It is well with my soul | Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, I hope you are all having a lovely day! I have been wanting to update my chalkboard for a little while now and on Good Friday I finally did, I'm slowly improving my chalkboard skills but don't look too closely!

Dodgy calligraphy aside, It is well with my soul. Today I celebrate that Jesus died for me, beat death and rose again to everlasting life. It is truly well with my soul. Because of God's extravagant love for me (and you) it doesn't matter what life throws at me because it is all temporary. The worries, hurt and brokenness of this world will one day fall away...and even as I stand in the midst of it, crying out to God, he holds me close, he loves me and I have his unshakeable joy and peace.

This quote is from the hymn of the same title.It is an incredible hymn which never fails to moves me. The author had experienced such heartache but was still able to see God's goodness in his life. You can read his story here, it is well worth a read ... but here are the lyrics of the hymn -

When peace like a river, attends my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, You have taught me to know,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And has shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
You will whisper your peace to my soul.

But Lord, it's for You, for Your coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so it is well with my soul.

Happy Easter!

Hey there 2014!

Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Ours has been busy but so great, we got to spend time with both of our families, I'm going to be honest with you...they rock :)

Christmas seemed to creep up on us this year, I think it had something to do with there still being leaves on the trees and having worked outside in a t-shirt in the week before Christmas...cold weather definitely helps to induce Christmassy feelings...that being said, it didn't take us long to embrace it! But if Christmas sped up on us then, my, 2014 has sped up even quicker.

Up until 2 weeks ago I thought I was going to be starting this year in a new job. An opportunity came up at a local charity who work in an area in which I am very interested. My notice was handed in, I was due to finish on Christmas Eve, I even had my leaving do...and then it fell through. Fortunately I was able to stay at my current job, my boss was so amazing in letting me reverse everything. I work in stroke rehabilitation which I also find so interesting so it isn't a chore to remain :)

However, I was looking forward to the New Year as the start of something brand new. Change was in the air, and I love change. I felt invigorated with the thought of doing something different! So, it has been a strange couple of weeks in which I have had to process all that has gone on, but I'm still excited for this new year. January 1st signals a fresh start, it might not have worked out how I expected it to but I know that God has it in hand. I've been thinking a lot about God's calling on our lives and how he wants the best for us. His best for us doesn't depend on circumstance...he doesn't need particular things to happen (or not happen) in order to bless us. My situation really isn't that tough in the grand scheme of things but he is with us even in the roughest of moments.

I'm thankful to be starting this year with that in mind, who knows what 2014 will bring our way but I say bring it on! For a laugh I revisited my 12 things for 2012 list I shared two years ago... it is hilarious how little I have actually achieved from it! But, being someone who is in denial about the fact I'm so bad at crossing off lists, I've decided to set some more fun goals for 2014 :)

1. Open an on-line shop - I am soooo excited about this...I debated when to reveal this plan but here's a little teaser - it's happening. soon. Stay tuned! There's jewellery involved :)

2. The 20 breads project - completely inspired by Elise's bread project. I love making bread but I have totally fallen into a bread rut and also completely out of the routine of making all our bread... so my challenge is to try 20 different bread recipes to keep things fresh! I'm counting enriched dough too... because my sweet tooth asked me to.

3. Learn a tune on the harmonica and play sitting on a pier whilst the sun sets over the lake.... this is one goal carried over from 2 years ago! I can currently play the harmonica badly and slowly, lets see if I can change that this year :)

4. Improve my blog photography - I would love to be able to take better pictures for the blog and I want to try to focus on that this year. I'd say my craft photos have definitely improved but I still have so much to learn...especially when it comes to taking photos of food!

5. Print my photos - another goal from 2 years ago...and I've taken plenty more photos since then which also haven't been printed! But my goal, as it is each year, is to finally print out all my photos from the last 8 years!

