Most of us have a few ‘survival skills’ up our sleeves. Skills that make our days, weeks and years run a bit easier, more smoothly. We all have certain life hacks that help us. Some tips, tricks, coping skills or efficient methods to manage life better. Some of these we don’t even realise we use […]
It is great to design your own space, to make a space fully functional to suit your lifestyle. Good design starts by thinking how you will function in the space – visually, physically and emotionally. And also think what will not work in the space. Design is a thought process, a skill, a tool to […]
My almost son-in-law made us a delicious chocolate biscuit cake the other day. It was REALLY yummy and sweet with a delicious white chocolate topping. So, that made me think about biscuit cake in general and the recipe for chocolate biscuit cake I have been using over the years. In Ireland biscuit cake is […]
Some time ago I read an article on how people style their homes. I was wondering about this, because it is so easy (and maybe a bit boring) to just follow the so-called rules about colours and patterns. But, don’t forget the space you are decorating, putting style into is your unique space. So […]
My earliest memories of hot cross buns are waking up on Easter Sunday by the spicy smell wafting through the house. My dad loved warming up hot cross buns for a special breakfast, delicious with some butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. A scrumptious treat. Hot Cross Buns, a spicy bun with a cross […]
Tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day and this year, like last year, it will be a very different event in Ireland. There will be no marches and bands, no get-togethers and parties. People are encouraged to stay home. Celebrating only online. The man to whom this day is dedicated and who is known as Saint Patrick, […]
If you are of a certain vintage you’ll probably know what a typewriter is. You have either used one or can remember the clatter and ringing sounds of a typewriter. I recently discovered my old typewriter. But what actually happened to the typewriter? Since the 1880’s the typewriter became an almost indispensable part of almost […]
Over the weekend I was going through my recipe books for cake-inspiration and found this German Coffee Cake recipe by Jamie Oliver. In his introduction Jamie says that this is his homage to the German or Saxon Streuselkuchen. This translates to a crumb cake because of its beautiful crumble-like topping over a spongy cake. He […]
For the final of our virtual tour through the city on 2 continents – Istanbul – we’re going to the beach. We’ve done the historical and cultural sides of this ancient city already, although there is so much more to see and learn, but this time we’ll relax at the beach. If you want to […]
As I explained in my blog last week we had seven days to get to know Istanbul better. We took one of those hop-on hop-off bus tours on our first day there. If you want to get an overall picture of what a city looks like, this is an excellent way to do it. The […]