Better Than Brown Sauce

"Something old,

Something new,

Something borrowed,

Something blue,

And a sixpence in her shoe."

I never knew that last line until a few weeks ago when Katie's friend wrote it out in a letter. She had made Katie a little pin out of blue fabrics and beads and said that was her "something blue." Katie loved it and then began to think of the other items she needed for her wedding ensemble. She will be wearing her great-grandfather's pocket watch around her neck as a necklace - that's old. And we continued and are still continuing the conversation.

The sixpence in her shoe got me thinking....so I found a coin dealer in England and contacted him about a sixpence. There were so many to choose from! What year? Whose head did we want on it? Well, Katie really loved the movie, "The King's Speech." She loved it because King George VI was so brave in such a private way. And I feel that Katie is that way, too. No one really knows how much courage it takes for her to do many of the things she does, including getting married. So, I chose a King George VI sixpence, year 1952, the year he died.

Katie was so excited. I was, too! I think I could become a coin collector!!



Another Adventure (albeit small) In British Food

Brown Sauce!

I was feeling a little down about not having any British food adventures lately and as I was watching "As Time Goes By" the British sitcom with Judi Dench...ahem, "Dame" Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer he says he needs to go out for some "brown sauce." He comes back with a bottle with HP on the label. I do a little internet search and find "HP Sauce."

A steak sauce popular in Britain but made in the Netherlands. HP is considered to refer to the Houses of Parliment where it was often served. HP Sauce became known as "Wilson's Gravy" in the 1960s and 1970s after Harold Wilson, the Labour Prime Minister. The name arose after Wilson's wife, Mary  gave an interview in which she claimed "If Harold has a fault, it is that he will drown everything with HP Sauce". In 1975, when Wilson addressed a banquet to celebrate 100 years since the formation of the Midlands Vinegar Company, he admitted that it was not HP Sauce that he was partial to, but was in fact Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. (I straight up stole that info from wikipedia, I read it elsewhere as well.)

Poor HP, didn't get much respect, did it?

Well, Geoffrey Palmer's character, Lionel, wanted the brown sauce to go over "sizzling sausages" so I bought some sausages to try it out on. It was...ok....sort of like A-1 steak sauce. Not remarkable, but pretty good. I ate it for breakfast for 2 days. The bottle will probably sit in the cabinet until I decide it's old and throw it out.

It was fun anyway. Got any suggestions for British food that I should try?

Around The House

The wedding prep intensity is winding down. Remember my to-do list? Well, we've really knocked a lot off. My goal was to get as much done as possible during the month of June and I believe we've done an amazing job! The last 2 "big" things were accomplished this week: choosing a photographer and meeting with the artist who is designing the invitations. We met with her, made decisions and she is sending us a quote. We will still have to make final decision as to which details we can afford, but the major work is done!

So, we've been able to kick back and enjoy the summer a little. Here are a few things we have around the house that I thought were photo-worthy.

Washing up some borrowed salt and pepper shakers.

Washing up some jars to make into candle holders.

The sunflowers are blooming and I cut a few to bring inside. Do you recognize this pic?

Busy bees.

The blueberries are not quite ready.