Local Natives

So this is February's band of the month and time is RUNNING OUT for me to badger you with their wonderful sounds.

I've had this song on repeat for about a week now and I still love it. This is an amazing live version too and is from/filmed by the lovely people over at La Blogothèque. A friend introduced me to this website a few years back and it is full to the brim of amazing acoustic videos of some seriously cool people singing their beautiful songs. Take a tour around their site because I bet you you'll find something you like. Some of my favourites are the Alex Winston videos and Bon Iver. Of course.

Check it out and listen to this lovely song. Put your feet up and dream of summer..... it is almost in sight.

Weekend Round Up 24.02.13

This weekend has been all about food....

I made individual quiches for everyone's  lunch today in our Christmas Le Creuset pots. They are amazing and the quiches were yummy too!!

We had cheese and pesto, cheese and leek and cheese and chorizo, all a big success!

From Desserts d'antan I made Soufflé glacé au Grand Marnier which was the most bizarre recipe! It was a soufflé baked over a bain-marie then put into pots and frozen! So it was more like a  super sugary ice cream! We also substituted the Grand Marnier for Cointreau as we seemed to have run out of the former! Either way.. it too was delicious! Along with yesterdays Madeleines we seem to have had a rather indulgent weekend... I don't hear any complaints however....

Les Madeleines de Berthe

So I'm still not doing very well on resolution number 1 as my weekly cooking is rather limited to... well whenever I seem to be bothered but today I began catching up on recipes again! This time, Madeleines, French cakes baked in scallop shaped tins. The recipe was different from other Madeleine recipes I've come across before as it wanted yeast, but it worked out ok! My baking skills are notoriously inconsistent so regardless of the recipe things often turn out slightly different! I added extra lemon juice to the mixture then drizzled lemon icing over the top. A success (with room to improve of course) but tasty nonetheless!

I also sang this the entire time I was baking, as I always do when I simply think about Madeleines...

The coolest kid around...

Its February and its cold. We've had about 3 days of sunshine here since... well probably the turn of the millennium now (it certainly feels like it). For all of you wonderful people out there who are need a little pick-me-up, a reason to do that thing you've been putting off, take up a challenge that has always terrified you, or to just go out and do something good for someone else, here is your inspiration. Possibly the coolest/sweetest thing I've seen on the internet in a while! Kid president asks us to share this with the people who encourage us and for me its all of you who take the time to read my blog THANK YOU and enjoy xxx

P.S. you should watch his other videos they too are just as much fun!

Plant life...

Chilli peppers and Sweet peppers planted. Five days and so far.... nothing... If only persistent staring was enough to make them grow.

 Playing with the new camera at every opportunity.

Weekend Round Up 17.02.13

So this week I've been working on a new sketch book, covered with an old map of Swansea I used to use whilst running when I still lived there. A lovely little reminder of Swansea every time I use it.

I made some fresh pesto which has gone down a storm, I made two batches and this second batch is even better than the first. So good for snacks, pasta dishes and lunches.

I bought some lovely fabrics which match my stash of ric-rac. I'll be using them for some projects I've got lined up that may go on sale in the future so keep you eyes on the lookout for  anything made with stripes!

All in all it's been a lovely half term, I was seriously busy at the beginning of the week, and have quite enjoyed some lazier days this weekend. I also bought myself a brand new camera so watch this space for even more photography!! Usually I edit my pictures but I think I might have a few non-edited posts to practice my picture taking skills.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend too.

Simple Skirt

So here it is, the simple skirt I mentioned making over here. I'm seriously pleased with how this turned out. It is a simple, classic style that I'll be able to wear to work all year round. The fabric is a lovely linen/cotton/polyester blend which looks relaxed without looking shabby (always a bonus at work!).

I made the pattern up myself (a first for me) so it was quite the experiment. I made a muslin first (a practice run in a really cheap cotton) and cut my pattern on paper from that.

It was a really easy fabric to work with and I managed to make the whole thing in one day so I'll definitely make this skirt again.

Although I'm still learning (big time) the bonus of making your own clothes is making them fit you perfectly. This skirt came out a little big in the end so I added a cute elastic pleat in the back of the waistband. It is totally hidden but creates a pretty effect in the back so, the skirt not only fits better but looks good too! I've also added a pocket on the left side, which you can't see in this picture, but I LOVE skirts and dresses with pockets so its another fabulous perk to making your own stuff when you can make it pretty and practical!! What more could a girl want?!!!

