Pallet for Home

(cake)
1/4 cup powdered sugar 
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup Libby's 100% pure pumpkin
1 cup walnut, chopped (optional)


(filling)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tbsp butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional) 


Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Grease 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan; line with wax paper.
Grease and flour paper.




Sprinkle towel with powdered sugar.


Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt into a small bowl.
Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick.  
Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture.
Spread evenly into prepared pan. (Sprinkle nuts if desired).




Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. 
IMMEDIATELY loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel 
(Don't forget to sprinkle powdered sugar onto towel before placing cake on it!)
Carefully peel off paper.




Roll up cake and towel together, starting with the narrow end.
Cool on wire rack.








Beat cream cheese (Don't forget to soften it first!) Sifted powdered sugar, softened butter and vanilla extract in small mixing bowl until smooth.
Carefully unroll cake; remove towel.




Spread cream cheese mixture over cake.
(it will spread to one end when you re-roll it, so careful how much you put on)


Re-roll cake, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least one hour.




Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.


* Make sure to add enough sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake, so it will not stick!
** Make several and freeze for another day:)

We're off for a week on holiday soon and I can't wait. We wanted to catch some last Autumn sun before diving into Winter and picked Portugal as our destination. It's promising to stay sunny and warm, so that's perfect.

Always looking for beautiful places that inspire me, I found a lovely guesthouse in the Algarve, close to the coast. I hate going to big chain hotels and places for mass-tourism - of which there are unfortunately plenty in the Med -  and so I was chuffed about this one. Of course, we haven't been yet, so we'll have to wait and see what it's really like, but the photos look promising! www.tapadadogramacho.com







 

 
I'll be chilling out by the pool or on the beach I think, while my man is trying out some kite-surfing (oh dear). I'd rather relax, read a book and indulge in some delicious 'Pasteis de nata' or Portuguese custard tarts. Don't know these tarts? Let me introduce you to them with this recipe...Yum!

I am also planning to look for some nice Portuguese antique tiles, or 'azulejos' as they call them, to take back home. I saw them some years back when I was in Portugal for the first time and they're so beautiful. I'll probably only be able to take a few back, due to airline restrictions, but perhaps that is not such a bad thing, budget-wise...

I got plenty of creative ideas for what to do with them anyway...using them in bathroom tiling, making coasters out of them or simply displaying them as pretty objects.

Or actually, you could do as the Portuguese and stick them on the outside of your house!

Até a vista ! (see you soon!)

www.flickr.com/photos/zedworks/

www.flickr.com/photos/dubes

So there has been something that I have been thinking about ALOT. I want you to think about what I'm about to say.
The area we live in has ALOT of Asians (as well as other races). Everywhere I go I see at least a few of them. I work with a AWESOME Christian Korean women at my work and I have a beautiful Korean baby in my class. So when the mom comes to pick up her baby she will sometimes speak Korean to my co-worker about the babies day.
Its quite interesting sitting there not knowing A THING that's being said and trying to come up with my own interpretation... lol! 
So how many times are we like this to non-Christians around us? We (Christians) sit around and talk to our "brothers and sisters" about what God is doing in our lives, at church etc... BUT are we speaking in our own "christian language"? Do non-Christians know what were talking about? Or do they feel like me at work?

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 says "¹⁹Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. ²²To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."

A few years ago when I was a youth pastor we had a Masters Commission group come to our youth group to speak and do dramas. The youth group we had at the time was 95% "non-church" kids. When the speaker got up to speak he started talking about the Holy Ghost and getting saved and all these (yes wonderful things) but I don't think they realized that alot of my kids had NO clue what they were saying! It was like they were speaking some different language.
We need to start thinking about the people around us. How can we reach the people at our work who have NEVER stepped foot into church. Or the cashier at the gas station with purple hair, tattoos and piercings??? 
BE ALL THINGS TO ALL MEN SO THAT ALL POSSIBLE THINGS MIGHT SAVE SOME!

Image: Papa Stour

I don't usually boast about Scotland as the place to be when it comes to interior design, as most interior shops up here I just find incredibly boring and traditional. Sofas are bulky, sideboards massive, "contemporary design sofas" often means "oddly shaped" and made out of black or red leather - but still bulky. Where are the aesthetics?

I am always flabbergasted (I love that word) by the many homes decked out with complete lack of inspiration, with everything bought brand new, in the same shop, on the same day, in the same colour. Playing 'safe', by choosing beige, creams and 'neutral' colours. It's so soul-less!

Image: Papa Stour

Anyway, I will get off my soap box now - phew - because today I am proud to present Papa Stour, a wonderful Scottish online shop featuring great individual, eccentric home decor pieces by some very talented artists!

Papa Stour was launched 5 years ago by Rosie Brown, a Scottish textile designer, freelance interior stylist and a regular contributor to publications such as Elle Decoration, Living Etc and Homes & Gardens. 


Since Scottish design seems to be my topic today, I'd also like to boast about my good friend Libby Day, who is a very talented designer based in Aberdeen, making the most wonderful contemporary interior pieces - and jewelry (including my wedding ring!). 
Libby focuses on the natural and built environment as inspiration for her designs, which I think is shown beautifully in her room dividers/screens and the box seats. Libby does large commissions and big interior projects, but also sells limited edition items on her website www.day2designs.co.uk. Do check out her fruit bowl and lighting, as they're ace.