29 January 2012

My Swish Afternoon

Today I went "swishing". Before last Friday, I had never even heard of swishing, and now I think I'm addicted! My bestie Fran posted an interview with the founders of My Swish on her blog, and after reading about the idea I knew I had to go!  



Fran's interview was timed perfectly, as it coincided with the My Swish event planned for today at Hotel du Vin in Brighton; giving me two days to sort through my wardrobe and decide which pieces didn't get worn as often as they deserved, and would be better off being loved and worn by someone else.


"Swishing" is essentially a clothes-swapping party. You bring along your unwanted clothes and get given a number of "points" for each one, dependant on their fanciness on a scale from Primarni to Armani. Other people bring their unloved clothes, and the team hang them up on clothes rails whilst the "swishettes" eat complimentary cupcakes. Then you run around and grab anything beautiful you can find, and pay for the clothes with your points. Simples. 


My Swish turned out to be everything I expected it to be (and my expectations were pretty high!); a whirlwind of emotions*, an icing-covered indulgence and (most importantly) an utterly brilliant afternoon. 


I went on my own, and got chatting to lots of lovely women during the event. The en-mass changing room was full of ooh-ing and aah-ing over the pieces other women had managed to grab hold of, and look fabulous in, whilst the women waiting outside squealed with delight at anything rejected from the changing room, as it meant they could try it on themselves. 


The whole atmosphere was inviting, indulgent, and charged with excitement. I know very few women who don't like shopping, afternoon tea, or spending time in beautiful hotels, and the combination of all three was heaven. The complimentary afternoon teas were provided by Roses All Over - a vintage china hire and event styling service who added gorgeous and welcoming touches to the beautiful venue, including stacks of vintage Enid Blyton books and antique soft toys.  



Some of the beautiful china available to hire from Roses All Over. *swoon*


I felt strangely proud of how much everyone liked the clothes I had donated- my "Bumble Bee dress" was hung in pride of place for some of the photographs taken for the Daily Express, and I felt an oddly compelling need to tell people that the clothing they'd picked up used to be mine. 


Even though I missed out on a few beautiful pieces I would have loved to bring home, I still managed to find some gorgeous tops and jumpers, including a jumper that is quite possibly the awesomest knitwear I've ever laid eyes on:


My new Owl Jumper. Oh hell yes. 

The owls are also sparkly. SPARKLY.

Hootiful and adorabowl


The icing on the (complimentary) cupcake was that My Swish held the event in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust- a charity very worthy of support indeed


A wonderful day, some great new clothes, and all for charity too- I for one will certainly be keeping a beady eye on the My Swish twitter feed for news of the next one! 


*I'm going to be honest here- it's not likely you'll be able to grab all of the things you've been lusting over, so prepare yourself to lose out on a few pieces. But rummaging for other equally lovely things is all part of the fun!

28 January 2012

Two Minute Tutorial: Beanie Hat Tea Cosy

I love the Britishness of a cup of tea, and the ceremony of making it (as long as it's for myself- I am terrible at making cups of tea in accordance with other peoples' tea preferences). My favourite Tea Time of all is when I have time to sit down and drink a whole pot, all to myself. I think this is because the opportunity to commit myself to that much liquid only really happens at the weekends or when I'm on holiday, so I'm in a pretty happy place anyway. The problem with these solo pots of tea is that they get cold before I can drink it all.

I've been intending to make a tea cosy to solve this problem for quite a while now, but it was so far down my To Craft List that by the time I got round to it, tea would probably have become obsolete. And then, this morning, I stumbled upon a beanie hat that Tom had been given for a previous birthday; that had been sitting unworn and unloved because it was too small for his man-sized head. The old creaky brain cogs started turning round, and- ta-da!- two birds + one stone = a new use for the hat AND piping hot tea, even by cup number three!

So, without further ado, introducing my Two Minute Tutorial for a Beanie Hat Tea Cosy!

What you will need:

- A teapot
- A beanie hat
- Scissors
- A tape measure*
- An appetite for destruction

What you need to do:

1. Decide which way round you want the hat to face when it's on your teapot. Does one side have a different pattern? Does it have a seam down the back? 

2. Measure the distance between the bottom of the spout of your teapot and the base, then measure the same distance from the bottom edge of your hat - wherever you want the spout to show through - and make a 2-3cm cut. I know it's scary, and feels "wrong", but bite the bullet and go for it! 

3. Most beanies are made from fibres with high elasticity, so the cut should stretch to fit your teapot spout. If it doesn't fit, make the cut a bit bigger. 

4. Put your "tea cosy" over the spout of your teapot, and pull it over the rest. Carefully cut along where the hat is covering the handle of your teapot, until the cut is large enough that you can pull the handle through. 

5. Remove the tea cosy, make a pot of your favourite tea, and put the tea cosy back on. Et voila - piping hot tea in a woolly vest.


