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Sunday Catch Up

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It’s cold wet and dark, perfect for a Sunday morning lie in. Grab a cup of tea and have a look back at what’s been going on this week.

From Orchard Blog

Read about our harvest dinner we had and how we created our pumpkin table centre. read here
This week’s cocktail is the modern classic The Bramble. You can tell why it has become so popular. read here
If you’re looking for inspiration for a cosy living room take a look at this coastal scheme inspired by the shipping forecast. read here

From Elsewhere

Cosy is the work of the moment with us. So we’re loving these examples of rooms to escaped to on Design*Sponge. read here
Planning for our Copenhagen trip is in full swing, so we this list of ten things to do in the city couldn’t have come at a better time. read here
We are loving the modern farmhouse trend. If you don’t know what we’re on about here’s a useful introduction from Better Homes & Gardens magazine. read here

Right, that’s plenty to be getting on with for the time being. We’ve got breakfast to make and another pot of coffee on the go. Have a lovely Sunday guys.

Rich & Calum

16th October 2016

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Design Inspiration | Cosy Coastal Cottage

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Orchard Blog

There is something very reassuring about listening to the Shipping Forecast on Radio 4. It makes us think of being tucked up in a cosy coastal cottage whilst a storm rages outside. After reading Attention All Shipping by Charlie Connelly Rich was inspired to create a Shipping Forecast print to remind us of this comforting feeling. With this all in mind we have created a cosy coastal cottage styleboard. A perfect place to hunker down with a cup of tea or a fortifying tot of rum to wait out a storm.

Where to Buy | Cosy Coastal Cottage

fig1. Attention All Shipping by Charlie Connelly
fig2. Falcon Enamel Teapot Heals
fig3. Nautical Pendant Light Lighting Lighting
fig4. Shipping Forecast Print Orchard Market on Etsy
fig5. Ektorp Armchair Ikea
fig6. Rubricks Side Table Swoon Editions
fig7. Log Basket Not on the High Street
fig8. Lohals Rug Ikea
fig9. Hunter Wood Burning Stove Direct Stoves
fig10. Live Life You Love Cushion Marks & Spencer
fig11. Knitted Waves Cushion John Lewis
fig12. Revival RD60 Radio Roberts
fig13. Wooden Trunks Maison du Monde
fig14. Amble Throw John Lewis
fig15. Maitland Lantern One World Trading
fig16. Hyams Beach Craig & Rose
fig17. Boat Race Craig & Rose
fig18. Cinder Block Craig & Rose

14th October 2016

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Cocktail of the Week | Bramble

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Orchard Blog

As Autumn continues we are enjoying the best that the season has to offer. Rummaging through our drinks cabinet we found the key ingredients for this week’s cocktail, The Bramble.

The Bramble is a newcomer to the cocktail scene having been first created in 1984 by Dick Bradsell, who was credited with changing the face of the scene in the 80s. The drink is based on the gin fizz (a new one to try in future!). It is described as a spring drink, but with the blackberry used in it, if feels more like an autumnal one to us.

For this week’s cocktail, you will need:

2 measures of gin
1 measure of lemon juice
1 measure of sugar syrup
1 measure of creme du mure (blackberry liqueur)
Lemon slice and blackberry to garnish
Crushed ice

To make the drink, add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Once mixed, fill a glass of choice with the crushed ice and pour over the cocktail. Add the lemon and blackberry and there you have this week’s cocktail, The Bramble.

The drink resembles a slushy but is still an enjoyable drink to have on an early autumnal day. Do you have a favourite autumn cocktail, let us know it the comments?

13th October 2016

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Our Autumn Harvest Table Setting

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Orchard Blog

Time for Harvest Festival

Now we are into October and the weather has turned we start thinking about cosier parties inside the cottage. The past weekend we had an autumn harvest dinner for a group of friends to celebrate the season. Harvest Festival is the traditional British celebration around this time of year, it is the less well know cousin of the American Thanksgiving. We both have memories of our churches harvest festival celebrations from when we were little, and many churches continue to celebrate. We though this is a perfect excuse for a party (we don’t need much encouragement).

Pumpkins Galore

To us, autumn decorations for can only mean one thing, pumpkins! We used this Mottled Rose Gold Pumpkin Battery Light from Lights4fun to create a table centre. Fresh pumpkins are now in the supermarket so it was easy to pick up a couple of small ones, along with a mini variety known as munchkin pumpkins. In addition to this, we mixed in some ornamental squash and gourds we picked up on a recent trip to Garsons farm shop in Esher. We found a mix of different colours and shapes to compliment the pumpkins.

Our Harvest Table

When we were laying our harvest table we added in some eucalyptus foliage from the garden to create a base, and placed this on a plan linen table runner with some decorative autumn maple leaves for colour. We then arranged the pumpkins, squashes and gourds and twisted in some micro fairy lights, again from lights4fun to give some warmth and interest.

A great night

We finished laying the table, put on our Autumn Jazz playlist and opened some English sparkling wine. It was a great evening celebrating with our friends. Calum cooked pumpkin soup (obviously) followed by a lovely roast pork followed by a delicious orange ginger and treacle pudding.

