Movember Mugs!

If our 'taches on sticks weren't cool enough for you, I've found another way for you to get involved with Movember. You've got a few days to go yet, so these moustache mugs from Lifestylebazaar are perfect.


Want to look like Magnum PI? Yep, me too!


Or Charlie Chaplin?


Nope, I wanna be Hercule Poirot! The mugs are £13.95 for two. And much easier than trying to grow on yourself. It's like the laziest fancy dress party ever.

Lovely Leather at Karen Millen

Karen Millen are very hit and miss for me. I don't like much outside of their dresses, but their dresses are too pricey for me to buy. But I've fallen in love with this leather jacket. It's such a great cut and it's a stunning colour. It'll fit right in with all of my cute little vintage dresses and shoe boots. It's in the sale too! Hurrah! Unfortunately, 'in the sale' doesn't mean affordable for me. It's still £199.

Get Saucy! Classy Cranberry Sauce

Being a foodie type, I tend to get excited over the silliest of things. Indeed, many is the time that I've disturbed Mr. Cay in the bath to inform him that I've just made the perfect loaf of bread, or have boiled up a pot of soup which could very easily solve the crisis in the Middle East. So it's not altogether unsurprising that at the moment I'm more than a little titillated about the fact that Cranberries are finally in season.

Ahhh, the humble cranberry. Yes, to the untrained eye it may look like an unsuspecting red dot of lip-puckering tartness, but - given the right amount of attention - it can be turned into so much more. Think about it - what seasonal dinner table would be complete without a large dish of quivering cranberry jelly slap bang in the middle of it?

Cranberries are at their peak throughout late November, meaning that fresh ones can now be found in all good greengrocers (although I tend to have mine delivered by the lovely people at Abel & Cole). So, with Thanksgiving coming up this coming Thursday for all of us American types - and with Christmas a mere five weeks (!) away, it seems only right to share with you this delicious recipe for a sluttishly simple cranberry sauce. Not only does it taste a million times better than any of that jammy gloop you get out of a jar, but it also only takes a mere 30 minutes to make - meaning you can whip it up at the last minute whilst pretending to all and sundry that you're a fastidiously organised Domestic Goddess. However, if you are a fastidiously organised Domestic Goddess, you can just cook it up in advance and pop it into a sterilised jar where it will keep for around two months.

MISS CAY'S CLASSY CRANBERRY SAUCE (Makes around 1 jar, or 8 large servings)

You will need:

• 250g fresh cranberries
• Juice and finely grated zest of 2 clementines
• 100g light brown muscovado sugar
• 3-4 tbsp port

Make It!

• Place the cranberries and the juice and zest of the clementines into a small pan with 150ml cold water to cover. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 10 minutes until the cranberries have softened and started to burst.
• Add the sugar and port, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer for a further 5-7 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Transfer the sauce to a small bowl to serve warm, or into sterilised jars. Serve with roast turkey, or (if you're feeling fancy) a nice pheasant.

Cranberries image taken from Muffet's Flickr photostream.Cranberry sauce image taken from Vegan Baking.net's Flickr photostream.

Illustrated Guest Post! Christmas Cupcakes by Rachel Lewis

Seriously, how much do I adore Rachel from Rachel Says? Just look at her wonderful christmas cupcake recipe! Not only does this sound like a fabuous cake recipe that we have to try later this evening, but OMG it's in pictures!


Isn't it pretty? (Click on the main image at the top and it'll fill the screen so you can follow the recipe) If we could draw pretty dresses and cupcakes, I swear our entire blog would be in pictures.


Until we learn to draw, we'll get on with making the cakes, and you pop over to Rachel Says to look at the rest of her illustrations.

Shop in the spotlight: Nonesuch Things

It was actually the ever-wonderful Wee Birdy who alerted me to Nonesuch Things. But it's such a wonderful shop I couldn't keep it to myself. Just little bits of pretty, little bits of nothing. Little bits of wonderfulness that you really really want.


This Broderie Anglais cuff is £42. And so so elegant.


And the tape that was featured on Wee Birdy. I've got excited about funky tape recently too. There's a definite trend starting. These are £5.95 each.


These pretend petit fours are so cute. No I know I don't need them. But that doesn't stop me thinking I have to have them in my life right this very second. They're £11.50.

