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.