home scents

Yesterday I discussed annoying ads, and ads that always irk me are ones for spray home fresheners. Erk. I reckon that if your home is clean, and preferably cleaned with scrummy essential oils, then it should smell fresh - particularly if you open some windows to let more freshness in. Don't get me wrong, I have my room sprays - lavender in the bathroom, peony on my desk, vanilla in the living room, rose in the bedroom... but these are all gorgeous scents and I don't use them to cover another smell, I just use them to add a punctuation of pretty after I've finished cleaning.

At the moment my home has the best scent of all - my beef and guinness stew bubbling in the slow-cooker. Can you imagine the bliss when we come home after netball training to be welcomed with such a homely aroma? Personally I love a cooking smell, which is lucky because as it's over 100 years old my home tends to retain aromas - and I love reminding of that delicious lamb roast, or the caramelised onions for a frittata, or even the coffee the espresso machine pumps out at regular intervals. 

Oh, and at the moment I have so many lush roses blooming after their summer prune that even one house away their aroma starts to blossom and by the time you walk through my front gate you're enveloped in their heady perfume. Bliss.

life lessons

As I mentioned yesterday, we're in frugal mode. Yep, lock down those purses, put away the credit card and scrimp and save every penny. Luckily for us it's out of want, not need. Having finally renovated the backyard after seven years of living with a useless eyesore the red side of our bank balance is exceeding the black. So we're tightening the budgetary belts to help pay it off.

The best part of it is, that it's a really good opportunity to teach our daughter some financial skills. She's only nine, so the lessons are small, and never preachy, but I think you can never learn financial nous too early. When I was young I always learned to save for what I bought, and with the exception of our house, and renovation, I've stuck with it. If we don't have the money, we put off the purchase - unless it's an emergency like a hot water service {two years ago} which is when we dive into the emergency reserve.

So, about my child... At the moment we're reading Milly Molly Mandy, the most delightful girls stories on the planet. Milly Molly Mandy lives with her mother, father, uncle, aunty, grandma and grandpa in a white thatched cottage, and in last night's bedtime story, finally got a bedroom of her own in the loft. They painted the walls pale primrose, died some old curtains and her coverlet green, grandpa came home with an old dresser {again, which they painted green} and aunty and uncle donated their old mirror. Milly Molly Mandy was delighted! Now, none of this stuff was new or purpose made, it was all adapted, or they made do. In Annabella's room she has a wardrobe, painted white, that's been in my husband's family for decades. Her dresser is an old 60s chest of drawers, painted white with new glass handles and her desk, used to be her aunts when she was a lass. Her sheets and doonas are new, but she knows that these things are all perfectly serviceable - we just needed to tweak them to suit her.

When it comes to shopping she helps me spot the items on sale and we'll often refrain from buying something as it's too expensive, or we can't afford it. Kids need to know that instant gratification isn't sustainable, or even desirable. When I went to Uni I wanted to buy a second hand computer so I borrowed $1000 from my grandfather and paid him back, with interest, in twelve months. Sure, he could have waived that interest, but he was teaching me a lesson - if you borrow money it always costs you more.  

oh my guinness

It's a stew night tonight, and one day late, we're having beef and guinness stew. It's a long, busy day today, so I'm going to bring out the slow cooker - and adapt my recipe to suit. According to my Margaret Fulton Crockpot Cookbook virtually anything can be cooked in a crockpot - you just need to adjust the liquid levels as it won't evaporate while cooking. So my recipe calls for 1 cup of guinness and 2 cups of beef stock... Margaret reckons that one cup is enough liquid... Hmmmm. Do I go half a cup of guinness and half of beef stock? What do I do with the leftover guinness? Freeze it perhaps? Or, do I double my recipe so there's more meat and then freeze the leftovers? That'd be the sensible idea wouldn't it? Oh, and thrifty too!

steady on, soldier

Normally people pay next to naught attention to ads. My husband's one. He'll look like he's staring intently at the TV, and when I comment on the ad he'll say, "Oh, I wasn't watching". Which is an impressive act - I'd love to be able to zone out, especially for the annoying ones, but, wait, where was I? Oh yes, the one ad that so many people seem to have taken to heart is the one about Soldiering on when you're ill. Remember that? All these grim-faced, grey-toned people marching off to work with the flu because they'd taken some fancy-smancy pill. Good for them. Why stay at home recuperating when you can be off spreading your germs around others. Yay for infectiousness.

