Mockatoo

Ever since I spotted Solid ID's dipped cockatoo in a magazine last year I've been hunting high and low for a cockatoo ornament to make my own version. It had reached the point where I had become as unfussy as a lonely drunk guy, and decided any bird would do. 

Then, a few weeks ago, I finally (and unexpectedly) struck gold whilst in Homebase of all places, where I found this gorgeous chap for under a fiver: 

Obviously, I put him straight in my basket, and then hot-footed it to the paint aisle to choose a tester pot in which to douse his head. After serious deliberation, I opted for Cherry Crush from the Home of Colour collection.

I used masking tape to create the straightest line I could, then slapped on three coats of paint. Unfortunately, the paint leaked under the tape in several places; but I managed to scrape most of it off once it had dried. The line's a bit wonkier than my ideal finish, but I'd choose a slightly wobbly line over the £75 price tag of the original any day. 

Katie xxx

House Tour Part 3: Porch

If I'd planned my House Tour posts as a realistic reflection of how guests see our home, I probably would have started with the porch. However, since we moved in nearly four years ago, the porch has remained the same dirty, mustard yellow chosen by the previous owners, with an ugly concrete floor covered in bits of dried-on underlay and dead woodlice. The colours in the "before" photos don't really do justice to just how horrible the colour was. If you want a better idea, try smearing some Coleman's on the nearest wall.

The porch was far from top priority on our list of DIY jobs, despite given visitors their first impression of our home, because it's so tiny that it basically just has space for people to wipe their feet as they step into the hall. The only objects breaking up the mustard-tastic walls were the porch light (a pretty standard black one), a solitary nail, and the air brick vent cover; which was stained with age and didn't sit flush with the wall. The vent also appeared to house The World's Greediest Spider, because whenever we accidentally knocked into it, hundreds of sucked-dry woodlice fell out. YUCK. 

During the last Bank Holiday weekend in May, I decided it was time the porch had a facelift. I removed the light and the disgusting vent cover (standing at arm's length, in case the spider decided to savage me), then scrubbed, filled, and painted the walls with some leftover emulsion. Despite the rest of our house looking like a Dulux factory explosion, I opted for white to make the most of the sunlight which bounces off* the walls of our south-facing porch and into the house. The light fixture joined the motley crew of household objects subjected to my can of copper spraypaint, along with my new vase, I bought and fitted a new vent cover, and the lonely nail was united with my new welcome wreath. Finally, we rehired the plumber who did our bathroom to tile the floor with the leftover tiles from our shower enclosure. 

So, here's what it looks like now:

  

What do you think?

If you fancy a snoop around some other rooms in our house, here's the bathroom, the living room, and an update about the living room.

Katie xxx

*When Tom reads this he'll probably give me a lecture about how "light doesn't bounce", and try to teach me about science. Can one of you please create a Wikipedia entry proving that light has the same properties as rubber? Thanks. 

Six Things Sunday

Hello my lovelies!

How have your weekends been? Mine's involved cocktails, fancy dress, fresh-from-the-oven French pastries, and five hours(!) of gardening (to counteract the pastries). It's been the icing on the cake of a really good week, which also included these six fantastic things:

1. New followers
*Waves and proffers packet of biscuits* Heartfelt greetings to those of you who've recently started following my ramblings! I feel honoured that you've decided to stick around, but I must warn you to prepare your eyes for lots of photographs like this:

All images from Kimberly Hamner's Pinterest board. I feel like Kimberly and I would get on rather well... Unless we actually met Jo Manganiello. Then we'd probably fight to the death.

2. Unexpected presents
I would like to think that I always treated my polkadot satchel with the utmost dignity and respect, but apparently that wasn't enough; the strap broke last week and managed to whip me across the face in the process. Needless to say, I was very relieved that the buckle wasn't still attached to the end of it! 

Being able to use my gorgeous new weekend bag as a replacement handbag has prevented me from becoming inconsolable about the breakage, but it's still a rather sad day when your accessories start assaulting you! After I shared my woes with Anna, as a fellow polkadot satchel owner, she very sweetly decided to send me a present to cheer me up! I was so excited to find out what she'd sent me, which turned out to be this gorgeous clasp purse:

The best thing about this purse (besides being absolutely beautiful) is that it has two compartments; so I can separate the ID for my second, secret identity my cards and cash. Genius! Thank you so much Anna xxx

3. Mini Godzilla
My personal highlight of the Lego Movie was discovering the existence of LEGO GODZILLA!!! Technically, he's Lego Lizard Man; but it's basically the same thing. I might have tracked down and bought a figure online before the movie had even finished... 