Nonesuch Things might be small, but it's pretty near perfect.

The Five Tea Collection from Bellevue Tea

Us Domestic Sluts are, like most right-thinking individuals, rather fond of tea - if our current logo wasn't a cherry-topped cupcake, I'm pretty sure it would be a red polka-dot teapot. So you can imagine how pleased I was to get FIVE boxes of Bellevue Tea from Domestic Slut Sian as an early birthday gift (she's evangelised about their Breakfast Tea before).

For those unaware, Bellevue Tea is the best tea in the whole wide world. Okay, maybe not in the whole wide world. But it's certainly the best I've tasted. As you'd expect, it isn't exactly cheap - at £2.50 for 25 bags (plus £2.50 P&P - you can only get it online) it isn't for everyday guzzling. That's what makes The Five Tea Collection (£8.50 plus £2.50 P&P) better value. For £11 you'll get 125 bags of damn fine tea - not cheap compared to PG Tips, but it's just better.

And when you've had one of those days at work, waited in the pouring rain for the bus and have soggy socks as a result, knowing that there's a good cuppa at the end of it makes things feel less rubbish.

Domestic Sluttery pester Jacki from Plush Off

You might not think you need a soft toy shaped like pancakes or a sleepy marshmallow, but visiting Plush Off brings on a major case of the wantsies. We chatted to founder and Chief plush-maker Jacki about why those plushes are just so darn cute.

When and why did you start making plushes?

I started making plushes out of necessity really. It was 2006 and mass recalls were happening to a lot of toys that contained lead. Quite a few of my newborn's toys were recalled as well as those belonging to my friend's children. I went on a 'made in China' boycott and tried to think of what I could do to still spoil my child. My extreme beginner sewing skills came to mind, and what better way to get better at something than to practice!

So I went and bought a sewing machine, loads of felt and end rolls of fabric and away I went! I started with the sunny side up egg, and my son loved it. I love anything and everything anthropomorphic so faces went on everything I made! I keep doing it because it enables me to stay home with my son who has Autism; between sewing and teaching him I am kept on my toes each and everyday, but I wouldn't trade it in for anything else in the world!

You have plush versions of everything from french toast to safety cones! Where do you get your inspiration?

Mostly from everyday life. Foods that my son and family love and everyday objects that catch my eye. The pylons came from my sons love for cars and race tracks, I made them and set them up all over the house and he went crazy with excitement - so I knew they would be an instant hit.

What seems to be the most popular plushes?

My top three are pancakes, carrots and Bed Bugs.

Do you have any other craft-y hobbies?

I love to cross-stitch in my down time; though I am more fond of obscure and cutesy designs that you can't just go buy a pattern for in stores. I tend to find pictures online that I like and make a graph of them in photoshop and go from there.

If I could pick a new craft to learn I would have to go with crochet! I want to learn how to crochet so badly; mostly so I can make amigurumi.

Finally, what are your favourite plushes?

My all time fave was an OOAK (One Of A Kind) that I made of a plush version of Genital Warts (pictured left). He turned out so unbelievably cute I couldn't of been happier! My favourite of the regular day to day plushes is definitely carrots; they all seem to have their own personality with their faces and the way their stems are shaped and how they stand and fall.

Check out more of Jacki's adorable plushes in her Etsy store.

Kitchen Porn: Le Creuset Heart Shaped Casserole Dish

Le Creuset, how much do I love thee? Oh let me count the ways. Indeed, I love their products so much that I have pledged that when I become rich and famous (oh please dear GOD let it be soon!) pretty much all of the cookware in my cupboards will be from them. Beautiful, practical, and nigh on indestructible, these are the kinds of dishes that last longer than most marriages.

So, naturally, it's no big surprise that I fell in love with this casserole dish as soon as I clapped eyes on it. I mean look at it! It's bright red and shaped like a heart! And which wannabe-1950s-housewife doesn't want to cook her meat and two veg in such a brilliantly cute dish?

Best of all, it's relatively deep (it easily holds a meal which would feed four people) and dishwasher safe. Plus, it's currently only £20 from Amazon which makes it the perfect Christmas present for the love-heart-obsessive in your life. And to everyone reading this who knows me, yes that is a hint.