Never Forget

We Remember. 

Everybody remembers where they were that day, when, how, and from who they heard.

We Remember. 

 

I remember the end of Netball class, being ushered into the classroom, where all the teachers stood in muted panic.

 I remember coming home from school and every channel on TV was showing the same film about New York and airplanes.

 I remember two years ago today, on the 10 year anniversary, watching an emotional baseball match between Los Angeles and New York, a stirring half time with the firefighters who survived. 

We Remember. 

 Remember those who suffered in the Twin Towers

Remember those who suffered in the hi-jacked planes

Remember those workers in the control rooms taking the emergency calls

Remember those who received last calls from loved ones

Remember those who never received that last call

Remember those who lost fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands

Remember those who fought to save the lives of others

Remember those who responded first on the scene

 Remember those whose lives were changed forever

Remember those iconic images.

Friends? Strangers? Maybe they just didn't want to be alone.

Honor those who died, those who risked their lives, and those whose lives were turned upside down forever. Move forward, be brave, be strong, and keep your head high. 

We Remember. Never Forget.

 

image source 

Off to Uni: One in 3 Students Can't Boil an Egg

And 18% don't even feel confident in how to make toast. *

Can't cook, won't cook?

 

My sister will be the first to admit she fits in both categories very easily. I used to get woken up to make her toast (my parents were thankful for this as it meant the house remained intact.) A lasagne? No way! A pasta dish? Unlikely. A roast dinner? Not even worth answering...

There are a lot of student cookbooks on the market. Some are pretty good, some are naff, and some aren't even worth picking up. But the majority of them include meals and dishes that 90% of students will not bother to do. (Okay, so I made this statistic up, but you get the point!) Students want what I call 'cupboard cookery'; no specialist ingredients, just a meal they can whip together with ingredients they are likely to have already. There is no point buying a specialist spice when they can buy the curry sauce in a jar cheaper... or better yet have it delivered with a naan bread, some onion bhajis, and a pilau rice.. 

As an 'off to uni' gift for my sister, it was only ever going to be sharing the knowledge of what I do best and she does worse; cooking. (Sorry Jem we both know it's true!) I picked up a funky notebook and decided to create my own recipe book. 

Uni essentials: Alcohol, Tea, and basic recipes from someone who knows you! 

(Luckily she doesn't like tea, and the Strawberry Liqueur is mine, so she can have the recipe collection!)

 

The notebook already has three dividers in. I have subcategorised in the following ways:

 

1. Quick food fixes: Jacket Potatoes (in the oven and the microwave, step by step); Bacon and Mushroom omelette (perfect for the morning after the night before); Loaded Nachos (to go with the beer pong!); Poached Egg on Toast; and, a Sweet Chilli Prawn Wrap
   
2. Actual Meals and their sides (on the rare occasion a student eats one of these): Home-made breaded chicken pieces; a Superfood Salad; Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables; Yorkshire Puddings; Egg Fried Rice; the list continues...
   
3. The Sweet Stuff: (what students eat most! and great ways to bond with your flatmates): American pancakes; Blueberry Muffins; Banana Bread; and Double Chocolate Chunk Brownies. 

The great think about a notebook is lots of free pages remain; it would be hugely optimistic to assume she will continue to enter her favourite meals and recipes as she learns them but where there is hope it may happen... 

*Read more statistics from the Sainsburys survey here

A MidSummer Cakes Dream: A secret location in Oxfordshire

The gold star for discovering this hidden world goes to my mother. Her love of rambling canal walks into the middle of nowhere combined with her English love of afternoon tea and cake made this find the perfect hidden gem. 

Hidden deep in the Oxfordshire countryside, Jane's Tea Room has to be a priority on your To Visit list. I'll admit, the name, Jane's Tea Room is uninspiring. How many Jane's Tea Rooms must there be across the United Kingdom? Well I promise you now.. this place is like no other! 

Owned by a lady called Jane (surprised?) who lives on a canal boat, the outside tea room is only open on a Sunday from 12-5. Jane owns the land, including a vintage caravan for rent and a horse! All of the baking is done using fresh and local produce where possible.

