First, what a gorgeous, hot summer weekend we're having in London! The pollen is keeping me indoors but I'm not complaining since it allows me to finish my project...
Second...my project! I needed a slim but wide toiletries cabinet to fit into a particularly funny shaped space in our new bathroom. I found just the thing on eBay, an Ikea CD cabinet with glass shelves for £10. I had a vision of a bathroom cabinet I had seen from Graham and Green so, I painted it black, purchased a few samples of Sanderson's Fern wallpaper, new door pulls and voila!
Maybe a rougher version of the original but I absolutely LOVE it! : )
This weekend, Mark's producing partner, Steve, and his family drove down from Yorkshire to stay with us. Mark and Steve had the opportunity to master their new album at Abbey Road Studios so we had a very exciting Saturday morning! We saw some of the equipment that the Beatles recorded on, just sitting in the corridors and the guys got to see rooms and original instruments used for their most iconic songs. That night, we listened to the product of Rae & Christian's 4 year journey while taking in the London skyline from our balcony. Couldn't have asked for a better weekend!
The bathroom is almost done, check out the progress below... Sunday was dedicated to painting. Some plants and colourful artwork are soon to come.
We've finally started work on our loft bathroom! Dave the Builder is back in full force and is working his magic. We had left over teak parquet bricks from the loft bedroom that we've decided to use for the flooring. Teak is an oily wood that is good in wet areas and, if sealed properly, is impervious to water so we thought it best to recycle and save a bit of cash (plus, it's just so beautiful when sanded!).
Here's our progress so far...
A pretty sunset from our bathroom window tonight...
I've been meaning to dedicate a post to my mom's amazing talents as a painter but I thought I'd wait a bit because each new painting she finishes is even more incredible than the last! So I'm glad I waited to share some of her more recent ones...
She's been painting dogs but is open to other furry friends. So far, its been mainly friends and family requests but she takes commissions and will work with the pet owner to customise each painting. All she needs is a photo of the animal and a theme. I have one she did of my dog Dyna, dressed in military regalia, hanging in my living room and my husband and I get more smiles and comments on it than anything else in our home (well, maybe not more than Dyna herself...but it's close!).
Brugge, Bruges, Broodjes... However you spell it, it's one of the sweetest cities I've ever been to. My mom and I are here for the night and this place has stolen my heart. The architecture, the art galleries, the history, the canals, the shopping, THE WAFFLES. We head to the flea market tomorrow. I can hardly sleep I'm so excited...
This week, we visited Mark's parents in Newcastle for the Easter break and they graciously indulged my flea market obsession by taking me to the various antique spots of the North East. On Friday, we spent a lovely day up in Alnwick (famous for the castle that appeared in the Harry Potter movies) where I picked up an earthenware commemorative plate from Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. The plate bears portraits of Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales as well as statistics on the total population, size of the British empire and trade value of the time. I bought it for £10 but after a quick Google search, found two sites in the US selling them for up to $450(?!). Now, I absolutely adore my vintage plate which I intend to use for cookies and cakes but for $450, I'd happily hand deliver it to your home in the US, complete with British made cookies and cakes...
I have a weird obsession with Pinterest. I've tried the cleaning tips and successfully unclogged my bathtub drain for less than a dollar. I got my design inspiration for my new kitchen, mainly off of the boards I created through Pinterest. And I use the site as my personal stylist (not always a good thing). Then I decided to try my hand at a recipe I came across from a pinner named Monique from AmbitiousKitchen.com . Without a doubt, my most successful Pinterest attempt yet!
These are soooooooo oooooo oo tasty.
Photo that my coworker, Hannah, took when I brought these gems into work!
Brown Butter, Brown Sugar Toasted Almond, Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 24 cookies
Ingredients
For toasted brown sugar almonds:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon butter
3/4 cups sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
For the cookie dough:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons milk
1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips (I chopped up a Green & Blacks dark chocolate bar)
Sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
Place almond
slices and butter in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Shake
the pan a bit while nuts are heated and begin to toast. After a few
minutes, sprinkle brown sugar over the nuts and continue to stir with a
wooden spoon. You will notice the sugar will begin to melt and
caramelize. Keep stirring to coat the nuts and reduce heat to medium
low. Once you notice the almonds turning a golden brown and the sugar
caramelizing, turn off the heat, sprinkle with sea salt and place
almonds spread out on parchment paper to cool. There will be clumps of
almonds but that is fine and will provide a good crunch for the cookies.
Whisk together the
flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Melt
butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. The butter will begin to
foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a
couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the
saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter
begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the
butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for about 5
minutes.
With an electric
mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the
egg, yolk, vanilla, and milk until combined. Add the dry ingredients
slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently fold in all of
the dark chocolate chips and add the almonds. You may need to use your
hands to help incorporate the almonds into the dough.
Wrap your dough in
plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or place in
freezer for 30 minutes if you are super eager, although I cannot promise
the same results if you do this. Seriously, it’s crucial to cool the
dough.
Preheat the oven
to 325 degrees F. Once dough is chilled measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons
of dough and roll into a ball. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2
inches apart and flatten the top a very tiny bit with your hand.
(Seriously, only a tiny bit!!)
Bake the cookies
10-13 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden
brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue
to cook once out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2
minutes and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Remove the cooled cookies
from the baking sheets and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Repeat with remaining dough.
