Hello dear friends,
It's been a while since I last posted. I've been out most of the last two weeks and never seemed to find the time to sit and write. I've been off work for over two weeks now and have done lots of fun things. This has been the best break I've had in a long, long time. I've spent my time meeting friends, eating out, drinking, reading, enjoying the sun, visiting places in London I haven't visited in years. So here is a little collage in pictures of things I have seen. The first one is of Saff and me in front of the Kensington Palace:
I am not a Royalist. In fact, I am definitely a Republican (not politically mind you, just anti royal :-), but I have to admit that I had a fabulous day at the Enchanted Palace.
Here are a few pictures of the garden in there:
Gorgeous, don't you think?
I don't often go to Central London, but I went a few times in the last few weeks and captured some interesting images. London is amazing, there is something to look at, at every corner. Here is a cool picture I saw painted on the wall in Covent Garden:
I am not exactly sure who did this, but it sits right next to the London Graphic Centre, so they might have done it, or commissioned an artist to do it. Not sure, but it's quite cool.
Just down the road from here, it's Theatre Land. I don't see things at the West End and don't have much interest in classical or musical theatre, but was quite taken by this image. See if you like it too:
So, there it is. A little tour of London. My break is almost over, and I have to say, not working really agrees with me. So much to do, so much to see, there just isn't time to work.
Hope you are all good and happy. Have you had a fun break and good weather?
See you all soon, and with some crocheting pictures this time.
Lilly xx
Hola, hola, hola!!!!
So, the weekend is almost finished and I hope you've had a good one. I had lovely two days and yesterday was special, in particular, because it was my dearest friend's birthday. We spent the day in the Enchanted Palace in Kensignton (lots of pictures to follow in the next few posts), and then had drinks in Clapham South, in the evening.
My beautiful friend is one of the most wonderful, kind, generous and caring people I know (and will ever know) and it is a privilege to know her.
Here is one of the presents I made for her, which you might find interesting too (click on the picture to enlarge):
As you can see, it is a beauty bag (or a make up bag)! She needed one and I spent considerable time making it (in fact I stayed up till 4.30 in the morning just to finish it in time for her birthday yesterday), but it was worth it as she loves it and I had great time doing it too.
I am also selling these little beauties, £15 each. If you are interested in getting one for yourself, buying one for a friend/ mother/ sister, granny, auntie, or indeed you know someone who would like them, please get in touch. The design can be a combined effort and you can have a say in what colours, buttons or lining you would like.
Please spread the word and give my blog name (Boye By Red) to friends and family you know might enjoy this kind of stuff.
Sorry for advertising, but I really want to reach as many people as I possibly can and friends can be helpful in this endeavour :-)
Have you had a fun weekend, or were you a lazy cat, relaxing and not doing much?
See you all soon.
Lilly xx
Hello dear friends,
I've got so much to do and have been so busy in the last few days, that I haven't had time to properly blog and dedicate myself to it. So, I stole a few moments today to bring you my new obsession. Buttons! I found a shop on ebay selling amazing buttons. They are not too expensive and I can't find big buttons anywhere but here. And not only big buttons, but pretty ones too. Here is the last batch I purchased:
I have recently become crazy about green colour, in particular this one on the picture. I think I want to buy everything in that colour now. I don't have that much money so I better wait till this obsession passes.
So, now that I have kitted myself with so much stuff (yarn, fabrics, buttons, ribbons, thread, tape measure, needles) I seriously have to apply myself to creating things too, not just buying. I don't have an excuse any more, I have everything I need, so apply myself, I will.
To be honest, I have been wanting to crochet my bags in the last week or so but have been so busy meeting people, cooking, going out, that I haven't had the time to sit and do the work. I've cleared tomorrow just for crocheting, so I should be producing some stuff in the next few days.
I'm gonna try and learn how to do a button hole on a bag. I have to say it scares me a little bit as I still don't know how to read patterns that well, and my little brain gets all excited and confused. I might come up with a crooked hole. That seems to be my style anyway.
And one more thing before I go. My sister got this new, amazing sewing machine that embroiders things for you, so we spent this Sunday doing my labels. Here is how they look. They are still messy as I haven't cleaned them up and cut the thread, but I think the colours and letters work. See what you think.
So that's all for now. Let me know what you are up to. Have you been busy lately? And what do you think of the goodies above?
And the very last thing,... I'll let you in on a secret,... I used to collect stamps too :-)
I've still got them, and as nerdy as that might sound, they are still gorgeous. I might share them with you one day.
Have a fab day everyone.
Lilly xx
Hello friends,
so, my first day of Easter break didn't go as well as I wanted it to. I woke up with a headache and the day just went to potts. But,... Sunday was another story.
