Friday, August 13, 2010
ooooooh yeah
friday's flowers

fantastically friday

My gal has a friend staying for a sleepover tonight and I reckon I'll get some serious brownie points for serving fresh ice-cream. So much so that the main course will barely matter.
It's an absolutely beautiful day today. The sky's blue, there's no wind, and my garden's looking fit to burst with spring's promise. I have lanky stalks and white buds on the primula's that are circling the dovecote, my violas have their pretty faces dancing in the sun, the roses are covered in new red shoots - and the jasmine has me squealing in delight at the promise of its sweetly scented display.
Did I tell you that this weekend I'm catching up with my buddies from the Uni Newspaper days? 20 years on we've arranged a catch-up and I can't wait. Funnily enough we've all gone on to work in the media - nice as that was the aim. I'm sure there'll be some hilarious reminiscing going on. If you hear laughter carried down the ocean from Merewether you'll know who's to blame...
Thursday, August 12, 2010
testing, testing

Now, guess how much my Sushi-lovin' gal would adore these Hello Kitty morsels? Cuteness incorporated or what?
technical glitch
Okay, I'm not sure why - but blogger's refusing to allow me to post pics today.
I'll be back with a regular post as soon as some form of normality's restored!
I'll be back with a regular post as soon as some form of normality's restored!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
oh pulease

I lasted 35 minutes. Now, as much as I love John Corbett, apparently you can double that love and turn it into loathe and you start to get an idea how I felt about Nia Vardalos's character. Damn. That wide-eyed ingenue look works rather well when you're actually a wide-eyed ingenue but I was having trouble accepting it from a grown-woman.
Erk.
Did anyone make it further into the film that I did? Was I just in a mood? Did my advanced age leave me with little or no regard for coy glances and hair flicks that belonged in the swimwear shoot for Australia's Next Top Model {btw: how GOOD is this series becoming...}.
I'm normally pretty forgiving of characters in films. Books I may well fling across the room in frustration {Lady Chatterley's Lover I am referring to you...} but films, I guess because I know they'll be over with soon I give 'em two, three, four, five chances.
How about you? Does your loving or loathing of a character influence your viewing or reading?
what's cooking wednesday

Tonight: Well, it's my birthday so we're off to Bistro Tartine. French yumminess shall be consumed - and washed down with French bubbles...
Thursday: French lessons: I didn't make a chicken curry last week, so I'll make it this week. Complete with rice and garlic naan.
Friday: My gal's been begging for salmon so salmon it is. Served with lemon roasted potatoes and garlic greens. For dessert - well I'm glad you asked. My freezer has been rearranged and now the KitchenAid ice cream bowl is freezing in preparation for some vanilla bean icecream. Oh yes.
Saturday: I'm catching up with my old alumni from the Uni Newspaper - so it's only the boy and the girl at home. They can create home-made pizza.
Sunday: Toasty roasty. Last week I bought a divine pork rib roast and roasted it on a bed of rhubarb. This week I might aim for Saltbush Lamb.
Monday: Early game of netball. Chorizo pasta bake and salad.
Tuesday: Ballet: pork and cider casserole with greens.
What's on your plates this week?
oh, i'm dying!
happy birthday to me!

Oh, and you know that KitchenAid ice cream maker I posted of yesterday? Also mine! And some pretty new netball trainers - white, silver and purple {bound to make me run faster}. There's also a rather delightful hurricane lamp with grey roses around the base - I'll have to take a shot of it so you can check out its full glory.
An omlette and a bol of coffee later I'm sated - and planning on pottering around enjoying the day. Dinner tonight? Bistro Tartine naturally. Enjoy your day!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
neverending story
Oh my.
I'm determined not to spend my birthday {one more sleep - hurrah!} in a hovel so I'm going to put in a two-hour stretch and blitz through the house from bedroom to kitchen. The recyling bin's empty thanks to yesterday's collection, the boot's ready to be filled with more boxes of books for the Salvos and anything else that's left will be housed - but only if it's totally and utterly deserving of a place in my home.
Okay, ready? Set? Go!
ice, ice baby

You can guarantee that every dinner party will end with fresh icecream or sorbet. Oooh limoncello and blood orange sorbet. Or lavender and vanilla. Rose petal icecream...
Oh, the possibilities...
Monday, August 09, 2010
bookshelf bliss

Now, I know you're keen to check out my desk, but as I don't have a blind and I'm relying on my iPhone for pics it's hard to get a good shot as the desk has a massive window behind it. Perhaps if I shot it at night? I'll try and see what I can come up with.
Anticipation makes everything better don't you think?
oooooh, i absolutely adore the plaza

monday, monday

Did you have a good weekend? Delight me with tales of your adventures - pretty please!
Sunday, August 08, 2010
film fest

