Unattractively Smug

Today has been a great day.  I used to keep a diary when I was younger* and would rate each day on how good it had been. I am fairy sure I pinched the idea from a Judy Blume book.  Today has definitely been an A grade day.

A rowdy gang of crows has woken us super early every day this week.  Husband had an important day at work today so I got up with him at 5:30am and got a loaf of bread on the go:

I rarely buy sliced bread at the shops any more.  I only really buy part-baked rolls, tortilla wraps and bagels (for picnic lunches or pack-ups).  I have two methods of making bread which are both easy peasy.  The one I made today (and in the pic above) was made in our Kenwood breadmaker, which is obviously the easiest way.  (OMG, when I created that link to the John Lewis website I noticed that you can buy a round pan for the machine.  Guess where my next web-stop's going to be.).  It is so clean and simple to use and you can make a wide variety of loaves (including seeded loaves, pastries and doughs).  We haven't had a bad loaf from it yet and it makes the house smell amazing.  It also looks OK on my kitchen worktop so is always to hand:

I also make bread from this book.  It was recommended to me by a lovely woman whose attitude to food and cooking I really admire; she sometimes has the misfortune of finding me in her kitchen at lunchtime and always (at a moment's notice) produces something homemade (and delicious) that she makes seem super easy.  I will do a post about this method the next time I make a loaf because it makes proper rustic bread, more dense and chewy than the breadmaker loaf.  If you don't like gadgets but would like to easily, with minimal fuss, have a loaf of fresh bread every single day, this is the book for you! 

So having set the bread machine off, I had a leisurely coffee and finished a few granny squares.

I am now edging each of my granny squares with red yarn (you may remember from this post) so that I can join them more easily.  (I was going to try the 'join as you go' method but I can't get my head round it - I'm blonde - so I've decided to slip stitch this time. Anyway.)  I am LOVING adding this extra row of trebles.  The squares seem to sit nicely with an extra row and I can imagine how my blanket is going to drape.  I am getting very excited about finishing it.  Not long now, hopefully.  It will be so exciting to do my first 'ta dah'!

Had a very productive day at work and feel quite pleased with self.  It's hectic at the moment because I'm covering for someone on annual leave but I actually prefer being this busy.  

Do you like my Mario mouse mat?  My mouse won't work on any
other mouse mat, seriously, only on copier paper and that's not decorative enough for me.

I always like to finish the day by tidying up my desk and writing a nice fresh list of things to do the following day.  It helps me to switch off.

A cup of tea and a (lemon and white chocolate) cookie provided the afternoon's refreshment.  Do you like my new little cake plate?  I bought it this afternoon at a gorgeous kitchen shop down the road.  I could only afford two today but I'm totally going back next week (when I've been paid) to buy a couple more.  

♥♥♥ Love love love them ♥♥♥

And now I'm going to sort out my baking equipment storage issues.  Here is the storage trunk that we picked up last weekend:

I love it, it's exactly what I was looking for and the price was reduced by more than 50%!  I am a really keen baker and novice cake decorator.  I also have zero willpower in pretty kitchen shops (see above) which means that I have a huge stash of cake pans, cutters, mats, food colourings, glitter, piping bags and other cakey bakey paraphernalia.  At the moment it is kept in two enormous laundry bags in our little outbuilding so I have to rummage around in the cold creepy little barn whenever I want to bake.  Not ideal.  Not any more though!  I am going to have a sort through and transfer it all to this storage chest in the conservatory.  Cutters will be kept in pretty little boxes within the trunk and everything will be neatly stacked.  I'm stupidly excited.  I love reorganising my cupboards.  How sad am I?!

Nicki 

x

*  My Mum found my diary when I was about 13 and read it aloud with my sister.  It happened to be the day's entry where I was worrying whether Dominic might try to snog me at the next under-18s discos.  I'd never been snogged before and it was a HUGE worry for me!  Mum and sis thought it was hilarious but I was mortified and stopped writing then and there.  I gave my diaries to my best friend to keep but we lost touch when she went to the local college and I stayed on at school.  Wonder if she still has them?  I know that my Mum occasionally reads my blog and I hope that she is reading this and squirming.  Ha ha!  Love you, Mum, you're still the best. xx