Festive Dinner and Limoncello Making

Last Friday I hosted craft night. As we are in December and Christmas is approaching, I thought it would be nice to start the evening with a festive dinner. While Emilia was napping, I took my time to make the table festive! Oh how much I love this time of year! 

The craft I had chosen for the evening was *limoncello making*! I found an organic Limoncello kit on the Abel and Cole website and thought it was a fun idea. We could only do the first part of the craft as the alcohol needs to sit with the lemon peel for four weeks now. And then we can do the rest. I have got something to look forward to when we are back to London from the Christmas holiday! 

Family Activities

Sadly, we don't have a fireplace to gather around in our flat in London and our living room is only so big that we cannot really have a huge table but we still manage to do some crafting! When mum and grandmum are around we join forces and work on the most fun activities together! This time they only stayed for five days and I was busy with a workshop for two of the days but when we were all home, we tried to make the most of our time together! My mum brought leaves from their garden in Italy to show all the different varieties to Emilia who enjoyed sticking them on paper; she also brought several fabric scraps to play with and make art! Planning ahead, I had also bought a *make it yourself - doll kit* and we all gave it a go together; Emilia had her very first experience with stiching (with a rubber needle, of course!) and she was very good! Of course, it wouldn't be a proper stay with mum and grandmum if we didn't make bread and pizza! Emilia loves this activity, she enjoys working the dough with the rolling pin and makes the best bread ever! :) 

What else can I say: mum, nonna, when are you coming back? Fancy visiting us again?!? We sure miss you already...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of Christmas...

And while the city gets ready for the biggest holiday of the year, at home we are starting to work on some Christmas decorations ourselves! 

My mum and grandmum were in town for a few days and they flew with a huge Xmas tree as their handbag (!?!). A beautiful fabric tree, entirely handmade by my mum for Emilia! Emilia loved it so much that she didn't seem to care at all about all the other gifts they brought along, Peppa Pig books and stuffed George included! One day I hope to be able to spend enough time with my mum to sit down and learn how to make myself all the wonderful things she can make. I like to think I am quite crafty myself but I am absolutely nothing compared to my mother. Emilia is fascinated by the whole concept of making something, she loves sitting down at the table and work on an activity. It's in our blood and I hope to be able to teach her as many things as possible and spend as much time together crafting and making things! Is there anything more charming than sitting at a big table making things and seeing your products getting life, perhaps next to a fireplace and while sipping a nice and hot cup of tea?!? I don't think so. Even better if my mum and grandmum are around, it brings me back to when I was little and every weekend we would work on a project together, baking, sewing, stitching, you name it. Good times. 

Back to the tree,  it is so big that it cannot be hung anywhere in our flat, so for the moment it has been moving around from the couch, to our bed and now on a bench in our bedroom. Who knows where it will end up next?! Emilia stops to admire it and say *bello* every time she passes by it. It's made of linen, cotton, pom poms, ribbons and beautiful gold stars. Entirely handmade by my mummy! I am so proud.

 

We, Emilia and I, certainly cannot achieve such level of perfection but we have worked on some little Christmas craft too. When my mum and grandmum left yesterday afternoon the flat was a bit empty so, to cheer everyone up, I put all sorts of little decorations on the table, pom poms, buttons, hearts, butterflies, reindeers, ribbons, bows, and other things to decorate foam Christmas trees. Emilia was in heaven, she loved it! I told her she was going to make her own Christmas gifts to give away to the people she loves and she started listing all the names of the people who should receive it...she has made seven so far and there are eight more to make, if you are in luck, you'll get one! :) 

 

 

 

 

I know it's only mid-November but to me it is never too early to start thinking about Christmas! And my very best friends share this thought with me as we have started to receive our first cards and gifts already, thanks to my very dear friend Anya!

WI at its best!

On Monday evening my girlfriends and I met at Steph's for our usual WI appointment. This month we learned how to crochet; Steph taught us a couple of basic stitches that should help us make wonderful blankets, scarves, and whatever else we will want to make in the future! We started with simple bows; the result was not as good as the original in the template, and definitely far from Steph's beautiful yellow bow, but it's a start! I love craft nights.

 

Craft Night

As I have mentioned before, once a month I meet with my lovely London girls for a craft night. Tonight it was my turn to host it and we learned how to make fabric iron-ons. Unfortunately, two of the girls, Steph and Amy, couldn't make it but we had a new entry in the gang, my hippy grandmum who provided some free entertainment. 

The table was full of colourful fabrics and cards. We made fabric iron-ons and decorated tote bags and greeting cards. I had a wonderful time, thank you girls!

Thai Street Food

About two years ago I started a craft night series with my girlfriends and two years later we are still going strong. Every month one of us hosts a WI (=women institute) event where the hostess teaches the rest of us something, anything crafty, and provides nibbles and drinks. We always have so much fun and it is so lovely to spend some time with other crafty friends. So far we have learned how to cross-stich, make vanilla essence, jewellery, soaps, cook Japanese dumplings, make vanilla and lavender sugar, decorate Halloween cupcakes, embroidery stitch, decorate cakes, make cake-pops, Italian bread, olive oil body scrub, and paint boxes and frames. Last night we all gathered at our friend Amy's to learn how to cook Thai Street Food. When Amy was in Thailand last year, she attended a Thai cuisine class and last night she shared some of the secrets with us. We loved preparing, cooking and eating all together.

Everything was so good that I thought I would share the recipes with my dear readers. Enjoy!

