Monday, February 27, 2012

Chemise please!

The weather has been positively beastly and grey and dull and I needed to seek out some comfort and colour.



I've been very frugal lately because we have the renovation underway and there really isn't anything I "need"
well there is one thing!
So I popped on my grey and black feline printed scarf (the one from my tying tutorial) and my grey duffel coat, over top of black boots, skinny jeans, white tank and my black cashmere sweater...it's no wonder I crave colour!

I was on a mission as our stove top kettle finally packed it in after many years of fine service.

I traipsed all over looking for a new kettle that was to my liking. I wanted something simple and durable yet with a bit of style as it sits on the stove top all the time. I looked at Le Creuset's, Staubs, Copco's and some really disappointing flimsy stainless steel models before giving up and resigning myself to finding one another day.

In the meantime I found some new towels on sale Hammam white Turkish towels and they are every bit as nice as the Abyss towels we currently have in The Humble Bungalow which are over 5 years old and starting to look their age. White never stays pure white forever....


Hammam bath sheet and towel
I have on order the face cloths and another bath sheet.
I'll decide if they'll be upstairs or downstairs towels later.


Quality~comfort
soft~supple~cotton~sateen

(this company also made our Hutterite down duvet)


a chemise if you please!
I have had one of these in the past and they are a delight to wear in the warmer days of summer.
It feels like nothing on but there is a wisp of coverage for modesty's sake.


this style has a wee hint of lace


Pepper thinks I brought home a toy for her to play with!


what's inside?


I spy with my little eye...
a furry tail!


Boo!



Remember that Red Huck
The twigs that I thought would bloom...
well they have sprouted leaves not flowers :(

On my way home from town I stopped off at the local Market for some food.
I also picked up my husband's shirts at the cleaners
and popped my head in the Hardware store...
and found the kettle that I needed!



Stainless steel Paderno
guaranteed for 25 years...
my husband's comment was "that kettle will see us out!"

Embracing frugality I made Osso Bucco with beef shanks and the next day I transformed the leftovers into 
Scotch Broth Soup!


simmering and scenting the kitchen


I wish you could taste this bowl of soup.
You'll just have to trust me that it is in fact delicious!

Mr. HB and I watched The Help on the weekend and I loved it.
The book was a good read.
I'd recommend it
 I mentioned it to Mother and she read it in a couple of days!


I hope that your week is off to a great start!

30 comments:

LPC said...

Oooh. Soup please:).

MamaBirdEmma said...

I went shopping for a new kettle on Saturday! I was also very excited to fine a cast iron griddle on sale, too! It was great to replace worn out items in my kitchen.

Oh, I also found two white china rabbits that will be perfect for spring!

La Vie Quotidienne said...

I have been looking for a new tea kettle for quite a while. Williams Senoma has the one I want but I am loathe to spend the price ~ sometime, at a weak moment it will probably be coming home with me.

I loved The Help, it was wonderful.

Pondside said...

I love the kettle - wonderful shape, and it will look good for a very long time. I'm craving colour - it's all green and black with a dusting of snow up here. I'm longing for a jolt of purple and yellow!

Anonymous said...

Great curves to the kettle, I could do with a new one too, ours has been leaking for 6 months.
Ah the chemise is so feminine, I wear pi's and sock all the time, even in warm countries, I'm one of those always cold types because my blood pressure is so low.

mette said...

Your kettle looks cute!
We use the electric water kettle Dualit. Quick and easy. I was wondering about your towels.. Our´s show no sign of turning dull in color. What temperature do you use when washing them?
The only way for me to stay frugal, is to not enter shops at all ; )!

Mummaducka said...

That kettle is great, was it a great price too- compared to the ones you had been looking at? It's funny when we give up on seeking/finding something that it will then find us...it happens to me all the time.

Loove pepper's wild crazed eyes inside the bag!

Suburban Princess said...

I use a stove top kettle too but never buy expensive ones...my husband tends to forget to turn the burner off. Le sigh.

Yours is beautiful! Was it Home Hardware?

Frugal Scholar said...

So many enticements. The towels look great (my weak spot). I made Scotch Broth w/ lamb leftovers and it is now my daughter's favorite soup--supplanting Louisiana corn and shrimp soup.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

It's the only thing that is keeping me warm in this chilly weather!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Replacing the old with new, especially in the kitchen is refreshing to say the least.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I rationalize big ticket purchases by the CPW factor and I think we could use this same guide for the amount of times we'd boil the kettle for our cups of tea!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

You and me both! Bring on Spring!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I wore socks to bed last night as it was so cold...we have had a sprinkling of snow on the weekend Brrr.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I use a warm water wash and rinse for the towels as per the laundering instructions on the tag.
Do you have a special soap or do you use bleach? I don't use bleach.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Pepper is still so much a kitten...she loves to explore and hide in bags and boxes and she sometimes goes under the duvet!

Anonymous said...

The soup looks warm and hearty. And your kettle is very cozy looking.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Home Hardware indeed! This kettle whistles so your husband would hear it when it boils.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Oh I'd love that soup recipe...will you do a blog post on that perhaps?

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I'd love some of your California sunshine...it would be better than hot soup!

Judith said...

This must have been kettle day world wide!! just bought a Dualit kettle to go with the rest of my kitchen dualit family.

The Daffodils are shooting up over here,we are enjoying mild Spring like
weather....went out in flats with bare legs under my trouser's !!!! Ida

Judith said...

Oh what is Red Huck? is it a Cornus shrub? love the green shoots poking out of the red stems. Ida

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I think Kettle Day sounds like a blog tea party.
Oh we have very chilly temperatures here, I wore boots and gloves
it would be wonderful to walk about in your patch of the country!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Red Huck is African Boxwood. I was hoping for some flowers but the contrast of colour is nice.

Northmoon said...

Be careful not to let your cat play in those bags unsupervised. I've heard of a cat getting it's head caught in the handle and freaking out with fatal results.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Yikes....
thank you for the heads up Northmoon.
I'll be putting the bag away pronto!

Adrienne Shubin said...

Pepper = kitty cuteness.

There are loads of daffodils around our neighbor these days. I love them! I bought four bunches at the market yesterday and put them in vases all around the house.

I have a Staub tea pot that I adore. My only complaint about it is it doesn't whistle. Sometimes I get lost in a blog or something and forget about it and wish it had a way to remind my middle-aged brain that I wanted tea :)

You pot is very pretty. I love what Mr. HB said about how long it will last - he must be a humorous sort, yes?
xo, A

Adrienne Shubin said...

One more thing. I have not forgotten about the 11 Things post you tagged me with. I am slowly coming up with 11 semi-interesting things to tell my readers...it's hard after 19 months of blogging. I feel like I've already said all that's interesting about me. But I can do it. Next week I will be posting it.

Big hugs,

A

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I actually think Mr. HB was being serious...we are getting "up there" in advanced age.
You don't need to lift weights when you've got a Staub kettle, they are like my heavy Le Creuset pots.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I am sure that there's a lot that we do not know about you. I'll look forward to the post!