Well, hello there

Have you seen the Hello Kitty collection at Liberty?

How beautiful to see Miss Moo Moo in a floaty summer dress made from this.

Love it!

City Slickers

We have returned from a great weekend in Brisbane. Packed full of visits to some of our favourite old haunts:



• The Three Monkeys for coffee and chocolate mouse cake just as day turned into night.
• Vietnamese for dinner, Yum Cha for lunch
• An afternoon lost at Newfarm Park, disappearing into the trees and wandering through the roses bushes. A yummy picnic of cheeses, pate and breads.
• The Woolloongabba Antique Centre for morning tea and much swooning over quirky old finds.
• We loved the ballet. So beautiful in every way. The boys went to the Science Museum
• A visit to Samios (like an old friend) for supplies
• We even drove past our old house, our first house.



In a city that has changed so much in the six years since we left, it was nice to rediscover some of our favourite places.





I will point out that a five and six year old are not that interested in trips down memory lane.



I realised later that they are creating there own memories. They were not that interested in hearing how many hours I have lingered over coffee at the Three Monkeys cafe over the years. I have been going there since I was 16 years old. They will remember it for themselves; for turkish delight and chocolate mouse cake and the place with the garden courtyard out the back.



Everyday, memories are being made by these little people, to be stored somewhere in their sub-conscious for later, when they are 14, 26 or 37.

It is so important not to forget that.

Sleeping Beauty

One of the reasons that we are heading to the city this weekend is because Miss Moo Moo and I have tickets to this ballet. Last year we saw their amazing production of The Nutcracker.

Loved it, loved it loved it.















These pictures are of last years beautiful Nutcracker production. Many more photos can be seen here.

I am bursting with excitement, I can't wait for tomorrow's production of Sleeping Beauty.

Miss Moo Moo is also very excited. Mr Moo wishes he was coming too, however Spunky Monkey does NOT want to go to the ballet.

(all images are from here)

Relaxed

(hummingbird cake we made for afternoon tea on Tuesday)

It is school holidays here in Queensland, we had planned to go away, but Mr Moo could not get time off. You'd think I'd have learned by now that September is his busiest time of year. The same thing happened last year, and the year before that.

But oh, how I love to travel in the Springtime!

It doesn't matter, it seems that things have turned out for the better. The children (and me) have really enjoyed our lazy week at home. We taken our days very slowly: late breakfasts, sandpit play, water play, lego, tea parties, gardening, cooking, reading and crafting. The kids have been playing so well together (dare I say it) I'm almost bored.

No, never, not with so much pottering about to do.

Tomorrow we are off for a mini-break in the city. Hooray. Mr Moo did manage to get one day off.

If you are holidaying too - Enjoy.

Vintage sheets

In all of the excitement of birthday celebrations and plans I had completely forgotten that this little bundle of joy had arrived in the post for me last week.

A big thank-you to 'green tea and me' for organising the vintage sheet FQ swap.

I am bursting to get started on my vintage sheet quilt. I have been given a few tips recently so I might even be able to pull it off. Unfortunately quilt making is way down the bottom of my 'to do' list.

But look at my new goodies. So lovely. Maybe I have one your sheets?

Where you involved? What are you making? Oh how I love secret parcels in the post!

A country show

(image from here)

On the weekend we went to a country show.

The last country show that we went to was with friends in New South Wales, before our children were born. It was so much fun. The pavilions were filled with prize winning baking, flower arrangements and giant vegetables. We watched wood chipping competitions and wandered through the livestock pens, patting prize winning goats, lambs and calves. We spent ages in the poultry shed, imagining what chickens, ducks or geese we would one day like to have running around on our farm. At the time, we owned 5 acres of land - but that's a story for another day.

But this country show was a little different. We did watch the wood chipping and I absolutely loved wandering through the old pavilion: cakes, jams, biscuits, embroidery, quilts, beautiful spring blooms. But with the exception of the pig races - which were a real highlight by the way. There were no farm animals.

But there were horses. In fact I felt a little out of place without my cowboy boots and cowboy hat. There was the usual show jumping, etc. and then there was the rodeo.

I realised that there are two very different type of horse people. The gorgeous young girls dressed in smart riding attire and polished boots. Their hair braided and tied with ribbons. They rode immaculately groomed horses, whose manes had also been braided and their tails neatly trimmed.

Then there are the cowgirls, who follow the rodeo circuit. Dressed in jeans and checked cowgirl shirts, their pony tail hairstyles loose under giant cowgirl hats. Dusty cowboy boots in the stirrups. Most of their horses were decorated with a bit of 'bling' of some kind.

