We can hardly believe that June is upon us we’ve been so busy painting that Spring has passed us by and apart from the flutter of confetti, we’ve had a little wedding of our own, and the hustle and bustle of the annual Wickham horse fair, we’ve barely come up for air.

Firstly we would like to say congratulations to Rebecca and Ryan on their marriage that took place on 28th April. It was a wonderful day our very own Sam came out of ‘floristry retirement’ to create Rebecca’s stunning bridal bouquet and centerpieces. Angela looked lovely as mother of the bride and Sue enjoyed letting her hair down on the dance floor. It was a good job we had an extra day off to celebrate the royal weding the following day as there were a few sore heads amongst the J’adore team!



The Royal wedding gave us an excuse to get all patriotic and those of you who came to the shop stocked up on streamers, paper chains, bunting and flags. This gave us the incentive to create a British page on our web shop which is proving to be a huge success. We will be adding more lines along this theme so keep checking the webshop and our facebook pages for updates.

We have also been working with the owners of the White Lion    pub in Soberton. The pub has just re-opened after a major re-furb and facelift. Lots of the chairs and stools you’ll find in there have been supplied by us and the bars have been painted by Ryan using the Annie Sloan chalk paint.

We’ve been using Annie Sloan chalk paint for a couple of months now and the feed back from our customers has been fantastic. We have handed out countless paint charts and many of you have asked us to supply the paint and wax. We have been working closely with Annie and in the next few weeks will take delivery of our first order so it will be here for you to purchase off the shelf.

At the moment we are starting to think about christmas and choosing the new lines that we will be stocking over the coming months. We are also looking forward to the return of our girls that have been scattered around various universities around the UK so there will be a few familiar faces behind the counter again over the summer.

As ever our painted furniture is flying out the door, in some cases it doesn’t even reach the inside of the shop having sold from the pavement before we manage to get it through the door. Have a look at our facebook page where some of our lovely customers have posted photos of their furniture in situ – it is always lovely for us to see the end result of our labours! If there is anything in particular that you are looking for then please let us know and we will do our best to source it for you.

Finally don’t forget it’s Fathers Day on Sunday 19th June. We have plentyof cards and unusual gifts to show your dad that although he might moan and whinge you love him really. You could even pop into the White Lion and check out the paintwork!

The White Lion

First up is the amazing glass range that are actually made from recycled beer,  juice and other glass bottles. The range includes goblets, flutes and tumblers and the fantastic company that are responsible for creating these masterpieces are Green Glass who are based in Cornwall.

The guys at Green Glass first came across the idea in Africa when they were were working on environmental projects in Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland.  They decided to develop the idea on there return to the UK, “ We wanted our kids to grow up in a great place and we wanted to earn a living doing something that felt good”.

Green Glass in the UK started in 2000 in a garden shed within sight of the sea in Cornwall. (Yes we’re jealous of that too!) The company has been developed in partnership with the South African originators of the idea, Sean and Philip, who put all the hard work into working out the technical problems of such an ingenious idea.  “To say that Philip is eccentric is an understatement – he NEVER wears shoes – and that‘s not easy in a glass factory!”

How it’s done.

Every bottle goes through seven different processes in its transformation. All the equipment has been designed and made by Green Glass themselves – hence the Heath Robinson look!                                Each glass is cut, the edge ground and then melted to create a smooth surface to drink from. To make the glasses as strong and hard-wearing as possible they are then annealed in a long oven at varying temperatures for 2 hours. Once out of the oven the glasses are printed and sandblasted with funky designs. From start to finish it takes about 3 hours for a bottle to go through the process of transformation into a wine glass.

We think the glasses are great and our customers seem to think so too as they are flying out the door and the feedback has been extremely positive.

We also stock the candles that are made using premium lemon and thyme scented wax that has been hand poured into the glass, from St Eval (also based in Cornwall)

Another New product that we now stock are the lovely chopping boards by Marnie Moyle at Green Oak Furniture.  Marnie has emailed to tell us of an article featuring her chopping boards that is in the home section of The Times this weekend and we are very pleased to be stocking these beautifully handcrafted chopping boards.

