The Season for Giving

They say that this is the Season for Giving,  and I like giving, not only to my family and friends but I  also  like giving little gifts to other special people out there who make my life so much easier and nicer,  like my children's teachers for their infinite patience, or those other mum's in my community who lend me a helping hand with the school runs (very much appreciated I must say).

This year I have been unusually foresighted and have already started getting those little gifts ready.   I have made a couple of very cute brooches which will make sweet little gifts without breaking the bank.   I also made a few extra ones to list in my shop, these would be great teacher's or Secret Santa gifts (amigo invisible in Spanish).  You can check them out here.

Shop update - Moon Earrings

Hello,  It's been a while... this is always the phrase that comes to mind each time I decide to write a new post and look at the date of my last post.  Has it really been over 6 months?? Where did all that time go!?!

Lately I have been busy designing, making and listing new things in my shop on a weekly basis, I  can´t remember when was the last time I added so many new designs in such a short period of time, and it doesn´t really matter, I am loving what I am doing now and I hope that so will you!

I'm begining with this full moon earrings because those sweet smiling faces make me happy and I really like how they turned out!  Plus, they are light (for me ithis is always a bonus) and they are  hand painted which means that each one is unique in a special way. 

The bad news? That there are only two pairs available, I bought the charms ages ago because I thought they were really cute and now I can´t find them any more (drat!).  

You can find more info about them in my shop.

Shop update

Just a little post to show you two favorite items from my shop which I have just listed again after a long, long time. 

I love working with vintage components and natural stones, but the problem with working with these materials is that sometimes once a particular bead or finding is gone, it is gone forever, that’s why I was so happy when I recently came across these little amazonite ovals and I was able to make these dainty dragonfly earrings again.  I had tried making them with other amazonite beads but somehow the result was not the same.

These are the earrings I wore to my sister’s wedding.  I stopped making them about a year ago, for no particular reason, sometimes I stop making old designs to focus on new things.  Anyway,   a few weeks ago I wore my pair to a dinner party, the earrings got many compliments  so I decided to make and list them again.  They are rather pretty aren´t they?

You can find both of them here.

Poppy Talk

We've had the worst Spring I can remember in years! It's been cold, it's been grey and it's been raining nearly non-stop for the past three months.  I feel as if roots may start to grow from my feet any time from all the humidity.  As a consequence we have been spending a lot of time indoors trying to keep the children busy, we have played board games, we have baked, we have read, we have embroidered… or at least the kids did, I am still hopeless with a needle and thread. 

Our patio looks like the amazon jungle right now, the grass, the bushes, everything is wild! This weekend we have been very busy trying to get make it resemble a garden again, but  more rains are coming  which means that by Friday everything will be wild again. Fighting against nature is hard work.

The only good thing about all this rain is that the fields behind our home look this beautiful! I don`t think I have ever seen them this green and flowery… and the poppies! Aren´t they amazing! I just love poppies and these almost make the  “bleh” Spring we have been having worthwhile.

Have a lovely day and enjoy the sun, if you can…

Fall

https://www.etsy.com/es/shop/ReyesRobledo?ref=hdr_shop_menu

I know, I know, Fall has really been with us for quite some time now but we have been enjoying such wonderful, mild, sunny weather here in Madrid that I have not really realized it until this week, when grey skies suddenly came upon us and it started to rain non-stop. A whole week of rain, so very necessary for the country side but I must admit, a bit depressing for me.

Don´t get me wrong, I like Fall, it’s just that I find it hard to adjust to it, the sudden cold, the lack of sun, the shorter days… on the other hand, it’s precisely these things I don’t like that bring about the things I love about Fall, cozy sweaters, reading by the fire, lentil soup (any kind of soup really), as well as my latest obsession, knitting.

So until I finally settle into this season and gather strength for Winter, which is really just around the corner, I will do my best to concentrate on the things that bring me joy, the shift in colors, sharing a cup of coffee with good friends or baking with my children.  Scones seem to be a favorite of theirs this season and this recipe is just so easy and so delicious too.  And what about you? Is there anything you specially like about Fall?

Have a lovely week.

