an ode to masterchef

As you probably know, I adore cooking shows. Coming late to the meat-cooking game, after years as a vegetarian, I'm constantly picking up new ideas. Now, one of my favourite shows is a British one {surprise} Masterchef. I la la love that show. When I heard they were making an Australian version I worried - would it be a cringe-inducing version like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy or Top Gear - or would it succeed, like Biggest Loser? Well, I reckon we have a winner.

It may have only started on Monday night but I'm already in love with the three judges - and the host? Don't get me started on her. When I heard a former magazine editor was to host I quickly put on my judgement pants - I know her as former Cosmo-editor, not a foodie journo - but within moments I was charmed. Sarah Wilson is a total delight and totally makes the transformation to telly. She's utterly scrumptious to look at, seems to have a real empathy with the contestants - and manages to read her lines eloquently {I shouldn't have to comment on that - but man, so few people can work their way around a script these days!}

The traditional format's changed to reflect a more dynamic program and I can't wait to see what the contestants come up with. So far I've yet to see a great deal of genius - in the most recent UK Masterchef I was able to pick the final three in their first round. 

Of course I'm kicking myself for not following my friend Victoria's suggestion to enter, but I still don't think I'm there. I'm a slow-cooking, long-marinating gal and have yet to devise myself a menu I could manage to complete in 30 to 90 minutes... but maybe next year...

a few of my favourite things

A swoon-worthy pantry idea if ever I've seen one - candy striped tins perfect for filling with sweet somethings...

Oh my.

perfection in pink

I needed cheering up {really bad sinus is blocking my ears making me deaf and cranky} so Mr McQueen was happy to come to the party. With such a purdy pair of electric pink pumps to carry you around, every step would have to be bliss. I hope these bring a little bit of sparkle to your day too!

They've inspired me to slick my lips with an electric shade of pink for my luncheon. I might be dressed all in black - but my lips will scream siren.

home work

Working from home it's easy to be distracted, so I'm aiming to set up my perfect home/work life. One of the things I realised that I really, really miss is regular contact with others. Just sharing a morning coffee or lunch and chatting with a friend really makes the day complete. While I get the usual "hi" and "bye" when I drop off and pick up my daughter on the school run, I miss the one-on-one time, so now I'm scheduling a regular Ladies Who Lunch catch-up with a friend. Today's our first date, so I'm hunting down a suitable café {preferably not the same one where our husbands are having their regular boy-zone!}

I'm also trying to catch up, once a week, with lovely friends for a coffee. Inviting them here, firing up the espresso machine and sitting in the autumnal sun in the pavillion is the ideal way to start off a working day. This catch-up serves two purposes: I get to stave off loneliness and feed my friendships, and I make sure the house is relatively tidy the night before so that housework doesn't distract me from paid work. Good huh!

Now, onto today's bargains... I just dropped off my gal's pile of games and puzzles at the salvos and bought myself two great working from home tops - one a pretty cream marle {does that exist? It's kinda like grey marle pattern-wise, but in cream} and the other a gorgeous rich blue. Then I saw the perfect winter working dress. Long, black, cotton/jersey. Ideal with a pair of tights and a cardi - and if I sling on some beads and slick on some lipstick I'll look tres professional. But, bargain of all bargains was a silver cocktail shaker for $3. Hello Margaritaville...

sweet dreams

How gorgeous is this bedroom? Sweet dreams must be created in such stunning surrounds. The nights have developed a chill these past few weeks, and it's almost time to bring out the cozy flannelette sheets. Mmmmmm. Is there any more joyous moment than when you first snuggle into your bed? I think not!

this

Hey, you know how earlier today I said I wanted to make a slipcover for my ugh-ly black office chair? Well I reckon this kind of thing would be perfect - except in a floral, or toille. Taking it down almost to the ground, with a bit of lace could almost make it appear as though it has these nice claw and ball feet, rather than casters... Happy!

a room of one's own

Oh my + sigh...

clutter busted

Home from her first day at school, after completing her week's worth of homework and eating a gazillion snacks, my daughter was 'bored'. So I told her to clean out her toy room - and oh boy - did she. We now have two teetering piles of games and puzzles, plus a big bag of toys, to give to the salvos. Along with bucketloads of rubbish to go in the bin and recycling. 

