virtual shop tour.....

....well I made it,I am now a shopkeeper-a dream come true! It has been a mad couple of months making this special journey,but I can well and truly say that it has been worth the uphill climb and I now have a shop to share with my family and friends and it already feels like home! Last week is now a blur,Saturday night and Sunday morning felt like an episode of 60minute makeover,dashing about like a headless chicken and true to form I was I finished just minutes before the deadline,still making price tags at 1.45 when the grande opening was at 2pm! The sun shone in through the window all day long and we all enjoyed a selection of Mr Kiplings finest and prettiest offerings, and with so many special people around us it felt like our wedding day all over again,a delightful and memorable day that warmed my heart and killed my feet! When Monday morning came around I couldn't believe I was going to 'work' for the first time in 5 years-but of course it doesn't feel like that at the moment-this is the honeymoon period I know-I am surrounded by lovely treasures, treasured friends pop by for a chat and I am a very proud parent when customers admire my cute new baby! Today was my second day at the office,spent tweeking and fiddling,with a little bit of selling and a lot of nattering,tomorrow is my day off-its Wednesday...car boot day-so my mama is shopgirl for the day,Im sure she will undertake to chat on my behalf! For now,less of the chat lets get on with the tour,no more words,just pictures-hop to my flikr page later if you fancy a more detailed guide to the Fine and Dandy emporium....be lovely to see you any time!

I will start from the door and do a full sweep!

....hope you enjoyed your visit-opening hours are 11-5.30 Monday-Friday,closed Saturday,11.30-5.30 on a Sunday,

our address is;

Fine and Dandy

Melville House

Marazion

Cornwall

TRI7 OAP

Tel:01736 710611

Sweethearts....

....I am blessed & lucky indeed to have many sweeties in my life whom I love very much. X

Busy doing nothing.....

......trying to find lots of things not to do!!! I am beginning to feel that I have taken early retirement,life this week has taken me on a very leisurely stroll along a path paved with cake & conversation,culminating in a coffee morning at mamas this morning! Mama has reintroduced these happy little gatherings in the last couple of years-they were a regular feature during my teenage years when I was a willing or reluctant little helper-depending on the hormones that day! Usually game for a laugh,at the end of the morning I would entertain the 'old dears' whilst they did the washing up & counted the takings,by dressing up in the leftovers from the clothes stall-a typical ensemble being;a brown nylon zip up catsuit with giant lapels,a pair of moonboots & pompom hat-cue much raucous laughter & several coughing fits! Always in aid of animal charities but not always encouraging charitable behaviour in the ranks,I have born witness to many a silver haired set-to over the pricing of cuddly toys! Today we were raising funds for Shelterbox with lots of lovely ladies ranging in years from 30-odd to 80-odd, I have been promoted to the 'produce' stall-playing shop again,no dressing up but lots of laughs none the less! Of course I did not come home empty handed;2 books to add to the holding bay-love the covers,Spring flowers I won in the raffle,2 more Alfred Meakin plates,some sweet retro cocktail picks & lovely cards made by my mama,also coffee & walnut cake (not pictured here-for obvious reasons!). It has been a self indulgent week of sweet nothings,I am a lucky girl,but all good things must come to an end-back to the job in hand-no regrets....well,I do wish I'd kept that catsuit!!

Daytrippers.........

