my new kenwood love

i have been after a food mixer for ages but when we looked at the prices of the new kitchenaid mixers, and the new kenwood mixers we were horrified and decided that we would wait for a bit. 

then we saw this retro beauty. i love it more than the new ones. it works great and i am amazed at how much it can do. so far i have the dough hook, balloon whisk and k beater (for cakes). if i wanted i could get a mincer, coffee grinder and  liquidiser amongst many other things. not sure if i am going to save up for the sausage filler or pasta maker. anyway i just thought i would share its orange loveliness with you all.

 

ambika x

Rainy days

There is a constant drizzle and hazy fog which has now been with us for a few days. So today we did a wet day after school art project. Wallpaper lining paper was spread across the full length of the table and every medium i could find in my cupboard was found. paint, glitter, glitter glue, magazines, scissors, pens, and crayons all went into creating this scene from our town. (it's the jubilee street party which has not yet happened) 

this is francisco and sookie being lifted up by balloons

this is trematon castle

the only issue now is what do i do with it?

moments to savour

these days seem to race by in a flurry of activity, especially since my sweet boy has started school. sometimes i feel as though i hardly have time to take a breath let alone remember  and enjoy these moments with my little ones. and i so want to remember. a long bank holiday weekend was a good reminder to just slow down and relax. and that's just what we did. the pretty much constant rain didn't worry us one bit. we snuggled for a little longer in bed in the mornings, made it up as we went along and snuggled some more with lots of giggles thrown in for good measure.

 ps the sunny pictures are from the week before, when we had one day without rain!

 hope your weekend was relaxing too,

 sarada xx

a new venture, and a new adventure

my friend alison and i are both in more or less the same situation. we both have one child who is in school during the day, we both want to work, but neither of us are prepared to compromise with breakfast and after school clubs. basically we want to spend as much time with our young children as possible while still earning a little money. This over the last year has proved harder than i thought, so i am looking at our new venture as an exciting adventure, i can't wait to see where it goes.

we have started producing our own natural soaps. Below is a small selection of the soaps we have produced for our first stall at our local mayfair next weekend.

if you want to see more of our soaps have a look at our recently created facebook page and if you think it's good  please "like" us. feels very odd saying this but we are trying to get the word out every which way we can. very soon we will be selling them online. thanks for looking

ambika x

making and waiting

after a wonderful easter spent away with family we are adjusting to familiar routines and spending a lot of time indoors as it's been raining so much. the allotment will certainly appreciate it, and there is something lovely about coming indoors from heavy rain and getting all cosy. i made these two bears for recent birthdays and i keep checking out the windows to see if the ornamental cherry tree at the back of us is in bloom yet. it won't be long till its cheery pink blossom appears.

sarada xx

one walk

every morning i do the school run and then take sookie up to the fields for her morning walk. i never grow tired of this place and feel so lucky that we have all of this on our door step.


she's good company our little pup. she trots along next to me, stopping when i stop and discovering all the wonders of the outside world.











i often look at her when we get home fast asleep in her basket and totally understand where the phrase it's a dogs life comes from.

ambika

a good start

it's always good to start the day with a little drawing time outside, even if all you want to draw on is everything apart from the paper that mummy has laid out in front of you. and pulling the lids off and on is so much fun. stan had to wear an easter bonnet for a special parade and breakfast this morning before the start of school and we somehow managed to get there early even though we are usually late. i taped some daffodils from the allotment onto his sun hat. we decided against donating our hot cross buns for communal use as the baby had managed to chew them into crumbs through the plastic wrapping, so we sat there and ate them ourselves. and there wasn't a parade so we said goodbye to my school boy and back home we went to wait in for the electrician. and now i am so glad school is out. that means we can have a snuggle in bed tomorrow morning and get to the serious business of reading winnie the pooh. and we are away visiting family for a few days too, it will be lovely.