Studio Update

Most of my designs are made during the Spring and Summer months. The days are longer, the light is amazing and as the kids have no school I have a lot less obligations (no soccer practice, basketball practice, Art class, Judo... you name it, my kids probably do it and I drive them there), I feel more relaxed and that sort of makes my creative impulses go bubbly and ready to create.  This year was different though, my creativity was directed towards my art work so did very little work on my jewlery, hence, I really should not do an studio update blog post today.... BUT,  one of the good things about not having updated the blog in over a year is that I have I not shared any of the designs I made during that time with you which is just what I am about to do (relax, I am not going to swamp you with images, I have just picked a few of my current favorites).

This dragonfly necklace... delicate, whimsy. One of my favorite designs from last year. It is made of a brass antique replica dragonfly and then it was hand painted to acquire that lovely verdigris tone.  When I see it I am reminded of those gorgeous wild Victorian gardens.  If you also follow me on Facebook you probably know that I have a slight dragonfly obsession... which is one of the reasons why I  like this necklace so much!

These gorgeous pair of chandelier earrings with green agathes.  I actually made the first pair for myself  but received so many compliments that I decided to make a few more for my customers and I know of a few happy women who are so glad that I did ;-)

I am specially happy with this pendulum necklace, not because of the necklace itself, but because it was so, so hard to photograph!!  Crystal pendulums reflect light... everywhere!  Technical problems aside, the necklace is lovely, the pendulum  was salvaged from vintage light fittings bought in the UK many years ago. I really enjoy giving "a new life" to vintage objects. I also have a theory that objects made years ago are usually better than those made today, mainly because there was not so much consumerism, people bought a lot less things but those they bought were made to last a lifetime.  I try to do this in my everyday life as well,  buy less things but those I buy of better quality so they will last my family for ages and who knows, maybe even become future family heirlooms?

I hope you like them. Have a lovely day!


*Note: When I talk about "quality" I am not referrring to brands, I have found in the past that the quality of some expensive brands is really quite terrible, I'm really referring to the quality of the materials used, the craftmanship... 

In my absence, I started painting!

This Summer in Madrid we enjoyed one of the worst heat waves in recent history, the kind of heat wave that makes you spend all day long sitting down in the shade drinking ice water.  So for the first couple of days of July I did just that, nothing, and then, I became restless, I needed to do something creative.  Working on my jewelry did not seem very appealing, my studio is located in the attic and in Summer that room is like a big oven and I did not feel specially like going up and down stairs several times a day in search of whatever supplies I needed.  I also needed to find something I could do with my children who were on their Summer break and watching way too much tv and so, one fine day, I suddenly felt the urge to start sketching, doodling, whatever you may want to call it.

A funny looking poppy

After searching frantically through the whole house for my watercolors and not finding them I decided to use my kids watercolors instead (you know that feeling when you want to do something and it has to be done immediately...), so, I took all the materials to the patio, gathered my 3 kids around the table and we all started playing around with the brushes and the paint and unknowingly started a new Summer "ritual"  that brought so much joy to all of us.  

The view from our house in Munilla

Every afternoon we would set up "art camp" and spend about and hour painting together. My kids drew flowers from the garden, fruit, robots, whatever! I loved seeing their own personal style develop and flourish.  As for me, I had not done any watercolor painting in years and this time, instead of doing the more "academic style" paintings I used to do years ago I opted for more informal, quick sketches and what can I say, I had not had so much fun in years (makes me wonder why did I stop doing it in the first place??).

Tomato from our veggie garden

Sometimes a change in routines can be a very positive thing. I discovered a new family activity  which was hugely enjoyed by all of my three kids at the same time (due to their age differences and different tastes these kind of "group" activities don´t always work so well).  As for me, I have rediscovered a long forgotten love which is always very nice.  If you want to see all the little paintings I did this Summer you can hop over  to my instagram.

Have a lovely Monday.

Hello!

Oh hello! It's been a while hasn´t it? Over a year actually, I have so many things and news to share... Let's see if  I can finish a few ongoing projects over the weekend and I'll get right back to you.

Have a lovely weekend!