What do you think?

What do you think of our Harvest Table? Do you celebrate at this time of year and if so how do you go about it? let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.

12th October 2016

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Top Five | Sweet October

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Orchard Blog

The last week has been a little busy us. Lots of things coming up in the next few months that are going to keep us both occupied! That said our week was also fairly eventful, so let’s have a look at our top five.

One

A Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks is the perfect treat for Autumn. The PSL are the perfect accompaniment to any days that start off with a crisp feel to the air.

Two

Our adventuring minds always think of fantastic holidays to go on and different places to visit. We tend to wonder and get lost every time the Lonely Planet magazine turns up at the door. The beautiful photography and great travel tips are perfect inspiration for any travel planning sessions!

Three

On Sunday, Rich’s parents were out in the garden finishing off those last jobs before Winter sets in. On a brief tea break, Rich caught a quick picture of them. They love the garden and spend a lot of time out there when they can. To be fair, we also love the garden and look forward to having our own.

Four

At this time of year, our walks on Horsell Common are stunning. If you are on a walk and catch it at the right time of day, the misty dawns and golden evenings add to the picturesque views.

Five

On the 4th October it is national Cinnamon Bun Day in Sweden. The day has been celebrated every year since 1999 and it is a worthy day to celebrate. We made our own buns this year using the book Scandinavian Baking: Love Baking at Home, by Trine Hahnemann. It is safe to say that Cinnamon Bun Day is certainly something will we be celebrating again next year!

10th October 2016

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Sunday Catch Up

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Orchard Blog

Good morning,

We hope you’ve had a great week? We had some exciting news that we’ll be able to share with you in the coming weeks! In the meantime let’s have a look back at what’s been going on?

From Orchard Blog

Discover all about the sugary gooey joy of smores. They can’t be good for you but they taste oh so good! read here
This week’s cocktail is something a bit different. The gloriously orange pumpkin cocktail, perfect for Halloween. read now
Autumn is a great time of year to visit Bruges. Read about a weekend we spent there a couple of years ago. read here

From Elsewhere

Cornwall always holds a special place in our hearts. We are loving this review of The Chapel House, a boutique hotel in Penzance by Lou at littlegreenshed. read here
We’re really excited to be heading to Copenhagen in a couple of months time. When we’re there we’ll be heading over to Malmö in Sweden. Thanks to My Scandinavian Home for suggesting a gorgeous shop to visit. It’s been added to the list! read here
We’ve loved Will of Bright.Bazaar’s style for ages, so we loved seeing the reveal of his living space in his NYC apartment. Blue is definitely the colour. read here

That wraps up this week on the blog, we plan on having a lazy Sunday. Whatever you get up to have a great day.

Rich & Calum

9th October 2016

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Orchard Escapes | An Autumn Break in Bruges

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Orchard Blog

A couple of years ago we headed took a mini break to one of the loveliest northern European cities, Bruges. Located in Flanders in western Belgium, Bruges is a charming medieval city that has been attracting visitors for generations. We visited in October and were blessed with some glorious autumnal weather and relatively light crowds. We think Autumn is one of the best times of year to visit.

A bit of history

Bruges’s golden age was in the medieval period and was one of the most important trading cities in the world at the time. The city was home to the first stock exchange in the world, and goods from all over Europe and beyond were traded. The city boomed and in in the 15th century, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, set up court in Bruges adding to the cities prestige.

From the 15th century onwards Bruges started losing trade to the nearby city of Antwerp and went into decline. The population fell and by the 1800s the city went from being the most prosperous in Belgium to the poorest. By the turn of the 19th century, the city started to attract the attention of wealthy English and french tourists, attracted by the preserved medieval architecture. The city capitalised on this new attention and now attracts more than two million tourists annually. The city is now protected as a UNESCO world heritage site.

What to do

The charm of Bruges is to wander around the picturesque streets aimlessly soaking up the architecture and the atmosphere. The city is not a big place, the centre is charming and where all the main sites are located. To help get your bearings consider climbing the 13th century Belfort. The 83m climb might prove a bit of a challenge but stunning views make it worth it. If you’d rather stay closer to ground level a canal boat tour is a great way to see another side of the city, allowing you to admire the canal-side houses.

Everywhere you look you will see stunning buildings, but make sure you check out the gothic excess of the 1420 Stadhuis. Bruges has museums dedicated to chips, chocolate, diamonds, and beer. Our favourite was obviously the Bruges Beer Museum! If you are after something higher brow head to Groeningemuseum, the city’s most celebrated art gallery.

To experience to best of the city it is best to stay overnight in one of the many gorgeous hotels. You can experience the city after the day trippers have gone home, and enjoy a beer in one of the atmospheric bars, and a meal in one of the many excellent restaurants. We got up early and headed for an early morning walk to experience the city as it wakes up. We were blessed with a crisp sunny weather. The peacefulness of the city in the early morning really took our breath away.

