Black friday

(this image is from the sartorialist blog)

I needed a new pair of black ballet flats, so I decided, on a whim, to pop in to Country Road yesterday morning after school drop off. Not only did I end up with a pair of lovely black suede ballet flats but also:

these fantastic black boots for winter
black full length leggings - a must for this season
a black scarf - just because
and 2 black cardigans

Something you don't know about me is that, I really hate clothes shopping. I hate shopping centres and usually avoid them at all costs. But, a girl doesn't want to freeze this winter. And I did get to buy shoes!

At bedtime Miss Moo Moo asked me what the best part of my day was. I replied that it was two things:

• looking through the shoe and handbag department with her (she is a born shopper)
• having a big snuggle with her while watching "Snow White" at rest time

She said " but what about buying boots and shoes, wasn't that the best part of you day?"

She gets it!

Fridge and pantry love

Today I cleaned out my fridge and food pantry cupboard. And while this might just be the most boring post ever. I am very excited. I did this last week to my large fridge-size freezer in the garage and was amazed by how little my grocery bill was this week. I've been using up all sorts of things I did not know were hiding out there. So today I did the same inside, I even wrote out a list of what was in there and what I could cook with it. Talk about organisation!

Tonight for dinner I cooked an italian sausage and tomato casserole with polenta. Because, for some reason, I had 2 unopened packets of instant polenta in my pantry, something I did not know until about 10 o'clock this morning. For dessert, a trifle using up other things I didn't know I had.

Cake, an orange cake, that had been in the freezer for too long. Add lots of sherry,no problem!
A tin of peaches. I don't even remember buying this. The last time I ate tinned peaches was on my Nana's farm in 1983.
Red jelly. I usually make my own jelly from fresh orange juice and gelatine, but I got caught up in the moment with Miss Moo Moo at the shops last week. This stuff has got to go.
Home brand custard. Another big mistake, I'd bought it ages ago to make custard kisses or something like that. It is not very edible, to be honest, it was even hard to hide it's taste in the trifle. I think the bin is the only place for it.

What kind of things do you find hiding in the back of your pantry/fridge/freezer?

Crafty chat and recipes swaps

We had a great night, once again, at Craft Night last week, with two new friends. Welcome to Nova and Lou, a very talented pair. It is lovely to have you join our little group.

Crafty inspiration, delicious (I really shouldn't be eating this) food, wine, piles of craft books, sewing tips, good coffee, long chats about fabric and op shopping, earl grey tea. These nights are just getting better and better.



Not only was there a lot inspiring craft projects going on, but some recipe swapping as well.

So, today, after cooking a large tray of lasagne and a big pot of lentil soup, Miss Moo Moo and I baked.

Leanne's Carrot Cake and Nova's Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip cookies.

A splash of colour

It was raining here today. Very dull and grey. Plans for cleaning windows, literally, went out the window. Oh, what a terrible shame.



Not much else for Miss Moo Moo and I to do, but cook, bake, sew and surf the net.



Here are some pictures we choose to brighten our grey day.











Images are from:

1. I love this image from the 1950's French short film, "The Red Balloon"
2. Wedding shoes for some lucky girl. Just scrumptious!
3. This Little Red Riding Hood image is from Kathleen's clever blog Grosgrain
4. Perfect poppies from Catmil's Photostream on Flickr
5. The 'Think Pink' sequence in the movie "Funny Face".
6. Beautiful paper pom pom's from Pom Love
7. Polish Folkdancer Print from Roddy and Ginger's Esty shop
8. Party tu-tu's for party fun!

Lovely

I told you my Sunday was going to bliss!

This beach walk was taken, after lazing around the park in the perfect autumn sunshine and before sitting down to a yummy roast dinner.

Today, however, the rain sent our picnic plans into a spin. We ended up just pottering about and eating our chicken sandwiches at home before heading off to a 'house warming afternoon tea.' Lovely afternoon, lovely house with lovely 180 degrees views of the ocean. Wow! Lovely coffee and coconut cupcakes. Delicious!

Sorry, I might of forgot to mention that, yes indeed, we did have another public holiday here in Queensland today.

Tomato soup

(this photo is from 'little glowing lights'. Check out more of Catherine's gorgeous photo's, so, so lovely on her blog. My camera was on the charger and lunch just simply could not wait!)

I have been dreaming of a big bowl of rich red tomato soup since the first turn of autumn. Yesterday I finally got around to making some for lunch. Soooo good, with thick slices of rye bread and a thick spread of danish butter. Delicious!

Peace and calm

(This beautiful photo is from 3191 miles apart, Stephanie and Mav's lovely visual blog - I'm sure your already know about it.)

The last couple of weeks have been, busy, busy, busy.

A farm stay, playgroup, a sleepover, food shopping, a super fun dinosaur party, collecting coconuts, the doctor, helping out at school, Anzac Day services, overnight guests, lunch out, bushwalks, date night dinner out, barbeque's, cooking cookies, the cross country, the hairdressers, beach play, cleaning, some playdate's, another sleepover, craft night, sewing centre’s, a very long country drive, beach walks and breakfast out.

While it has been a lovely and fun couple of weeks I am looking forward to a quiet space and perhaps some time in the sewing room today.

Mr Moo is going to the beach with his brother and the children this morning. I will meet them later today for afternoon tea and some music in the park. Tonight on the menu, roast chicken and trifle for dessert.

What a blissful Sunday this will be!