Thai Fish Cakes

Ingredients

300g fish fillets (i.e. salon, cod, haddock...) - chopped roughly

100g prawns

1 tablespoon red thai curry paste

small bunch of coriander

1 teaspoon salt

100g green beans - chopped finely

2 tablespoon of oil

Method

Put fish, prawns, red thai curry paste, coriander and salt in food processor and blend yo a fine paste, add beans and pulse to mix. Refrigerate for one hour. With greased hand shape a tablespoon of mixture into small patties. Heat oil in frying pan and fry cakes for 10 minutes on each side until golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Makes enough for 4 people.

Thai Spring Rolls

Ingredients

cabbage (1/4) - shredded

glass noodles (a bundle), placed in water to soften

50g mushrooms - finely sliced and chopped

50g carrots - finely sliced and chopped

bunch of coriander

1 clove of garlic - crushed

a pinch of pepper corn - crushed

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons of oil

spring roll pastry sheets

a little egg and flour

Method

Heat oil in frying pan, add garlic, pepper, vegetables and fry gently until veg is a little softer, add glass noodles and remaining ingredients. Lower heat and stir continuously for a few minutes. Place on a plate to cool.

Take the pastry sheets and cut to a triangle, place the point away from you so it presents as a pyramid. Place little veg mix in the middle and tuck the corners in with the point still exposed. Place a dab of egg and flour mix on exposed point and wrap remaining side up to form a spring roll. Heat oil in a frying pan for 2-3 minutes. Makes 15-25 rolls depending on size.

Papaya Salad

Ingredients

1 small papaya - peeled and shredded

1 teaspoon light muscovado sugar

1/4 garlic clove - chopped

1/4 red chilli - chopped

5 French beans - chopped

a few roasted peanuts - chopped

1 tablespoon fish sauce

4 cherry tomatoes - halved

juice if 1 lime

Method

In pester and mortar or small bowl break down the garlic, chilli, green beans. Add the sugar, peanuts, fish sauce, tomatoes and lime juice. Add papaya and toss. Serves 1.

Buon appetito!

 

Mum is the Word

 

I am excited to tell you that valeasc products will be displayed and on sale at The Create Mother's Day pop-up shop this weekend. Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th make sure you head to Bethnal Green for some mother's day shopping. Your mum deserves the best!  See you there!

All you need is Love...Friends and Cross-Stich!

{photo from heartzeena}

Last night I hosted the first event of a series of *Learn How To* sessions. After a long day in meetings in Oxford, it was just what I needed. I got home around 5.30 and had about an hour to make the spread and set up the table. There were nibbles, drinks, Classical music, scented candles and of course colourful Aida fabrics, threads and cross-stich templates. I had a lot of fun teaching my girlfriends how to cross-stich and I was impressed with the results. They made me proud. It was a very relaxing evening, we chatted about everything, from movies to food, from education to travel and of course wedding, and clothes, and accessories...We ended the evening with a cup of lavender tea and delicious cookies made by my friend Tiffany. 

I had a great time and can't wait for our next session. In such a complicated  and hectic world, it is nice from time to time to stop and appreciate the little things, like friendship, tea and, why not, cross-stich!

Valentine's Pop-Up Shop

Love is in the air and Valentine's Day is slowly approaching.
I am very excited to say that valeasc treats will be displayed and available to buy at the lovely Valentine's Pop-Up Shop organised by The Create Place this Saturday, February-5th, from 10am to 5pm. Make sure to pop by, lots of wonderful handmade gifts and cards to choose from, your beloved ones deserve the best!

Crafty Needs

I have had a terrible and super frustrating day at work today. And now all I can think of is how nice it would be to have some time to dedicate to my hobbies and crafty projects. I wish I could work part-time and be able to attend all the courses I would like to take, learn how to sew, screenprint, letterpress, speak Spanish...Oh, there are so many things I would like to learn...Sometimes I feel like time is going by without me fully enjoying my life.

Don't get me wrong, I have a wonderful life, I live in an amazing city, I have a very sweet partner and a super caring family and am surrounded by amazing friends. However, sometimes I wish I didn't have to spend most of my time inside a not-very-inspiring office!

That's it, I am planning a *Learn How To* series of events with my friends! Fancy joining us?

Christmas Markets

Yesterday valeasc had its first appearance in the Christmas Markets world and it was absolutely fantastic!

I took the afternoon off to make sure I'd be ready for the fair. I tried the table set-up at home and made a couple of changes until I was 100% satisfied with it. And then I burned my advent candle and left everything on the table as I wasn't sure the fair was indeed going to happen. It had been snowing for hours and there was no sign it would cease anytime soon. Both Rob and I called the organisers and the school where it was going to be held many times and every time we got the same response: Yes, of course! So, I patiently packed all my goodies in my lovely, big, white basket and booked a taxi.

We arrived at St. John's School in Highbury around 5.00; the market would start at 6.30, so we were quite early. That was the only time we could find a taxi available, the snow really paralises this city! When we got there, there were already a couple of other stallers and we started getting organised. We picked our table next to the heater, which turned out to be a very wise choice! The tables were much much smaller than I thought but I used the basket as an extension, so it wasn't a big problem, really.

Rob and I didn't expect anybody to turn up, instead, despite the weather, people started gathering around the school as soon as the doors opened and people kept coming and going all night long. I sold several things and had a lot of fun! My best sellers of the night were the little white crocheted doilies, hardened and tied with red and white polka-dots ribbons and the felt decorations. Definitely a lovely night!

Now, I look forward to my next fair on Saturday the 11th at Christ Church, Highbury. See you there!