

My goals for the rest of the week are:

- get the skirting board fixed in my room.
- sort out the TV in my room.
- order items from Etsy - add to the list for other birthdays coming up.
- buy stamps (always running out).
- try and sort out plans for my two days off next week and see if I can get mum to come out.

Pru

Gardening Update

2009-06-08T12:42:00.004+01:00

Another weekend, another gardening hour or so!

The weather wasn't on our side for most of the weekend but in between heavy rain mum and I were out in the garden with our new plants.
Our trip to Garsons Farm in Esher had been a success. We were so happy, especially after not getting anything from Squires the weekend before. Our purchases were:
- a new terracota pot
- a poppy plant
- a delphinium plant
- more bedding plants
- petit pois.

The garden is looking really good. I dead-headed the peony bush, and mum sorted out a bush near the bottom of the garden that was overhanging onto the path.

At the bottom of the garden where we have our vegetable plot two new tomato plants have been added as well as six petit pois plants. The rocket was removed and we have now planted lettuce.

From the back of the garden. We only keep a few vegetables here and grow the larger vegetables at our allotment.

The sugar snap peas are coming on well. At the bottom of the photo are two lines of spring onions.

The tomato plants (two more were added this weekend).

Hope shattered again

2009-06-04T13:53:00.004+01:00

The title may be a little overdramatic - but the joy was there!

I will set the scene. I picked up the new Martha Stewart Living magazine (June) on my way home. I had nipped into WH Smith on the off chance that it had arrived, spotted it immediately paid for it and jumped on the bus. I skimmed the magazine and started reading Martha's calendar but the bus driver was like a maniac and we were at my stop before I got halfway down the page.

I then had 'Salsacise' exercise class with a friend, so didn't get back to finish reading until about 9.30 inbetween shouting at the TV (we had The Apprentice on). Then I shrieked "Martha's coming to London - her Visa has been sorted out!". I was in a sort of hysteria by then. Clutching to the magazine and pointing it at my mum. "What will you do?" she said. "I don't know I said". But then I started hatching out my plan. It was too late to be getting on with my investigations and I knew that if I started it would never get finished. I decided to wait until the next day. But I knew my plan - email Martha through her blog, email Andrew Ritchie of Martha Moments to see if he had any ideas and then email Wedgwood.

You see, mum and I had both had tickets to see Martha last year at Harrods for her to launch her Wedgwood design but then it had been cancelled due to her Visa not being allowed by the UK.

Then the sadness came:

I emailed Martha's blog (the blog (something about hay) was taken away and my comment wasn't authorised). And then my mind started thinking, surely it was about this time last year when she was due over... I checked my diary (I could have cried). And then Andrew Ritchie confirmed my worst fears - it had been a misprint, there have been no changes in Martha's Visa rights.

I long to meet Martha, to see what she looks like up close, to say hello to get and have my 'Martha Moment'. I am sure my time will come to meet her, I will just have to work doubly hard to make sure that it does!

Half the year gone - time to set some new goals

2009-06-01T13:48:00.003+01:00

Its amazing to find that half of 2009 has already gone. I had two goals for the year - to lose weight and to sort my finances out.

So far, not so great.

The problem is with my first goal - losing weight. Things started quite well, I started swimming, lost a little weight. But then did a detox (not a great idea), gave up caffeine and sugar (an even worse idea). I have since joint Rosemary Conley slimming classes. These are held once a week in a local school gym. You are weighed (privately) and then you do an aerobics class. I go with a friend from work. So far the results have been 'okay'. Out of nine weigh-ins I have put weight on three times. I am still at a weight lower than when I started the class (a Good Thing).

I have been attempting to lose weight for about 10 years. My weight has pretty much stayed the same (large). My goal at the beginning of the year had been to get a pretty dress from Hobbs www.hobbs.co.uk or LK Bennett www.lkbennett.com for the office summer party, but due to the economic trouble we aren't having one. So there was no point in continuing with that goal.

Also, when the dieting doesn't go my way (i.e. I only lose 1lb after a gruelling week of no caffeine/sugar) I then go and eat a Big Mac, large fries and milkshake, followed by two weeks of eating anything I want. I need new goals and to start afresh.

Therefore my goals are:

1. to continue to attend the Rosemary Conley classes;
2. to keep a positive attitude to losing weight (Oprah is seeing it as looking after her body more than a diet).
3. to be, by Christmas a weight that I am happy with.

Gardening in May

2009-06-01T13:34:00.007+01:00

The garden has been looking exceptionally nice recently, with the peonies in bloom, roses coming out and the hydrangea growing more and more.

Over the past few years I have grown more fond of the garden and use Martha Stewart as my inspiration - the addition of more peony plants (bringing the total to four) and another hydrangea. We have also added more lavender along the path which will smell beautiful very soon.

In addition to the flowers at the back of the garden there is room for a car to be parked. A few years ago we installed a vegetable plot. Currently we have tomatoes, spring onions, peppers, cucumbers, lambs lettuce, sugar snaps and rocket growing. This past weekend we were able to walk to the end of the garden and pick fresh mint and rocket for lunch.

I am very fond of the garden at this time of the year and make sure that I come around the back of the house and through the garden on my way home. It is even better when Violet greets me down the path.

Here are some recent photos of the garden:

Looking down the garden.

From the patio. Mum's olive tree (a present for Mother's day), the new bird house and clematis growing up the fence (the roses are pouring over from our next door neighbour's garden).

New Books

2009-05-26T11:38:00.008+01:00

I find Bank Holidays to be extremely boring - mainly because our family don't get our act together to sort anything out. It will be my goal to have something sorted out for the August Bank Holiday.

My place of solace in times of stress and boredom is Waterstones in Piccadilly - a large bookshop with five floors, including two cafes. Waterstones, it has to be said is not my favourite bookshop as I always prefer Borders but the Piccadilly one always has the books that I want and there is a calmness about the store.

My ritual is to walk to the top and work my way down, stopping to check out the self help section, cookery section, gardening section, craft section and fiction floor. I finish on the ground floor where I look through my selection of books before deciding whether or not to make the purchase - they are always impulse buys.

I found myself this time, however wanting a book on calligraphy. I have quite good handwriting and have been inspired by the weddings and beautiful stationery from Martha Stewart Weddings. I figured that this would give me a good project to keep me occupied. I was in luck. There were three books in total and I chose The Calligrapher's Bible.

In the self help section I chose a new weight loss book called 'Get Off Your Arse and Lose Weight'. This book is superb - it is the talk that I have been having with myself for a long time and I am steadily working through the book. There are no fad diets just plain information - stop whining and get moving, eat sensibly, stop eating junk and you will lose weight. I love it!