MENDING AND ROOT MASH

Today has been one of those days when I felt I've done
nothing at all, I just feel fed up and tired, my lower back
is killing me at the moment.

After some thinking I realized that today has been pretty
busy after all...

After a proper cup of coffee at 7 am I warmed up with a
one hour walk before swimming and then I went home
and read a bit before I went for a meeting in town where
I treated myself to a cardigan and a bolero.

When I came home I read some more before it was time
to go for a massage.

When I got back I tried to have a nap but I couldn't so I
mended a knitted sweater I got at a car boot sale over a
month ago.

Then I made carrot and swede mash for dinner and then
started revamping some jewelry I got the other day.

The day isn't over yet, the plan is to go for and evening
walk with Markus and pick some more blackberries if
we find any along the way and hopefully relax the rest
of the evening, watching Carnivale, perhaps.


Bolero, £3, outlet shop.


Cardigan, £11, Primark.


I love Dennis Lehane.


Knitted sweater, 50 pence, car boot sale.


Low carb dinner. Yum!
Grilled peppers, tomato, root mash and Quorn steak.


Stuff to revamp.

SAUCY

There's a feeling of accomplishment and satisfactory
to fill up glass jars with your homemade goods.
Here's the result from yesterdays saucy adventures,
applesauce with cinnamon and plum sauce with fresh
grated ginger and Muscovado sugar.

FUN WITH APPLES

My frugal mission is continuing.
We picked a whole lot of apples from my mother in
laws back garden the other day and today I made
use of them, big time!
I made two cakes and a batch of chunky apple sauce
with light brown sugar and cinnamon to have with
my porridge or as a dessert.



Here's the recipe for the apple cake I made.
(You get one cake out of this recipe.)
It's a "skinny cake" so you might think it will be a bit
dry since there's no oil but it actually stays nice and
moist because of the amount of apples.
I got 10 pieces, each one contains about 95 calories.

You'll need:
2 eggs
2 dl light brown sugar
2 dl flour
1,5 tsp baking powder
4 tsp cinnamon
4 apples


This is what you do:
Put the oven on 175 degrees °C.
Use a round baking tin with detachable bottom.
Peel the apples and remove the core, grate one of
the apples roughly and slice the other three.
Whisk eggs and sugar thoroughly with an electric
whisk.
Mix the dry ingredients and pour it into the egg
mix and whisk until smooth.
Add the grated apples and mix well.

Put the apple slices in the bottom of the tin, add
the cake mixture then put the rest of the apple
slices on the top of the cake.
Bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 min.



Enjoy!

YESTERDAY

I had a really good day yesterday.
In the morning I went for an hour walk before swimming.
Markus took me for an outing in St. Albans where we had
a delicious lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant and then
we went scouting for vintage goodies at my favorite vintage
store and afterwards we had coffee.
I do like the small things in life and yesterdays outing really
perked me up since I've been feeling rater lonely and a bit
down lately.

Enough about my feelings, here's yesterdays finds:


1950's heels, £4.
These shoes were heaven sent!
A long time ago Markus gave me a pair of opera gloves in suede
from the 1940's that used to belong to his grandma in the same
color as these heels.
It's been taking me so long to find anything matching so I was
really excited when I found these beauties.


1950's toiletry bag, £3.50.


Necklace and bracelet, £6.
This set looks awful if you look closely, it's not very well made so
I'm gonna do my best to revamp it.
I have a bracelet with a chunk of matching roses so I might make
a pair of earrings out of the bits from this bracelet.


Vintage Bakelite bangles, £2 and £1.
I'm a bangle addict and this was a real bargain!
The colors are more juicy, my camera doesn't do the justice.


1960's Nubian head, £3.
This was a real bargain! I wish all vintage Nubian figurines was
as cheap as this one. I think this one is number 13 in my growing
collection.


1950's letter rack, £1.

FINALLY!

I finally got my thumb out and finished a project.
Got this fab 1960's teak lamp at a car boot sale for
30 pence some months back
(The sticker says 50 pence but there was a little
bit of haggling involved, of course.)

Anyway, it was supposed to be an easy fix but it
turned out to be one of those small projects that
you just don't prioritize.
It was standing in the back of a closet looking sad
and I though that now is the time to bring it back
to it's former glory.
And so I did.
It needed a good clean, both the lamp and the cord.
The wood was very scratchy so I gave it a light go
with some fine sandpaper and then gave it a good
oiling in with Teak oil. (I love the smell of Teak oil.)
Markus attached a new plug and the shade was a
bargain from the local supermarket for only £1.50.
What took me so long?
I hope that this will be a lesson for myself not to let
small (and fun) projects like this linger for so long.

I think it turned out nicely.
Amazing how £1.80 can brighten up your day. ;)


Click images for larger version.

TREAT WITHOUT RATION

I can't say that I enjoy food programs on TV but I do
love The Supersizers. This dynamic duo, Giles Coren
and Sue Perkins takes us on several journeys in food
history. My personal favorite is Supersizers go 70's.
They also made a show about food in the 50's but the
one I find most interesting is this particular one...
Supersizers go Wartime.

I know it's not wartime but the recession is making it
pretty sour for a lot of people and I do think we all can
learn a thing or two how to live more frugal and maybe
this will inspire you. Or not.
Enjoy!


Also watch part 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

I do practise the frugal lifestyle, as many of you already
know, maybe not as much as I want to but every little
helps.

A couple of evenings ago I went for a walk with the most
colorful basket in town, picking blackberries and plums
that grows in my neighborhood.
It seems like no one really cares about the fact that we
can get it free as long as it's not on private property.
What you see in my basket is just a fraction of the huge
amount of plums I got.
I made plum sauce, perfect as a tangy dessert or to add
in plain yogurt.



I also recently planted some garlic, peppers and zucchini.
Unfortunately it's been rater cold here in Britain, we
usually have summer until late September so it doesn't
grow as fast as I wish it would.
For now it' just an experiment. We'll see what happens.


Zucchini and peppers.


Garlic and peppers.
(Don't worry, there's a plastic sheet around the dirt
so the rust won't do harm to the veg.)

MAZEL TOV!

Yeah, a big fat Mazel Tov to the newly weds!
I still haven't recovered from the wedding on Saturday.
I'm so tired and sore and I didn't even drink!
It was a long journey up to Cheshire, about 4 hours.
The wedding took place at the beautiful Runcorn Town
Hall, a building that could be taken out of a Tim Burton
movie, so stunning and almost surreal.

My girl Elaine and her man Si's wedding was so much
fun and so cute and sweet, I had a really great time.
Elaine is one of the most creative people I know and I
must add that she did a lot of the stuff herself.
I was SO impressed!
Here's some pics of the day, click for larger version.


Here's a picture of the stunning Victorian floor tiles in
the entrance hall.


The ceiling in the entrance hall.


In the waiting area before the wedding.


Elaine and Si signing the register.


The happy couple kissing outside the town hall.


My shoes. (I forgot to take a pic for previous post.)


Time to release the doves.


Me and Markus.


Me posing by the car.


The beautiful wedding bouquet.


At the reception. Soo pretty!


Too late honey, you're stuck now!


The wedding cake!!!


Markus and me in the late hours.


My gift to the bride, one of my handmade hats.