Blackthorn on 1st day of April

I made this receipe last week, to celebrate having everyone home again (my husband had been in America for 5 days) Apple Cake (based on a recipe from irish cook Rachel Allen) 2 eggs 175 g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 85 g butter 75 ml milk 125 g plain…

Sharing my daily iPhone photos on my blog

Sharing my daily iPhone photos on my blog

We are having a relatively quiet week at the cottage, and for the last few evenings the highlight of the day has been a trip to the beach in the evening. We have chosen White Rocks Strand which is just a few miles along the coast from the cottage. For some (me) that means lots…

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED – but there’ll be another one as soon as Tesco’s launch the next Orla Kiely bag! I don’t know about you, but (when I remember to leave them in the car for next time) I much prefer using reuseable shopping bags to the flimsy plastic bags provided. It’s even better,…

And so begins our 4th house swap adventure, and our first to France. You can read about previous home exchanges to Dublin, Boston and Galway previously on my blog. This time we are staying on the edge of a beautiful medieval hilltop town about 90 minutes north east of Paris. For the first time we…