Two Crafty Brownies

Jenny's Travel Essentials

Hello treasures! How are you doing? As I write this, I am in the Big Apple, New York City!! And when you read this, I will be on a train, somewhere between here and the other side of America......

This year our holiday destination was the choice of our second son, C. He has just finished exams, and has worked very hard, so he got to choose. We flew into New York, and are staying in Harlem, and seeing the sights for a few days before we catch the train to see our friends in California.

We are staying in one of the Brownestone houses, those archetypal red stone houses you'll see in many an American movie, with big steps up to the front door and fire escapes aplenty. They have high ceilings, ornate woodwork and brightly tiled fireplaces.
Travel is our biggest luxury. We live quite quietly, don't have a car or wear smart clothes, but we do love going away, and I have a few essentials that I never travel without.

Top of the list always is my first aid kit. I have a few staples that I keep in here. Of course it goes without saying that in any true emergency, we would immediately seek medical help, but for the minor ailments, I have to feel I am prepared!

I use this Muji bag. It has 4 compartments that are attached with Velcro so you can detach them for smaller trips.

In my first aid kit you will find:

1. Painkillers.......ibuprofen, paracetamol and something soluble for the hubby who can't swallow tablets.
2. Bite cream, antiseptic cream and bonjela for mouth ulcers.
3. A selection of plasters and wound closures.
4. Cold powders, anti sickness tablets and antihistamines in case of bites or allergies.

I also always have tweezers for splinters, a small pair of scissors and some latex gloves (I once had to dress a stranger's cuts so ever since I've carried gloves...)

I always make sure I have some crafting to do. I am making another granny triangle scarf, and I treated myself to this cross stitch leather cuff from Sew Crafty.

I take some handmade thank you cards, for friends we are staying with, or people who have gone out of their way to make our trip more enjoyable.....

And I always have a couple of pouches, for chargers, toiletries or stationery.

Do you have any essentials that you take with you every time?

Take care, lovelies!

Jenny xxxxxooooo 

Break for the Borders......

Hello lovelies! I hope your summer (or winter) is going well…….

Lu and I often fantasise about jetting off somewhere hot and exotic with our families one day…….. Sadly we can't quite afford that yet! Lu went off to visit her mum, did you see her post? I felt like I was away with her and her lovely family.

I also went off with my mum and dad, who were visiting from Malawi, along with hubby and younger son C. My big boy won't come away with us anymore, I'm hoping he’ll relent one of these days.

We are so lucky to have the use of hubby’s dad’s cottage in the Scottish Borders.I trained up in St Andrews and Scotland is very dear to me. We have been going there for decades, since before C was born. It is on a farm, and is a traditional old farm worker’s cottage along a little lane with thick walls and a cosy fire. Both my boys learnt to cycle along that lane, and we have many happy memories of holidays there. It is always a treat to go back. Can you spot my C cycling, he must have been about 4! Mum and dad had only been once before, briefly. As school wasn't over yet I headed up a day early with them on the train. It was chilly when we arrived, but we lit the fire and settled down with a glass of wine.

My two men were arriving the next evening so I spent the day showing my parents some of our favourite haunts. We visited Paxton House, and had a little boat trip on the river Tweed.

This is the Union Bridge, the first crossing ever built across the Tweed and the UK's oldest chain bridge. Nearby is the quaint Honey Farm where we had coffee in an old bus.

In nearby Eyemouth, it was the Herring Queen Festival. You can read about this lovely tradition, dating back to the end of the First World War here. As we wandered around Eyemouth, I was delighted to see this yarn bombing outside the town hall.

That evening, while waiting for the train to arrive, we pottered along the Tweed again, admiring the bridge and the sunset.

The next day storms were predicted, so we pottered around in the cottage, cooking and catching up.

The sun reappeared on Wednesday, so we headed out to explore some of the nearby towns, coffee in  Dunbar and a lovely sunny lunch by North Berwick harbour at the Lobster Shack.

There are gorgeous beaches in this part of the U.K., and though it was too cold to swim, we enjoyed the fresh air.

We took the opportunity to do some walking around the farm, and C loved being able to hang out with his grandparents. He was even able to catch Pokemons and hatch eggs!?!

On Friday, we had a very special engagement…...Anne, one of our blogging friends had invited us to the exhibition run by her quilting group. As Mum is a keen quilter, I was thrilled that this happened to be when we were there, and that I would get to meet Anne. I have read Anne's blog for years, and felt I knew her already!

