20,000 Pageviews Giveaway

**** This competition is now closed ****

Hello lovelies

First of all, I want to say a huge Thank You to all of you who keep popping back to read my latest ramblings about rainbow cakes and narwhals (they're the Unicorns of the Sea, people!), and also thank my newer followers who've come to join in the (tea) party :) So...

I can't believe how quickly I've reached this milestone, given that it took me over a year to reach 10,000 pageviews by December 2012. It's so lovely to know the readership of my blog is spreading, and very funny to see the Google searches that are been pointing people toward my blog, including:

I like to think I'd keep writing this blog even if no-one read it except the belly-fat-tips-free-ipad-casino-money spambots, but I'm so incredibly grateful that I do have followers. And such lovely ones too, with really nice hair :) It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside; like I've swallowed Sulley from Monsters Inc.


I want to pass on that warm and fuzzy feeling, so I'm running another giveaway as a thank you to all my readers! This time, the prize is an item of the winners choice from those listed in my Etsy shop, plus a few other little bits and pieces that will remain a surprise. 

Do you want this? You could have this.

For a chance to win, just leave me a comment below with your favourite joke. Or your favourite item from my Etsy shop, if you can't think of a joke. 

Need this in your life? Let me know. 

For additional entries to the giveaway you can:


1. Tweet about it:
I've just entered @teaandcaketime's giveaway to win free stuff. Hurrah! http://hooklineandsinkher2.blogspot.co.uk 

2. Mention this giveaway on your blog 
Don't forget to include a link :)

Please leave one comment per entry option completed, so I can include it in the random generator to pick the winner! Thank you :)

This competition will close on Sunday 10 March at 6pm. Good luck!

Katie xxx

Blog of the Week Number 7

This week's Blog of the Week is someone very special indeed; Aunt Peaches. I can't remember how I discovered her blog, but I remember my first thought upon finding it was "Where have you been all my life?!". Not that I'm accusing Aunt Peaches of purposefully hiding from me or anything.  

The utterly fabulous Aunt Peaches

Aunt Peaches is the Goddess of Craft War, armed with glitter and a glue gun. I imagine her apartment to be full of cupboards crammed with thousands of pieces of loose confetti, and I know for a fact that even her food is glittery (ish). You can read more about her here, including how her feelings got butter stains all over a skirt. We've all been there....

If there was ever one thing that qualified someone to be top of my Blog of the Week list, it would have to be a Disco Giraffe. Wrap your eyes around this beauty.

These are some of Aunt Peaches' other incredible (and cheap!) craft projects. You can click on the photos to find out how she made them. 

These roses are made from the filters used in coffee machines! Genius!

Swedish Easter Tree. Also genius.

Hurry up Easter! I need these in my life. 

If a blog could be fitted with an accompanying glitter canon that fired right out of your laptop screen into your face, I imagine Aunt Peaches would be the first to sign up. Or perhaps she's working on it already. We can but hope. 

Katie xxx

P.S. Aunt Peaches' mother also gave her the best advice.

All photos are the property of Aunt Peaches. 

Somerset

Hello lovelies!

As promised, a rather tardy post about my lovely (if somewhat watery) break in Somerset. It involved...

- Reading: "Toast" by Nigel Slater. 

One of my all-time favourite things about visiting my Aunt & Uncle (besides the food and, you know, them) is their collection of books. Shelves upon shelves of novels waiting to be picked up and devoured whilst curled up in front of a roaring fire, hearing the rain hitting the windows and drinking cups of proper coffee. Heaven. 

I'd already seen the film, and found the book to be even better. I found it to be a very nostalgic read, despite the fact Slater's childhood was definitely more my parents' era than mine. And, let's be honest, a book divided into chapters based around food was always going to be a winner for me, wasn't it?!

- Exploring: Linmouth and Linton
We stomped around Linmouth to warm up our feet in the very wintery weather. I felt rather sorry for Linmouth, in it's ramshackle state at the edge of the sea. 

We risked life and limb to photograph the incoming tide, which came in much more quickly than we'd anticipated! Thank God for wellies!

Linton is joined to it's twin sister town Linmouth by cable car, and hugs the crumbling cliff-top for dear life. 

Linton sits so high up, it seemed to be stuck in a time warp (bearing in mind it was February...)

