Thursdays 3 Thankful Things

THANKFUL FOR: such a considerate man who still thinks I am a princess. Every payday, without fail, Batman brings me flowers. This time it was hot pink gerbera daisies.


THANKFUL FOR: where I live. This is the best kept secret of Edinburgh. This beautiful building was picturesque before we moved in and now that they've nearly finished the restoration work, it's glorious.

THANKFUL FOR: potatoes! Over the last two weeks I have deducted that I have an intolerance to something I am consuming everyday so, after some reliable internet research, I have cut out wheat and dairy. This was interesting for the first few days as I lost pound after pound because I didn't know what I could eat. Now, I enjoy potatoes. Almost daily. Boiled, chipped, wedges, rosti, bratkartoffel.... the world is your oyster.

I am a FAN of #5: Liv Tyler

Particularly in this picture. Love the glamour of the gown. The glitz. The 40's 50's makeup. The soft curled hair. What a way to pull it off.

pic courtesy of stylefrizz

I am a FAN of #4: Norman Rockwell - Rosie the Riveter, 1943

I have always been a Norman Rockwell fan.

There is much to be said about his political art and much has been said. I don't want to say much so that you can just enjoy it. I will say this: Kate Moss eat your heart out. You could NEVER pick up a riveter, let alone, know what to do with it.

Love the strength on her face; the fact that she's eating a hearty sandwich and not a souffle and look at the muscles in her arms. Love it.

Endless Road

I am a FAN of #3: Maps - I Can Go Anywhere, Just Give Me a Map

If you give my Dad a map, compass and a knife he could probably survive out in the boonies for the rest of his days ( he's gonna live to 150). His knack for reading maps was passed on to me from early on and I still LOVE unfolding a map and finding where I am or where I've been and where I would like to explore.

I am looking for a huge Europe map and a huge United States map so that I can put pins in to all the places I've been to. The memories of our trip across the U.S., when I was teenager, still make me want to be on the endless roads in the wide open spaces of the midwest. Love it.

Room makeover and pic by Centsational Girl

I am a FAN of #2: Flirty Metalwork

Ribbon is so girly. This speaks to my love of worked steel or wrought iron. I would be tempted to spray paint it a hot pink or vintage turquoise after a decade or so, for a change. To be found here at Apartment Therapy

I am a FAN of #1: JASON NEUFELD

Please can my flat look like this? Jason Neufeld seems to be inspired to design by nature and I love that. He has ingenious ideas like the floor to ceiling lamp and floating slices of tree shelves. Have a look for yourself. His pattern pages just make me want to go out and buy some paint.

Peppermint Tea

I posted recently about the delights of Faith's garden. Apart from the fact that it is constantly in bloom at this time of the year, there's also fresh salad and a large bush of peppermint which we haphazardly "planted" there last year. I pinched 30 large leaves from it last Sunday and took them home to make tea. It's easy and this is how it goes...

1. Take a handful of large leaves from your mint plant ( about 30 leaves)
2. Wash them thoroughly in cold water.
3. Allow to dry in a container with airholes for a few days- I use a recycled fruit container from the supermarket
4. Shake them up on a daily basis to prevent mold and allow air to crisp them up
5. When they are crackly to the touch you can add 10 leaves to a pan/pot of 2 litres of boiling water and allow to steep for 5 minutes.

I like mine just the way it is with no added sweetness but you could add honey or sugar if you feel you need it. I leave my leaves in the water all day. I have a couple of cups of hot and warm tea in the morning and then drink cold tea in the afternoon and with dinner.

Ripe Pears

ALDI opened, within Edinburgh, in June and every month they have 6 different vegetables or fruit for 49p so we have mountains of it! I made endless juices from this new book and had fresh fruit all week. Needless to say, we had some that was getting past the ideal crispy, freshness but I couldn't let them go to waste. Here's what I did with the delicious, juicy pears.

1. Prepare your favourite tart base.

Mine:
1 cup of wholewheat flour
1/2 cup bleached flour
1 cup of blended oats (stick them in the blender and pulse for a few seconds)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp of brown sugar
125g cold butter
4 tbsp milk, if that, to make it stickyish.

Method: Add all dry ingredients into your mixing bowl and combine, slowly for a minute. Cut up the butter and add it to the mix. Combine slowly so you don't get flour all over the place. Add the milk until it becomes just a little it sticky. Don't bother cooling it just push into an 8" tart base with your fingers and prick all over with a fork.
Bake @ 170C for about 25-30 minutes


Peel, halve and core about 6 pears and add them to a pan with a cup of water and 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Feel free to add any other niceties like cinnamon at this time. Slowly bring to a simmer and leave for about 15 minutes.

You don't want to over do it at all. My pears were really ripe so I only added 1 tbsp of brown sugar. The liquid should be brown and syrupy when it's done


Love the warm golden colour of this tart base when it comes out of the oven!

Make a professional vanilla sauce from scratch...he he... I used Bird's Eye....


Bake for another 20 minutes @ 170C and serve almost immediately with a dollop of your mother-in-law's homemade vanilla ice cream. Yum!

You don't just burn wood to make a fire - the almost lost art of PYROGRAPHY

Batman revamped this bench for his mum while she was away on holiday. It turned out to be a very sturdy masterpiece. I added the saying on the top slat. Pyrography is something I have dabbled in over the past couple of years and should really do a lot more of. Besides soothing my soul by being creative, the smell of burning wood, as you etch, reminds me of home and keeps my gypsy feet grounded.

....and some enviously talented work by the man at wood tattoo have a look at his site. Something to work towards!

Pink Princess Cookies

Aren't these adorable? Find the to order here.

