Peeping Tom...again...

Today, I invite you to another one of our many pretty neighbouring villages, where my camera and I played a rather awkward Peeping Tom duo the other day. It does feel a little intrusive taking photos of other people's houses, even if it is just from the road, but how can one resist when they look like this???

This gorgeous farm made me want to knock on the door and ask if I could play on the hay bales (rolls) for a while, but I stopped myself at the last minute. After all, THAT might just be seen as more than a little intrusive...

Now, there are some stylish  rain water-collecting barrels!

See the dog basking in the sun on the window seat? That's where I would like to be!

My little green bud vases are being put to work every day now, 

in different roles and with different green-stemmed guest stars... 

Wishing you all a lovely, budding weekend!

Helena

First Signs of Spring

The strawberries that are beginning to show up in local markets have been so delicious and remind us that spring is just around the corner.   I picked these up yesterday and they are so sweet and juicy that we didn't have to add any sugar to them.   They were also so pretty that I wanted to take a few photos of them in this cute little container I picked up at Anthropologie.  I love little containers like this to hold fresh produce and can't wait to use it to harvest our cherry tomatoes from the garden this summer.

On another note, hubby and I had so much fun celebrating our anniversary yesterday.  The weather was gorgeous, we shared lunch together outside and he brought me beautiful tulips, my favorite.  Nothing fancy but the absolute perfect day with my man.

I hope everyone has a beautiful day today.  I am home sick in bed with whatever strep/fever/sore throat virus my children have been passing around since Christmas.  So I'm going to treat myself to some movie watching as I stare out the window at the beautiful weather.  

But at least I have my beautiful tulips to cheer me up.  

I'd love to know, what do you all like to do with fresh strawberries?  Do share!

Handmade With Love - Happy Anniversary

Twenty years ago today, my man and I were married.  Wow!  It really seems like it was just yesterday.  I can't even begin to describe how much I adore this man.  Before we start celebrating, I wanted to share with you the special gift I made him.

He has been asking me for a while to make him a drive in theatre sign whenever I had time.  So, I thought it would be really cool to make a sign inspired by the drive in theatre in his favorite movie, Grease.  I got to work and this is what I came up with.

I built a simple frame with 1 x 2's and then attached lattice strips to the front of it with a nail gun.  Then I stained it with Minwax Special Walnut and printed a few stencils off the computer.  I just used plain white for the words and then, to give "Drive-In Theatre" some pizazz, I took a pencil and dipped the eraser end in black paint and added dots in the words to resemble lights.

That's it! 

I always like to give my hubby something made from my heart.  I know those things are more important to him than anything I could buy and I know this will mean so much to him.

Have a great day everyone!

Colour cravings, anyone...?

Well, that makes two of us!

So, sticking my tongue out to the chilly wind, I today "recycled" a few tulips that were on their last legs, for a little colour therapy by the wall at the very back of our garden. In the wind, it was touch and go if the petals were going to stick to their day job long enough to let me play, and later, when I was carrying my "toys" indoors again, these pink princesses bowed one last time and then spread their glory all over the ground... 

I have lived in the UK for over six years now, but my affection for 

the old stone walls in this country has not subsided. 

Not. One. Little. Bit.

And as a true quality of play, the imagination is allowed to run wild...

So what if a small green cabbage was not meant for this... 

So what if it is perhaps rather more bizarre than beautiful...

Tickling the creativity for a brief but blissful moment, and aaaaah -

- my smile is instantly a little broader and more sparkling than it was a moment ago!

So, today's conclusions?

1. Allowing yourself to decorate in less than conventional ways can put a smile on your face - HEALTHY...

2. I have said it before and I will say it again: Playing with your food is a GOOD thing...

3. The wind did indeed play a February tune, but with a promise of the main act, 

The Spring Overture, being only moments away...HOPE

4. A purple shawl that in real life matched the tulips perfectly can indeed look very different 

in a photo...!  Hmmm, I think I will have to stick to the "so what"...here too!

 

Thank you so much for all your kind words and anniversary greetings after my last blog post!

A warm HELLO to my readers who have been here for a while, 

and a special HI THERE to all of you who visit The Swenglish Home for the first time. 

A WAVE and a WINK to my new followers, 

and a HELLO, HELLO, HELLO to all of you anonymous readers - I am happy to see you all here!

Wishing you all a great start to the new week,

Helena

Vintage Dental Cart/Table

Happy Monday!  Last week my hubby purchased the contents of an old home and while a lot of it was junk, we did find a few goodies, one of which was a very cool vintage metal cart/table.  I immediately remembered seeing something similar at Pottery Barn, so, 

I was pretty happy that this was among all the junk.

We thought this was the perfect space for it.  And I thought it would be great to use as a snack or drink cart for our own kiddos or when we have guests over since this is usually the room we entertain in.  

 Another special little find was this set of glasses with a "G" on them, perfect for our family.  I almost didn't find them as they were in the bottom of a box covered in ick.  But after a couple of hand washes and a go through the dishwasher, they are like new.

The cart is metal with castors and the shelves are heavy porcelain, maybe?  I'm not really sure, but they are very heavy.  I didn't have to do anything to it other than give it a good cleaning.

We also found this cute little silver bowl that I filled with pumpkin seeds,
one of our favorite snacks.

We're just crazy about this nifty little table and think it fits in perfectly with the rest of the room.