Find out more

We think Bruges is a stunning city and a perfect mini break destination. It is easily accessible from the UK by sea, train or driving. The city is easy to wander around and has enough attractions to keep you occupied for a day or two. The crowds can get a bit hectic so going off season is a good idea, as is spending at least a night in the city. For more information check out Visit Bruges. If you have any recommendations let us know in the comments

7th October 2016

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Cocktail of the Week | Pumpkin Cocktail

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Orchard Blog

After making a pumpkin cake using our Nordic Ware bundt tin we found ourselves sitting with a few teaspoons of pumpkin purée. Rather than waste it, we decided to create a cocktail using it. There are very few pumpkin flavoured ones, but did take inspiration from Serious Eats and came up with our own Pumpkin Cocktail.

The pumpkin is ubiquitous with Autumn. It has received a massive push in the last few years thanks to a certain coffee based drink! None the less, it is a great ingredient to use for many things. Calum has been known to make a pumpkin and chilli ravioli in addition to the pumpkin cakes and soups. We also like to carve our pumpkins for Halloween, so keep an eye out for efforts in the next few weeks! We may find a need to try a different pumpkin cocktail when we do!

For this week’s cocktail, you will need;

2 tsp Pumpkin purée
1 measure Vanilla vodka
1 measure Pressed apple juice
Ginger beer
Ice

Take the pumpkin purée, vanilla vodka and the pressed apple juice and pour into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake the mix well before pouring the mix into a tall glass with some ice. Fill the glass with the ginger beer. Add a straw and there you have our pumpkin cocktail.

The drink has a lovely smooth taste and certainly would be a hit and any Halloween or autumnal party! It even has Rich’s Mum’s seal of approval!

6th October 2016

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A British Guide to Smores

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Orchard Blog

What are Smores?

Smores! They are a bit of an alien concept to us Brits, but in America, a childhood isn’t complete without smores being made at a campfire, sleepover or on a random Wednesday during school holidays. On a trip to America a few years ago, we stayed at the Green Mountain Inn in Vermont who offered a smores pack to use around their fire, which is when it became clear to us that they are very much acceptable for adults to enjoy!

Give them a go

The idea for smores came up again when we went camping recently. As newbies to the whole smores thing, we knew the basics were graham cracker, marshmallow and chocolate. As we don’t have graham crackers in the UK, we substituted this with our equivalent of digestive biscuits. Also, off the shelf marshmallows come in two sizes, mini and giant! No in-between sizes! We went for giant as toasting six – seven mini ones seemed complicated. The chocolate was easy. A classic dairy milk bar.

I can’t say our first attempt went to plan! Toasting the giant marshmallow and getting the chocolate melted was not easy. Needless to say, we each had a strategy that seemed to get the essence of a smore, a gooey, chocolate mess stuck between two biscuits rather than an enjoyable snack. Some further conversation went on to discuss options on the perfect smore. Combinations of mini digestives, chocolate digestives, reasonably sized marshmallows, peanut butter and Nutella were mentioned as good combinations. Also, the best method of cooking, campfire, oven or grill? As we were full from the attempts to make smores, we decided we would try again another day.

Our second visit to smores we tried multiple combinations with Nutella, peanut butter, chocolate and plain digestives. Our best attempt at a gooey filled smore was the Nutella, peanut butter and marshmallow heated under the grill. The Digestive biscuits work well but we think we’ll need to find graham crackers to compare with the original!

What do you think?

Have you tried smores, if not will you give them a go! Do you think these are a good American import to our shores or far too sickly sweet for you? Let us know in the comments, also let us know if you have any tips or recipes to make our smores even better.

5th October 2016

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Top Five | Hello October

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Orchard Blog

This morning there was frost on the ground, the first this side of Summer. It made getting out of bed a bit more difficult than a normal but is was a glorious day so very much worth it. Today was the type of crisp autumn day that writers wax lyrical about. With an autumnal state of mind lets look at our top five:

One

This weekend was Chobham Flower and Music Festival. Rich’s mum did a couple of displays so we took the time out on Saturday to admire her work. Chobham Church is a beautiful building, it brings back many memories of Rich’s schooldays in the village.

Two

This weekend we had family visiting. It was a great excuse to get ur our Nordic Ware autumn wreath cake pan. We made Nigella’s Pumpkin Bundt cake. We are not being half-hearted about embracing autumn here!

Three

We picked up this wreath at Homesense to add to our ever growing supply of Autumn decorations. We love Homesense, especially for quirkier decor like this. We were also excited to see the start of their Christmas range in store, but we can’t get to excited about that, it is only just October!

Four

Look, if you haven’t realised this by now we love decorating the house for autumn. We are especially loving this Pumpkin lamp from lights4fun we have plans to use this as a table centre at an upcoming dinner party, watch this space!

Five

Hooray, it is the season of stews and casseroles. On Sunday night we had the first of the season in our brand new Crock Pot (we accidently broke our last one). We are looking forward to many more slow cooked dishes. Any recipe suggestions?

3rd October 2016

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