Jane's is nestled in a small village called Kirtlington, a beautiful archetypal Oxfordshire village. 

A lane disappears off the village green, shown above, heading towards the disused Kirtlington Quarry. A recent cluster of new homes is the only sign of human presence as the lane continues; the cows, horses, and smell of fresh grass overtaking the senses. The road does turn into a dirt track so make sure you are wearing appropriate shoes; on my first visit I wore slip on sandals and the gravel kept flicking up under my foot.. ouch.

Keep walking until you reach this partially hidden sign on the left of the track. To your right you will see what looks like an entrance to a private garden- enter here:

As you walk down the garden path, you will slowly leave the outside world beyond the gate. Be prepared for caged birds, dogs, and doves amongst the trees, antique road signs, Victorian style pushchairs, and a vintage record player.  The extended branches of the trees provide a canopy, and unfortunately the partial darkness did not provide the best photography light.

What I could capture were vintage tea cups hanging in the trees..

Continue down this path and I can guarantee you will soon hit a small queue of excited walkers, or those in on the secret, who are desperate for their cup of tea and homemade cake. You can choose from a selection of High Teas, quiche, soup, cakes, and scones all fresh and handmade.

Take a look at the menu below:

All of the seating is different; old picnic tables, bistro style table and chairs, covered seating with gazebos that is decorated with bunting.  Choosing where to sit is as difficult as choosing what to order!

 

 

As a treat to a very good friend of mine, we decided on a slice of Raspberry cake and a Carrot and Walnut cake to share, a pot of tea, and some water. I loved my vintage china tea cup and saucer!

 

 

Make the most of a beautiful Sunday afternoon and head down there; enjoy! 

Custard Creams Cake and KitKat Smartie Cake

My brother's 10th birthday has crept up on us so quickly. He will be driving before we know it!

Not only did he turn double digits for the first time, he had a birthday dinner with the family, and a party with his friends, so a double celebration required two cakes!

I always aim to make my cakes different to those  you buy in the supermarket.

For a young boy, whose tastes in trends change, but his love in biscuits never does, I just knew these cakes would be perfect! 

To make the Custard Creams Cake:

• Make two sponge layers in your flavour of choice
• Ice them together as you normally would
• Pipe icing around the outside of the cake, filling any gaps between the two sponge layers
  (see the chocolate cake example below)
• The piped icing will act as 'glue' for your biscuits. Stand the biscuits up against the side of the cake, pushing gently into the sponge
• Biscuits are quite heavy; use a ribbon around the cake to keep everything in place. It will encourage the icing 'glue' to dry with a strong bond to the biscuits

To make the Kit Kat Smartie Cake

 

• Make two sponge layers in your flavour of choice
• Ice them together as you normally would
• Pipe icing around the outside of the cake, filling any gaps between the two sponge layers
  (see the chocolate cake example below)
• The piped icing will act as 'glue' for your biscuits. Place your KitKats against the side of the cake creating a fence effect.

• When your KitKat fence is complete, pour Smarties over the top!
• KitKats are quite heavy; use a ribbon around the cake to keep everything in place. It will encourage the icing 'glue' to dry with a strong bond to the biscuits
  
  *I used supermarket own-brand chocolate fingers as opposed to the brand KitKat. Supermarkets tend to do these chocolate biscuit sticks in different flavours; mint or orange chocolate for example, which can add a new dimension to your cake.

Disentangling Dress Codes

What do you wear to the date that's not quite a date? 

If its for lunch, drinks, or dinner?

Do you know your dresscodes?

Casual:

  Casual equals comfy. This is the outfit you would wear all weekend if you could. You are not aiming to impress anyone, or make a statement. You are simply putting clothes on that you like because you need to wear something. Looking good at the same time doesn't hurt! A pop to the shops look..

