British inspired.....

 The first of my 3 retro dining chairs is finished and I have to say I am really pleased with how it's turned out. I love the colour combo of  red/aqua/white and I think the proportions of each colour works well.

This is the 3rd Union Jack design I've painted on a piece of furniture so feeling relatively confident I decided to challenge myself by painting the Union Jack design on both sides of the chair back. It was a lot harder than I thought to get those diagonal lines to wrap around the top of the back chair legs. Actually I don't really think that I gave much thought to how hard it might be. I just thought it would look good with the design on both sides. 

 I really love the shiny bright red oilcloth especially against the glossy white. 

So for the last couple of weeks I've been really undecided on what to do with the other chairs. I really want all 3 to look like they go together as a set but also that each one can stand alone as a statement piece of furniture. It was only yesterday that I finally decided on what to do with the other two chairs and sorry but  I'm not going to even drop a hint of what I am going to do but I can't wait to start work on them ;-)

My little workmate

 

 

 

 Thankfully the weather this week has been fine and sunny which means I can paint outside and this little fluffy ball of energy can run around chasing leaves and twigs and dream of one day catching the birds that hang out on our roof. Yesterday I mistakenly left the lid of a paint can out and while my back was turned Leo had stood in it with I think all four paws then walked inside leaving a trail of little white paw prints across our lounge. He did not appreciate having his paws being washed in the kitchen sink.....

And here's a sneak peek of one of the 3 chairs that I'm hoping to have finished tomorrow.

Ready for the fun stage

Stripped of the layers of old paint these 3 retro dining chairs are now ready for their makeover. There is the odd chip in various places which I think will just add to their charm. Now that they are in their bare wood condition I can really appreciate the lovely simple design and wish I had more to makeover. Can't wait to get started on the painting stage now.

Maple walnut banana muffins

Ummm yes I do have a surplus of bananas at the moment due to them being on special this week. When they get too ripe I will freeze some for baking and making smoothies later. Frozen bananas make the best smoothies :-)

Tonight I whipped up these golden muffins as I already had the oven on to cook a quiche for our dinner. This also means I have a ready made semi-healthy option for desert and something quick to put in the girls lunch-boxes tomorrow. 

Maple walnut banana muffins.

• 2 1/2 cups of self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup soft brown sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 2 small overripe bananas mashed
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup vanilla yoghurt
• 70 gm walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 180C . Sift flour and baking soda into a bowl, stir in oats and brown sugar. Beat together eggs, maple syrup, oil and yoghurt then gently fold into the dry ingredients together with the mashed bananas until mixture is just combined. Do not over mix unless you want your muffins to have little mountains in the middle of them :-)

Spoon the muffin mixture into muffin tins lined with muffin paper-cases.( I always use muffin paper-cases as it makes cleaning the muffin pan much easier)  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked and golden.  Enjoy!

Meet Leo....

 A few weeks ago now Amelia's cat "Boots" also known as "Fat-cat" was run over on the main road which is on the other side of the grove of redwood trees that borders the back of out property. This of course left us with just one cat who seemed a little lost at first without her sister but then seemed to enjoy being the 'only cat' in the house. We decided she needed some company so yesterday Amelia adopted "Leo" who was free to a good home.

 Our other cat "Shimmer" is not that impressed but I'm sure she will come around eventually...how could she not??

 "Leo" was originally going to be "Misty" but then the girls noticed 'she' was actually a 'he' ;-)

Yes this little ball of cuteness has us all captivated with every move he makes.