Marnie say “Sustainability and the environment have been at the core of all work since its inception. All the oak is locally sourced, and for many reasons it is hand scrubbed rather than planed or sanded.”

Having attained a degree in Furniture Design & Craftsmanship at Buckingham University, and then an MA in Furniture Design, Marnie won awards leading her to show her work at the Milan and New York Furniture Fairs.

Those of you who have purchased items from our shop will know that we try to be environmentally conscious and our fair-trade newspaper bags are a constant talking point for many of you. We would like to say a big thankyou for your kind donations for these bags as this enables us to continue supporting this fantastic and worthwhile project.

Well the Sun hasn’t lasted and it’s getting a bit chilly too so I think its time for a cup of tea. Enjoy your day and we will be back soon to keep you posted with all the goings on at J’adore!

It’ s a gloriously sunny spring day here, so Sue and Angela are busy back at the ranch you’ve guessed it, painting! They have the help of our lovely Lynn today who also re-upholsters the furniture for us.  Check out the ottomans that have just gone onto the webshop, one sold before we had a chance to upload the picture so be quick or you might miss them.

Tilly and Lola are handy with a brush too so no doubt they will be earning their keep today.

I’m holding the fort at J’adore and  a delivery from Thang Tho has just arrived which is causing quite a stir with the customers as the lovely scent from the candles is winding its way around the shop.

The picture we have here is of the Hana Gift Set which last time we had in sold out in no time at all! It contains 3 glass votives that have been filled with deliciously scented candle wax, handcrafted into roses and then packaged into a stylish gift box, perfect for Mothers Day.

There are some new additions to our range of candles this time and as soon as we have the photos for them they will be added to the website.

Right, that’s it for now, but don’t worry as the new Spring/Summer stock arrives we will keep you posted by blogging and on Facebook.

With Mothers Day around the corner we also have a range of fantastic gifts for the lovely Mums out there! Maybe a…

Or how about…

. 

Just a few ideas for you!

Here at J’adore we are constantly updating and adding to our website, we want all our lovely customers to keep coming back – from the feedback so far we seem to be getting it right. Keep looking as we are expanding our online range weekly!

What you need!

250g softened butter

250g unrefined caster sugar

4 medium free range eggs

250g plain flour

A few drops of almond extract

1tsp baking powder

200g glacé cherries, halved

125g ground almonds

4tbsp milk

50g flaked almonds

Icing sugar to dust

What you need to do!

Preheat the oven to 160ºC or gas mark 3. Grease and line a 20cm (8in) round cake tin.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour with each egg add the almond extract.

Sift and fold the remaining flour and baking powder into the mixture, then gently fold in the cherries, ground almonds and milk.

Spoon into your cake tin, level and sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for around 1¼ -1½ hrs or until firm to the touch in the centre.  Cool for at least 30 minutes before transferring to a wire tray to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

What you need!

…for the sponge

4 free-range eggs

225g Unrefined caster sugar

225g self-raising flour

225g Melted butter

…for the chocolate buttercream icing

110g Softened butter

170g icing sugar

55g Organic cocoa powder

1-2 tbsp milk

…to decorate

White and milk chocolate buttons

What you need to do!

Preheat the oven to 180°C or gas mark 4 and line 2  x 12-hole fairy cake tins with paper cases.

Using an electric whisk mix the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy, carefully fold in the flour and the melted butter. Spoon into the paper cases.

Bake for around 8-10 minutes, or until golden-brown and springy to touch.  Leave for 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

 For the buttercream, cream the butter until soft, then add half of the icing sugar mix until smooth, add the remaining icing sugar and cocoa powder, then add the milk gradually, beat until creamy.

Once cool spread the buttercream on top of the cakes and decorate with the chocolate buttons

What you need!

