Portmeirion China

Most of my favorite things tend to be British.  My kitchen china is a good example.  I discovered Portmeirion pottery while living in England and it was love at first sight.  The area of Stoke-on-Trent, located in central England, has been actively manufacturing pottery since the 17th century and is home to Spode, Royal Doulton, and Wedgewood. 

You can drive from pottery to pottery and shop in all of the factory stores. Portmeirion china was founded by the daughter of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, the architect and creator of Portmeirion village in North Wales. The Pomona pattern is named after the ancient "Goddess of Fruit."

Hanging below my Portmeirion china is my Grandmother's vintage spice rack.  The spices are housed in glass bottles complete with glass stoppers.  Aren't they cute?

Quilted Bedrooms

Quilts are my favorite bedcovers and I used them in all of our rooms to create a comfortable, classic look.

  

I was also looking for colors and styles that would grow with the kids so I wasn't redecorating their rooms every few years.  I found the girls' quilts at Land of Nod and my son's quilt at Pottery Barn Kids.

Splash of Color

When we moved into our house a few years ago, it was a major renovation project.  We painted every wall, ceiling, door frame, and baseboard.  We also gutted the bathrooms, laundry, and basement.  Here are a few before and after shots.

FAMILY ROOM

LIVING ROOM

BASEMENT

 

 

LAUNDRY ROOM

POWDER ROOM

 

We looked at a lot of Victorian houses before we bought our home and they were decorated in bright, vibrant colors.  We fell in love with the colorful hues from that time period and decided to paint our home with palates that would give it a cheerful tone year round.

Knit One, Purl Two

 

I learned to knit while living in London. Department stores like John Lewis offered free classes in the evenings so I would head over directly after work. My office was at Embankment and John Lewis is in Oxford Circus so it was a short tube ride. It was a great way to fill the long, dark hours of winter in England.

 

I also became attached to Rowan yarn and the quality of UK notions, such as bamboo knitting needles.  The photo above shows three different types of baby sweaters that I knit while living in London.  All of them with Rowan yarns.  http://www.knitrowan.com/

What most people don't realize is that knitting only involves two stitches, the knit stitch and the purl stitch.  The different patterns and textures are created by using different combinations of these two stitches.

Cake Decorating

Here are a few of the birthday cakes that I've created in the past for my kids.  The Strawberry Shortcake design was for my daughter's 4th birthday.  For all of cakes, I've used my Mom's recipe for Buttercream Icing.

1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine
1/2 cup Crisco
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I prefer Raleigh's brand)
1/8 tsp salt
5 cups powdered sugar (roughly equivalent to 1 lb box)
1/4 cup milk (slightly more if spreading across cake)

Cream butter and Crisco with mixer.  Add salt and vanilla.  Gradually add sugar, then milk.  Alternate sugar and milk until 1 lb box of sugar is empty (then add remaining milk as needed for desired consistency).

My daughter's choice for her 3rd birthday was Ariel from the Disney movie Little Mermaid.  My son's choice for his 3rd birthday was Buzz Lightyear from the Disney movie Toy Story.

For my daughter's 1st birthday, I used a Peter Rabbit mold to match the Beatrix Potter theme in our nursery. I also used carrot cake for the batter to go along with the theme.

Strawberry Picking

We picked strawberries over the weekend at an orchard near our house. The kids picked two buckets full, which yielded two pies and a jar of preserves.

To make the pie, I hulled enough berries to fill the pie shell.  Then I mixed 1 pint of strawberries (crushed), 1 cup sugar, and 3 Tbsp cornstarch in a medium saucepan to make the pectin.  After boiling for about a minute, the pectin quickly formed and I removed it from the heat.  When the mixture cooled, I poured it over the strawberries in the pie shell and chilled the pie for about 4 hours.

HINT:  Wait for the pectin to cool completely before pouring over the berries.  Otherwise, the moisture that escapes during evaporation gets trapped and turns the pectin to liquid.  This will make your pie runny.  Also monitor the amount of cornstarch you add...too much will make the pectin murky and sticky instead of glossy and smooth.

Yellow Submarine Party

Two years ago, we did a Beatles' Yellow Submarine theme for my son's birthday.  I made a submarine cake and used blue raspberry Jello squares for the water around the submarine.  I also made a keepsake tablecloth out of a retro rainbow fabric that each of the guests signed with a permanent marker. 

Yellow Submarine Cake

Submarine Sandwiches

"Sea of green"

Other Decorations

Rhubarb Pie

I discovered rhubarb this summer, thanks to my Aunt & Uncle who grow an abundance of it in their garden.  This pie is so simple and a great start to pie season.  For the filling, I cut about 8 stalks of rhubarb into 1/4 inch pieces and tossed it with 1 cup sugar and 2 Tbsp of cornstarch.  For the crust, I used a prepared pie shell and topped the filling with a crumb mixture (flour, sugar, brown sugar, and butter). 

HINT:  Line a cookie sheet with foil and place the pie on the cookie sheet before baking.  This will protect your oven (and cookie sheet) from the rhubarb juices that ooze out while the pie is baking.