For Mum

Sweetpeas from Faith's Garden

Sweetpeas are about to go crazy in the garden and I have some of the first cuttings. These are the first flowers Keir gave me and I still love the sweet fragrance they give.

Polish Food Anyone? Pani Solinska Review

Polish food is not something I've ever considered eating for no particular reason so when Jasmine decided we were getting lunch at her local Polish eatery, Pani Solinska, I was intrigued. The interior was bright and colourful with a swedish country feel. The black and white pictures on the wall are from originals of the family in the I and II World War which bring a familiar feeling of personality to the place. The gorgeous little flower vase filled with random flowers on top of a doily which was great touch!

The food was amazing! We had a breadcrumbed, grilled, folded pancake filled with mushroom and pickled cabbage which came with a huge plate of salads - potato, pickled cabbage & carrot and shredded beetroot, pickles and green salad leaves and tomatoes. I was already full.

We had decided to try each others main course. I ordered sausage and mash and Ja had the breadcrumbed steak with fried potato and salad. The mash was like nothing I had tried before - it was delicious! i want the recipe. The sausages weren't my favourite and came with a lot of grease but the fried onions were a perfect accompaniment to it all. Ja's breadcrumbed steak, like a schnitzel, was meaty and crumby and gooood and made me want to hop on a plane for Germany. The fried potato slices were good too.

I ordered a peach and apple juice which was novel and unbelievably tasty. I've seen it in supermarkets so, I'll be picking some of that up next time.

All in all a really pleasant atmosphere. The two girls who served us were friendly, prompt and scarce when necessary. The decor was to my taste to a T. I love bright colours, flowers and big photos of family. I would definately go again and I can now say I am a huge fan of Polish grub. Pani Solinska is higly recommended for good grub and hangover soaker-upper.

Ja hungover and looking GRRRREAT! Love you!

Fashion Faux Pas or Unbelievably Cool?

Fashion stylist in profession and Diva by nature, my sister-in-law is always sporting the latest, most stunning outfits and yet we're unsure of these ECCO shoes... what do you think?

What the ECCO people say:

Five good reasons for choosing ECCO Shoes

• The foot: The ECCO philosophy is a simple one, our shoes follow the foot, not the other way round.
• The best materials: When it comes to materials nothing is left to chance. We insist on producing our own leather. We choose to own and operate our own tanneries.
• Technologies and craftsmanship: We know exactly when to rely on technology, but also know that sometimes there is no substitute for handmade craftsmanship.
• Design: Comfortable on your feet, irresistible on the eye – the combination of how a pair looks and feels on your feet is the most compelling advantage we have.
• Quality and ethics: Being the only major shoe company to own the entire supply chain from cow to consumer, we are able to ensure quality and ethics every step of the way

I am a "comfy shoes all the way" girl, so seeing these in the gladiator style, which is all the rage right now, made me want to go out and buy them straight away. The only reason I have kept away from the ECCO shop in Rose St. is because, after a very short scout around the shop once, I was sure all of their shoes were for ladies of a certain era - the sensible era - which put me off them straight away. There have got to be cool shoes out there that follow the foot too, right?

My question - please vote in the column at the side - are these cool or not?

Salad & Herbs in Faith's Garden

Faith's salad box. Lots of kinds of salad in a small greenhouse type box so that they can get sun all the time but which can be shut to keep out the slugs! yuk. Great idea!
SPEARMINT TEA: This is spearmint which we pushed (with all the grace I just described...) into the ground last year without a second thought and this year it's about a foot high and it smell is amazing! We used it, snipped up, on new potatoes with a little olive oil for Sunday tea. I like spearmint for adding to foods as I find mint has a very strong flavour.

It makes great tea too. Just take a stalk or a small handful of leaves, wash them with cold water and hang the stalk up or let the leaves dry in an aerated container until crisp ( I use a plastic fruit container with the draining holes in the bottom). When you're ready to make tea, add a generous pinch or a few leaves to 1/2 a litre of hot water and let stew for about 4-5 minutes. Delicious!

Faith's Garden

Faith's garden is always in bloom this time of the year. The bench, above, is a masterpiece Batman renewed just last month. The old one was VERY vintage and was falling apart so Batman purchased a long length of wood and cut, sanded and drilled until he was happy with the result. I inscribed, with my pyrography kit, the saying "A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever" for Faith.

Ziggy

Ziggy was adorable on Sunday. As soon as he realised I was taking pictures of him he sauntered over to the tiny wooden school chairs and perched himself in as many positions possible so that I could take pictures of him!

My Mother-in-Law's Strawberry Pavlova

Faith makes the most perfect cream pavlova meringues I have ever seen and she's famous for it. They come out perfect everytime. Crumble into dust on the outside, slightly hollow and with a little bit of chew. She whips cream up and spreads it into the middle and adorns it with the sweetest strawberries to make dessert for Sunday tea. Mmmmm.

Just Peachy

These tickled me pink when I saw them at my mother in law's house. Has anyone else seen these or are we a generation of perfect fruit and veg because tesco won't buy anything that they think we won't like? Pretentious or what?

Anyhoo... I love these.

More Lush from the Water of Leith Walkway

Sycamore Seeds or Propeller Leaves

We used to call these propeller leaves and play with them in the playground. Even as a grown up I can't resist picking up a handful, throwing them in the air and watching them twirl down.

I always thought they would be ideal for pixie wings. Their ethereal quality makes them one of the most beautiful things of autumn.

Seeing them in summer was a first for me and I was delighted! I was even more fascinated by the fresh green and the perfect accompaniment of hot pink colour they have. So I brought them home to take a picture for you.