New Home Editions

Really pleased with some of the new editions to the house that I got for my birthday last month.  I had blogged about this gorgeous John Lewis lamp before and Bean saw it, bought it, and gave it to me for my birthday! How lush!

This gorgeous Emma Bridgewater Honey and Marmelade jar was given to me my Bean's best friend, who always puts 110% into present buying.  This she bought to go with the Emma Bridgewater glass Jug and Cups that she had given us as a wedding present.

Fantastic new teapot, from Forlife that has an in-built strainer for making tea from loose tea leaves.

What Made Me Smile This Week

This week was a bit of a funny one for me.  How was yours?

Monday felt like a long, long way away from the weekend and on Tuesday I travelled up to Manchester for work.  I really enjoy travelling and seeing new places but it does always mean an early start and a late night.  On Wednesday and Thursday I came down with a bit of a tummy bug and had Thursday off sick from work.

Its horrid being poorly but I had a day on the sofa wrapped up in my quilt and a day at home meant that I was there to see a little visitor in my garden.  We've seen urban foxes around and about our house before by never in broad day light before.  This little fox was happily sunning himself on the decking and was in no hurry to leave.  I wonder if maybe he comes to visit quite often and we just aren't here to see him.

I decided to try something a bit different with my hair this week and go for a sweeping side fringe and a side plait.  It's always nice to try something new - especially when so many people commented on how nice it looked.  I think I'll try this again!

I've been wanting a pair of diamond stud earrings for a while and these ones from Accessorize are really classic and were only £10 for 2 pairs.

I am also really pleased that I've finally got round to clearing our dining table and setting it up with our Emma Bridgewater Wedding crockery.  It's funny how setting the table with cups and crockery really helps finish off a room.  I was also really pleased with these gingham place mats which I got super cheap from Butlers in the close down sale of their Brighton Store.

Recipe: Asian Noodle Soup With Prawns

OMG! This was such a tasty dinner.  It was completely different for us - I wasn't sure whether noodles in soup would really go down that well with G for dinner.  But I can very happily say that G was happy to say that this is perhaps one of his favourite things I've cooked!

If you fancy something really warming for winter but are looking for something healthy and not as heavy as stew or casserole, that you can whip up in about 20minutes then this is definitely for you.

The recipe comes from the fantastic 'Home at 7, Dinner by 8' by Sarah Wright - a must for those working ladies looking for easy, cost effective tasty dinners.

As always I made a few changes (didn't use the oyster sauce or sesame seed oil as I had none, and I also squeezed 1 lime into the stock to give it that fruity tang) but it was pretty much the same as Sarah Wright's recipe below.  

I was also super excited that we used our Emma Bridgewater Black Toast pasta bowls to serve this tasty dinner.

Enjoy! xo

For the stock: 

500ml chicken stock

2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1/2 tsp sesame seed oil

salt (optional)

For the soup:

200g dried soba noodles or instant noodles

10-2 whole prawns peeled

2 heads of pak choi, cut into quarters

1 red chilli, sliced

1/2 bunch coriander, chopped

3 spring onions, trimmed and sliced

1 lime, cut into wedges

1.  The key to a good soup is a good stock so the first job is making the broth big and bold in flavour.  Pour the stock into the saucepan and place on a high heat.  Add the remaining ingredients and allow the broth to come to the boil.  Taste it to check for the spicy/salt balance.  If necessary, add more sweet chilli sauce and salt to taste.

2.  Add the noodles and the prawns and cook for 4-5 minutes until the noodles are cooked through.  Fold the pak choi into the soup and cook until the leaves are tender and the stalk still has crunch, about 2-3 minutes.

3.  Serve in deep soup bows and sprinkle with the sliced chilli, coriander and spring onions.  Serve with a wedge of lime on the side.