Sunday 13 July 2014

PATIENCE PAID OFF

13 JULY 2014



It's been a little while since I've written on here, but to tell you the truth I've been in a bit of a whirlwind. 

You may remember a few months ago that I told you about my experience of being a first time buyer and trying to find our first home in a competitive market full of cash buyers. I decided to take a step back and employ some patience - our perfect home would come along eventually. And it did.

Here's our gorgeous little home. Not the biggest in the world, but it's ours, and we couldn't be happier.


We picked up our keys on 26th June and walked through our front door to find the house immaculately clean, the garden tended to and a vase of flowers and a card on the table. Feeling a little overwhelmed at such a sweet and thoughtful touch, we went round to visit the previous owners to say thank you.

The owners were executors for their parents' estate who had been looking after the property since their father died in January this year. We were welcomed into their home, and as we sat and drank tea with them, they shared their stories about our home - the home they grew up in and which their parents had bought as first time buyers in 1952.

We left with a feeling of warmth knowing that our home had been dearly loved over the last 62 years. It was an emotional experience for them, selling the home in which they had been raised, and I think it put their minds at ease to have met with us. For us, we feel blessed to have bought a home that has borne so many happy memories.

We are now in the process of decorating pretty much every room, so get ready for plenty more posts as our design project unfurls!

Wednesday 2 July 2014

MULTIGRAIN SPELT LOAF

2 JULY 2014

A colleague of mine inspired me to find and try this recipe after I found out she hasn't bought bread for about 20 years. Every few days she makes her own, low gluten, high fibre, preservative-free bread from scratch. Full of admiration and feeling inspired, I decided to make my own. Using the recipe she described to me as a guide, I scoured the internet and found the perfect recipe on the fabulous cooking blog, Belleau Kitchen. Click here to follow it for yourself.

For my loaf I substituted the white flour for half wholemeal and half spelt flour (trying to be good, you know). Give it a go, and if you're worried about the fennel, don't be, it really adds another delicious dimension to this healthy homemade loaf! Here's how mine turned out...