check out my clucker!

isn't she lovely!





I was super excited to find this milk glass hen! I found her in a charity shop for £2.50!
I've been trying to learn more about her...but I'm not having a great deal of luck.

I know she is a bowl that one was meant to keep a dozen eggs in. From what I can gather she is from the 1950s. She's not terribly valuable monetarily , but I think she's a treasure!
The man at the charity shop said that he used to get shopping for an older lady that lived next door when he was a child and she had one of these! Only she kept money in hers instead of eggs! When she'd send him out to get a few things she would say to him "come on let's go get you something out of the chicken" :)
My wee hen is all the more a treasure to me because she brings back lovely memories for people.

i heart vintage.

the best.



some of my red vintage buttons.


my fave disney film.



"the perfect knitting needles!"



if you see this book i must have it! i must also have matching place mats and apron like blondie here!

pizza dough recipe.

In honor of the party I will share with you my sacred pizza dough recipe. Mr Woo and I have this pizza at least once a week, it is a serious fave.


Mrs Woo's Pizza Dough ♡

makes 1 large pizza base.

preheat oven to 450f/230c/gas mark 7 or 8

1 package of dry yeast* ( or use 1T of Allisons Dried Yeast - the one that is little balls)
1 C Lukewarm water
2T Olive Oil, plus extra of greasing the pan
1T Honey
2 1/2 C flour

Mix yeast, honey and water in a large bowl. Let the yeast proof for a few minutes until it gets foamy.
Add the other ingredients.
Mix well by hand, let sit covered by a towel for 5 - 10 min.
{Alternatively you can let it double in size (aprox 30 min) and then knead on a floured surface until silky.}
Flatten onto a pan greased with extra olive oil.
Top with tomato sauce {I use jarred pasta sauce} and mozzarella {I use bagged grated}. If you want to use fresh mozzarella you'll need to press out as much water as possible before adding to the pizza, otherwise the dough will go very soggy and not cook properly.
I have found any toppings that contain excess water (like rocket or spinach) end up giving you a very soggy pizza. yuck.

Add your favourite toppings and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling - roughly 12min.


some of my fave combos are:
red onion, mushrooms and quorn mince
pineapple, sweet corn and onion and sometimes quorn pieces.
i like just cheese, but Mr Woo will not abide it.

*note: Some yeasts are meant to be added directly to the flour instead of water - that will work too, just make sure you read the yeast directions before you proceed.

wow.

Mr Woo and I sharing some birthday cake ♥.


David's birthday cake - made by me!


My wee lassie Poppy playing with auntie Heather!



I was a smug winner.


Dr. Nick Styles {he's single ladies!}


Pass the parcel was getting intense!


Pizza toppings bar.


Who would have thought that one birthday party for a grown up could take a full day {or two} to recover from! I was exhausted {and I might have had a little too much wine}!
There are some photos...I just have to wait on the people who took photos to post em so I can snatch them!

The night included:

1. sweets bar {kind of an at home pic n mix}
2. breadsticks, carrots and dippy dips.
3. many bottles of wine and beers and one bottle of homemade raspberry brew.
4. one two layer homemade carrot cake with cream cheese icing.
5. THREE homemade pizzas & toppings bar.
6. 1 glorious salad made by the lovely Heather Morris {i am still drooling over that salad}
7. indoor picnic.
8. one pooping and leaping hedgehog.
9. one exciting game of pass the parcel - the coveted prize was the cd of Winnie the Pooh read by Alan Bennet.
10. one heated debate about British children's programming of the 1980s.

I have a bunch of bananas that are waiting to be made into banana bread but I just can't face baking again as of yet. phew.
Our flat is slowing regaining order.
It was a GREAT party!

time for a snooze!

man oh man i am pooped! i didn't sleep very well....if you are going to be a regular reader of this blog you'll hear that a lot. i've never been a great sleeper...but anyway!
Today I received a WONDERFUL AMAZINGLY THOUGHTFUL care package from my Aunt Janet loaded down with fabulous American things! I'm all set for next 4th of July! I will have a party so help me God!
I had a delicious Thai meal with Mr Woo and Mumsie Woo {aka Pip aka mother-in-law}.
After our meal we went to a new bookstore that just opened down the road....then we stopped by the in-laws house to check out the work they're having done to it. The dog and cat went wild {as usual}. I ended up with a rather loud and heavy cat draped around my neck and a hyperactive attention seeking dog in my lap.
From there Mumsie Woo and I took Charlie the bat ear-ed staffy for a walk through my wonderland.
After what felt like a busy day I got home, had a shower, put groceries away, hung up a load of laundry to dry, checked all of my inboxes, checked out the hus' mad computer skills, made my mental checklist of what needs done tomorrow for the birthday shindig we're hosting, watched a how-to video about vintage flower looms, had a cup of tea & brownie, am writing this to declutter my brain....and I am going to climb into my bed and fall asleep watching a Juju video.
*Life is Sweet *
Party time tomorrow!!!!!