The toy room {effectively just a closet off the living room - not as grand as it sounds...} is now organised, clean and looks damned tidy. And hopefully, because Miss A did it herself, it'll stay that way.

My hubby's also gone through all our mags and I have a stack the height of a small child to take to the salvos as well. Any decorators in the Newcastle area should head to the Salvos in the next few days as there will be plenty of recent pickings on offer. 

I'm longing for a bit of minimalist bliss {in my more maximalist manner}. I've also decided to put redecorating the study firmly on the agenda. I want to rip up the carpets and paint the floor boards white, look into a cheap, vintage desk that I can paint white, and, eventually, have floor to ceiling bookshelves covering the walls. Now I work from home full-time I need a lovely space to create.

what a crock

Very disappointed! As I was checking on dinner's progress at lunch I discovered my bowl for the slow-cooker has developed two cracks on the outside edges - not happy Jan! When I called customer service to ask after the cost of a replacement I was informed that it would cost $49.83 for a new bowl. Considering that the whole slow cooker cost $55 on sale less than two years ago I think NOT! 

I've been careful with it, mind. It's not that cracks have developed due to my lackadaisical level of care. This is planned obsolescence of the highest order. 

So I've got my fingers crossed that the cracks don't lengthen into the bowl in this cooking - and then I'm going to think about how I can patch it until I buy a new slow-cooker - a different brand with a better bowl!

frugal foodie

My menu plan's still going along swimmingly - yay. Today, after running alongside my daughter who rode to school, I came home and chopped up food for the slow-cooker. On the menu tonight is veal ragu {because veal steaks were super-reduced - cheaper than chuck steak!}. This recipe is based on a wild boar ragu Jamie Oliver cooked on his Italian Adventure. Using white wine gives it a milder flavour than the traditional red wine - I reckon that veal and white wine are perfectly married {I used chardonnay because there was a bottle in the fridge with a glass left in it. Yeah, I don't know how that happened either...}

Veal Ragu in the slow cooker:

600 grams of veal steak, diced

2 sticks celery, diced

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

3 bay leaves

4 slices of bacon or pancetta, diced or cubed

700g passata

1 cup white wine

Throw all the meat and veg into your slow cooker and then brown bacon in a pan. Throw bacon on top of meat and veg, and deglaze the pan with the wine. Pour in passata and then wine over the top and give it a stir. Cover tightly with a sheet of baking paper, pop on the lid and cook on low for around 6 - 8 hours. Feel like the best cook ever.

Serve over strips of pasta topped with parmesan shavings. 

eye of the beholder

I've finally got to acknowledge that I'm a bit of a princess {surprise!}. I now totally put my hand up to the fact that I need to be surrounded by pretty things - if not, I become despondent. I don't care if it's useful, or practical - I need it to look good at the same time. I went to a tupperware party recently and while I know that the products are fabulous, I couldn't buy anything because the retro-themed colours {avocado green, dark brown, mustard yellow} don't float my boat. It's why I work on a pretty iMac rather than a staid PC. I'm a pretty-ist - I might as well admit it.

However, with people, oh, with people I accept the quirks and differences {but not ugly fashion - I won't go there}. I can't abide sameness or anything bland. To me, beauty that stands out offers up a difference. Look at the editor of French Vogue - she's stunning and yet in no way a typical, pretty woman. 

On our weekend talk turned to plastic surgery. One of the women is ready for her breast reduction - which I totally understand. She's not trying to conform to a norm, just wants a life free from back and shoulder pain. However, when people start wanting to shave a little off their nose, or liposuction their thighs... that's where I have my issues. I used to loathe the bump on my nose, for years I despised it. But now, I reckon it gives me character, and balances out my features. It's my nose. I'm always sad when I see gorgeous roman noses given the ski-jump treatment - people's faces never look the same when parts of their septum are shaved away. It's the same with thighs - some of us have thin thighs, others are more generously proportioned - vive la difference...

