what's cooking wednesday

Sorry for my tardiness - I seemed to have some 24 hour virus thing that was thankfully resolved with a nap until lunchtime {I swear my body puts these things on just to force me to sleep...}

Anyway, here's what's on the menu this week.

Tonight: Dad and step-mother are visiting - so salmon on the bbq with some salads. Yum.

Thursday: hubby and I are off to see Sarah Blasko performing at the beautiful Civic Theatre. Le sigh. Sister-in-law and her two gals are babysitting. I think mini hamburgers made with chicken mince burgers {s.i.l. doesn't eat red meat} will go down a treat.

Friday: Out to dinner with friends. Hurrah. We're checking out the East End Enoteca - a place I've heard quite the buzz about on Twitter. It's an Italian-inspired place with a Family Table policy - small meals shared around groups. With options such as peppered venison and scampi and yabbies those plates won't want to be placed in front of me as I'll be ever-so-inclined to be greedy!

Saturday: Nothing planned. Hurrah. I think we'll have a salad with poached chicken breasts, crunchy prosciutto, poached eggs and cos lettuce {yep, does sound like a caeser salad doesn't it?}

Sunday: Roast night. Standing rib roast of beef appeals.

Monday: Twilight Netball Night: San choy bow with turkey mince perhaps {I'm woefully remiss when it comes to cooking with turkey - but thanks to Frilly Hills Liss I think I'll give it a shot.}

Tuesday: Pork cutlets will go down a treat after ballet don't you think? With an apple 'coleslaw' perhaps.

What are you nibbling on this week?

road trip

Big drive to the big smoke for a meeting today. Regular blogging shall resume on my return!

look at me, look at me...

I'm featured over at BellaMumma today spilling a few of my beauty tips. Go over and say hi. {PS: This photo - not me...}

presenting...

A cold, rainy, blustery monday deserves a pretty pair of shoes. So here I present to you these Giuseppe Zannoti numbers - all tied up with a big bow. I can't imagine a prettier pair of party shoes - can you?

waiting for the rainbow

Typical. We have the English nieces over today and it's bucketing down. My plans of plenty of swimming, followed by fish and chips at the beach, followed by swimming have been washed out. Eep! What to do? Perhaps a bit of play, a little crafty stuff then we'll close the blinds, rent a DVD, pop some corn and have a movie experience at home. I'll also let them stay in their jammies all day - that's always fun!

oh what a night...

As you can probably guess by my late posting, the mother's night went well. Really well. The change of venue went down a treat, there was plenty of yummy food circulating, the people who spoke were really well received, and everyone frocked up and looked fabulous. There was even dancing thanks to my iPhone {seriously, anything those things can't do? I made up a party list of songs on its iPod and we had music through the night}.

And yes, before you ask, some people with a bung knee may have worn heels {teeny little mary janes - teeny}. And yes, some people with a bung knee may have danced {but you know, dancing these days is all about the arms - not the feet!}. And yes, said people may be needing to ice said knee - but gee, some things are worth it.

My fabulous friends made this all worthwhile. From C who found the venue, to J who sorted the speakers and introduced them all, to G and K who were the door beyatches from heaven to N who helped kick off the dancing - oh, it was a night alright.

Now, best get myself ready to do it all over again - at least I'm not organising tonight's function - I merely have to turn up and have fun!

GLEE - "Time Warp" Full Performance from 10/26!

new love

Apple know their stuff. They know how to make covetable items for suckers like me. You know how just this past weekend I'd decided that I was gonna get me an iPad? Well, check out the new MacBook Air. Teensy, lightweight, gorgeous, multi-functioned and cheap{ish}. Just over $1100 will buy me one of these pretties.

Come to mama...

hear me roar

As a Leo, astrologers often suggest that I'll feel my most glamorous in animal prints but I've never been a lass to douse myself in leopard. However, when I saw this outfit on the lovely Livia I changed my mind. I could do this - particularly the accessories {and yes, I am talking about the lovely Mr Firth...}.

Love everything about this look - the shoes, the top, the hair, the lippy - the length and fullness of the skirt. Oh, and Colin Firth... {le sigh}

friday flowers

I was checking out my garden yesterday and noticed new shoots covering the hydrangea we planted last year. Woo hoo. Now I'll just need to find some bluing solution to ensure I get blue mop-topped fleurs rather than the pink they're struggling to be in my soil!

i'm gonna put on, my boogie shoes...

Well, at least a low-ish pair of heels... Yep, tonight's the night of our school mother's night that we've been organising and it looks like everything's fallen into place. We've got bigger numbers than they've seen in years, we've bought lovely french sparkling wine as a farewell gift for the mums who are leaving {rather than paint-stripper nasty stuff} and I do believe I even have a frock or two in mind.

Because we changed both the venue and the format for the evening {from a two course sit-down dinner at the local pub to finger food and champagne at a gorgeous new bar in town} I was worried we'd have a backlash from those expecting 'tradition'. However, as I said to a friend yesterday, traditions should really only be celebrated if they're successful and fun. While the other years have been fine, the venue couldn't offer us Friday nights - only midweek - and who wants to go out midweek and then have to get up for the school lunches the next day? Not this little black duck. Also, the sit-down format meant that there little opportunity for mingling and chatting - the real point of the evening.

