Domestic Goddess,

Fondant Fancy Recipe

Friday 19th February 2010

Make Mother’s Day extra special by banning her from the kitchen and cooking up some magic yourself. These Fondant Fancies are a wonderful baking project to take on as they’re really nothing more than iced sponge cakes but look very impressive, and are sure to be very well received (just remember to...

Monogrammed Gifts

Tuesday 26th January 2010

When it comes to gifts, we’ve found a way to add instant romance (without having to splash out on diamonds) – all you need is a needle and thread, or indeed a good seamstress. We’re talking about monogramming. A little birdie told us that she bought a shirt for her husband...

Knit One Purl One

Friday 18th December 2009

If you’re anything like the rest of the British population, along with lots of good intentions, you’ll also enter the brand new year with the idea of taking up a new hobby or learning a new skill. For some it may be taking up a different sport (or taken advantage of...

Wonderful Wreaths

Wednesday 25th November 2009

Domestic goddesses see no reason why we shouldn’t decorate our front doors with a wreath all year round (lavender hearts for the summer months, dried flowers for autumn), but even if this doesn’t quite appeal, it’s an absolute must at Christmas (otherwise you risk running into serious Scrooge territory). There’s nothing...

Remember, Remember, Domestic Goddess Loves the Fifth of November!

Thursday 22nd October 2009

As you know, any excuse for a party and Domestic Goddess is already sending out ‘save the dates’ and Guy Fawkes’ Night is no exception, especially as there’s no need to draft in a new LBD – no, the guest code is cosy cashmere and snuggly scarves. The secret to a...

The Berry Lovely Table

Friday 25th September 2009

Hmmm, so what does your average Domestic Goddess do as the leaves turn to russet brown and the berries begin to form on the bushes outside her windows? Well, she brings them all inside and decorates her table with them! Berries picked from around the garden and hedgerows look utterly...

Homemade Beauty Treatments

Friday 21st August 2009

So, we find ourselves deep in the heart of the summer. We may already have had our holiday or be getting ready for it but whatever stage we’re at nothing beats hanging up our apron, closing the Aga door and getting down to some homemade beauty remedies. Nothing makes one feel...

Potty for Planters

Wednesday 22nd July 2009

As any domestic goddess knows, the home is where the heart is...when it’s rainy. In the summer, the heart migrates to the garden, and so it’s absolutely imperative that you pay as much attention to your outdoor space as you do to your interiors. Not all of us have green fingers,...

The Season: Car Park Picnics

Sunday 7th June 2009

Finally, the summer Social season is upon us, which means that every Domestic Goddess in the land will be competing to host the biggest and best car park picnic. You need to eat drink and be merry but you need to do it in style. Think of it as the smarter...

Time for Tea

Friday 22nd May 2009

Taking tea is a British institution, and one that is made all the more delightful when enjoyed in the sun (less of a British tradition). Weather stalkers will know that this summer is set to be a scorcher (ah, the joys of global warming), so polish off your best porcelain, invest...

The Sweet Smell of Home

Thursday 7th May 2009

You know you've been pampered on a weekend away at a family or friend's abode when you're left with memories of the smell of freshly baked bread, freshly washed sheets and heavenly Jo Malone candles. You might have been fed with the most sumptuous food, watered with fine wines and enjoyed delightful...

Time to Picnic...

Wednesday 22nd April 2009

It’s finally here! It’s time to dust off your picnic hamper as the arrival of the warmer weather means that we can finally take to eating outdoors. Of course, depending on who you’re picnicking with, you’ll need a different kind of spread, so here are three suggestions for picnics to...

The Kitchen Gardener

Thursday 9th April 2009

Now that those countless cookery programmes have educated us on the benefits and joys that come from preparing fresh food and eating seasonally, how can we begin to add to our dishes with something that we have grown ourselves? Well, if you don’t have a smallholding in Wiltshire, your apartment is a...

Eggcellent Easter Activities

Wednesday 25th March 2009

What’s Easter without the opportunity to once again decorate our homes? Although all too often people can go too crazy with the pastels. Little lambs jumping about the place and baby rabbits flopping along the lawn in baby pinks and blues may seem like a good idea, but there's twee and...

Mamma Mia!

