The new calendars are up. My planner's sitting on my desk at the ready and I've got an optimistic attitude for twenty ten {aside from this relentless rain which isn't helping decrease my mountains of washing.}

I've currently got a head-ful of hairdye as you can't have a fresh start with a skunk-like streak of white in your roots {black hair and grey roots - not a good look}.

We'll spend a bit of time getting the house back in order today, but I'm thinking that a spot of laziness is on the agenda.

Tomorrow we're off to a friend's house - mothers and kids at least - while the dads go out for a few drinkies and a meal. We were discussing with our in-laws how lucky we've been at our daughter's school that she's found special friends - with parents we're thrilled to call our nearest and dearest. I'm not sure what we're taking - aside from champagne and swimmers for the kids. Let's hope this rain eases a little by then!

new year new shoe

I intend on being a wee bit infatuated with all things french this year as I immerse myself in the language to become somewhat proficient.

Hence, I had to start the year off with a classically French pair of shoes.

Jolie, non?

Hands up who thinks I need to buy myself a pair of these when I'm next in Paris?

That'll be a consensus then...

sooooo sleepy

One can hardly resolve to blog every day and head off to bed un-blogged! Will you forgive my tardiness if I tell you it's been one very full day? Got up, fed children, tidied errant champagne bottles, packed for picnic, drove 45 minutes to picnic location, picnicked with family for a few hours, came home, swam and helped the British depart, put over-tired child to bed, ate a piece of leftover pudding for dinner, chatted with husband... and realised it's bedtime.

So here's my first post for 2010, posted a mere few minutes before midnight. Hope you're all diving into the new year with gusto. Let's catch up tomorrow shall we?

happy new year

Happy New Year's Eve everyone. What are your plans for tonight?

I've got French bubby chilling in the fridge and plan on whipping up some tapas this afternoon.

For the New Year I resolve the following:

* To do everything with gusto and with a smile on my face

* To feed my imagination

* To nourish my body

* To celebrate my friends

* To love my family

* To keep on doing what I love to do

* To save for my next trip to Paris in 2011

* To study really hard at my Alliance Francais lessons so I'm fluent in French on our travels

* To blog every day and love doing so

Happy new year everyone - hope you have a fabulous one

birthday baby

It's my gorgeous gal's 10th birthday today. She's enjoying spending the day with her cousins and playing with the wii fit she received {as is her father!}.

I made Nigella's American breakfast pancakes for breakfast in the KitchenAid this morning - is there anything that machine can't do? Light, fluffy pancakes were the reward...

Once everyone gets sorted we're off to Blackbutt - a nature reserve a few suburbs away which features plenty of bushwalks and loads of native animals - something the British cousins will enjoy.

Then it's back home to make the angel food cake before heading out to dinner tonight.

Phew. Busy day!

PS: I just had to use this shot of my gal and Mulberry. He's a gorgeous cat but quite possibly the world's most unphotogenic creature. Despite having massive round amber eyes he always squints when having his photo taken. Luckily his fluffy tummy always looks gorgeous!

blog business

I've mentioned before that I've found my blog handy for recipe filing and it's been a big help. As I've mentioned, we've got the relatives coming to stay today and I'd planned on a bbq for dinner tonight - but last night they went to my other sister-in-law's and had a bbq there, and I'm not a fan of doubling up.

So my husband suggested coq au vin and a complete french theme, which I got very excited about - until I realised that sister-in-law doesn't eat bacon in any form {I know! What is she missing}. Well obviously I can't make coq au vin without my lardons, so it was back to popping on the thinking cap.

Then I remembered Ina Garten's chicken pot pies - magically delicious little numbers that'll suit everyone - but then I remembered that I'd tweaked it. Luckily I did blog about it so I had to search through my archives to find it {thankfully I'd titled it damn fine chicken pot pie so it wasn't too hard to find...}

Is there an easy way in blogger to group topics? I'd love to do that with my recipes. Maybe my new year's resolution could be to become a touch more technically adept.

