The British Homemaker - One day at a time

I love being organised, I love colours so put the two together and I probably go a little overboard! I've put together a few of the simple things I've invested in that saves me heaps of space as well as time looking for things. Of course, there's the added bonus that the kids will put things where they belong, ok there's hope! ;) Cutlery drawer. Upon the insistence of my daughter, I was happy with my pretty tins on the window but I must admit, this does kinda look better :) Having just 4 drawers in my kitchen I am hell bent on limiting what goes in them, I admit I do feel the need for a junk draw but it's not this one, nope, its one full of manuals, menus and other paper products 'just in case' and I'm ok with that! This draw sorts the most used things and a teeny tiny little pot for small junk ;) I was so fed up of washing powder leaking over the worktop so I had a brainwave. This 3 drawer unit is perfect. Each drawer holds approx...

I haven't done any kind of tutorial for such a long time so when I saw something on Pinterest that I fell in love with I knew it was time. Fabric from Nortex Mill Any ideas yet? Ok, here's a clue! I'll be showing a full tutorial when I've made it. Debs

Ingredients Cake 1 cup cake and pastry flour 1 cup granulated sugar 8 large egg whites, room temperature 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Frosting 2 cups sugar 2/3 cup water 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/8 teaspoon salt 4 unbeaten egg whites 1teaspoon vanilla Directions Preheat the oven to 325 F. Sift the flour and granulated sugar and set aside. Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar and salt until foamy, then gradually add the icing sugar, whipping until the whites hold a medium peak when the beaters are lifted. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour to the whipped whites in 2 additions and using a whisk to fold in the flour evenly and easily. Scrape the batter into a 10-inch ungreased tube pan, spread it to level. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until it springs back when gently pressed. Let cool completely. For the frosting, Combine the sugar, water, cream of tartar and sal...

Hands up if Ikea makes your palms go sweaty, heart racing and brings you to your knees with sheer excitement? Yep, me too :) So a few weeks ago I decided to see if their reputation for fitted units was really true, or if I'd have to get the saw out and do some additional alterations for a shelving system in  my kitchen. I was not disappointed, in fact, the measurements were totally spot on for the space I wanted to fill! The Expedit range - ideal for almost anywhere in the home/office. You see, my kitchen is a multi-function room. Not only do we cook/eat there but I do my crafting/work there too and now it's where Charley does his school work. Storage shouldn't have been a problem in this house, it's quite big for a 3 bed but somehow I needed all the storage in the same room. It was by accident that I came across this range so I took the plunge. My too much growing amount of craft stuff (even though I have decluttered and rehomed much of it) meant that if I...

Yesterday I talked about my decision to homeschool my 9 yr old. Today I want to share a few thing that I've learnt along the way (though I know I have so much more to learn yet) in hope to assist a couple of my friends who are also considering this move with their own children. We each make this decision for different reasons yet from what I understand the majority of us struggle to make the transition without 'beating' ourselves up, doubting our ability and being unsure what is available out there to prevent our kids being 'held back'. A few check points to consider: * We start our schooling at 10am * We have a timetable that guides us, not dictates * We cover 2 elements of numeracy and 2 elements of literacy a day plus reading * We've set our basic subjects as numeracy, literacy, reading, religion (not just Lds), arts & crafts, homemaking (no surprise there, eh?!) * I set up a jar where any questions Charley has on other subjects get written down...

A couple of months ago I made the huge decision to homeschool Charley. I confess that I'm not a believer in homeschooling based on the fact that I'm  one of those moms that likes to divide up my time to equal a balance, with the kids in a school it's meant I could work, do the momsy stuff or other stuff. I also think it's healthy for the separation. But , given that the new school is currently in the process of being built right on the development site I live on and the fact that the school he was at was as helpful and supportive as a wet roll of tissue paper it was the only choice I could make and keep some of my sanity. The first peace of advice when I asked around other homeschooling parents (both UK and USA friends) was to 'relax', 'de-school', 'take control of how you want to educate'. After 21 years of having at least one child in school, let me tell you the 'de-schooling' was the hardest thing I found. The whole routine of bedti...