Source

Casual Chic:

This look is based on 'casual' but slightly more thought has gone into it; maybe an accessory or two. Still very dressed down with flat shoes, this is the date look that claims " I look like this every day" "I didn't try at all".  Lunch with friends look..

 

Source

Smart Casual:

This is a difficult one to perfect; can heels turn a casual look smart? A tailored blazer can work miracles with a pair of jeans and heels. This look can be made up by combining wardrobe essentials: jeans and sparkle, a lace dress with a solid jacket, and almost always heels.  Daytime sparkle, dinner with friends and family, your date..

 Source

Smart:

Everybody loves dressing up for special occasions. A good excuse to splurge on a new dress and heels! A tailored blazer works well with this look.  If you need to take the outfit from day to evening, stick to a strong colour palette. Off to the races, a wedding guest, dinner at an up-market restaurant, a party...

 Source

Black-Tie:

This is the dressiest of dressy dress codes. Men are to wear black; preferably a tuxedo and a bow tie. Women are not restricted to the colour black but it must be an evening gown; preferably floor length. Ellie Saab and Jenny Packham will get you brownie points, as will Jimmys, Louboutins, and Manolo Blahnik's.

Source

These dress codes are pretty standard. Once you get the basic 'rules' of each code, adapt them to suit you.

The real difficulty comes when an event makes up their own dress code (I know!)

Can anyone describe "Daytime Glamour?"

2pm on a busy Monday afternoon in Central London for champagne and canapes?

Nope.. me neither...

Polka Dot Nail Tutorial

For someone who doesn't normally wear nail polish, I certainly have quite a few bottles..

I can't wear nail polish at work because dark or vibrant colours can chip off on to the buttons of our fabulous designer dresses, so it only gets worn on my toes. So any excuse to wear peep toe heels to work! 

With a day off tomorrow I wanted to experiment; I have always loved polka dot nail decor but I don't own any specialist tools. All the tutorials I have come across ask for a certain dotting pen but what a waste of money for the amateur! 

These are all the tools you need:

• Base Colour
• Dot Colour
• An old pen or pencil with a fine nib

My base colour was Lacura 520. I absolutely love this colour because it transitions across the seasons really well. This particular colour came from Aldi.. yes, you read that correctly. Interestingly I have found the cheaper brands are better quality; Chanel Gold polish peeled off instantly, but Aldi and Primark nail colours last an age!

Use an old pen, or pencil, that doesn't have much of an ink flow left.I find coloured pencils work better as the varnish you coat it with washes straight off with nail polish remover; pens on the other hand will not work as pens again!

Paint your nails with your chosen base colour.
Dip your polish brush into the jar and coat the bristles thickly with colour.
Dab your pen/pencil nib into the bristles of the nail brush, ensuring there is quite a bit of excess on there.
With a steady hand, dab in one motion on to your base coat.

Why not keep your base coat the same, but alternate the polka dot colours?
For the white I used Super Finish French White. For the Grey below I used City Grey from Marks & Spencers.

It also looks fab in a bright colour! (It would look better if it wasn't a left hand paints right hand job..yes you know the one!)

Foolproof Banana Muffins: Recipe

What do you do with those black bananas? Do you muster up the courage to peel them and eat them anyway? Not me! I eat my bananas on the green side; as soon as they are fully yellow I know its risky business. The texture of over-ripe banana is similar to that of yoghurt- and call me weird but I just can't stomach it. 

Bananas that look like this on the outside are perfect for banana bread; these are actually pretty nice on the inside, but the blacker the better! 

 

Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients:

 

In one bowl- 

200g Plain Flour

1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1/2 Tsp Salt

In another bowl-

3 Large bananas, mashed

150g Caster Sugar

1 Egg

75g Butter, Melted

*

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Put 12 muffin cases into a tin. 

(I stumbled at  the first hurdle; having only moved into our house a month ago I assumed I left my muffin tin with the inlaws- see picture below for how I made do...)

