lovely jubbly london

watch out Joan

there is a new redhead in town...

You better be worried, Joan.

Cheers, Don

If you aren't a fan of Mad Men and Don Draper {or Dick Whitman for those in the know} then I suggest you watch the Mad Men Top 10 before the new season starts on August 16.

Thanks to Liz for finding the Mad Men Yourself feature.

master bedroom preview

I know you all have been patiently waiting to see some pictures of our house now that our furniture has arrived. Most rooms are about 90-99% done, there are just a few things left to do and pictures to hang. 

Our master bedroom feels like it needs something on the wall somewhere and one side of the room may have a slight furniture change. This is the side that more than likely will not change:

I would definitely like to change the light fixture. Why do all English houses seem to have the same style of pendant shades? I mean seriously, everyone and everywhere has pendants that look like lamp shades.

I also can't decide if the old chimney breast needs something on it. The owners left all their old nails/picture hangers in the walls and there is one in it as you can see. I would remove it and paint over it, but the one thing the owners didn't do was label the paint cans correctly. I discovered it over the weekend when I decided to touch up the hall and ended up having to paint the entire hallway upstairs and downstairs. The first colour was way to yellow which I realised after one dab and the second was too pale. The third and fourth also weren't right so the entire hallway got a fresh coat of ivory. Although the hallway now looks bright and beautiful, it isn't fun to paint our landlords house when they are so unrealistic about the sale price and don't want to budge. At least we won't have to worry about any marks we make on it since it was so badly marked before- think two children, crayons and black scuffs. 

We won't talk about the attempts to touch up the dining room, living room and bathroom. We'll call those bad lighting. 

I swear I don't know why the wall looks lighter there, it must be the light. 

What it looks like a shiny patch? I don't know why.

Here is the side we I may change around:

I think this side might need something on the wall. The tv is also horrendous and a flat screen would look much prettier, but it was free so will do for now. I am thinking about moving the bookshelf out to the landing and putting a round table in its place that we have downstairs right now- think dark wood with Duncan Phyfe style legs. I really need to configure something to put there first to see if it will be too wide before the husband disassembles the table to get it up the stairs. 

I'm thinking it would look something like this, only I think the table is a bit wider:

So there you go, the master bedroom is almost complete! 

kenny (and fabrics...)

 

Can you believe what someone did to Kenny? I laughed so hard when I opened up my sewing cupboard and saw it. I think the husband was relieved I didn't get mad, but I couldn't help but laugh at the surprise.

I haven't really made anything else as of yet, but I have been having some fun playing around with stitches and my ruffler foot. I have also been on the hunt for some pretty fabrics. I have a favourite cushion I would love to replicate or find a similar fabric for something else, but don't know what to call it.

It appears a bit duller in real life, but I have no idea how to describe the pattern.

My mom, bless her, went to Purl for me and picked me up some Kaffe Fassett Shot Cotton for a specific something I have in mind. If it turns out you will get pictures and a link back to the tutorial. I'm really excited to try it! I don't know if you have ever seen this fabric in person, but it takes on different colours in different lights. It really is pretty. And surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly, even though Kaffe's studio is in London it is twice the price to buy it here than it is in the US.

While searching for fabrics online I have fallen in love with a new line by Moda and French General. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it will be sold until October. 

The line has a variety of patterns, all equally beautiful and I have big plans when I can get my hands on some! The line was inspired by 18th century French textiles and I love the natural colours with a bit of faded red for accent. The fact that it looks like genuine vintage fabric makes it all the more fabulous. I seriously saw it and thought it looks like it was meant just for me. I fear the day it is released, or rather the husband should, because I can see myself buying quite a bit!

the english bathroom

If you don't live in England, you don't know what a luxury it is to have a bathroom tap which allows you to have warm water as opposed to just hot and cold. While yes, the English do have mixer taps, they aren't standard. I don't think I have ever been in a house in the US and seen two taps on the sink- one hot and one cold. I still remember the first time I washed my face at the Inlaw's house and couldn't figure out how not to burn my hands or face. I really have no desire to rinse my face off with the water I just washed my face in, so plugging the sink was not an option. Luckily in every flat the husband and I have rented we were blessed with an updated bathroom complete with mixer tap. 

Until now.

I knew I wasn't going to last long with these taps. I was sick of burning my hands every day and even with the husband adjusting the temperature on the hot water, it was just not working. Our sink is over 1 ft wide so I knew I could find a tap that would work. Since the sink is so big, I could even use a kitchen tap if necessary. My only concern was all the kitchen taps had swivel spouts. Handy in the kitchen, but I could imagine making quite a mess in the bathroom. I also needed to keep the traditional style since it is a Victorian house. I seriously looked high and low for a mixer tap made for the bathroom that would work with our hole spacing. 