Lately - Ultimamente

Things have been very quiet here lately, the opposite of what is going on at home. Spring has sprung in all its glory. The patio is in full bloom, the sun is bright, warm and shining and so many outings and outdoor fêtes have been enjoyed by the family.  Summer clothes have come out of the closet and some very white toes have timidly peeped from sandals.  For over a month it has felt like Summer, my very brave kids have gone outdoor swimming and I, carried away by the glorious sunlight, have bought watermelon, rockmelon and started making gazpacho, all of them completely tasteless I must add as it is really too early and the fruits were not ripe enough.

Life at the studio has been productive but not very inspiring. I have been working on some commissions that implied making the same necklace over and over again. I hope to finish them soon so that I can concentrate on some new creative projects.  

And speaking of creativity, lately I have been very inspired by a few French blogs. I have specially liked this one and this one.  Oh, and I was featured in this beautiful blog, The peak of tres chic,  which was quite lovely surprise as it is one of my current favorite blogs.

This is roughly it, I promise I will do my utmost to publish posts with a certain regularity, I hope I succeed!!

Have a lovely Wednesday.

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El blog ha estado muy tranquilo últimamente, todo lo contrario que mi casa. La primavera nos llegó de sopetón y de momento está siendo gloriosa. Todas las plantas del patio han florecido, el sol brilla y reluce y estamos disfrutando de un tiempo muy cálido, de manera que estamos haciendo mucha vida fuera de casa y disfrutando de eventos al aire libre. He sacado ya la ropa de verano, y mis deditos de los pies blancos como la leche de todo el invierno se asoman por mis sandalias.  Desde hace un mes parece que estamos en verano, mis muy valientes hijos ya se han bañado en la piscina y yo influenciada por todo este calorcito ya me he puesto a hacer gazpacho y a comprar sandía y melón. Error! no saben a nada, parece verano pero no lo es y realmente no es la temporada de estas frutas.

En el estudio llevo una racha muy productiva pero poco inspiracional. He estado trabajando en unos encargos en los que basicamente, se repite el mismo collar una y otra vez. Espero terminar esta semana para empezar algún otro proyecto un poco más creativo.

Y hablando de creatividad, ultimamente estoy leyendo varios blogs franceses preciosos, en especial me gustan este y este. Oh, y uno de mis diseños fue publicado en el blog  The peak of très chic, lo cual me hace mucha ilusión ya que es un blog precioso que me gusta muchísimo.

Esto es todo más o menos. Espero no tardar tanto en publicar otro post otra vez.

Feliz Miércoles!

Happy Saint Valentine's Day! Feliz Día de San Valentín!

Wouldn't this Art Deco bracelet make an excellent St. Valentine´s day gift? Yeah, I think so too!
In case you were wondering, you can find it here.

Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

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A que esta pulsera Art Decó sería un estupendo regalo de San Valentín? Sip, a mi también me lo parece.  Por si estáis interesados se puede comprar aquí.

Feliz Día de San Valentín!!

This week in the Studio - Esta semana en el estudio

Playing with my Camera.  Love this photo, pity you can´t see the jewelry though ;-)

Abajo en Español

Hello!!  We have sun everyone! It’s freezing cold but sunny which means that I have finally had decent light to photograph all the designs I had been working on lately. What do you think?

I am going through a bit of a Victorian phase at present, and I think it shows in my new designs.  Ok, ok, I am always in the middle of a Victorian phase, but right now, ever more so.  Over the holidays I watched the film adaptations of two of my favourite books, Jane Eyre and the Secret Garden. Although the Secret Garden is not really a Victorian novel, it does have a certain Victorian gothic feeling (a Manor House full of secrets and mysteries in the lush and green British Countryside).  Give me a full costume drama series or, in this case, films, any time!

Have a lovely week!

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Hola a todos!

Tenemos sol! Bueno, hace un frío que pela, pero con sol, por lo que por fin he tenido la luz necesaria para fotografiar los últimos diseños en los que he estado trabajando.  Qué os parecen?

Estoy pasando por una fase “Victoriana” y creo que se nota en mis diseños. Bueno, bien, reconozco que siempre estoy en medio de una fase Victoriana pero creo que ahora mismo, mucho más.  En las vacaciones ví en la tele las adaptaciones de dos de mis novelas Victorianas favoritas; Jane Eyre y El jardín secreto.  Aunque realmente, por fechas, el jardín secreto no es una novela Victoriana tiene un aire gótico muy típico (una Casa Señorial llena de misterios y de secretos en mitad de la frondosa y verde campiña Inglesa). Ah… no hay nada como una buena serie o en este caso, peli de época para las vacaciones!

