Chocolate Nests

Our chocolate nests

One Easter treat I love that really reminds me of England is Cadbury's mini eggs.  I love that smell when you open the bag.  One of the best aromas in the world.  That delicious chocolate mixed with the pastel candy coating.  Yum!  I only wish we could get real Cadbury ones here (the ones in America are made by Hershey's).

My nieces and nephews in England always used to make chocolate nests and I was so excited to try this with John and Conor.

We started off by measuring all the ingredients on an electric scale.  They loved this part!

That and eating most of the chocolate chips.  Ha!  All chocolate lovers in this house.

We used Anabel Karmel's recipe here:

Chocolate Nests

Ingredients

85g Rice Krispies (we used Trader Joe's variety)

75g milk chocolate

75g plain chocolate

50g butter

2 tbsp golden syrup

mini candy coated eggs (found some Cabury Eggs at Walgreens and know Target has them)

Method

Place the Ricke Krispies in a bowl.

Break the chocolate into pieces and put into a saucepan together with the butter and golden syrup and melt over a gentle heat.

Stirring the melting chocolate

Line two baking sheets with foil or non stick baking paper. 

Stir the Rice Krispies into the chocolate mixture and spoon eight mounds onto the baking sheets, shaping into rounds with a dip in the centre. (I was worried that they wouldn't stick together because we found this part awkward, but once chilled they were fine).

Chill in the fridge for several hours until set, then peel off the nests carefully and fill with mini eggs. 

Information

MAKES 8 CHOCOLATE NESTS

And here are our lovely nests:

The boys loved them and as a bonus we have loads of mini eggs left for me to enjoy with my afternoon cup of tea.

Easy Door Decor for Spring

My spring wreath

I love forsythia.  I decked out my mantel in it this year and thought I needed that same splash of sunshine on my door.

This look was really easy to create.  No fuss, no hot sticky glue gun and not much moula!  I had the wreath up in the attic.  I got it at a local florist in North Scituate.  It is made out of two layers of twigs that have been twined together onto a metal wreath backing.  I love it plain and I've also used hot glue with shells for the summer before.  But as I said, for spring I wanted happy pops of yellow.

At Michael's, I picked up two artificial branches of forsythia.  They were on sale for 50% off, so I got two for $5.  Using gardening shears I clipped large pieces of forsythia off and kind of wound them into the wreath.  I was going to use twine but realized I didn't even have to bother because they were wedge in pretty good.

And there you are!  A new wreath with no mess for 5 bucks!

I'm sharing my little wreath over at Rhoda's Southern Hospitality link party:

It's An Ice Cream World...

and your in the middle of it!

Many of you know I really, really love ice cream.  I think it is because it reminds me of being a little girl.  Growing up I used to love visiting my dad at his work - Brigham's Ice Cream.  I used to love to help my dad and he'd always treat me to lunch and then an ice cream at the ice cream plant.  That ice cream tastes so amazing - before it is hard packed.

I have a little love affair with Nona's (in Scituate and Hingham) - I have told you on a number of occasions just how fabulous their ice cream is.

But before I knew about Nona's, Luke and I loved Cabot's in Newtonville.  It is a fantastic diner style restaurant which does all day breakfasts, lunches and, of course, has a huge ice cream menu.  At Cabot's you are certainly in the Middle of an Ice Cream World!  It is like walking right back to the 60s - with the red and white decor, swivel stools and glossy menus.

A Rootbeer Float to die for!

When John was just a twinkle in our eye we used to go there all the time.  We lived just down the street.  Then we celebrated our positive pregnancy test with dinner and a sundae at Cabot's.  We did the same thing with Conor (albeit after our first doctor's appt as we were no longer just down the street).

So we thought it only fitting that we return with our boys to a restaurant that holds such special memories for us.  John doesn't remember going there.  He was 18 months when we moved away from Newton to live near the sea.  I think this was Conor's first trip there.  But this time we weren't celebrating a positive pregnancy test - just enjoying a day out together.  It was so fun to relive a bit of the past with them!