.....a day trip to St Ives today with my bestest friend Lulu & we had the happiest of days doing the things we like to do best;window shopping,talking & reminiscing,eating cake & laughing,always laughing! St Ives out of season makes for a grand day out-in Spring & Autumn its beaches are breathtaking,in Summer it belongs to the tourists & the seagulls-today was grey & drizzly but still there was its unmistakable light,glowing sands the colour of seaside ice cream & sea blending into sky. You cannot fail to be charmed by the narrow back lanes & alleys with the tall,higgledy-piggledy houses crammed into corners & spilling out of them,its not so hard to imagine how it must have looked in the artists heyday,when at every turn there was a picture in waiting. The town itself is awash with surf shops & so many cafes & bars,all having a little snooze before the rude awakening that is Easter! The little shops we crept into today were a joy to behold,my eyes feasted on so many glorious things I felt I would burst,oh we do live in such a pretty world-when we choose to see it that way & it gladdens the heart to know that some things are created simply for sheer delight & no other reason. So we satisfied our hunger for eye candy amongst pretty dresses,ribbons,books,cloth,china...so many darling pretties that I shall dream shop dreams again...Our desire for cake was satiated by taking tea at the Tate,with hypnotic views of that vanilla sand & we headed for home full to the brim......     

 

........this dear little 'confectioners' has been here just as long as I can remember & it always makes me smile,I love that it remains unchanged-holding its corner & proudly displaying its wares.....also on offer today-'frozen rabbits',a snip at £2.50-we resisted!

Be simple.....

.....well,well,well....I am in the workroom,not sat by the fire as I usually am these wintry evenings....I am multi-tasking,having tidied my Blog,Iam tidying my Life......!!!!! Anyway I just picked up this book,as oft I do-Aunt Kates Day-by-Day Book;'A thought,a recipe,a household hint-for every day of the year',so I turned to 27th January which in 1937 was also a Wednesday! When I read the thought for the day it seemed so very appropiate as I have just read a dear friends Blog-post about writing letters as opposed to keeping in touch by more modern means,keeping it simple,Its so easy to get pulled along on the current of the modern world,sometimes we need come up for air.....That aside,Aunt Kate also gives us a recipe for Chocolate Cream Sandwich,then very thoughtfully a hint for removing cocoa stains-for when we drop our choc sandwich on our pretty crepe blouse,whilst shovelling it into our mouth!(click on picture for a read)....more from Aunt Kate coming soon girls!

for BupBup....... 

Baby its cold outside......

.....poor brass monkeys! Not a single flake of snow falling from our little piece of Cornish sky-just chilled rain,however after just one day in the classroom,my little dears get to stay at home with Mummy again! A Mummy with dreams,dreams of getting the dec's down & getting down to 'work'....the plans of mice & men eh? Like the Grinch I de-Christmassed the house with glee & robbed the tree of baubles(carpeting the floor in needles in the process),every year I pack the frippery away with the same thought, wondering what life has instore before those same boxes descend from the loft again in December. So having already put the rest of the days plans on hold,I decided such a cold day needed some comfort in it.....baking......warm kitchen,nice smells,yummy cake...... ......but first,hot tea & a flip through my new book for inspiration. This is a charming book which manages to combine two of my great loves,old fashioned childrens books & cake (no surprises there!). 'Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer' by Jane Brocket,celebrates the foodstuffs of classic children's stories-the wholesome picnics & nursery teas,enjoyed by Famous Five & the like,after an adventure or a bracing walk! Many of my own childhood memories are caught up in the pages of a book,or more often something lovely to eat,best of all a story with food in it! In the 'My Naughty Little Sister' books by Dorothy Edwards,is a story about an impish boy-Bad Harry who pilfers his party trifle,a creamy,spongey trifle with silver balls on the top,I didn't need an illustration of that trifle,words were enough! One of my very best books is Nigel Slaters,'Toast'-the story of a small boys hunger-never was food so lovingly & laughingly described,including a trifle that would have Bad Harry reaching for his spoon! As my own naughty little children were at home & I am trying to be good,I decided I would make jam tarts-their favourite,but not much of a challenge-except the tarts here are made with sweet pastry which I had never made! When my aunty came to visit recently she brought a little tin of macaroons she had made to use up some egg whites & two from a batch baked by my cousin Jack (baking genie) when he was home for the holidays-both scrumptious! I remembered this as I read that the sweet pastry uses two egg yolks & looked up macaroons-two whites-perfect!