sarada xx

this week

this little one decided that standing in the buggy on short journeys is far more fun

we've been busy planting pea, tomato sweetcorn and carrot seeds for the allotment as well as sweet pea plants on the balcony, to hopeful grow up the railings and look pretty

in-between hanging washing i made a macrame pot holder following this great tutorial. i do love a quick and simple project. by the way instead of inserting a ring at the top, i made a loop out of the string and carried on from there

and the poor babies have had coughs and high temperatures over the last few days, daddy cuddles are an integral part of the recovery process

how was your week?

sarada xx

one boy and his dog

Francisco is fast approaching his 6th birthday, a fact that i find so hard to believe. the last 6 years have been so full of life and love and living that i am not quite sure where they have gone.
so what to get a 6 year old boy for his birthday? the answer: a lifelong companion who is filled with as much energy and cheekiness as the boy himself.


meet our new puppy sookie. we had been toying with the idea of getting a dog for as long as i can remember. now we have finally taken the plunge i cant imagine ever going back. she adds a crazy dynamic to our household. she get us up and motivated when we might otherwise just be lazy. and she is just a little bundle of love.




having a puppy is harder than i thought it would be, but i am enjoying the challenge and the new learning experiences which come with her. francisco is mad about her and so happy, what more can we ask for. the only residents at the cottage who don't seem too pleased are the chickens but i am sure they will all reach some kind of harmonious middle ground soon.



ambika x

beautiful connections

hello march. i can't believe you're here already! i didn't mean to be away for so long. but after the slow month of january which is generally only eased by the ambitions for the new year, plotting great plans and a full of hope feeling that brightens even the gloomiest of winter days. by the time march comes around i am always surprised that it is already, well, march! and here i am hoping that i will catch up with this year before it races off and i am left chasing behind wondering where all the months have gone. is it only me, do you ever get this feeling?


definitely a highlight so far this year and a happy distraction from our woes was when my mother and i, along with my little ones visited my lovely sister in cornwall for a few days. we had a great time catching up and seeing her life close up rather than on the end of a telephone. it was wonderful. and as we said farewell she handed us each a jar filled with some of her sourdough starter to take home and nurture. from start to finish the whole process is quite a labour of love. after feeding it for a bit (you can see how to make the starter here) and making the sponge, and all that rising time here is my first loaf. it is delicious and fresh bread and honey is so simple and wholesome. but what i like most is that we are all making bread to feed our families from the same sourdough starter. the three of us, in our homes that are not as close to each other as we'd like. i enjoy thinking about my sister and my mother every time i feed my starter or eat this delicious bread. and yes, it makes me feel connected to these amazing women who also happen to be in my family. and i love that, it's a special feeling and one that makes me feel very happy indeed.

sarada xx

red, white, blue and a new cardigan

hello. today's post is a little bit of a mix bag. i just downloaded the photos from my camera and realised i have actually been up to quite a lot. it was one of those moments when for the last few weeks i have been wondering what i can blog about and there right in front of me were the answers.


we strung up the garden chillies before christmas. they were dark green as they were planted late and didn't have time to ripen before the colder weather set in. now look at them, and all the rather embarrassing cobwebs.


these beautiful tulips were given to me by one of my lovely friends. i was very touched they are so pretty i had to mention them.


i just loved the colour in this picture, it is so vivid. i don't know who took it probably franc which makes me love it more.

so onto my new cardigan. i bought this cashmere jumper from a charity shop for £1.50
and didn't really like it but the fabric felt soooo good i had to buy it.


i turned it into this cardigan. the picture is a little ropey but you get the idea.



ambika x

oh christmas tree

today the tree came down, the decorations are all neatly packed up ready for christmas 2012.


i just love my tree, it's magical. christmas would be nothing without it. the tree goes up on christmas eve and comes down today, as family tradition has, and always has dictated. who knows who starts these traditions but carrying them on is important, as well as starting new ones that is.



happy new year to all you lovely people

ambika x