Well, what fun we had! Anne is just as bubbly as she sounds, and we were soon nattering away like old friends. Although she was on kitchen duties, she kept popping out to find us. Her group had done a huge number of gorgeous quilts. Above is Anne's block in the raffle quiz, and she has written about some of the other quilts here. There were delicious cakes to go with your tea or coffee, and it was lovely to chat to the quilting ladies.

Seeing all the lovely quilts reminded me of something I have been needing to finish...... I started this baby quilt over 10 years ago. I pieced it, rather wonkily in places. It has been back to Malawi with Mum for the hand quilting, and then work on it stalled a few years ago. Once we got back to London, I dug it out. Mum finished off the hand quilting, and I have now sewn on the binding. I just need to stitch the binding down and it'll finally be done! Thanks for the inspiration, Anne!

For the next few weeks, we are going to take a little break from our blog (but we'll still be on instagram, facebook and twitter - click on our side buttons), so we can both have a bit of well deserved down-time before the excitement and busyness coming up in September and beyond, with that much talked about and promised shop launch!

So lovelies, we’ll see you very soon!

Love Jenny and Lucy xxxxxxxxxxx

Pottering and Playing Again!

Hello lovelies,

If you read my last post, you will know that I am so very happy that the Summer hols are here.....

.....and so grateful that my hubby and three kids are home too for lots of quality time as a family. Looking back over the last term, I really don’t think I have spent enough time outside, exploring and pottering just for the sake of it. This Summer, although I fully intend to take some work days, to do a spot of planning and crafting, I want to catch up on some outdoor fun - come rain or shine I might add. You just have to plan for all weathers in the UK!

There is nothing like pootling about, revisiting familiar haunts, changing up our environs and discovering new places, trying to identify flora and fauna, doing a spot of foraging, skimming stones on a lake, playing pooh sticks and hide and seek, eating fish and chips by the sea, skipping along country paths, playing natural instruments in the woods and writing poetry by a river! Two weeks into the hols and we have been doing all of the above so good going so far! I’ve been playing with my camera too, to capture some of the sights and a few of our exploits……

One of our favourite places to lark about in when we visit my lovely Mum, who lives near Minehead in Somerset, is Dunster. There is just so much to do and see. The castle is pretty spectacular. Here it is in the mist......

The castle gardens are magical.......

The River Avill runs through the gardens and this bridge built for love (Lover's Bridge) crosses it within the gardens.......

And further on, out of the gardens, Gallox bridge crosses it.....

...and leads to a little clearing. While the kids played, the hubby and I wrote a little poem.....

We love Dunster beach too. Photo creds to my big girl for these next two......

 

We found shiny treasure at Dunster beach......

....and jumped over waves at Minehead beach.....

 

We always have a play in Bossington, which is on the Holnicote Estate. We love it for the woods, the river and the beach.....

 

We discovered (the way that Christopher Columbus 'discovered' America!) Wimbleball Lake/Reservoir in Exmoor National Park, Somerset. We fell in love with this wondrous place straight away - so vast, so beautiful, so calm. It wasn't a very bright day but I took many many photos! I have spared you the many and brought you just a few.......

 

We walked all the way along the lake path and banks to the dam, which created this beautiful reservoir in the 70s. And yes, the hubby and I (such big kids) did use being at the dam as an excuse to repeatedly say the word in an exclamatory fashion and in an American accent!......

From the dam wall, looking back over the lake.......

 

From the dam wall, looking towards the hills on the other side.....

The sun came out for a few seconds and I tried to capture the rainbow that appeared in the water. Can you see my boy looking so little in comparison to this vast structure?......

And a fancy panorama shot.......

 

 

I got a serious case of house/cottage envy quite a few times when we were pottering about. In my mind, I had packed our bags, relocated and started blogging and crafting from my new quaint garden studio/workshop, decorated with tasteful, natural and upcycled, tie-dye and floral furnishings. I would have breaks to feed the chickens, milk the goats, pick some apples and peaches in the Orchard and Country Living Mag would be on the phone asking to feature my studio and home. Of course, Jenny, the other Crafty Brownie would be in the neighbouring cottage living her dream too! Oh how I love these daydreams!....

 

On our wanderings here and there, the kids were patient when I stopped to take some obligatory pics of flora.......

and fauna.....