Tuesday 10th March 2009

Due to a rather large financial crisis, crafting has gained extraordinary popularity as a thrifty and imaginative way of updating the home and giving presents. Homemade birthday, Easter and baby shower gifts are becoming the norm (and not a pasta-decorated card in sight!). If, perchance, you're one of the few who’s still...

Flat as a Pancake

Friday 20th February 2009

Pancake Day comes at the perfect time. It follows hard on the heels of Valentine’s Day and sets in motion another year of celebrations. It comes at a time when all remnants of Christmas are well and truly gone and the air smells and tastes just that bit sweeter. Is Spring...

The Love Month

Saturday 7th February 2009

For craft-lovers and homemakers everywhere, Valentine’s Day marks the start of the year’s celebrations, and an excuse to get making some beautiful things for the home and loved ones, whether you’re loved up with someone special or not. If you’re in the mood to get busy with a needle, thread and some...

The Sunny Sight of Spring in Your Home

Thursday 22nd January 2009

At this time of year our homes are in need of a little pick-me-up and there's nothing that brings in a more needed glimpse of ‘all things bright and beautiful’ than spring flowers. The Narcissus, Crocus, Tulip, Hyacinth, and Tulip – welcome them into your home; not least because of...

Organisation Station

Wednesday 7th January 2009

Ah, the post-Christmas slump. When it’s cold, dark and dull with no signs of spring, it’s all too easy to succumb to the January blues. And sometimes it can seem that February & March are all cut from the same seasonal cloth – dreariness! But it only takes a wee bit...

Christmas Leftovers

Friday 26th December 2008

Last year was the first year that we hosted Christmas in our new house and we went to town. We bought and cooked and ate. But we didn’t eat as much as we bought or cooked. This year we were hosts once again and we did it differently. I now know...

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Tuesday 9th December 2008

FINALLY, Christmas is here. And whilst most of us moan about present-buying and catering for distant relatives, it’s the perfect excuse to unleash the domestic goddess within, because the home can be the most wonderful place come December. If you enjoy the job of making your abode warm and cosy for visitors...

The Curious Case of the Thankful Walnuts

Friday 21st November 2008

Across the pond in the newly elected US of A they’re getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a huge celebration and although we don’t recognise it as a national holiday in the UK, there’s nothing wrong with giving thanks. So, in honour of all the wonderful Americans who live are...

Your Very Own Quantum of Solace...

Friday 7th November 2008

He’s mighty dishy, that Daniel Craig chappy, and if he ever burst through my window carrying a box of Milk Tray I’d gladly help myself to them, but as a romantic realist I know that this is probably not going to happen. We're spending a great deal more time inside during these...

Halloween At Home

Thursday 23rd October 2008

The custom of decorating our homes for Halloween appears to be catching on in the UK, and although we're a few years behind our American counterparts, the act of celebration and decoration is something that should never be overlooked, simply because it is so much fun. If you're hosting a simple Halloween...

Sacred Spaces

Tuesday 7th October 2008

One of the most sacred relationships is between a woman and her home. I am currently honing the relationship with mine, not by talking to the walls, but by assessing what fits, and what is fit only for the charity bag, by sticking to the strict mantra that order precedes beauty. In...

Bringing It Home...

Tuesday 23rd September 2008

Home decorations should not be restricted to Christmas, Easter and birthdays. And regular readers of this column will know that I adore to decorate according to, and using the best features of, any given season. We are currently coming into the apple season and so in honour of this most tasty...

Curl Up & Lie

Tuesday 9th September 2008

I’ve given up. A pitiful July, August and to top it off it now seems highly unlikely that we will be having an Indian summer. I am therefore moving on to autumn forthwith (hmph). I love autumn, it has got to be said. The feeling of cosyness that sweeps across...

Escapism & Tranquility...

Tuesday 26th August 2008

All self confessed bathers (I’m one of them) should know that it’s super important to create a feeling in one’s bathroom that enables escapism and tranquility - also known as hours on end spent wallowing in Jo Malone infused water. If you’ve recently moved house or have long neglected this sacred...

Getting Fresh...

Tuesday 12th August 2008

This summer hasn’t been the warmest on record (by any stretch); in fact in some circles people (determined to stay in sandals) are putting their heating on for an hour or so simply to warm the toes. I for one am far too British to be one of the radiator brigade...

Serious Satisfaction...