I'm making creme brullee for pudding - very excited to create this in my kitchen aid. My cream beauty had its first workout yesterday whipping up a rather delish chocolate cake and my word, does it make life easier. I can't wait to whip up the angel food cake and white frosting tomorrow. Wish me luck.

tapas time

We have the british relatives coming to stay with us for a few days from tomorrow - so I'm busy devising menus. My sister-in-law only eats chicken and fish, brother-in-law is an extremely omnivorous soul, niece one only really eats meat and niece two really only eats vegetables and fruit {and PUDDING!}.

So, the nieces could conceivably share a meal, bro-in-law will eat what we're having, while I'll be thinking of white-fleshed dishes for sis-in-law. Tomorrow night I'll do a bbq - with a few interesting salads and some bread. Wednesday night is our gal's birthday so we're all headed out to a restaurant for dinner. Easy. Thursday night's New Years Eve so I thought I'd do tapas.

So far on the list I've got:

Garlic prawns

Lime and pepper squid

Fried haloumi with lemon and chilli

Sauteed chorizo

Potato, onion and capsicum tortilla

Lamb meatballs with spicy tomato dipping sauce

Of course there'll be olives, bread and dips.

And something sweet to follow - little lemon tarts perhaps?

Oh, and did I mention champagne?

Also, my husband has indulged his inner-bloke and there's a Heineken keg in the bar fridge in the pavilion.

Fun is bound to be had by all...

bloomin' marvelous

Finding just the perfect pillow to accessorise the bed, without looking OTT or just being damned annoying is a difficult task. So yay to my hubby who bought me this perfectly petaled pillow for Christmas. Obviously, being from Laura Ashley, it coordinates beautifully with my linen {um, also from Laura Ashley...}

Now, if that's not impetus to make the bed every day I'm damned if I know what is!

glamour granny chic

It's been raining for a few days straight here and the rain does nothing more than make me feel like hibernating in a good, comfy cardi!

So, imagine my delight when I spied with my little eyes this comfy grey cardi embellished with pink, white and black sequins! Zac Posen, you're a wee bit of a legend...

chicken crackers

Hey, you know how I made Chicken Christmas Crackers for Christmas Eve {well, that's it, I've used up all my Cs...} well they were rather yum, so I thought I'd best share how I made them.

I couldn't find the camera - but they looked somewhat like this - except with more of a twist at the end!

Now, you know me, I don't really measure. This here's an approximation of a recipe. Personally I never think you can have enough lemon or pepper - but adjust it to your taste and enjoy. Seriously, they're yum.

500g chicken mince

3 diced eshallots

2 cloves garlic, diced

grated rind of one lemon

chopped fresh parsley and tarragon to taste {I probably used 2tblsp each}

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1/4 to 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs {or fresh if you don't have panko - but please buy some}

1 egg

salt and freshly ground pepper - lots

1/2 cup of melted butter

filo pastry

Preheat oven to around 180 degrees celcius and grease a couple of trays.

Mix all ingredients except filo and butter in a bowl till thoroughly combined.

Cut the filo pastry in half, then take two sheets, brush one half with butter and fold so you have a rectangle. Grab a little filling and form into a sausage shape and place in the centre - leaving about 7cm or so at each end. Brush butter on one side and roll up so you have a long cylinder. Grab each end right where the filling ends and twist so you have a christmas cracker. Place this on a tray and brush with butter.

Continue till all filling's used up.

Bake for around 10 minutes, till golden, then turn and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Check the filling's cooking by giving it a squeeze. If it feels firm, that means it's setting nicely.

Take out and serve - ideally with a sweet chilli and lime dipping sauce {or you could leave it at home on the bench - up to you}. To make the sauce combine 2/3 sweet chilli sauce and 1/3 lime juice - preferably from a bottle - easy peasy. This is also my preferred dipping sauce for salt and pepper squid and rice paper rolls - doesn't get easier.

Of course, now it's christmas you don't need to make these in a cracker shape. They'd make ideal nibblies in little triangle form, or even as a little lolly size - you know, a ball and then rolled at the ends. Perfect!

shiny shiny

We've just spent the entire day cleaning, tidying and tossing out. There are boxes of books to go to the salvos, piles of rediscovered books that I'm salivating to read, bags of clothes for cousins and {again} salvos and the recycling bin's full.