I have a point. Last night I played netball, and on the opposing team was a distinctly ashen-faced goal shooter. She kept stopping to bend over and take deep breaths, and at one stage the game stopped while she swapped positions with the Wing Attack {not strictly legal I reckon, but anyways...}. Then, a mere few minutes before the whistle blew for the end of the game, she raced off court, pulling off her pinny and dashing off upstairs - presumably for the loo.

At the end of the game, she came back on court to good-naturedly shake hands with the opposing team {that'd be us}. I asked her if she was okay, and she said "Oh, yeah, I've just been throwing up all day..." And yes, she said this after shaking my hand. Hello, germapolooza. Now I'm one for team spirit and not letting down the side etc, but, um, I'm also one for not spreading around any vomity viruses - I'm fussy that way. So now, today, I keep feeling distinctly queasy, and wonder if it's just my suggestible-hypochondria {yes, that's an actual syndrome} or if I've actually caught something.

Damned soldiers, should've stayed in the trenches...

green with envy

It's St Patrick's Day today, so cook up a beef and guinness stew and create a gorgeous green eye like this in honour of the day. Green eyeshadow is the perfect foil for those of us with brown eyes - and can look startling on those with baby blues. Use your brush to paint along the upper lash line and extend to just above your upper eyelid, then sweep a line under your eye. Lashings of black mascara complete the look - and for a real dash of evening flash, use a black liquid eyeliner to slick a catseye from the inner to outer edge. For a change of mood, wet your brush and slick on your eyeshadow for a look similar to this...

money matters

We're back on the frugal track in our household. Which means reigning in the budget and sticking to it. Probably the scariest part of working on a budget is actually tracking how much money you spend... on nothing. For me, my big killer is the supermarket. I tend to shop sporadically, without a plan, and walk out spending a small fortune every time - yet still have no food in the fridge. So now, I'm back to the plan. Which means:

1. Make a plan, Stan: planning a week's meals {and sticking to it!}

2. Supermarket saver: only shopping weekly at the supermarket for the essentials and buying fresh fruit, veg and meats from my local stores every second day.

3. Walk this way: cutting back on car trips - the less I drive, the more I save on petrol and the fitter I get through walking. Bonuses all round.

4. Make do: We're so used to instant gratification, thinking we have to have something - NOW. But really, most of the time you can make-do with what you have. So before I make up the shopping list I'll look through the fridge, freezer and pantry and see what I've already got there. I know I've got all the ingredients for a tuna risotto just hanging around, so that should be on the menu plan right now.

5. Spend a little to save a lot: I use a lot of fresh herbs in my cooking, and am forever buying bunches and only using half. So this weekend I'm going to get a big pot {while I'm waiting to create my real herb and vegie patch} and plant a few essential herbs: italian parsley, sage, mint, rosemary, thyme...

6. Get creative: Autumn's here, and the days are getting cooler. I'll sort through our wardrobes and think of how we can mix and match to make the most of what we've got. I've already stocked up on a few essentials for my daughter at Target's 20 per cent off sale, hopefully we'll make do for a while with that.

7. Frugal cooking: slow cooking is cheap cooking. Even though retailers have caught onto the slow cooking boom and raised the prices of many cheap meats {wow, have you seen the price of lamb shanks lately? They used to give them away for dog bones a few years back} you can still get cheap cuts at a bargain price. I'm going to hunt down the specials and cook them up with some vegies and a good slosh of cleanskin red wine - and my fresh herbs...