This little fellow (a water vole? A mole?) looked a bit lost on the path........

 

My slide show is almost done. Bear with....

This arty shot of a rusty anchor taken at Porlock Weir is for the lovely Anne of Frayed at the Edge....

 

And I'm getting a little bit braver about showing my face so to finish a couple of selfies.......

 

I’m off to meet Jenny for a ‘business meeting’ at a lovely new coffee shop in our local garden centre…….

 

Well lovelies, have a happy weekend and thanks for tuning in.

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pottering and Playing....

Hello friends!

For me, the Easter holidays are lovely. The end of term busyness is over, the days are longer, warmer and sunnier, the kids and the hubby (who is a teacher) are off school and work, and the diary is refreshingly empty. I think I may actually prefer it to the Christmas hols (gasp!) and you know how much I love Christmas!!!. For us, the Easter break is so much quieter and event free, so we get to potter around, pootle about and play!

Even though holiday pootling was the aim, I did ring fence (serious business terminology!) a couple of days for Two Crafty Brownies product design and development. However this is a difficult and sometimes stressful task in my household, with no room dedicated to my busyness and business and with my 4 lovelies knocking about, they are in my work space and I am in their play space. I did manage a couple of hours here and there, but what I dedicated lots of time to this hols, which is possible to do when pottering with the rest of the fam, is photography. Photography isn’t a past time I’ve spent a lot of time on historically, but I’ve been practising and playing with my relatively new camera, a Nikon Coolpix S9900, taking lots of pics and some films too.

So this is my holiday slide show but don’t nod off - there is a cool little film of Brownie making with recipe at the end!

When the sun was shining, I took pics of blue skies and blossom….

 

 

 And took advantage of the sunshine coming inside, creating patterns of light on the table…….

 

I took lots of photos whilst pottering about in London, like Jenny, finding beauty in our city….

St Pancras International Station......

 

Tiles on the underground.......

 

 

 

Street art.......

 

We Brownies and our families made our way to Crafty Fox Market, a great market for crafty businesses (we hope to sell here one day!), enjoying London as we went…..

 

We may have had to stop in a pub and rest our weary legs and enjoy a meal and a glass of prosecco…….

 

I loved taking pics at London Zoo, where so much wonderful conservation work is carried out. Amazing colours, animals, setting…….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was taking a pic of this poster I liked, when a mongoose did pop through, but I wasn't quick enough to snap him!..….

 

I did a double take when I walked past the first aid post…….

 

We popped into Brighton and I just couldn’t put my camera away. I loved it! We pottered along the pebbly beach, gazing at the sea, past the beach huts...…

 

 

 

 

 

...the bandstand, the old pier and other interesting sights worthy of a pic or 2……

 

 

 

 

...into town, into Choccywoccydoodah. This, believe it or not, is made of chocolate......

 

I found it difficult to be restrained in Brighton sewing centre ..........

 

and in the reclamation yards and thrift shops...... 

 

The architecture of Brighton Royal Pavillion wowed us.......

 

I clicked and I clicked until the sun went down….

 

Back at home, I did a spot of baking from this book and played about with the short film setting on my camera…..I give you Making Crafty Brownies……

 

 

Please ignore that annoying background music - I can't seem to get rid of it on my camera! If you did play it with the sound on you may or may not have heard one of my children say the word 'bum'! Oh dear, what was I saying about me in their space and them in mine? Moving swiftly on, these brownies are so tasty! Here’s the recipe:

Melt 185g/6.5oz dark chocolate and same amount of unsalted butter together. Cool slightly. Whisk 3 large eggs and 275g/9.5oz golden caster sugar together until doubled in size.

Fold melted choc and butter into this egg and sugar mixture.

Sift over 85g/3oz plain flour and 40g/1.5oz cocoa powder and fold in.

Stir in 50g/2oz chopped milk choc and 50g/2oz of chopped white choc.

Pour into lined (with foil) 20cm/8” square tin and bake for about 40mins (recipe says 25min but I always have to leave it in for longer!) at 160C.

Leave to cool in tin, cut into squares, dust with icing sugar and enjoy!!

 

My lovelies, I have been so excited about sharing my photos with you. Thank you so much for indulging me and sitting through my holiday slide show! Do you have any useful tips to pass on about photography for blogging, social media or in general? I’d love to hear them!

Much love

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxx