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

Until Dawn

That's what this curtain is called by one of my favourite designers Tord Boontje. You could also use it as a room divider or wall art.I can't believe it's 190 at Top 3,you can get it fo about $90 US.It comes in white as well


He also designed the garland light a few years ago

There's dinnerware as well,oh so cute.

Making pizza

Resting the dough

Pizza with toppings ready for the oven

Pizza ready for eating

I was reading through The Kitchen section of Apartment Therapy the other week and there was a discussion about what to do with quail eggs and there was a link to this recipe at Lex Culinaria for prosciutto and quail pizza that appealed.I'd seen quail eggs used in recipes in Delicious magazine but had never tried them so bought a dozen one day.
Last Sunday i had the house to myself and thought it would be a great opportunity to make make this so i could make as much mess with the flour as i wanted.I selected this pizza dough recipe from Epicurious. For some reason i was scared to make anything with yeast,i tend to think that something will go wrong with ingredients that react.
Making the dough was so easy and i love watching and hearing the sound of the ball of dough form in the food processor while it spins around.

After i rolled out the pizza,i let it cook in the oven for about 10 minutes.Instead of adding tomato paste to the bottom i applied some crushed garlic which brought out the most amazing aroma to the kitchen while it cooked.I added some boccocini,then tore shreds of prosciutto allover,tomato,rocket and shaved parmesan.I let it cook in the oven for about 10 to 15 mins then topped it with a few quail eggs and put it back for a final 5 minutes.
It tasted lovely and it was very satisfying knowing i had made it from scratch.
Only thing i wouldv'e changed was adding the shaved parmesan and rocket at the end with the eggs.

Websites i visit

These are some of the sites i visit almost daily for interior design tips,ideas and inspiration.
Decor8
Oh Joy
Apartment Therapy
Design Sponge

Sick

I've spent the last 3 days at home sick.It always gets me at this time of year when the weather changes and the weather has been too confusing this past week,one day it's humid,the next cool and raining,then it's cool in the morning,hot in the afternoon and cool again at night.So many people i know are sick right now,a friend had conjuctivitus, at least we're sick now instead of while we're on holiday.

Goodbye Summer

Loving the cooler weather and the absence of such high humidity and seeing my hair straight again.
However not loving the sore throat and runny nose,i always get sick during the change of seasons.
I'll have a quick return to summer weather next week when i travel up north.

Enjoying

Colour Week on Flickr
A different colour is chosen each day.
Inspiration can be found in all colours

My slow weekend

Voting in state election, shopping trip to Macro, reading Breakfast at Tiffany’s, dvds, reading through Blueprint and Saveur,listening to and reliving Kylie Homecoming concert reading blogs, making pizza from scratch.

Friday lunch picnic

I made chicken schnitzel rolls with caper mayonnaise,a friend bought some cupcakes and blueberry tarts and we came together last Friday for an end of week picnic in Hyde Park.It was a lovely sunny day except for the stinking humidity which i've had enough of,and very relaxing and difficult to return to work,but nice to return to an air conditioned office.

I love

Whisk and Pin Summer Blend muesli.
Even in winter it's my muesli of choice,lots of fruit and nuts.
I want to make this granola as posted on from Little Birds here

Magazines received!

I received my magazines last week from Heidi in the US,I was lucky enough to get Savour and Blueprint.My only question is how magazines from America with a large population,can be so thin.Was it a slow month for them?I love them anyway,especially the styling in Blueprint.
Oh and i got lovely Philosophy samples,tea(some taken by customs unfortunately).

Hens Night

Cocktails at Lotus

Almost 2 weeks ago now we had Tegan's hens night which started at the very respectable time of 2pm for High Tea at The Victoria Room.We all made sure we were there nice and early as we were all threatened by Gemma to be there on time so we could all be there by the time the bride to be arrived.
Tea is served in a dark spacious room decorated in old British Colonial style with gorgeous chandeliers,plush sofas and ornate armchairs.We opted for the standard option and just kept ordering bottles of champagne as we went as there were about 10 of us altogether.Tiered plates were placed in the middle with sandwhiches on top,sweets such as cupcakes,sticky date pudding and florentines in the middle and scones on the bottom served with jam and clotted cream.

