Focaccia ready for the oven and a somewhat experimental baked cheesecake just emerged 
We are aware the focaccia looks more like a naan bread. Minor details!
Baking in progress
Stax Soul Museum – 18 February (Southern Belle Road Trip)
Up early and had a very entertaining breakfast in the hotel, watching all the tourists fight over coffee and investigate the mints (yep, at breakfast. Weird.)
Then out to the less affluent part of Memphis, where the Stax Soul Museum resides. Stax Records was, by the sounds of things, and from Dad’s memories, an incredible hive of musical talent. More of its history can be found here and here.
Though I wouldn’t have said I knew much blues, and certainly not much about blues music, I found I recognised so much! It was beautifully put together, staffed by very knowledgeable, young people, and told the triumphant then tragic story of Stax in a very moving way. I found it almost unbearably poignant in places, but uplifting that from the ruins there is now the museum, a record store and a school and music academy, ensuring the legend will live on.
Should you ever be in that part of the world, please visit, it was unquestionably one of the highlights of the trip. Photos to follow.
Then on to Nashville… And I drove all the way!
Filed under Adventuring, USA Road Trip 2012
Gearing up for the relaunch
Just a little progress report – stock is counted, extra parts have arrived, the new logo is well underway and all my plans are quite effectively coming together for the launch of my Etsy shop
I’m very excited to have my jewellery available for sale again after a hiatus, during which I got used to the day job and the commute, travelled a lot and generally ran around like a headless chicken.
I’m also hoping to stock some craft supplies, but more on that later – squee!
Filed under Business Wafflings, Planning
Pinterest inspiration this week (which should have appeared in my last post!)
Source: facebook.com via Carla on Pinterest
Source: bakersroyale.com via Carla on Pinterest
Source: modpodgerocksblog.com via Carla on Pinterest
Source: sundayinbed.tumblr.com via Carla on Pinterest
Source: bookshelfporn.com via Carla on Pinterest
Filed under Inspiration and inspiring things, Pinterest
Things that make me smile… Tuesday
Ok, I know, it isn’t Thursday, but I’ve had a very productive morning in the day job and decided it was time for a well-earned break. So here are some bits and pieces from around the web and the real world that have made me smile…
I’m wearing this dress today. It’s possibly the most pin up thing in my wardrobe apart from my corsets, and I LOVE it. Would never have gone for the bodycon trend until I tried it on by accident, but it does wonderful things for my curves.
My logo proofs have arrived, from the very talented Jamie at Fresh Lavender Designs. So exciting! Go and have a nose at her Etsy shop, it’s lovely!
Why I am at work, battling spreadsheets, when I could be at home with a kitten and a tortoise is beyond me…
Adding to my Pinterest board - some favourites…
*EDIT* Oops, something bad happened when I tried to embed my Pinterest favourites… *runs off to try and fix*
And adding to my Project Pin Up alter-ego’s style scrapbook – inspiration and bits and pieces that help me form and maintain her persona. I’m planning a paper scrapbook, too.
And not forgetting: rediscovering strawberry water * reading actual fiction books * dreaming and planning for Ducking Fabulous’s relaunch * lunch with my lovely manager * catching up with old friends * puppy goodness * chocolate cheesecake * finally getting to grips with my temporary phone (it’ll be gone by April!) * a sense of happiness and contentedness that has stolen over me in the last week or so.
Filed under Happy Thursdays
London at Lunchtime – Biscuit Break
Doing my best to pretend I’m still ten years old, with biscuits and milk to break up the afternoon…
Filed under London at Lunchtime
The Bottlecap Experiment
Something I’ve been meaning to try for ages, but had somehow not got around to, these were the best of my first batch of bottlecap pendants – but there will be more,I really enjoyed making them. And have been looting bottlecaps to upcycle from all over the place.
Card and buttons or charms seem to work well, as long as there is sufficient medium to cover them – it does shrink as it dries, which I’d not anticipated. My current favourite (a silver tree on a sparkly green background) is most definitely a second quality-wise, but has taught me a lot for the next batch.
Printed photos, however, on normal paper, do not work. I tried to make one with a photograph of Rusty McLusty, and on inspecting it this morning, the colours have run quite drastically. I will be investigating and testing better paper/ink/printing methods – watch this space!