I'm not trying to make any generalisations here, more of an observation. I'm not a horsey girl. I don't move in these circles. I just found it interesting.

In any case, the day was lovely. The weather was magnificent, we grabbed a yummy steak burger and sat in the shade of huge trees and watched the dressage events. Later we piled high onto the grandstand to watch some of the rodeo. We bought Mr Whippy ice-creams (now called Mr Whip for some reason) and pink fairy floss.

On the long drive home the kids fell asleep in the car while I looked out the window across the farm paddocks. Cows, sheep, goats and chickens.

The belated birthday party

It was a week ago that Miss Moo Moo turned five. Unfortunately Poppy had to work last weekend, so we had a party for her yesterday instead.



Just family: grandparents, aunts, uncles and the cousins. It was perfect.

In the months leading up to her birthday, Miss Moo Moo had alternately requested either a wedding cake (she drew me a picture, it looked like this) or a barbie cake.

We went for the barbie cake.



The day was casual and relaxed. The three boys playing in the sandpit for hours and the three girls inside playing tea parties and babies. We brought out our little pool and had some water fun (it was 30 degrees) and then their was cake.

After everyone had gone, the kids continued their fun day of play in the street with the neighbours kids. Miss Moo Moo took her new bike out to show everyone. Just as I went inside I heard her yelling out to her friends:



"Look at me! I'm riding my bike all by myself. My Daddy isn't even helping me"







I quickly went back outside and yes, she was! Finally. All she needed was a bigger bike and she was away.



The day was perfect, but leading up to the day, everything that could go wrong - did go wrong.

• Firstly the cake: the butter layer cake was from the latest kids issue of Donna Hay Magazine. It looked amazing but it didn't taste so great. On the day I blamed Donna, but I know that it is because I was short on time and put all four cake tins into my oven at once. This gave the cakes an almost steamed texture that I have eaten in chinese sponge cakes in Chinatown. If I was to do it again I would make sure I had more time.

• We couldn't decorate the cake until the morning of the party because it wouldn't fit in the fridge. This left things a little stressed, especially when I ran out of icing and had to make more at the last minute. We finished decorating the cake one minute before the first guests arrived.

• Any pre-cooking plans went out the window as I spent the whole week with my son home very sick. I couldn't even start the cake and freeze it. I had no eggs, no milk, no butter, no sugar (who ever runs out of eggs and sugar?! or butter and milk for that matter)

• I had made a batch of zucchini slice, five minutes after I put it into the oven I realised a band-aid from my finger was missing. It ended up NOT being in the slice (Mr Moo and I have eaten it), but I made another one just in case. Not before rushing off to the corner store for more eggs.

• Instead of party bags, we were to give out a hand drawn picture and a gingerbread person. When making the gingerbread I did not let me hot mixture cool enough (again rushing) before adding it to the flour and egg. The whole thing was curdled mess. It went in the bin. I went to make another batch and I had run out of golden syrup - back to the corner store.

• We ran out of time to decorate the gingerbread people because I had to make the gingerbread late at night before the party. We only gave out some of the drawings.

• I didn't get time (because of said sick child) to make the pretty party bunting I had wanted to make. I completely forgot to hang up the paper lanterns I had in the cupboard and opened the party box on the morning of the party to see that the kids had been into the balloons there was 3 white balloons and 1 brown one. We did not have balloons.

I guess in the end ...... none of that mattered. Miss Moo Moo went to bed happy and exhausted, her eyes blinking shut as I kissed her goodnight.

Flea market finds...

We almost didn't go.

But I'm glad we did.

It was a quick fix, but we like that.



Yesterday morning with only an hour to spare, we went to Grandma's church garage sale. We spent $4.50 and bought this: A cream bowl, you can never have to many; a tiny enamel cup, too cute to leave behind; a small jug - made in South Africa, you can never have too many of those either; 2 melamine egg cups in perfect retro colours.

Spunky Monkey picked out the marmalade jar, not really my style, but for 50 cents, who was to argue. It has grown on me since getting it home, I can't wait to make some marmalade and put it on our breakfast table. Look how good it looks with the egg cups!

Miss Moo Moo came home with a tiny (ugly) glass sculpture, a small wicket basket that is now a bed for her dolls and two pairs of dolls shoes that seem to fit nearly all of her dolls. She is very happy with that.



But wait there is more...... included in our $4.50 spend was this $2.00 cookbook. Although the cover is ripped, I don't think that it has ever been opened. It is a gem, if you only ever had this book only on your shelf you would eat very well. It has been such a nice surprise to flick through it's pages and discover it's delights. I only bought it because of the name:

"Mrs Appleyard's Family Kitchen - A Treasury of Vermont Country Recipes"

Doesn't that name just epitomise all that is wholesome and good?



