Links!

I try not to be political but ... this.

A beautiful travel photography project.

Saving this list for later.

Some yummy pasta recipes.

Love these.

Never really thought about this fruity controversy.

Brilliant!

My kitchen cleaner becoming famous stateside.

June Goals Review

Here's how I did this month:

• 2 letters - 1 done
• 3 recipes - done!
• Plant flowers in the garden - done!
• Make soap - done!
• Register for the C1 exam - done!
• Cycle tour - done!

Not bad for such a busy month with a week away and a week of third birthday celebrations.

Planting!

 This week, dragging my poor family out in torrential rain, I finally got some new plants for the garden. I don't have the best luck with plants but I felt the terrace needed some colour so I'm trying again!

I love the front of our house much more since Nico repaired this bench and we added a bit of deco and green.

 Fuchsia is my favourite. The colour is amazing and fills a spot on the terrace.

 I still love this archway in the garden. The clematis is really growing in now and the new hanging plant should bring even more colour.

 I still love this hanging planter too. The pop of colour matches the flowers below and lifts the eye.

I'm really looking forward to these lillies opening. I've never had them in a pot before. Fingers crossed!

Recipe: Feta and bean salad

Ingredients:
- 2 packs of feta cheese
- 2 cans of kidney beans
- Half a cucumber
- ca. 8 tomatoes
- 1 red onion
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Seasoning

Instructions:

Chop and combine the cheese and vegetables. Rinse the beans and add them. Dress with the oil, lemon juice, herbs and seasoning.

Make it Monday - Potato Print Cushion Covers

 Inspired by the colour scheme of a Mollie Makes project last year, I've been trying to incorporate more pink, turquoise and grey into Isabella's room. Her Ikea furniture is white and pink, she has a grey rug, a turquoise weaving and a painting with all three.

 Following yet another Mollie Makes project, this time from the 2017 calendar, I made three cushion covers for her bedroom too.

I ordered linen in the three colours with enough left over to hopefully make a quilt. I picked up cushions from Ikea. They are fairly large and comfy.

 Adapting an old envelope cushion pattern for the size of the Ikea cushions, I sewed them together yesterday. It's an easy pattern that I have done before.

 To jazz it up I got out a potato and a couple of pastry cutters. I settled on this clover shape as it's not too plain, nor too complicated. I had some white fabric paint to make a nice contrast. Then I got creative! With some help from Nico, I came up with three different patterns.

I'm really pleased with the results. Here's a tutorial if you want to try.

Weekly Wisdom

If something is not working, change it.

The Saturday Update

What a crazy week!

We celebrated Isabella's third birthday with family on Sunday. The weather was glorious and she was spoiled.

On Monday she celebrated at nursery and we took lots of cake.

I went in to school on Wednesday, cleared my desk and said goodbye to pupils and colleagues. Afterwards we headed straight up to my in-laws' for Nico's brother's birthday. As usual, it was great to catch up with family.

On Thursday we drove home after a morning of DIY, a thunderstorm as dark as an eclipse and some lunch. We hit a bit of traffic from the Hurricane festival but not too much.

Yesterday was Isabella's first official dentist appointment and she did really well. The dentist and her assistant were fantastic, letting her 'help' with my inspection first.

Today we are preparing for Isabella's second birthday party, this time with four of her little friends and so far the weather is not playing along....