Tequila toddy

A belated Happy New Year to you all! I hope 2016 finds you well. My Christmas and New Year were thoroughly enjoyable, a little too enjoyable perhaps, as I’ve found myself full of cold this week and suffering from lack of sleep and general malaise. To help ease the aching limbs and blocked sinuses, I’ve been warming myself from the inside out with a number of hot toddies- the perfect antidote to winter snuffles.

This particular drink is a twist on the traditional whisky toddy and is made with white tequila. To go with the Mexican theme, I replaced lemon with lime, used agave nectar instead of honey and threw in a few cloves, a couple of star anises and some orange peel.

To make this heady tipple, you will need the following ingredients (my shot measure is 1oz)

2 shots of tequila (gold or silver
1 shot agave nectar
2 shots of water
2 shots of freshly squeezed lime juice
2 star anises
3 cloves
a handful of bruised orange peel pieces

Add the agave nectar, water, star anises and cloves to a small saucepan, heat gently, never bringing to the boil, but just enough to allow the agave nectar to dissolve and the spices to release their fragrance. Take off the heat, add the orange peel and allow to cool slightly before  pouring in to a heat resistant glass, and topping up with tequila and freshly squeezed lime. Enjoy warm, allowing the heat to soothe your throat and ease your aches.

Delicious! Enjoy!

J xx

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate decadence

You know the days when you really, really just want to eat cake? I made this cake on one of those days……a rich, chocolate mud cake, sandwiched together with dark chocolate Italian meringue buttercream and then piled high with chocolate honeycomb and gold dusted Lindt Lindors and Maltesers. It was delicious but way too much cake for our little family of four- next time I’ll stick to the mini cakes!

Until next time,

J xx

 

White and gold

I took my inspiration for this board from the stunning cocktail chair from Taylor Llorente with it’s sweeping ‘rams horn’ arms and deep seat. The style and combination of white and gold made me think about the Greek Gods, -if there really had been a palace in the clouds above Mount Olympus, then these are definitely the chairs the gods would have perched their divine backsides on whilst playing with the lives of mere mortals.

There is a nod to the laurel leaf crown worn by Apollo in the form of wall art and the abstract art, bottom left, could be mistaken for gold veined marble- what else would a palace for the gods have been made out of?

All items included on the board can be found on my white and bright interior inspiration board.

J xx

A little Moroccan influence

Whilst whiling away hours on Pinterest, pawning over all the beautiful things I wish I had made or the wonderful picture I wish I had taken, I found the incredible Persian cowhide pictured above made by Young & Battaglia. It’s such a fascinating combination of two iconic rug styles and lends itself perfectly to my modern Moroccan mood board. Enjoy.

J xx