2. Sift together Bowl One ingredients

3. Combine Bowl Two ingredients.

 

 

4. Combine the flour mix into Bowl Two and fold in gently. You still want the bananas to be lumpy!

5. Spoon the mixture into the baking cases

6. Bake in a preheated over for 25 minutes until golden brown.

The perfect banana muffin has a crisp golden shell and a moist inside sponge (make sure its the banana and not just undercooked!)

These freeze really well.. but will any be left by then?

Review: Funtime Fuschia Rimmel Nail Polish

What a fantastic colour for the summer! I'm not normally a pink kind of girl but this really stood out to me amongst all of the other colours on the shelves.. and it didn't let me down!

The colour is 260 Funtime Fuschia by Rimmel London.

Advertised as a nail polish with an Express Brush, it promises to dry within 60 seconds. Of course this had to be tested- 60 seconds later, it was indeed dry to touch. This is going to prove very useful for those last minute swap to peeptoe shoe moments as you run out the door and realise you forgot to paint your nails. 

By the time I had put everything back, my nails were dry and I was ready to put on my heels and run to the door for work. 

What I liked about this colour was it is vibrant; although pastels are great to keep nails understated, particularly in the workplace or if you aren't confident with colours. Don't be afraid to experiment.

 There is a fantastic shine to this colour, not only in the light. Here is a close up of the colour:

I'm looking forward to exploring the rest of the range, but in the meantime it will be interesting to see how lasting a '60 second' nail polish can be. I really dislike the look of nails with only half of the polish remaining.

The answer could be gel.... watch this space!

Oxford Foodie Festival

Bank Holiday Weekend, beautiful sunshine, friends, and food - could you ask for more? 

The Oxford Foodies Festival could not have been timed better.

In Oxford's South Parks, open across the entire bank holiday weekend, the Foodies Festival was bound to be a success. Fresh food, novelty food, high quality kitchen tools, unusual drink concoctions, classic cider tents, and live music. This really had the potential to be a fantastic summer get- together event. The warm grass encouraged visitors to sit, drink, eat, and gossip amongst the fantastic aromas and sounds.

This was one of the quieter times when you could actually find somewhere to sit:

The summer sunshine was fantastic for us visitors; but not so much for some of the exhibitors. The preserve and chutney stalls were getting some serious attention; mostly from the fuzzy yellow and black striped little people..  With a small excited child in tow, we didn't want to approach these stalls too closely, just in case.

As a recently self-discovered macaroon fan I knew I had to try some of the home-made variety on offer. The friends I was with hadn't ever tried one before so I encouraged them to try one, my treat. I don't think Mr D quite got the full experience when he chose the bubblegum flavour (always a child at heart!). My two and a half year old niece happily devoured a pink macaroon and a few hours later at home was questioning where her next one was.. 

My next baking challenge will be to attempt my own macaroons- check back here soon for the recipe and tutorial. 

Overall, the Foodie Festival was a fantastic idea.. that unfortunately wasn't well thought out. A substantially large number of free tickets were handed out across Oxford, but they were charging £12.50 on the gate. Despite the ticket saying they could be used only once and not across all three days, the stewards at the gate purely glanced at our tickets and didn't take them off us. Not that it mattered, an hour or two was all we needed, not a whole weekend. 

Open until 7pm, it was a fantastic meeting point for those over the bank holiday weekend who wanted to enjoy the sun with some fantastic food and drink with a change of scenery. 

Next time, the festival should be a free event. At £5 a pint and over £6 for a pork roll, the events organizers could have easily made their money from the vendors. If I had been made to pay £12 entry as well, I definitely would have kicked up a fuss. A local foodies festival would also draw more punters in; there are a lot of local food and drink producers across Oxford and it would have been great to have seen more of these.  

Maison Blanc had some fantastic sweet items on offer, as did Joe & Seph's Gourmet Popcorn with an interesting 'Gin and Tonic' and 'Madras Curry' Popcorn. It was an eye-opener, if anything! 

Life is short, eat dessert first!

