The weather has been a little wet and wild lately which means I’m thankful I write this weekly post to remind myself of the good things that have happened. I bought the latest copy of Pretty Patches. Although I resolved to buy less magazines in 2015 and stop my expensive subscriptions I saw a few projects I would like to try in this issue. I’ve added a new limited edition Orla Kiely print jute shopper from Tesco to my collection. Now, I definitely didn’t need another shopping bag but I really like this print. The bags are strong, I have…
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Every week I try to bake at least one new recipe, something to fill the cake tin. This weeks’ effort was lemon meringue cupcakes. I love this combination but had never made meringue before – it wasn’t as hard as I thought. I made cupcakes using Kerrygold butter, you may remember I mentioned they’d been given a little Orla Kiely makeover. I used my fancy corer (one of those Lakeland purchases you buy and never use until this recipe) to remove a small amount of the cupcake and added in a teaspoon of lemon curd. Then I added a twirl…
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So it’s only the second time I have written my Monday happy post but already it’s making me happy just thinking about what to write about. I’ve decided to pick 5 things which have made me happy over the last week but I could easily have written more: On Saturday we booked ourselves on a tour of the beautiful Red House, the only house commissioned, created and lived in by William Morris, founder of the Arts & Crafts movement. He only lived in it for 5 years but it still retains some pieces of furniture, wall paintings and decorations that…
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Today I have to share news of a fun Orla Kiely collaboration that you can all get yours hands on for a fraction of the cost of one of her beautiful handbags. Kerrygold Butter packaging is having a super stylish make over thanks to the renowned Irish fashion designer, Orla Kiely. The iconic Irish butter producers have teamed up with her to transform their iconic golden packaging with a refined ‘catwalk’ chic. Orla, famed the queen of prints, has adapted her legendary flower hallmark to give Kerrygold a new limited edition designer sheen. The flowers depicted are a reflection of…
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I was pretty excited to discover an Orla Kiely iPhone app has just been launched, it looks great on my iPad too. I’m a huge fan of her designs but haven’t bought anything new for ages due to a severe lack of money. Anyway, the app is free which means I can keep up to date with her latest collections from the comfort of my own home. Just in case you haven’t heard of her before, Orla Kiely is an Irish fashion designer based in London. From a small collection of handbags and accessories, Orla Kiely has become a true…
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Last weekend my husband very kindly made me a cupboard for my handbags. I have a lovely collection of Orla Kiely bags and although I pretty much use the same one every day I wanted somewhere to keep them all. My handbag is voluminous to say the least. It has to hold lots of things for me and my children. I’m hoping that once I potty train Little Sis and can get rid of the nappies there will be a little more room for my things. Two things I’ve been carrying around recently are Rescue Cream and Balm. I always…
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There’s something about this time of year that makes me want to close the shutters and hibernate until spring. I love all seasons but the stormy weather which is being forecast over Christmas fills me with dread! I much prefer clear blue skies to wind and rain. We’ve now been in our house a few months but have spent most of our savings on furniture. We’ll be saving for a while until we can re-decorate, which unfortunately every room needs. With great timing, HomeServe has come up with a bit of a challenge. They invited me to tackle a cold-looking…
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Today my thoughts have turned firmly towards the school run. Since I’ve never done the school run before I’m not really sure what to expect but on the couple of occasions I’ve visited the school the fashions have been quite wide-ranging. There are the women who are so immaculate you wonder if they actually care for their children; the slummy mummies who look like they’ve just rolled out of bed; the sporty mums who look like they’re going straight on a run after they’ve dropped their children off and then there are the mum’s who look like me, pretty nondescript.…
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I Spy with my little eye, something beginning with Q. I have completed a project! I’ve been working on a doll quilt for Little Sis for quite a while. She has a growing collection which I am very happy to add to. The pattern is from pretty in patchwork doll quilts which is easily my favourite craft book at the moment. Fortunately for me the quilt came together in several distinct steps so I was able to work on it over a couple of weeks. First of all I chose and made the 24 hexagons, then arranged them again and…