shoe who

I'm going to a Black Friday do next weekend. Imagine these snippets of sexy adorning my feet. Meow.

ode to op-shopping

Regular readers and friends know of my passion for op-shops. I think it's the ultimate way of recycling, saving and finding something different. Today I needed a break so took a bag of stuff to the salvos {I know, still, where is all this stuff coming from?!?} After dropping off my donation I headed to the book room and picked up a fabulous hard cover copy of Little Women for my daughter {which I'll read again, and sob over again, until she's ready - maybe when she's 10? What do you think?} I also find myself a Wilde Bedside companion with four of his fab novels in one!!! For $2 - bargainalicious. Then, oh, and this is priceless. VICTORIA BECKHAM'S LEARNING TO FLY. Yes, I died a little. Hardcover, brand new, $4. Some may say that's $4 too much, but I do love the OTT Posh. And, there's pictures. I haven't looked yet, but c'mon, some of them have to be of her hubby do they not?

But wait, that's not all. I got myself a brand new gunmetal grey swimsuit for $5. Crazy. My hubby also needed some new work pants and I found a snazzy pair of pinstriped Saba trousers for $5. They're flapping on the line as we speak {I ignored the strict dry clean only info - they're not a bargain if I have to pay twice that much to dry clean them, so I handwashed.}''

Happy.

lunchbox love

When I went to school I had vegemite sandwiches every single day. Tomorrow my daughter is having chorizo and potato frittata. I must say that I prefer progress...

For these lunchbox delights, I sliced chorizo and cut the chunks in quarters and sauteed them. Then I finely sliced some potatoes, and browned them. Then my gal beat 12 eggs and added a little salt and pepper and we poured them into muffin tins lined with polka-dotted muffin cases. She sprinkled the tops with grated parmesan and we baked them for 15 minutes at around 180 degrees till they were puffed, golden and set.

I reckon they're going to taste a lot better than a vege sarni...

take a seat

Here's the pavilion at the end of the pool which we positively la la love. At the moment we've got our old cane setting in there, until we find the perfect daybed, seating combo. Can you see our chandelier? It casts the perfect subtle light at night. We haven't decided yet whether to let our thick decking weather to grey, or to paint it white... Although I'm dead over painting at the moment.

We're having friends over on the weekend, so the bar fridge, cunningly hidden behind the chair on the left, will be put into service holding champagne! All we need to do now is a little more planting, doors on the pool equipment room {under the stairs! clever non?} and a final coat of paint on the pavilion itself. And enjoy it of course!!

sneaky peak 1

Okay, my backyard's not quite ready for its close up, but I had to share this with you. Here's my pool - from the pavillion's eye view. There's a planter box on the right, running the full 10 metre length of the pool and it's been planted out with Lilly Pillies for hedging. At the end of the pool is another planter box - with the pool butts directly up to {with a pool seat at that end...}. We're thinking of either a lime green New Zealand Flax or gardenias at the moment... And yes, the pool is just as refreshing as it looks.

mini morsels

Everything tastes better in miniature. Last night I made individual apple pies and mmmmm, they were good. I diced up some granny smith apples, placed them in a pan with a broken cinnamon stick, a good sprinkling of brown sugar, a splosh of brandy, a little butter and a splash of water. Then I covered it, brought it to the boil, then let it simmer for around 10 minutes.

Then I put the filling into four ramekins and cut out a round of puff pastry, with two slits cut into it to let the steam escape. I pressed this over around the edges of the ramekin and brushed the top with milk before sprinking over some white sugar. I baked them in a hot oven for around 10 minutes and served them in a bowl with an espresso cup filled with vanilla icecream beside them.

Yum.

go slow

Now it's autumn I'm entitled to bring out the slow cooker again. Hurrah! I used it for the first time on Saturday to do my leg of lamb studded with garlic and anchovies, and oh, it was good. Now, a friend of mine reckons that nearly everything that comes out of a slow cooker tastes the same, which I tend to agree with - so I thought I'd try something different this time. 

I sliced a brown onion finely and made a bed on the bottom of the slow cooker, threw in a few bay leaves on top and then, after studding the meat with the garlic and anchovies, I browned it in a pan. I place the meat in the cooker on its bed of onions and bay then deglazed the pan with a half a cup of white wine (sauv blanc actually). I ground pepper over top of the lamb, poured the wine over top and then let it slowly cook for nine hours. 

It ended up with a whole, new taste. Not slow cooker taste, nor slowly cooked in the french oven taste - a bit of a combo of both. Very tender and tasty. We only ate half the lamb, so I had enough to make lamb and bacon pie for dinner {and caused my child to leap up and down in delight!}. Now, if I were an intelligent person I would have saved the onions and broth from the lamb in the slow cooker as stock for the pie. 

I'm not an intelligent person.

