Summer chintz
My Grandma Meredith's tea set
I don’t know if I am just missing my ma, the heat has gone to my head or I’m just a little tired of eating off my oh so white and pattern free dinner plates, but over the last couple of weeks I have been hankering for chintz.
I moved out of my kitchen display cupboard all my crystal glasses and have instead replaced them with the bright and cheery tones of my chintzy tea set that once belonged to Grandma Meredith.
Lemon meringue pie tastes so much better when accompanied by flora…..
I have been trying to find one off chintzy dinner plates and found a great website in the UK with gorgeous tea sets for often £40 and less. I had a good hour of looking through photo after photo of gorgeous bone china with all the chintz I could dream of. If only I lived in the UK…..
and for a look at lovely Lala’s lemon meringue pies served on her very own summer chintz plates go here…..
http://mycastleinspain.blogspot.com/
A lovely evening walk
This one reminded me of a pretty in pink flamenco dress
Tonight at 8pm I ventured out with Erikita for an evening walk as the hea of the afternoon has just drained me of anything apart from the ability to say manana, manana.
I couldn’t resist taking my camera to show you some of the gorgeous flowers growing wild….
Oranges like the Marbella sunsets
Boughs heavy with advocadoes...
We passed an olive tree, its fruit not yet ripe
Space saving idea for your duvets
Duvet storage
My friend Jenny is a clever girl. She has come up with an ingenious space saving idea for those winter duvets that take up so much room.
She’s made a sausage shaped bolster cushion for going on your bed in any fabric that matches your room. It is zipped and has foam at the ends to give it shape and support and hides your duvet and looks very attractive on the bed.
If you are interested in having one made and finding out the cost etc go to her blog on Fuengirola http://holafuengirola.blogspot.com and you can get in touch with her there.
It was good…
seriously good and set beautifully after under 3 hours in the fridge. I’ve had it for breakfast, lunch and inbetween with numerous cups of tea. There are about 3 slices left….going, going.
GONE!
Making another one on Friday as friends over for lunch and I’m like this when I make new things…I want to do it over and over again until I get so sick of it that I never make it again!
Lemon meringue pie for supper
Leave the lemon meringue pie to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours...we shall see!!
I am a big fan of the blog My Castle In Spain and after seeing her mini lemon meringue pies that she made for supper with friends on her roof terrace I quite fancied trying to make a pie myself. The boys in the house love anything lemony, the girls like meringue so it seemed a good idea.
I wrote out one recipe that I found on the internet and after filling 2 sides of paper I gave up. I thought if ever I get to the end of this and actually make this recipe I’m more likely to throw the pie at someone than actually eat it. Eventually found a recipe that looked a little easier…but still, lemon meringue pie is a bit of a fiddle to make unless you can buy one of those already made sweet pastry cases. Marks and Spencers do mini ones in La Canada but I haven’t seen anywhere else that sells them….so I made my pastry from scratch with the help of my wizard blender.
I’m very hot and sweaty but quite proud. My pie looks great, even if it tastes YUK!
It is now I hope to God setting in the fridge. I’ve read that I should leave it around 3 hours. I’m not sure I can wait that long to cut inside it but I’ll try since I’ve taken most of the afternoon trying to make it.
I’ve called the children down and told them to “ooooh” louder. If this works I swear to God any of you can make this as a chef I am not……I don’t even read instructions properly. My last cake killed the sparrows, as they haven’t been seen since.
I’ll let you know if it is good or not…..
Back to school
well not yet, but shortly. It is my favourite time of year.
Hours spent looking for uniform, then finding it, taking it back, buying the size larger, too scratchy, taking it back, finding the right size, only to find it is the wrong size…taking it back.
Then we need to buy school shoes. Three lots. Hours spent trying to persuade a 12 year old that she doesn’t need stilettoes in year 8, then more time spent trying to persuade a 9 year old that those softest leather shoes from El Corte Ingles are not too tight and that she’s just too used to wearing flip flops for the last 2 months, and lastly trying to find a shoe to fit a 14 year old in size 44 that is wide enough for him not to screech at me in an even higher squeaky voice than we are already experiencing. Puberty and children….lovely mix.
Then there are the trainers, three lots. Laces or velcro? I opted for velcro as I thought I might strangle myself if I bought the laces.
