CUTTING CORNERS

i've been getting some long-overdue stock together today. my sweet friend sells it for me in her lovely cafe leo. little gifts. nothing more than a fiver really. just the sort of thing someone may indulge in alongside their coffee.

and i'm loving my new corner cutter! oh yes. very addictive. very kindly introduced to me over here. and working a little thing out like a new label design has felt very gratifying tonight.

a gentle weekend for us. a rainy saturday. the woodburner lit at midsummer? yes it's true. football watched. bara brith baked. a brilliantly sunny but oh so windy sunday. sheets all twisting up on the line but drying super-fast. spying my dad flying over our house. listening to c practise guitar. listening to the archers. loving the light evenings. hope yours was a good one too!

SALVIA

our garden is overflowing with sage right now...reaching out to shake hands with the lawn! i can't bear to chop it all back at the moment so i'm using a lot of it in the bath and in the kitchen. loving the colours in these watery photos...so soothing.

SNIFF SNIFF

ok. the sniffing drugs i'm taking are horrible. worse than last time. taste disgusting.

so i am needing nice things to eat. this is a big summer favourite in our house and the flavour fits the bill very well these days!


carrot salad made in the food processor
(based on a recipe by tessa kiros)

blitz 1/4 red onion and a big piece of fresh ginger
add about 8 big carrots (cut in chunks) and whizz up a bit more

for the dressing...
half a lemon
a few glugs of e.v. olive oil
1/4 tsp white pepper and ground cardamom
pinch of salt

...mix it all up and it tastes even better the next day
(lovely with a jacket potato and cottage cheese)

and of course i have self-prescribed a daily dose of maya gold too for the symptoms!

TEN YEAR FLASHBACK

i had a little thought today...this time 10 years ago i was just finishing up my fashion design degree in manchester. 4 years in the making. those last days were an emotional time. blimey. i remember the day i got my results there were many tears of relief! i called my parents from a phone box with the news (yes in the days before i even thought of owning a mobile) and the celebration hangover that followed was worth it!

my final collection was made all in comfy fabrics...fleeces and stretch. all slouchy pieces but with an element of preciousness with embroidery and in a colour scheme that i still love today. i got my mum and a friend of the family to model for me. it's so funny looking back at my sketch book now. i had this thing where i didn't want them to smile in the photos. why? i don't know but it was hard to keep a straight face! and i know mum will curse me for including the headband picture but i really love it.

back then i used a computer for the first time to write my dissertation and barely knew how to print off a word document. it actually makes me stop and realise how lucky i feel today to have such an amount of inspiration and information at my fingertips. in some ways i itch to go back and do it all again. to work harder. hmm...then again i don't think i could bear to live in a damp student house where slugs used to crawl along the kitchen floor at night! oh and the thought of a looming project deadline? yes...i think i'll just enjoy reminiscing : )

ONE LAST FLING

bye bye coffee...tomorrow i start my drugs on round 2 of our fertility treatment. i had a last rendezvous with my cafetiere this morning. a breakfast for one in the sunshine. for the last month or so since the end of our 1st ivf cycle i've let a little caffeine back into my life : ) but now i've decided to go back to being as healthy as possible. not sure if it makes any difference...thing is i'll do anything i can to try for the best. so hello vanilla rooibos.

june 12th is our wedding anniversary. 4 years ago we were excitedly setting up the marquee with many home-made bits and pieces...including these napkins which my mum lovingly stitched.

afternoon treat served with yoghurt
nectarines with lemon and ginger

(oven set at about 200 degrees)
6 quartered nectarines
squeeze over the juice of a lemon
grate a thumb sized piece of fresh ginger and
sprinkle a tablespoon of dark muscavado sugar
over the fruit
mix with the spoon to coat the nectarines
pop in the oven for about half an hour
or a bit longer if not too ripe

(i think this would make a nice summer crumble filling too)

have you seen these? talk about judging a book by it's cover : )
i have this one lined up for my next bedside read...

SUNNY

ok...well i just wrote a very long post about gardening...about my achey gardening shoulders and then we had a power cut. why? i have no idea. it is the most beautiful sunny day so obviously not the weather. or maybe the weather telling to get myself outdoors pronto?!

so i shall return with my notes another time. for some reason i thought blogger would have done the auto-save thing it used to but maybe i have to set something up as this is a new blog? hmmm...i also have a very annoying word verification that i have to do when posting...i ask why do i have to do this? but they no-answer.

here's an old photo to be going on with in honour of the shiney day here. taken by my grandad c of my grandma c with my mum and sisters on holiday. loving the glasses. xxx

A NEW JOB FOR DAD

today my dad starts a new job
so this post is to wish him good luck and send him my love

when i set to making a card for him i thought good luck = a shamrock...?

so having finished and written a jolly note on the back i went to show ciaran and asked what he thought of it "oh that's nice. a 3 leafed 4 leaf clover"

oops...time to start again

card take 2...this one's much more apt anyway since he's going to be up in the skies again!

CREATIVE NUDGES

may saw me getting back to making. i had several good reasons to reach for the scissors and dust off my sewing machine...

my mum's birthday (scarf and corsage)
my childhood friend lynsey's wedding
(flower headpiece and bed runner gift)
family garden party (a-line skirt for me)
mini-break in ireland with the family (soft nelly for baby noel)

...and a bunting card for my sister-in-law briege for today (happy birthday b!)

june looks like another busy making month as i check out the calendar on the wall. the special occasions marked out are very much creative nudges for me. i know there are many cards to be made this month and a 15 year school reunion too (i'm thinking a new accessory for this one to boost my confidence?) i also really want to stock up my neglected etsy shop so fingers crossed the wheels are getting back in motion.