Tonight, I'm having my in-laws for dinner so I'm making beef bourginon in the slow cooker. I've had big chunks of steak marinating overnight in red wine, garlic and bouquet garni and now I'm off to fry up some bacon and throw it in the slow cooker with the meat, marinade, carrots, french shallots and sliced onions. With an hour to go I'll saute some button mushrooms and throw them in. I'll serve it with vegies and a baguette, and for pudding I'll make individual apple pies in ramekins - served with cream. Mmmmmmm. {But I'll cheat and only put pastry on the top layer so it's nice and crispy}

now and zen

I think I need to revisit a book I read a few years ago, Buddhism for Mothers, by Sarah Napthali. I'm not a religious person, and I'm not a buddhist, I am, however, a tad on the spiritual side. I like to take little snippets from organised religions and make them my own, and I think that the buddhist art of zen could be what I quite fancy at the moment. 

I particularly like the whole notion of living in the moment - something I so rarely do. Slowing down, breathing and totally focussing on one aspect of life is desirable, but something I rarely achieve. That's probably why I adore pegging out the washing. The act of taking a freshly washed garment from the basket, shaking it, turning it so I've got the seams straight, then shaking it again, before pegging and smoothing it is all remarkably meditative. I can't do anything else when I'm pegging, I just breathe, take in the blue sky, the feel of the lush green grass underfoot and relax. 

I'd like to work out other ways to make other household tasks so satisfying - particularly putting away the folded washing - I'm still dead crap at that. Unpacking the dishwasher also rarely gives me cause for joy - but I love packing it... I like the art of cleaning, and I enjoy the end result, there's just a weird bit in the middle that prevents my domestic goddess from bursting out.

Oh well, baby steps. Off to peg out my towels, ahhhhhh.

monday musings

It's Monday, it's grey and drizzly-looking, and it's autumn. I'm also still in my jammies at 10.30am {breaching one of my main working-from-home rules}. However, I've got a story due today that I hadn't written at 9am, but finished my first draft by 10.30 - hurrah. I also have to dash to my daughter's school at 11am for an hour's work at the tuck shop. So I'm saving my showering and real clothes till 10.45 {I know, speedy}...

Autumn's funny in coastal NSW. One of our deciduous trees has lost nearly all its leaves, while another's still coated in them. We don't get the pretty colour-changes here, and have to head south for autumnal colours. But I'm feeling autumnal in my cooking. I roasted a 7 hour lamb on saturday so the leftovers are going in a pie tonight. Mmmmm. I have my in-laws coming to dinner tomorrow night, one of the last times we'll see them before they head to the UK to stay with my sister-in-law and family for eight weeks. Jealous much? Of course I am!

Our weekend was relatively relaxed. We pottered around doing a few odd jobs, nothing huge, just pleasantly satisfying. Then on Sunday I attended a Coaching Clinic to get some skills for coaching my daughter's netball team. It started at 9am and finished at 3pm and I was blown away by what I learned. An enthusiastic coach from Netball NSW drove up from Sydney and spent the day passionately infusing us with knowledge that'll help us become better coaches and inspire girls who are talented, polite and respectful {one of her top tips was treat the umpires with respect, and teach your team to do so - very, very important!}. Only 10 of us attended - and there are 4000 girls who play at Newcastle on a Saturday - so that's a lot more coaches than just 10! I also picked up a few attacking and defensive moves I'm going to use in tonight's game - my opposition had better watch out!

People who so generously share their knowledge are just golden - what's the point in having a skill if you're not prepared to share it with others? 

domestic express

Quick hits that make your home a nicer place to be are always a sterling idea. Today, I quickly flung the vacuum cleaner around {so much so that our provincial sideboard is, well, verging even more on the shabby side of chic...} and then filled a bucket with steaming hot water and sprinkled in the lavender oil. Now all my floors are sparkling and the house is smelling fresh and delicious. Combine this with the sheets flapping on the line in the sunshine - and my super-cosy dinner plan - and I'm feeling all Marthariffic.

hope dinner's a winner

I spied this on the BBC Good Food website today (it's one of those little widget thingies I have on my iGoogle page) and think it might be a mighty fine option for helping me cook more fish. After all it's chrorizo, white beans and cabbage (??) in a spicy, tomato sauce - with the fish poached on top. Surely it's got to be yummy? I will season the fish before cooking it though, as everything's better with a pinch of salt and pepper. If it's a winner, I'll post the recipe. If not, you're better off without it.

sunshine state

We've had a busy week, so the other night, when my daughter and I came home from three hours of netball grading at 8pm, I quickly fed her spaghetti bolognaise and let her eat it on the couch, in front of the telly. Still wearing her netball uniform of white polo shirt... you know where I'm going don't you? Yes, of course, shirt spattered with tomato sauce - buckets of it - and no prewash stain remover. Sigh. So I washed it, and it came out only marginally paler than when it went in. However, I know the secret weapon against tomato stains - sunshine. Sure enough, after a day hanging in the sun the stains have gone. Hurrah. Sunshine, always makes me happy. Oh yes, Sunshine, always makes me smile...

happy holidays

Explain to me how I am meant to go on my next holiday without this luggage from www.steamlineluggage.com

Come on, I need answers.

pretentious or polite?