Then we have the school bags. All needing adjusting to see if they cause shoulder rub or look good. Searching for long mirrors, preening, prancing. I don’t think at any point did any of my children actually consider would their books fit in the new school bags.
Stationery is another day trip. Rubbers that sing as they erase, pencils that have heads with wobbly eyes attached, gel pens that write upside down in space……
Lastly I get to sew on the name tags. I was so fed up last week I stuck a needle and thread, in a spot on my face and walked around the house asking my children if they thought I was too old for body piercings?
Yes, back to school and I think I need a holiday….
Guaranteed to beat the blues
If you have the blues click on this link I guarantee you’ll beat them. Just wait for the chorus…
The song is called “Papa Americano” and I defy anyone not to at least have a wiggle of their toes when they listen to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EAO3EzKwJ0&feature=search
Last night had the X factor in Puerto Banus bull ring
The Bullring at Puerto Banus
Got to bed gone 1am and I’m still buzzing, tripping and humming from the fantastic concert last night at Puerto Banus bullring. It was good, really good.
I’ve never been before and we bought the cheapest seats at 50 euros, but the venue is so small that even the cheapest seats are simply the best! Wherever you sit you can see the stage, not like in Wembley when you would need a pair of binoculars to see the artist.
The warm up acts were really good, the dj’s had us all clapping and jiggling in our seats, Mexican waving and we were good to go by around 9pm.
Diversity were body bendingly good. I think they may be made of rubber.
Alexandra Burke sang all her top songs but she did look a little lost on the big stage with just the two dancers to support her. I think she needs a band. She’s a terrific singer and a very good dancer but she’s not really an entertainer. Love her music though and she had us screaming for more.
The star of the show without a shadow of doubt was Mr Jamie Archer and he wasn’t the act that I really wanted to see. He had a tough follow up act as well as we had to endure the car crash of a wannabe girl band called The Scarletz. They were bad, seriously bad and the crowd began to bay for their blood after the third song. The tunes weren’t bad but together they just sounded like cats and one kept screaming and yelping which reminded me of a randy fox. Sorry girls but you really did lose any good will with the crowd when the organiser tried to pull you early and you began snapping that you had been booked for 30 minutes and you would jolly well sing for 30 minutes. The boos got louder and louder….
So Jamie Archer had to pull us out of having our heads in our hands, our fingers in our ears and bring back the party to the bull ring. And by god he did. This man is an entertainer, he filled the stage with his voice, his personality and his hair. He was the only act to get us all out of our seats, he sang songs we all knew was absolutley brimming with energy that was totally infectious and WE LOVED HIM.
He’s bringing out an album shortly and after seeing him live I hope he gets the success he richly deserves.
ps if you were there last night, wasn’t the man in the white trousers just a great warm up act and he didn’t even know it!!
Martial arts classes for adults and children
At the start of September martial arts classes for adults and children start up once more at Los Monteros gym in Marbella. Easy parking and great value classes from just 5 euros per class per child by a fully qualified Taekwon-Do instructor who speaks, English, Spanish and Italian fluently.
The martial art is specifically Taekwon-Do
Monday and Wednesdays
Kids 7.15 and 8.00pm
Adults 8.00pm and 9.15pm
Telephone Gerry on 687340677.
Grading and tournaments.
Alexandra Burke in concert tomorrow in Nueva Andalucia
Alexandra Burke, Diversity and Jamie Archer from the X factor are all appearing in Nueva Andalucia tomorrow to entertain us.
They are playing at the bull ring in Nueva Andalucia where the Saturday market is held and tickets start from 50 euros. You can buy tickets from El Corte Ingles or from the box office at the bull ring in Nueva Andalucia, open tonight until 9pm and then all day tomorrow. Lots of tickets still available and plenty of 50 euros ones. The next level up is 70 euros. The dance floor tickets are the ones that aren’t moving and also happen to be right by the stage.
Doors open at 7pm and the concert will start around 8.45pm. Inbetween there will be DJ’s to entertain you, food is available and merchandise to buy.
Since we’ve only been camping this year and my girls have been dying to go to a pop concert for more than a year I’ve booked tickets and we are going. To see Gin Gin’s face when I told her via a pop quiz…..was a picture and worth every penny. Her first pop concert at the grand old age of 12 years. And with her mum and dad! Wonder who will be dancing the hardest.
Off for a quick jog around the block to limber up……