Friday 15 May 2009

Having Your Cake and Eating It !

Aha! A sneaky little peek at what Ive been working on - this is a little teeny weeny part of a painting called 'A Lovely Dream' and its still not finished despite 5 hours painting today (ah bliss indeed!). I am sitting typing with acrylic paint all over my hands, for me, painting is the equivalent to several hours at a day spa - it removes me completely from my normal world, I have no concept of time and Im able to lose myself for hours, becoming wonderfully absent minded and forgetting to eat etc!


So, today was a gift of a painting day, and talking of art I would love to pop in a mention about a little sale my fellow artist and friend Niki Jackson is having at her Etsy shop... I hope she wont mind, but Ive borrowed a picture of her gorgeous art to show off here - Niki works with mixed media to create whimsical yet thought provoking art. If you are curious to see more, you can check her out here.

This is one of Niki's art pieces - one of my favourites! :)


Anyway...yesterday saw a rather wet day descend upon our little house, and me and the tot were moved to do a spot of baking. Our first recipie being Cumberland Dream Cake which I had picked up on a postcard from Lucy's of Ambleside
This shop, for those of you have never had the good fortune to have ever visited, is an aladdins cave of deli-licious goodies. It is also a bistro, it is a cooking school - Lucy's is, in a word 'heaven'...anyway, I digress - this little postcard had the recipie of a fabulous little tray bake we nibbled upon with relish during our stay in the lakes, and after 2 years of the said card languishing in the front of a Nigella book, it finally got a testing yesterday and both me and little C declared it very nice indeed (and if you are a fan of walnuts, coconut and sticky sugary goodness with a crispy top then you would too).


The baking frenzy did not stop there. No, we moved on to make a vanilla sponge cake, with vanilla buttercream and (going into Enid Blyton mode here) lashings of Bonne Maman apricot jam in the middle. The tot was in her element licking spoons of cake mixture and the bowl of left over buttercream as I made the decision to be a bit more creative with my icing sugar sprinkling for the top (a quick dusting normally does the trick) and I made a little template out of a bit of card and it turned out like this!

Oh, we could hardly wait to finish our tea before slicing big wedges for afters! I feel a slice coming on right now, with a big mug of hot tea - very necessary after a morning of painting I think!! :)


Well, it seems as if I never stop doesn't it? Indeed I don't - well not at the moment anyway. Yesterday afternoon, mid baking, I had an appointment with a lovely man called Pete who owns a little cafe and who wanted to have a look at my art print cards. We had a chat and he said he would be very happy to stock my cards for me! I was delighted!! The cafe is in a very scenic area, popular with walkers and cyclists and people coming off the Woodhead Pass (one of the main routes over the penines to Manchester) and its often incredibly busy. He also expressed an interest in having a few pictures too, so thats something else to be thinking about!

This is a long post isnt it?

A little while ago I looked out the kitchen window at the pouring rain, and guess what I saw? It made my day - Mamma Duck and Seven little Babies swimming furiously against the swell (river's gone up quite a few inches and is boistrous and brown instead of shallow and calm). They looked like little brown pom-poms, all in a line - just delightful! :)

Im off to get that cuppa and cake, Ive rambled long enough!!

Sending love to you each, for a smashing weekend.


See you soon
J x


14 comments:

  1. So much to comment on. The tantalising glimpse of your new painting, I want more! The link to Niki's original and inpiring work, many thanks for that, I so very much enjoyed :o) Your tempting and very pretty,creative, cute spongecake. I want to copy the hearts idea (if you don't mind) for Sunday tea.
    And of course I can't go without telling you how much I adore your Attic 24 bag, I like the change in the handles and buttons too x
    One of my favourite luxuries is reading my friends blogs and another is having a gorgeous meadow that can walk straight into just outside my garden gate.
    I also like to indulge in a homemade devonshire style tea.
    Wishing you a happy weekend
    x
    Sumea

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  2. Your luck's on a roll Julia! Keep up the good work! My mouth is watering with the thought of all the lovely baked goodies you have made. Thank you for the artist recommendations comment you left on my blog. It is useful for me to seek out artists that I don't know and see if their work speaks to me. I may be asking you for some more recommendations in the future! Enjoy your weekend.x

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  3. What a wonderful post, so inspiring and joyful!

    Thanks so much for sharing about my sale.

    Your cake looks so yummy I especially love the icing sugar hearts.
    Much love to you dear friend xxx

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  4. Hi Julia, Have you tried Nina at "Hackets" in Penistone for stocking your cards? She always has a shop full of lovely things. (Tell her that Diane sent you!!) I must say that cake looks as if its waiting for me to take a slice, with all the hearts!! Have a great weekend.xxx

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  5. Your picture just made me stop and look for a long while. Might not be finished, but it still makes a big effect. I love the way the fields sweep upwards.

    Not too rambly, lovely to hear such cosy good news.

    Have a great weekend.

    Lisa x

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  6. Your picture just made me stop and look for a long while. Might not be finished, but it still makes a big effect. I love the way the fields sweep upwards.

    Not too rambly, lovely to hear such cosy good news.

    Have a great weekend.

    Lisa x

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  7. Love that sweet little hare in your painting, he adds a magical mystery. Also agree that baking is much the best thing to do with a wet day :-)

    Enjoy your weekend.

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  8. Hi Julia...I know Lucy's well...its lovely I have had some super meals over the road at her resteraunt...I am trying to catch up with people today after the huge slog these past few (5 weeks)...your painting is lovely..I could just eat a slice of your enid blyton cake....happy week sweetie...H

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  9. Why oh why aren't you the size of a house?! I've put on a stone just reading your post - plus I'm hungry now... Good luck with the cards, Kim xx

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  10. another beautiful painting!!! I just love your bright happy paintings....oh the spongecake looks soooo yummy...now i want some sweets so bad...lucky my young daughter loves to bake and is making some brownies in muffin tins tonight!!!xoxo

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  11. Hi Julia :o)
    Thank you for your lovely comment on my blog.
    mine has to be brief today, a flying visit, as I catch up with everyone now my computer has recovered.
    I hope you have a magical week, rainbow weather is forecast.
    x
    Sumea

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  12. Hi Julia, I have gave you an award, you can collect it from my site, I do hope you like it. xxxx

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  13. Ooooh lovely cake Julia. I wish I could bake. My mum could, and my grandma, but I am, missing that gene!!

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