Tuesday 29th July 2008

I’m a compulsive ‘plumper’. If there’s a cushion or pillow within a thirty mile radius I will plump it. If I can turn one job in to two then I will. Yes I’m a multi tasker through and through. And I don’t do things by halves. Plumped cushions, multi tasking, chores...

It's All Just As You Left It...

Tuesday 15th July 2008

I go away to get married in about a week and half and counting. When we return both future hubbie (butterflies) and I know that life will be just as busy, if not more so, as before. If you’re as ultra organised as I am and you’re doing the whole wedding...

When a Welcome is Warm

Tuesday 1st July 2008

Have you ever walked up the path of somebody’s house to be greeted by an entirely seasonal wreath? Or perhaps you’ve visited someone who took the effort to personalise every one of their Italian terracotta terrace pots. If you have been in the home of someone who makes those little touches...

Notes On Summer...

Tuesday 17th June 2008

Socially, there’s no better time to entertain at home than during the summer season – the best thing being you can use your house AND your garden. Fling the doors open wide as early as you can and invite your friends round for a breakfast meet or brunch; it’s the...

Teeny Weeny Tasty Treats

Tuesday 3rd June 2008

When it comes to the guest room, clean towels and a stash of delicious bathroom goodies (shampoo, bubbles and even cotton wools and buds etc) are essential. A few copies of Hello and House & Garden are also a nice touch (especially if you want to encourage guests to...

Daily Confetti

Tuesday 20th May 2008

Mention the word confetti and you immediately think of the stuff that’s thrown at weddings. Be it rice, bits of paper in the shape of hearts and bells or preferably dried flowers. (Though personally I’ve never had a penchant for pot pourri to be tipped on top of my wedding dress...

A Welcome Home Basket of Goodness

Tuesday 6th May 2008

My ‘nearly’ hubby and I were at the wedding of our next door neighbours on Saturday. It was a beautiful wedding in a little village called Bramley. The bride was stunning and the groom beamed from ear to ear. The couple didn’t have a traditional wedding list as they’ve already set...

Let's Do Tea, In The Garden...

Tuesday 22nd April 2008

I sensed that there was a slight change in the air as I looked out of the window this morning. Gone were the grey skies of late and in its place was a deliciously milky sky hiding a watery sun which really was rather hot by the time the afternoon rolled...

A Special Purchase for A Special Man

Tuesday 8th April 2008

Is it me or are the men in our lives VERY hard to buy for??? (I’m so glad you agree - I knew I wasn’t alone.) Special occasions are all opportunities for me to scream out to anybody that happens to be passing “What can I possibly buy him??? NO, I’m...

Asparagus Days & New Healthy Cook Books

Tuesday 25th March 2008

As someone who loves food and its preparation I’m always SO pleased when the asparagus season finally arrives. It marks the end of the root vegetable season and heralds the beginning of the late spring and summer produce that I so dearly love. It’s also at around this time that the...

It's All Down To The Lighting...

Tuesday 11th March 2008

Over at Casa de Menlove we’re starting to think about the garden. We’ve already shifted huge amounts of soil and cleared entire Victorian novels worth of brambles and thorns. All this work has got me thinking how (after the dirty work has been done) we can start to look forward to...

Your Mother, Her Garden

Tuesday 26th February 2008

So, it’s Mothering Sunday this weekend and dutiful daughters across the land are trying to pick out the perfect gift for the person who offered bosomy cuddles when we were sad, sat us up on the kitchen worktop to wash our knees when we had fallen over and told us how...

A Place For Everything

Tuesday 12th February 2008

It only dawned on me yesterday (as I came across yet more pine needles – does one ever stop finding them?!) that the pre spring clean is a great opportunity for real change in our homes. We talked a bit about it in my Light Bright & Heaven to Know...

Crafting Time - Part Two

Monday 28th January 2008

So, your copy of Sublime Stitching has arrived and you’re amazed at just how easy it is to add a stitched cupcake to your slightly ‘worse for wear’ pinny or some French knot daises to your daughters P.E. bag! But, once you’ve embroidered everything in site with your, slightly wonky version...

Crafting Time...

Monday 14th January 2008

The knitting renaissance (lauded by the media super trendy hobby of women everywhere) is already in its fourth or fifth year, so it’s only right and proper that other crafty activities are given an airing. Some folk will say that they've always knitted, crocheted, sewed, embroidered etc and I believe them,...