I've found stacks of old photos {which make me feel positively aged!} and loads of other good things - and unearthed a lot that I really don't need. I know that there's stuff that we haven't used this year, so that's it - it's outta here.

Just having a short break before I get back into it. There's nothing like a rainy day to spur you into action is there?

here's a thought

Two days before Christmas my gal asked me to take her to Westfield. She'd done her research on the internet and wanted to buy me and her Dadda a Christmas present. Money in her pink purse, tucked inside her gold, sequinned clutch, we went shopping.

For her Dadda she went to KikkiK "He's always very busy and his desk at work's a mess, so I want to buy him a desk organiser". One very smart organiser/day planner later, with a matching pen, we toddled off. Outside Laura Ashley I was told to wait, while my gal walked inside. I sneaked a peek and saw her standing at the counter, chatting to the saleswoman and my heart just swelled. So grown-up. On Christmas morning I opened up a really pretty Laura Ashley calendar from my gorgeous child.

The thought she'd put into those gifts was just gorgeous at her age. She knows that I live by my calendar, love a pretty one, and adore Laura Ashley. Bless her socks.

We left her behind at her grandparents when we came home last night. She's determined to wring out every moment that she can spend with her English cousins and Uncle and Aunt who are staying there at the moment. I miss my gal, but am so pleased that she's following her heart.

guess what I got???

This year my husband totally took me by surprised and gifted me with this glorious creature here. I KNOW!!!

I've wanted one for ages, having spent years mixing with my retro hand mixer {you know, handle on top, hold and then turn handle on sides to get mixers to turn - vintage, but damned hard work!}. I'm so in love with it, I keep stroking at it and gazing adoringly at it on my bench. I'm going to set it to work on my daughter's birthday whipping up 12 egg whites for an Angel Food Cake.

Christmas was a blur of laughter. We had a fabulous Christmas Eve, all the girl cousins went to bed in the one room at 10.30 - and then my gal woke at 3.30am and came in with a "I think Santa's been, the carrots on the step have been eaten." 4am. "Santa's been! I'm pretty sure I got a DSi because the wrapping was a little bit ripped and I think I saw DSi on the box."4.30am. "I think I got a DSi case too. There's a package there that's the same size as a case, I hope it's a pink one."5am. "There are two DSi games there too I think. I hope one's Cooking Mama". Of course all this whispering was accompanied by a mother pleading "Get back to bed, go to sleep, wake me after 6am" through very, very gritted teeth. Response? "I can't, I'm too excited".

So at 6am we all traipsed downstairs and watched some very excited girls find their stockings {one of whom wasn't quite as surprised as the others by what was in the Santa sack...}. It was absolute bliss to share the day with the english cousins, and our new four-week-old great nephew {yep, great nephew - husband became an uncle at 6 and his niece now has a baby!}.

I was thoroughly spoiled. Books: Paris by Shannan Bennett {hooray for husbands who read your blog}, Mastering the art of French Cookery {ditto} and Donna Hay's Seasons {beautiful book}. I also was spoiled with a series of French Lessons at Alliance Francaise starting in Feb - so damned excited.

After years of frugal Christmases {including the one 12 years ago when we got each other not one thing - just a mortgage!} this one was pretty big. I am grateful for every single gift, but I'm more grateful for the fact that I'm blessed to have married into a rather lovely family. I adore my mother- and father-in-law, their children and their children. What more can you ask for?

Okay, c'mon, spill. How was your Christmas?

have yourself...

A merry little Christmas to each and every one of you. I adore every visit, hug myself silly at each comment and so enjoy visiting your blogs.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that Christmas brings you everything you've ever dreamed of.

Have a fabulous festive season! If you're feeling all nostalgic and traditional {as I am} go here and check out Bing and Bowie doing Little Drummer Boy. Man, you can find ANYTHING on youtube! I've been regaling myself with Billy Squires "Christmas is the time to say I Love You" and getting all teary with nostalige.

Enjoy all my gorgeous ones xxx

one more sleep...

Ready? Excited? I'm excited, and almost ready. I decided to do a dash to Coles last night at 9.30. It normally closes at 10pm, but I was pretty sure it'd be open till at least midnight.