January - Enero

 

Photo by Maisie M. Broadhead

Abajo en Español

Hello  Everyone!

 

After a very busy month of November and a crazy, hectic month of December, the relative calm of January has finally come to our little home.  I finally find I have the time to do all the little things that needed to be done but could never find the time for them (among other things due to my acute dislike of such things), so I have finally managed to get rid of a large amount of clutter around the home, clear out wardrobes, rearrange cupboards… I wish I could be a domestic house goddess who thrives on these things but unfortunately, I am not so I am just grateful that I have finally gotten them out of the way.

 

Photo by Maisie M. Broadhead

Thankfully I have also found time for the things that I do like and had not been able to enjoy for the last couple of months such as reading, coffee with friends, internet (pinterest, blogs…), working in my studio and  trying, as usual, to improve my photography skills.  I want to take better portraits and surfing the net looking for inspiration, I have come across the work of the very talented Maisie Maud Broadhead. Although the kind of portraits she does is not what I had in mind of doing, as I prefer simpler, more relaxed type of work (and let's face it, I can not envision my dear husband in classical Flemish attire)  I love, love her work.  I personally would call classical portraits with a twist. 

 

If you like them, you can see more of her work and learn more about the artist at her site http://www.maisiebroadhead.com

 

Have a lovely week everyone!

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Photo by Maisie M. Broadhead

Hola!

 

Después de un mes de noviembre muy movidito y de un diciembre que sólo se puede clasificar como “de locos”, por fin ha llegado la calma relativa de enero a nuestro hogar.  Por fin he tenido tiempo de hacer todas esas cosas para las que nunca tienes tiempo entre otras muchas cosas por lo mucho que te repelen. Me refiero a quitar trastos, ordenar armarios, vaciar y ordenar muebles… Me encantaría ser una diosa doméstica de esas que encuentran estas tareas muy relajantes, pero no lo soy, así que estoy feliz de por fin haber terminado con el apartado “orden y concierto”.

 

Afortunadamente, también he encontrado tiempo para hacer las cosas que si me gusta hacer y que he dejado aparcadas durante los dos últimos meses. He recuperado la lectura, Internet (blogs, pinterest…), he quedado con amigas para tomar un café y charlar, he trabajado en mi estudio y he intentado, como siempre, mejorar mis dotes fotográficas. Quiero aprender a hacer retratos, y buscando inspiración en Internet, me he encontrado con el trabajo de la muy creativa Maisie Maud Broadhead.  Aunque no es exactamente el tipo de retrato que yo quiero hacer (y la verdad es que como que no veo al esposo vestido a lo Flandes clásico) me encanta su trabajo, es algo así como “el retrato clásico con un toquecillo curiosote", verdad?

 

Si os han gustado podéis saber más sobre la artista y ver más de su trabajo en su web. http://www.maisiebroadhead.com

 

 

Feliz Semana!

The Four Simple Goals Challenge - El Reto de los Cuatro Objetivos Sencillos

Some of my lovely cups which I hardly ever use

Abajo en Español

First of all, let me tell you that this is not an original idea of mine, I found it in the “A Beautiful Mess blog”, but I liked it so much that I decided to join in the challenge and share it with you!

The challenge, basically goes like this: you have to choose 4 goals before the end of the to help you create healthy, life-enriching habits during the busiest time of the year.  To do this, you must follow these very easy rules (the rules I have copied from the blog).

1. Choose simple goals that will make your life richer and happier on a daily basis. Choose things you may not otherwise get done but are not difficult to accomplish. 

2. Do not choose result oriented goals. Choose activity oriented goals. For example, instead of "lose 10 pounds ", choose something like "eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day". Get what I'm saying? Positive actions instead of just the end result! 

3. Choose personal goals you believe will truly make your life richer just by doing them! They can be daily, weekly or one time experiences. 

4. Choose a reward for each goal as it is accomplished! It can be a small or large reward—it's up to you. 

5. Blog about your goals, each one as you achieve it and a write a post when they are all finished before the new year.

Easy, right?  And here are my four goals

1. I have lots of plates, cups, table cloths, although none of them are ugly, some are more beautiful than others but I always end up using the not so pretty ones. What's the use of having special things if you never use them? So my first goal is just that, to use my pretty home-ware all the time and not just when I have guests.