8. Elbow grease: one of the easiest ways to save is to put some muscle behind your cooking. So it's broom over vacuum, damp cloth for dusting and using a squeegie in the shower. No chemicals, no electricity, no fumes - just a clean, satisfying home.

expert advice

I love the work I do. As a journalist, I get to interview experts in the field and get their tips to help make my readers lives {and then, my own} just that little bit better.

In the years I've worked, I've been lucky to find a few experts who are just so good at what they do and enthusiastically like to share the love around. Paul Timms, the CEO of the Australian Institute of Personal Training is one. This man obviously has a love for knowledge, soaks it all up, then is happy to chat away with me about it. He's given me some great fitness, health and lifestyle tips over the years - all in an accessible, enthusiastic manner. 

While we were chatting the other day he reminded me that it takes 21 repetitions to make or break a habit. So if you start on a new fitness plan, by the time you've done whatever you're doing 21 times, you've created a new habit - and busted that old one. Most people think it's 21 days, but if you think about it, most of us only tend to exercise a few days a week, so three weeks in, we've probably only hit the 9 repetitions mark - not even halfway to making a habit.

Maintaining a positive mindset and learning to love what you do is one of the best ways to form new habits. If you sigh and groan when you lace up your trainers, chances are you're not going to get a lot out of a session. But if you get ready with enthusiasm, looking forward to this little chunk of 'me time' there's a good chance the time will fly by. That's why it's also important to keep hunting around to find something you love - particularly in the fitness arena. We all know how good strength exercises are for us {they help maintain muscle mass, increase your resting metabolism and replace fat stores with lean muscle, to name just a couple} but if you don't like lugging weights, you're not going to do it - no matter how good it is for you. 

Personally I like to snatch the odd couple of minutes throughout the day to do a few squats, or push-ups against a bench - and I love doing these exercises in the pool after a few laps. Or when I'm out walking, I'll stop at a bench and do a few tricep dips. However, my weights? They're usually spending quality time as door stops... I have netball tonight which is a life-long love. No matter if we lose or win I know it's doing my body and soul good every time I hit that court with a great group of gals.

Today's positive task is to tidy my desk for 10 minutes before I start work. The nailpolishes, beads, paid bills and skype headphones have no place on my desk during a working day. When the surface is all cleared off, I'll wipe my desk down with some hot water, with a couple of drops of lime essential oil added to it for an invigorating way to start the day. Happy monday!

lazy sundays

Sundays have to be the laziest day of the week - surely it's in the constitution... After a great night with friends last night, today's going to be lazy with a capital L. And an exclamation point. Probably underlined as well. Yep, that lazy.

A bowl of coffee is in order, while reading the papers poolside of course. Then maybe a swim while the weather's still blessing us with warmth. I do believe that the markets are also calling my name, I need some homemade pickles created with love.

Maybe some gentle gardening in the afternoon? I should treat the roses with some manure as they're flowering so beautifully at the moment. I'll dig out a couple of weeds that are also invading their personal space {I know, rude!}. Enjoy your weekend.

in the raw

I'm making beef carpaccio. I know, it seems like I'm blogging, but nope, I'm preparing a culinary masterpiece. See, in the freezer, along with ice cubes, vodka and frozen bananas, is a fillet of beef. Apparently I need to freeze it for one hour to help slice it to extraordinarily slender levels. Then I'll arrange it on a platter - dress with a mixture of olive oil, baby capers and semi dried tomatoes {with salt and pepper and a dash of tabasco} and leave it for an hour to marinate. I think I'm going to put some lemon zest on it as well, cos, you know, that's what I like to do. A salad of baby rocket will sit on the top and this will form our appetizer this evening.

