Autumn is definately here

It's been raining all day and the temperature has dropped by about 5 degrees celcius in the last few days,and i've had to wear some woolly socks to bed.

Friday Fondue Fun

Fondue mess

Lisa was happy to break her detox so we could attend Haighs Special Chocolate month at the Grace Hotel and we chose the fondue to share.We had heard that the service was slow and we had to be out in an hour so we told them when ordering and had no problems.Our fondue arrived with a plate of rock melon,strawberry,marshmallows and chunks of banana bread.We made a mess as we dipped in out forks,i lost my food a couple of times and had to stab around the fondue trying to find it.We got a little desperate at the end and with the drinking straws from our glasses of water we went in and sucked up the remaining chocolate,feeling very embarassed and desperate,especially when we saw a tourist bus outside drive off and knew we'd been busted.
Later we went to Govinda's in Darlinghurst and met up with Greg and his new girlfriend Michelle for dinner,we hadn't finished eating when the movie was about to start so we decided to give it a miss and go out for a drink instead.We had to walk aboit to find a bar that wasn't too loud and the only place around was The Victoria Room,we were dressed a little too casually for the venue but so were many others.We thought Greg was snobbing us off when he suddenly asn't feeling well and just went back to reading the drinks menu but were feeling very slack later that night when we heard he had been rushed to hospital with a reaction to capsicum in the food that he's allergic to.

Archibald Prize

Paid a visit to the Art gallery of NSW today to view The Archibald portrait exhibition and was surprised by my favourite,it's of actress Toni Collette,it's so different to the others and i liked the fact that i didn't know who it was until i read the poster and once you read who it is it's so clear that it's her.Took some photos inside an out of the gallery,was a little difficult but managed to get some ok shots taking them with one hand while i held my umbrella in the other.Made a quick trip to Woollahra to browse Orson and Blake they always have the most beautiful items i covet and they also now have Jonathon Adler ceramics,must be new to Australia and some beautiful delicate ceramics that reminded me of these.I may have to go back and buy some next time.I didn't end up getting any wedding gifts as it's hard buying someone a certain style you're unsure they'll like.I think i know what i'll get them though.Discovered a new favourite store
The Bay Tree.A very tiny store that's always featured in magazines with so many great brands like Thomas of Germany,Marimekko,Limoges,William Yeoward and so much more.

Corners of My Home

The flowers are not a regular thing.

A very long weekend

I'm having 5 days off in a row,taking Monday and Tuesday off and Wednesday is Anzac Day.Yesterday made the trek out to Rosebery to the Signature Prints warehouse sale.I thought i'd get lost on the bus but managed to find it.Bought 2 large pieces of wallpaper,I'm hoping to frame one to put above my bed.On the way back paid a visit to Kinokuniya in the city,they didn't have the modern furniture book i saw last time so just browsed some more and sat down for some panini and coffee.Last night stayed in and watched The Devil Wears Prada on dvd,today i have a lot of cleaning to do,my washing and i've chosen the wrong day as it will probably rain,will keep in slow and simple today,read the papers,and probably cook something since i can never be bothered during the week.
Over the next few days I'm hoping to visit the Art Gallery of NSW for the Archibald Prize,over to the Powerhouse Museum for the Design and Craft exhibition,watch Paris Je T' aime,maybe a little shopping for a wedding gift,go exploring and take some more photos and might start on some craft.

A little online shopping with breakfast

This winter i'm going to change my bed cover and pillows to blue and green and this morning i found these beautiful blue mosaic pillows from a website www.comeinside.com.au.I love a little online shopping while still in my pyjamas.

Pea,Feta and Mint Salad

My mother used to make very bland all green salads but this has to be one of the best all green(except for the onion and feta) salads I've tried.
Again from Bill Granger's latest cookbook,Every Day.