Brunette to Red Head: Hair Colour

I regularly experiment with hair colourant. Experiment may not be the right word as this suggests an element of the unknown; although using chemicals in your hair could make anything happen (!) I always tend to keep my colour choices safe. Blonde, blonde highlights, Light Brown, Chocolate Brown, Darkest Brown, Plum, Black. Notice what is missing? Red.

I have always been scared of going red; it is a very very difficult colour to get away from if you decide you don't like it. The colour pigments are not easily covered with any other colour, except black. I have always loved all shades of red hair; from vibrant ginger, to volcano red, to dark mahogany. 

Yesterday, I spontaneously took the plunge:

My hair before was your typical tired looking brunette. I had recently had a few hidden blonde highlights put into my layers underneath but the impact was so minimal they may as well have not been there. They did add an extra dimension.. but not enough.

And now a soft, autumnal, and much warmer tone of red:

Let me know what you think!

*I used Clairol Extreme Nice 'n Easy Ruby Red hair dye 5RR. The dye was a bright orange (scary!) and had tendency to drip, but I absolutely love the colour result. I couldn't find anything else in this tone on the market; it was either much brighter or had plum tones. The model's hair on the front of the box is a shade lighter than mine, but I did have dark brown hair to begin with it. The box advises best results blonde-medium brown.

Review: Buddies USA Diner, Towcester

American food shouldn't be a hard one to review; it's all shakes, burgers, wet fries, and BBQ wings right?

I didn't know Buddies USA Diner existed; suggested by a friend, it sounded like the perfect ending to a busy long week. Barbequed anything and ice-cream solves everything.

The exterior of the building was pretty disappointing; the retro feel I was expecting just wasn't quite there. An American flag on the roof was the only give away. The interior was better;

 The first obstacle we faced was the menu; a multi-way menu crammed with as much text on the page as possible, it was confusing to know where to look first. Drinks, Desserts, Lunch, Dinner- a strange order to put the menu I first thought; but hindsight says it makes sense. I would only pop in again when passing for a drink, maybe a dessert, lunch only if necessary, and probably not for dinner.

*And this is only one third of the menu!

What caught my attention was 'The Corn Dog'. This is my all time favourite American fast food and something I have been meaning to try for a long time. I was a bit disappointed to find out it was their twist on it as opposed to the real thing; most people will never have eaten a corn dog before so why twist something that is unusual to many customers in the first place.

I chose the corn dog without the cheese; American Cheese is a very yellow processed cheese, known to most as burger cheese (the kind you get cut into squares individually wrapped in plastic.) Yuck.

As opposed to the original corn batter, Buddies chose to wrap the corn dog in a tortilla. Although it gave a very faint taste that was similar to a corn dog (deep fried flour around a frankfurter) it didn't give me a genuine taste of America. 

On the plus side, the portion sizes are huge! I managed the corn dog, and the corn- but that was it! The tortilla sat too heavy for such a deep fried meal, the traditional corn batter would have lightened the meal much better.

The decor was tired, but did whisper 'retro'. There was a lot of  vintage-inspired memorabilia on the walls, just for the sake of being there. The diner was trying too hard to shout 'American diner' that it lost its authenticity along the way. 

*

The diner was busy when we arrived but by the time we had ordered at around half 8 there were only a few tables left. I really think that if this diner was located elsewhere it could really be a hit; what a perfect place for students to meet up, first dates to take place, and families to dine. Think Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray in A Cinderella Story..

The location summarizes the feel of this diner for me; a novelty road side cafe you would stop at when driving past, but it's not a destination venue.

Aesthetics aside, this is just another Little Chef at the side of an A-road..

*When I first published this review I realised I had forgotten to mention the service we received. The missing review about service sums up perfectly the very basic attention we were given. I've had more interaction and enthusiasm from someone packing my bags in Marks and Spencers. This is no Ruby's Diner..

Handmade Peanut Butter Jelly Icecream; aka Heaven

I have eaten peanut butter jelly sandwiches all of my life. PBJ sandwiches were a school lunchbox staple as a kid (and you thought the kids who ate marmite were weird!), and they were dinner-replacement staples as a student.

