You've got mail

Spending time away from home can make a return to the routine tricky so it’s nice when you come across little things that ease you back into your everyday life. That’s what happened to me recently when I was looking through the pile of mail I’d received while I’d been away. Most of it was pretty uninspiring and then I noticed a bright pink envelope with lovely designs all over it and suddenly felt more energetic about going through all the post. It was a letter from Crystal of The House of Hearts. A while ago she posted about doing a recipe exchange so she could fill up her new recipe box. It sounded like a great idea so I signed up to it and it had completely slipped my mind until I saw her card. I was amazed by all the little bits and pieces she had included – the tiny stickers and even a fortune cookie message. I will need to think of a good recipe to send back to Crystal now. If you are interested in joining in, let her know, her recipe box may still be in need of your culinary expertise.

And if you decide not to join in on the fun, I recommend you take a look around Crystal's blog anyway because it's full of interesting posts. 

What do you think about these kinds of projects? Isn't it great to see that the blogging universe isn't restricted to the screen?

Carla

Pick 'n' Mix: Was it Colonel Mustard?

Autumn officially arrived today. If the seasons came in a different order, I might like autumn more but the fact it takes the summer away from us in the blink of an eye does not amuse me very much. Nevertheless, autumnal colours are irresistible - browns, golds, yellows...and of course, the 'in' colour of mustard - the protagonist of this month's Pick ‘n’ Mix:

1. Necklace by Prettythingsbymeg

2. Jar by Orla Kiely

3. Mustard Holga

4. Hat by Topshop

5. Monkey by WereRabbit

6. Sofa from UO

Do you like these shades or do you think they are a bit out there? What is your favourite season?

Happy autumn!

Olga

Cake pops

Maybe it’s the slightly cooler weather approaching or a tendency to want to hibernate this week but thoughts of nice baked goods seem to keep popping up.

Cupcakes are still a pleasure to enjoy but for a while I think we’ve been needing a new craze to take over and cake pops could fit the bill. A cake pop is essentially a ball of cake perched on the end of a lollipop stick and decorated as you please - what’s not to love?

Christi of lovefromtheoven has done a nice post on how to make cake pops and of course Bakerella has plenty of posts on the topic. Just look at some of the designs you could re-create:

lovefromtheoven

Bakerella

Bakerella

There are even websites you can buy ready-made cake pops from, such as Pop Bakery. I really like these ones:

Pop Bakery

While I think you might need some patience to get the hang of making cake pops, they would make an interesting alternative to a cake for a special occasion. 

What do you think? Would you give these a go or have you made them already?

Carla

Snug - good German design

Kerstin Reilemann and Berit Lüdecke, from Germany, are the team behind the design studio, Snug - a great find we discovered thanks to the mobile that La Lole published on her lovely blog.

They produce various types of pieces, from jewellery to decorative objects. As explained on their website, childhood memories are their main source of inspiration. What fascinates us the most is their use of natural materials such as wood and ceramics that highlight the winning combination of tradition and design.

We'll leave you with a selection of the products by Snug that we like the most. No easy task since we've fallen in love with absolutely all of them:

  

Wouldn't you like to fill your home with all these beautiful pieces? It wouldn't take me long to jump at the chance!

Olga