I'm going to stop there, I could keep going but it would be nice to look back in a years time and have actually achieved it all (although I don't hold out much hope regarding no.5)! I love having fun projects on the go alongside more serious goals, it's good for the soul to have some fun :)

All that's left for me to say is Happy New Year to you all, I hope that 2014 brings you much joy and laughter!

Autumnal notes...

I feel like Autumn is quickly giving way to Winter so I decided to change up what I was going to share today so that I could share this cute D.I.Y. whilst some leaves still remain on the trees! A couple of times a month I meet up with some friends to get crafty together. It's so much fun trying out new things whilst having a good chinwag :)

My friend Lenny shared this idea for Autumnal lanterns. I think they're such a sweet way to bring a touch of Autumn into the home...plus it is a really simple but lovely D.I.Y.

Lenny collected loads of gorgeous leaves and then dried them in the airing cupboard. I just came onto the scene once the leaves were already dried so it was an even simpler project for me :) The only issue was deciding which leaves to pick!

What you need : dried leaves, glass jar, PVC glue or modge podge, glue brush

What you do: Simple apply a thin layer of glue to the jar and adhere the leaf to the jar. Brush glue over the top and edges of the leaf until it lies smooth against the glass (this might take a little patience!). Repeat with each leaf. Leave to dry and then finish with a top coat of glue.

This leaf was particularly mischievous, it felt like it took me forever to get all the edges to stick!

How do you see in Autumn? I'd love to hear any seasonal craft projects you've completed.

Happy Monday!
(You can see how to make a handle for your glass jar over on the post I shared last year on making decorated hanging jars)

Eat your fruit and veg...

Did anybody else grow up loving The Good Life? I don't know whether it made it out of the UK but it is an old British Sitcom first shown in the 1970s (here's a summary if you don't know about it). I don't know whether that first planted the seed (get it?! I'm sorry) or not but I have always loved the idea of 'living off the land'. I have always loved to be outside but apart from a failed attempt at a veg patch when I was about 10 (I don't think my interest even lasted a year) I've never really had the chance to see whether this admittedly idealistic dream is something that could be reality for me. The funny mishaps on a British sitcom and trips to my Grandparents' farm don't really show how much hard work it really is to grow (and rear) your own food.

But it's still there. A little niggle, a little dream of one day having my own veg patch...and actually knowing what to do with it! Since we're currently renting we're limited to growing plants in pots but it's been fun to finally have a go at growing something! We had a mini disaster at the beginning of the year involving strong wind and our very unstable mini greenhouse which set us back somewhat but this year we grew carrots, spring onions and were gifted tomato and runner bean plants. We pulled our huge crop of carrots last week - when I say huge, I mean it made less than one serving (but we savoured each miniscule carrot!). We're getting to use the spring onions as and when we need them, and the first of the tomatoes are just beginning to ripen...I can't wait until we can start eating them!

As well as growing veg, we've also been trying really hard to make them a bigger part of our diet. I wouldn't say we neglect to have veg but they're always the side show. It's been fun trying out new vegetarian dishes and also new ways of having veg on the side. I recently bought The Great British Vegetable Cookbook and I haven't stopped reading it, it's so inspirational! 

It endorses seasonal cooking, categorising the book into seasons, and giving each vegetable it's own section. It has tips on storage and cooking techniques, as well as fab recipes. One of things I like most about it is that it is not a 'vegetarian' book...it's just a book trying to motivate meat-lovers and vegetarians alike to just eat more veg. A lot of the recipes can be adapted into a main course, appetisers or side dishes. I've only had the chance to try out the roasted pepper salsa so far, but that was delicious!

What are your thoughts on growing veg and eating seasonally? I love the idea of it but it seems pretty hard to sustain...especially when so much fruit and veg is available year round at the supermarkets. A goal of mine is to visit the local farm shops to see if we can source our veg from there...since one serving of carrots isn't exactly going to see us through Winter!