After that I'm planning an encore of last week's main - as I couldn't find any decent veal today - probably because I left my shopping till the last second. But rib eye steak, cooked to perfection and served with a homemade bernaise sauce isn't to be sniffed at. Must say that I'm also looking forward to a crisp, green salad. The mother's night last night was bucketloads of fun, but my body's not too happy with the deep fried platter of food I consumed along with the champagne. Eeek. Last night I did realise that my friends are too much fun - and too hilarious. I feel so extraordinarily lucky to have managed to accumulate some pretty spesh people over the years. You've got to be thankful for every minute you share with someone who enriches your life, non?

weekend wonder

Ah, who doesn't love a good weekend? I'm particularly enamored of them when they start on a Friday night - makes them seem all the more significant. Tonight's a mother's night out at a local pub which is gearing up to be too much fun. It's black friday, so I reckon the attire's going to be pretty heavy on the noir which suits my fashion mood today. I'm just tossing up whether I go totally goth with black fingernails, demi-goth with dark purple or try classic with red nails... Thoughts? I will be drinking champagne, and really, every colour goes with champers {and rouge lips}.

Tomorrow night we have friends to dinner. I've promised beef carpaccio as an appetiser, so I'll need to get googling - and hunt down a butcher with a fresh piece of beef. Mains-wise I'll be on the barbeque again - but I haven't decided on the meat. Perhaps veal cutlets with gremolata? And for dessert, I'll think I'll be running with pear tarte tartin again - or a lemon tart... Wow, so indecisive!

Enjoy your weekend xx

a piece of green

Taking eco-friendly steps is always my preferred option. When I do a load of washing it's always a cold load - and there's nothing I like better than pegging it out to dry in the sunshine and soft breezes. When I find aphids on my roses I'll blast them off with a hose, then feed the plants with more manure to make them healthier and better able to fight off disease. If I need to use a toxic spray to combat a pest, I'll remove the plant and try something hardier in its place {that's what I did with the two standard azalias at the foot of my stairs - they were constantly stricken with red spider mite - ugly little critters}.

If I have a choice, I'll choose organic over chemically-grown products - I prefer to reward farmers who are doing their best for our environment. And turning off a light when I leave the room just seems like common sense. Generally I also find warm water and a cloth cleans most things, if not, I'll add some essential oils and white vinegar and find it cuts through most gunk. Sure, scrubbing at my grout with a brush is more labour-intensive than spraying on bleach and spraying it off with the shower head. But I don't get bowled over by fumes, and I quite like the incidental exercise and arm toning I get {I am going to have the most buff right arm any day now... I find it hard to be ambidextrous}. 

I reckon that if it worked for my grandma - why shouldn't it work for me?

in the bag

Do you know what could get me through dreary winter days? This Valentino purse. I'm not a statement bag gal, but for this, I could be convinced to change my mind...

love is

Look at these. Gorgeous non. They're Oscar de la Renta and the pink of perfection. I'd love to wear them with a little black dress (Herve Leger if I'm really dreaming) bright red lips.

what you love

Hey, you know how yesterday I said I was going to jump on my exercise bike for 20 minutes? Didn't manage it. Six minutes in I was hating it {actually, one minute in I was hating it, but I forced myself on for another 5 minutes}. I'm always writing about doing what you love, and now I have to acknowledge that I loathe the exercise bike. My hubby loves it though, so at least it gets use with him. 

But I love, love, love going for a walk - and sometimes even breaking into a run {just sometimes, not very often...}. Walking's an underrated form of exercise. If you mix it up and walk up and down hills, find some stairs, swing your arms and vary the pace, it's a great workout. It gets your heart pumping and your lungs working and tones your legs and butt. If you maintain good posture and pull in your core it can help tone your tum as well. A daily walk's got to do more for your physical and mental wellbeing than forcing yourself to do something you don't enjoy.

It's easy to get caught up in doing what you think you "should" do. Generally, I know that if I "should" do something I won't. I'll rebel, and loathe it, and not manage to complete it. Whereas if I find that 15 to 30 minutes for a walk {I timed my "15 minute" walk last night and realised it takes me 30 minutes - woo hoo} then I feel amazing and that spreads into every little corner of my life.

Oh, and today's my first netball coaching session for my daughter's team. I've got my plan all ready to go - wish me luck!

time quest

Oh, it's a busy time again. You know how just when things calm down a little and you think you've got things under control, something will rear its ugly head... That's my week.