I think it would be awesome to use a bobble hat for this tutorial- because you'd end up with a pompom on top of your teapot :)

* I didn't actually use a tape-measure to make mine, but that's because I refuse to play by anybody's rules, not even my own. 

13 January 2012

Dairy- & Wheat-Free Banana Oat Muffin Recipe

I like to think of myself as a good hostess (what?!? shouting "DO YOU WANT A CUP OF TEA?!" from the kitchen is good hostessing!) and for me, making people welcome means forcing people to lounge around on our fabulously squishy sofa made from a whole family of cows, and plying them with cake until they feel a little bit sick. After a lot of practice (such a hardship!) I thought I was getting pretty good at whipping up a batch of cupcakes/cornflake cakes/apple and blackberry crumble at a moment's notice; I needed a new challenge. 


And that culinary challenge came in the beautiful form of several of my friends who are allergic to dairy (poor things :( ) and my friend Abbey at Doll Doll Dolly who is allergic to dairy AND wheat. In my mind, these poor people suffer enough by not being able to eat cheese on toast at a moment's notice (I feel their pain, because my yeast intolerance means I can't eat gooey, golden, brown-speckled melty-goodness cheese on toast either... *sob*) so there was no way they would be going without their very own home-baked goodies after making the effort to come to our house. 


I stumbled across the bare bones of this recipe about a year ago, somewhere on the internet, and after a bit of tweaking I think I've got it down. These muffins are a favourite with people who can have wheat/dairy too- no-one can resist the banana-y oat-y nom-ness. So, please, pull up a chair and feast your muffin-loving eyes on the recipe below for "Dairy and Wheat-Free Banana Oat Muffins of Awesomeness" then get your bum in the kitchen and make these bad boys. You know you want to...



Makes 10-12 muffins, depending on how man-sized your muffin tin is. 


1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF).

2. Peel 3 bananas*, break into chunks, and place in a food processor** with the blade attachment in. Pour in 1/4 cup*** olive oil, and break in 2 eggs. 
3. Whizz it all together until it forms a custard-like goop.
4. Add 1+3/4 cups porridge oats, 1/3 cup soft brown sugar, 2tsp baking powder and 1tsp bicarbonate of soda.
5. Whizz it all together again until the mixture is completely combined.
6. Spoon the mixture into your muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
7. Leave them to cool until you can't wait any longer and then eat them all.




Additional Flavour Options:

If the basic recipe isn't fancy-pants enough (or you don't have a wheat/dairy allergy) you could add:
  • Chocolate chips
  • Chopped walnuts
  • A dollop of this in the middle of each muffin (fill half the muffin case with cake mixture, add a tsp of caramel, then top with cake mix)

*It doesn't matter if they're a little bit brown- this recipe is the perfect way to use up bananas that have been lying about in the fruit bowl, being ignored by everyone because they'd rather eat biscuits.

**I use a food processor for these because I am lazy, and it only takes three minutes to whip up the mixture. If you are less lazy/don't have a food processor, mash the bananas in a mixing bowl using a fork or a potato masher (preferably one not covered in bits of potato) and then add the other ingredients as listed. 

***I know using cups for measurements is a bit un-scientific, but this way you don't need to use scales- which means less washing up! Hurrah!

8 January 2012

NYE in Venice

Buongiorno readers!


Tom and I have just returned from a wonderful holiday in Venice. I've wanted to go there for years, and it certainly lived up to my expectations. A beautiful maze, filled to bursting with jaw-dropping architecture, gold-framed frescos and mounds of glistening gelato. We saw the weird and the wonderful; thousands of paintings of Baby Jesus, gondola traffic-jams, and a 36ft long prehistoric crocodile skeleton. 


Unfortunately, the majority of the museums, churches and galleries had photography restrictions- so we couldn't take anywhere near as many photographs as we would have liked to, but I've uploaded a small selection of my favourite shots below. There are more available on my Flickr should you wish to have a peep.



I spotted this machine in the entrance of an alleyway. Venice is certainly the "City of Love"...


We went to an eye-opening museum dedicated to the work of Leonardo da Vinci; before our visit I had no idea he had designed so many machines for the military, including the tank below:





And this (scale model version) people-scythe....





He also designed scuba-equipment including this scuba suit and bell:





And these hand-flippers!! Neat, huh?





He also designed a portable piano....



And, finally, I saw this sign in the Museum's Gift Shop. For da Vinci fans they were rather rude about his most famous work... 



Outside of the museum, there were beautiful views:





Fire hydrants that looked like robots:



Papier-mache masks:



Beautiful buildings:




And some wonderful works of art:



Santa meets Jesus. Whose autograph would you get first?!
And, finally, the perfect summary of Venice; an espresso machine bolted onto a boat.