On my reading table - Sweet Peas For Summer

Sweet Peas For Summer - how to create a garden in a year by Laetitia Maklouf.

This book is the story of the author's first backyard garden, and how she got it dug and blooming within a year. Having gardened for a decade in pots and on balconies, she had a strong idea of what she wanted in her garden so was able to get stuck in right away. One of her first projects was sowing sweet pea seeds to have flowers for summer.

The book is divided into seasons with a new chapter for each month.  Each chapter starts with a brief write-up of Laetitia's garden that month, then it has a list of tasks to do in your own garden. Then there are various projects, plantings and plant profiles, each illustrated with a gorgeous photo.

Although the book is aimed at beginner gardeners and I'm well past the beginner stage, I still found a lot to like. The easy, chatty style of writing is fun to read and the photos are beautiful. There are lots of projects which inspired me and interesting tidbits of information.

I enjoyed seeing photos of Laetitias garden, and my only quibble would be that there aren't many pictures of the garden as a whole. I would have also liked a garden plan or sketch to give me an idea of where things were in relation to each other.

Having said that, I enjoyed the chatty, friendly style of writing - pretty much like a blog in book form. While I may not be a beginner any more I still enjoy reading about how other people do things, and of course there is always something new to learn. I think everyone from beginners to experienced gardeners will find something to like here.

Isn't this bowl of hellebores lovely? Can't wait for mine to bloom so I can do this! (I'm also going to pin a flower in my hair and plant sarcococca and hang baskets from my apple tree, as soon as it is big enough.)

I'm linking this post to HolleyGarden's monthly book review meme. She has a great archive of book reviews here now, so do take a look!

Eating out

Mum and I made it our mission to try new and exciting food every day of the Christchurch part of the holiday. We began with afternoon tea at the Cupcake Parlour. See how pretty it all is... vintage china plates, Cath Kidston tablecloth, swirly icing and silver sprinkles. The cupcake was delicious, as was the icing - very rich though! There weren't many people eating in at the Cupcake Parlour, but there was a steady stream collecting takeaway orders.

The next day we went out to visit Seagars at Oxford. It was incredibly busy - word has sure got round about that place. We arrived just after 12 and all the tables were full, so we were invited to browse in the kitchen shop next door until one became available. Five minutes later a waiter came and told us a table was ready, so in we went. The staff were great - really friendly and helpful. I was slightly less than impressed with my main though. I ordered the Oven-Roasted Monkfish which was supposed to be served with lemon hollandaise, potatoes and fresh greens. There were about three drops of hollandaise (to be fair, they were extremely tasty drops) and instead of fresh greens, steamed winter veg. However the veg were still crunchy, as demonstrated when I tried to spear a piece of carrot on my fork and it pinged away, bounced off my lap, landed in my handbag and wiggled all the way to the bottom. I think the monkfish was nice, but it was hard to tell because the bacon flavour was so strong. Oh - but there was a lovely mash, with potatoes and cabbage and maybe even parsnip, hiding under all those crunchy veges!

Mum had the Carrot, Cumin and Cashew Nut Fritters. She said they were nice but wouldn't rave about them.

Fortunately dessert made up for it! This is the Dessert Nibbly Platter - a little bit of everything including pecan pie, lemon meringue pie, blueberry pie, fruit cake, chocolate mousse and ice cream. So good, especially that mousse, yum.

The next morning we went to the Farmers' Market at Dean's Bush, Riccarton. There was a fascinating array of handmade, organic and gourmet foods there. Handmade bread, cheese, chocolates, cookies, two different cupcake stalls, fresh meat and veg... I had a wonderful hot chocolate flavoured with Mayan Spice (chai spices and a hint of chilli!) which certainly warmed me up on a cold morning. I bought a goat's cheese fetta (Mum has a recipe for a leek and goat's cheese tart - which I am still waiting on, hint!) and...

...macaroons! I'd never seen these in real life before and I just had to try some. And yes, they are every bit as good as you read about. Soft meringue shells with a creamy ganache centre.

They are from J'aime les macarons (I love macaroons) - very appropriate name! (The one at the front is rose and it was my second favourite. My first favourite was the middle one - bitter chocolate.

Product Review - Schwarkzopf Hair Dye

I don't usually do product reviews, but when I colour my hair I throw the packaging away and can't remember next time which one to buy again. Some work well, some wash right out, some have toxic fumes. So here (mostly for personal future reference) are my cons and pros:

SCHWARZKOPF LIVE #88 - BROWN ALLURE

- Colour tube was difficult to squeeze into mixer bottle.
- Applicator bottle was difficult to use - I found it too big and hard to squeeze the gel out of.
- The plastic gloves were completely useless - huge, floppy, my hair tangled around them and pulled them off my hands.

+ The product was not as stinky as some others! Good ventilation is still a must though.
+ There seemed to be lots in the bottle. I always buy two packs because of my long hair, but it seemed like one and a half would have been adequate (better than other times when I've nearly run out).
+ The conditioner comes in a tube with a screw top! This is a big plus, as you will know if you have ever been in the shower, trying in vain to open a plastic sealed sachet with your teeth...
+ It rinsed out quickly and stayed rinsed out - no staining the towel or continuing to rinse out the next three times I washed my hair.

There you have it, and three cons to four pros mean I'll probably buy this one again. I'll make sure I have some disposable latex gloves on hand too. On the subject of hair dye, here are a couple of things I'd like to see:

* Half size packs for touching up your roots... it's so annoying to buy a full pack, knowing you'll have to throw half of it away.
* The actual conditioner they use in the packs available as a full size bottle.

If you dye your own hair, what brand do you use?