This film will make you hug your children tight, so thankful will you be for their childhood, and it's a film that will stay with you long after the final credits role. Emotional, harrowing, breathtaking and raw, La Vie on Rose doesn't depict a rosy life for the little sparrow - but it does reveal an extraordinary one.
Saturday, August 07, 2010
what a day

We just had a fabulous party down by the beach with the girls giggling, playing and racing around. If I'm lucky enough to coach them next year I'm going to organise a party at the start of the year too.
The parents gave me a beautiful present - a gift voucher at Essential Ingredient - woo hoo! Oh I'll have fun spending that - and the girls all wrote on a card which was just gorgeous. One of my girls came up to me at the party and handed me a card she'd designed and written which just made me so teary. She told me she loved my positivity and hoped that when she grew up she'd be like me. Higher praise? There is none.
I love the girls I coach. My aim is to make them the best netballer, the best team player and the most self-assured person possible. Some of the skills I'm teaching don't improve their game - but they strengthen their body to avoid injury and when they're older these skills will really come into play. My girls mightn't win every game - but they come off knowing they've done their best and that next week they'll do even better.
What more could you ask for?
Friday, August 06, 2010
time saving tip

I might only receive those emails once or twice a week, but I always feel obligated to read through them just-in-case. Well, now they're not there I needn't worry - out of sight, completely and utterly out of my mind.
friday's flowers
phew, friday

Sunday? Who knows. Farmers Markets naturally - I don't feel like it's a weekend without them. Perhaps some baking with my gal - muffins or cupcakes to freeze for the week's school lunches. And lotsa coffee.
You?
Thursday, August 05, 2010
girly girly girl
i want to ride my bicycle
new library


I am love, love, love, loving my new study. My desk is just beautiful {pictures to come later - remember, I only have my phone for a camera} and I'm so pleased we went with the charcoal carpet {although I may well turn into crazy vacuuming lady...}. The lavender walls are just blissful: pretty, light and soothing yet invigorating - just what I was after.
More shots to come later - maybe I should ask for a camera for my birthday...
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
trying to control myself

As part of my planning for our French holiday next year I follow a few Frenchies on Twitter - including French Vogue {oooh, la LA} which is where I found out about Karl Largerfeld's photography exhibition {that's his work above}. C'est magnifique.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
souper douper

To up the taste factor I sauteed a brown onion in olive oil until translucent, then I added a diced slice of Spring Hill Free-range bacon {from the farmer's markets - if you ever see Spring Hill meat please buy it - and not just because it's from my favourite holiday house in Burrawang!}. Then I diced the pumpkin and a peeled potato, threw them in for a few minutes then added a litre of chicken stock and a good amount of ground black pepper.
This simmered for around 30 minutes and then I popped in the stick blender to puree it all and that's it. No cream, no milk, but the tastiest, creamiest pumpkin soup ever. {I reckon it's the bacon that made the difference - everything tastes better with bacon...}
what's cooking this week*

For lunch today I'm going to cook up a pot of butternut pumpkin and bacon soup. Mmmmm. For dinner? Well I'm thinking a beef stew with dumplings and herbed potatoes.
Wednesday: my last netball training session for the season: Chicken curry in the slow cooker served with rice, garlic naan and wilted greens {we didn't get around to making this last saturday}
Thursday: French lessons: spaghetti bolognaise will do just nicely
Friday: home-made pizza
Saturday: pork and cider casserole, cauliflower and broccoli au gratin
Sunday: Roast chicken dinner - with roasted parsnips and carrots along with the usual suspects
Monday: Late game of netball - really late - so an early dinner. I'm going to try Maxabella's pasta bake.
Tuesday: Lamb and green bean stew, pumpkin mash and garlic-sodden greens.
What's on your plates this week?
*Thanks Beth for reminding me that, yes, today is tuesday not wednesday...
Monday, August 02, 2010
perfect paint

lucky numbers





One thousand, five hundred*. I know - apparently I never shut up. I think it's because I work from home so I don't have any workmates to turn to and say, "ooooh, guess what?" so you're all effectively my workmates. Want to go grab a coffee?
So, for your viewing pleasure this morning I've selected a range of shoes from net-a-porter - there's "Shiny!", "Lacey", "Bows!" and "Scallops!" {the edging, not the mollusc} for us all to delight over.
Now, I'm off to count down the seconds till Wednesday afternoon when my carpet is laid and my furniture returns, or is placed, in its rightful position. I'm looking forward to actually being able to walk in a straight line and not have to squish between things to find something I need. Oh, and to be able to open my bedroom drawers more than 3cm. OOOOH, and to have a completed study - that's my real dream. Bliss...
*Or, alternatively, it could be 1450. I swear to god that yesterday blogger told me I was up to 1499 but today it's told me a different tale. Oh well, the shoes are cute, and 1450 is still a damned lot of posts...
Sunday, August 01, 2010
weekend wonders

