Happy Birthday Pengelly Belly!

Hello peeps!

 

Can you believe it!? Pengelly Belly is 1 year old! WOW! What a year! I've had over 4000 hits in a year from all corners of the world, and have a small band of followers. Thank you all for your comments on the blog, facebook and twitter. It really means a lot to me.

I know that the last 6 months have been a little quiet on the blog front what with moving from my beloved home in Cornwall to Oxfordshire, recovering from wrist surgery, finding somewhere to live, finding a new job and basically settling in to a new life. I think we are almost there now!

We have a lovely home in Oxfordshire in a sleepy country village, Mr P no longer has to do loads of commuting for his job, and I'm slowly starting to settle in. Don't get me wrong, I miss Cornwall and my friends and family and often feel homesick, but there are just some things in life which you have to do for the best. At the end of the day, I can always go back to Cornwall for visits. As my friends say, you can take the girl out of Cornwall but you can't take Cornwall out of the girl!

I am blessed to have some most amazing cook shops and vintage homeware shops in and around the area we live (of which I have to give myself a budget each month!) and we are still finding new places to eat out so every weekend is still a holiday for us. And even more exciting is that Borough Market in London is just an hours train journey away compared to the previous 6 hour trip in the car and a long weekend just to get there!!

So, since it's the Pengelly Belly birthday, it's only right that we have some birthday pressies! The kitchen has just been adorned with some new goodies: -

• My ebay bargain of my wooden rocking chair for the kitchen (£25.00!!!!)
• 3 beautiful french vintage jam jars from The Old Pill Factory in Witney (I soooo love this place! It really is a treasure trove of delights and vintage stuff. Lots of old cookware as well)
• 1 new handmade wooden spice rack to make more room in the pantry
• 2 new cookbooks - Mexican Food Made Simple by Thomisina Miers and Great British Bake Off Series 2

I'm all ready to sit in my rocking chair by the log burner in the kitchen with a cookbook, contemplating of what to cook next!

I was also very lucky to be given a beautiful Salt / Garlic Pig from Pendeen Pottery as an anniversary present from our dear friends, Mr and Mrs H in Cornwall. It now sits, pride of place, on the window sill with the sun glinting of the blue glaze, reminding me of home.

I am very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

Moving forward, I have no idea what the next 12 months will hold, but I do know one thing, what with winter bearing down on us, the best place to be is in a warm snug kitchen, making and baking and feeding the people that I love the most!

Bake on is what I say!

Cheers for now,

Nic xoxoxox