- Baking: Mary Berry's Lemon Fork Biscuits 

A super simple recipe from Mary Berry's Baking Bible, with only four ingredients. They were pretty tasty, but nowhere near as good as the oaty ones my aunt made; they were like the superhero alter-egos of HobNobs. Nom.

- Adventuring

We visited several places during our week away, but the hands-down favourite (and my new favourite National Trust property of all time) was Knightshayes Court. An incredible homage to Gothic architecture, crammed with stories of mystery, discovery, and hilarity. We spent hours exploring every nook and cranny open to the public, and spoke to some truly inspiring volunteers and staff working there. 

Big, fancy house

There were lots of cool wicker sculptures dotted about the grounds, made by a local artist. 

This carrot in the kitchen gardens reminded me of Sideshow Bob. 

My best ninja sneak-attack

Trying to steal a super fancy plant pot. My Pretend Heavy Lifting face is the only reason I have yet to enter Mr Universe. It wouldn't be fair on the other contestants if I won every year.

- Self-Portraiting: With Tom's new camera kit 

It's very rare for us to be able to snap a picture of us together that isn't an arms-length, weirdly-stretched-cheek affair, because one of us is normally behind the camera. We made good use of Tom's new self-timer on this trip and snapped plenty of pics of our silliness; sitting on the wall at the end of Linmouth harbour. 

Having a dance. I spend most of my time having a dance to be honest.

- Eating

Steaming bowls of porridge topped with stewed plums and raspberry jam. Mountains of home-made quiche. Rustic salad with balsamic vinegar and walnut oil. Halloumi-topped veggie lasagne, risotto packed with a whole forest of mushrooms, and piles of cheese-smothered chilli. Hearty bowlfuls of Moroccan rice pudding, ice-cream scooped onto rhubarb & date crumble, and at least six types of breakfast. Deep-fried halloumi and chips, plate-sized Yorkshire puddings with puddles of gravy, and squares of midnight black chocolate..... 

Needless to say, my jeans don't really fit at the moment, but it was totally worth it. 

- Discovering

Old-fashioned steam railways, steep-as-can-be cliffs, and magical rivers (where some of us pretended to be garden gnomes....).

- Drinking: Home made Sloe Gin

Why did no-one tell me that Sloe Gin tastes like plum wine (which, in turn, tastes like boozy Dr Pepper)?! It's the only reason I go to Wagamamas!! 

A delicious mocha at Hundred Monkeys Cafe in Glastonbury (our stop-off on the way)

Have you been to Somerset? Or are you lucky enough to live there? We'll definitely be heading back so please do share your favourite places to go!

Katie xxx

Rainbow Cakes

After spotting some photos of a very impressive rainbow cake and cupcakes whipped up by my lovely sister-in-law, I decided it was time to get my bake on and try them for myself. Tom bought me some proper food colourings last year and I've really enjoyed turning my food, tongue and fingers blue at any possible opportunity (with varying levels of success and failure). 

They take longer to make than regular cupcakes because you have to mix, layer and swirl up all the different colours of batter- but I think it's worth it! 

fresh from the oven

I decided against buttercream icing in favour of old skool white glace icing and plenty of sprinkles. I was going for infants school jumble sale chic, and I reckon I pulled it off. 

Katie xxx

Captain Special

S'up my homies

Have you had a nice day?

Sorry for being so quiet recently here in Blogland. I've got so many half-written posts lurking in my drafts list I'm pretty sure I could enter the Half-Arsed Olympics and, well, give up halfway through....

My brain seems to be self-scrambling without my permission and I've found myself acting like Captain Special of late, including;

• Waiting on the wrong platform at the train station (for aaaages) and subsequently missing my train. The train I've been getting once a week from the same (correct) platform since January.
• Leaning on a stack of very slippery paper to sign the back of my new debit card. Hand slipped, biro everywhere, tried to rub off the mistake, and smudged it. So I've now got to spend three years counter-signing everything with big smudges like this so it matches:

• Going to open the nearest door when someone nearby enthusiastically thumped the table to emphasise their point. I just... there are no words.

Hope you're all ok!

Katie xxx

P.S. That colour really suits you!

P.P.S. LOOKIT! You know what this means?! I need to pull my finger out and sort out another giveaway! Yippee!

