This week in photos!

Today I wanted to share with you a few photos from the week! I've had a week off from the day job so it's been nice to get up to a few different things

Garment making!

You may remember from this post that I wanted to make my way through the Tilly and The Buttons book Love At First Stitch, so now I've moved on to the second project, the Margot Pyjamas! I traced off the pattern and I have actually cut the pieces out now- I'm quite slow and a novice when it comes to making things like this but I'm glad I've made a good start! The step by step instructions are so useful and I'm looking forward to cracking on with these.

Using food tips as weights, such a handy tip from the book!

Looking forward to getting these made and wearing them. I might make a heavier weight pair for the winter too!

(Attempting to) Get fit!

A while ago I took up hoola-hooping in an attempt to bring some excercise into my life, but I didn't stick to it, so this week I've made the effort to get outside and hoop every morning with my ipod, and do sit-ups too. I'm really feeling it after a week of excercise! I'm hoping that by doing it every day I'll establish it as part of my routine and I also hope that by sharing this goal with you I'll be more likely to stick with it. It's actually really fun if you've got some good bouncy music on too!

Cake scoffing... a reward for the hoola-hooping (!)

In contrast to the exercise, I made a Blackberry and Marshmallow cake (you've got to have some treats!) and gave a vintage metal tray an update in a How To..!

Charity shop hunting and bangle covering

I recently posted a How To... featuring fabric wrapped bangles and I've really caught the bug for making these, so I went charity shop hunting for bangles to cover with recycled fabrics, beads and chain- I'll be adding a selection to my Etsy shop soon!

Some bangles in progress!

New reading!

I picked up a second hand copy of Danny Wallace's "Yes Man" which I'm enjoying and hoping to learn from!

Climbing!

A friend and I climbed the o2! I'd very much recommend it, there are great panoramic views around London from the viewing platform at the top and it's something a bit out of the ordinary to do! I'll share some more pics of the view with you in a later post

I hope you've all had a lovely week and have a happy Bank Holiday weekend. Share what you get up to in the comments!

Recipe: Blackberry and Marshmallow Cake!

 It's the time of year when Blackberries are coming into season and you see them growing in abundance in the hedgerows. I'd been thinking for a while that I'd like to come up with some new recipes using Blackberries this year and whilst watching Dragons Den one evening there was a pitch for Marshmallows (love love love marshmallows!) and this started the cogs turning! The Great British Bake Off is also back and making me hungry on Wednesday nights, so the natural choice was to make a cake. So this is what I conjured up, a Blackberry and Marshmallow cake! I've kept the sugar in the filling to a minimum as I didn't want it to be a sugary overload and I hope you'll agree it's just right! Enjoy!

Serves 12

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 200g Self-Raising flour
• 200g butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 medium free range eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Icing sugar, to dust

For the filling:

• 150ml extra thick double cream, or double cream whisked until thick and spreadable
• Handful of Blackberries 
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 8 pink Marshmallows

For the cake:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease two 8" sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment

1) Cream the butter and sugar together with a spoon or hand mixer until smooth and no lumps remain

2) Beat the eggs into the mixture one at a time

3) Sift in the flour and baking powder. Add the vanilla extract

4) Beat the ingredients together with a spoon or your mixer, taking care not to over beat the mixture. If it looks a little dry, mix in a tablespoon of milk

5) Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins

6) Bake for 20-25 mins, or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of the sponges comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely

7) Shortly before assembling the cake, prepare the filling. First make your Blackberry "jam." Add the handful of Blackbereries to a small pan with a tablespoon of caster sugar and a tablespoon of water. Cook on a low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is syrupy and the Blackberries are soft. Roughly crush half of the Blackberries with the spoon

It's best to make this mixture straight away right before you need to use it, but if you do prepare it in advance it can be made syrupy again with the addition of a drop of hot water

8) Spread the cream onto one sponge

9) If you've managed to resist eating them all (I found this very hard... nom) put your marshmallows into microwavable dish and microwave for 10-15 seconds. You'll end up with a marshmallow fuff. Work quickly here while the marshmallow is soft and spread over the cream. If the marshmallow starts to set again, microwave for five seconds. Top with the blackberry mixture

10) Add the top half of your cake and dust lightly with icing sugar. Enjoy!

Have you come up with any inventive recipes using Blackberries? Post them in the comments below! Happy making!