Things I love: Fruitbroo

It's almost scary how well some friends know me, and I ended up with a bottle of this lovely drink as a birthday gift.

I don't even think the bottle lasted the week.

It's a honey and lemon hot drink, essentially an instant herbal tea. Put a teaspoon or two into your cup, add hot water and that's it. No teabag or strainer to take out, just ready to drink.

I think it's an understatement to say I loved this. Both the lemon and the honey shine through but neither overpowers the other, and it leaves a lovely aftertaste.

Each bottle makes around 15 cups and retails for around £1.75 in Sainsbury's. At the moment it's only available to buy in some Sainsbury branches or online at the fruitbroo website, so I made a detour and hunted down my nearest branch that sold it. It was definitely worth it! 

What I'm reading

What did you recently finish reading?
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. I whizzed through the rest of the book and loved it just as much as the first part. I love Lawson's writing, and her ability to make the truly heartbreaking readable without descending into outright misery. That said, I'm pretty sure I welled up at a few bits, but I would definitely reread it again at some point.

Earth Girl and Earth Star by Janet Edwards. I first heard of these through fantasybookcafe, and I'm so glad I did. Once I got through the first page or two (I'm not a huge fan of the character talking to you), I absolutely loved both of them. Gloss over any imperfections, don't want to stop reading to eat my dinner, and making me utterly gleeful kind of absolutely loving. I'll definitely be getting my own copies to reread, and what do you mean I have to wait to August for the next one??

What are you currently reading?
Despite bringing it home to try and settle into it, I haven't picked up Knife Sworn by Mazarkis Williams in a wee while. I've simply not been in the mood for it.

I've started dipping into Django Wexler’s The Thousand Names again and I'm enjoying it, but not with the same urgency that I've read others with lately. I still plan on finishing it though.

What do you think you’ll read next?
Val McDermid's Cross and Burn arrived for me on short loan so definitely that. I might rummage around my TBR pile and see what else I feel like during my days off.

Log Cabin Blanket

Secret project number 2 last year was a log cabin blanket for the fantastic Amey of Teacups and Buttondrops.

I first saw the type of construction in Mason-Dixon Knitting and fell in love with it. Simple, yet with endless possibilities for customisation. Choosing the colours was the hard part, but I eventually settled on a spiral pattern of three favourite colours and I love the effect.

(Looking rather washed out here unfortunately)

It was knitted using a mixture of lovely acrylic/ wool mix aran weight yarns on 4mm needles for a dense, squishy fabric. The finished piece measures 37 inches square, and it's just the perfect size for a lap blanket and very cosy too.

(My obligatory folded photo. It's less washed out looking thankfully, but the second pink is nowhere near as purple as it looks here.)

I loved this blanket, (enough to start knitting myself one), but there is always a fear in the back of my mind that the recipient won't like it (to be honest, I'm like that with any present I give). Thankfully, it turns out she loves it as much as I do! She's definitely staying on my willing to knit for list. :)

And after all my prancing about trying to get a picture I liked, I think my favourite photo of the blanket has to be one Amey took herself.

She's a great photographer (and blogger) so I'd advise everyone to go and check her out.