Recycled Lighthouses

My mother found a pair of rather ugly bold coloured lighthouse stands during a council collection day a few years ago. They were lying down on the side of road, looking rather neglected and had been painted roughly in vibrant blue, green, yellow and red. A large crack had formed in one and sometime during it's life, a child had scribbled in ink across the yellow painted wood. All in all, they were in a sorry state.

Rummaging through some of Mum's bits and pieces, I stumbled upon the twin lighthouses and wondered what they might look like if a bit of love was painted over them. I was reminded of the old saying, 'One man's trash is another man's treasure'.

This afternoon, as the sun cast long, warm shadows through my laundry door I gathered what I needed to breathe new life into the little lighthouse stands. You may notice Coco's redecorating skills in the form of a badly ripped fly screen. She must've been bored one day...

Once I stepped outside I was struck with how much beauty surrounds us at our new home.

New paint.

Old paint.

A tiny spectator.

New web, old house.

First coat drying.

I've since applied a second coat and all that they need now is a touch of blue, a soft hue to remind me of a coastal lighthouse. It's funny. When I was looking for the perfect blue, I picked up a small tube at Spotlight that was in the clearance aisle. It wasn't until I arrived home that I read the label.

'Coastal Blue'.

Bella xx

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Going Green This Friday

Green smoothie goodness, inspired by Sash over at Inked in Colour and although I'm somewhat of a smoothie buff, I haven't actually made one with spinach before. Shocking, right?

There's something incredible about drinking a smoothie so green and full of the wonder of the earth that makes my heart beat stronger and my mood lift with bubbly happiness.

I made Sash's smoothie, on Tuesday as an afterthought when I remembered I should use a soft mango in the fridge, then a second time when my mother and grandmother came to visit on Wednesday. The third time I made a green smoothie was this morning, but as fate would have it, I had run out of mangoes. Super Mum was helpful by bringing me a fabric bag filled with organic mangoes freshly plucked from her very own mango tree but they're still too bitter green to use in a smoothie, so I made a new version.

Drink Your Spinach Smoothie

3 generous handfuls of baby spinach
2 large, ripe bananas
1 cup of freshly squeezed or cloudy apple juice
1-2 Tbs natural yoghurt (I love Bornhoffen natural yoghurt)
1 entire tray of ice (12 cubes)

Place all ingredients into a blender and pulse until the spinach has been pulverised. Pour a thick stream of the vibrant green smoothie into large cups or glasses and enjoy with your loved ones for breakfast or as an afternoon hunger buster (careful not to spoil your dinner appetite).

We drank ours in our bedroom loft, early in the morning before a barefoot walk on the beach.

Thanks again to Sash for inspiring me to drink green. We've never met in person but I love your blog and I'm so pleased you shared this recipe with us because now I can pass it on.

Now I can drink my spinach.

Love Bella xx

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