So tonight there will be mingling and chatting. There'll also be a bar that's filled with cocktails and a really good variety of wines and spirits. There will also be plenty of food circulating - and some traditions will still stand {speeches from a few mums who're leaving, presentation of gifts to the mums and even coffee and tea available for the non-drinkers}

Off to paint my nails now {and my gal's who's on a pupil-free day today}. Wish me luck x

gucci coochie coo

Excuse me - J-Lo and her twins - cuteness incorporated! New Gucci campaign via Grazia.

oh yeah!

The ever-so-lovely Belinda from cupcakes frocks and pink saw this and thought of me {bless!}. So I thought I'd best share it with you - as I know there are quite a few of you who'd agree...

and repeat...

There are many things about this week I'm not liking - the world's most horrid and annoying job not working out like it should {instead, unsurprisingly, it worked out horrid and annoying to the end} and so many other niggly bits and pieces. I'm going to learn from them and then put them behind me - before moving forward.

I'll be needing some words to help propel me - and I think I quite like these. What's done is done, spending time fretting over it won't change it. Accepting it, learning from it and moving on is the best way to live a well-lived life.

two weeks in provence

Here's a sneaky peak at the farmhouse we've rented for our second week in Provence. It's really close to Isle sur la Sorgue, the most gorgeous village - and, as you can see, has a pool and a lovely shaded terrace to sit on and sip rosé.

Yes, it has vines, yes it's stone, and yes it has shutters! The french doors are also some kind of amazing copper or other metal - they look beautiful. And let's not go into the beams inside... Yep, it's 70 kinds of bliss. Hurrah for the internet for helping us find this beauty.

Best do some work to pay for it now...

bigger isn't always better

I think it's easy to put off doing a kind deed because you want to make it special. A friend's sick and you think to yourself, 'Oh, I'll have to take them around a meal' and then you spend so long worrying about what to cook, whether they'll like it, whether it's special enough that before you know it she's well again.

That's where I think the small gestures come in handy.

I was chatting to my mother-in-law the other day and I mentioned how I like to try to live by the maxim "The smallest gesture is better than the grandest intention" - and it's true. So often we'll think about all the things we 'should' do that'll make a difference, but because we're so busy and life gets in the way we just don't get around to it. Then we feel guilty and often the friend we hoped to make feel better just feels neglected.

Instead of coming up with a beautifully made card to send to someone - it's best to send off a quick email or text to say, "Hi, thanks!" or "Thinking of you x". Obviously a phone call's better - but a fill in text can be like a smile, just to let them know they're in your mind.

What small gesture can you make today?

what's cooking this week?

This week = busy. Therefore here's a meal plan to suit:

Tonight: Ballet and it's a wee bit on the frosty side. I'm thinking pork cutlets, mashed pumpkin, green beans with almonds and some sweet potato chips for my pumpkin-loathing lass.

Wednesday: Steak and salad

Thursday: French lessons, so I'll whip up a Provencal chicken, rice and salad.

Friday: I'm at my mum's night out {squeee!}, gal's at her nana's having a sleepover with her cousins so it's just my hubby home-alone. He'll enjoy a t-bone steak and steamed vegies.

Saturday: English cousins having a sleepover at our house so their mum can enjoy time with her mum. We should make home-made pizza - complete with home-made dough. Either that or I'm thinking those honey soy chicken wings and noodle salad from Jr MasterChef last night - yum!

Sunday: Leg of lamb and roasted vegies all in the slow-cooker.

Monday: Twilight netball night, therefore a chicken curry that I've prepared earlier for the slowcooker will go down a treat. All I'll have to do is cook some rice and wilt some greens and serve.

penny pinching for paris {and provence}

My saving needs to spill over in Christmas pressie buying this year. Luckily we do a Secret Santa with all the adults in from my husband's side of the family and we don't exchange gifts with my mum and step-dad. I want to save, but also support small businesses so I'll be shopping on etsy, rudy and the dodo {cute little aussie company www.rudyandthedodo.com.au} and I might even be inspired to make the odd pressie. I do love these pretty teacup candles featured on Martha - how adorable are they!

Thoughtful, thrifty shopping means getting in early and checking out what's on offer - so I'm determined to spend a little time each week checking out what's available. Normally I just do the last minute rush - but not this year. Nope, organisation's going to be my middle name!

oooh, what a manic monday

This morning started off manic {rush to buy milk for breakfast, dash over to the next suburb so hubby can pick up the car we left at our friends' on Saturday night, race to canteen to report for duty} and now I'm looking at a list around a kilometre-long and trying to breathe...

I'll start with the essentials {such as finding these fabbo D&G heels on Zappos.com}, move on to paying the deposit for the farmhouse we're renting in Provence {yep, our second place is booked - will post pics soon! Squeee!}. It's all do-able - if I can keep my cool.

How's your week looking?

all fired up

We went to friends' house for dinner last night {an absolutely delicious Jamie Oliver-inspired meal of roasted chicken, vegies and white beans - I must have the recipe - it was divine!}. Along with all the chatting, eating and {ahem} drinking, I also found the time to fall in love. See, our friends are also Mac-fiends, and their love runs even deeper and truer than mine. They have iPhones, iMacs {including the adorably retro coloured-belly mac!} and, le sigh, an iPad.

Now remember how I said I'd be sensible and look into buying a laptop to take with me OS? Changed my mind. I need an iPad. I tested out the screen-accessed keypad and was easily able to type a few sentences, even after a fair bit of champagne and with fingernails too long to type properly {I miss netball because I always trimmed my nails weekly to play - now I tend to forget...}

Apparently you can buy a dock that contains a keyboard - sold!

Oh, iPad, you must be mine...