Unfortunately I didn’t make it up to Tankardstown for the DG launch but I am going to Maison D’Objet on Monday. Have a good weekend all.

This panel print design is Wow – big, bold, colourful – rich garden blooms in a classic stone urn.  Not for the average room but wow:

And here’s the other Zephirine wallpapers by Designers Guild

2. Fill a saucer with a little Tequila and place your cocktail glass upside down in to the
    saucer so the rim is coated in alcohol.

3. Then place your glass in to the salt so an even amount covers the rim.

4. Use your Quicksnap Ice Cube tray to fill your glass with ice cubes.
Joseph Joseph hint: Use The Quicksnap switch mechanism to make releasing ice
    cubes stress free in aiding your perfect cocktail.

5. Use The Catcher to juice your lemon and add to the glass.

Joseph Joseph hint: Don’t worry about any pesky pips, theyve got those covered
    with their ingenious design to extract only juice.

6. Finally, take your 2-in-1 Measuring Jug and measure out your Tequila and Orange
    Liqueur separately and add to your glass.
Joseph Joseph hint: Use the small chamber of the dual chamber design of the
    2-in-1 Measuring Jug, allowing for accurate measurement which is key for all cocktail
    making.

Image: Living Etc

Love Mae Fabric Mini Stickers on sale online

Image: Homes & Gardens (Designers Guild and The Dormy House)

7 bags of meal later and this is the size of the 19 broilers.

We decided to kill one last week to see just how fat they were under those feathers and also thinking that we might as well spread out our meals of chicken.  I remembered reading Rebecca’s blog post ‘My First Chicken Kill’ and have admired her since for having the courage to do it. This is the last paragraph in Rebecca’s blog post ‘We won’t be eating chicken every week. We will be eating chicken only on special occasions. The process is not easy… physically or emotionally, and so eating a chicken takes on a whole new meaning. They are saved for sharing with special friends, during special meals. Nor do I walk into a supermarket or butchers and pick up a packet of meat/poultry anymore without giving thought to the animal it came from, the life it had, and the death that occurred in order for me to eat it. Its just all too easy these days to eat meat without truly appreciating what happens before it reaches our plates. I think if people did know they would eat less meat, they would ask more questions about the welfare, or lack of it, that their meat has experienced.’

And I agree with every word. Brian did the deed of killing the bird, I helped him pluck it. We then let it hang for 2 days in the back hall (and walking past it for 2 days every time I entered and exited the house didn’t exactly make me look forward to my Sunday dinner!). Brian cleaned it out last night and I have to admit I didn’t even go into the room when he was doing it.  Maybe by the time we have got to the 19th, I’ll be doing it!  I agree with Rebecca wholeheartedly – when eating meat we should be aware of its welfare before it was killed for us to eat.  I enjoy meat but knowing that it had a good life, means I enjoy it more.  I am always wary of buying free range chickens (checking who the supplier is) because free range does not necessarily mean it roamed outside but simply that there was a door open to the shed which the chickens could exit if they wanted but with thousands of chickens in the shed, the reality is that they don’t venture outside.

Well, what did the chicken taste like? Very tasty and there was plenty of juice to make a lovely gravy.  Apparently most chickens for the supermarket are killed at about 6 weeks.  This one is 8-9 weeks old. We didn’t think of weighing it.  Putting it into the roasting dish I noticed it was longer than chickens I buy but leaner – almost athletic looking!!  So we will leave it a week before we kill another and it will be interesting to see how much fatter that one is.  They aren’t moving around that much in the shed now, spending much of their time eating and sitting.  They consume an incredible amount of water too.

We had carrots, parnips and runner beans from the garden today too. The only purchase was the potatoes

Here is one of the raised vegetable beds

Leeks, lettuce, carrots, parsnips and beetroot.

We harvested our onions today too.

I noticed this on a UK site last week but our very own Irish Mabel and Violet have it too (we’re a bit pre-occupied with height in our house at the moment and trying not to be as our 6 year old has overtaken our 8 year old – in height, shoe size and weight!)

Animal Tower Wallsticker at Mabel & Violet

I think this doll’s house shaped storage shelves are genius.  Not only are the simple enough to do, but they look adorable, and can be used either as storage or as an actual doll’s house. Goodness, my fingers are itching to move furniture around just looking at it!

Image: Homes and Gardens

Well, I hope this one has been worth waiting for!

The prize is one of the Love Mae set of stickers (except Build a Tree or the Large Dress up Dolls).  You can choose from whichever set you would like to win – simply leave a comment stating which is your favourite and if your number comes up, that set will be on its way to you next week.  Leave a comment over on Facebook too to double your chances

Click here to view all the Love Mae stickers - they are all removable, scrunchable, washable and reappliable so are perfect for little fingers as well as being lovely designs.

All you have to do is leave a comment saying which one is your favourite and why.  The winner will be drawn on Friday evening.