250g softened unsalted butter

250g unrefined caster sugar

250g self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

4 medium free range eggs

4 tbsp milk

2 x 12-hole muffin tins, lined with paper cases

For the frosting:

125g butter, at room temperature

400g icing sugar

50ml milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Food colouring, blue, yellow, pink etc

For decorating:

Sprinkles, silver balls, hundreds and thousands or sweets

What you need to do!

Preheat the oven to 190°C or Gas Mark 5.  Using a hand-whisk cream the butter until soft, add the sugar, flour, salt, eggs and milk and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Divide the mixture between the paper cases. Bake for 15 20 minutes, until both trays of cupcakes are light and golden in colour. Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for a few minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely

Whilst the cakes are baking make the frosting.In a mixing bowl mix the butter gradually adding the icing sugar mixing until light and creamy, add the milk and vanilla extract. Using the colour of your choice add a drop at a time to gradually achieve a pastel colour.

Spoon generous amounts of frosting onto the cooled cup cakes, and swirl using a warm, wet knife.  Decorate using sprinkles, silver balls, hundreds and thousands or sweets. Leave to set for 30 minutes.

As I left her on her first morning I handed her over to the teachers, who had been forewarned that they will never have come across a child quite like my little girl, and I ran before they could say actually we’ve changed our mind. I had already requested that she had the strictest teacher in the school. Extreme maybe, but my daughter had a gang at nursery. Their gang consisted of 3 little boys and my daughter and by the time they left they ‘ruled the school’. Don’t get me wrong, they were all lovely and one of them is actually in her new class but they were always getting into mischief. Funny but none of them seemed to know how the lovely new stickers that decorated the nursery toilet had removed themselves from the walls and climbed into the toilet. The children said that it must have been magic and maybe they wanted to go into the jacuzzi. I think it was then that we banned them from watching Flushed Away.

My Son is enjoying being back at school and within two days his new teacher had him sussed much to his annoyance. I however am very pleased and he does seem a lot more settled this year. The endless round of Birthday party invites have resumed and on Friday evening I found myself in a mad dash to the local supermarket for a last minute gift. Oh how I wished I had not taken the children. Before we went in they promised me that they would behave and I promised them that we would be quick. We were so quick in choosing the gift that I thought I would take a chance and head upstairs to the clothing department. To be fair they were pretty good until the time came to go back down. In my local supermarket we have what me and the children call the ’travelator’ A moving walkway that takes you up or down to the next level . Both children were in the trolley, one in the seat and one in the main compartment. We got onto the travelator to head back down. My son then stood up in the trolley with his armed outstretched Titanic style. He sang at the top of his voice to the tune of Mama Mia………………Mama Mia, you’ve got diarrhea, with a bra on his head and a smile on his face. All eyes were on us as we glided down the travelator I frantically tried to jog the trolley in the hope that he would lose his balance and sit back down but no, the wheels were locked onto the magnetic travelator and that trolley was not budging. I hung my head in shame as I paid for my goods.  I have never been an Abba fan.

Now if I had been sensible I would have come over to J’adore. We have the most amazing cards and gifts for young and old and most of our wrapping paper is so lovely that people buy it to use as posters. The Christmas stock has started to arrive and it is a very exciting time for J’adore. We have managed to get over 150 products onto the website now and more are being added on a daily basis. Sue and Angela have been busy at the various trade fairs sourcing new products. You can tell when we’ve had a delivery from the Oohs! and Aaahs! as we unpack the goodies can be heard at the end of the square. We have two new members of staff, Southerley and Sophia  and our collection of pets is growing on a weekly basis but more about them another time.  At the moment the shop is so busy you cant move in here so I had better say goodbye for now. Do follow us on Facebook and Twitter to find out the latest goings on at J’adore and try some of the recipies too. S x                                       

I know some of you must be thinking I am being too hard on them. That they cant be that bad. They’re 6 and 4 by the way, but here a a few examples for you. We went to ‘Meet The Navy’ We went on HMS Argus the pride of the show as it has just had a multi million pound refit. We were quietly moving along in the queue having a look at the various guns and lights etc when all of a sudden a ships horn blared out right beside me. As I looked round I saw my two giggling away “That was us Mummy we did that.” “Don’t be silly” I said as a small finger pushed the tiniest of buttons and again the horn rang out around the dockyard. Then came the sailors running from all directions……………….towards us! My children had found the only button that hadn’t been disconnected on the brand new shiny ship! I now know that you are not allowed to sound the horn whilst in port! Apparently its a big No! No! I was also informed that nobody else had pressed the button during the previous open days by a very stern looking sailor.  ”Oops!”  I said as the culprits sat in the captains chair smiling away oblivious to the chaos they had caused.

