Easter pressies with a difference

As Easter is on its merry way, I thought I'd post a selection of items from my Etsy shop to give you an idea for some pressies. There's still time of place an order, but you'll need to hurry if you want it in time for the weekend!

If you like any of these suggestions, just click the picture and it will take you straight to the shop!

Use promo code EASTER to get 10% off until 26th April 2011!!

Chocolate, Guinness and Caribbean Memories

In the busy hectic madness of the last couple of weeks, I totally forgot to post about two amazing new cakes I tried! How dare I. I mean really, how can anyone forget about CAKE, least of all me!? Apologies all round.

Now, down to cake business. The first cake I have to simply rave about is from Cake Days (new book from The Hummingbird Bakery). 


Chocolate Guinness Cake

This cake is pretty amazing! I don't like Guinness but this didn't deter me and to be honest, the cake doesn't really taste of Guinness but it does have an amazing texture which I think can only be attributed to the black stuff. It has a similar texture and taste to a chocolate devil's food cake. And let's just say, it only took two days to scoff it all (it was a large cake)!! The cream cheese icing really makes the cake. It is definately a great combination and would be a good 'manly' cake for any guys who don't like munching on a 'girlie cupcake'. The fact that I put this particular cake on a really pink and flowery vintage Royal Albert cake plate probably makes it a bit feminine, but hey ho!

The second cake I want to gush about is not techincally a cake but a pie... 

Key Lime Pie

I lived in the Caribbean for a short while when I was a kid and for some reason one of the lasting food memories from this time is scoffing numerous key lime pies! I have hankered after one of these yummies for a long time and so for Mother's Day, I decided to make one for my Mum who also loved these.

I used the recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and instead of using whipped cream for the top I used Italian style meringue. And what can I say? When I dished it up, the whole table was silent for at least 5 minutes! This is a rareity in my family. It was so amazing we even had seconds! 

I urge you to try this pie. I just cannot do it justice by trying describing what it is like, you'll simply have to make one and see for yourself!

More cakes in the making in the coming weeks and if I manage to take some pics before they get scoffed, I'll share them! And, I have something really cute in mind for my Royal Wedding Tea Party so watch this space...

Bag a Tea Cosy!

I've added a new section to my Etsy shop this week: Bags. And, there are a few more tea cosies ready and waiting for someone to take them home.

So head over to my shop and bag yourself a tea cosy! (See what I did there? I'm too funny for words!)

These two are my top favourites!

Pink Bunny Mini Bag

Spotty Tea Cosy

Jumping on the Royal Wedding bandwagon

How many times in our lifetime will we see a proper Royal Wedding?? I say 'proper', cos loads of Royals have got married in recent years, but how many of them are a) 2nd in line to the throne and b) marrying a regular girl with no title of her own therefore turning the 'girl next door' into a real life princess?

Just about everyone is cashing in on the Royal Wedding at the moment. Some are doing it out of pure greed to see what money they can make out of some cheap and nasty tatt but many are doing it in celebration of such a great event which comes around once in a blue moon. (Please note I am part of the second group!)

In celebration of what will be The Wedding of The Year, I have created two lovely items: a teacosy and a shopping bag!

The Tea Cosy

Many people will be having street/garden/tea parties to celebrate Prince William's nuptials, so I thought it would be very fitting to make a tea cosy using the Royal Wedding Fabric from Makower. You can't get any more quintessentially British than a tea cosy...

I bought both the navy print and the cream print and they are both equally lovely. Theses tea cosies will look fabulous on any afternoon tea, even after the wedding! If you'd like one, you can purchase it here.

The Shopping Bag

Plastic bags are ugly. There, I said it. I have always thought this and now more than ever, I am always on the look out for lovely new bags to carry my shopping in. I love saying "It's alright, I don't need a bag" and then whipping out the latest addition to my burgeoning bag collection (many people have asked me about my bag of choice, the most popular being my Dirty Dancing bag, but that is another story!).

So naturally, as soon as I saw the Royal Wedding fabric, I thought 'that would make a fab bag!'.

If you want one of thes royal bags for yourself, then pop over to my wee Etsy shop!

Hurrah...

...for Havering Handmade!!


It was a gorgeous day and everyone was so cheerful and happy to be there, it was lovely. I think the sunshine makes everyone feel good. I met some new people and some familiar faces were there too. The crafting community is so friendly!

The other stalls had such gorgeous things on them that I spent most of the morning coveting at least one thing from each one! I particularly loved a handbag made from vintage Japanese kimono silk but I managed to resist making any purchases. Actually, that's a lie. I did buy two cupcakes. It would have been rude not to. And Hubby and I needed something for elevenses. Hubby did buy some sausages from the Giggly Pig, but they don't count as he paid for those!

For my own stall, I invested in a cute pink clothes rail on which to hang my scarves and bags, and it worked quite well as it allowed more space on the table for the other items I had. The feedback was great and we made some sales too which is always a bonus! I still love seeing people like my things enough to pay actual money for them to take them home! That is a pretty cool feeling.

And to finish off, here are a few pics from the day:

Anstruther = Fish & Chips

Anyone who has ever been to Fife knows (or at least should know) about the Anstruther Fish Restaurant. This place serves THE BEST fish supper ever!

Prince William apparently used to visit during his days at St Andrews, and Prince Charles and Camilla had their fish and chips taken out to them in their car once while on one of their visits. THAT'S how good this place is!!

A fish supper from the Anstruther Fish Restaurant is simply the best way to spent a Sunday afternoon in Fife...

Bonnie Scotland is where my heart is

My lack of blog posts recently is largely due to a trip to the homeland (Scotland) which was great fun and jam packed with activity! It wasn't a relaxing break (too busy to relax), but it was a welcomed change of scenery and I had the chance to visit some of my fave places. Sadly, Hubby had to stay at home in Essex to do that thing grown ups call 'work'...

Here's a few pics from my trip away:

I don't remember where this is, but it was a stunning view nonetheless!

Bill (left) and Fred (right)

Pitenweem - where my Granny was born

Pitenweem again

I also had a lovely day in Edinburgh, where I feel most at peace and 'at home', the reasons for this are numerous and that's a whole other story which I might share one day. The weather was fabulous (considering the time of year) and I had such a lovely time  I was too busy to take any pics, oops!

I'm back now and got a super busy week ahead before my first ever Havering Handmade on Sat 9th. More info on that to come soon.