So here's to beauty, in all its guises.

life is sweet

You know what? Life's better as an optimist. I'm not unrealistic, I'd just prefer to look on the sweeter side of life. A glass half-full is much more appealing than one that's half-empty. So even though today's monday, possibly my least favourite day of the week, I'm going to think happy thoughts {such as these pretty cupcakes - how spesh!}, get on with the unpacking from our camping, muddle through the tidying and prepare myself for my daughter's return to school tomorrow!

My hubby's taken the day off work to spend with our gal today, so I can get some work done. They're just about to start giving their bikes a wash before going for a ride. I'm loving how our camping holiday has given our daughter the riding bug.

back on track

Whew, we're back from what may quite possibly be the best family holiday. While we may have totally mis-read the accommodation information and actually requested the cabin that we'd said "Who'd stay in that?" {um, der-brains like us apparently} we still had a fabuloso time. Staying with four other fab families, we parents spent the day idling away, reading mags and books, wandering the grounds, lolling on couches... while our children spent the daylight hours either racing around on their push bikes, swimming {oh, yes, sometimes we lolled on sun lounges by the pool - supervising} or taking part in kids' club activities. We only saw our daughter a few times as various children {there were 12 children amongst us} called in for water, food or sunscreen. It was fabulous to see the kids just running free, doing the kind of random activities that we'd been able to do in our neighbourhood when we were young. Our lass is now keen to ride her bike to school, so on Tuesday we'll strap on the helmet and I'll run alongside her on the trip - benefits for two!

I'm just back from shopping after vowing to get back into the menu planning and once-per-week grocery shop. We're having roast pork {with extra crackling} and veg for dinner tonight, grilled t-bone steaks {on special} with veg and salad tomorrow night, veal ragu in the slow-cooker on tuesday {veal steaks on special}, coq-au-vin in the slow cooker wednesday, meatloaf and veg thursday and caramel chicken with rice and steamed greens on friday. I feel organised just thinking about it!

Having all my meals planned and organised also means I'll get back into my regular, daily walk - I'm thinking about just tacking it on to the end of the school run {if I'm not too exhausted keeping pace with the cycling gal}. After a weekend spent drinking, nibbling and lolling, I am keen to get a move on!

 

anzac day

It's Anzac Day tomorrow, so I'll be nibbling a biscuit or two in honour of the diggers. Last Anzac Day I had to work {newspapers only recognise Christmas Day and Easter!} and as I was walking from Central Station to my office, I saw a very old digger being wheeled down the road by his family. Bless. Next thing, I saw this utterly gorgeous bloke come running down the road and for a second, was a bit concerned that he was going to be an anti-war protester {which is admirable} and say something mean to the digger {not admirable at all}. So I hovered, just in case. 

As gorgeous young bloke came up beside digger, he bent down and said "I just wanted to say thanks Mate, thanks for all you've done." Double bless. I got very teary, and still well up thinking about it.

Now, I'm very anti-violence, and you can't get much more violent than war, but I think we need to show our elders respect - and to respect their opinions. So happy Anzac Day to all the diggers. Bless your little socks.

the great escape

See this? This is the expression of unmitigated joy and glee on my cat's face when he escaped down the side of the house today {can we pretend that the verdant weed situation is some kind of freestyle native garden?}

Mulberry is meant to be an indoor cat, but lately he's been apoplectic about that title and would prefer to be known as The Happy Wanderer. Now, if British Shorthairs weren't such good hunters I'd probably be okay with that, but the lizard population in my garden would beg to differ. After pouncing on them for about an hour, my husband came home and coaxed this recalcitrant kitty into his arms. Maybe I need to create a little kitty run for him in the courtyard - or pop him on a leash...

define camping

My husband objects to my using the word "camping" in relation to this weekend's visit to an eco-resort. I still stand by my theory that it's not in a house - but a cabin, there's a bunch of similar accommodations - with communal swimming pools etc - ergo: camping.

halston, we have no problems

Ooooh, me likey. I'm having a bit of a Halston moment - at the moment. After watching Gok's Fashion Fix, and seeing a few deeevine Halston frocks I'm harkening back to the Studio 54 era. Now, while I'm not a boot gal {I have calves and calves + boots = no} my heart stopped upon spying these. I adore the heel height, the buckles, the cutouts, the suede, the colour - delicious. I think my divine friend Ms M would look perfecto in these - particularly with her grey tulle skirt...

two much?