Template Tuesday {maybe?}

enjoy!

it's ready!

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man

tea ✓
bread rising ✓
BBC radio 4 on ✓

We ran out of bread again, we seem to be going through a lot of it lately, maybe because we're eating lots of comforting meals that go well with a slice of buttered bread. It does nothing good for the waistline but it does wonders for the mood.
I'm gonna make a couple of loaves and see how it goes. When Mr Woo wakes up he can have fresh plum jam on hot from the oven bread mmm.

I'm using my Vintage English Baking Bowl, Pip {my mother in law} bought it for me at a charity jumble sale for £1!



I recently watched Upstairs Downstairs for the first time and the cook had my same bowl! I thought it was wonderful I'm sure!

Thanks Sublime Stitching!

my first attempt at jam making

It was so easy I couldn't believe it! Plums + water + sugar = easy peasy jam!

vintage template!

{in no particular order} i love:

the jones.

the jaws.
the hus.


the kitchenaid. {this is not mine, mine is white}



the ruby slippers.


the obsession.


the very particular pig.

do you ever feel like this....

Am I the only one who feels guilty when I'm not doing something. If I'm watching TV I need to be crafting something. If I'm laying in bed I need to be reading or knitting. In the bath...reading....
If I'm cooking I need music or the radio on. OVERSTIMULATED MUCH! Overstimulated and exhausted.


You probably won't know this but at the moment I'm waiting on my spouse visa from the Home Office. I'm an American Girl married to an English Gentleman. I was on a voluntary worker visa which allowed to me volunteer with one particular organization in Scotland which is now closed.
Before getting married I had to apply for all sorts of permission from the government to get married...now in order to work and actually stay over here with my Mr Woo I need a spouse visa.
I've been gathering information and preparing for a year. I finally sent the application off in the middle of June. I've been waiting, the average wait is 3 months.
I haven't been able to work since May 2008. If I take any "cash in hand" work I am in violation of my current visa agreement and risk deportation!

SO. I've got a lot of time on my hands while I wait. (and a mountain of unpaid bills).

At first it was a dream come true....but after a while it becomes overwhelming.

I can not contribute any money to our little family at the moment so I guess I feel like I've got to bust my hump in every other possible way. Cook all the meals, clean every room (except Mr Woo's man cave - I don't go in there! too many wires and beeping noises!), take care of the hedgehog, wash and dry and put clothes away, craft like mad in hopes that I'll sell it all on Etsy and become rich so we don't have to work so hard. I know it isn't right but sometimes I feel like I shouldn't even feel frustrated or fed up because I'm not a contributing member of society at the moment!

Sorry, just feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment....

A Little Stroll Through Wonderland....

On Sunday Mr Woo asked me if I might like to join him for a stroll through the village.
Before wandering into greener pastures we HAD to stop by the village shop of ice cream - I had my first Feast {I should have stuck with Twisters I think}, we also grabbed a bottle of water like the true outdoorsy types we are!
We ended up in a bit that I hadn't seen before. The further we walked the more overgrown it seemed to become I felt like I was Alice falling into Wonderland.
Being that I'm a city girl, I am still totally in awe of the countryside. The tall hedgerows and blackberries growing wild excite me, oh how I wished I could knock out a few quick watercolors a la Charles Rennie Macintosh or Beatrix Potter.
By and by I got sick of carrying the massive bottle of water - much to my delight there was a bit of twine stuck in the hedge - a slip knot later and I had my own bespoke water bottle carrier!
Poor Mr Woo, he had previously picked out a special spot for us to sit under a tree and neck, the field containing the tree was no more. There were some diggers and large piles of manure in it's place.
We started home.
I didn't see all of the wild fruit growing on the way out, but it was a bounty on the way in! The biggest juiciest blackberries you've ever seen! Damsons! And THREE WILD RASPBERRIES! I tried to wait for Mr Woo to get his phone camera set to macro but it was all getting too much. I snatched those ruby red berries right off the spiky vine! I managed enough self control long enough for him to snap a photo - then one by one I savored their gloriousness. Never in my life, and I'm serious, have I tasted such sweet and flavorful raspberries. I will never be content with store bought ones again.


I've been trying to hunt down a basket so that I can take a walk down to wonderland to collect more of it's treasures...I'm still looking...this is my dream basket.

i'm joining in!

There are so many amazing craft blogs out there...I just hope this one will be inspiring to you as the others have been to me.

I would like to sincerely thank Victoria Newman for the encouragement to take the plunge!