I was wrong.

So digging in my bag for my list I prepared to run through and shop in 30 minutes.

I'd left my note at home.

Frantically recalling my list of essentials, and ingredients for the two items I'm cooking for supper with the family I got through and was at the checkout at 9.55pm.

Phew.

I got home, unpacked, and, yep, I'd forgotten something.

See, I've decided to make chicken christmas crackers - chicken mince, lemon zest, shallots, tarragon, garlic and prosciutto wrapped in filo pastry with the ends twisted to look like christmas crackers. Cute non?

So, out of all those ingredients there are two key essentials: chicken mince and filo.

I forgot the filo.

So I'm sending husband off to Coles at lunchtime when he finishes work. He's probably safer to park here and walk the 1km to the supermarket...

Hope you all have a rather fabulous Christmas. If you're not quite in the Christmas spirit yet - allow this to imbue you with festive fabulousness. I'm dying to hear about what Santa brought you.

See you again on Boxing Day. xxxxx

what a tease...

Well, I just watched the trailer for Sex and the City 2 and while the trailer for the first one gave far too much away, this one? Not so much. Check it out here. The frocks look fab, and the gals look gorgeous. Hell yeah, I'll be there - cosmopolitan in hand, Manolos on feet...

take two

Because it's Christmas I'm giving you the gift of TWO shoes of the week. So generous. The multi-coloured pretties are Louboutin's while the more traditional scarlet numbers are Oscar de la Renta. If visions of cocktail parties are swimming in your head this festive season can you imagine a more delightful way to encase your feet?

I'm pretty sure I've planned my Christmas wardrobe: Christmas Eve I'm going for a dove grey, hot pink and black frock - with my hot pink wedges I bought in Paris {you know, just so you can casually throw into conversation, "Oh these, I picked them up in Paris..."}. Christmas Day I'm tossing up between a black frock with white polka dots - or my electric blue frock - both with scarlet heels and lips.

Two more sleeps...

freedom of choice

I remember one of the pieces of advice that stuck in my head while raising a toddler was "Choose your battles". Rather than thinking everything was uber-important, realise what really matters and make sure you fight hard for that.

If your child wants to go to the shops dressed in mis-matched shirt and skirt, with fairywings and gumboots - does it matter - or is it dead-cute?

I've decided to apply this advice to getting through Christmas relatively unscathed. Today I went to David Jones with my fluffy hair pulled back into a scruffy ponytail because I really should have washed it yesterday. Luckily a set of beads, lashings of mascara and some pretty lipstick made up for my crowning glory's sins.

After the photos two sister-in-law, one brother-in-law, one mother-in-law and four nieces came back for afternoon tea. Rather than knocking myself out baking I called in at a patisserie, bought gingerbread stars, christmas rocky road and a pack of choc and pecan chip biscuits {oooh, and I found confit duck in their fridge - score!}. Combined with chocolate baby biscuits from the pantry, chips and some leftover blue drink from Saturday everyone was adequately fed and watered and happy. We enjoyed the company and that's the main thing.

So now, before I do anything I'm going to ask myself, "Will anyone die or cry if I don't do this?" If the answer's no I'm going for the easy option - or I'll opt out all-together. This'll leave me free to focus on what really matters - giggling with family and friends - my favourite activity!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

We went in to visit Santa at David Jones again this morning so all the girl cousins could have their photo taken together. All five gals lined up and now we've got a gorgeous reminder of our first Christmas with the English side of the family. Cute!

Afterwards everyone came back here for morning tea in the pavilion while the girls swam - hence my late posting. Nothing's better than hearing their giggles as they swim. The girls are all getting along so beautifully together that it just reminds me what this season is about.

My gal's gone off to spend the afternoon with the other gals while I'm working away. I'm more than halfway through my deadlines now - three quarters perhaps... I've just sent off another story, and have five more to send off by the end of the year. Whew, will I enjoy those festive champagne bubbles!

comment crisis?

Hey, is anyone else having trouble commenting on blogs today - or is it just me?

Well, obviously if it's you I'll know by your silence {you know, because you won't be able to comment and all...}

Sheesh.