I love little surprises like that.  What do you think?

One step behind...

Dear, oh dear... sometimes the wheels spin so fast one forgets all sorts of things...

...like the second anniversary of my blog! A week ago, it was two years ago that my blog took its first stumbling little baby steps, and little did I know that two years later, I would have enjoyed the most amazing experience being part of such a warm-hearted community! So many smiles, so many encounters - even if many only virtual - with lovely, lovely people, whom I feel very grateful to have met.

But this journey has not only been about virtual friendships. Some blog friends I have had the delight to also meet in the flesh, so to speak, and last weekend one of my very cherished blog sisters visited the Swenglish Home again. Charlotte, with the inspiring blog Trädgårdsflow (Garden Flow) ended a UK business trip with a day here, and you can imagine the rattling sound of our thoughts, ideas and giggles flying back and forth between us. Think squash game, but without the ferocity behind the serve...

We took a little stroll through Castle Combe...

...where the snow still lined the road of these two love birds 

(unknown to me, but my lens caught them showered with sun light and couldn't resist)...

Imagine my delighted surprise when on Monday we woke up to a completely snow-free world, 

and not only that, but one where GREEN seems to have been set as the new trend.... Yes!

Today, the spring-dizzy birds are singing as if their life depended on it, and when I saw these 

lovely snow drops on the side of the road, I let out an equally spring-effervescent tune.

***

As a special treat for my boys who are on half-term school holiday this week, I took them for a scrumptious lunch at our favourite sushi restaurant in Bath (Yen Sushi). This little coincidental leek heart in my Miso soup brought a smile to my lips that lasted long into the afternoon. For once, I also happened to have my camera handy, and there it is, ladies and gents, evidence that we only have to open our senses to the small signs around us, to see that there is love in the world, sometimes even in your lunch!

Soooo, last, but not least... a Valentine greeting a little late... 

This little heart is for you, for being the lovely readers that you are! :

Valentine's Dessert Ideas

We aren't huge chocolate fans around our house so I usually make desserts without it for Valentines Day.  One of our favorites, Sticky Toffee Pudding.  However, I make my own version and turn it into individual trifles.  It somehow seems easier that way and I'm all about giving everyone their own little individual container with their own little dessert.  It just makes it more special.

This recipe is pretty easy and uses ingredients that you probably already have, with maybe an 

exception to the dates.  Start by chopping 3/4 cup of pitted dates into fine pieces and throwing them into a small bowl with 1 teaspoon of baking soda.

Pour 1 1/4 cups of boiling water over them and set aside.  Next, in another bowl, combine 1 cup + 1 TBS all purpose flour and 1 tsp baking powder, combine and set aside.

While those sit, combine 1/4 cup room temperature unsalted butter and 3/4 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand mixer) and mix until light and fluffy.

Add one egg and 1 tsp vanilla and mix until combined.

Slowly add flour mixture and mix only until combined.  Do not overmix here.

Here's what it should look like.

Pour in your dates/boiling water mixture and carefully fold it into the butter mixture.  It will be very thin when you are finished, looking like this.

Pour into a greased 8 x 8 inch baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes until it looks like this (and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center).

Yum!  While that cools completely, whip up some fresh cream.  Take 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla and mix until stiff but before you turn it into butter.  I completely forgot to take a pic here, sorry!  Set that aside and make your toffee sauce.  Grab a stick of butter, 1 cup of light brown sugar and 1/2 cup of heavy cream and put into a small heavy saucepan.  

Heat to boiling, reduce heat and gently boil on medium low, while stirring for about 8 minutes.  It will look like this when done and you will want to drink it straight from the pan.

Let this cool and thicken.  Next take your cake and flip onto a piece of parchment paper and 

cut into squares.

Take your little serving dish, I used stemless wine glasses, and layer starting with the cake, then the toffee sauce and fresh whipped cream, repeat ending with the cream.  Drizzle a little toffee sauce over the top and you are done.  This dessert is so good!  Don't make it too far in advance or your toffee sauce will get to thick.  You could make your cake and cream a day in advance and make the toffee sauce and assemble the dessert a couple of hours before you plan to serve.  Try it!  I'm tellin' ya, you'll love it and so will your sweeties!

Have a great day!

Dear Weather Gods...

Dear Weather Gods,

When I was talking about SPRING in my previous blog post,

this was not exactly what I had in mind...:

The snow that fell last week here in the south of England nearly put a stop to my work trip to Sweden, with a large number of flights cancelled from Heathrow last Sunday...

However, I made it both there and back, but I had only been back for a day, 

when again I woke up today to a world covered in a fluffy white blanket...

So, true to my conviction that one can lure spring out of its hiding place if one only tries hard enough, using floral bribes and bulb reminders of how spring is really done, I confess to having done a rather desperate raid of the garden centre shelves yesterday...

And what better box to fill with Muscari/grape hyacinths, than this lovely, 

numbered tin one, a gift from my dear blog friend, Lotta!?

So, there we are, all ready for spring... so feel free to take the cue from me, dear Weather Gods. 

Feel free to go wild and crazy with warm temperatures and colourful buds. 

We are ready, so bud away!

Thank you all for your lovely comments about my tulip play last time, 

and for visiting my blog despite the loooong wait between the posts! 

Wishing you a fabulous weekend. I know my weekend will be special, 

as I am expecting a very special visitor in the Swenglish Home...

All the best,

Helena