If nutritionists discovered sugar was actually really good for you then I would eat PBJ sandwiches and Haagen Daaz Strawberry Cheesecake icecream for the rest of my life. Until now. Today, I made a discovery that has changed the game completely.  Handmade and homemade PBJ icecream. It genuinely looks and tastes like the real deal. 

The discover was made at Godwin's Icecream Farm, Weston-On-The-Green, Oxfordshire.

Discovery Time: 14.00 approx.

Godwin's is an Icecream farm-cum-cafe with an array of interesting icecream flavours including Mince Pie, Irish Cream, Apple Pie, and, Blackcherry Ripple.  Look at more of their flavours here!

 

If I had space in the kitchen amongst all of my baking paraphernalia, my waffle machine, the smoothie blender, and the health grill, then I would definitely have an ice cream machine! 

Ham and Lettuce icecream anyone? No, didn't think so...

Pick Your Own: Raspberry Cake

Mid- August is late for me. Normally I'm one of the first to go 'Pick Your Own', strawberries and raspberries in particular. With a couple punnets of strawberries already in the fridge leftover from summer picnics, the addition of raspberries was a welcome treat. I ate so many raspberries whilst picking my own, I don't think I could have faced another fresh raspberry for a while. So what best to do with the few that made it home? Bake! 

I had seen a blueberry tray bake on James Martin's United Cakes of America which looked delicious.. until he fried it. Yuck. Heart attack on a plate? I'm sure its delicious but a slice of that is probably equal in calories to three non- fried pieces... I'll go for three! 

The sponge is a standard sponge mix:

250g butter, caster sugar, and self raising flour

4 Eggs

That's it. James Martin used 250g of blueberries, I think to keep the numbers simple, but I only used around 150g on raspberries and I think the ratio was perfect.

Pour into a greased tray and bake for 30-35 minutes on 180C/160C fan.

When cool, cut into squares, spring with icing sugar and serve. A scoop of vanilla ice cream would go great!

Waffles: The Secret Is Out

Want to know the real reason my friends keep close? Not because of my dazzling personality, the fact I don't live with my parents, or my great taste in music. Nope- it is my Gordon Ramsay Waffle Maker. Just kdding...but seriously, it's partly true...

Here is half a waffle..  yup, they really don't last long enough to capture the full beauty!

It is all thanks to Mr D that I even have a waffle maker. I absolutely love waffles so it made a fantastic birthday present some years back... but I obviously didn't love them as much as he did. I was promptly given the present the night before my birthday, so I could make him (!) waffles the morning of! 

Waffles can be anything you want them to be- simple, sweet, savoury, or gourmet. Could you tell the difference between a Belgian Waffle, a Sweet Waffle, a Gluten Free Waffle, and a Basic Waffle? 

Here is a basic sweet waffle recipe, perfect for any waffle maker:*

(*Courtesy of Gordon Ramsay)

Ingredients

250g Plain Flour

1 dessert spoon baking powder

2 tbsp caster sugar

1tsp salt

2 eggs

450ml milk

2tbsp vegetable oil

Spray Oil

Method:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together (Flour, baking powder, sugar, salt)

2. Mix the wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil) and add to the dry ingredients. Combine until smooth.

3. Heat the waffle maker, adjusting the browning level if you have one.

4.Spray the waffle maker with oil (be generous!) 

5. Fill the sections of the waffle maker (again, be generous!)

6. Close the lid and flip the waffle maker over

7. Follow your waffle maker instructions to know when your waffle will be ready

8. Serve your waffle warm and drizzled with your favourite toppings!

My serving suggestion above is a waffle sprinkled with cinnamon and served with strawberries..

Leona this one is for you!

Home Sweet Home

Well things have been quiet on the blog for a month or so.. as we finally own our first home together!

Having lived with MR D previously for 3 years or so, no bad habits came as a surprise. What we weren't expecting was how well our interior design tastes complemented each other. Minimalistic, modern, feminine, with a hint of rustic is how I would struggle to define our tastes. We like clean lines and natural colour palettes, accessorizing with accent colours, plants,and  accessories. 

