Luster set

Being British we love Tea and Cake. Although most of the time we use mugs, sometimes you just want to use a lovely tea set.

Brook Green does get tea sets in rather often, but this one is a little bit different with a lovely luster glaze.

A burnt orange and white luster set for £8
Teapot
Milk jug
Sugar pot
1 plate
2 cups and 2 saucers
One cup does have a tiny chip on the rim, so it is sold as seen.

A luster glaze is when the pottery is covered in a metallic glaze which gives an effect of iridescence.

Now all you need is a tea party to show it off!

Bye for now
BG

Autumn Reds

October is here and the trees and chaging to red, and everything is getting more cosy. This outfit is for a lovely date with a HUGE hot chocolate, with marshmallows of course, and maybe some cake. (Always with cake!)

The floral top is shown to its best with this red skirt (but a purple, white, cream or brown skirt would also work. We did try it with a black skirt and it was just not right.) and this funky black belt.

Carolina Herrera is a Venezuelan-American fashion designer known for "exceptional personal style", and dressing First Ladies from Jacqueline Onassis to Michelle Obama.
So you can have her exceptional style from us as the top is from her past collections.
Size 12 (eur 40) and made from a silk cotton mix, its subtle florals in purple and cream.
£30
We really like the bow detail on the neckline.

The red pencil skirt shown here is from Alberta Ferretti. The Italian designer produces items with amazing feminine draping and tailoring, which, considering she is a daughter to a tailor we wouldn't have expected anything less!
This 100% silk skirt is lined in a silk mix.
Size 10 (eur 38).
There is a tiny tiny rip by the zip, but a handful of tiny stiches could fix that.
Sold as seen for £40

Finally the belt is from Topshop and is leather for £15.

(The shoes shown next to it are £14, size 8 (eur 41) but have been sold since taking the photo. Sorry about that. You have to be quick buying stuff here at Brook Green!)

The cost of the entire outfit...
£85.
2 designer pieces and a statement belt for about the cost of a M&S coat.
(although you might need that M&S coat if it starts raining. But why go there when we have various coats from £12 and you help Trinity Hospice?!)


Bye for now
BG

Meet the Volunteers - Sarah

I said as soon as we get some new people in, I'll share them with you all, so I'd like you all to meet Sarah

Joining us for only a few months, Sarah is keen to learn some new skills and improve her English from her native Innsbruck, Austria.

'Testing' our fiction books (£1 each!)

"I love the whole idea of charity shops, as we don't really have them back home. The UK takes a bit of getting used to, but while I'm here I've seen lots and volunteering here is lots of fun, and I haven met some lovely people here" (below is Sarah with Andreea)

Sarah has even shown Brook Green to her parents who had a visit here last week and they arrived bringing gifts of Sachertorte! Brook Green does love cake and it was AMAZING! noms

We have cooking books with this recipe in (from £1), but here we have the original for you all to attempt. (Then you can bring us in a piece!)

Sacher Cake (Sachertorte) "This is the original recipe, obtained through the courtesy of Mrs. Anna Sacher." (That we found via Mr Google and Mr Wikipedia!)

3/4 cup (170 g) butter; 6 1/2 oz. (180 g) semi-sweet chocolate; 3/4 cup (170 g) sugar; 8 egg yolks; 1 cup (120 g) flour; 10 egg whites, stiffly beaten; 2 tbls. apricot jam; icing: 1 cup (225 g) sugar; 1/3 cup (80 ml) water; 7 oz. (200 g) semi-sweet chocolate;

Beat butter until creamy. Melt chocolate. Add sugar and chocolate to butter; stir. Add egg yolks one at a time. Add flour. Fold in egg whites. Grease and butter 8-9" cake tin. Pour mixture in. Bake in 275 degree F (140 degree C). oven about 1 hour. Test with toothpick or straw. Remove to board; cool. Cut top off and turn bottom up. Heat apricot jam slightly and spread over top. Cover with chocolate icing, prepared as follows:

Cook sugar and water to thin thread. Melt chocolate in top of double boiler. Add sugar gradually to chocolate. Stir constantly until icing coats the spoon. Pour on top of cake.

- Viennese Cooking, O. & A. Hess, adapted for American use [Crown Publishing:New York] 1952 (p. 229)


And if you make it, please bring in a slice for us here. We shall, erm, test it. noms test.

Bye for now
BG

Volunteer Birthdays!!

Well August is busy for us as we have to eat a lot of cake!

Pat and Yolaine huffing and puffing out the candles. SHARE THE CAKE!!

 

Pat, Yolaine and Andreea all have birthdays within a week or so of each other, so we at t' Green use it as an excuse to stuff our faces with chocolate cake!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

nom nom nom

Bye for now
BG