...perfect petals

...cobbled streets

...keeping it festive

...poffertjes

Traditional Dutch pancakes doused in icing sugar and butter

Dissolve 7g dried yeast into a tbsp of warm milk

Mix the yeast, 200g flour, 100g buckwheat flour, 1 egg and pinch of salt in a bowl

Place a tea towel over the bowl and leave in warm place for 1 hour to rise

Whisk again to remove any lumps

If you don't have a poffertjes pan, fry the mixture in a regular frying pan

Serve with lashings of butter and icing sugar

...vintage rings

Amsterdam, City of Diamonds

...a snowy walk

...dog people watching

...bizarre baking

cake pigs

...burnt orange leaves

...baking from scratch

the ultimate pumpkin pie

quarter and roast a deseeded pumpkin for 40 minutes at 200 degrees with an inch of water in the tray

scoop out the flesh and drain in a sieve for 1-2 hours

meanwhile make your short crust pastry:

sift 170g plain flour with a pinch of salt

grate in 100g cold butter

rub together with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs

mix in 2 tbsp of caster sugar

mix an egg yolk with 2 tbsp iced water and gradually stir into the pastry mix

roll it out til 1cm thick and line your dish with the pasty

blind bake at 200 degrees using baking beans for 10-15 mins

then remove beans and bake for a further 10-15 mins at 180 degrees until golden

for the filling:

take the pumpkin from the sieve 

stir in 145g of maple syrup, 

1tsp of cinnamon,

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

stir in two beaten eggs

then pour in 150ml evaporated milk

Pour mixture into the pastry case and bake at 180 degrees for 40mins until filling is set

...spa slippers

...candle strips

...Bengal kittens

...retro sweets

...Chloé style boots

for £60 at Office

...coffee art

...discovering new ways to serve and cook the basics

rice steamed in a basket!

...roll top baths

...hot chocolate in front of the fire