Band of the Month

*New Feature Alert*

That's right, I'm going to try and have a band of the month  from now on, either something new to me, something old for a good old flash back or something I'm just really loving at the moment. 

This month is a band I've only recently come across, Local Natives, and I'm seriously loving them! I bought their début album Gorilla Manor a few weeks back and have had it on repeat ever since! The track above (Breakers) is their newest track, off their most recent album Hummingbird and I recommend their beautiful sounds if you're into the folky tones of bands like Fleet Foxes or the Maccabees. You can buy all their amazing stuff over here.

Weekend Round Up - 10.02.13

Weather wise it has been fairly miserable this weekend. We've had LOTS of wind, constant rain and the odd flurry of snow. Not ideal outdoors weather but certainly hot chocolate and whipped cream weather once you have braved the elements! (Which we did with a quick afternoon walk with visiting friends).

My sister and I also took a trip to the local garden centre to buy seeds for our small green fingered ambitions. Having been inspired buy our new favourite magazine The Simple Things we're both planning on growing some small edibles over the next few months. The latest inspirational growing guide was for chilli plants, something I've been told are really easy to grow and keep alive (something I'm incredibly bad at) so I've taken a figurative leaf out of their book and I bought myself some seeds which I plan on planting this week as it is HALF TERM!! The perks of working in a school!

I urge you to go out and buy this magazine it seriously is full of wonderful things!

You'll notice I've picked some seriously mild peppers as I just can't cope with anything too fiery!!

As it is winter I also spent some time feeding the bird in the garden this weekend, it's so cold and they need all the help they can get. It also provides some great photo opportunities by attracting them into the garden, so here are a few snaps from when we had our big snowfall of the year a few weeks ago.

As it is half term I'm going get busy and try and start/finish all those larger projects I've been putting off for ages so stay tuned for more updates this week!

So Sweet It Hurts...

I've been a little lazy when it comes to my NYR to bake every week but here is the most recent attempt! A Blackberry Jam and mixed fruit tart. It was SO easy to make, a simple sweet pastry, jam and some mixed berries!

The final product. A big hit with the whole family but my goodness was it sweet! One small slice and I think I'm sugared out for the rest of the week. Definitely a recipe I'll repeat, so simple, so quick and SO tasty served with a very generous portion of cream...

(Delayed) Sunday Round Up.....

SO after my fabulous weekend in Bristol I was supposed to put up some pictures of my lovely new dress in action.... 

However Bristol turned out to be so very fabulous that A) I managed to leave said pictures in Bristol (they are keeping my camera company which I also left in Bristol) and B) Bristol left me feeling so very un-fabulous on Sunday afternoon that I didn't have the energy to put together a post detailing said fabulousness.

I persuaded my lovely sister to take a few quick snaps of the dress and this is the best one (not a comment on lovely sister's photography skills but more a comment on how photogenic I am...turns out not very as it took 12 pictures to get one good one!) BUT the dress turned out just as I'd hoped, so simple, yet a perfect fit, super comfy and it looks good dressed up with heels or casual with woolly tights, boots and a nice jumper! The pattern was adapted from this book, I used the pattern for the bodice, but altered the neck line. For the skirt I took a rectangular piece of fabric and put a loose running stitch along one long side and pulled the stitching a little. This caused the fabric to bunch up and I then stitched it onto the bodice ensuring the bunching was even all the way around.

The bonus of making your own clothing is you can make it fit your body shape absolutely perfectly so it is much more flattering than an oddly fitting dress creating awkward silhouettes.

It also thoroughly enjoyed being out and about in Bristol being wined and dined!

I hope everyone else had the most delightful weekends too!

That Friday Feeling...

Is there a better feeling than knowing tomorrow when you wake up you can do whatever you want to? I've been cramming some sewing machine time in over the last two days, trying to finish one of this week's projects and tomorrow morning I'll be putting the finishing touches to my vintage dress, very excited. So far the fabric has been lovely to work with so I'm hoping it'll look good once finished. Check back Sunday to see the finished piece!

I'm also planning to test my new road bike tomorrow, I've only been out on it twice since I bought it as we've had enough snow and wind to put off even the hardiest of cyclists so I'm very much looking forward to that!

Saturday means Bristol for the evening for food, wine and excessive jollity in the company of beautiful people. I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend than crafting, cycling and catching up with friends.

Is anyone else up to anything exciting in the run up to that annual February Love fest?