2. No more elevators. Right now on my daily routine, the only place where there are elevators is at work, and my office is on the third floor, so I really do think that I will easily be able to do this little bit of extra-exercise on a daily basis

3. Try new, delicious and exciting recipes for all our family meals! I have already started to do this and it’s a lot of fun, specially re-discovering my old recipe books that I had not looked at in ages.

4. This last one, is a little bit frivolous, but hey, this is a list of things that should make me feel better. Ok, my last goal is to find each morning 5 minutes to apply a little bit of concealer and a touch of blush so I will not arrive to work every morning looking like The Corpse Bride  (some people have told me that I am actually more like Morticia Adams but without the glamour of Angelica Houston...). Seriously, when you look better you feel better, and the other way around, and let’s face it, it’s always nicer to get a compliment than to get asked if you are feeling ok as you have a sickly look about you…

So, what do you think of the challenge? Will you join in too? I look forward to reading your goals!

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Lo primero, esta no es una idea mía original, la he copiado del blog "A Beautiful Mess", pero me ha gustado tanto que he decidido unirme al reto, y de paso, compartirlo con vosotros.

El reto es el siguiente, tienes que elegir cuatro cosas que te ayuden a llevar una vida más sana y más rica. Para ello tienes que seguir estas sencillas reglas:

1. Elige metas sencillas que te hagan sentirte mejor a diario. Elige cosas sencillas, que no supongan un gran esfuerzo pero que sean cosas que no hagas normalmente.

2. Esto no va de "conseguir objetivos", por ejemplo, en vez de decir "voy a perder 5 kilos", elige "comer más fruta y verdura a diario". Aquí lo importante son las acciones positivas más que el resultado final.

3. Piensa en metas personales que tu consideras que te harán sentir mejor a ti. Pueden ser cosas que vas a hacer a diario, semanalmente o simplemente una sola vez.

4. Date un premio cada vez que consigas una meta, puede ser un súper premio o un mini-premio, tu eliges.

5. Escribe en tu blog sobre tus logros conforme los vayas consiguiendo y antes de finalizar el año escribe un post sobre todo lo que has conseguido.

Fácil, verdad? Muy bien, pues estos son mis cuatro objetivos:

1. Utilizar todos mis platos, tazas y manteles bonitos a diario. De que sirve tener cosas especiales si nunca los usas??!!! Los tengo guardaditos y sólo los uso cuando tengo visitas. Así que ese es mi primer objetivo para embellecer mi día a día.

2. Se acabaron los ascensores. En mi día a día el único sitio en el que hay ascensores es en mi trabajo, y yo trabajo en la tercera planta, por lo que pienso que, este pequeño reto, me obligará a hacer un poco más de ejercicio pero sin suponerme un gran esfuerzo.

3. Probar nuevas recetas en todas las comidas, eso incluye el desayuno. Con esto ya he empezado, he sacado todos mis libros de recetas y la verdad es que he pasado un rato muy bueno mirando posibles platos que voy a preparar.

4. Mi ultimo objetivo es un tanto frívolo, pero se supone que esto es un listado que me hará sentir mejor a mi.  Ahí va, dedicar todas las mañanas cinco minutitos a poner un poco de anti-ojeras y de colorete para no parecer la Novia Cadáver (aunque hay quien diría que realmente me parezco más a Morticia Adams pero sin el glamour de Angelica Houston...).  Ahora en serio, si te ves bien, te sientes mejor, y al revés, y siempre es más agradable que te digan un cumplido a que te pregunten si estás enferma porque tienes un aspecto un tanto enfermizo...

Qué os parece? Os unís al reto? Tengo muchas ganas de leer cuales van a ser vuestros objetivos!!

Divine Studios, Sophie Schellekens - Estudios Divinos, Sophie Schellekens

*Abajo en Español

In today’s blog post we continue with our Divine Studios section. Today we go to Antwerp to visit the studio of Sophie Schellekens, the designer behind Sunken Treasure Jewellery.