Next thing is we'll need to paint the frames of most of the pictures that go in our hall white, with maybe the odd antique gold mixing it up. We'd love to have a gallery effect in our narrow hallway - don't you just love groupings of images?
Saturday, July 31, 2010
parisian delights

happy weekend

Photos to come soon. In the meantime, regale me with what's going on in your world. I'm keen to peak into a weekend that's not sodden with paint fumes.
Friday, July 30, 2010
friday's flowers
white out

Cannot wait to put the first coat on tonight. Squeeeeeeee!
phew, friday

This weekend does, of course, involve much painting. Our first coat of real paint on the walls and another coat on the ceiling and cornices. Tell you what, I do love my nine foot ceilings, except when it comes to climbing up and down a ladder to do the cutting in.
Enjoy your friday, and hope you're revving up for a fabulous weekend.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
holidaze

I'm playing along with BellaMumma's beauty-full pics. You?
time flies

In happy news, my beautiful bookshelf and ladder arrived yesterday. It's in four parts, in two different rooms, but oh my it's delicious. I cannot wait till next week to install it - and to finally pull all my books from boxes and place them on the shelves. Bliss.
Okay, I can't put it off any longer. I'm going to start making phone calls... I'll just make myself a cup of coffee first...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
a cinderella moment
what's cooking wednesday

Today: Chicken noodle soup - heavy on the garlic
Thursday: French lessons: Meatloaf, mash, corn on the cob and peas
Friday: Gal at a sleepover. Steak sandwiches on baguette with caramelised onion and a side salad.
Saturday: Fuel needed for painting: chicken curry in the slow cooker with rice, wilted greens and garlic naan.
Sunday: Probably still painting: Roast beef and all the trimmings.
Monday: Early game of netball for me, so late dinner: burritos it is.
Tuesday: Ballet: lamb shanks, creamy polenta and ratatouille.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
perfectly pretty
on the shelf

So I'm going to start in the hallway. As I've mentioned, everything that was on the bookshelves in the study is in piles in the hallway so I've been going through them, sorting out, tossing out, recyling, filing... I have managed to find all but one report card, school photo and santa photo {all from the same year mind - what was I doing that year?}. Once the hall's under control and cleared so the bookshelf can come through I'll clear some space in the bedroom for the shelf to sit for the next week - while we paint the study and wait for the carpet to be laid - next Wednesday afternoon. Woo hoo!
Okay, I'm off - wish me buckets of luck.
Monday, July 26, 2010
sweet treat

I'm close to finishing up my story that's due tomorrow - and oh boy, will I give myself a reward at the end. Maybe not a cake as enormous and gorgeous as the one here with Miss Kylie - but something lovely non-the-less. I have managed to pain my nails with a matte lavender shade {Orly Lollipop - love!} which has given me a glimmer of inspiration. Maybe I just need to pop on my iTunes and belt out a few Kylie tunes to get me through the next hour before school pick-up. Reckon that'll help me polish off a first-draft won't it?
miu miu for monday

So, were we happy with the finale of MasterChef last night? I was. Adam proved himself a worthy winner and Callum scrubbed up pretty well as runner-up {actually, every time they cut to that glorious Macaron Callum made in London I swooned...}. Adam, of course, had me at pork belly - and pork belly three ways? Hello, I think I love you. I was crying away when he won, and then when they wheeled in his nana in a wheelchair? Oh, I started blubbing like crazy. Much better than last year's finale when I was just incredulous at the result.
I have my last spurt of busyness today before I get a breather. I'll give myself a day to move all the stuff from the hallway and do a spot of work in the study and then Wednesday it'll be back into the usual freelancers life of pitching story ideas like a maniac.
Speaking of the study, husband and daughter set to work painting the trims gloss white while I had a sneaky nap yesterday {I know!} The trim was cream gloss, but looked more tired and dirty than antique. The white freshness is already zinging it up. Now we just need to make a decision on the wall colour. Paint samples are on the wall, and so far I have a fave, and my husband has a fave, let's see who's sample wins out shall we...
Sunday, July 25, 2010
chop chop

put your feet up

Bliss.
After I'd finished I started to get twitchy and look around for something to do: should I clean the bathroom, mop the kitchen floor? Something? Anything? Bueller? But I forced myself to chill and today I feel positively rejuvenated.
We've got a netball game in an hour - it's a rain make-up game. The sky's a delicate shade of blue, it's not too chilly and the gal's in a good mood. Hopefully we'll have a full team today - I was a player down yesterday which always makes for a tough game. Fingers crossed.
Enjoy your Sunday - hope you get to put your feet up - if only for 15 minutes {go on, make up a "Do Not Disturb" sign and give it a shot}.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
sweet, it's saturday
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