Home, Sweet Home

It's my observation that a lot of us enjoy our holidays but we get to a point where we yearn for home, yearn for our own brand of normal and we long to be back with our loved ones.

I've been "on the road" for a month.
I have a yearning to be home ... to see the family I love so dearly, and my Bertie, my friends, my humble home.

Credit - Evoke

I have a yearning to see this view again.
And I'm not just talking about the hot chocolate!


I've missed you, Sarnia Cherie, 💓, my little piece of normal.

A la perchoine.

Party Tips

Before I ramble, I'd like to thank you, dear readers, for popping today and during the 11 months I've been Pouting.  

I appreciate the time you spare to visit and the absolute pleasure you give me when you've popped in, and when you follow me or leave a comment - it warms my heart and spurs me on as a blog can be a lonely place :-(.   

The friendships made have been a surprise bonus.  

I am humbled by your support. 

I wish you all a wonderful night tonight, wherever you are and whatever you're doing, and I wish you and yours a happy and healthy year ahead. 

Our recent Christmas Gathering of The Clan was held at Chez Pout.
I'd like to share my preps for the party with you, dear reader.
But before that, let's get the outfit out the way.

I went for total comfort.  A black jersey Rohan maxi vest dress.  Oh how I have worn this dress over the years.  It can go just about anywhere, dressed up, down ... or even sideways!

As it was a fun day, I accessorised with fun necklace and bracelet.  Both made of wood.  Both painted in multi-colours.  Both given to me as souvenirs from exotic places. 

I wear these pieces soooo much, like when we first met here!

But the party was pre-antibiotics, so I covered my neck snuggly with my dependable Zara leoprint scarf.  I think I've made up the word leoprint, BTW.  I hope so.  I think I can safely add that to my "jacardi" in the Pout Dictionary of Words That Should Exist.  But Don't.

Finally, keeping it real and yet in perfect context with the outfit, just a sneak of leoprint pompomed slippers below hemline :-).

And thus, our Pout is ready to party.

Fire lit and coloured lights a-flashing. Front lounge is ready to party.  Hyggeligt, ikke?

Kitchen ready for baking action.

Lemons ready to slide into G&Ts.

Hot drinks area ready for guests to help themselves, as and when

Chairs in place for ladies to place their handbags, a la towels on a poolside sun bed.  Really.  This actually happened.  I wish I'd taken a shot of all the bags positioned on the chairs, "claiming" their spots!

Crisps and nuts dotted around the mingling areas.

Candles lit.

Pout decorated with tinsel by granddaughter, done.

Photographer, as above, done.

Christmas light in its new home :-).

Photographer working on his crossword until the very second the first guests arrived!

Yes, Chez Pout is ready to party!

We had an absolutely wonderful time.  The children had a whale of a time!

It's so nice to see the generations together.  I'm now the eldest.  Ugh!  But it's better than the alternative, eh?

The party was a drinks and nibbles party.  And from it I have three top tips that I would like to share.  They are serious tips.  Don't expect anything witty.  They are sensible tips which may help you when hosting something similar.  Or you may already do these things and I am just incredibly slow to twig!

1.  When serving bought-in frozen party nibbles, take them out of the freezer, cook and serve in batches of one or two differents sorts at a time.  This means that you can gauge what's being eaten and you can stop when it looks like your guests are sated.  Thus, no waste.

2. Use paper plates and cups.  I usually shun them but I tried it this year and used "real" stuff just for serving dishes and wine.  This so worked.

3.  Make your own sausage rolls, with lots of added tastiness.  You get lots of compliments, they all get eaten up = empty plates!

Following those three basic steps, clearing up after everyone left was a doddle.  Just the glasses to wash up (the next day), the serving dishes bunged in the dishwasher and no food to pack up and struggle to find a place for in the fridge.  Simples or what?!

Sis offered to help clear up - I thanked her but told her we'd sort if out.  I am so relieved that I did.  Because having followed steps 1-3, clearing up was but a few moments' work.  It would have been embarrassing having got Sis to help out with such a quick task!

So what about you?  Have you been hosting any parties?  Do you have any time-saving tips to share?

And with this little offering, I thank you for popping in today and bid you

A la perchoine, in 2017!

Knus.

Tea Anyone?

Hi peeps, thanks for popping in.  Now, do you fancy a cup of tea?

Well I don't drink the stuff myself but I did fancy a coffee with my tea (not an oxymoron, reference being to the meal and not the beverage, for those readers unfamiliar with our British ways).

We met up with Son and family for some catching up over a civilised Afternoon Tea.

We heard all about Son and DIL's recent trip to Sorrento.

They also visited Positano (here) and Amalfi.  All absolutely picture-perfect.  His holiday snaps are a-mazing.

So, afternoon tea.

It was a glorious day so I chose this dress.

 My Dotty P navy Bardot dress and dolled it up a bit with turquoise jewellery.

Haven't done navy and turquoise before but I really liked it, the colour combo was a bit, well sort of Med, which suited the Sorrento back-story and the scorching sun. 

I draped a Next navy linen mix cardi over my shoulders, but it was so not needed.  It really was el scorchio out by the pool at The Farmhouse.