Over the last few days I've finally got back into the regular walking thing, but then last night, just as I was thinking how much I love walking at dusk, enjoying the views of the ocean, two enormous rats scurried across mere centimetres in front of me. I NEARLY STEPPED ON THEM. I kept wanting to do a girly squeal, but nobody was there to hear, so really, what's the point. Instead I settled for a lot of shuddering, and decided to change my route to bypass the festering old surf house, home of a gazillion rats apparently {or just the two...}

Aside from the rat incident I love making sure I get active every day. Reading Chatterbox Sara's blog today reinforced the need for all of us to do something special for ourselves each day, whether that's pampering, exercising, meditating... they all lead to the same place. So even though I have dinner guests arriving at 6pm tonight, I'm going to jump on the exercise bike at 4.30 and pretend I'm in a Spin Class for 20 minutes. That'll do.

clutter busted

We had a bit of a purge yesterday, going through the obscene amount of magazines weighing down the shelves in the study. Now I've got a massive stack of food and pool mags to take to the salvos. The room seems so much lighter already! 

I was also able to get rid of more cardboard in the recycling bin yesterday. It's a shame that our recycling collection is only fortnightly - we could do with a fortnightly rubbish, and weekly recycling collection. Slowly chipping away at the piles of cardboard that encased our bbq.

Speaking of barbeques, oh, I'm in love with mine. On saturday night it cooked the rib-eye steaks to perfection, then I rested them on the warming rack above while I cooked the bernaise sauce on the burner on the side. And oh, home-made bernaise? Delish. Served with a green salad with walnuts and the yummable glazed, simmered radishes it was simply blissful. Of course I forgot to take photos - but you'll have to trust me. The steaks were striped with caramel on the outside, pink and succulent inside and the sauce a lovely golden hue, speckled with green from the tarragon. 

Last night I tried again and cooked up some pork ribs - and yes, again, perfection. I'll be bbqing every night now till the dead of winter when the slowcooker can come out again.

Oh, and yesterday morning we had a family breakfast to say farewell to my in-laws before they jet off the UK. We were to bring breads, so I bought a brioche from the deli and sliced it up, a couple of baguettes, a loaf of sliced and I made Nigella's super-easy pain au chocolate. Oh my.

Take a sheet of butter puff pastry and cut it in four quarters. Place a couple of squares of chocolate a few centimetres from one corner and slowly roll it down. Seal it lightly with your fingers and pull the ends around into a crescent shape. Coat it with egg wash and pop it in a really hot oven for around 10 minutes. Serve immediately and prepare to drown in adoration. {Oh, and don't tell everyone how easy they are to make - just revel in your domestic goddess status - particularly if you've had way too much wine and champagne the evening before...}

pizza grande

We come from a rather sheltered upbringing in Oz, where our pizzas are usually the size of a regular dinner plate - and made to share. Imagine this six-year-old's delight at spying a slice of pizza bigger than her head. We allowed her to try one for the novelty, and amazingly, she polished it off and asked for seconds... and then demolished that too.

Eyes bigger than stomach? Not in this gal's case.

iconic status

I've long been infatuated with religious iconography, which is why Italy left me so enchanted. From roadside alters to the unexpected homage, simple beauty was always on display and allowed me a moment to reflect.

sunday sighs

We were reminiscing today about our trip to Italy, and so I just had to revisit the magical town of Venice. It had long captured my imagination and it's forever stolen my heart.

high steaks

We have friends coming to dinner tonight, the first time we'll be using the backyard for entertaining. Woo hoo. I knew all week what I'd cook for dessert (pear tarte tartin) but couldn't think of a main. Now I have. I'm buying fabulous steaks and making my own bernaise sauce. I'll serve it with a well dressed green salad (with walnut dressing) and I'll be cooking up some pretty pink radishes again (glazed with a slick of butter and sugar - oooooooh).

The kids are getting a mini burger bar and eating on a picnic rug in my grassed courtyard (gotta take advantage of that grass!)

So that means we have to set up the bbq for its first ever cook-off. Wish me luck. Enjoy your weekend. xx