As I have mentioned I am a baking novice,each new recipe is a new adventure,I tend to avoid the mountains & go for a leisurely stroll instead,so if a recipe has too many ingredients or tricky instructions I pass by & head for more familiar ground! Egg whites,icing sugar,ground almonds,almond essence-nothing scary there-however I have managed to get this far in life having never separated an egg or then beaten the white until it 'forms soft peaks'-two tiny hillocks I have climbed today!

The resulting Macaroons looked nothing like either Kaths-slim & biscuit like,or Jacks-plump & perfectly round.....mine are lumpy & as bobbly as an old cardigan! What I like most about Janes book is that there are no glossy photos,the recipes are accompanied by reproductions of the illustrations that inspired them,less chance of feeling a failure when you remove your baking tray from the oven! Thankfully,looks aren't everything......beneath that old cardi,lay a heavenly body!

My sweet pastry lay chilling in the fridge,a little unecessary given the temperature in my kitchen today,my icy hands perfectly suited to the task of handling it. I was struck by how yellow the pastry was,helped by free range yolks & marbled with butter,& when the tarts were baking they smelt like shortbread & appeared to be almost 'frying' in their patty tins! There was enough to make a tray of mini tarts also,half of which I filled with Seville marmalade-Nigel Slater again-I thought the bitter orange would be a nice contrast to the sweet pastry. The eternal wait for the molten jam to cool....then.....oh heaven,it was like eating hot,buttered toast & marmalade....a little too hot,as my tongue will testify! Now I have made this pastry I doubt I will stray onto the shortcrust path again! Not that my naughty little children seemed to notice that I had upgraded the humble jam tart,as for Mummy she was a very naughty girl & had another.....tomorrow is another day!

Part 2 of the year that was.......

.....by mid 2009,settled once more into our old home,complete with fully functioning workroom,I could begin the slow process of getting back to 'work' once more. Being without a workspace had not prevented the creative imaginings & there was (still is) a backlog of new projects waiting to be given form. Much like being on a diet & torturing oneself with fantasy food,my mind,had for many months been fixated on cloth & haberdashery,& the procuring of it-the growing hoard of fabric,buttons & trimmings,waiting & winking,like a guilty stash of chocolate! Where to start.....stitchers block loomed,my once nimble fingers awkward & unwieldy,afraid to make a snip or stitch-beautiful cloth had become the pristine first page of a new sketchbook, my fine spiky needle,a jumbo black marker pen! Help was at hand in the unlikely form of a JML mini sewing machine,those child-size portable '.....ideal for home or caravan (?)...'machines,as seen on TV & in those gadget catalogues for the over 60s,who on earth would buy one of those things?Someone with a fear of full sized sewing machines & a co-ordination defect,that's who! Yes my mama is a skilled seamstress,but I emerged from the gene pool at the-unable to follow instructions/patterns,hold things properly,operate machinery,catch a ball-end,so the mysteries of dressmaking have always eluded me! But in need of chintzy cushions for my chintzy sofa & with a stack of Cath Kidstons charming florals,I got my JML fired up-ok,revving,its a Metro not a Ferrari-no bells or whistles,just straight(ish) lines stitched at a snails pace (though it will do tortoise speed for the more advanced user!) & produced a pile of cushions of which I was inordinately proud. In the meantime my nimble fingers had,once more, become needy of needle & thread & I had conquered a small machine.....just don't ask me to play catch!