 

The GKs enjoyed a lot of swimming and frolicking around in the pool, working up a ravenous appetite for tea.  I merely sat myself down on a comfy poolside chair and watched - no appetite-inducing exercise required for this old body!

Platters of elegant sandwiches, cakes and mountainous scones were served.

Coffee.  And a Guernsey cream scone.  Yummy. 

Or as Rick Stein insists on saying, "Yummo", like he thinks it will catch on and he's going to start a trend.  So, that's yummy to the scones, then.

At some stage my camera was hi-jacked by that little blurred finger you see on the left.

Evidence of the jungle trek my little camera was taken on.  The Hijacker is showing great signs of being interested in nature and wildlife so it didn't surprise me that this is the kind of photo he sneaked off to take.

I ran around in the grounds playing Marco Polo (blind man's buff with audio help) with the GKs then later, we were shown amazing shots of the holiday back home.

What a lovely day.

A la perchoine.



Cousin Carol's Cheeseless Cheesecake

What is happening to the weather?  Look outside my turret window!

As I type, snow is falling.  Again!  
We're having a cold snap. It's pretty much the end of April. 
The Weather Man just isn't getting the memos. It. Is. Spring.

So what does a pensioner do on days like this?
She bakes!  Or rather, she non-bakes.  For this tasty treat requires no baking.

Some don't like cheese.  Like my Bro.  With this recipe, cheese-haters can have their cheesecake and eat it too - without the cheese.

Do you fancy making yummy "cheesecake"?  Here's what you do.

Cousin Carol's Cheeseless Cheesecake

How about that for an alliteration?!!

For the base:
Crush 1.5 packs of biscuits.  Cousin Carol uses Foxes butter crunch but you could use ginger or chocolate biscuits.  Mix in with 2-3 oz. of melted butter.  Spread on the base of a springform cake tin.

 For the topping:
1 tin condensed milk
1 pot of extra thick cream.  Not double cream, it needs to be the extra thick variety as stated on the label and the ratio needs to be about 50/50 so use a tub of similar size to the tin of milk.
The juice of 3 lemons*
Garnish with fruit (and cream), if desired**. 

Lightly whisk the cream and milk together, then add the lemon juice - the lemon juice thickens the mixture.
Chill for a few hours before serving.

Variation: use a 2 to 1 mix of ordinary double cream and creme fraiche instead of the thicker cream, substitute lime for lemon juice,mix lime zest with the topping and a little finely sliced rind for decoration. 
Cut the empty lime shell halves in fours, place on a zipper plastic bag in the freezer for your G and Ts :o).

*you can grate/zest the lemon rind, store it in an airtight container and use later. Or sliced scruffily for your G+T :-).

**Oops, you caught me out!

A few raspberries leapt onto the plate.  And a dollop of cream too. I'd better add those to the recipe!

And on a snowy Spring day (surely that's tantamount to an oxymoron!), why not light a candle to accompany this little plate of naughtiness and 

enjoy some "hygge", some cosiness.

Velbekomme!

BTW, I've not posted OOTDs for a few days.  I've been keeping warm in thick layers!  And I'm busy trying to source the perfect casual jacket for Spring (if ever that comes).  So, plenty of time to hunt around, then ...

Have you come across a super-versatile lightweight jacket, that goes with just about everything?  If so, please let me know!

A la perchoine.

 



My Spring Break

Hi dearies, it's me, reporting in after a wonderful family holiday with Son's family and his MIL. 
We holidayed  at Center Parcs in Longleat Forest in Wiltshire.
It was our first time on one of these family activity holidays. 
It did not disappoint.  It was A M A Z I N G.

It's set in a peaceful mainly pine forest.  The centre is so well-organised and the staff are uber friendly, helpful, courteous and good at what they do. And they all look so happy as they go about their duties.. You see smiling cleaners cruising between jobs on bikes equipped with baskets for the cleaning stuff.

What a happy place, to visit and to work in!

There were activities for every age and every level of fitness.
The water activities were such fun.  I loved splashing around with the grandkiddies.



We went boating with the grandkiddies.

 

 But we didn't try this!

There was a good selection of restaurants to eat in.  And some naughtiness to enjoy ... Daim bar cake! Can it get any better?

The self-catering accomodation was very good, so well-equipped and comfortable.  The lodges were dotted around the forest, not grouped together, so you felt like you had your own secluded space.  And though the centre was chocka and the Plaza and activity areas were busy, " at home" if felt so quiet and peaceful..

  A place to watch the squirrels scampering around for nuts.

Making a much-needed coffee on arrival after our 5 hour drive.

All in all, it was a great experience and a wonderful family holiday.  We all had such a good time. 

I hope I behaved myself well enough to be invited on another family holiday very soon!

The trip started with Next slim jeans, "Primani" stripey top and M&S scarf and boots.

With my old faithful travel companion, the small Tula shoulder bag.

 And I soon changed into waterproofs and thicker layers, like this M&S fisherman's sweater.  Because it got very cold.  Definitely dressing for warm and not style!

