Tag: kitchens

Rows and Rows

13 May, 2016 / Katy / 1 Comment

Spice rack - Misericordia

Once upon a time, there was a girl who lived in a little white house. On the wall in the kitchen were rows and rows of spice jars, each neatly labelled and alphabetised (except for the vanilla extract, which lived at the tippy top).

She would use these spices to make magic potions, surprising soups, and alarming cakes (see vanilla extract above).

Glass spice shelves - Misericordia

Ever since then, she has searched for just the right combination of shelves, jars, and labels, to no avail.

Sometimes there were shelves with mismatched jars, sometimes there were no shelves and piles of jars and packets. She even found the perfect combination of jars and labels, but the shelves remained elusive.

But good things come to those who wait, and this week her fairy shelf-builder granted her wish.

Glass and cast iron shelves - Misericordia

The moral of the story is, of course, to stay true to your dreams, buy your spice jars in lots of 200* if that’s what it takes, and…um, casually mention your shelving problems to very patient joiners.

*147 of which are living under our spare bed, just in case anyone wants to buy some.

Stitch by Crumb

28 January, 2016 / Katy / 1 Comment

What a week!

Kipling - Misericordia

We’ve all been struggling with various forms of P1 and Nursery Plague since before Christmas, and it’s all come to a head with various children home in various stages of pathetically poorly or irritatingly not quite well enough to return to school but full of energy.

Despite these challenges, I’ve been steaming ahead with various projects. It turns out that concentrating on finishing just one thing makes it much easier to finish a lot of other things (or at least start to finish them).

Children's Badge Banner - Misericordia

First, there was the badge banner, which was the simplest possible project that took us about three months from purchase of the felt to application to the wall. It looks a little bare at the moment, but I have high hopes for the pair of them, and there’s a whole second knitting needle that can be put to use if they prove particularly keen on badge-based achievements.

Hand embroidered silk banner - Misericordia

I’ve been getting on with the banner for the Ark Project tablecloth, it’s very slow going but it was infinitely eased by a friend’s Profane Embroidery Night (I like to think I provided the sacred counterpoint). Somehow my opportunities to work safely with white silk are a little limited at the moment!

Cast iron bracket - Misericordia

A few house-y things are coming together too, so there’s rather a pleasant sense of momentum going into February.

Cinnamon Cake with Brown Sugar Icing - Misericordia

Oh, and on the cake front we’ve made a cinnamon cake with brown sugar icing and a batch each of brownies and flapjacks.

Flapjacks and Brownies - Misericordia

I’ll write you a post about the flapjacks because I’m a bit proud of an alteration I’ve made to the recipe to assuage a little of my inevitable sugar-guilt.

Looking Ever Forward

30 October, 2015 / Katy / 2 Comments

I don’t mind planning ahead, really I don’t…

Keys, money, phone by Misericordia

But I’m starting back to teaching this week and I’ve already had to start making myself timed to-do lists of a kind I usually reserve for planning Christmas dinner.

Tatties by Misericordia

Although I intellectually appreciate that sometimes the only way to get through a day is to make dinner at 9 o’clock in the morning, I find it really throws me off. I guess it disrupts the narrative of the day.

Inktense samples by Misericordia

Completely contrary to most of the people I speak to, I really like the way autumn starts getting darker and wetter about now.

Autumn blooms by Misericordia

I’ve noticed that I’ve been burrowing into my phone a lot (due to a distinct lack of conversation that doesn’t involve Lego or why I won’t make Halloween costumes for teddies), so I’m trying to lift my gaze a little and enjoy the light.

Tangled cables by Misericordia

If I can only prevent myself from turning into a pumpkin on the sofa at the end of the day, then I’d really be on to something!

Happy pumpkin by Misericordia

Any evening efficiency tips you’d like to share?

Ode to a Persimmon

4 November, 2013 / Katy / 0 Comments

Everyone feeling a little Monday? Me to…

Here, let me help.

That’s better.

It’s been a bit hectic around here, first my computer (Vesper Holly) decided to have an out of body experience (now sorted out by the ever-calm Lovely Young Man and the fact that my whole life is in the Clouds).

Next the aforementioned LYM casually suggested that we might as well get the kitchen redone now, since we were having to spend lots of money on half-heartedly patching the kitchen floor.

Hang on, I need another cat picture.

Ok.

We’re off to go speak to the kitchen-y folk, my Pinterest is full of other people’s gorgeous kitchens and I really, really just want to move into the flat before I decide to run away to join a circus for some peace and quiet. Please provide words of comfort and stories of happy kitchen sagas (or top tips) below.