Serves 4

200g peas
3T olive oil
1 onion finely diced
2 t Dijon mustard
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T honey
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
35g pistachio nuts,roughly chopped
large handful fresh mint leaves
50g snow pea leaves or baby english spinach
75g feta cheese,crumbled

Blanch the peas in boiling water for 2 minutes,or until they are just tender and bright green.Refresh immediately under cold water.Heat a small pan over medium heat.Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and cook the onion,stirring for 5 minutes or until soft.
Whisk together the mustard,remaining olive oil,vinegar and honey and season with salt and pepper.
Mix the onion,peas and pistachios in a salad bowl and pour the dressing over the top.Add the mint and snow pea leaves and gently toss through the salad.Sprinkle with feta to serve.

Apple,cherry and almond loaf

My friend and I have made a habit of meeting in the park for lunch so we decided to meet up for breakfast early one morning while the weather's still warm.I start work pretty late so it felt odd being up so early but it obviously wasn't odd for the many people out so early on their way to work.
I made this loaf the night before,we then grabbed a coffee and found a comfortable little spot and enjoyed this healthy start to the day.
Recipe from Bill Granger's new cookbook,Every Day.

50g rolled oats
300ml milk
240g (2cups) self raising flour(you can use wholemeal)
1 t baking powder
125g dried cherries(i used pitted cherries from a can)
50g dried apple,diced
75g (1/3 cup) soft brown sugar
1t cinnamon

3T honey
1 egg,lightly beaten
3 T roughly chopped almonds,plus 2 T extra

Put the oats in a bowl,pour the milk over them and leave to soak for 30 minutes.Preheat the oven to 180 deg Celsius /350 deg Fahrenheit.Lightly grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir in the rolled oats,dried fruit,sugar,cinnamon,honey,egg and almonds.Mix well.
Spoon the mixture into the tin,level the top and sprinkle with the extra almonds.Bake the loaf for 45 minutes,or until golden brown on top and cooked through.Leave it to cool al little in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.Toast and serve with ricotta and honey.

April Calendar

March went in such a hurry that i abandoned my calendar last month but made sure i updated it this month since there were so many important events.
I'm suddenly obsessed with jugs and pitchers lately and lovely the simplicity and rawness of white and it looks simple and organic and of course have always loved Eames chairs and hope to have a real one one day.

Blueberry Pancakes With Raspberry Butter

I tend to be most creative in the kitchen when i'm home alone and while i was sick at home a few weeks ago i decided it was time to make pancakes and use up the last of the raspberries in the freezer and a punnet of blueberries i found at the grocer discounted.
I found a the pancake recipe from Bowl Food published by Murdoch Books and the raspberry butter was adapted from Bill Granger's first cookbook,Sydney Food which has a recipe for blackberry butter.
My favourite part was definitely the raspberry butter,tasted like having raspberry jam and cream on scones.

Blueberry pancakes
250ml (1 cup) buttermilk
1 egg,lightly beaten
1T melted butter
1t vanilla extract
115g (3/4 cup) plain or all purpose flour
1t baking powder
1/2 t salt
100g blueberries
1t vegetable oil

Put the buttermilk,egg,butter and vanilla essence in a bowl and whik together.Sift on the flour,baking powder and salt,then stir,making sure not to over blend as the butter should be lumpy.Add the blueberries.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat.Add 60ml(1/4 cup of bater to the pan for each pancake.Cook for 3 minutes or until the pancakes are golden brown on the bottom.Turn over and cook for 1 minute more.Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Raspberry butter
1 cup raspberries
1.5 T sugar
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup butter,softened

Place berries,sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil.Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until syrupy.Remove from heat and cool completely.Place butter in a bowl and whip with a wooden spoon until light.Fold through the raspberries to create a ripple effect.

Macro

I just love using the macro feature on my camera and since i was at home i decided one afternoon to take some close ups of flowers in our garden,it was a challenge as it was quite windy and you had to get the shot at the right time.

Colour Week

I had so much fun taking photos for colour week last week on Flickr.It gave me something to do while at home sick for most of the week. I missed out on gray for Monday though