Bank holiday weekend with friends

We are blessed to have such a wonderful friends that they invited us for long weekend at their house at the countryside.

I was waiting  this weekend a lot, as first of all it is heart warming to see Christina and Jonathan,  but to also enjoy their beautiful surroundings, and amazing food that Jonathan tends to cook when we are visiting.

..and one important thing.. Sauna. I miss it so much from Finland that it was wonderful to get to go there, use all my hair masks, face mask and what ever silly ladies secret beauty regime you can think of, and step on a readily laid table to enjoy beautifully done food, wine and jolly company.
Perfect eh?

Next day we helped at harvesting at our hosts Kitchen garden. (It was just excuse to get to hold Jonathan´s girls, like he calls he´s  chickens, and I was so besides my self about it that it is almost embarrassing.. I will torture you all with few photos of me doing so...)
It is amazing with all the wonders that is growing in there. Pears, peaches, melons, apples, different kind of berries, tomatoes ( that where so sweet that they are almost like berries) onions, and most of them in several different variety, like Chili, Tomato, and oh so many things that I can not even remember everything.
You must go and see the great blog that Jonathan is writing.
 I really enjoy reading it. It is especially nice for me when I have seen "The Kitchen Garden" with my own eyes and got to put my hands on soil and help. It was great all and all.
Here are some photos, hope you enjoy!

And..don´t forget to go and see "THE BLOG" that Jonathan is writing, here is link:
http://kitchengardenblog.co.uk/blog/

Melone

This one was HUGE! Pumpking

Dark Brown ones where perfect, and very very tasty!

Deep yellow colour was amazing, and they tasted beautiful

These where interesting, fresh and little citrus like

You just MUST love them.. they are so sweet

Pear giving a crop too

Girls are broody, so we lifted them out from their hut

I understand why Dovager Duchess of Devonshire loves her Chickens so much.

Look how beautiful they are

In perfect order

Very curious

One just thought: I´ve had enough of this and left.. 

Pretty girls

Secret photo of gardener him self

what an beautiful colour of onions

I was amazingly happy to get to harvest some of the tomatoes to take home.. 

Beautiful 

Everything just grows so healthy, and big.. Organic garden.

THIS is going to be my food next day

My hubby in black and Jonathan in red shirt. Harvesting

House in Hampstead

Dear friends we have moved now and as we don´t live by the river anymore
it felt off to keep my blogs name.. A House by the Thames

So here we go:

HOUSE IN HAMPSTEAD

Not difficult to guess where we live now..

Our move was disastrous as we moved to smaller space.. and we had some challenges to get everything in. In the end we had to sell our lovely furniture that I had bought, not all of them but my favourite Chesterfield chairs and many others..
This is somehow dull in color in many ways, so I have struggled to find my own thing with this place.
It has taken ONG time.
We have lived here now 2 months and things are still not in place.. endles mountains of books that used to have little library room are now spread all over the house and my beautiful home was just memory..
Un till I bought bucket of Laura Ashley´s Paint, called Pigeon Grey..
It has taken over pretty much everything and I have never lived in home, so light in colours..

I will try to keep you with me on this journey in our new home!

This is the dull room where we started.. after red walls this felt like hospital.

Our life in this little house by the Thames get´s closer to it´s end. We are searching new home.

We have enjoyed life here in Isle of Dog´s not least because of this little community of our neighbours where we have always felt really welcome.
...but our little house is going to be sold and we are looking for a new home to move.
Here are few fun memories from past!

Christmas decorations from salt dough

I invited my friend Pia to try out Salt dough, and she had her little dog Pepe with her as well.
We did different kind of shape of "cookies" from dough, to decorate, and use them for Christmas decorations!
We have some very fun plans to paint them, and use them as a little gifts and surprises for friends.

How to do Salt dough?

2 cups of normal wheat flower
2 cups of salt (fine)
1 cup of water

just mix everything together, work on dough a little to get air bubbles out, as you don´t want your "items" to be too puffed.  Bake them with low temperature before they start looking dry, you can also try them.. we used little higher temperature, 120c was fine and depending on thickness of your cookies it will take 30-45min to dry them. don´t forget them in to the oven.

Before starting, cooks need to have something to eat and drink!

When dough was done, I rolled it as long as it was thin enough

Pia was cutting cookies

we had lot of different shapes, not very christmassy thoug

Lady of the house in action

This is how thin they should be.. or thinner

Ready for decoration! 

Visit in Audley end house

We wanted to see something beautiful today.. so took a car and drove to Essex and Audley End House.
It is one of the most amazing places I have yet seen.
Very grand still, but it is now only third of what it has been on it´s biggest.
Roomes where big but very cosy, and stables where amazing too, accommodating 3 horses.
Garden was beautiful, and little river near the house with it´s black and white swan was like icing on cake.
Audley end house was ones palace, in all but renowed as one of the finest Jacobean houses in England. It is currently in stewardship of English Heritage though remains the family seat of the lords Braybrooke.

Ready for Experiencing amazing house! 

I it amazing, and look at the way bushes are shaped! 

View from the house

He is training he´s dog for hunting birds :(

Snap Shot from upstairs window

Front of the house

Gate to shop and servants

Back of the house was equally amazing

it was all very beautiful, and weather was great too

Black swan.. and white. They where so beautiful

Me dreaming.. and holding my poodle girl Siiri

Stalls

As I was not allowed to Photograph in the house, I have found you few photos to share from internet, so you have an idea how it was.

Entrance to house.. the hall was huge

This must have been ladies day room

Look at the wall fabric. Isn´t it amazing

All amazing paintings, furnirture.. it was just beautiful

Kitchen

Almost like real life Downton Abbey!

This is how big the house has been..

and this is what is left from it.. and yet amazing. 

Hope you enjoyed my photos as I surely enjoyed my visit!

Christmas!! It is getting closer and closer..

I am going to give a "Christmas Treat" for all of you..  with Christmas that is going to start already on Movember.. uups.. November I meant to say! How many of you knows someone taking a part for Movember? I know few, and funniest is Little dog called Pepe who is growing he´s whiskers and taking a part. He is just few moths old so there is lot to grow! Go Pepe Go!

My window will look stunning

..and I am starting my Christmas decorations earlier this year, so that you have some time to
do things well a head if you want to make something that I will post to my blog.

There might be "new type" of traditional decorations coming too...

I have been lazy, but it is simply because I have been singing my first big opera role, Turandot, which was my Operatic Debute, and it took lot of time and effort.. but now, back to basics!!

I love old fashioned Christmas!

I have lot of plans for this christmas, it might be our last in this beautiful Victorian cottage, so I will take everything out of it. I have some fun plans to decorate our window´s some flower arrangements, my "traditional" paper doilies on windows, I try something new with them,  Salt dough decorations, and so much more.. oh I can´t wait to get started!!

Stay tuned!

Love

Serafiina

Victorian Christmas decorations are adorable

New Blogger

Oh Mine.. I hate new phones, or anything that is new for me in technical terms.. and when new blogger came.. it is just so confusing that it took me weeks to find my blog.. as it really came out with different email adress.. etc. what a thing. Anyway..
lot has happened to me since my last posting, and I try to catch up with all of you, and start arranging christmas , that will be unforgetable.. as we have no idea, if we are going to live in this beautiful house when next summer comes.. and this truly is one big Christmas dream for me.

Love

Serafiina