Lego Godzilla now lives inside the glass dome with my metal tealight house - I like the juxtaposition of tiny Godzilla and giant building. 

4. Fancy chairs
Whilst visiting Eastbourne for work on Thursday, I spotted this rather unusual chair in the window of Barley Sugar: 

It's rather pricey, at three thousand English pounds(!), and I'm not sure how comfortable it would be with those tassels, but I reckon sitting in it equates with starring in the final scene of An Officer and a Gentleman. And it would probably cost a lot more than £3,000 to hire Richard Gere to carry you around your living room....

5. Marzipan moggies
Friday night was my bestie's birthday party, and I decided to sculpt miniature models of her cats out of marzipan to go on her birthday cake. This is the second time I've made Fran marzipan sweets, but I'll admit I was unsure how she'd feel about devouring her cats - even if they were almondy and delicious.

6. Treasure hunts
Rather than just handing over Fran's birthday presents, I decided to create a treasure hunt, complete with rhyming clues (I do love a bit of rhyme). I've included one below in case you fancy leaving a comment with a guess of what the gift was/where I hid it:

I'm squirrelled away with my brothers and sisters

We take you on journeys, without fear of blisters

Some of us wear jackets, but we don't have faces

I'll inspire you to travel to faraway places.

I'm linking up again with the fabulous Hannah's The Week That Was: Captured, and would heartily recommend it; Hannah is a very gracious hostess!

What fun things have you discovered recently?

Katie xxx

Guest post - Wishing for Chanel

Hey m'dears

I've published a guest post today for Ria at Wishing for Chanel, whilst she's on holiday in NYC.

Ria said I could write about anything I wanted. So I wrote about tree houses. Obviously.

Katie xxx

Nature's Bounty

Psst!! Don't go telling everyone, but if you mix this:

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with this:

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it tastes like melted Bounty bars.

If you drink it whilst listening to The Piña Colada Song it's almost like you're here:

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Also, if you're one of those people who believes in calories, this is only 80 calories for a whole glass; compared to 278 calories in a regular Bounty bar. I reckon a glass is the equivalent of at least six blended Bounty bars, so you're definitely up on quantity too!

Katie xxx

Recently I've been...

...Reading
The second and third instalments of the Birthright Trilogy by Gabrielle Zevin, about a chocolate mafia princess, and experiencing the bittersweet feeling of reaching a good story's end (no doubt as bittersweet as the fictional Balanchine Special Dark chocolate). I can highly recommend these books - just make sure you book a few days out of your diary to devour them, and have some chocolate to hand.

...Eating
So. Much. Sugar. 

Cake, ice-cream, cookies, more cake, extra ice-cream, and oh-go-on-then-I'll-just-have-one-more-(handful) of Millionaire's shortbread bites.

Beautiful cake display at the Etsy Craft Party

This cake was unbelievably delicious. Kudos to the anonymous Brighton-based baker!

Saturday's treat (to the power of 10) was from Boho Gelato. When my friend Holly and I realised that we could get a 0.5l tub for less money than two tiny paper cups with two scoops each, we basically had to do it; it was essentially free ice-cream. And it was DELICIOUS. 

(L-R) Sachertorte, Mango, Chocolate with Orange, Cinnamon and Fig, and Salted Caramel Peanut Butter

I also made my own version of Michelle's incredible recipe, by substituting normal milk for coconut rice milk. It. Was. Heaven.

Although Michelle is right - it doesn't exactly photograph well!

Consequently, Sunday involved a lot of this:



And some of this:

... Crafting
A decorative flag at the Etsy Craft Party. It was fun trying to get everything on the check-list into one design. The raspberry ripple is made of ribbon, and the waffle-cone check is strips of photograph. I was really struggling with how to include an animal, so it's a good thing I ate that cupcake with a bird topper, really...

... Admiring
A fun and unusual sculpture at the We Made This event at Friends' Meeting House, and some adorable miniature terrariums.

An incredible dino-tool box hybrid in TK Maxx. Sadly, I did not buy him, because I was busy being a grown up and spending all my money on Sophisticated Work Dresses. Which I'll undoubtedly end up accessorising with plastic jewellery that most five year olds would find tacky.

The sun-soaked sights during a long walk along the seafront on Sunday afternoon (which burnt off at least four tiny plastic scoops of gelato...). Hove seafront was so happy and peaceful, I felt like I was on holiday.

I'm linking up to the lovely Hannah's The Week That Was: Captured. I'm so thankful for my new phone camera for letting me start documenting my life again. Even if my life is essentially just a dessert menu.

What have you been up to recently?

Katie xxx

Spontaneous Bath time

Hello lovelies!

Happy Friday eve :) 

I'm feeling positively giddy with excitement because Tom and I have just booked a weekend away to Bath! I've visited Bath once before, as a pre-teen on a family holiday. The only things I really remember are:

1. Staying in the local YHA. 
2. My Dad talking to a couple who owned a barge for what seemed like half of my young life, midway through our walk along the canal. 
3. Buying a pair of knee-high black and pink stripy socks for £1 in the local Top Shop. The first pair I ever owned, and the start of a stripy-sock slippery slope for the remainder of my early teens. 
4. My Mum getting pooed on by a seagull, all down the front of her coat. Thankfully (being the 90s) she was wearing an anorak, so we washed it off quickly with our bottles of water. 

We're going to be staying in a cute-as-a-button cottage in a nearby village, which has a seriously spectacular pub. Check out this beauty:

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I've also traded in some of our Tesco Clubcard vouchers for two day passes to Longleat Safari. If there's anything better in the world than getting to see an ambush of tigers, it's getting to see tigers for free! I really want to do the Deadly Challenge and find out whether I can sprint like a cheetah. I reckon my chances are about 60/40. I did go on those four 30-minute jogs last year after all....

Now that we've chosen our destination I've gone into full Research Mode, finding places for us to visit and (more importantly) pit-stops for refuelling (our bellies. Not the car). So far, I've found the following: 

The Holburne Museum 
A free art gallery? Don't mind if I do! I'm particularly excited about the Tessa Farmer exhibition "An intervention". Apparently, the Museum is under threat from an infestation of minute malevolent skeleton fairies.... 

I'm imaging it will be The Nightmare Before Christmas meets The Minpins
[image source] 

Burgers and Barrels
I'm not going to lie; this is mainly on my list is because I want to try the Peanut Butter milkshake. Although apparently their burgers are pretty good too...

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Farleigh Hungerford Castle
We're currently members of English Heritage (also courtesy of our Tesco Clubcard vouchers... we really do eat a lot of food!) so I'm particularly excited about exploring some fancy-pants old buildings for free. One of which is Farleigh Hungerford Castle, which is apparently walking distance from our cottage. 

Sotto Sotto
I'm a loyal fan of Trip Advisor, and if 2,785 people think Sotto Sotto is the best place to eat in Bath, then I reckon we need to give it a go. The cannelloni filled with butternut squash and goat cheese sounds heavenly.

Nunny Castle
Is the second English Heritage place on my list because it's got a moat, like all proper castles should have.  

[image source]

Restaurant Eleven
This place sounds like a serious contender for a leisurely brunch. I can almost taste the maple syrup and strawberry pancakes already. 

Ilford Manor
If we're lucky with the weather, the gardens at Ilford Manor look seriously stunning. The perfect place to burn off brunch!

[image source]

I'd love to hear your recommendations for places to visit or eat in near Bath; I'm sure we'll be fitting in at least six snack breaks a day! I can't wait to pack my new weekend bag and start exploring :) 

Katie xxx

Geometric Vase DIY

Hello lovelies!

How's tricks? 

On Saturday I got busy in the garden with a can of shiny copper spray paint and anything I could find in the house that wasn't nailed down (or already painted...). I've shown you this "vase" (aka light fitting) before but here's a reminder of what it looked like before I got my mitts on it:

I love the multi-faceted gem-like design of flush glass light fittings, but don't really like them as lights. I'd always intended to paint this one because I wanted to emphasise the gorgeous geometric shape of the pyramid spikes. So here's the after, complete with gerberas (what else?!):

I treated myself to two bunches of flowers (both yellow-stickered, obviously) because I wanted to combine the yellow from the firey-coloured bunch with the bright pink from the Barbie-tastic bunch in my geometric vase. The remaining flowers are now sitting pretty in a big glass jar on our living room hearth. 

Fresh flowers really do make me happy :) I'm really pleased with the results of this makeover; I reckon the finished vase looks much more expensive than the cost of a can of spray paint. 

What's been floating your boat so far this week? 

Katie xxx