Blog of the Week Number 6

Howdy folks!

How's things? Eaten any nice biscuits recently? 

Apologies for my tardiness with this week's BOTW. As I mentioned yesterday, I've been busy getting my Somerset on. Where it rained, and rained, and rained... Anyone else getting sick of this "winter" nonsense?!

Well- help is at hand with this week's star blogger! Sharon is a woman on a mission- to turn the nation's unloved, uncared for caravans into things of beauty! And, my word, is she doing it! 

The lovely Sharon modelling a gorgeous dress she made herself!!

Sharon blogs over at The Happy Caravan and is a little ray of sunshine! Her blog is the perfect place to go if you fancy having a day dream about lazy summer afternoons, beach BBQs, and road tripping with your homies in a gorgeous home-from-home. 

As someone who probably needs to go to rehab for looking at too many before-and-after photos, Sharon's blog certainly fuels my addiction. She can work wonders with a paintbrush and a sewing machine- and has a seriously enviable collection of vintage fabrics! 

One of the "Befores"... Good luck, Sharon!!

Nailed it!!

Please do pop over to The Happy Caravan and drool over Sharon's hard work that definitely pays off :) You can even buy one of her caravans!! 

Katie xxx

P.S. You can see the previous "Blog of the Week"s here

Three Things Tuesday

Hello lovelies!

Sorry for the recent lack of activity around here; I've been off on my 'olidays. To luverly Somerset, where Tom and I stayed with my even lovelier relatives for 6 days of wild adventures, brilliant conversation, and A LOT of excellent food. I'll be updating more about our westward jaunt later this week (and catching up with this week's BOTW), so in the meantime here are three things making me feel very special indeed:

1. Surprise Cards
I arrived home to find a surprise card from my favourite little person in the whole wide world (the recipient of the Peppa Pig Cake and the French Dinosaur). Have you ever seen anything more adorable?!

2. Plasters
All of last week's adventures were undertaken whilst clad in wellington boots because it rained 24/7. (We still had an excellent time though. IN YOUR FACE, RAIN!) It turns out that, whilst comfortable for a stroll to our local pub and back, my wellies are not as ergonomically designed as I had hoped.

So, I am very grateful to whomever it was who invented plasters (Earle Dickinson, according to Google), as today my feet look something like this:

3. Being Famous
Prepare yourself for a seriously exciting announcement: I have been officially immortalised by the fabulous Lyndsey Smith! Eep! 

After spotting Lyndsey's work a few years ago in my local gallery, I fell head-over-heels for her gorgeous watercolours depicting local landmarks and beautiful street scenes; including buildings from my very own town. I couldn't help purchasing a postcard of Bills restaurant, which has adorned our fridge ever since. A few months later, Lyndsey (quite coincidentally) started following my blog; and we started sending little comments back and forth. 

I recently confessed to Lyndsey that I'd developed a habit of checking her new paintings in case I could spot anyone who looked like me; so I could pretend I was all famous-like and immortalised in some proper art 'n' stuff. Then, lo and behold, guess who she painted into her latest picture of the flea market?! I *might* have done a little jig of joy... :)

Very aptly, Lyndsey painted me struggling home with a piece of furniture much too heavy for me to lift- typical of me and my impulsive flea market purchases! Haha. 

Lyndsey's gorgeous painting of the flea market.

Apparently this painting is now hung in our local gallery, so I'm hoping to pop in at the weekend and get a picture of me with the, well, picture of me. I think I might have to buy one too- it's not every day one gets to be an artists muse. And by muse, I mean, asks them cheekily to include you in their painting!

What's been making you smile this week? 

Katie xxx

Blog Award Number 2

Ok, so this is technically the same award as my first blog award, but people are allowed to have two Oscars, right? Normally people who are in The Movies, I would imagine... Also, I want to answer the 11 questions, because they are fun. 

The lovely Emma Kate at Painted Style (who, by the way, is this week's Blog of the Week) has nominated me for a Leibster Award. You can read more about it here. I've whiled away a rainy afternoon answering Emma Kate's questions, but I'm not going to do the other parts because 1. I've done them all before (and can't think of another 11 interesting facts about myself- how boring I must be!) and 2. I'm a total rebel and don't play by the rules. I'm definitely the kind of person who'd feed a Gremlin after midnight.

