Weekly baking - Lemon and Mango Cheesecake

This cheesecake is non bake but it needs a time for each layer to set.
I got this receipt from my colleague Alex. His cheesecake looked like from the shop. I tried to make mine to look as perfect as (for me) possible. :-)

Work and work to save

This week I got 4 shifts in my second job! It means that in 5 days I will be working about 60 hours. I don't usually do so many hours but if I have this opportunity I will do it. Only regret is that I don't go to the GYM, because to be honest I am totally exhausted after 13 hours of work.

Sealing Victorian quarry tiles

We have a Victorian quarry tiles in our house! 

Yes, not really inside as they are in front of our door and there are just a few of them. :-) Never less I am spending a lots of time a week with them. They need proper scrubbing every Saturday as the dirt goes inside of them. They have a little of wear especially the middle ones. I thought that if we seal them then they will look better and also they will need just a wipe dawn and not scrubbing every week.

Our front door looked like this. I have already painted them and also did a little design on our door mat. You can but see the tiles having different colour + texture as they are just used.

 

Weekly baking - Lemon drizzle cake

It is such a nice and warm weather here in Surrey. So I have baked something lighter this week.
Lemon drizzle cake is not difficult and it taste nice and summery.

How to clean a sisal rug - DIY

We have this sisal runner in dining room. It is the only thing between outside dirt and our cream carpets. Unfortunately we do not have any front hall or corridor. You open front door and it goes straight in the dining room.

I have bought this runner about 18 months ago when we bought the house and just after I have cleaned all of our carpets. :-)

It has good colour which will hide the dirt but it was slowly starting to show it.

No clothes buy year - update 4

My no clothes buy year goes very well. I didn't buy anything in last 1 1/2 month! There is a small problem in August as we have been invited for friends 30th birthday party and there is a theme. Gatsby 1920 - 1930.

 

Weekly baking - Birthday chocolate & strawberries Victoria sponge cake

My husband had a 30th birthday so I have made him a homemade cake. I have finally bought some matching cake forms so I could do Victoria sponge. I have added our home grown strawberries and voila Chocolate & strawberries Victoria sponge cake.

 

Curtain shortering / dining room

What a beautiful weather here in Surrey! Almost pity that I have to spend it in the office. :-)
This week I have finally shortened our dining room curtains. I have bought them from Ikea. They are beautiful turquoise velvet ones. They come as 3m long! So I have dusted my sewing machine and spent 1 evening with them.
When I hang them they were like this.  Not so bad?

 

Weekly baking - Eve's Pudding/ Upside down pudding

This week I did Upside down fruit pudding. It is simple to make but tricky to bake.

Bamboo chinoisse chippendale chairs / on e-bay!

I found these chairs on e-bay. They look like bamboo chinoise chippendale. I would love to have them but unfortunately they were in Sheffield + finished now.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bamboo-chairs-/221454261313?pt=UK_Home_Garden_LivingRoom_RockingChairs_SR&hash=item338fb3dc41

They could look like this after some care. Nice isn't it? I like it because it is very different from high street furniture shops where all furniture just looks the same.

New gas combi boiler quotes / British Gas

We finally received all quotes for our new boiler. We went for Worcester combi.
The quotes were from one local boiler company which I have found on Check a Trade. The guy had a really good reviews.
Second company was recommended to us by my husbands parents and the third was British Gas. I thought that we will get them a chance (even if they do not have a history of being the cheapest ones)

So first service guy came (David). All in working clothes + measuring tape in back pocket. That is always a good sign. David was polite, measured everything and answered all my questions + no hard sell. I was quite nicely surprised. Don't forget that we got some window quotes last year. Worst sell people ever.

Drafty front door - no more

What do you do when it is raining outside? DIY! That is a lots of time for DIY here in England as there are more rainy days than the sunny ones! :-)
I had a eye on our front door for some time. I did the revamp of them last year but I didn't changed the bottom brush. I thought that it is still OK and it will be waste to change it. Our front door are pretty much drafty free (as you can 135 years old door make) but this brush was getting a little bit used and grubby(+ had a little bit of paint on). Also do you remember my DIY front door mat? I had to have new one because of some tom cat spraying out front door + mat. Also the "pee" got on the inside carpet and on the old door brush too. It was a little bit smelly and had to go.

I always forget how much work it takes to take screws out which were painted over! It took some strengh! 

Over 100 posts - done!

I almost didn't realised but I am now over 100 posts! :-) When I started I have known that there will be time when I probably will not have "energy" to do it anymore, but I am impressed with myself. Half a year later and I am still enjoying writing about our house and my "trying" to do some DIY and decorate it somehow tastefully. :-)
 It is a hard work for a house not to look like from the high street catalogue. You know very matchy. I know a few people how just went along and got whole range from Next (even with curtains) or from John Lewis. It looks very nice just not very personal. I am always trying for very personal and "it goes together" but not matchy (guilty in case of all of our furniture being solid oak - We just like it!)

Weekly baking - Peanut butter & chocolate squares

Last weekend I did delicious & very sweet Peanut butter & chocolate squares.
It is a new receipt for me. I found it in the baking book from library. This receipt is not a calorie low so Please mind that! I will probably do next time just half of it. :-)

Does your cat use the toilet?

Our cats are house trained. We have a inside toilet + outside toilet too. We keep our cats locked in for a night, because of possible traffic accidents and our cats not being the most clever ones. Also we sleep better if we know that they are in and save. :-)
Our cats will not use the loo during the night. Only if they really, really need it. They just don't like smelly house. :-)
It doesn't bother us, only thing is they will not use even the outside toilet when let out in the morning!
They will use our garden!
This weekend I have even saw Meowgi using toilet as a bed! Micka did that a few weeks ago.  Do you think that the problem is that our toilets are just too clean? You know not smelling like a toilet should do? I clean it with Dettol wipes + gloves. So it doesn't smell of cats pee.