Side note - My blog is far too small and far too full of cake for the National Trust to send me a vegetable book to review, so it goes without saying that all opinions on the cookbook are my own ;)

Homemade lemonade...

In 2007 I was lucky enough to get the chance to travel around Europe during my summer break from uni. It was a glorious summer, spent exploring new cities and countries, from the beautiful coastline of Croatia to the mountain range of Slovakia to the vibrant square of Brussels. It was such a fun time spent with friends and it's something I will always treasure. But hours spent on (un-air conditioned) trains and wondering around in the searing heat with our backpacks while we attempted to find our latest hostel certainly worked up a thirst (and also an overwhelming need for ice cream. a lot of ice cream). Nothing quenches my  thirst like freshly made lemonade. I literally lived on the stuff. And because of the wonderful way our senses like to help memories linger, whenever I take a sip of 'limonata' now, it never fails to bring me back to fun memories and the relaxed feeling of being on holiday. I drank gallons of it (slight exaggeration) while we were in Croatia last year, and, now that Summer has finally arrived in the UK, I'm relishing squeezing my lemons again!

I adore 'intense' lemonade (if such a thing exists) because of my strange love of the sourness of citrus fruits - if it doesn't contort my face into all sorts of strange shapes then it's too sweet. Whilst I hardly ever add in sugar, it does give this drink a lovely sweetness to cut through the sour lemon. If you prefer it a little weaker or want the lemons to go further you can add up to 1l of water to 4 lemons.

Recipe (serves 2)
4 lemons
400ml water
Sugar to taste

Squeeze the juice of the lemons and mix with the water. Stir in sugar to taste. Serve with ice.

And there, my friends, you have my ultimate Summer drink - Happy Tuesday!

Hello Sun! and make your own peg bag....

So this weekend the British public ventured out of hibernation to enjoy the glorious sunshine...and, wow, it actually feels like Spring might just be on it's way! Although we currently only have one lone Snowdrop in our garden we went to a local National Trust place which was overflowing with Snowdrops, Helebores and...ummm....loads of other flowers. It was so good to just get outside into the sunshine!

This got me thinking that I might be able to start hanging our clothes out to dry outside soon. Now, I know, drying clothes isn't a very exciting topic to talk about with you guys but stay with me for a moment...because that then got me thinking that I should find a home for my recently purchased pegs -and so began my adventures in making the peg bag I want to share with you today!

Initially I never intended to make a house. It was going to be a nice little neat square using two different cherry fabrics that I collected long ago. But then I wondered how I would hang it and a coat hangar seemed like the most obvious option...but, you know, a coat hangar was going to distort that 'neat little square' (which  was unrealistic in itself because I never sew anything that is actually neat) so I decided to change up the shape and I figured if something is going to look like a house, well, why not make it one?

This is so simple and you can decorate it to your hearts content. I thought about adding in some picket fencing but it takes me so long to embroider that I was happy to settle for two windows and a door!

1. Firstly cut out a triangle and square for the roof and main body of the house. Pin right sides together and sew together.

2) Next cut out your decorations. Be creative! Decide where you want them to go and either secure with a couple of little stitches or Wonder Web. Then grab your embroidery thread and sew round the edges however you like.

3) Grab the fabric for the back of the bag. Using the house shape as a template, draw around it, adding an extra 10cm to the bottom. Cut out, and cut the fabric into two pieces (you want the top half to be the biggest).

4) Hem the sides that you have just created, these will be the opening to the bag.

5) Next lay the fabrics right side together and pin (make sure you place the larger of the two backing fabric on first). Sew the fabric together by starting and finishing at the centre of the roof, leaving a 1cm gap for the coat hangar. Turn the right way out and press.

6) The bag will distort when pegs are put in so I recommend adding a button to hold the shape. I just made a really simple loop to hook round the button.

7) Unless you have made a really big bag then you will have to cut the hangar down to size! Take the coat hangar and saw the ends off. Use the sandpaper to sand down any sharp edges.

