So we had a massive clear out - we filled 26 bin bags! We found quite a few snail shells - our garden is clearly where slimies come to die. I HATE snails and slugs more than anything else, so had a few fits when I thought I accidentally touched one. He he, my dad had to move them all.

On a recent tip to the dump I spied some nice garden pots someone was binning, so nabbed them. Dan and I then had a fun afternoon filling them with new plants. We’ve got lavender, which the local bees have been having a party on, and something nice and pink. And three little trees. I’m hoping one will become a tiny Christmas tree - he is really sweet.

Below are a before and after. See if you can guess which is which.

We went all out and bought a parasol too. Now all I need is a cute little table and a glass of Pimms and lemonade.

But I’m back, I promise, with a lovely new job working for an animal charity, which means I have more time for me, and my stuff. And I get to spend my days with dogs and cats who are so fun I make a new friend everyday and want to take all of them home. Amazing huh?!

Anyway, I’ve got a whole load of Peachfaced fun to share and swear I’ll be better from now on. I might even bake a cake, to celebrate my return. Maybe I’ll post it up for you to see. But I’ll probably have to eat it myself. Hope you understand :)

Last weekend I went to Barcelona with work and ate like a king. We were taken to the best restaurants in town, but my favourite thing was bread with tomato - you take one bite and it’s like eating a summer holiday.  I tried it in Arola, a really lovely restaurant at the Hotel Arts Barcelona.

This morning I went to a little farmers market near my house, which is a bit of a rip-off but it had these nice looking tomatoes, so I snapped them up and made a yummy lunch with them. I ate this outside today with the perfect summer breeze. I suggest you do the same.

Bread with tomato recipe

1. Cut a ciabatta in half lengthways and then into little chunks. Grill it so the bready bit is lightly toasted.
2. Cut a clove of garlic in half (if you keep the skin on it stops your fingers getting quite so garlicky)
3. Rub the garlic over the toasted bread
4. Cut the tomato in half and rub on the toast
5. Put a sprinkle of sea salt over the top
6. Drizzle some olive oil on top, and enjoy

ps - I had a bit of mozzerella on the side, which was nice. If your tomatoes are a bit watery you could add some basil to perk them up a bit, but it’s not essential.

I recently made these cute desserts which are definitely worth sharing. (The picture isn’t all that special, but they were, honestly.) I totally forgot about them until I was thinking about sweet treats the other day. This dessert-based reverie happens fairly frequently so I’m surprised it took me so long to remember them.

Anyway, they are little meringues topped with sweetened chestnut puree and then a creamy topping. I am often suspicious of any pudding that doesn’t include chocolate, but you can set any similar worries aside, as these are yummy. I made them from a recipe in Desserts by James Martin, but I found an identical Delia Smith recipe here, so if you want to try them (and I would advise you to do so) then just follow Delia.

I got into bad habits recently and stopped blogging and crafting. This is silly because I love both of these things and as soon as I get stuck back in I remind myself how foolish it is to let them fall to the wayside. So I made this blue fascinator and got a double whammy, as it meant fun craft time and a perfectly good reason to blog again.

So here it is - it’s a bit crazy as it is quite high and makes me look super tall but I don’t care too much because I push 6ft in heels anyway. I’m planning to wear it to two weddings later this year with this lovely blue dress that has a Chinese flower print all over it.

I’m having a bit of a thing for the 1950’s at the moment, so last night Dan and I went to Ed’s Diner in Piccadilly Circus in central London.  It does amazing  milkshakes (I can highly recommend the banana one) and scrummy burgers. I stupidly forgot to take a photo, but it had duke boxes packed with rock n’ roll and shamelessly huge plates of food, it was so fun!

My friend Katherine passed on a really yummy and really easy chocolate Easter nest recipe . It takes about five minutes, and this will make about 13 sticky little nests.

Chocolate Easter nests recipe

1. Cut up three Mars bars and melt them, with 40g of butter
2. Once melted tip in some cornflakes.  I used about four big handfuls. You want to be able to stir it all in until all the flakes are covered. There’s no great science to it
3. Put a spoonful of the nest mixture into a fairy cake case, and top with two mini-eggs. Add a little chick if you have one.

Have a great Easter!

After thinking about hats all day I decided to rustle up a fancy comb to wear on Easter Sunday. This one is a standard clear comb wrapped with thin sheer ribbon, then I made a silk ribbon rose and added a tiny crystal butterfly.

Photos: V&A

I’ve been dying to see the Hats: An Anthology exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. It’s curated by Stephen Jones (I’d give up cupcakes in exchange for one of his creations), so I was in hat heaven when I went to see it the other day. In this video interview Jones gives an insight into the life cycle of one of his hats:

On Location: An interview with Stephen Jones from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.

The thing that excited me most was seeing the hat/fascinator Sarah Jessica Parker wore to the premiere of Sex and the City: The Movie. There were some quirky bonnets and amazing feather creations which I loved, but to me, SJP’s little beauty is about as perfect as headwear gets.

There is also this great video of Deborah Miller, head of model millinery workroom at Stephen Jones, creating one of Jones’ most famous hats. She makes it look so easy!

Millinery in action: making a hat in the Stephen Jones workroom from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.

Photo: Adele Turner

Just as I was about to leave work I was given this cheeky pink chap by my colleague Adele. It got shared around the office as everyone was very envious. Check out her Flickr for more fun photos - she does a great photo of the day set.