Author Archives: Ines

New Items for The Boy

Yes, we had a baby. Correction, we have a baby. The most gorgeous little man. Since my last bathroom post we managed to renovate the house, do a hole season of work and have a baby boy! We are in the process of decorating his own bedroom but I am not rushing. I am taking my time and apart from the general work; we stripped the awful chipped wallpaper and painted the walls, the rest is untouched. We only have his crib in there and he’s not even using it as he’s still too small. 🙂 It’s actually a storage room for endless piles of washing. I am sure ll the mums know what I’m talking about. Either way, this is my new buy. A car lamp shade to add a splash of colour for the washout grey walls.

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Whilst we are at it, I couldn’t resist these two cute items, just perfect for our Autumn walks. All purchases are from Vertbaudet, super cool French label for parents and kids apparently around since 60’s. I have to be honest, I never heard of them before but I am glad they sent me their catalogue. Without them baby D wouldn’t have these lovely new buys to wear. Best thing ever, they have a SALE on as we speak so hurry up if you want to bag a cute bargain.

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Off to have a well deserved glass of mulled wine, Ines x

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Home tour ~ Bathroom

Home tour ~ Bathroom-5

We are about to start a big renovation project in our home. Walls will be coming down, floors will get replaced and I will be saying farewell to that awful chip wood wall paper. I wanted to share these home tour pics for a while now so it’s probably best to start with the smallest room in the house: bathroom. Our small, cozy, vintage, avocado green bathroom.  Some call it vintage but let be honest it’s puke. This was never my favorite room and it was the first one to go.

Home tour ~ Bathroom-4

 As you can see I tried to make it homey by adding some greenish pastel floor rugs together with extra soft Egyptian cotton towels from John Lewis. I’ve thrown in a few ornaments from around the world; like these orange & purple Buddha’s from Burma & Maria Guadalupe statue from Mexico.  A few frames around are handovers and mostly car both  items.

Home tour ~ Bathroom-1 - Copy

Metal cabinet was sourced in a small vintage shop based in Bourne End, it was on sale together with the towel rail aka wooden duckegg ladder. I think we paid £80 for the lot.

Home tour ~ Bathroom-3 - Copy

I bought my duck shower curtain from Homebase. The quality was catastrophic and it was the first thing that we binned. The loops started tearing down after a few months of use and by that time it was way too late to claim any refund.

Home tour ~ Bathroom-2 - Copy

And here comes the bonus! All in all this is/was a decent size bathroom. It needed a new set of tiles, a lick of paint and new toilet, sink & bath. Making it fresh and modern but still in touch with the county cottage feel. Our renovation process was very well coordinated (just under 2 weeks for bathroom) until our plumber discovered some extra space! I know how lucky are we? Behind the bath stud wall lays extra 40 inches of space followed by the whole bath size wall that is currently being demolished. Our bathroom doubled in size and changed it shape overnight; from a small rectangular to a spacious square. Needless to say my original Victoria Plumb order was sent back and a new plan was hatched. I will be sharing my Pinterest inspiration with you shortly.

Ines x

 

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Spanish Gambas ~ Tapas Pil Pil

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This is one of my favorite quick eats, a constant reminder of the summer that I miss so much at the moment. I came across it when I first visited Spain back in 2004. Gosh, time flies! It’s the easiest recipe in the world and  impresses so many of my friends. A perfect glam bbq starter. You can either serve it as a starter or double up the portion and use it a main course, completely up to you.

Ingredients:

20 peeled prawns (gambas) (if you cannot get fresh prawns or do not like cooking with them then you can use pre-cooked prawns but adjust the cooking time so as to warm through thoroughly as opposed to cooking them)

3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, chopped and crushed
2 chilly peppers or 2 teaspoons chilly powder
pinch of cayenne or red pepper 
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
salt and fresh ground pepper

Preparation:

Put olive oil, garlic cloves, chili peppers, and cayenne pepper in an low earthenware pot. Heat at medium heat or until the oil begins to sizzle. Meanwhile peel and wash the prawns. Dry them off with a paper towel and add them to the pot. Cook the prawns for about six minutes, 3 minutes on either side, or until they begin to turn pink and curl slightly. sprinkle with the parsley and serve at once. As with every other tapas dish, Gambas al Ajillo is traditionally served with a bowl of bread.

You can also add some tomatoes (pealed and pureed) to the sauce, before adding the prawns. It adds the sweetness to the taste and dipping the bread in is just too delicious! I hope you make this soon and enjoy it as much as we do.

X Ines

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Zuccini Tagliatelle With Parmesan

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Its time for one of my favorite summer “get back to eating your veg again” recipe. This is a simple and strait forward recipe and literally takes minutes to make. Ideal if you have some friends popping in on you last minute;

For 2 people you will need:

2 medium courgettes (zucchini)
4 garlic cloves
2 red chilies (1 if you prefer it less hot)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
150 g tagliatelle pasta
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)

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HOW TO:

  • In a large pan of salted water, put the pasta on to boil.
  • Grate the courgettes/zucchini, chop or mince the garlic, finely chop the chilli and grate the parmesan.
  • Melt the teaspoon of butter in a large frying pan and add the garlic.
  • Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the chilli and courgette/zucchini.
  • Leave to cook for 10-15 mins stirring occasionally. You want to cook everything but not really brown any of it off.
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan.
  • When the pasta is cooked, drain and stir through a tablespoon of olive oil
  • Plate up the pasta and serve with the courgette/zucchini mixture on top

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Dobar tek (bon appetite) like Croatians would say, x Ines

 

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