1. Why did you start blogging?

I wanted to use my blog to record my completed craft projects; so whenever I felt useless or unproductive I'd have a place to go to remind myself that I DO make things, and they are good (normally *ahem*)

2. Who is your biggest celebrity crush?

I have had far too many celebrity crushes throughout my life. At the moment my biggest crush is probably Joe Manganiello, but Tom looks basically the same as him anyway, just without the necklace. Honest.

This is definitely not a gratuitous picture. Emma Kate ASKED me to share my celeb crush ok?!

3. What are you scared of?

Ghost train rides and haunted houses (the ones you can find in theme parks), bad things happening to the people I love, my own imagination (it can run absolutely riot without my permission and I'll be suddenly convinced the entire undead cast of the Sixth Sense is standing right behind me), and spiders. I never used to be scared of spiders when I was little. I blame mob mentality. 

4. Where would you like a holiday home?

Is it cheating if I say I'd like a campervan type thing, so I could move my holiday home around with me? Something like this would be rather nice...

5. Tell me a burning ambition?

To do something creative as my career, and to have a big country-style kitchen where we can entertain friends. 

6. What is your home decor style?

I like to think our home decor is fun. It's a rather unique mixture of Country Living magazine meets toy shop meets pub. It's VERY colourful. 

7. Who is your favourite clothing designer?

Proper designer wise, I'd have to say Vivienne Westwood because she seems mental and I love tartan. Aside from her, I love the design team at H&M- I've got more clothes from there than any other high street shop. 

8. Are you a cat person or a dog person?

Can I have people person? If I have to choose, I'll say cat.

9. What advice would you give your 16 year old self?

"Stop being dramatic about unsuitable boys; we end up with a brilliant one, so spend your free time doing something useful like learning to moonwalk -instead of obsessing about gawky kids with bum-fluff on their chins."

10. Whose was the first blog you followed? (Not necessarily in an official followy way)

I think it was my bestie's blog on tumblr. She's since moved to blogger. 

11. What do you look for and enjoy most of all in other peoples blogs?

Wit, honesty, and pictures of before/after kitchen makeovers. 

Katie xxx 

Three Things Tuesday

Hello lovelies

How are you doing?

Here are a few things that are currently making me grin:

1. Egg helter skelters

[image source]

Because they remind me of this scene from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (aka The Best Way To Make Breakfast, Ever). 

Side note: Re-watching this as an adult, I've realised Mr Potts' singing about how much he loves his kids might've sounded more believable if he hadn't left loads of broken china on the floor for them to step on!

2. Appalling written romantic scenes

I've been fuelling my new found love of bodice-ripping mystery-solving ridiculousness with cheap-as-chips e-books from Amazon. After reading this scene (where the chiselled-from-marble, brooding hero "deflowers" the beautiful-without-her-glasses heroine) I've realised there might be a reason these books cost less than a sandwich...

SERIOUSLY?! Name me ONE WOMAN who has issues with the fact she basically looks like the birth child of Marilyn Monroe and Jessica Rabbit*! I'm kidding of course- I'm sure there are hundreds of women who spend hours lamenting the lengthiness of their legs and smallness of their waist, wishing they looked like a zorbing ball balanced on two buckets. Poor lambs. 

3. Dreaming up the perfect dinner

Tom and I don't plan our dinners days in advance because we love planning them out together during the day (seriously. We text each other 5 times a day whilst at work, just talking about melted cheese vs gravy). We tend to eat leftovers from our dinner for the next day's lunch, so we don't waste anything, but sometimes end up with a fridge full of odds and ends that need using up; and I get a real kick out of dreaming up something tasty from what appears to be the weirdest combination of foodstuff known to (wo)man. 

Tonight we combined leftover roast potatoes from Sunday lunch, a crumbly bit of feta cheese, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, and past-it's-best cheddar, plus a few store-cupboard staples, to whip up a patatas bravas/baked egg hybrid dinner. In addition to a delicious dinner, we've gained a wonderfully empty fridge, ready to be filled with a whole new host of goodies. Hurrah!

 I definitely need to work on my food styling; it was much more delicious then it looks, promise!

Katie xxx

*What? That's totally possible. Sort of. Ish.