Antique tea strainer stolen from High tea

I fell in love with these beautiful silver antique tea strainers and decided i had to have it and put it in my bag and took off with it.We then made our way to the sofas for more drinks and decided to play a game where we all chose an occupation and that would be what we did for a living had someone approached us that night and asked us that question.Occupations ranged from hallmark greeting card writer,battery tester for the CSIRO(specialising in AAA) war correspondant for Marie Claire magazine,bra designer and fitter,greyhound trainer,2nd best cellist for the Australian Chamber Orchestra,sex therapist,diplomat for the UN,and politician in the current state election.
aah,we took so many cabs that night,first trip was to Lotus for a drink,you approach the bar staff and tell them what you're in the mood for and they create a drink,we told them we wanted a drink in their most fantastic glasses,i can't quite remember what they came up with but it was certainly fruity.
By them with all the suagr all afternoon our bodies were craving salt and decided the easiest plan would be to go to BBQ King in Chinatown where it's easy to feed a huge group,we started off with the mandatory duck pancakes then ordered a few dishes to share.
Then a we all walked to the other side of the city for karaoke and we all took turns belting a few tunes,some people then decided to call it a night and the remaining bodies soldiered on finding a bar in Martin Place,ti's such a different disappointing crowd in the city on weekends,full of kids still in their teens,we had a quick drink and then as it approached midnight decided to go to someone's place in Bondi,called to make sure the nearby pub would still be open to bu some emergency bottles of wine,hot chips from the corner shop and some wuiet chit chat for a few hours before it was finally time to head home at about 2am,it certainly was a marathon effort lasting 12 hours.

I couldn't do it

You never realise how addicted you may be to things until you try to get rid of them.I don't even watch much tv but i always need it as background noise and that's exactly what happened during my little experiment.I was worse with the computer,i would still quickly go online as soon as i woke up each morning.The internet has become so important in our lives,you don't even need to ring places anymore,find most info on their websites.
Oh well,it was good practice and i may take it more seriously for this.

Clover

The countdown is on for the wedding in April and i gladly joined the girls to help out with some preparations.My mum would be so proud if she knew i was sewing on Saturday morning.It was a very poor effort but i hadn't touched a sewing machine since i was 13.Alot was accomplished and Tegan had a fitting for her dresses being made by the talented Kathleen.I finally received my invitation and met my Thylacine Clover who's named after Clover Hill sparkling wine.
It was still early in the evening so we went to Tegan's new apartment and they have done such a great job in updating the place,the previous owners had a yucky cream coloured paint and hideous pineapple print blinds.Then it was off to the local Korean for a cheap and lovely meal then back to their place for more wine and chit chat while listening to the saturday night party mix on the radio.
Sunday was time for some culture as Lisa,her friend John and I watched The Singer as part of the French Film Festival,it was in some parts as predictable as any Hollywood love story and didn't make sense in some parts.Had a quick drink at the Beauchamp Hotel then it was time togo home and finally do the domestics i neglected to finish all weekend.

Do Your Bit For The Environment

I had seen these string bags at a design store and they were about $20 each,i love the look of them and they would be great to take to the growers market but they were clearly too expensive.You can imagine my joy when i saw the link to this Australian website estringbags.com.au and they're only $2.50 each and a range of bright colours or black.And they had arrived 2 days after ordering.

I love getting things in the mail,I can't wait to receive my magazines from Heidi in the US soon.

It's been a very busy week at work and i haven't had time for much else.I made another visit to Sky Phoenix for yum cha this week and it was absolutely packed,it's pretty quiet on the weekends compared to what i saw during the week.Armen and I always said we'd go there one day for lunch and we invited Nick as a thank you fo the other week when he took us home one night.

Starting this afternoon we have Tegan's hens night,We're starting at 2pm for high tea at The Victoria Room in Darlinghurst follwed by drinks and dinner at Lotus and we will take it from there,who knows where the night will take us.I can't believe it's only a month away from the wedding at Brampton Island.So excited.

