Showing posts with label St Patrick's Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St Patrick's Day. Show all posts

Sunday, 17 March 2013

Eight Blogs that Rock!

This month I enrolled on an e-course called Blog Boss.  It is run by Holly Becker, who runs a wonderful and very successful blog called decor8, you can find her blog here and if you follow the links you can read about her inspiring e-courses.



Each week Holly sets her students homework, and this week we have to post about eight blogs we think 'rock'.  Now that might sound easy, but in many ways it is like Dessert Island Discs, how on earth can I choose only eight blogs?

Please don't take it personally if I don't mention you in this list, if I follow you I think your blog is fantastic anyway.

Here are eight fabulous blogs which are inspiring me today:-

First there is  Pine Cones and Acorns.  Elizabeth writes a delightful blog, she posts regularly and always has interesting things to say, additionally her posts are filled  with beautiful images, some are her own photographs, others she has discovered.  It was Elizabeth who first mentioned Holly's courses having completed Blogging Your Way a while a go, and she inspired me to improve my own blog through study.

My good friend Laura blogs about food, at how to cook good food.  She cooks stunning meals for her family and writes about her work as a food teacher as well as publishing recipes in many journals.

Nazima who is a busy working mother writes an inspirational food blog with her husband at Franglais Kitchen.  The blog is well worth a visit, for delicious ideas and stunning photographs.

Vanessa started her blog Goddessonabudget while she was writing her cookery book Prepped, and she has continued writing, championing Fairtrade Ndali Vanilla and embracing local produce, in addition to running her own cookery school.  Every post she writes is thoughtful and thought provoking.

If I want a recommendation for an exhibition or a good read, I turn to Mary at Mrs Minever's Daughter, she writes with wit and great knowledge, I just love her posts.

Tania Kindersley writes a blog called Backwards in High Heels, which started after the publication of her book of the same name, co-written with Sarah Vine.  She is a true writer, and her use of language makes me feel ashamed at my meagre attempts.  Her photographs are beautiful.

We were asked to include two blogs from fellow students, this was tricky as there are 250 students on the course and many, many delightful reads on the blogroll.

After a great deal of thought and consideration I have chiselled my choice down to:-

Fork and Flower, this swiss based food blog is stunning to look at, beautifully styled photographs of simple yet delicious food, I look forward to following Scarlett as she continued to cook in Zurich.

My second blog is also food related.  Simple Provisions is written by Amelia, who lives in Australia.  How lovely to see summery foods, while we are stuck in this forever cold winter here in England.

One thing that all the food blogs mentioned above have in common is a love of seasonal, fresh, high quality produce, and as that is core to my cooking philosophy, I feel that they will continue to be a source of ideas for many years ahead.

The blogrolls on both A Trifle Rushed and Simplicity is the New Black have many more blogs that I find interesting and I know that I will be adding to them at the end of the course, as I discover more new and inspiring writers, photographers and cooks.

Jude x

I do hope that spring is on the way, here are a few photographs I took recently, before the grey, leaden clouds reappeared!

Oh and :- Happy St Patrick's Day to You!

I love daffodils

They are so courageous, battling the early days of Spring

And of course, Wordsworth always springs to mind!

Sweet little crocus, another brave flower

Buds just begining to show on trees

And the first shoots of leaves

After two months with us, the dog is growing more confident
I can now let him off the lead and know that  he will
 come back when I call him

Like a small child, he is not good at posing for a photograph!

Happy St Patrick's Day!






Tuesday, 20 March 2012

A family weekend.

I'm sure I am not the only person Mother/Daughter  who had a really wonderful weekend.

I just love this jolly little person!


Saturday was St Patrick's Day and as an English woman of celtic extraction (two of my grandparents were Irish, one Scots and one English) who is married to an Irish man, it is a feast I thoroughly enjoy.

When I took my little girl to school, in Twickenham, on Friday the dining room had been decorated to celebrate the feast day, and the town itself was aflutter with flags for the match on Saturday.  My son, who had worked at a corporate event before the match, said that there was a fantastic atmosphere in the town during the evening.

Flags out in Twickenham

An Irish Menu at my daughter's school

And wonderful decorations

Filling the dining room with fun

All the buildings looked bright and welcoming

Especially the public houses!


and I managed to get the Leprechaun Trap to school
for my daughter's class to enjoy!


I did a little Irish themed baking on Saturday, and as well as my old favourite Soda Bread,  I baked  some cupcakes I had seen on Elizabeth's inspiring blog Pine Cones and Acorns, here.

Delicious with coffee in the evening


I was delighted with them, they tasted divine.


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The next day was of course Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent.

I know many mothers love having a lie in and breakfast in bed, but I had my parents coming for lunch and have a regular Sunday morning commitment at my church, were I run the First Holy Communion class, after 8.30 Mass.  So my lie in consisted of getting up at 6am rather then my usual 5.30!  However, I did get a very lovely card!




Once home from church, I started to cook.  I get great pleasure from preparing  family meals. As well as  my parents joining us for lunch, both my sons were able to make the meal too.

I cooked a simple meal of Confit de Canard with roast potatoes and lots of green vegetables.  For pudding we had apple crumble with homemade ice cream, followed by cheese and crackers.  Sometimes, when you're cooking a meal for three generations, it is best to stick to tried and tested things that you know work.

I was very spoilt, as well as chocolates, I received some beautiful flowers, and my sons did the dishes!


A beautiful tub of bulbs

Daffodils (from my little girl)

Roses from one son

Tulips from the other

I do hope you all had a lovely and happy weekend, the best times of my life are those I spend with my family.