Lilou's Endeavours

Easter is around the corner and for me, that means three things, hay fever, a package from home, and hot cross buns. Hay fever is tedious so instead, I want to share my ups or lack thereof when it comes to hot cross buns. I discovered hot cross buns when I moved to the UK, and from what I've heard they seem to be pretty typical and traditional. That is one seasonal tradition I'm fully on board with! I like mine cut in half and toasted with a bit of butter.  The smell of toasted hot cross buns, with the butter melting and a cup of tea...gorgeous!  Being in lockdown and not having loads to do, I thought I would give them a go a couple weeks ago. A bit of a disaster really. They smelled amazing while they were in the oven, had the hollow sound when tapping the bottom; but to say they were dense is not doing the situation justice. We toasted and buttered them; the butter pooled on top, it was so dense it could not seep into the bun! I had two hypotheses for that, first was that it...

I came across the Goodvertising awards a month or so ago and was amazed by some of the campaigns and projects that were highlighted. At uni I studied political science and economics and I was going to save the world (not sure from what but I was on a path). After I graduated and still had no real plan, I decided to do a master's in business which led me to marketing. However; I firmly believe that a profitable business model can also do good for society and the environment; which is why this resonated with me.  The Goodvertising Awards are championed by Thomas Kolster who has written two books on the subject (which are now on the reading list!). These awards highlight 10 of the best campaigns that have served as a force for good, be it socially, environmentally, or otherwise. Of the 10, I had only seen one, and that was the Burger King one last year with the headline "Order from McDonald's". I wouldn't be surprised if you've seen it too; I lost count of how ma...

   I finally did it! After months of dithering the time was right for this particular adventure. Last week I really wanted a special tasty treat, but I also needed to keep myself focused and busy. So I decided to embark on the baking of the opera cake.  And let me tell you it kept me busy all afternoon. I started around 2pm and finished around 6pm - and that, even though I left out a step (not sure the chocolate layer on the bottom side of the cake is a necessity). I'll give you a little flavour of the work involved.    The first bit was the sponge. Despite requiring beating egg whites and some advanced mathematics to split the mixture into equal parts, it wasn't too hard. But I had to bake the three layers separately as I only have one cake tin of that size. Which invariably lead to me forgetting I had just got the cake tin out of the oven when I picked it up to get the next batch of dough in...luckily I only burned the one finger! And despite all of that, the ...

In my last post, I wrote about pottery being the craft I would really like to do. While I don't have access to a kiln I figured I should really just give air dry clay a try. In the spirit of this blog, I decided to have a go and I bought an air dry clay kit from Sculpd.  Before I get into the experience; a quick note on Air Dry clay. It is a material that will harden when you leave it out at room temperature for a period of time (24 to 48 hours usually). The big benefit is that you don't need a kiln to "bake" it like natural clay. The downside is that it won't be waterproof, so what you make can't hold water or be left outside. I was so excited when my kit was delivered, nearly opened it and got stuck in straight away!  As I did pottery as a kid and had made some relatively elaborate vases (which my mother still uses!), I figured it would be easy. So I decided I would make an owl shaped planter and a four-pronged candle holder and ignore the suggested pinch po...

 Navigating redundancy, as well as the pandemic with the regular changes in the tiering systems and lockdown situations, hasn't been easy every day. But despite that, it hasn't been all doom and gloom; far from it. So I wanted to share some of the things that always bring me relief and joy.   Diving into a good book  I'm not a big reader, but when I find a good book I can spend the day reading it. I love the fact that a book can transport you into a whole other world. And, unlike films, I find it stays with me a lot longer. Maybe that's because your mind is more active when reading; you have to imagine everything, whereas a film does all of that work for you so it's a more passive experience? In any case, I don't do enough reading but thoroughly enjoy it when I do. I'm also lucky that my partner reads loads and gets through books a lot faster than me - so I have a great selection available.  Walking in the woods There is nothing quite like a walk in the wood...

A couple of weeks ago, I was working on a presentation for a job interview. However; I started overthinking it and getting frustrated with myself as it was twice as long as they wanted but at the same time, I couldn’t see how I could present a complete plan in half the time. And, as the helpful comments of my boyfriend were no longer feeling helpful, it was clearly time to stop. I decided I would bake a cake instead!   So here I am at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon starting to bake a swiss roll…needless to say, we had takeaway for dinner as the kitchen was not available for making dinner! In the end, it was not too difficult to make, just very time-consuming. Unlike my favourite cakes to bake, you can’t just throw all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them all together. There are a clear order and timing for each step. First, you beat the eggs so that they are fluffy, then you add the sugar to get a mousse-like consistency and finally you add the flour. You know that you’ve done i...

I enjoy knitting, especially in the winter. It has this cosy and nostalgic feel, conjuring up memories of my childhood. A lot of knitters in my family now that I think of it. I remember my aunt knitting in front of the evening film; to this day I don't know how she could watch TV and knit. When I knit, I need quiet and pen and paper to keep track of what I am doing. My mom knitted as well, mostly sweaters for my dolls. She once knitted a sweater for me and got very frustrated as she had to start over a few times because I was going through a growth spurt and the sleeves were always too short! And I always remember my dad coming home from work and putting on his cardigan knitted by his aunt. Loungewear long before it became a thing!   Last year I had decided to try knitting a hat using yarn leftover from a scarf (scarves are easy and straightforward, at worst you have some sewing to do if you want to make a snood). Normally I buy a kit where the instructions, correct yarn, and needl...