*well, um, some of the past 3 months...
other recent mini craft projects have included applying découpage to my wooden aromatherapy box. as a covering, i used music from an 1896 examination paper; beethoven's adagio in f, from sonata, to be precise. however, had i known at the time of taking scalpel to music sheet that the paper was 117 years old, i would have refrained from making the cut... oops. i'd seen the papers in a charity shop and bought them for pennies, and like how the paper retains some faint pencil markings from whoever used it before me.
some pretty wrapping paper with real leaves and petals
(saved from a present the mister bought me when we were courting)
has been used to cover a book. a little raffia acts as a bookmark.
and on the subject of petals, i placed one on my tongue.
ladurée's rose petal macarons are as light and puffy as a cloud,
well two pink clouds, with buttercream sandwiched in between.
dreamy...
one bright but snowless winter's day, i drove past the sight of icicles glistening on the roadside. risking life and limb (as there was no pedestrian walkway or pavement) i parked up nearby and walked across to inspect this somewhat curious sight. as i got closer to the scene i could see that an overflow of water from a nearby farm was collecting by the roadside, and as cars sped by, tyre splash drenched the branches, and that combined with the freezing cold caused these icicles. that mystery: solved. how i didn't get drenched or run over is the real mystery. but amateur photography is nothing if it does not involve the occasional but wholly unnecessary risk.
reading.
one book that's been seeing me through the winter months is nigel slater's kitchen diaries II. i can never quite settle on whether it should stay in the kitchen or on my bedside table.
other favourite reads have included the above.
perfect for days where you need to snuggle somewhere warm
with a pair of thick socks, a hot water bottle and something hot to sip.
self-care.
my 'beauty' regime is so minimal its practically non-existent:
i don't spend hours primping and preening, i like to keep things simple.
i also prefer to use natural products, and my fussiness means
i just don't get to own an abundance of synthetic lotions and potions.
although pricey, every now and then i treat myself to some neal's yard remedies. they smell wonderful and i find them very therapeutic.
food.
well, there's been lots of cooking but not much captured in photo form. i've been trying out lots of new dishes too: some i'll cook again, and some i won't. ironically, about a month before the horse meat issue hit the headlines, we had discussed whether we could perhaps cut down on the amount of meat we were eating and try to incorporate more fruit and vegetables in particular, into our meals. so far its been really enjoyable, and although we still sometimes eat meat when we eat out, i've not really been buying any to cook at home. if i'm truthful, i sometimes secretly wish i was vegan first or vegetarian second, but i'm incredibly weak-willed when it comes to matters concerning crispy pieces of bacon nestled in between two doorstep slices of a floury, ketchup-smeared bloomer...
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