8) Feed through the little hole in to top of the bag and you're finished!

 Now come on warm weather so I can put my new peg bag to use!

How would you decorate yours?

A taste of summer...

So I have been scoffing these for quite a while to help invoke that summer feeling that the weather hasn't quite been able to provide! But I adore frozen snacks and smoothies in the summer time so I thought I'd share with you three refreshing treats that I'm loving this year.

Now this could serve two but I can easily down this with no help at all. I adore smoothies, they are so refreshing and so healthy. I love the combo of mango with pineapple.

What you need:
1 handful of fresh pineapple
1 1/2 handfuls of frozen mango
Approx. 150ml orange juice

What you do:
1) Add all ingredients to your smoothie maker and blend. Just add more orange juice if the smoothie is too thick for you, I personally love a good slushy smoothie :) It's just worth making sure your smoothie maker/blender can handle ice/frozen food.

(Adapted from Delicious Shots)
What you need:
1 cup fresh orange juice (approx. 3 oranges)
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
zest of one orange
4 cups of strawberries and blueberries (defrost if using frozen fruit)
1-2 tbsp vodka (optional)

What to do:
1) Bring the sugar, orange juice and water to the boil, stir until the sugar has dissolved.
2) Add the berries and zest and boil for 8 - 10 minutes.
3) Blend the mixture until smooth (I used a soup blender)
4) Pass through a fine sieve to remove seeds and zest. At this point add the vodka if you wish. This isn't because I'm an alcoholic but to help keep the sorbet soft in the freezer!
5) Leave the mixture to cool and then freeze in the ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer instructions.

I love frozen yoghurt, I especially love the ease of just dropping a tub of yoghurt into the icecream maker and see it transform in no time to a delicious pudding. I saw this idea on Pinterest (inspired by one good thing by Jilly) and it looked too good to miss. Yoghurt becomes slightly bitter when it freezes so you might want to add a little sugar to taste.

What you need:
Yoghurt (approx 1/2 a large tub makes one tray of drops)
Sugar or honey to taste

What to do:
1) Line a baking tray with clingfilm.
2) Fill a medium plastic bag with yoghurt. Secure the top and cut a small corner out of the bottom.
3) Squeeze drops of the yoghurt onto the baking tray
4) Flatten the drops with the back of a spoon if needed.
5) Freeze for 1-2 hours and then transfer to tub. Keep frozen during storage.

What are your favourite summer snacks?

Summer is an attitude...

and this weather is sure helping my attitude :) It has been gorgeous in Kent - I hope it's been just as amazing wherever you all are!

A while ago I read a fascinating article on a tiny town high in the mountains of Italy. I wish I could remember it's name but it escapes me. The people there live completely in tune with nature, embracing the rhythm of the seasons. In the summer they're busy and in the winter they rest. They have a completely natural (and yummy Mediterranean) diet, pretty much from all that they grow themselves, and they socialise with one another. And guess what? They have a longer average lifespan than other Italian towns/villages and the lowest illness rates.

Amazing huh? Maybe we should take note :) Or maybe we should all just move to the Med. I've definitely felt the effect of a few days of gorgeous weather, I love how everybody becomes so much more friendly and how I actually feel motivated to get my house into some reasonable order.

I think my time could only be made more complete if I could escape to one of these sweet spaces...

The Treehouse Company

Better homes and gardens

Apartment Therapy

Better homes and gardens

spring spring spring...

With the gorgeous weather over the last few days my mind is well and truly in Spring mode...please Winter, stay away! My husband is going away for the next few days and reminded me last night that he'll be taking the laptop with him too. So I thought I'd squeeeze in a post before he leaves as I want to share with you a photographer I stumbled across on Etsy. She is Sonja Caldwell and her photos are so beautiful. I love this one she took in Paris...perfect for my spring mood!

Have a great week!