shop of the month: Yumi

flicking through LOOK magazine this week I stumbled across a new online retailer I have never heard of before "Yumi", so I headed over to their website and my my what a treat..... beautiful quirky dresses at  very respectable prices (£30-£50).... take a look

The Great British Sewing Bee - 1930's vintage Blouse challenge

i am very sad to say that The Great British Sewing Bee has now finished... at least we have the The Great British Bake Off to see us through the summer! Having been completely inspired by the talented contestants on the show I have bought the book Great British Sewing Bee book, £12 Amazon and fallen in love with the 1930's inspired vintage peplum blouse, so far I have only traced out the pattern and cut it out, need to pick my fabric and get going, wish me luck! The plan is to wear it to my sister's wedding brunch....

zon

colour block purses

this week I have been using left over samples from work to make these very cute colour block purses, they are so easy, all you need is a 20 cm zip, they are 99p on e-bay or 5 for £2.99 and a piece of fabric 20 x 30 cm, simply pin the zip on the 2 shorter edges and then sew along the middle of each side and then sew the side seams together with right sides facing, then turn the right way out....

upcycling vintage plates

last night my friend Sally and I ventured to north-west London to learn the art of upcycling, this basically involves using decoupage to update a vintage plate to look a bit more interesting and quirky, its pretty simple and the results are very effective and striking, well i think so anyway.... Handmade by you, is a rather cute, eclectic workshop where the very lovely Alice & Daisy offer a variety of different classes, its a very friendly relaxed atmosphere and I can't wait to go again, next on the list limoncello making!!!

Macaroon making

last night, my friend Sally and I attended a baking course with the Kent Cookery School at The Secret Garden in Ashford, to learn how to make macaroon’s! I have been to The Secret Garden a few times for tea and cake and have always enviously peered through the windows into the kitchen classroom, think Great British bake off / Mary Berry’s kitchen, heaven!!! So I was very excited to actually be taking part in a class.

I have never attempted to make macaroon’s before and after my last baking challenge of the fondant fancies I was wary to give these ago, as I have heard many baking horror stories from friends..... It turns out there are a few handy tips that will ensure you get the perfect macaroons.... So here goes

Handy tips (we learnt from our egg lecture)

medium egg should weigh between 53-63g

large egg shoud weigh between 63-73g

if freshly laid, do not use the eggs till they are about 7 days old for baking purposes (fresh eggs have too much carbon dioxide in them)

Eggs should NOT be kept in the fridge, store them in a cool dark place.

Recipe

Ingedients

Macaroon paste :

185g icing sugar

185g ground almonds

2 medium egg whites

Food colouring

Italian Meringue

50ml water

185g caster sugar

2 medium egg whites

(sugar thermometer)

Method

1 – Preheat oven to 180 degrees, place baking tray in the oven

2 - cut greaseproof paper to exact size of baking tray

3 – mix icing sugar, ground almonds and 2 x egg whites until a smooth paste, add food colouring for desired shade

4 – whisk 2 medium egg whites till they form firm peaks, meanwhile soft boil caster sugar and water in a saucepan till it reaches 120 degrees exactly (use a jam or sugar thermometer for this)

5 – whilst whisking the egg whites slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the bowl and then whisk for 2 minutes

6 – carefully add meringue mixture to the almond paste, cutting and stirring, minimum amount of work possible

7 – fill piping bag with the macaroon mixture and pipe into circles  onto the greasproof paper (around 3cm diameter each 50 pence piece size)

8 – Carefully slide greaseproof paper onto the hot baking tray and cook in the oven for 8 minutes.

9 – allow to cool and then fill with your preferred fillings (cream, chocolate, lemon curd, jam...)

photos of the week

the weekend before last the sun was out and i fancied a pub lunch and a walk, so we headed to The Three Tuns in Lower Halstow, Kent, the food is amazing, good pub food, rather large portions.... we then walked along the riverside, check out my photography skills....

The London Coffee festival kicks off tomorrow 03-06 April, Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, I am going on Saturday in the afternoon, so will report back next week, but this is what it is all about... 

On top of entry to The London Coffee Festival for a three hour session you can expect coffee and food samples, tastings, demos and live music! Learn about the various different ways to make and brew coffee at home, visit your favourite barista at the True Artisan Café and graze your way through the artisan food and street food markets. You won’t go home hungry or thirsty!

my best friend Sarah sent me this picture this morning, i have a rather strange obsession with hippo's and this little baby one is absolutely adorable, could't help but share it with you.... 

my soon to be brother-in-law bought me this Lazy Frog midwifery fob watch for christmas last year, i cannot wait to wear it come September....

Finally, on Instagram I saw this lovely photo today, how gorgeous would this be for a wedding table setting or posh dinner party....