Waiting for spring

We have a little wooden bird box mounted on the back wall. It was there when we moved in and I'm sure it was there even before the previous tenants.



Last year we saw some birdy interest in the box and at one point thought a family moved in. But alas there's not been any such habitants and it's lain empty.



I decided to clean it out in case there were ghosts scaring off potential tenants. So I took it down and prised the nails off the roof and peered inside to find.....


Nothing! Well, not really. It was neatly packed with nesting materials. So cleaned that out (props to OWP for doing this) and stuck it back up on the wall. Here's to hoping for some birdy neighbours this spring!

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Dansk bakery

Inspired by my mom - of all people! - I attempted to make a classic Danish treat called Sarah Bernhardt-kager.

They look a bit messy here - presentation is NOT my forte - but they tasted amazing!



Ole was so taken with them that he refused to do the usual and take them into work to share.


Piggy.

They're an almond fan's delight, with almond paste (or not-so-sugary marzipan) as the base and chocolate loveliness on the top.

Def on the top list of treats!



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Shedding a little light

We recently got a new lamp. I had ordered it several months ago, anticipating the dark winter days that were ahead, but there was a delay in production and we only got it now.


We desperately needed a reading lamp and this one is perfect. It's adjustable. And, importantly, super cool looking.


It's basically a giant red Anglepoise, although unfortunately not a genuine one. Those cost thousands of £.

There will be more home imp developments in the months ahead, so check back!

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Saturday breakfasts

It's evident by the lack of posts that January has been a quiet month for us. We've just been enjoying lazy weekends, trying to stay warm, catching up with friends and the like.

Just before Christmas we got news that Rosie's groomer had sold her business so we were forced to find a new one. It's inconvenient. Especially now that we have to take her somewhere rather than the groomer coming to us, like before. So this morning we were up bright and early to walk her up to South Gosforth for a cut. We decided to treat ourselves to breakfast out and went to a new favourite in Jesmond - Cafe 1901.



We were too early for the Jesmond crowd and had the place mostly to ourselves. It's a very comfy, chilled out venue with excellent freshly made food.




We had traditional full English breakfasts. Usually they make me sick because they're so greasy and cafes use poor quality ingredients but not here! A most excellent meal.



I *heart* Saturdays.

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Monster pillow

I finished a project (!) this weekend. Several months ago we were in a very cool home shop in Corbridge (bricks and mortar version of etsy) and I spied something I liked. The artist had taken vintage travel scarves and made them into pillows! At £100 a pop! Of course, I thought "I can do that myself for a fraction of the price." And so I did.

And it's huge. But lovely.


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Testing the New Camera

Some of you may have heard that en route to CA, my camera was liberated from my luggage. It was the first - and obviously last - time I'll ever place something valuable like that in my checked luggage again. Let this be a lesson to us all!

Anyway, the upshot is that I got a new camera. I'm still learning its tricks, so tonight I thought I'd play around with some of the "scene" settings. I used only the ones appropriate for indoor use - no fireworks or sunset stuff. And no flash either - too harsh. Some turned out pretty good - others not.