You’ll have to do with bullet points instead.

1. I am sanding a desk. Knobbly, swirly scrolly bits are hard. It also has ‘grunge’ in the corners. Did our forefathers keep earwax and snuff in the joints for extra rigidity or something? It will look lovely when I am finished though. I’ve changed the knobs to nice sparkly ones which M said reminded him of ‘The Crystal Maze’ and I shall be inserting some of my smelly lining paper to rid it off ‘Eau de Attic’. More lovely secondhand furniture is coming this Friday. Chic and hopefully unique.

2. Weird seaside weather here – grey, cold, hot, sunny and then grey all in the space of an hour.

3. I have some pretty calling cards from Etsy (seller Enfin La Volia.) All the cool kids have calling cards dontcha know.

4. I had a very nice Sunday roast at our local yesterday with M and M’s mother. Piles of organic chicken smothered in thick glistening gravy. Mmmmm hmmmmm. I also discovered while there that we have a local indie night, observe!

5. I bought an old apothercary bottle at the flea market yesterday with TINCT. NUC. VOM. on it. Apparently this tincture contained strychnine and was used to treat morning drunkenness, nervous affectations and loss of periods amongst other things – lawks. I shall use it to store my washing up liquid in. Or possibly gin.

6. Since having our chimney swept we have a black rain of toot coming down the sitting room chimney. Clean chimney = lots of stuff can come down it. M and I shall be pleased when we have a proper hearth and grate. We are now thinking of getting a wood burning stove. Efficient and real flames. Toasty. Also less dependence on imported Russian gas – up yours Medvedev!

7. My tummy is rumbling at an epic volume.

8. Our upstairs neighbour who is is moving to the US for four years (won’t someone nice that I know come rent his flat and be a darling neighbour to us? Please). Last night at midnight FFS he dropped something incredibly heavy which caused all our electrics to go blinkety blink. Mmmm if I see him today I shall scowl.

9. I answered the door to what I thought was the postman this morning only to discover Jehovahs Witnesses. A motherly type with her seventeen year old son in tow. The seventeen year old was rather disturbingly hot (for a god bothering youth). Is this a new tactic by the JWs? Any how it turned out she wanted to talk about global warming and my trump card of “Oh but I am Roman Catholic!” was not needed. Apparently Jesus is upset with us for ruining the earth and will smite all excessive carbon emitters. Something to think about eh? She tried to quote something relevant from the Book of Revelation but alas could not find it. I felt smug and a little sorry for her. I wished them a cheery good day though.

Right I must away our little local hardware shop and select the appropriate grade of sandpaper. The glamour.

Thank the Lord for Green and Blacks chocolate.

I’ve slightly tweaked a Nigella recipe from her ‘Feast’ book for Orange Scented Brioche Pudding. I made Brioche Bread and Butter Pudding with Orange Marmalade and Sherry.

Ingredients – serves 4 people

Butter for greasing dish
50g golden sultanas
3-4 tablespoons sherry
8 slices slightly stale brioche
Orange marmalade – shredless or very fine shred
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 egg
2 egg yolks
250ml double cream
125ml milk
2 teaspoons demerara sugar

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C.
2. Butter a 1 litre oval pudding dish.
3. Put sultanas and sherry into a pan and bring to boil, turn down heat and simmer for 2
minutes. Leave in pan so that the fruit plumps up nicely with the alcohol.
4. Take the square brioche slices and cut each slice on the diagonal to give you 16
triangles. Spread marmalade on one side of each triangle.
5. Put triangles in the buttered dish one at a time, put one slice point up and the next
point down. Squish any remaining triangles around the edge of the dish if you have
too many.
6. Pour over the sultanas and any remaining sherry juices.
7. In a bowl whisk together with the caster sugar, whole egg, egg yolks, cream and milk
to make the egg custard. Pour slowly over brioche. The brioche will absorb it all, just
take your time. Leave to stand for 15 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with the sugar and put in oven.
9. Cook slowly and gently for 45 minutes or until egg custard is just set. The brioche
should be toasted not burnt.

Serve warm and enjoy on it’s own or for extra indulgence with more cream.

I used skimmed milk and reduced fat double cream (Elmlea) and it worked just fine. I also used my favourite sherry in the world ever – El Candado, Pedro Ximenez, AR Valdespino, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain (alc 18%, approx £11.99). Treat yourself to a bottle, you will not regret it. A wine buff says:

“Don’t rush for the corkscrew. The key to opening this luxuriant sherry is hanging on the padlock that secures the bottle’s cork in place. Produced from dried Pedro Ximenez grapes, it reveals a luscious, sweet, sultana-like palate that is perfect as an after-dinner sipper, or as a wonderful complement to vanilla ice-cream or a rich Havana cigar.”

M pronounced the dessert to be “super nummy”.

Double chocolate chip cookies with white vanilla chips and toffee heath bar pieces. Recipe from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.

I took a batch to my neighbour – he seemed to enjoy them too!

The soon went.

1. Fabric and trim for dolly dress making from Jo-Ann’s
2. Mr Clean Magic Erasers – used by the dolly community for getting marks off plastic dolls. No more dirty girls in our house!
3. Postcard of San Francisco
4. Powdered Buttermilk – an ingredient I just can’t find here in London for my US recipes
5. Reeses Peanut Butter Chips – more baking goodies
6. Heath Bar Chocolate Toffee Bits – yet more calorific baking supplies

I shall have to get cupcake making immediately…

Thanks you Babs!

Been reading “Gimme your stuff” site today and thought what a great idea.

I’m up for swapping and would like to swap with people from Japan and America.

I can swap items from the UK and upon request Italy (as I go there quite often.)

I can send

Art and crafts supplies
Magazines
CD’s
Newspapers
Sweets/Candy
Small English and Italian (non-spoilable in the post) foodstuffs / ingredients
Make-up
Just about anything small, and legal to send through the post!

My maximum value per swap package sent will be £20.00 GBP/$38.00/Y4,300. I will send by whatever is the fastest and cheapest method of insured* post.

I would like:

Japan

Cute kawaii Japanese fabric – I can send exact pictures of what I like!
Cute food / Housewares Re-ment (Petite Sample Series) for my Blythe dolls
Kawaii Craft / Blythe doll magazines
Amigurumi
‘Zakka’ from Decole and Cram Cream
Cute sewing notions

America

BUST magazine
Real Simple magazine
Cupcake baking items / hard to find (dry) American ingredients
Cute fabric from Jo-Ann’s
Crafting products impossible to get in the UK

I have 100% eBay feedback (user: Bobbleblythe) and am an all round great gal. Hope to hear from swappers soon!

Leave a comment (moderated) or email me at bobblelife[at]gmail[dot]com

*Or whatever method of post we agree on.

Decorate Pocky

We bought some chocolate from Cybercandy today for a birthday present, and ourselves of course.

One of a set.