Christmas Catch-Up

It's been a while since I've sat down and done a proper post so I thought it was about time! Warning - this is going to be a long, and very photo heavy one!

So Christmas is over, just the New Year to get through and then life will go back to normal. I do love Christmas, but this is the time where I start to miss my routine, and the endless food is getting a little boring..

We spent Christmas in Venice, I've been many times before and it was as beautiful as ever - because there are no roads and you have to walk (or swim! not likely!) everywhere there is a certain peacefulness that I haven't witnessed in any other country in the world, I think that's why I love it so much. I have taken thousands of pictures of Venice but it's always the more everyday things that are so special, such as the rubbish boats, fire engine boats etc that are the most interesting.. here are a few of my favourite pictures from this time out;

Furs are obligatory in Venice - it's cold!

Look at the size of those meringues!

Christmas Eve post!

I can't resist a Disney store...

I have no shame in admitting that I had my eye on this man for quite some time...

We had Christmas Day lunch in the hotel we were staying in and this is what we had;

Peach Bellini with Canapés

Corn Millefeuille stuffed with Porcini Mushrooms over melted Asiago Cheese

Risotto with Treviso's (Treviso is an area of Venice) Chicory and Venison

Valeggio's Tortellini in Capon Consommé

Yuletide Turkey and Chesnuts with Glazed Baby Onions and Duchess Potatoes

Yule Log with Egg-Nog

Coffee and Confection

It was absolutely delicious at the time, if a little filling! But the morning after when we came down for breakfast one by one we all gradually admitted that we had been violently sick during the night - so looking at these photo's now is making my stomach turn a little! Oh well, maybe next year will be better! At least none of the calories will count!

As you may have seen in a previous post, I am taking part in the Rory Gilmore book challenge. I finished my first one (before 2013 has even started!) whilst I was in Venice. 1984 by George Orwell. It's crazy that a book that was first published in 1949 is so extremely relevant to modern life. It's a great story and really makes you think about the control of everything around us. Onto Huckleberry Finn now!

Also - my sister asked me what I was doing when I wrote my name in the book once I had finished it. I didn't have an answer! I've always done this for as long as I can remember! Do you do anything strange with your books?

How was your Christmas?

What have you been upto?

Firstly, I'm sorry for neglecting you. Life is a mile a minute at the moment, but it's Saturday afternoon, I'm nice and cosy,  I've just had a Strawberry lemonade and a Yum Yum. 

I've got a cup of tea and I'm sat in front of The Good Sheperd (amazing film) so I'm ready :)

 

My mum's 53rd birthday is this coming Monday, but we as ever do things a little differently in our house, so yesterday when my sister got home from Uni it was cake and presents day. My mums cake is HUGE, it's a victoria sponge (with the most amazing plum jam) it's covered in green fondant icing and the top is then decorated to look like her allotment. It was supposed to have a shed but we just ran out of time - it took 3 days! She loved it though and that's the main thing :)

 

 

 

 

 

As for presents she got a really good haul! I got her 2 pairs of earrings (silver swallows, and orange gems) a goat's cheese making kit, a masons traditonal mixing bowl (hers broke a few months back) Paul Hollyood's 'How to Bake' a zebra print scarf, 2 gorgeous smelling soaps, and Paulie on DVD. My oldest sister brought her two trees for her (real!) allotment, a Mandarin and a Lime Tree. My other sister got her a nail varnish, notepad, chocolates, sugar mice and phone cover.

Tomorrow my nan is coming over for lunch - Roast Rib of Beef with all the trimmings and Cherry Pie.

 

In amongst the present wrapping I have found time for a little cross-stitch, something I haven't done for a while, and I'm really pleased with the results!

 

 

Before!

 

 

After!

 

In case you hadn't guessed it's Dorothy and Toto from the Wizard of Oz. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet but just pleased to have finished!

 

Now that mum's birthday is out of the way Christmas has officially started in our house, the tree and decorations are all up and any leftovers were taken to work to decorate our office, we're getting a tree on Monday so the best is yet to come!

 

 

Most cluttered desk in all the land!

 

 

When I get home from work I've been obsessing over No Angels - it's a brilliant comedy drama set in a hospital that was on Channel 4 back in 2004, and the first series has now been added to 4OD. The soundtrack is so good I had to buy the CD, lots of Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin.

 

 

Now if I'm not making a cake, decorating something, sewing or watching No Angels, the chances are I'm probably shopping - here are my favourite purchases so far this month

 

Glass Dish - £2.49 - Vintage fair

 

 

 

Teacup and Saucer - £3.50 - Vintage Fair

 

 

Hair Clip, Collar Necklace and Heart Earrings - New Look - £10.45 (3 for 2!)

 

 

And my secret santa present for work - A gorgeous green scarf, a can of gin and tonic, a lindt chocolate bear and an aero christmas tree. Not bad for a fiver! I tried to make it look a bit more interesting too with ribbons and Crafy Creatives jingle bells!

 

 

 

And if I'm not doing any of that I'm continuing my Pinterest addiction and day-dreaming over pictures like this

 

 

What have you been upto?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apple Cake - a Bradley family recipe

Yesterday I made my mothers Apple Cake and thought I would share the recipe - its a wonderful stodgy satisfying pudding that is always our go to when we need a sugary carb fix - I had mine with custard (Bird's of course!) which is perfect on a chilly autumn evening.

My mum's recipe book is well loved as you can see! She isn't one for writing huge amounts of details so I must admit I did have to laugh when the first line was 'mix ingredients together'

Weigh out 2oz of plain baking lard (please don't use butter, this cake needs lard!) and 6oz of granulated sugar, cream together just as you would with a normal butter mix. The lard should have been left out of the fridge for at least an hour before you start.

 

Once creamed, add one large (pre-beaten) egg and mix in. Please don't expect the mixture to be lump free, when baking with lard you will NEVER be free from lumps but they will cook out during the bake!

 

 

Next you need to mix a batter by adding 6oz of self-raising flour and 4 fl oz of semi-skimmed milk. This is quite hard to do because there's an awful lot of flour and not a great deal of liquid, it's easiest to do this in two half and half stages!

 

 

Once you have your batter, pour into a round, square or loaf cake tin (ensure the tin is lined with greaseproof or teflon)

 

 

 

You may have noticed that there's no apple in the cake as of yet.. fear not.

You'll need two large green cooking apples - technically they should be peeled (I forgot but it was still fine!) you need to core and segement them, if you have one of these amazing contraptions from IKEA it won't take you more than 10 seconds. Layer the segments on top of the batter so the entire cake is covered.. don't leave any gaps and don't push the segments into the batter just let them sit on top.

 

 

 

Once the segments are layered mix 1tbsp of sugar with 1tbsp ground cinammon and cover the top (I went a bit OTT but it was still delicious!)

 

 

 

Bake at 190 (Gas Mark 5) for 30 minutes

 

 

 

 

Serve hot with cream/custard/a cup of tea!

 

 

Bliss.