No such thing as too much chocolate!

I'm so happy they both love ice cream just as much as me!

The Louis Mirror

Louis Mirror (After)

First I need to tell you how hard it is to take photos of mirrors.  Such a pain with the reflection.  I tried holding a white sheet up but then it looked like there was a white sheet in place of the mirror.  Anyway, if anyone has tips let me know!!!!

The Louis Mirror is like one you'd see in a town house in Paris or perhaps a chateau in Provence.  Its lovely curves, antiqued white paint, hint of pale blue and that brush with gold.  Sophisticated, regal, stunning.

But the mirror didn't always look this way.  Here is what it used to look like:

Before

There was nothing wrong with the mirror (a bit dark cherry for my liking). There were a couple of areas of wear, so I put a layer of clear shellac on as my first step.

I just thought it would be so much prettier with some of that Annie Sloan magic.  I couldn't wait to try a couple of new techniques that I learned from Nancy at the Sea Rose Cottage.

I got my paint brush out and did two coats of Old White:

I highlighted a couple of areas in Louis Blue - a beautiful pastel blue.  

To protect the mirror, I did one layer of clear wax pushing it into the wood and wiping the excess with a cloth.  Then I took my ASCP in Louis Blue and mixed it with the clear wax.  I dry brushed the tinted clear wax on.  I love how it looks:

Then, finished it off with some gilding wax.  

I also distressed a couple of areas on the mirror to make it look older using some fine grade sand paper.  I like using little squares.  I did some extra wax over these areas.

That gilding wax is so much fun to use.  I put it on lightly and even put some on unevenly to make it look like some had worn off.  

Here is a close up of the bottom.  Artificial wood worm and all:

While I was using the gilding wax Conor somehow got his hands into the gilding wax and there was gold all over my bathroom.  Sigh.

After

I'm so happy with how it turned out.  What do you think?  This regal lad is currently looking for a new home (the mirror, not Conor).

Linking to:

Meet Beatrix

My love for Annie Sloan chalk paint was rekindled at the class I took with Nancy at the Sea Rose Cottage last week.  I got a lot of painting in this weekend and can't wait to share different pieces with you.  I had planned to show you my Louis Mirror today, but the lighting on this cloudy day isn't cooperating.

My Beatrix Bookcase (After)

This is Beatrix!  Isn't she lovely in a bookish kind of way?  She didn't always look like this.  When I got her she looked more like a fixture in a 1990s office:

Before

Heavy piece of cherry stained wood with a horrible plywood in the back.  Some silly person also left a hot cup of coffee or tea and left this horrible ring:

I sanded it a bit and then applied a coat of clear shellac all over the piece to seal it.  For this piece I decided to do a mixture of Duck Egg Blue and Provence for inside the shelves and Country Grey on top:

I started with the inside and loved the color.  It is a beautiful mixture of blue green, like the calming sea.  Then I got the Country Grey out and did a thin coat all over.  The unsightly ring was still shining through and was really bothering me.  So I thought to myself and told Conor, "Let's try that simple crackle method."  It was so much fun.  I put the paint on really heavy in different directions and then got the hair dryer and blasted each section with hot air.  Then, like magic.  The paint crackled.  Conor thought it was very funny.  I wish I got a good picture of this but it was too hard as I was trying to work quick with the drying paint.  

Before dark wax

I did two coats of clear wax and then followed up with dark wax.  Then took some away and brightened up areas using the clear wax as an eraser.  You can't even see that drink ring now:

crackled top

The dark wax really brought out the details of the crackle and the details of the piece.  Check out the details of the dental molding:

and here:

This book shelf will make a nice home for well loved books:

The dark wax and crackle makes this book shelf feel more old world and time worn.  What do you think? Do you like Beatrix's new look?

Linking to: