like the changes...

Or is it a little boring?

I'd really like your opinions as I can't decide whether I like the simplicity or whether it's a little blah?!! I'll probably add some more images along the side bar but I'm really not skilled in the area of making things pretty on the computer so opinions...and tips...are appreciated!!

So long friends...I'm off on yet another adventure to try to become more aquainted with blogger and it's technical wonders (I've yet to find them but other people's lovely blog layouts spur me on!)

A little note...

Dear Creators of Kitchenaid,

I would just like to say how much I love your work. I would like to help you out by offering you the amazing opportunity to showcase your wonderful and beautiful mixer in my small {but perfectly formed} kitchen. I promise it will be well loved and I will make sure it's every need is met. I think the mixer in 'pistachio' would really love it here.

But the empire red mixer would also feel right at home...it could be friends with my red toaster...some things are just meant to be.

You know, I could even take both...I'm kind like that.

Love,
Hannah

Some projects in mind...

Well folks, we are this (a pinch of the fingers) close to ordering our new camera...we would actually have it by now if it wasn't for my indecisiveness.  But this can only be great news for you as you won't have to hear me go on and on about this topic again... but not so good for me because I'll no longer have a broken camera to blame for my poor photography skills :) but I'm looking forward to getting back to making some tutorials.

I've got a couple of new projects on the go at the moment...mostly sewing related.

We only currently have 1 table cloth...which, when you're as clumsy as me, really isn't enough! So I'm working on making a pretty basic one but also a pretty embroidery cloth I got for christmas. I really love this but I haven't been able to track down any lace doilies in our local stores (oh Dunelm, what has happened to you? I remember the days when you were all about the lace)

So that will have to wait a while longer. But I've finally picked up some lovely material for that quilt I've been dreaming of for oh. so . long. Trust me, this book would get you dreaming too...the photos are so gorgeous!

I've yet to decide what pattern to go for but I love the clean cut simplicity of this:

I've also got a little hooked on the idea of a chevron quilt but let's see how the first one goes :)

If you made it this far through my rambling then I found a great blog which has collected together over 100 ideas from 2011 for your crafting needs...some inspiration if you're after some projects.

Just click here to go to the long thread

Happy Monday!        

Cherry tomato soup...

If you're like me then you might be feeling the need for something light and healthy after all the christmas sweetness. Again if you're like me then this feeling is also likely to be momentary while you're on a sugar high. Make the most of this moment and fill your body with something delicious and good...say hello to tasty tomato soup!

There are few foods I find more comforting than a big bowl of soup (always with a hunk of white bread)...especially tomato soup. So while I was full of that stinking cold before christmas I decided to use up some cherry tomatoes that were sitting in the fridge and make myself some warming tomato soup. Feeling the need to escape the clutches of daytime telly I decided to look up each of the ingredient's health benefits and, well, almost felt cured of the cold just from thinking about it...I now love tomato soup even more than I did before :) It definately spurs me on when I find out how much good I'm doing to my body just by preparing and eating simple but super delicious food.

I've linked each ingredient to a page explaining their health benefits. So, if you're interested, take a look and enjoy the soup even more for it. If you're thinking the cold clearly sent me mad then just skip the links and enjoy the soup for it's deeelicious taste!

Cherry tomato soup (courtesy of Gary Rhodes) - serves 4-6 (definately 4 if you love soup as much as me)

Ingredients:
Olive oil
2 red onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2tbsp red wine vinegar
500g cherry tomatoes, halved
300ml passata (I used chopped tomatoes in abence of passata)
450ml vegetable stock (I used chicken stock in absence of vegetable stock...see a pattern?!!)
Pepper
And I added a handful of fresh basil leaves

How to make it:

1) Heat some olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Fry until softened and slightly coloured.

2) Add the red wine vinegar and boil until only a very little liquid is left

3) Add the cherry tomatoes and fry for ten minutes

4) Pour in the stock and passata. Simmer for a further ten minutes.

5) Add some torn basil leaves and a twist of pepper. The recipe finishes there but I prefer smooth soup so I blitzed it up.

Enjoy!...and don't feel too guilty about the chocolate and wine :)

Happy 2012!!!

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I'm really excited about 2012 and I think this is going to be a great year for Blackberry Grove. We're hoping to have an online shop set up pretty soon so watch this space! There's also a sale on over on our facebook page so take a look here. Sale prices and availability are listed in the comments of each item.

I've never been one for making new year resolutions, mainly because I know that once I decide to do something I'm most likely not to do it (meet the queen of procrastination). I tend to fall into doing things rather than plan. But I saw something over at colemans in love which I decided would suit me down to the ground...although I decided to do one a month because there's no way I'll manage the number of things that match my age! Take a look, this was one of the first blogs I started reading and it is a lovely read.

I have basically decided to write up a 'to do' list for 2012, with a mixture of fun and more boring productive things that I have been wanting to do for a while. Crossing things off a list helps me to pretend that I'm organised and makes me much more likely to get round to doing them...I'm not sure why. Let's see how I get on with this.

So...here it is, my 12 things for 2012

So what are your hopes for 2012? what would your list look like or have you made any new year resolutions? I'd love to hear from you so just comment below :)