Eggcellent.

Crispy Crackolates
Ingredients:
- 1 oz caster sugar
- 1 oz butter
- 1 oz golden syrup
- 1 oz cocoa powder
- 1 oz cornflakes - we used Crunchy Nut but I like Coco Pops too
For Easter decoration - Mini Eggs - we did three per cake

Instructions:
1. Mix together the caster sugar, cocoa powder.
2. Add butter to caster sugar and cocoa powder and melt mixture in a bowl over bowling water.
3. Once melted add the golden syrup.
4. Add cornflakes to mixture and combine until all cornflakes are covered.
5. Separate mixture into cake cases and leave to cool - add Mini Eggs for decoration as desired.

---

Not quite the baking that's been a heavy topic on Twitter today, but a simple recipe that's delicious and easy to follow. I also thought I'd take the time to share these cute 'vintage' cookery books with you. As long as I can remember these were the first cookery books I'd go to whenever baking at my Gran's house, they were used by my Dad and uncles so they're definitely items I treasure. I might be a bit more advanced now but they're still a good point of reference for simple things, I thought I'd share the cute illustrations and neat presentation style with you.

I hope that you had a fun Easter Sunday and got to eat all the chocolate you wanted, I only ever really get one egg nowadays, not that that's going to do me any harm. I went to two car boots this morning in an attempt to bag some bargains for our flat, but returned empty-handed, I'm placing blame on a combination of Easter and horrid weather. I then went for a tasty pub lunch at the Surrey Yeoman with Moon, Chris and Calvert before ducking out of an afternoon of football (phew!). My favourite kind of Sunday, a relaxing yet busy one, although I was a bit of a grump about the early start.

---

The books are called 'My Learn to Cook Book' and 'Fun-To-Cook Book', the designs are so 70's ♥




Throughout both books there are helpful kitchen tips.

---

It's been a cracking day for catching up with blogs and looking at cute Spring and Easter-related things, here's a short list of my faves.

(via Vice: The Cute Show)

It's Easter Sunday, so it's the perfect excuse (although who actually needs one?) to look at lots of different breeds of adorable bunnies.

A Beautiful Mess: Sundae Sunday — A tasty-looking ice cream version of traditional Easter nests.

Pineapple flower decorations — Chinese tutorial but great photos so really easy to follow. This is definitely one to try, a cute, different and fresh way to decorate cupcakes, I'm pretty impressed.

Baked Eggs in Bread Bowls — I can't understand how I've overlooked Noble Pig for so long, there are so many good recipes to scout out, I only picked this because of the whole 'eggs and it's Easter' thing. I've needed some new recipes for a while and Noble Pig is a more than substantial treasure trove.

Deviled Egg Chicks — These look really cute and would be great for a buffet-style dinner party but after a read-through I'm more than reminded of the mayonegg scene from Arrested Development, which is a bit off-putting.

How To Make Speckled Eggs — I don't see why Easter needs to be an excuse, I'd like to do this all year round.

A Bun in the Oven (via Charlotte Theroux) — Something else that should be standard and not just for Easter, bunny-shaped bread. Generally homemade bread is good anyway but this seriously raises the bar.

Easter Cupcakes — Kim from Sweet Monday sure does bake some nice things, and these bite-size cupcakes are no exception.

---

Enjoy the rest of your Bank Holiday weekend, I'm so excited about being around the whole Johnston clan tomorrow, it will also be the first time I'm meeting the latest additions to the family, my new twin cousins, Gilbert and Walter.

Straight up.

Just about to get back to painting my chest (it's a wooden chest, not my actual chest), but I thought to save having clutter later and share this critter with you.


I did a terrible, 'typical me' thing and just roughly followed the instructions, so was super worried that he would turn out looking like nothing, but I'm glad he at least looks a bit like a foxy fox. Perhaps not as foxy as Elsie's family of foxes, which is where I got the tutorial from. I don't even know why I didn't follow it exactly, would have saved me a bit of anxiety (not that I haven't got enough to go around) and it's very simple and easy to follow.

This was the part where I started to get worried that things might not turn out how I wanted them to...



May or may not had to perform a bit of a bodge-job on his poor old nose as the nose I'd bought had a weird back that was too long to just sew on, there's probably a way around that though, tips would be greatly appreciated.


This is from a patchwork set that I got for just £1, mega props to Fabric Land for that one. ♥


I had so many perfectly posed moments that I could have captured but she got very quickly distracted by the reflection of my watch and started going crazy. I think she approves though, as she hasn't yet tried to maul him yet.

---

Maybe he is a bit rough around the edges, and a bit fat, but I kind of like him. He was a great excuse to use up extra fabric (and buy some more), so I'm really pleased with him.
Now it's back to painting, but more on that later.

What do you think of my take on A Beautiful Mess' foxy fox? Have you been up to anything crafy recently?

Tuesday Tabs #9

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

This week is a bit Etsy-centric because I might have gone a bit mad and had one day last week where basically all I did was browse Etsy, but then, I was ill so what else was I supposed to do? And I've found some quite pretty things, so it's not technically an unproductive use of time...

I've got some great news, not necessarily for me, but Moon has managed to bag himself a job! I'm so happy because now he won't be such a mope. We're planning on heading down to a place called Newbury tomorrow to check out places to live. We need to have a serious talk about what we're going to do next because obviously I don't have a job at the moment, but my mum said she's willing to support me for a bit, and I'm sure there are other things that can help me out. It does make a me a bit sad though because I actually have enough money to be self sufficient, but only for about three months before it's all gone and then I really would have nothing. So it's a tough decision to make, but I wouldn't mind a change of scenery.

