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My English Country Cottage
  • Blog Posts
    • Our Home
    • Interior Design projects
    • How To Create A Cutting Garden
    • Pantry Recipes
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    • Home County Candle Company
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    • Country Cottage Creatives Interviews
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  • Risotto with crispy chorizo, red pepper, spinach and feta

    Risotto is an absolute favourite in our house.  One of my pantry staples is a bag of arborio rice.  Risotto is a dish that you can basically throw anything at, conjuring up a delicious bowl of creamy tasty rice from whatever is in the fridge, which is exactly how this recipe came about. These are all flavours that we know work: chorizo and red pepper, spinach garlic and then the…

    April 7, 2021
    Pantry Recipes

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Just a bit more learning today I think, very, very important studies...stuffs interiors magazine under sofa blanket... I am simply preparing the scene for my demise. No, not another accident with Prosecco, not this time. No, I am on week 7 of my couch to 5k and it sounds hard. Yes, I appreciate that we are midway through the week and I am only commencing week 7 today but I got slightly behind in my training (Prosecco has a lot to answer for) so am only now facing the giant wall of fear and trepidation that is a full twenty minute run with no stops (I am discounting the 3 minute walk and 5 minute run afterwards - they are insignificant pieces in a viscous game of metal strength and physical endurance. My usual stance when confronted with difficulty is “hide” or “run away”, I must channel this “run” option, perhaps if I tell myself that I am running away from my run then I will a) actually go out this morning and b) possibly survive 20 minutes non stop. I think option A is achievable but for option B I may need to add in the possibility of chancing upon the Pale Rider who always seems to be there when I am attempting a ditch jump or fighting brambles or being shamed by pheasants. I have noticed that I always pick the pace up (mainly to extract myself from yet another embarrassing situation) but also to show that I was definitely not heaving, snorting and actually groaning and that it was probably their horse making those noises actually thank you). Happy wish me luck Wednesday! X #mycountryhome #myhouseandhome #myhomesanctuary #englishdecor #shabbystyle #shabbyhome #countryhome #cottage


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Hello The Real Spring! Actual warm sunshine and real life almost blossom- thank goodness the children are booked in for haircuts on Wednesday, my son has disappeared behind hair of yeti size proportions and I feel it would be too easy for them to rely upon the veil of hair to obscure them from the obligatory annual blossom tree shot. No, if they are going to keep up their traditional “don’t let Mummy actually capture your face on camera” then I want them to work harder than simply standing still with too long hair. After my disastrous return to partying (a mere drop of Prosecco on Sunday floored me for the entire day yesterday) I decided that the simpler life of tea, scones and a ruddy good book was the only path I could sensibly tread. The gorgeous @turnbullandhooch sent me the prettiest blue tray that comfortably carried everything I required to enjoy an afternoons sunshine and recuperation. I consumed the scones remarkably quickly and knocked back the tea, I managed to throw down my phone and glance intelligently at my book every time I heard hooves or the creaking tread of new walking boots wandering down the lane. I expect they thought I was really very intelligent, probably a Cambridge Don researching the finer details of La Opera Comique in Paris in 1840 (I had three books, everyone knows that multiple books means studying and massive intelligence - not dribbling with Jilly Cooper pages lightly riffling to each snore. I feel ready to wave goodbye to my youthful partying self and embrace the life of a reclusive academic. This sounds far better suited to my still ailing person. If you need me, I shall be in the garden ‘studying’. Happy tea trays and tutorials Tuesday x Tea tray PR Product, see stories for beautiful colour close up!! x #mycountryhome #picnic #countryliving #myenglishhome #shabbydecor #oldhouselove #oldhousecharm #highteaparty #englishcountrystyle #cottagestyle #cottage


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There was once a girl who would meet up with friends in Clapham on a Sunday. They would drink Bloody Marys and laugh the day away. Now there is a ‘girl’ (be kind, her head hurts A LOT) who went to her friends garden, drank a thimbleful of Prosecco for lunch and was very very poorly. The End. I shall be here today, sipping tea and reading gardening books. I am not going out EVER again. It hurts. Happy my brain skull hurts and I suspect my heart is racing faster than is humanly possible manic Monday. X #rusticstyle #simplehome #modernrustic #kitchentable #farmhousekitchen #seekthesimplicity #rustichome


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Blossom? Blue skies? Sunshine?....and DECKCHAIRS???? Yes! Here we go!!!! I started the deckchair in the usual summery spot, it was cold; I Goldilocksed my way through the garden and eventually found myself in the Hawthorne and Damson tree extravaganza. I elbowed my way in “sorry, excuse me! So sorry! Is it Gary Barlow up next? So sorry, could I just? Would you? Sorry, just a bit of spikey branch in my hair - yes - it does look like an excellent dance move, but I don’t want to peak too early. If I could just park my..ok you are simply undergrowth..I will put my deckchair here AND YOU WILL KNOW MY WRATH... I am a woman deprived of sunshine and warmth for many a month, I will fight you for this out of the arctic wind spot and I WILL WIN. The deckchair went down seamlessly and I pretended to be working by reading magazines (face of Dorset Living this month thank you curtsey), I promptly fell asleep, dribbling proudly and awoke to red knees, striped arms and argh I have fifteen minutes before I need to pick up my daughter from her drama and dance class of dreams!! I think I styled out the stripes and drool and we hot stepped our way home. The pigeons had pooed on my chair and there was a pheasant eyeing up my English Home magazine....who cares? I cried!!! sunburned nose to the sky, I am warm and two tomato plants were allowed into the wild this morning...today is a good day...and I had a lovely dream about Gary Barlow and blossom filled boughs. Happy sunny Sunday! X Ps Head over to my website (linkinbio) for today’s gorgeous #theirenglishcountrycottages, a cottage that would never find itself vaguely sunburned and drooling. @hall_farm_cottage has filled this beauty with ridiculously stylish wallapapers, rich Farrow and Ball colours and just general coolness. Enjoy! X #blossom #gardenstyle #blossomtree #cottagehome #alfresco #cottagefarmhouse #cottageliving #mygardenthismonth #cottage #englishcountrygarden #gardenliving


