PUBBINS

Because I'm so entirely dedicated to this blog, I've decided to start another.

It's called Pubbins and we'll be half-heartedly reviewing bars, pubs and the like. Its a collaboration between the great analytical brains of Dave and myself and will no doubt be riveting.

In other news, Christmas arrived early in the Little House today when we did online food shopping for the first time! We excitingly have more things in our fridge than at any other point in the past 35379 months, but that's partly because I bought a number of frozen foods by mistake and our freezer is the size of a child's shoe box. On the recommendation of Face Goop, I also bought a new face wash that smells like wine gums. If you haven't come across this site before, I highly recommend it; they post pretty sporadically but when they do, its comedy gold.

I'll leave you with another sort-of-band-of-the-week in Connan Mockasin. The music's ace; the song titles are even better.

Above: Megumi the Milky Way

Below: Forever Dolphin Love

(Featuring an intriguing cameo from the love child of Grayson Perry and David Bowie)

Laters!

BIRTHDAY CARDS

This week, I got my paints out for a special occasion.

It was Dave's birthday! I made him a card:

With a little French mole

Dave has a twin, Luke. He also got a card.

This badger has a pipe and a cravat. He is quite the modern gentleman.

The writing wasn't quite as neat as I would've liked but I think they're quite charming.
After this twee-fest we went for a meal at the Thali Café and had a bonfire. Pretty good.

And that big shell in the background?

Why it's Marcel!

RECENTLY

Sooo it's been about two months since I last posted. Sorry about that.

I've been writing this while watching the England-Italy match. I think a lot of people could probably do with some light entertainment about now, so, in the name of diversions, I've basically filled the post with photos.

A disclaimer: I realise what this looks like. Contrary to popular belief, I don't spend all my time making cakes.

Eating:

Pecan toffee cheesecake (left), ready to be smothered in cream and shards of toffee for a friend's birthday house party. Awesome recipe. Also mini jammy sponges (right). With a parasol! Dave was in Barcelona last week with work (I know) so I made some little cakes for his return using tiny pie tins.

Cheesecake brownies (left) and a carrot cake with cream cheese icing (right). Technically, the brownies were a bit of a disaster - the cheesecake layer made it difficult to tell if they were cooked (they weren't) but they still tasted nice. I made the carrot cake (another Dan Lepard recipe) when Dave's parents came to stay a few weeks ago. Trying to do the icing in a heat wave wasn't easy, but I think I managed alright.

For the diamond jubilee, we embraced the clichés and went to a garden party, complete with bunting, cucumber sandwiches, summer dresses and linen suits. Surprise, surprise, I made another cake. Victoria sponge again, this time filled with strawberries and blueberries which were also arranged into (something resembling) a Union Jack on top. The lads that were throwing the party recently took some ex-battery hens under their, er, wing and they let them have a little wander round the garden while we were sat outside. A piece of cake was left unattended and the chickens went mad for it, although you can't help feeling that there is something morally dubious about hens feasting on eggs...

Listening to:

Some tunes I've recently been enjoying through my cake-induced stupor...

1982 by Scraps - I heard this on Lauren Laverne's show on 6Music last week and I think it's rather jaunty. I couldn't really find much about the band, but there's an EP available on what looks like their record label's page. I dunno. Have a gander.

Origins by Tennis - I love this song. Tennis were one of those bands that I'd been aware of for a while but, for whatever reason, never got round to listening to. This track's off their second album 'Young and Old', which came out earlier this year. If you remember the old Windows 95 layout, their website's worth a look too.

Knitting:
This Rowan 'Wonky' jumper. So far, I've finished the back and have just made a start on the front. The back is looking a bit small. Cropped jumper? We'll see.

The wool is some I've had lying around for a while - I bought a big pack of the stuff in a John Lewis sale a couple of years back with the intention of making a cardigan. Suffice to say the cardigan was never finished and I've been chipping away at the wool ever since for projects like this snood, so it was quite nice to find a pattern which only required a limited amount.

So that's pretty much it, really. See you in another two months, I expect...

PS In other news, I finally finished my course pack!


PPS You can now follow my blog with Bloglovin! Yep.