Here's something I've been struggling about for a few months now. Last year I went to the Opera House and cacked myself stupid at David Sedaris. Except once. See, he had this piece that, sadly, I didn't agree with. His premise was that any foreigner (anglo-born I take it) should not use local pronunciation as it sounds pretentious. 

He spoke of a friend who came to stay with in their home in France, utilising correct French pronunciation as if it were a vice, not a virtue. See, I can't abide how we tend to not only mispronounce words and the names of cities - we'll even give them new names because we think they're easier to enunciate than the local terms {is that why? I haven't googled it, but I still don't understand it}. When I was younger I always wondered as to why people referred to Gay Paree when speaking of Paris, and now I realise that it's the way that Parisians pronounce their home town {although they tend to leave off the gay part, unless they're referring to The Marais}.

I'm a ridiculously polite person and will go to any extreme not to offend, so why should I tell a local that I positively adore Venice, when to them it's Venizia? If somebody came up to me and told me what lovely beaches MerryWay has, when I know for damned sure that I live in Merewether I'd be puzzled, and then annoyed. But, the thing is, other countries don't tend to do that {except for some Americans who call us Oss-ies... but I think they've got it now}. 

I don't care if it sounds pretentious, if I'm serving Coq au Vin, or Lamb Navarin I'll pronounce it correctly {or, at least I'll try}.  

something shocking

Kate Spade is making me smile today with these satin beauties. I'd love them with a midnight blue frock - or a kelly green skirt, oh hell, I reckon they'd go beautifully with almost any colour. A gal can never have too many pink satin shoes...

having a ball

I'm coaching my daughter's netball team this year, something I put off for quite a few years (as I didn't want to be one of those mothers) but now I'm glad I am. We had grading yesterday which was the first time the girls had got together and played as a team, and bless their little socks - they did so well. I'm looking forward to helping them love the sport and grow as players. 

Team sports are fabulous for girls in particular, and they're even more important during adolescence and the early teen years. I wrote an article on this last year and research revealed that girls who are involved in team sports have higher self-esteem and a better body image than girls who don't. Every little bit counts when it comes to raising happy, healthy kids - so if my enthusiasm can help them develop more confidence, I've got to be happy with that.

o wow

After spending half my day yesterday checking out pics and live blogs of the Oscars, I actually watched the telecast and I must say that I was impressed. Hugh did a great job, god love him. I also liked the intimate nature of the seating - with the front row right there in the action {but where was Jack?} Bringing in the past winners to welcome the new was a glorious idea, particularly when a few of my favourites rocked on out. 

Generally speaking I liked how the awards were handed out - but, why does one film always romp it in? I understand that Slumdog must have been a great film, and I'm looking forward to checking out - but how does it kill everyone else in the category? Also, since when did Danny Boyle turn into Morrisey? I kept expecting him to burst into "I'm throwing my arms around Paris..." whenever I spied him.

Some frocks were even better on stage then in the still shots. Marion's for one. And others, well, I must say that I didn't notice the pornstaresque expanse of cleavage that SJP was rocking when she was on the red carpet. However, on stage, those things bounced around and distracted me from the frock - which is very hard to do.

I'm now newly in love with Robert Downey Jr and I'm enraptured with Robert De Niro for bringing up one of my fave Sean Penn roles - Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High {I know, and just after falling in love with Phoebe Cates on the red carpet - who hasn't aged a day since that film...}

I felt for the editors up in the suite, desperately cutting to Angelina and Brad, especially when poor Jen was on stage. They did well though, keeping the faces in check and appearing generally gracious. And I'm still all over Angelina's earrings - and how she grabs his butt at every opportunity.

Ben Stiller and Natalie Portman were hilarious, although apparently he was an ass during rehearsals... Natalie's pink frock was absolute perfection, and proof you should always try something on - cos, seriously, that colour on a hanger would be, oh honey, no. 

I also loved watching the people in the background - wow, you've really got to be on your guard and if you need to yawn, cover your mouth people. Maintaining your face in a happy, yet neutral position, being ready to burst into good humoured laughter at any time must be a tough call. Or leap to your feet for the upteenth standing ovation. But generally, they did well.

I also fell a little bit for Jerry Lewis after seeing the love he expressed for the kids with muscular dystrophy. Tirelessly raising money for decade after decade is admirable and for that I applaud him.

Oh, and Beyonce should have gone with the red sequinned number for the red carpet - much hotter.

perfect pressie

Cute. That's what this girl is. Stunningly pretty sure, but cute as a box of buttons. Love her look, love that she's ebulliently smitten with her on-screen love and am dead chuffed that she can carry off a bow. See, even the man in the dark glasses agrees - the one over her right shoulder? He gets it.

sparkles and fireworks

Well this isn't helping quell my obsession with tulle is it? Marion looks utterly gorgeous, as ever on the carpet rouge. I love...

new york is where i'd rather be

We interrupt this oscar frockfest to dip a toe in New York Fashion week, and I must say, how Barbielicious is this outfit? I'm still obsessing over polka dots at the moment, adore red lips, covet broadbrimmed sunhats and well, check out the shoes!