Beautiful Baker

Thanks to gorgeous birthday gifts from two of my sisters last month I've just upped my baking game. They are so beautiful that I had to share them, and so perfect for the baker in me.

Betty was kindly granted access to Jane's stash of vintage linen tablecloths (how generous is that?!) and designed and made this beautiful linen apron for me from a cloth for a lunch table. The blue is almost an aqua and the ornate border is spectacular.

I would totally have picked this off the shelf if I'd seen it in a shop. Jane, you are a doll for parting with one of your treasures - thank you!

And, without any collusion (at least as far as I know) my sister Frances gave me this beautiful Queen Bee spatula and lovely linen tea towel.

The towel is huge and has a beautiful honey bee design on it. Again, something I would have picked for myself. Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled. With all of this finery I'm thinking that maybe I need to be a little more presentable when I decide to pull out the mixer from here on in.

I almost put all of them into action today, thinking that I would make a blueberry lemon loaf, when I remembered a treat that's been in the freezer since this time last year. My lovely niece Julia and her fiancé had picked wild blueberries and she dropped by with a pie for us to enjoy. Can you believe it?? Wild blueberries. I'm not sure that I could be generous enough to give that away. It got tucked into the freezer to be enjoyed at a later date and today was the date.

A little dollop of vanilla bean ice cream and ta da. It. Was. Fantastic. The Official Cookie Tester is still licking his chops and currently eyeing the pie plate for a second serving but I think we're out of ice cream. Thanks again for the very special treat Julia and Ryan...M