Go here, to see what other treasures have been found this week

I'm grateful for...

This week I am grateful for orange juice.

Fresh oranges from grandma's tree, squeezed by the hands of babes.

My poor little boy has been home sick all week. I think it was Thursday, when I started getting cabin fever. I laid the big picnic rug in the backyard and ordered everyone out into the sunshine. Miss Moo Moo brought her board and drawing pencils, I bought a pile of books. But Spunky Monkey was still miserable. His pale limp body glowed in the sun, he headed back into the shade of the patio. He sat on a chair swinging his legs then asked "can we make juice?"



The panadol had just kicked in and we had a good hour or so until he would be back on the couch curled up in a ball. I said yes, and helped him bring a bowl of cut oranges, the hand juicer and a jug to the table, he brought out three cups. I was happy in the sun with a new cookbook from the library, so I left the kids to get started. I listened to them discussing how good oranges are for you as they worked.

Spunky Monkey squeezed as much juice out of the oranges as he could, then gave them to Miss Moo Moo, who ate whatever was left inside, every so often, I would get the remaining juice from any oranges Miss Moo Moo hadn't eaten.

It only lasted about 20 minutes, but it was the highlight of my week, that simple bonding time between the three of us, and the juice.....

It was delicious - made with love.

Go over to 'maxabella loves' for more gratitude posts.

Our weekend update: part three

(yes, it's true, Miss Moo Moo has worn her ballet outfit four days in a row now)

Part three: the Real Food Festival

On Sunday it was back into the car a back to Maleny for the Real Food Festival at the showgrounds. The weather was gorgeous, Saturday's winds had completely disappeared.

Such a fantastic atmosphere and so much yummy food. Almost immediately we pulled up a hay bail and bought some lunch. The kids had pizza (unfortunately a disappointment - Miss Moo Moo wouldn't even eat it) However what we shared was amazing: west african goat curry and 'to die for' chicken satay.

We wandered for hours, looking at the stalls of yummy local produce. I would have liked to talk to some of the producers, but with two tired children, a couple of balloons and a husband that I kept losing in the crowds: it was a little hard to do.

I did manage to have a chat to this farmer about his produce boxes. Even though we don't live anywhere near his farm, he said that we could possibly work out a delivery system. I am excited.

The day ended just as it should, sitting on a grassy hill in the sun, eating locally made organic ice-cream.

Strawberry, berry delight, creme caramel and chocolate. So good, I can still taste it.

Our weekend update: part two

Part two: Maleny Dairies

Despite being one of the coldest days we have had this year and almost getting peed on by Devinia the milking cowing, we had an amazing couple of hours at the Maleny dairies on Saturday.

Firstly, this place is beautiful. The colours of the day were lolly bright: blue skies and rolling green hills. But on Saturday, icy winds whipped across the mountain top, my hands were numb and I found myself stamping on the ground trying to keep warm.

As our tour got started we got to meet a beautiful, obliging, Guernsey cow called Devinia. She let us all pat her and we were able to taste some of her milk. The kids didn't want to try it, but for me it was fantastic.

I was instantly transported back to my Nana's farm and the cold misty mornings when my uncle would bring the fresh milk up from the dairy. I'm ashamed to say it now, but I hated fresh cows milk back then. To me (a townie) milk was suppose to be white. I didn't like that hot creamy milk on my cornflakes, and often ate toast instead.

Now that I know better...... I want a house cow! That milk was so yummy.



Then we got to feed the baby goats and calves. So much fun.



We all had a go with the milk bottles, except for Spunky Monkey. He wasn't that interested and just wanted to wander off into the paddock instead.



Miss Moo Moo loooved it. She was a natural. She is the real animal lover of the family. If she had it her way she would have got a kitten for her birthday.

When she wasn't feeding this little goat she would just pat his soft, soft coat.

"Mum he is so soft. He is so sweet"



Mr Moo is feeding Penny the calf. The calves were quiet a bit stronger than the little goats, and complete guts. This little one ended up with the hiccups, which was pretty cute.



The old farmers hut is now a chicken house. However the cheeky bantam chickens spend all day wandering the open fields. Who could blame them.



At the end of the tour we got to taste some of the yummy Maleny Dairy products. There was no need to convert us on their milk, we already buy this product. But I was impressed by the flavoured milks. We never buy flavoured milk, but tasting these flavoured milks took me again, back to my childhood. Of days when I would sit in cafe booth seats with my parents and drink flavoured milk straight from the ice cold metal milkshake container.

We left with one of each flavour; strawberry, chocolate and coffee.