for my mum and dad, ridiculously young, impossibly happy and very very stylish - especially mrs b. (i'll neglect to mention the photo i've seen of you both wearing matching his and hers ben sherman checked shirts and denim flares!!!! no no no no. glad that was a one off.)
{swallow earings, £24.00 tatty devine - tattydevine.com}
{5o's glasses necklace, £33.00 - tatty devine}
{price ticket cufflinks, £24.00 - tatty devine}
{picture from creolewisdom}
{vintage champagne glasses- the redhouse interiors}
i am not green fingered. at all. everything i touches wilts and dies. i don't know what i do to them? its not that i don't want to care for them. its not that i don't want a flat full of lovely living things. i do. i really really do. the amount of money that i have spent on plants is testament to that. so you can imagine my concern when i recieved several plants as house warming gifts. not only will these have to grow...they will have to florish. my mind was rested somewhat on hearing that said plants cost less than 4 pints of milk, but still, the challenge was set.
i don't think i've done too badly so far! the hibiscus has even flowered..WoW. i am very proud of myself, now if i could only keep them alive! and i especially like the chinese dragon i bought from the chinese new year celebrations last sunday as a decoration for my little indoor garden. looking at these flowering and thriving plants made me feel positive that spring was coming, and that the long dark, freezing cold nights were coming to and end, and that all we had to look forward to was sunshine. and then i looked out the window.
and it was snowing. alot. there is no better feeling than being in a warm cosy flat, on the sofa, under a blanket and knowing that its miserable outside. although saying that, from these photos taken from my kitchen window...it looks rather romantic and victorian out there. not miserable at all.
-kurt geiger, garbo sandals-
-pantone mugs-
poached egg & bacon for him, fruit salad for me
my darling boy returnd from the gym this morning and after a quick shower, whisked me off for a very scrummy late breakfast at a little cafe called the scrumpy willow and the singing kettle.
how can such a small kitchen hold so much stuff??? 
the clothes are out and only the shoes remain (there's more in the spare bedroom!)
this hallway is a trip hazard!
bored of this now
prepare.... to bake
i heart baking
sprinkes
mmmmm......
delish x1.tip the yeast and 1 tbsp sugar into a large bowl and pour over 100ml warm water. leave for 10mins until the liquid becomes frothy.
2.pour 200ml warm water into the bowl, stir in the salt and half the flour. keep adding the remaining flour until your dough is soft but not sticky. *you may not need all the flour.
3.kneed for 10mins on a lightly floured surface until the dough feels smooth and elastic, shape into a ball and put into a clean, lightly oiled bowl. cover loosly with clingfilm and leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size - approx 1 hour.
4.heat oven to 22oC/fan 200C/gas 7. divide the dough into 10 pieces, shape into balls and use the handle of a wooden sppon to make holes in them. *i find it works best if you swing the dough around the handle to make the balls look like dough bangles as the hole with get alot smaller at the next stage.
5. meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and tip in the remaining sugar, stir well. slip the bagels into the boiling sugar water - no more than 3 at a time. cook for 1-2 minutes, turning over occassionally until the bagels have puffed up slightly. remove with a slotted spoon and place on a baking tray covered with parchment paper.
6. once they are all cooked, sprinkle with your favourite topping, then bake in the oven for 10 - 15mins. *this is a total judgment call depending on how hot your oven gets. go by the colour of them, yummy golden brown is perfect....jet black is not!
busan, south korea
busan fish market
street restaurants
our travels took us to busan in south korea. and what a shock. where nagasaki was warm, peaceful and unbelieveably clean, busan was noisy, smelly, dirty,cold and a total assault on the senses. it was also amazing. packed full of people, there was a distinct lack of westeners. as such, we drew rather alot of attention and i experienced a little of what it would be like to be a celebrity. i didn't enjoy it. being stared at all the time made me very self concious and i was sure i had food on my face, or my flies were undone or something similar. the fish market in busan is fantastic. they are all alive and freshly caught and i've never seen such weird and wonderful creatures. can anyone tell me what the pulsating pink headless things that look disturbingly like penis's are? i couldn't find anyone that spoke english well enough to tell me! 
visiting the site of the atomic bomb in nagasaki caused a mixture of emotions. peaceful, sad, still, shocked, angry. the sculpture in the top picture was made to go in the peace garden that now occupies ground zero. when the bomb was dropped, everything for miles and milea and miles was destroyed, everything disintergrated. in part of the park now, there are the remains of what used to be the prison. all that was left of the immediate area is a few bricks and a little bit of twisted metal. the sculpture reminds people that such an atrocity will not be tolerated again. you can see that his right arm points to the sky. he is pointing at where the bomb actually exploded - before impact with the ground. his left arm is poised over the earth with signals that he is ready, ready to defend his piece of earth, his country and his people. 
the imperial hotel, osaka
nagasaki, japan
busan, south korea
nagasaki, japan
how awesome to be able to walk down a high street and be warm and relaxed and peaceful. to be able to stop for a while and watch thousands of koi swimming about without a care in the world. to be able to (gingerly) walk across a stepping stone bridge and not fall in. and how if you take a right turn off that highstreet and walk up a hill for 30 seconds you come across the most beautiful temples imagineable. hidden deep in the hustle and bustle are quiet oasis' of calm and tranquility. in the top picture you can just see a buliding the the right of the gates of the temple. it's multi storey carpark!!! but once inside you'd never know the city was out there!
Nagasaki, Japan
