Valorise Valentines

This Valentine's Day I decided to use my scrap box to decorate. So I did what I could with some package tags, coffee filters, tissue paper and string...

I'm not sure you could call it a proper Hackleman Valentine's

Day without a sentimental viewing of

Leo McCarey's masterpiece:

An Affair to Remember

My Smeg Retro Icon is Paul Newman

My Smeg Icon is...

Paul Newman

He was a man who could make taking a cold one out of the fridge look like pure sex. He made the idea of eating 50 eggs seem hardcore. He may have played a scoundrel on screen but loved his wife for 50 years. He lost his son to addiction and then decided to make a multi-million dollar charity to save others from that experience by turning salad dressing into pure gold. He came in second at Le Mans. He was a man who could do almost anything.

"Why go out for a hamburger when you have steak at home?"Paul Newman

“A man with no enemies is a man with no character.”Paul Newman

This post is part of a blog lottery hosted by:

Vixen Vintage

Making Macaroons

Two weeks ago I made the journey to London in order to enjoy a cooking class at Patisserie Flowerie. Our friend Simon brought us all together to learn how to make a French delicacy:

The Macaroon.

My dear friend Min and I partnered up to whip egg whites and sift almond flour. We made three batches and each one was of a different colour and had something correct about them. Their true characteristics combined would have made one perfect macaroon. At the end of the afternoon we decided the confection really did live up to its reputation for being temperamental. But at least we had a most splendid time experimenting!

Simon, our fearless leader.

Min adding some colour, "Poppy" I believe.

fini

Grand Granary

Daniel and I received a very special gift from his grandma (Nanny Win) this Christmas: An annual membership to the National Trust. On a very cold winter's day we decided to use our gift to visit the:

Winchester

City Mill

Us with our new sack of flour, milled before our very eyes!

Daniel exploring the milling technique.

A working model of the mill.

Wailin' Wassailing

One of the best things about moving to Bournemouth has been joining the Christchurch & Highcliffe Community Band. I knocked another thing off my bucket list this year by playing carols at ASDA (Walmart) four nights over the past two weeks.