Stylish Bloggers Award

Thank You to Stephanie from Cupcakes and Sundry and Christina from Positively Beauty who both awarded Amelie's House a stylish blogger award.  I am very flattered to be considered 'stylish'... anyone who knows me stop laughing now!

As part of the award I have to pass it on to five blogs that I love.

Obviously I have to nominate my Mum over at The Potters House Penketh.

Gretel was a college chum and it has been a real delight to be back in contact with her again. She is having a book published soon, and you can have a sneak peak of it in her blog Middle of Nowhere

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If you have been following Amelie's House for some time then you will have seen Marie's work before, but head over to Heartfelt Handmade for more goodies.

Whoops-a-daisy is a blog by a Mum whose child was at school with big kidlet, they moved to the next town but I get to keep up via her beautiful blog.

And last but not least Mallory's blog Honey and Lace has some really beautiful photos that make me want to move to the country!

Then I have to let you know seven things about me;

1. I love a really hot chilli.

2. I was a missionary in Wales. (I could only hack it for two months though!)

3. My best holiday ever, (after my honeymoon in Boston) was a trek across Alaska.

4. I was chosen to sing on a record when I was 7, (think 'Grandma We Love You') but it never got made (phew!).

5. I was born on the same day as Gary Barlow, swoon!

6. One of my textile designs was used for shower curtain material and spotted on 'Friends'.

7. I have really cracked heels.

I'm sure there are some things in that list you wish you didn't know now!

xx

Book Club Cake of the Month...March

Also known as 'A Cake For Owen Meany!'

This months book was 'A Prayer For Owen Meany' by John Irving.  

When I first met Mr Lemon Drizzle he told me that this was his favourite book, and so being a keen girlfriend I rushed out, bought it and read it, and...ah, well, actually, I didn't. I just shrugged and thought 'whatever!', though I did later read 'The Hotel New Hampshire' by the same author on his recommendation, which I found...strange. I have also seen bits of the film of another of his books,  'The World according to Garp' and I didn't really enjoy that either. So I was expecting to be disappointed with this months book.

But I wasn't!

It is a really lovely story, and one which had me sobbing like a baby.

But there were also some incredibly funny sections, especially the part with the VW Beetle. 

The book got the highest aggregate score from my book group that we've had yet -  9 out of 10 - although two people abstained because they hadn't finished it and the end is really crucial. We had a good discussion about the character of Owen Meany, and for me he changed from a very annoying figure into a hero. I was guessing right up until the last few pages about his destiny, which is always a plus for me as I tend to second-guess the plot of book and films at the outset (e.g. with the film 'Sixth Sense' I had guessed the 'twist' ending after ten minutes!)

As for cakes...well, there is a lot of symbolism about armlessness in the book, so I did toy with the idea of making gingerbread men without arms, but Mr LD thought that was pretty crass...and if even he thinks that, then it really must be! There is only one mention of cake in the book: when the narrator's mother marries they have cupcakes. So I decided to make wedding cupcakes. After I had made them Mr LD asked if the angel wings were to symbolise the 'prayer' in the title. I said yes, but really hadn't thought that hard about it. However, with further thought I realised how appropriate they are because I wasn't sure if Owen really was an angel!

Happy Pancake Day

We have started the day in the best way possible...with pancakes!

We will be partaking of that pleasure again this evening.

Happy pancaking!

xx

World Book Day 2011

Yes, it's come round again. It's Book Day! 

A day when Mums up and down the country trawl charity shops looking for the perfect costume....because the children are not allowed to go to school dressed in Disney clothes or Spiderman costumes.  When the children have  tantrums because 'Milly Molly Mandy's dress isn't that shade of blue!'  And teachers forsake their dignity and mark the register concealed behind a giant Mr Happy outfit.

For the past few years I have sent oldest kidlet off to school with a bag full of Book Day cookies (here and here).  Somehow...I don't know how... I forgot that I now have two children at school, which meant 54, yes 54 individual, hand painted cookies. (Competitive Mum or what?).  

I gave them a choice of the characters they wanted, steering them away from anything too involved.   Youngest kidlet, of course, opted for three different owls.  Big kidlet had a mix of her favourite book and others that the class has read.

Did you spot the cookies?

The books we were inspired by are;

1. Little Stories for Bedtime, Usborne Books

2.Owl Babies by Martin Wadell and Patrick Benson

3. Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionare by Andy Stanton

4. A Pipkin of Pepper by Helen Cooper ( who also wrote Tatty Ratty)

5. ZZZZ A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na

6. Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts

 Small Kidlet and I spent a happy hour getting these owl portraits right. We had to make sure each biscuit was being looked after correctly!

I like these owls, they seem a little trippy to me.

But this cheeky chap was my favourite!

Happy reading.

xx