One of our biggest design struggles was finding artwork for the living room we liked. They were either too boring, too small, or just not quite right. Hours of searching in-stores and online brought no results. Mr D summarised well when he said he wanted it to look as if my ten year old brother had painted it. The issue was, we still couldn't define what "that" was. We decided I was going to do it myself. We wanted abstract, texture, and colours that would pick up the accents of our living room room; pastel greens, yellows, whites, and creams.

 Here is the result:

One thing I don't like is a room that looks too styled with a certain "colour"; themes I like, but a generic colour, however bright it is, can tire quickly. We wanted to accessorise our living room to make it feel homely, modern, and "us". We had to balance MR D's masculine input with my love for feminine chic. Luckily lots of candles, a few plants, and abstract items tend to fit the brief for both of us. (Although he still thinks I have too many candles!) Our living room is painted white and grey, with black finishings. The pastel colours previously mentioned soften the room but we needed to maintain a balance with the monochrome palette. The strong vertical lines of the unusual feature radiator on our wall is balanced with rounder items and contrasting lines.

As a result, our living room has ended up being a mixture of modern and monochrome, colour and contemporary, and it works well for us. The wide range of materials and textures adds depth to the room, wood particularly adding warmth.

We moved in one month ago today, so what a great opportunity to sit back and take it all in. Thank you to all of our supportive friends and family for helping us move in and enjoying it with us! In the end, it is not the space that counts but the life you live in it.

 

Bespoke Gifts: Decopatch Jewellery Box and Money Box

I firmly believe that a well thought out personal gift goes so much further than a generic store bought gift. And with the arrival of a very good friend of mine's birthday, I knew the generic box of chocolates would not go  far! (Although she would deny it, she'd love those too!)

When designing a bespoke gift, the best thing to do first is brainstorm. Some people work best visually: writing down, colour swatching, image searching.. others work best mentally; thinking and thinking until the lightbulb moment flicks on!

For this very special friend Leopard print had to be involved somewhere..almost everywhere! It just wouldn't be designed for her if it didn't. I decided to do something classic and something contemporary to add a little fun to the mix. 

Below is the gorgeous leopard print jewellery box I created for her, complete with a gold coloured clasp. Inside, I wanted to add a creative twist that would add a gentle feminine and girlie flair to the bold leopard print exterior.

I've never quite understood 'modern art'; I understand it represents experimentation but the point of it? The money box below is my take on 'modern' art and the abstract; the form of the Pig represents the traditional shape of a money saving box, but the abstract patterns add a modern and contemporary twist.

Unfortunately they didn't get the same gentle wrapping that the other gifts did.. I had run out of tissue paper! But luckily as we are moving house soon there was always bubble wrap to hand. Never one to be totally normal, this sufficed as gift wrap!

They do say.. Friendship is when people know all about you but like you anyway ;)

Bespoke Gifts: Decopatch Coat Hangers and Box

Moving house, working full time, and generally living a very busy life hasn't left much time for, well, anything really! Annually I have a very busy week at a certain point in June; two best friends and my mother in law have a birthday all within 3 days, and Fathers Day falls on the Sunday. Not easy when everybody wants to celebrate at the weekend!

I haven't had a chance to post in a while so when I remembered I would soon need some fabulous presents I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get the DIY-apron out again!

One of the first things I decided to do was make some gorgeous bespoke coat hangers for my very glamorous Mother in Law's dressing room. The colours I picked represent my M in L perfectly; cool, fresh, funky, modern, and gorgeous.. with a little feminine bow to soften the bold patterns.

I also created a bespoke jewellery box which was just the perfect size for a special necklace, a collection of earrings, or anything small but precious. The same patterns add a bold hint of colour to her dressing room; the best way to freshen up a room without spending silly is accessorise, accessorise, accessorise!

Carefully wrapped in bubble wrap, then gently wrapped in tissue paper, these made a fabulous gift- so the Mother in Law said anyway... and "Mums know best!"