look what was waiting on the doorstep for me yesterday…

it’s form my friend sashi, who sent it all the way from the other side of the world.

i particularly love it’s little scalloped base.

happy weekend!
essie xxxx

mmm - there are some gorgeous prints in liberty’s new range. here are a few of my favourites…

such prettiness!
xoxox

my bff is a marine biologist. she loves fish, and sea creatures, and the ocean. she’s kept her own aquariums for a really long time, and always takes great care of her fishy friends.

for her birthday, i decided to make her an embroidered aquarium to go with the real ones.

it’s in a four inch hoop, so it’s pretty tiny - i wanted to make it detailed, so that you had to peer into it, the way you do with a real aquarium, to really see what’s going on in there.

i enjoyed working on such a bright and busy little project for a couple of days. hopefully that enjoyment shows in the finished piece.

essie xxx

i feel like you have to be a cook with an extensive repertoire, and sound kitchen skills, in order to have a “signature dish”, but if i were to have one, potato salad would be it.
it’s great for taking to dinner parties and bbqs, and goes well with a lot of weeknight dinners like sausages or schnitzel. to be honest, i could just eat it as a meal in itself.
here’s how i make mine…

ingredients

12 - 15 small potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 fistful of continental parsley, chopped
1 small jar of good quality whole-egg mayonnaise
1/2 a small jar of baby dill pickles, roughly chopped
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 small spanish (red) onion
1/3 cup of salt (don’t worry! it doesn’t all end up in the salad!)

method

slice the onion as finely as you can and place it in a bowl.
add all but a few pinches of the salt, and toss so that the onion is thoroughly coated.
set aside for at least 15 - 20 mins.

place the potatoes in a large saucepan, and cover with cold water. add the remaining salt to the water. bring to boil.

when the potatoes are tender, remove them from the heat, drain them in a colander, and then run cold water over them to cool them somewhat. transfer them to a serving bowl.

you will notice that your onions look like they have sweated and gotten all wet. the salt has drawn out all the really strong ‘onioniness’ out of them, and left the nice sweet peppery flavour, making them much more pleasurable to eat!
rinse the salt off them (i find the easiest way to do this is to toss them in a sieve under cold running water), and add them to the potatoes.

add the parsley, pickles, mayonnaise, and mustard, and gently toss until all ingredients are combined.

you can eat this warm, or chilled - either way is delicious.

if you’re not vegetarian, it’s also nice with some fried bacon tossed through.

enjoy!
essie xoxox

i never get tired of hexagons…

click on the image to be taken to the treasury

xxx

these old fashioned roses are sitting in a little jam jar on the coffee table.

the peachy coloured one smells exactly like fresh lychees. it’s extraordinary.

xxx

these days after christmas are so lovely. all the big events are over, and there is time to rest, regroup, and gear up for the new year.

we’ve been taking it very easy here, and i’ve been fully immersed in an embroidery project that i’ve been working on for some time…

the pattern is by the drawn thread, and it’s called “the marriage of minds”. i’ve made a few alterations, the main one being to make both of the figures women, and to make their dresses resemble the ones we wore at our not-quite-wedding.

i hope you’ve had a wonderful festive season - and happy new year!
essie xoxox