I've not really had any more leds for jobs, but I've only really picked up the job hunt again within the last couple of days so I hope to hear back from places soon, or just keep going...

---

Letterpress prints, £23.61, Happy Deliveries


Small Fabric Blue Tit, £150, Catherine Frere-Smith
Not entirely sure why anyone would want this but I totally do.


Don't Forget to Write, £20, Jamie Mills Illustration
This is firmly on my wishlist, firstly because it reminds me of 'Up', secondly because it's a limited edition of 50 and finally because it's pretty big (A3). I plan on buying this as soon as everything has settled down, I already have so many things that I want to frame and put on the wall, but this would be a welcome addition.


There's Always Room for Ice Cream, £22.95, Two for Joy Paper
Is it unusual to want to hang things in the kitchen? I think this would look great in a kitchen.


Crimson Galaxy Print Skirt, £78.69, Shadow Play NYC
You know what I want to know, where the promised 'diffused down to high street galaxy print' is, owning a pair of Black Milk leggings just doesn't satisfy me anymore and while this skirt is beautiful it's a lot more than I'm willing to spend.


Jersey blazer, £49.99, Zara
There's been so much fuss surrounding Zara recently that I thought I would pop into the Kingston branch while I was there. I kind of feel like I'm not yet old enough to be shopping there, just due to the price range of most of the items, however, for investment pieces, I think I'm in love. I saw the most gorgeous bag, which sadly I can't find on the website, for around £70, which yes, is a lot but it would never go out of fashion. This blazer probably is one of their more fashionable items, just because of the pop-colour, but the quality in is ten fold anything I would be able to find in New Look, which when you consider the price isn't too bad. I may consider a more sensible version once I've got a job.



Space bunting necklace, £8, Sophie Dear

(via The Sun: Biz Sessions

'Love Me Tender' (Cover) by Peter Liddle and Matthew Taylor of Dry the River
So fast making their way onto my list of favourite bands, which as many of you may know is pretty tough as I only like about three bands.


1m Tall Totoro Plush, £38.03, MOLAPILA
Feeling as though there is little need for a description as this is just so ridiculous.


Moomins V Mormons T-shirt, £20, Hole in my Pocket


Set of 5 Mr. T Mugs, £32.79, Lenny Mud


I Miss Being A Small Girl lasercut, £87.21, Rob Ryan

(via Goodnight Little Spoon)

Cat Breeds - Contempo Kitty Breeds Poster, £24.17, Sarah Loves Cats
What 'Tuesday Tabs' post would be complete without something cat-related?

(via Goddamnitshawn)

May or may not have had a browse of the 'bacon and eggs' tab on Tumblr after posting this picture of bacon and eggs.


Stallion cushion, £12, Habitat
I usually associate Habitat with being pretty luxury, so I was pretty surprised to find this cushion was only £12, as normally cushions are through-the-roof expensive, seemingly for no reason now that I consider how cheap it was to make two cushions. Sadly due to now having a million cushions and already outputting my crazy on the cat cushions, I can't justify injecting yet more of my obsessions into my someday home's interior decorating, I really don't want people visiting and thinking they've entered the house of a cat and horse-obsessed mad woman.

---

Link Love: ♥

Hand-stamped DIY Pony-print Dress — Big lover of any animal print anything, and in a DIY-tastic mood so this may very well get done at some point, it's seems so easy.

DIY Chalkboard Cabinets — Although I'm totally in love with Elsie from A Beautiful Mess' chalkboard kitchen, I think this tutorial by Elizabeth from Delightfully Tacky is much more up my street. Thanks to both these ladies though, I now know that such a thing as 'chalkboard paint' exists, which could make for some super-neat upcycling, Hopefully we'll find somewhere that will allow us to do as such.

Three Springtime Milkshakes — The mega-pie in me would be happier if these weren't milkshakes, as I'm probably the only person in the world who doesn't care for milkshakes, but these are very pretty instructions and I have been known to break my own rule and sip on a banana milkshake every now and then.

Gem Fatale's Feline Fest — Gem provided major Caturday treats at the weekend, featuring nail art homaging that Lazy Oaf t-shirt and the most adorable DIY pocket fabric inspiration - her own tutorial on this is linked below.

DIY Pocket Patch Shorts — Apparently I can't get enough of Gem this week, this morning she posted a really simple tutorial on how to get those patched pockets. I have way more fabric left over than I had bargained for so it's definitely something I'll be trying out soon, talk about excellent utilisation of hair straighteners!

Drunk Girl Designs — Awesome kitchen-themed original artwork and prints, including illustrated recipes, tea towels and this great Sriracha hot sauce print.

Kaylah's Cats looking a squirrel — One of the main reasons I love The Dainty Squid so much is the kitties. I adore this super cute post of Kaylah's cats looking longingly out the window at a squirrel, they're so well-captured.

Famous brands and their names

---

I'm not sure how well this post flows compared with others as it's a total mix of clothing, interiors and even jewellery, as well as DIY tutorials. It's been that kind of week though.

Winna!

So, I'm better at my course than I thought, apparently my idea is progressing very well and I just have to keep going in the direction I'm going. Very big 'phew' moment, as I thought I was majorly behind and completely stuck. This is why tutorials can be good, I feel like I have a bit more of a goal.
I need to start really thinking about what I want to say.
Overall I'm quite happy, I think I can get up to date with myself by the weekend, which is great. Plus there are people who haven't even got a solid idea yet so...