Flowers for a Friday

Today's flowers are of the edible, sugary kind. Amongst many other things I have been kept busy this week trying to teach myself cake decorating. My boyfriends Aunt and Uncle will soon be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and I have taken on the challenge of making the cake. Although I've always done alot of baking this is my first attempt at traditional decoration so of course lots of practice is necessary.

I was in two minds whether to share these photos as I feel there are so many imperfections (especially with my piping techniques) but here are my first two mini attempts.

I've got two weeks to improve but I'm enjoying it so much that I don't mind spending lots of time practicing. Wish me luck!

Flowers for a Friday

Today I bring you flowers from the lovely Horniman Gardens in Forest hill. We visited a couple of weekends ago after some very strong recommendations from friends who couldn't believe we lived so close and hadn't been. It turns out we live even closer than I thought and it was a beautiful place to spend a sunny afternoon. Two couples had definitely picked a good day to get married there. I think we are so lucky to have so many green spaces to go in London.

Flowers for a Friday

Well it seems Granny is full of good ideas. Who'd have thought that an empty herb jar could make such a good vase. Admittedly it could have done with a bit more cleaning first but other than that it makes the perfect partner for these lovely sweet peas.

I love sweet peas anyway, there's something quite unassuming about them yet they are so pretty. They always remind me of walking through the village back home in Cornwall where they'd often be for sale in a little bucket outside the village hall. I always intended to buy a bunch but I don't think I ever did.

Flowers for a Friday

One of my favorite things about my boyfriend's Gran (whom we currently live with) has always been the the way that she always has fresh flowers displayed on a table in the hallway so that they are the first thing you see as you enter the house. These are hardly ever shop brought flowers but ones that she has cut herself from the garden (on occasion I am suspicious they may have been nicked from a neighbours garden tut tut). No matter the time of year she always finds something to brighten the place up. So today I'd like to share the current lovely arrangement.

Flowers for a Friday

Just one flower today. I've been watching these flowers bloom up the side of the shed for a little while now and kept thinking how striking and bold they looked. They are one by one fading now which is a sad site but I caught this one before it was too late

A few snippets of the weekend just gone.

It's been a relaxing but quite productive weekend with plenty of sunshine (yet no sunburn which I consider quite an achievement). Granny got home from her week in Cornwall so we no longer have the house to ourselves but we do have gifts.

Looking forward to trying this chutney but I'm not sure what it would go best with.

I've been working hard getting some more books bound and designing this wrap for them. Opinion's on the results are welcome. I'm hoping to get them up on etsy soon.

I'm loving the Haynes lane market in Crystal palace. I was only intending to browse but I couldn't resist this beautifully carved arts and crafts tray. It's got a few blemishes but I love it.

I'm also loving my new cushion by Black Cactus which I picked up at the Dulwich Wood House craft fair. I'm feeling it would look perfect on a luxurious grey sofa (one day perhaps).

It's beautifully handprinted with a design inspired by the pitcher plant.

Sunday afternoon was barbeque day with the boys providing us with some soothing acoustic music. The most relaxed I've felt in awhile.

I just had to include these little garden visitors who suddenly appeared in the tree right above me. We may be in London but there is still plenty of wildlife to seen.

Flowers for a Friday

I have to admit I don't often pay much attention to the front garden, I'm usually in too much of a hurry to get in or out of the house to really look at it. A couple of days ago however I was getting back from the studio and was suddenly struck by how many beautiful flowers there were in this small space so as soon as I'd put my stuff down in the house I was straight back out with the camera to try and capture them. I love the way photography encourages you to seize the moment, there's no guarantee that if you put it off till later the image or your inspiration will still be there

Did someone mention tea?

This cast iron teapot may be small but it's ever so perfect both for brewing green tea and for just looking beautiful on the shelf. I'm also loving letter type at the moment and with a limited budget what other word would I buy?

A couple of days in Southwell

Well I've finally managed to edit the photo's from last week Southwell adventure. Thank you to Lydia for a lovely few days. Despite hayfever issues it was such a relaxing place to be. Just looking at the photos again is making me feel nice and calm. Summer in the English countryside - what could be better?

How elegantly beautiful are these carved birds?

But rust can be beautiful too and it's all about the random!

I loved the way these boots looked sat by the front door. So homely. Speaking of which I think it's about time I tried to stay at home for more than two weeks together.

Flowers for a Friday

Today's flowers come from Southwell where I have been visiting one of my oldest friends. Her house is in a lovely countryside setting so there were plenty of beautiful flowers to be seen but here are a few of my favorites.

A weekend in pictures (with a little explanation)

I've had quite a creative and inspiring few days this weekend. The Etsy birthday party was great fun down at the Make Lounge. There were lots of crafty activities to chose from but we got a little bit addicted to the badge making (with a badge maker now quite high on my list of things I'd like to invest in). So many possibilities!

I found this pot in the local charity shop, a bargain at 75p. Havn't quite decided what I'm going to do with it yet but it reminds me of all the pots I loved at the holiday cottage in Cornwall. Plus I can't really say no to something with the word Tea on it!

I also fell in love with this chair but unfortunately despite also being quite a bargain I have neither the money or the space for it. I think it would look great next to some great big bookshelves.

Which leads on nicely to the bookbinding demonstration I attended at Kirkdale bookshop, part of the Sydenham Arts Festival. It was absolutely fascinating and definitely got me inspired to get on and make some more books and maybe even to take a course to learn how to do traditional leather binding. How cute is this mini leather book?

We even found time to do a bit of clothes shopping and my new shoes make me smile. Sometimes it the simple things!

Baking

I'm really looking forward to the Etsy Party this evening over at The Make Lounge and have been using it as a perfect excuse to do a bit of baking. Here's a little peak.

And of course I couldn't leave my boyfriend out so I saved a bit of mixture so we have a chocolate orange cake each to enjoy tomorrow.

Flowers for a Friday

As a fair skinned hayfever sufferer nature is not currently my best friend. Much as I'd like to get out there and enjoy the sunshine and scenery it's just not quite worth the burnt skin and puffy eyes that would be the result. So today I've been exploring the house for florals instead and as I live with an 88 year old there are plenty to be found. Here's just a small selection.

Borough Market

I love Borough Market. I only discovered it back in February but I now need little excuse to go back. The excuse this time was that Dad hadn't been there before and it was about lunch time.

It's all about fresh bread. Love it!

There was so much cheese to chose from.

We decided to share one of these cute little chavignol cheese's.

It may only be lunch time but it's hard to say no to some quality cider (just 1/2 a pint though)

Lunch is served. Simple but oh so good. There is of course a lot more to borough then bread and cheese but that's for the next visit.

Details of a Cornish Farmhouse

For the bank holiday (I know I'm a bit behind the time but its taken me awhile to get the photos sorted) I was lucky enough to escape to a lovely farmhouse near Liskeard. It was so beautiful and so homely, well worth braving the bank holiday traffic for! I seem to have become a bit addicted to the telephoto lens and this place provided me with plenty of details to focus in on. The owners actually live in the house when its not being rented and they seem to have gathered together an amazing collection of objects to decorate the house. I even found time to put the camera down and bake some scones in the aga. The only downside was having to leave on Monday morning : (