Domestic colour

Going to the pub last night with my friend Gill left me with two things. The first was an almighty hangover, and the second was some thoughts on colour.

Feeling a little under the weather was the perfect excuse to stay at home and be domesticated this morning. The smell of home-baked bread would cheer anyone up and I pottered around the house making things look nice and admiring the colours around me. So here is a list of all the colourful things I found in my hungover world today.

First thing this morning I went to visit a beguiling little shop in Roding Valley called Just Between Friends. It sells everything you could possibly need for quilting, patchwork and embroidery. O and I admired all the beautiful handmade quilts hanging up and prowled around the shop stroking bolts of fabric. I was surprisingly restrained and came away with just two packets of patchwork squares and some buttons and thread. This evening I turned some of my haul into appliqued tops for C & O.


After dragging O round the shops it seemed the only fair thing to do would be to bake cakes with her, so we made these uplifting cupcakes. The recipe is a Nigella one, and very quick. Neither small people nor grown ups with hangovers will loose patience with the recipe before it is finished (and then hangovers and 4-year-old whining can be dramatically soothed by 'testing' some of the finished cupcakes.)



Then to complete a mellow morning O disappeared to play with her toys and I did some dusting and tidying around the house. Even housework need not be dull with funky printed dusters and rainbow papers and pens to write lists on....