I think I may have mentioned in my last post about life being so incredibly busy right now. This last month has been no exception. Work, children, husband, birthdays, church and conferences have all woven into my time and crafting has had to take a little back seater although I have done a couple a things and started a new blanket.
One thing that has happened since my last post is that we now have a new kitchen. Before it was kind of falling apart and in the seven years we have lived in this house, we have never done anything with it so we felt it was time to give it a much needed face lift.
Before.....
Hmmmmm.......
Handles were falling off cupboard doors and doors were falling off drawers. It really was getting a tad old and desperate. Although you can't see it in the pictures, these two rooms were separated by a rather 1980's arched wall. We got rid of the joining wall and made it into one room which has made it much brighter and more spacious. New cupboards and cooker and fridge and floor...
It looks a little cold and unlived in at the moment and that is due to it not being quite finished yet. All we need now are some tiles and blinds and a spot of colour. A few accessories wouldn't go amiss either but we will have to wait for some funds to build up again before we can get anything else.
We had a nightmare with the cooker. I desperately wanted a Rangemaster but getting one proved difficult. We ordered and paid for one only to be told a week later that it was going to take a good couple of weeks for it to get to us (problem with the manufacturer we were told). We had been without a cooker for four weeks when it finally arrived only to be dropped and broken on the way in! So another week ensued although, to be fair, the place we bought it from did provide us with a temporary cooker while we waited.
So today was the day it finally arrived. My lovely new cooker. So desperate was I to try it out, I baked a cake. I love baking but one of the things I got fed up of was that every time I baked a cake, it burnt on the top and never done quite right in the middle. Or, it would burn on one side and be lovely and golden on the other. This would never do! I think the old oven we had had really had its day.
I went with a recipe from Lucy's blog. The Lemon Drizzle.
In it went...
Ahhh look at that. Lovely, clean, brand-spanking new oven!
A bit longer.......
Ta da!!! A perfectly, golden, risen beauty!!! Mmmmmm. It tastes so light and airy and completely lemony. First bake out of the new oven... very impressive!
New oven you are my new best friend!!!
Thanks for listening to me drone on about this topic so very close to my heart. I promise you a crafty post is on its way but for now, here's a little sneak peak....