The whole size-ism debate has reared its lollypop head again in the US. Last year I was at first thrilled when I read Jennifer Love Hewitt's impassioned plea against size-ism, appreciating women for their variety, loving curves, or straight lines... until she said "A size two is not fat" and I did the classic quadruple take {you know, like a double take, to the max}. While some aspects of society may worship at the altar of size zero* of course they're not saying size two is huge - that's crazy! And then of course came all the calls that if JLH is a size two then her stylist has been seriously cutting out labels and replacing them with those of a size two.

Now, of course, Kim Kardassian, in what is for once, not just a bid for relevancy, has chimed in. After being featured in a mag with a caption stating she was a Forever 21 fan {a company who've now released plus sizes} she took to her blog, singing the praises of plus sizes, curvy girls... before stating that she's a size 2 - um, maybe one of her arms is... Honestly, why chime in with something like that? Why not just leave it with the praise? Why state that you're a specific size, when, really, those breasts and butt cheeks would suffocate in a size two. I have no idea what size she really is, maybe a six {I'm thinking Australian size 10 - 12} nor did I care. Once again the point becomes obfuscated by vanity.

I can't imagine a time when we'll just appreciate the wide variety of body shapes. Whether you're thin, curvy, pear-shaped, muscular, voluptuous... if you're healthy and happy shouldn't that be the ultimate, not the number on a label?

* Okay, this whole size zero thing is repellent, and I'm so glad that our sizings in Australia preclude it. What does it mean? You're so teeny that there's nothing of you! Even naturally skinny gals would be pressed to fit into a zero - instead you have the increasingly scarily thin Lindsay Lohan embodying {sic} the size zero - and with it the whole 3 Cs of the celeb diet world {caffeine, cigs, crack...} Soapbox removed.

ode to a nana nap

Oh, I do so adore an afternoon nap. I have them very rarely, say every month or two, but when I do, oh bliss. Today I finally dropped my daughter at her cousins' house for a sleepover, came back home to do some work and realised that my time would be much better spent napping - and so to bed. I slept for a little over 90 minutes and feel ever-so-refreshed.

We're off to dinner tonight, and have decided to walk down to a local favourite - Lime, a great restaurant at The Junction. I'm hoping that there's pork belly on the menu as the last few days have helped satiate my duck cravings {or at least stifle them for a week or two}. Tomorrow I'm going to sit down and work like crazy so we can head off camping on Friday morning with a clear conscience. 

I think I've also decided to re-decorate my home office. I'd love a girly, ornate white desk, to rip up the carpet and paint the floorboards white, to make a floral slip-cover to hide my ugly black office chair and to finally install a wall of white bookshelves. I think it'd make me work better - don't you?

weather tis nobler

We've had the wildest few days of weather here later. Torrential downpours that had far too many of us thinking back to the floods just a few years back. Then, when it wasn't bucketing, we had wild winds which sent our already crazy kitty into a frenzy of naughtiness. Today, however, the sky is blue and I was able to wash the most enormous amount of dark clothes - five day's worth. They're all blowing in the wind and drying nicely. Just like you can only appreciate happiness if you've experienced sadness, I believe that crazy, awful weather really helps you welcome back the good. 

Hopefully the weather will hold as we're off camping on the weekend with a few other families. Oh, and by camping I mean staying at an eco resort in cabins - I'm so not a tent gal. Actually, I'm not a shower block or long-drop toilet girl to be really specific. However, we will gather around some sort of communal camp-fire at night {even if it's only a bbq} and it's on lots of land for the kids to ride their bikes around - so really, that's camping. It's all in the definition: am I staying off-site, in a wooded area, in relatively primitive lodgings? Yes? Then it's camping.

Tonight our daughter's off to her cousin's for a sleepover, so hubby and I shall frock up {well, I'll frock up, he'll just put on a nice shirt and stuff} and hit one of Newcastle's restaurants. I'm tossing up between Bacchus and Silo, both perfect - and, excitingly, Manolo-worthy. Yes, if the weather holds my black satin Manolos will be removed from their box - not just to be gazed at adoringly, but to be worn, what all Manolos ache to do.