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As I sit and watch my family play badminton in the garden (you can’t see them, they are still arguing about which racket is the most powerful/ least string broken) I muse on the evening sunlight. How rich it feels, how warm, it is like an invitation of great joy, a royal trumpeted herald of halcyon long summer days of outside living, of midges and low clouds, of alfresco suppers and you really should be in bed games of croquet, tennis, giant jenga and guess the animal poo. It urges me to throw off my weary lumberjack shirt, it beckons me to wear white linen and waft magnificently through the hydrangea beds...of course if I were to actually do this I would witness all the murdered by the treemen hydrangeas (they don’t take kindly to being squashed by heavy branches and boots), I would begin to shiver uncontrollably in the sub arctic cold and be able to hear the cries of “Why do you always have to ruin everything by saying you win???” (9 year old daughter to competitive 11 year old son). I shall remain here, enjoying the peace and tranquillity of pretend and revel and basque in the warmth of the sun... Just putting it out there...just saying...come on warm sunshine please oh why do you have to ruin everything by being so cold oh please oh please??? Happy still shivery Saturday x Ps warm up with 10% off all @homecountycandleco ridiculously gorgeously scented candles with “MYENGLISHCOUNTRYCOTTAGE “ x Flowers and vase previously gifted by @houseofbrissi Other products tagged. #mycountryhome #myhouseandhome #myhomesanctuary #englishdecor #shabbystyle #shabbyhome #countryhome #cottage


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Ohhh what a lovely blossom shot! Ohh it just fills the screen with spring petals and scented blooms. This nails Springtime, boom! Don’t bother taking any more blossom photos. This is IT. Spring in a shot. Ok, you have to look very, very closely to see the eensy weensieet branch of microscopic damson blossom. To my actual eyeholes the blossom looked like petals of plumply fulsome promises of summer fruit...unfortunately my eyes were slightly distracted by the pretty reflections in the windows of the cottage so I wasn’t really focused on the star of the show. I blame the cold, if it was warmer I would have probably stood for hours, feet glued to the spot, drinking in the sheer beauty and majesty of all the spring gifts. As it was I had to prise my feet from the frost and scuttle indoors back to the fire (I seem to be excelling in the art of skuttle at the moment- again- I hold the cold entirely responsible). For images of summery warmth and floral joy, head over to my website (linkinbio) to read @flowersandlifestylebymargot latest blog on growing Cosmos from seed - straight into the ground - once it has unfrozen from the evil Narnia like cold that is gripping us, vice like, at the moment. X Happy tiny blossom and dreams of summer flowers Friday xxx #blossomwatch #timberframe #clapperboard #oldcottage #fruittrees #springgreen #springsun #springsunshine #mycottage #exteriors #gardening #gardensofinstagram #windowreflection #cloudscape #windowview #windowsofinstagram #viewfrommywindow #cottagesofinstagram #cottagehome #cottagedesign


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It started with a shivery cup of tea in the garden. But the sun was shining and the sun was warm so ignore the wind and actual air temperature and drink the tea! And smile! Caution was thrown to the very chilly wind and I agreed to meet up with some friends at the local pub for lunch. Ha! I thought, I have already sat in this, I know it is cold so I shall be very clever and wear my thermal base layers, jumper, jeans, scarf and coat. Layering is key. I jumped into the car (well waddled and squeezed my way in with all my clever layering on top of my lockdown layering) and motored off, excited and nervous and actually a little bit hot. “I’ll just pop to the post office first, plenty of time”, then I got lost. Yes. Actually lost. Not three miles from home. A year of lockdown and I am incapable of popping to the post office and local pub. In my defence there was some weird road closure with an alternative route that seemed to take me about three counties away. I should have just turned round but by this time I was panicky and VERY hot in all my clever layers and would have struggled to manoeuvre the car. Surely it can’t be far until I see somewhere I recognise? This must be the main...no...no..an entirely new village that I have never been to before - it looked lovely and I have often heard tell of this village but just assumed it was miles aw....maybe I am miles away??? I swear when I get home I will never, ever leave again...apart from the school run.... Eventually I employed Satnav, arrived fifteen minutes late looking like someone had just ordered a massive cooked beetroot salad (burgundy cheeks and Khaki coat). It’s not safe out there, it’s too hot and too scary. I shall remain at hom...although this ‘new’ village did look lovely and I gather the pub does an excellent Sunday lunch...I wonder if I could ever find it again...? Happy Where am I Wednesday?! X #cottage #cottagegarden #thatch #springvibes🌸 #cottagelife #country #countryliving #englishhome #periodhome #oldhouselove #oldhousecharm #listedbuilding #cottagestyle #cottagecharm #cottagechic #cottagefarmhouse #countrycottagestyle  #charminghomes #englishcountrygarden



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