..... meanwhile, Mr M was making busy out of doors-2009 saw the return of the island allotments & ours (I use the term loosely) is conveniently placed right outside the workroom window,perfect for spectator gardening! This is the second coming of Mr's foray into gardeners world,the first time being 7 years ago,when he grew vegetables & became infamous for his abundant sweet peas & my mama has never forgotten his giant onions,that would have walked first prize in any horticultural show! Instead,this time,much to my delight he planted his plot with cut flowers-row upon row of rainbow flowers,Dahlias,Snap-Dragons,Lupins,Ranunculas,Painted Daisys,Gladiolis & Sweet Peas of course,all ripe for the picking! The miracle of a tiny seed becoming a glorious bloom is akin to magic-of course Mr M is no Mr Magica,but he is a natural born gardener,happy to tend,hoe,weed & water until the light has left the sky or rampant midges drive him in & woe betide the foolish slug hoping for a tasty midnight feast-Mr M is armed with a torch & he will seek you out! So all Summer long,the flowers kept coming-much like the magic porridge pot in the fairy tale,I shouted 'stop'when all possible receptacles were full! The allotment now lies dormant,all bare earth & stubble,sleeping just beneath its surface Tulip,Daffodil & Snowdrop bulbs,Mr M head in a book-plots & plans his Spring sowing scheme & I sit back & wait for the magic to begin.........

I can't be sure why,but the overriding theme for our year 2009 seems to be domesticity,I think it came with the move back home & the need to nest or maybe its an age thing! What is domestic bliss,different things to different people I know,does anyone ever attain it & if they do,do they even realise it? Not long after we had moved in,a neighbour happened to glance in our sitting room window one Sunday afternoon & catch the 4 of us in a snapshot moment,looking they said like a 1940s family-Daddy reading in the easy chair next to the fire,Mummy sitting sewing by the light of the standard lamp,children-one of each-sat on the floor playing quietly! As I said,this was a glimpse,from the outside looking in-it didn't sound like our life,more like an illustration from a vintage children's book,none the less I loved that,in that moment this was how we had appeared.....

......so still in pursuit of domesticity,May 2009 saw the baking of my first cake!Pre-36,the baking had been confined to Home Economics lessons & some half-hearted attempts with mama. Always the perfectionist,I found the inconsistency of the resulting fare frustrating & disappointing & then there was the washing up! So I shelved any plans I had to become Delia, and was happy just to eat the cake of others,without envy. Then-It-happened,cake envy....at the birthday party of a child,how shameful....my friend had baked a delicious Devils Food cake,all dark & brooding-moist,shiny sponge topped with glossy chocolate buttercream,far too 'adult' for a kids party-an object of desire for young & old alike! Ruby carried home her slice of heaven with as much care,as if it had been a baby bird,then enjoyed every chocolatey mouthful-saying it was the best she had ever tasted....it was then I wanted a slice,not of the cake,but of the glory! So that weekend I took my first tentative steps,armed only with a baking tray & without a recipe book until I remembered that in my Ladybird book collection,I had a copy of Learning to Cook from the 70s, bought for 10p-purely for its retro photos of kids in flares & acrylic polo necks cooking with mum! Alas,no recipes for Devils Envy cake-a little ambitious for a first timer (or a freckled face boy in acrylic)-so I settled for flapjack & shortbread,revelling in the homely smell of my kitchen & the approval of my taste-testers! Humble beginnings,but I was hooked & set about acquiring the tins,spoons,sieves-I would need to bake a cake that would set hearts afire,Ruby's birthday was round the corner,imagine how delighted she would be to have 'that' cake & for it to have been made by her mother! I asked my friend for the recipe that would conjure up such a cake......'Oh,actually Its a Betty Crocker...packet mix!'.....bubble burst!.........

however.....I kept going & have progressed a little from Ladybird,though I still use the shortbread recipe,& I have a limited repertoire,choosing perfection over diversity (less chance of failure!),baking highlights,making my own Battenburg-well worth the effort & in July having a cake stall all of my own! As for the Devils own cake.....Betty Crocker got the better of me on that one.......

Amidst all these pastures new,rolling out over the past 12 months,there are times when,life at best can seem un-remarkable,at worst a little dull,as they say...thats life! But,looking back on our year through my photos,it was a memorable year,a year like no other.....& heres to the next one..........