Is that prawn winking at me?

Apparently many of us took to the great outdoors yesterday, making the most of the sunniest Sunday so far in 2012. We joined you all - taking a long walk, complete with young boy on speedy scooter (I apologise again to those fellow walkers who felt a rush of air as he zoomed past and feared for their safety - he is actually quite good at stopping just in time!).

Our journey ended with lunch at one of our favourite places - The Winking Prawn at North Sands, near Salcombe. A wooden building just behind the beach that serves the most delicious food in relaxed and comfortable surroundings - it doesn't get a lot better than that. We sat outside and watched families playing on the beach, whilst our children played in the Prawn's own sandpit. Plus I challenge any of you to pay a visit and not be tempted with the dressing up box! The green silky hat is my particular favourite!
Also a big thank you to Lucy at the Winking Prawn who kindly agreed to fit my finger plates to their doors. I have to say the funky fuchsia matches their decor perfectly - the colour of the finger plates coincides with the staff aprons fabulously! And obviously the winking prawn himself is a rather fetching shade of pink!

So I recommend paying a visit to sample the delicious food and drink - and cast your eyes towards the double doors as you go in. Let me know what you think!
The welcoming Winking Prawn, perfectly situated just behind the beach:

Kitchen update:  The island is in place, and we're taking the granite worktop to be cut to size tomorrow. Aga is still not in use yet - still managing with an oven that would look more in place in the Science Museum, but it's only a matter of time!

Devon design in the big smoke

That's another school holiday done and dusted. And we did manage to achieve at least some of the 'to do' things on the list in my last blog.
Actually, looking at the list again, we did most of it - fun days out (Eden Project and Crazy About Clay), fun days in, walks on the beach, a bit of baking (a big tick for the chocolate cake!) and a film afternoon.

Talking of chocolate, the Eden Project was again a roaring success - chocolate-themed activities (you can't go wrong) were on the menu, so we made chocolate bars, chocolate lollies, and completed a chocolate trail. Fed up with chocolate yet? Not on your nelly!

Our view on a cold but sunny walk:

We then took part in a pottery workshop at Crazy About Clay. Mary is patient and helpful with the children, and everyone got to try throwing on the pottery wheel, as well as letting their imagination run wild with the clay with no restrictions. All sorts of shapes and forms were created, although the request for a tractor and trailer tested my creativity to the max! I came away having learned about slip, texture and, strangely enough, beauty (the clay really does make your hands soft!) - an hour or two of fun with something to show at the end of it. Thoroughly recommended.
 
The good news is that Kind Designs fingerplates are now on display in the large showroom of a door furniture retail outlet in London. A little bit of Devon design in the big smoke!

More fingerplate news in the next post, including an update on our next fair adventure.

Kitchen update: one word - aaarrrrggghhhhh!!

Well it's half-term already! It feels like yesterday when we were starting the school run again after Christmas, and now we've got a week off. And it's not only the boys who are pleased with that! Having a routine is all well and good, and you know where you are (normally with precision timing), but sometimes it's just nice to relax and not be careering from one appointment to the next, and to be able to run your life by your wishes and not the clock.
So next week I'm hoping it will all slow down a bit - fun days out, fun days in, walks on the beach, a bit of baking (you can't go wrong with a chocolate cake for holidays!) and the odd film afternoon with popcorn and hot chocolate. The alarm clock will be switched off and hopefully the two little ones may be fooled into sleeping beyond 6am!
It's also Valentine's Day next week - some people love it, some hate it, but whatever your view, I have the perfect present! A vibrant red starburst fingerplate will show your beloved how much you care! And, unlike a box of chocolates (calorie laden!) or bunch of flowers (hayfever?), it will last forever. A daily reminder of how much you care! Red is the obvious colour of love, but if you fancy being a bit different, the funky fuchsia will be another bold declaration of how you feel.
Talking of beautiful colours and romance, take a look at this picture I took a couple of weeks ago - a stunning early evening sky.

The good news is that a new display board of Kind Designs push plates has been accepted into a local designer interiors shop, specialising in gorgeous kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. Another way to get noticed in this tough market, and hopefully to show customers that they're the finishing touch to their room that they've been looking for.
Thinking of visiting the Tavistock Vintage Fair tomorrow - have any of you been before? 
Kitchen update: there isn't really one at the moment - just essential plumbing work/alterations before the units are fitted. Yes, we admit, we've slowed down a little! But it's all the fiddly details that need doing before it looks dramatically different. And too much watching things like 'Location (x3)!' and Gorgeous George in 'Restoration Man' - too busy nosing at other people's houses to tackle our own!