Firstly, I spent it in the best company ever! Secondly, I got an Ipad as a present. For free!!! I can't express how lucky and happy I am. Thirdly, I did labels for my bags (about that more tomorrow) and lastly, I had some seriously delicious pizza. Here are a few pictures of the delicacy that I consumed today;
Three pizzas to go and better than any pizza place can make.
Have you had a good Sunday lunch? What did you have? Did you make it yourself?
Enjoy your week and see you here tomorrow.
Lilly xx
Hello one and all,
So, as I said yesterday, I'll make lemon cakes after I come back from work. And true to my word, I did. They are quite delicious, although I have to admit, they are slightly bitter and I don't really understand why. Maybe too much lemon zest. I can't tell. They are still good with hot coffee.
Here is a picture of a messy working station:
And now the recipe:
Ingredients:
225 gr self rising flour
225 gr caster sugar
4 eggs
one lemon
225 gr unsalted butter
one little bag of vanilla sugar or vanilla essence
time and patience to wait till it's baked
Mix 225 gr of soft butter with 225 gr of sugar. Once the mixture is soft and creamy, add eggs, one by one, not all of them at once. Once the eggs are mixed, add sifted flour, vanilla and lemon zest, thinly grated. Mix until it's all creamy and soft.
Pre heat the oven at 180 degrees, place baking sheet in the tray, then pour the mixture inside. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Take out the cake out of the oven, leave to cool, then cut.
Serve and enjoy.
This is a picture of the mixture just before it went into the oven.
Cake, freshly baked, just came out of the oven.
And the last two - lemon cake cut, served and ready to be eaten.
Let me know if you have any simple recipes, sweet or savoury. And bon apetit.
Lilly xx
Hello dear friends,
a new shop opened in Brixton market on the 1st of April. It is called Ms Cupcake and guess what? It sells cupcakes! Surprising, I know. But it sells no ordinary cupcakes. They are wheat free, gluton free, vegan cupcakes. I just passed by but didn't buy anything. Well, not this time, anyway. I'll sample the goodies and let you know if they are tasty.
Dunja, this one is for you. Another way of luring you to London :-)
There were quite a few people in the shop, looking and buying, so I hope people will flock in and buy the cakes.
Here are a few pictures I took on Saturday:
I didn't go in and kind of felt a bit intimidated to take pictures inside, but I will go in one day and ask the woman who owns it to pose and say a few words. Stay tuned.
I will be making a lemon drizzled cake in the next few days. Never made it before, but I found a good recipe and as it is easy to make and I love cakes, I think I'll give it a go. I saw some today at a school fair where I work and they were all gone by the time I got served, so I thought I'll make them myself. I'll post the recipe and pictures, so keep looking.
Have a lovely and sweet day everyone, and tell, what cakes do you like? Any good recipes you would like to share?
See you all soon. I am going on Easter break from Friday, which means I will have so much more time to visit places in London I don't usually see. I'll make sure I take pictures and keep you posted.
Milicent xx
P. S. I love the floor in the shop. It is gorgeous!!
Hello friends,
so the weekend is here and as I often do, I strolled down to Brixton market for a coffee with a friend and for a little browse around. First thing I saw was this delightful image:
As I said in the title, belts, bras and,... a cat for £1???? She was having a little snooze, totally oblivious that she was on sale as well. The woman selling the goods thought it was funny too.
I then found a cheap stand with thread, needles and little ribbons for my bag adventure. Look what I got for only £6.50
In a high street shop, this would be at least £10. And this way, money stays in the local economy. Win - win situation, however you look at it.
Walking through the arcade, look who I spotted having a lunch at one of the funky Brixton cafes:
Can you recognise the red head in the corner? It is Florence, from Florence and the Machine. She saw me take the picture, so I had to pretend as if I am really interested in stuff around, and not her, so I spent a few minutes pointing my camera at the ceiling. I took quite a few pictures of the lanterns you see hanging. She had her head down when I took the picture so you can't see her face properly, but it is still undeniably her. Brixton is becoming furiously trendy, although next week will be 30 years since the Brixton riots in the 1980's and people are predicting some kind of protest next week. I'll make my way down there to see if anything happens. It might just be a celebration of how multicultural Brixton has become. But the truth is that young black men in the area are constantly stopped and searched by the police, whilst their white counterparts never are. Only recently, a young black musician from Brixton had his house raided by the police and has died while they were there. Was that a coincidence? The investigation is under way, but the community is not happy and the papers today say that although it is unlikely that Brixton will experience the riots form the 80s, it is possible that there will be some kind of unrest. Maybe there should be, so the government and in particular the police, hear what people actually think and feel.
The rest of the afternoon I spent with a friend and then had a Colombian emapanda with chicken (Colombian chicken pattie) and read my paper.
A fun day in Brixton!!
Hope you are having a fun weekend too. Have you seen anything funny or someone special in the last few days? Do tell.
See you all very soon.
Lilly xx
