Rosanna, Inc

Rosanna, Inc. is an amazing tableware company founded by Rosanna Bowles (how about that for the perfect surname?!) based in Seattle.

As well as crockery, she also sells candlesticks, bottles, things for children, glasses, teapots and there is a massive variety of styles, all of which are just stunning.

These are some of the things I've picked out for my dream house:

Les Girls a Paris collection


Beach glass bottles collection

Boho Holiday collection

Secret Garden collection

Pushing Daisies

Did you ever catch it on ITV 2 (I think)? It was such a fun and quirky show and I loved that it was so bright and cartoonified (technical term I do believe). For those that don't know, the very, very summarised facts are these: Ned, our leading man, can touch dead things and bring them to life and he and a private detective, Emerson, used this gift to solve murders and crimes around town. But when he touches them again they die forever. If he doesn't do this, something else dies in its place.

The love interest is our very own Anna Friel who is the once dead, but not any more, childhood sweetheart of Ned, which of course means that they have something of an odd and complicated relationship seeing as they can't touch again. She got to wear some of the loveliest dresses. Though sometimes she does wear the odd thing that makes you go "eh?".

Then there are the yummy pies, which as you may have gathered from my previous Waitress post, I heart very much.

Sadly, the show was not picked up for a third season so the show is no more. Madness in my opinion considering the other pap that's on TV these days.

picking strawberries

It's one of my favouritest summer activities. Although we've not had much of a summer this year I'm not letting that stop me so on Sunday, in the height of the British summer and in between the rain showers, me and Nick took my cousin and her three gorgeous daughters to pick strawbs and rasps.

The kids had a great time, it was their first time strawberry picking and they approached it as one big competition, which was fine by us as it meant a bigger and better haul...mostly.



and then we left for home as the rainclouds began to loom

Waitress

It's one of my favouritest movies ever. I remember the first time I saw it was while me and Nick were on our road trip and we stumbled upon a teeny little cinema in Key West that was showing it. It was a lovely evening and we were wandering the streets after the Sunset Celebration when we decided to go in and watch it.

Maybe it's all the food (I heart food) or Nathan Fillion or just the whole being on an amazing holiday in an amazing place like the Florida Keys but the film always makes me so happy and warm inside and brings back very fond memories.

The film is all about a waitress (funnily enough) who invents and makes pies and uses them as an escape from the unhappy life she is trapped in. Some pies that feature in the movie:

"I don't want Earl's baby pie" - Quiche of egg and brie cheese with a smoked ham centre.

"I hate my husband pie" - You make it with bittersweet chocolate and don’t sweeten it. You make it into a pudding and drown it in caramel.

"Baby screaming its head off in the middle of the night and ruining my life pie" - New York-style cheesecake, brandy brushed and topped with pecans and nutmeg.

"Pregnant miserable self-pitying loser pie" - Lumpy oatmeal with fruitcake mashed in. Flambéed of course.

The director, Adrienne Shelly, who also played Dawn in the film, was tragically murdered 3 months before the film's debut at Sundance but what a beautiful legacy she has left. After her death, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation was set up to help women fulfil their own dreams in filmmaking. Go have a look.

Petit Plat

Don't you just love those little miniature things you can get for dollhouses? Some of them are so freakin' cute. Maybe it's the whole mini thing, always makes things seem that little bit more adorable. I don't have a dollhouse now, which saddens me greatly, but I still absolutely LOVE these gorgeous polymer clay jobbies you can get from Petit Plat on Etsy. Fortunately, she also makes the lil things into jewellery which means I can still buy my miniature cake and eat it too!

This lady is just incredible - I am amazed at just how detailed and intricate she is able to make these little mini foodstuffs. They look so good and if I browse for too long I feel the tummy starting to rumble.

Take a look at her shop or her blog, full of delicious teeny fake food for all your miniature needs!

Yummy.

fresh lemonade

While me and Nick were on our road trip of the States I majorly got into fresh lemonade. It's not so much a big thing here but after watching someone make some fresh for me at Fenway Park, every so often I'll make a big jug of the stuff. It's so refreshing on a hot summer day like today.

So, start of with lots of fresh lemons, weird - I know!
I usually start with 2 and add more later if I want it stronger

and squeeze as much juice as possible into a jug

If, like me, you like pulp then you can just leave it as is, otherwise pass it through a sieve. Then add sugar - I usually start with about 2 dessertspoon-fulls but it depends on how many lemons and how much lemonade you're making. You can always add more later if it's too sour for your tastes.

Top up with water and stir lots until the sugar dissolves

Fill a glass with lots of ice

And enjoy!