Then I struck gold (or "chrome") and thanks to the handy husband, my wish was granted.

Hello, pretty!

Now the only question is whether the husband will get mad if I make this:

Image from Country Living

Is it too girly? Kenny does have a ruffler foot for easy ruffles and gathers.

sewing- day 2

The dollar a yard fabric I scored in the US has been put to good use.

Kenny and I have been busy and I am very happy with the results!

I hope everyone realises what an awesome present they are getting for Christmas.

The MIL is coming over this weekend and hopefully she can teach me how to read a real pattern. Those "easy to sew" patterns are not so easy to read.

Free apron tutorial available at Stop Staring and Start Sewing

fudgies

I invited a friend over for tea yesterday and realised I didn't have any sort of biscuits or cookies to serve. Being the good hostess that I am, I searched online for something quick and easy. To be honest I really didn't want to stand in front of the stove baking for an hour so when I saw these no bake cookies I knew it was the recipe to try. 

Imagine how happy I was when she arrived and exclaimed "FUDGIES!" I thought to myself, huh?! She then explained these cookies were a staple of her childhood and her mom called them fudgies. Sure enough a quick google search after she left and these are indeed a fudgie of sorts. I'll put the recipe I used below and what I'm guessing is the original fudgie recipe as well. Enjoy!

No Bake Cookies- aka Fudgies

1/2 c butter (113 grams)

1/2 c milk

2 c sugar

4 T cocoa

1/2 c peanut butter

2 t vanilla

3 c quick cooking oats

Combine butter, milk, sugar and cocoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let boil for one minute, stirring. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and peanut butter. Continuously stir until smooth. Stir in oats and drop onto greaseproof paper. Allow to cool and set.

Recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker

Fudgies by JIF

2 c sugar

2 1/2 T cocoa

1/2 c milk

1/2 c butter

1/2 c peanut butter

2 c quick cooking oats

In a large saucepan combine sugar and cocoa. Add milk and stir until smooth. Add butter and bring to a boil over high heat, allowing to boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, stirring until smooth. Stir in oats. Drop onto waxed paper and allow to cool. 

Recipe from JIF

sewing- day 1

I finally got Kenny (that's her new name) out of the box and we're becoming friends. I read the manual, wound up a bobbin- easy peasy!, then called the husband freaking out. You see I went to thread the needle and I couldn't figure out step number 3 where you have to put the thread around the thread take up level. I was convinced they left this off the machine and it was the end of the world. I mean it wasn't there! It was a rookie mistake. I sheepishly admitted later that all I had to do was turn the hand wheel and up it popped. I seriously tried to call the helpline and everything. Oh well! Me and Kenny are friends now.

After sewing some straight lines on scrap fabric, I decided to bite the bullet and sew something for real. We have a pillow I don't like so figured making an envelope cover would be easy.

pillow before

pillow after

Quite a difference, isn't it? It actually was a very good first project and I think it looks professional, if I do say so myself! I will admit to making it too big at first which thankfully was easy to fix. Sewed a new seam on one side and voila! New pillow in under 30 minutes. I think me and Kenny are going to have a lot of fun.

moving preview

I have been a slacking blogger this week dealing with the arrival of our belongings and furniture. It hasn't all gone quite as smoothly as I hoped and this is what I'm really trying to rectify:

This is the bottom of our armoire. The entire bottom edge is chipped and scratched. I walked outside to catch the delivery team pushing it across the sidewalk! I told them to stop, but it was too late. The damage was done.

The bottom of a chair leg. Not as bad as it could be.

Did they roll the dining table across the sidewalk?

It looks like they slid the glass top on at an angle.

Anyone know a good french polisher?

cornflake crusted chicken

This is one of my favourite ways to have chicken. It's deliciously crispy and reminds me of fried chicken, but of course it's much healthier since it is baked. 

Cornflake Crusted Chicken

chicken breasts

1 c cornflakes, crushed

1 T cayenne pepper (or less if you don't like that much kick)

1 t paprika (optional)

1 T olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg or butter

Set oven to 350 F (170 C). In medium bowl or rimmed plate, mix cornflakes with cayenne pepper, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir and then add olive oil, stirring again. In another bowl melt butter or scramble one egg. Dip chicken breast in butter or egg followed by the cornflake mixture, pressing to adhere. Place on baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through with an internal temperature of 170 F. 

send help

Preferably someone good at organising.

The bad news? All this needs to go somewhere.

The good news? No more ikea furniture.

Looking forward to saying good-bye to the owner's beautiful curtains!

The husband's job?

Disassembling the box spring so it fits up the stairs.

Downside of English living. It is literally about 2 inches to big. UH!

Anyone want to come join in on the fun?