Sweet

Today we are having double glazing fitted here at the Bramble house. We've had draughty single glazed aluminium windows since we moved in more than 20 years ago. We had hoped to afford replacement wooden sashes at some point. That's never going to happen (currently over £20,000 for a terraced house!) we now realise, so have opted for UPVC in green on the outside to give the illusion of painted frames as a compromise.

It's cold here so I decided to do some baking to warm myself up and keep myself busy.

I subscribe to these chocolates (yes, you can subscribe to chocolate!!!) and get twelve 35g bags a month.

I have a bit of a backlog so wanted to bake something where I could use them up.

And this is the recipe I chose - I must be the last person on the planet to try it and I can see why people rave about it.
It took thirteen packets of the chocolate to make the cookies and they are very rich, and massive too!
I was looking forward to eating one with a cup of tea, but as I've been nibbling the broken bits and now feel in need of a lie down from an overload of sugar, I shall save that treat for later!
Have you tried this recipe?
What do you think of it?
As the double glazing is going to take five days to fit I'll have to think of other bakes to keep warm - maybe a slightly healthier one next time (or maybe not, I am going to be the teenagers favourite person this week if I carry on like this!!)
Thanks for visiting.
xXx

Feeling a Little Green...

A little while ago I bought some Annie Sloan paint, I'd been reading about how great it is and how, what really sold it to me, it needs no preparation!

I have to admit my first attempt was a disaster - I decided to paint outside on a fine but breezy day. I really wondered what all the fuss was about.

Today I decided to give it another go, this time painting inside. It made a huge difference and I had to force myself to stop before I'd painted everything in sight! It's so easy to use!

My favourite colour is green and I chose Antibes from the AS range.

I love this colour! I painted the frames and box with it and used a dark wax on top of the paint, the drawers are painted in the same colour but with clear wax on top. I think I prefer the dark wax on this colour.

clear wax 

dark wax

A mirror, thimble shelves and another frame were also painted before I could bring myself to stop but they've not been finished yet so I'll show those some other time.

 

 I also bought Paris Grey and Old White coloured paint so I need to try those soon...

My paint came from Bon Ami in Lewes, they are going to be running courses soon on how to use the AS paint. Although Lewes is 20 miles from us I'll go back there to get my next lot of paint (I'm thinking about Emperor's Silk next) as they are so friendly and helpful.

So, much as I still love my old favourite Farrow and Ball colours I have to say I'm a convert to Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

Do you have a favourite range?

 

Thanks for visiting.

Have a great weekend.

xXx