Light, Bright & Heaven To Know

Wednesday 2nd January 2008

Hmmmm, I’ve just heard that the second day of January is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year. HOGWASH! I realise that it’s easy to fall into the mire of sad and nostalgic thoughts; remembering the lovely long holiday that has just passed and realising that you only...

Christmas Times, They Are a’ Changin

Tuesday 11th December 2007

When my siblings and I were small it was an exciting time as the decorations were brought down from the loft and we’d start to un-wrap the baubles that had been so lovingly preserved from the years before; glass baubles in an array of colours, multicoloured fairy lights and lashings of...

A Christmas Quandry...

Tuesday 27th November 2007

I recently placed myself in a bit of a pickle. I’ve been making my own Christmas decorations for a few years now and I started even earlier this year due to a magazine shoot that was taking place in my home in September. As a result (or so I thought)...

Ahhhhhh Advent!

Wednesday 14th November 2007

Advent...Say it with a hush and a whisper as if the very word needs the type of reverence usually reserved for members of the clergy. Advent is an event in my home. I awake on the first day of December to find an advent calendar on my pillow. My lovely HTB...

It's Coming Back...With Force!

Tuesday 30th October 2007

We moved into our new home in May. We then spent WEEKS deciding on what shade of paint to apply to the various walls in the house. On occasions we spent vast amounts of money on paint and then made up for the splurge by spending less elsewhere. However just a...

King Of The Kitchen

Tuesday 16th October 2007

If you’ve ever spent time watching Nigella, Martha or practically any other celebrity cook in the kitchen you’ll have noticed a constant companion. A beautiful companion that vies for camera time without even trying and... usually gets it. A companion that is at once traditional and sturdy, offering confidence in...

The Love of the List – The Final Chapter

Tuesday 2nd October 2007

Working with lists, whether they’re physical or simply something that you keep in your mind, can be extremely helpful when trying to get organised and but DO NOT get bound up in keeping lists. To the domestic goddess they're are an aid, a helper, a prompt, not a guide for life....

The Love of the List – Lists to Make Now

Tuesday 18th September 2007

In the course of a week there are rotating lists I make time and time again, week after week and there are lists I make sporadically as and when I need them (like the current one that lists the jobs I have to have done before a photographer visits my house...

For The Love Of The List – An Introduction

Tuesday 11th September 2007

I remember reading somewhere that keeping to-do lists was not such a good thing. I can’t quite remember what it was that was so terrifically bad about them... I think it had something to do with the fact that feeling like you'd achieved something each time you scrubbed another job off...

Bookish Chic

Monday 3rd September 2007

We accessorise our wardrobe without a moments thought, the latest must-have bag or necklace as we fly out the door knowing that the extra detail can transform a simple outfit into a blooming great one! It’s just as easy to accessorise our homes in this disposable and seasonal way. Regular readers of...

Forward Facing

Tuesday 28th August 2007

Goodness knows how hard it is to let go of the summer (not that we’ve had much of a summer in this country) and start to look towards cooler and darker months. But, as we hurtle towards rising and going to bed in the dark there is one place that need...

My Plump, Green Friends

Tuesday 21st August 2007

As this is my first recipe on SheerLuxe I thought I’d give you a little intro about how I cook and why. I cook seasonally. If the food isn’t in season, in this country, then I do my best not to use it. I also try to cook locally. This means...

The Big Split

Tuesday 14th August 2007

It goes without saying that most women love nothing more than fresh flowers throughout their home. But how often do we actually go out and purchase enough flowers to place in or on all the surfaces, nooks and items of furniture that we’d like our flowery friends to adorn? Not as often...

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Tuesday 7th August 2007

OK, so you may have already taken your summer break for this year but the following advice rings true whenever you holiday. We always pack very carefully for time away but, what about our homes? Do we prepare the home we leave behind as thoroughly as we prepare the suitcase? I...

Today’s Homemaker

Tuesday 31st July 2007

What is, or better yet, who is today’s homemaker? Are they a housewife with a Cath Kidston obsession or a stay at home mother who, try as she might, simply cannot stay away from the hallowed web pages of Jo Jo Maman Bebe? Is today’s homemaker a career girl who hires a...

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