 

I came upon her studio photos through Pinterest, that endless source of inspiration, and I was immediately smitten. What a beautiful studio! So light welcoming and serene, I can easily picture myself working there quite happily all day long.

 

Alas, I am not really sure she designs jewelry any more, her blog is not active and her shop now has some very beautiful ceramics but no jewelry.  Fortunately, you can still visit her flickr to see more of her studio and her very lovely home.

 

Have a lovely Tueday!!

 

All photos by Sophie Schellekens via here

 

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En el post de hoy continuamos con nuestra sección de Estudios Divinos y viajamos a Amberes para visitar el estudio de Sophie Schellekens, la diseñadora de Sunken Treasury Jewelry.

 

Encontré las fotos de su estudio en Pinterest, esa fuente constante de inspiración y quede prendada de inmediato. Qué estudio tan precioso por favor! Tan luminoso y acogedor, derrocha serenidad por todos lados. Vamos, claramente el tipo de sitio en el que yo podría trabajar muy felizmente todo el día.

 

Lamento comunicaros que creo que ya no se dedica al diseño de joyas, su blog ya no está activo y su tienda alberga unas piezas de cerámica muy preciosas pero ninguna joyita. Afortunadamente, todavía se puede visitar su flickr para ver más fotos de su estudio y de su precioso hogar.

 

Feliz Martes!!

 

Todas las fotos por Sophie Schellekens vía aquí.

Sloe Liquor - Pacharán

Our sloe "harvest"

The ones we found this year were extra big, normally they are half the size

*Abajo en Español

A few days ago we made sloe liquor at home.  Now, before you conjure up in your head images of me wearing a frilly apron “Anne of Greengables style” loitering over bubbling pots and pans, let me tell you that this is not the case. Making sloe liquor is super-easy, actually, the hardest and most difficult thing is finding the sloes!

Sloes are the fruit of the Blackthorn bush (Prunus Spinosa, love Latin names, don´t you?), they are quite tiny and have the most beautiful blue/purple colour. They also taste, well, gross, very astringent, it also feels as if you have been eating sand paper instead of a berry.  My theory is that at some point in history, someone decided that such a beautiful berry had to be good for something and so, they decided to make  liquor with them which, by the way, is really quite good.

I used to go sloe picking with my grandmother in the village, she was also the one who taught me how to make it and here is her recipe:

-         Get a big bottle with a wide neck

-         Fill it up one third with the sloes

-         Fill the rest of the bottle with aniseed cream

-         Close the bottle and store it in a cool dark place for a year (the garage for me).

-         One year later, sieve it and put it in a nice glass bottle (the nice bottle is optional, I just like pretty bottles).

-         Told you it was easy!!

Have a lovely Wednesday!

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Hace unos días hicimos pacharán en casa. Antes de que me visualicéis trabajando como una loca en la cocina, simplemente quiero aclarar que hacer pacharán es de las cosas más fáciles del mundo. De hecho, lo más complicado y laborioso que tiene todo el proceso es encontrar las endrinas.

Por si no lo sabéis, el pacharán se hace con endrinas, que son los frutos del endrino (Prunus Spinosa, me chiflan los nombres en Latín, y a vosotros?). Son muy pequeñitas y tienen un color preciosísimo, entre azul y morado.  También tienen un sabor que sólo se puede describir como asquerosito, aspero, aspero, si te comes una luego tienes la sensación de que lo que has comido es papel de lija.  Mi teoría es, que en algún momento de la historia una persona tuvo la corazonada de que algo tan bonito tenía que tener una utilidad y probaron a hacer licor con el, con bastante éxito por cierto porque está bien rico.

Yo de niña iba a coger endrinas con mi abuela en el pueblo, también fue ella la que me enseñó a hacerlo y me dio la receta, que es esta:

-         Necesitas una botella grande con el cuello ancho para que te quepan las endrinas.

-         Llenas un tercio de la botella con endrinas.

-         El resto de la botella de rellenas con crema de anís.

-         Lo dejas reposar durante un año en un lugar seco y oscuro (yo lo dejo en el garaje).

-         Al cavo del año lo cuelas y lo pones en una botella bonita de cristal (lo de la botella bonita es opcional pero siempre queda mejor)

-         Os dije que era fácil!!

Feliz Miércoles!