The weather was bitterly cold and when the drizzle stopped after Day 1, the sun shone but the air just got colder and colder.  And cold it has remained since we got back.  So much so that I've just looked out my the window and it's snowing! 
OK just a light shower, but it's still snow in April.  Springtime!  Weather this winter has been all over the place.   It has been milder than normal but very wet and very windy.  And now we are having temperatures colder than we've had all season.


But, enough of the weather.  Because, look at the drama we had at the end of the holiday.

The car broke down!
The AA were fantastic. Our drama was ameliorated by their smooth, slick service and their friendly staff.
We enjoyed the trip back from Wiltshire to Sussex in the front of the van.  What an adventure!  And once the car was dropped off at the local garage, our bags were loaded into the van and we were dropped off home. 
Pretty good service, eh?  Door to door.
  



And now my dearies, I'm leaving you and my turret.  I'm off to warm my hands around a cup of hot coffee!


Have you been on a Center Parcs holiday?
Are you enjoying spring weather where you are?
Or is the weather all over the place where you are too?


A la perchoine.



My Staycation Postcard

I'm kicking off this post with my homage to Bridget Jones and her exceptional diary, for that is what it is - quite possibly The Greatest Book of Our Time.

Meals out 3, though weight has remained surprisingly stable

(note to self: cal. expenditure when stressing over dressing dressing for meal out evidently negates cals consumed; can incr. to 4 p.w.)

Days spent with grandchildren, 1.  Most enjoyable. (OK, that's not really where Bridget was in life!)

Quizzes in which sister and I have beaten brother, 1, v. Good. (note to self: be kinder to younger male sibling).

Fires lit - 1. (Guess Bridget didn't do cosy fires either due to constraints of tiny attic flat).

Alcohol - well, errrhhmm, some.  Could have done this one better.

Fags - 0.  OK, I'm not a smoker, can I count that?

Outfits made from core items, at least 7.

My Bridget Jones summary above is clearly in the "spirit-of" as some of it is definitely not Young Singleton, but it actually makes sense to have started in that way as I can see that it was, in fact,

 a pretty good week, all round. 

The Outfits

Clothes-wise it was v. good. 

One of the things I enjoy about being away from home is working with what clothes I have in the suitcase.  An enforced Capsule Wardrobe.  OK, finalising that holiday suitcase can get a bit messy (read frustrating and running over MANY days) but the end result is usually good.

So I decided to try dressing for a week here at home with a selected capsule wardrobe. 

Rather like a staycation.   

With pre-holiday excitement I selected my items last weekend and hung them on display on pegs in the bedroom, creating a budget hotel mood for my week's staycation!

Result:

1. Dressing each day was a doddle as no desperate rooting round in wardrobe was required. 

2. Displaying in that way meant I could see at a glance the mix n match potential. 

3. I enjoyed at least one different outfit each day, depending on what I was up to. 

4.  And this is the big one - hubs didn't endure any of my Dressing Dilemmas, for a week at least!

Did I feel limited on choice?  Definitely not and I could have worked happily with far less. 

Will I do this again?  Most definitely.  It made for such an easy week as I pitched the choice just right with my week's plans and as you can see from the few outfit samples below, I would have been able to work quite a few more variations with the core items selected. 

They weren't uber-stylish outfits but they worked for my lifestyle (and my age!)

Should I have thought to do this before now? Duh, yuh!

The smallprint. 

My 10 basic items were 2 jeans, 2 cardis, 1 jumper, 2 tops, 2 vest tops, 1 jacket; accessories were 2 prs boots, 3 scarves.  That little lot would easily fit in a carry-on.

Cardi similar here, black/white jersey print top SS15, black Per Una Roma jeggings, all M&S; black Gabor boots. 

It was chilly but that was good as we lit a fire!

 

Same cardi, jeans and boots worn with a black version  of M&S Limited Collection Modal vest; print scarf







Wearing charcoal long-line cardi (now on sale) with vest top, both Woolovers cashmere/merino. jeggings and boots as before, "hairy" print scarf.

Ready for Quiz Action.
Woolovers black cashmere/merino V-neck here, with same boots and  Next sculpt jeans, old but they're still doing them here; the East embellished wool scarf (so versatile, so warm) was a birthday pressi 18months ago but similar here

Forgive the windswept look - just returned from windy walk!

Next black safari-style jacket, years old, ivory Artigiano long sleeve modal top, about 10 years old but similar on sale at rock-bottom price!! Goodness Me! Same jeans and scarf as before, Clarks heeled booties, old.

The Meals

 Lunch with Son at Red Grill Bar

I'm not a big steak person but I shared a Chateaubriand with Son and Red's top quality meat selected made it a super meal.

The other meals were a Quiz supper at The Vault (result as above :-)) and La Perla; I've been going there since it opened and Tony pitches it consistently right on food quality, menu choice, price, ambiance and friendly staff.  Well done, Tony, keep doing what you do so well!!

The Aftermath Guilt-Trip

It's back to the salads for me!  Prawns in a tangy homemade Marie Rose dressing today.

Must dash now.  I'm off to pack for next week's Staycation!

A la perchoine.