Lola Silver-Ridge

That's my Burlesque name according to one name generator I found. I am also:

Dandelion St. Andre

Caresse A La Mode

Brittanee Richee

You may be wondering what relevance this has to anything. Well, on Friday I went to the Hot Boppin' Girls Burlesque taster session. It was great fun and I have of course signed up to the 5 week course starting tomorrow at The Garage in Norwich.

The Fab Hot Boppin' Girls

Latch-Hook Pirate Rug

"It doesn't take that long to do" chirped the lovely girl in Jarrolds. That was well over a year ago and I am currently on row 33 of 50. so it takes quite a while. But, for those of you with some spare time who want a go at a new hobby, here's how to make an awesome rug!

What You Need
A rug kit
OR
lots of pieces of wool about 6 or 7cm long
sqaured paper (to draw a pattern on)
rug canvas (a bit like a tennis racket)
AND
a latch hook

Norwich Fasion Week

Not one to back down from a challenge, the fashion industry of Norwich (is that an oxymoron?!) have decided that this week, London Fashion Week, is the ideal time for Norwich Fashion week. Righto...

I'm not going to do a review of the launch party I went to (for that see Jess' Feeling Stylish or her guest post onn Retro Chick) because I clearly just didn't get it. If there was something to get.

Instead I thought I'd tell you about the lovely dress I made! Here's a picture Jess took of me in it... I think I look a bit shorter than I really am.

A Norwich girl walks into a library...

...and says "I'll have sausage, chips and mushy peas please." The librarian looks very confused and quietly says "This is a library you know?" The girl thinks for a minute before whispering "Oh sorry, I'll have sausage chips and mushy peas please!"

I'm in a bad mood. I didn't sleep well, my phone isn't working, the kid was being grumpy, I came out without any money, it's raining. There's always one thing that cheers me up in this situation though - the library.

For those of you who don't really know Norwich, our library is in an amazing building called The Forum. It's a huge building which is home to the library, BBC East, Pizza Express & Marzano's Coffee, a gift shop and the largest permanent digital gallery with free public access in Europe. It also has the best public toilets in the city, something you need to know when walking round with a three year old.

Style Evolution

A post idea shamelessly copied from a post by Retro Chick but I just couldn't resist!

First Lets see where I started from. How did my parents dress me when I was little??

Delia's Frugal Pot Roast

This is a recipe from Delia's Frugal Food cookbook but I did make a few changes! You can find the original recipe here.

 I start by giving the chicken a good wash and then rub it with a load of butter, salt and pepper. I stuff it with 2 big quarters of onion, a couple of cloves stuck in each  one. This gets roasted at 220c for about half an hour.

Kindle for Android

I finally got my lovely HTC back after it getting ruined by condensation... actually they replaced it so I now have a shiny one!

I was stocking up on apps from the Android Market when I stumbled across Kindle. I'm not so completely sheltered that I don't know about electronic book reader things, but I have to say I don't know a lot about them. So, I downloaded the app, browsed the free books (of which there are hundreds and hundreds) but finally settled on The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris for one English pound.

For any of you who live even further in the dark than me I'll tell you a bit about Amazon Kindle. Technically speaking it is a software, hardware and network platform which allows you to read books on the go without having to lug around a load of paper. Books are turned into computer files which can be downloaded wirelessly (using wi-fi or Amazon's 3G "Whispernet" network) and read on a little tablet computer. The screen uses a special e-ink technology which makes reading easier on the eyes than a conventional screen and also hugely increases battery life.

Aga Envy

Pretty much ever since I can remember I have had a love of Agas. There's just something about them - so warm and inviting, perfect height to rest your bum on (or for my Mum, who was under 5ft tall, the Rayburn was a better fit). I still struggle to get my head around pre-heating the oven and I feel lost without a bottom oven.

A trifle ... messy!

I made some fairy cakes yesterday with an electric whisk for the first time ever and the whole lot collapsed. Not one to shy away from a disaster I decided to give the little cakes another chance.

They were cut, soaked in a little sherry and covered with strawberry jelly and custard. Then it all got mixed up and messy somehow.

Anyway, a good few spoonfulls into a bowl, topped with squirty cream and a glace cherry. The kid was happy at least!