Next came the fated Isle Of White day trip. By the time we had got to the ferry port (a 20 minute drive) we’d had 2 major family rows and a 4 year olds tantrum that was so funny we tried to film it for you tube. The children were excited on the ferry this being their first ferry trip (and now last) Yes I did notice the people gradually move away from where we were sat as we tried to reason with the children that it was not a good idea to use the whole ship to play hide and seek after all they weren’t the only people on board and the old lady with the long skirt didn’t want to be hidden under.                              They treated them selves to lunch at the garlic farm as I tried to explain that the crackers were only meant to be eaten with the samples of relish on offer. Chocolate Island became the scene of another spectacular Verruca Salt style tantrum from both children, I reached for a bar of cider flavoured chocolate in the hope of calming my nerves! By the time we got to Alum Bay the rain was more like a monsoon style storm and my fashionista diva sister gave in and purchased a lovely purple kagool. (A photo was sneeked at this point and has been stored for future blackmail purposes). We then gave up and came home early.  Monkey World. I thought it would be lovely to see  the monkeys take a picnic and have a relaxed afternoon. The monkeys didn’t want to play. The wasps attacked the picnic and us and all the children wanted to do is go and play on the play equipment. I tried to block out the squabbling on the drive home but was shaken out of my trance like state as a shoe (my sons) mysteriously launched itself out of the window…. by accident! Followed by a chorus of what are we doing tomorrow mum??

So there you have some of the tamer stories of our summer holidays. The strange thing is everyone says how polite and well mannered my children are. I personally think some mysterious force field distorts what people actually see when my children are about. Who knows perhaps they actually are nice. As for me, I am soooo glad to be back at J’adore.  We have the most lovely new stock and are getting ourselves into Christmas mode as it is only 15 weeks away. The website is looking fabulous and new products are being added on a daily basis.  We are sad that the lovely Chloe and Katie are leaving us for uni but excited for the things that we have planned for the not too distant future. When you visit come say hello I’ll be the smug one with the smile on my face knowing that the summer holidays are a whole year away! S x

What you need!

50 g fresh yeast or 2 tbsp dried yeast and 1 tsp sugar

850 ml tepid water

900g strong wholemeal flour

450g strong bread flour

1tbsp sea salt

1tbsp clear honey

3 tbsp olive oil

Olive oil, for brushing & flour, for dusting

Handful of mixed seeds such as sunflower, pumpkin, poppy or sesame

What you need to do!
If using fresh yeast dissolve in half of the hot water, if using dried yeast, sprinkle it into half of the water along with the sugar. Leave to stand in a warm place for 15 minutes, or until frothy.

In a large bowl mix together the flours, the salt and the honey. Stir in the yeast mix, and enough tepid water to create a firmish dough, add the olive oil, and knead in the bowl to form a smooth springy dough.

Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave at room temperature for about an 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead vigorously for several minutes without tearing, oil three 450g non-stick loaf tins

Cut the dough into three equal pieces and shape to the size of your bread tins. Place each piece of dough in a tin. Brush the surface with oil and sprinkle with the seeds.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7, and cover and leave the loaves to rise for around 25 minutes at room temperature.
Bake your bread in the middle of the oven for around 30 minutes and then a further 5 – 10 minutes at the reduced temperature of 190º or gas mark 5.  Leave to cool on a wire rack.

What better place to store your Yummy Seed Bread than in this gorgeous breadbin.