Filed under Creating, General crafting, Upcycling
“My beloved Tennessee” – 17 February 2012
… as Dad put it when we crossed the border, which I thought was lovely! I had cake for breakfast in honour of Sophia’s birthday, and then today was mostly about driving – I drove across an entire state (Arkansas) in a day! It was good experience, but not the most inspiring of landscapes –but we entertained ourselves by trying to find a Cracker Barrel to have brunch at – the one we saw a sign for in Texas appears to have been stolen, but we found several after that
I found the signs for Memphis and Nashville weirdly evocative.
Took a photo of Daisy near an empty truck. The trucker behind said he’d be upset if I didn’t take one of her with him in his truck. So I did. Spot the duck!
Daisy with our food when we eventually found a Cracker Barrel (this was hugely entertaining at the time, but I realise probably lacks the humour in a blog post…)
Entering Tennessee, over the bridge.
Even with The Great Cracker Barrel Hunt, as it will ever after be known, we arrived in Memphis in good time in the evening. Our hotel, rather wonderfully, was right behind Beale Street, so we were able to park the car and mooch round the corner to Beale Street to have dinner at BB King’s 
Dad pointed out, when I was trying to decide which boots to wear out, that it is not a cowboy town, and he’s right – Memphis has a feel all its own, and it’s fantastic. It’s vibrant and noisy and full of people, and reminded me a little of Covent Garden at night, if Covent Garden had neon lights and really good blues music. And we had endless fun with Daisy lol…
And then, slightly randomly, we went into Hooters – and I found the poster telling the girls how to dress bizarre – hair must be “down and styled glamorously”, and tattoos must be covered with opaque makeup and there’s quite a lot of instruction about how the tank top and hotpants should be worn…
Next post – Stax Soul Museum and on to Nashville
Filed under Ducks on Tour, USA Road Trip 2012
Route 66, Tulsa and George Strait – one perfect day
Somehow an entire week has gone past since last weekend, and I’ve not had five seconds to sit down and write a post!
So we’d done six glorious days in Texas, and now it was onto the road trip part of the road trip…
Thursday 16th February 2012 – we left Texas for Oklahoma. This was the driving part I was most excited about as it involved leaving the interstate and driving Route 66. Well, part of it anyway! Here’s a random section of interstate with an advert for Ariat boots – this is one of the reasons I love this part of America!
It didn’t take as long as I’d thought to get over the border and into Oklahoma City (where we were joining R66). This made me realise exactly how lucky the girl we met on the plane is (she lives six months of the year near the Oklahoma border, as a photographer. She lives the other six months of the year in the UK, as a teacher. Ok, I wouldn’t want to teach, but what an awesome way to incorporate two countries you love into your life!)
Here’s the turning onto R66…
And me and Daisy Duck driving it…
We stopped at the Rock Cafe in Stroud, on Route 66, on Mum’s recommendation (from things she’d read – she’d not been on it before either). It was a gorgeous little 50s-style diner, and it turned out to have a wonderful story behind it. The owner, Dawn, bought it almost by accident and found happiness in a small town. Pixar then discovered her, and the Rock Cafe, and she is the inspiration for the character Sally Carrera in the Disney/Pixar film Cars (http://route66news.com/2006/06/09/a-route-66-guide-to-the-cars-movie/). Which is amazing. The cafe also burned down in May 2008 (Dawn’s chronicles of its rebuild here http://rockcafert66.wordpress.com/)
Here’s the cafe, outside and inside – someone considerately parked a Boxter outside it so it’s almost like Sally herself was there…
Filed under USA Road Trip 2012
Happy Thursdays…
How can it possibly already be Thursday again?!
Happy moments this week:
~ a perfect weekend seeing friends unexpectedly
~ finally getting a chance to test-run bottlecap pendants – I have been meaning to do this for an embarrassingly long time
~ learning (well, remembering – I already knew) that good friends really are infinitely precious
~ anticipating meeting this little chap next week, and the kittens at the end of the month (no photos of them yet – they move too fast!)
~ leaving work on time twice and having a proper evening, including cooking
~ demonstrable geekiness
~ making decisions about Ducking Fabulous and Etsy – keep your ears peeled 
~ getting my artwork up, finally – it’s all round the flat and it really feels much more like home all of a sudden just the studio left to do!
Filed under Happy Thursdays, Loving & Living
