A beautiful surprise (and some baking)

I had the most wonderful surprise when I came home from work on Friday; a beautifully wrapped package from Persephone books. It turned out to be a thank you card from Nicola, Lydia and Fiona for hosting the Persephone Reading Week and contained a beautiful flowery apron made from the same fabric of the endpapers of A Far Cry. I was hugely, hugely touched, and extremely happy as I have been wanting a flowery pinny for some time. I hadn't spotted these in the shop so I think they may be a new product; the design for A far cry is certainly one of my favourites and makes for gorgeous domestic goddess apparrel.

Obviously, I had to bake something immediately, although I have to confess that I put the apron on after I had finished to take the picture below- it is FAR too nice to spoil with flour and chocolate. This week I have been baking from the M and S "Easy Baking" book - an absolute steal at £3.50 in which I have already marked 8 recipes to have a go at. Here (with the apron!) are the chocolate sprinkle cookies - melt in the mouth chocolate biscuit with white chocolate icing and chocolate vermicelli.

..and here are the chocolate coconut crunch squares - a spongey coconut mixture on top of chocolate digestive base.
I also have my eye on baking the ginger topped shortbread, the banana and cranberry loaf, the marble cake, the white chocolate chip brownies and the sticky ginger cookies. Watch this space!