The postman arrived this morning absolutely laden with parcels. I was completely surprised. And completely delighted.

There's really nothing quite as lovely as receiving a bunch of things you didn't necessarily order through snail mail. It reminds me a bit of The Sound of Music and singing choruses about 'a few of my favourite things' all tied up with string.

And so, imagine my delight when included in amongst the letters, invoices and somebody else's HMRC forms, I found this package:

















It's a charming array of happy items from my dear bloggy friend Juanita. If you haven't yet visited her blog through my many recommendations, now's a good time! You can find her over at http://www.therecanbeonlyjuan.co.za/ where she blogs about healthy recipes, living in South Africa, and general hand-made felty goodness.

















Included in my parcel of treats was a lovely handmade pin cushion. I love the denimy-edges of this rustic rose design and it's the ideal gift for someone like me who really just can't have too many pincushions or sewing items - there never seems to be enough! Juanita sells these oh-so-pretty pincushions over at her Etsy shop along with other felt-made items like baby booties. Cute.

















I love these charms. Aren't they particular sweet, set upon a backdrop of Degas Dancers in Blue?

















They came with a selection of other charms which I daresay are going to make their way into almost every project I do over the next few weeks! There's nothing that can't be made better without the addition of a little flamingo.

















A 'Be Happy' button in stripy pink and red completes the picture. That clever little book placemaker on the left closes with a magnetic bit; I'm impressed. An interesting collection of items, methinks, and so well-chosen too.

















Thank you, Juanita, for sending me such a lovely gift, all the way from Sunny South Africa! I am delighted with my goodies and I'm going to put them all to very good use! xx

I read a lot of foodie blogs and chat to a lot of lovely foodie writers here in the UK and around the world. Everyone operates using clever little blog names (mine is derived from the very first block of flats I lived in when I moved to the UK, Baker Court, which seemed fitting at the time of starting this blog!) or titles, and sometimes you come across one that really stands apart from the rest.

There is one blog title that I love, the aptly-named Baker Street which is full of lovely recipes and has lots of quirky design elements that draw inspiration from the London Underground transport system. Baker Street is a stop on the Circle and Hammersmith & City line, and is full of Sherlock Holmes regalia (plus, I can't help singing Gerry Rafferty every time I hear the name announced when going there).

Right-o, so that's a big long roundabout story about how I happened upon a recipe that was just calling out to be made. Cinnamon Hazelnut Shortbread. Yum. After reading the blog post I printed it out and stuck it on my fridge in anticipation.


















Here's a link to the recipe on Baker Street which she has adapted from Beth Lipton's book, You Made That Dessert. The book, by the way, looks incredible and utterly fool-proof, which makes it a winner in my book. I'm a sucker for can't-be-broken recipes, ideal for when you're having a bad day and want to bang a few pots around in the kitchen.

It's a good biscuit recipe that is very simple to make, and produces some tasty results. After seeing it day-in and day-out on the front of my fridge, I gave in. I doubled the cinnamon content because I fully believe that you can't have too much cinnamon with your hazelnuts, and I chopped up a handful of hazelnuts instead of using store-chopped nuts so the chunks were a bit uneven in size but equally delicious in taste.

The biscuits didn't have a particularly 'shortbread-y' texture, although the cornflour went a long way to giving it a starchy crumble. I would have increased the baking time by a few extra minutes - just keep an eye on the biscuits and catch them before they go brown.
















The end result was an ideal comfort-eating kind of biscuit, which is exactly what I wanted them for. For interest's sake, I halved the recipe which worked fine, and I baked them in a round tin which was the only thing I had on hand. They came out rather well as tall, shortbread chunks with plenty of nutty goodness to go around.