Mini cherry blossoms

Just when we thought our miniature cherry tree hadn't made it through winter...

Aren't the blossoms just beautiful? The tree is in a pot on our terrace. I can watch it grow from my little home  office window. It's a refreshing sight.

Taupe Roses Fashion Bag

When I stock up on fabrics I tend to gravitate to rose prints. They seem to be popular as there are a multitude of rose-themed fabrics out there to choose from, so I always have to remind myself not to buy up the entire range ;-)

Nevertheless, one or two rosy prints always sneak in to my shopping bag along with unusual, graphic and strong prints that I think might look good made into bags. I recently finished another fashion bag using a very large rose print in a mellow taupe on a soft blue background, which doesn't show particularly well in the photo. You just have to trust me that this print really is lovely :) I was lucky to find a polka dot fabric that matched the roses perfectly. This I used to embellish and strengthen the corners as well as the lining. I sourced a pair of slim handles in a cognac brown which I think go well with the two main colours. These I stitched on by hand which, considering the solidity of the front and back panel, was quite a challenge!

Wishing everyone a nice Easter holiday!

Easter decorations done by me

Happy Easter, Frohe Ostern, Joyeuses Paques, Vrolijke Pasen, Feliz Pascua, Glad Pask!

 

Easy Carrot Cake

Grate 250 gr carrots into a bowl and mix with 2 tlsp. lemon juice. Preheat oven to 180°C, grease a medium square baking tin (or 28 cm dia. round tin) and sprinkle bottom and sides with fine breadcrumbs. Mix 250 gr ground almonds, 50 gr flour and 2 tsp. baking powder. Separate 6 medium eggs. Beat eggwhites adding 160 gr sugar little by little until stiff. Add yolks to flour mixture and stir in carrots. Gently stir in the beaten eggwhite mixture. Pour into the tin and bake approx. 40 minutes on the middle shelf. Remove cake from oven and leave for 5 minutes. Then remove from tin and let cool on a rack. Mix 200 gr powdered sugar with 2 - 3 tlsp. lemon juice and glaze the top of the cake. Decorate with store-bought marzipan carrots if desired.

Enjoy!