I've made the decision this week starting from Sunday to not watch any tv for 7 days and i'm limiting my internet time to only checking emails at work and uploading photos.Sometimes it's too easy to get home from work and just spend so much time online.I'm hoping by doing this I will have more time for reading,i haven't been able to just sit down and read for such a long time and i have so many books and magazines to catch up on.I will take the time to make dinner after work and really enjoy it and maybe learn something creative.
See you next week.

Break open in case of emergency

This is genius!
It was given to me at work for a competition i won,emergency chocolate and it even says "If symptoms persist,consult your local confectioner".

Everyday Food and Garlic and Spinach Spaghetti

I love Bill,it's hard not to,he makes it look so easy and effortless on his shows and his books inspire and i knew i had to buy his latest book just before Christmas.It's a book that you can of course use every day,from Monday when you promise yourself you will eat better and start with salads,to Sunday where it's time for a big breakfast and slow cooked food.

The other week i made garlic and spinach spaghetti after work as these are the times when you need something fast but not compromising on taste.And with pasta you can make a big serve and take some for work the following day.


Serves 4

400g spaghetti
80ml Extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves,thinly sliced
sliced red chilli,to taste
80 ml white wine
90g baby english spinach
sea salt
small handful finely chopped fresh flat leaf(italian) parsley
Grated parmesan cheese

Cook the spaghetti in a a large pan of salted boiling water until al dente. Meanwhile, put the olive oil,garlic and chilli in a frying pan over medium heat and cook,stirring often, for about 5 minutes
until the garlic is goldern. Add the wine and cook,stirring for 20 seconds. Add the drained pasta and spinach and toss to coat it well.Season with sea salt and sprinkle with parsley,then serve with lots of grated parmesan.


bills.com.au

Magazine Swap

Anyone who knows me knows that i like magazines,the glossy pages,beautiful images and plenty of inspiration.I knew i had to sign up when i read about the swap at Decor8
I swap budy is Heidi from California who is lovely and very talented as she has her own online business PeekKeep full of beautiful Scandinavian gifts and accessories and she also works for Ridge Wines
I can't wait until i receive my package and also selecting magazines to send over to Heidi.

Karaoke

It had been such a long time since we had done something fun on a Friday night as a group with work colleagues and Kristy the organiser of everything,decided it was time for karaoke,we started with a large group but as the date got closer more and more people bailed out and in the end we had 6 or 7 people turn up.The others definitely missed out on such a fun evening.
We started off with a quick drink at the bar across the road from work and then made our way to Karaoke World
I chose Briney Spears Baby One More Time as my first song as my dedication to poor Britney in rehab,and karaoke is the perfect time to sing those old cheesy songs you grew up with.Jason couldn't keep a straight face while singing My Humps by Fergie,Nick couldn't keep up with the rapping during Outkast's Ms Jackson,Armen and I did a duet to The Pointer Sisters I'm So Excited,Kristy and I belted out Wannabe by the Spice Girls with our favourite part being the Zigi Zig Ahh at various points.We all joined in with Nick to sing Bohemian Rhapsody By Queen and our big finale with 2 minutes until times was up was Living On a Prayer by Bon Jovi.
I'm such a microphone whore when it comes to Karaoke,i love it,i'm really in my element and wish i was a talented singer,not big and well known but maybe working in a jazz club.
After karaoke we went back to the bar for more drinks and late night snacks before Nick was lovely enough to drop Armen and I home.
Can't wait until the next karaoke night.

Petria

This is my niece Petria,she's 5 months old and unfortunately had to be rushed to hospital last week when her older brother got a little too excited and rolled her over with great force and fractured her arm.she now has to wear a sling for a few weeks and probably feels like she's only got one arm,hope she recovers soon.

I Heart The Sartorialist

The Sartorialist was one of the first blogs i discovered and i was immediately smiten.He captured the style of these New Yorkers perfectly and has continued to do so around the world and for websites such as style.com
He always finds those cool(but not too cool that they're wearing something ridiculous,like other sites) elegant inhabitants of the cities he visits and always inspires you to make more effort next time.
One of my recent favourites is this look at the top,most people would not wear blue and brown together with the black base she has but it just loks right and effortless on her,it must be the way her shirt is left to hang out a little.