Quick lunch

Have you ever had one of those days where you are rushing around like a lunatic and then you suddenly realise you haven't stopped to eat?

That was my day yesterday....at about 12pm I realised I hadn't eaten yet and I still had heaps of errands to run. With 15 minutes to spare, I grabbed what I could find in the fridge.

It was  scrumptious!

Toasted roll with cream cheese, avocado, salt and pepper with a steaming hot cup of tea.

Some amazing recipes on this blog

I am loving this blog

Apple Pinenut Pudding

This is one of the most incredible dishes to have as a breakfast or a dessert.

Apple Pinenut Pudding with caramel sauce and sweet ricotta....compliments of Lee and Me.

A Cassy Cruickshank creation.

Visit Lee and Me in Wollongong

Mouth Watering

Home made lemon meringue pies with home made pastry!

Are your saliva glands working yet?

Fresh and delicious

It's always sad to see the end of the summer fruit season.....grapes, strawberries, watermelon, peaches and nectarines! 

I just loved the fresh fruit salads with thick creamy Gipsland yoghurt.

Child's play

How beautiful is it to watch little ones play using their imagination - a basket quickly becomes a boat, a box can be a car or a cubby, a cardboard tube is a trumpet, a telescope or a sword and a stick can be a magic wand.....

They can have all the toys in the world and yet they all still gravitate to those simple things that take them in to a world of creative play, imagination and adventure.

Getting creative with gift wrapping

I just love wrapping presents, and I love it even more when I have the time to be creative with it.

There have been times when I have stopped at the shops on the way to a party with 5 minutes to spare to purchase a gift, wrapping paper and a card....usually with no idea what to get!

Then I've  pulled up at the party half an hour late because the 5 minutes at the shop turned into half an hour of stress trying to make a decision. Then to top it all off I am madly trying to wrap the gift in the car (and of course I've forgotten to buy sticky tape so then I have to some how get it to hold together with curling ribbon....if I was lucky enough to have remembered that).

Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

I don't particularly like these moments....I feel terrible that not alot of love and care went into the gift. I hate the whole 'that will have to do' attitude.

The times I enjoy (which aren't nearly as often as I would like) are when I have not only had time to think of a gift that I think the recipient will love but I have even bought the gift in advance. It's during these organised times that I get to wrap and decorate it without any rushing.

I like to find ways to make a gift look incredible without spending a fortune on ribbons and things. I try to use what I have at home, and of course I like to make the card so that it matches the paper.

Here is a gift that I wrapped yesterday. I love how it turned out and the only thing I purchased was a roll of gift wrap. I just used a piece of tissue paper to wrap around it (instead of ribbon) and then I used scraps of cardboard and off cuts to make the card. I attatched  the card to the front of the present to create that extra special 'wow' factor.

Dining Creativity

If you are a creative being you will understand when I say that my creativity flows over into all areas in my life.

I love school projects with the kids, scrapbooking, taking photo's, cooking new things, wrapping gifts with that extra special touch, shopping for that 'something different', decorating my house and even doing something 'design like' when setting the table.

I have stuck with my all white dinnerware for a really long time. All white is just so classic and you can never go wrong with that, but just of late, I have been loving the odd coloured dish mixed in.

For Easter I splurged and bought some red bread and butter plates to add to the white table setting and I was delighted with the result.

It's the simple things in life

Enjoying some T2 English breakfast tea with the newest addition to my teapot collection. Such a cute little teapot with infuser....only $5 from kmart!

.....and T2 English breakfast tea is lovely :)

I discovered this recipe - Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread....it is absolutely delicious and super easy!

Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread

adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine, November 1992

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup whole wheat flour)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves (the nutmeg and the cloves are optional, you’ll just have a less spicy bread)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar (I think 1 cup of brown sugar is plenty...possibly even 1/2 cup)

3/4 cup vegetable oil (You can even use 1/2 cup oil and 1/4 cup apple sauce. Less fat.)

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup grated zucchini

1 1/2 cup peeled and grated sweet potato

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional but yummy)

1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Butter and flour a 9x5x3- inch loaf pan and set aside. Sift the first 7 ingredients into a medium sized bowl. In a seperate, large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Mix in the zucchini and sweet potato. Add the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Fold in the nuts and cranberries and stir well.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool bread in pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the edges of the bread with a butter knife and turn out on a rack to cool. (or it is delicious hot)  Can be prepared 1 day in advance. Wrap in foil and keep at room temperature.

Check out where my eldest daughter works 'Lee and Me'....fantastic atmosphere and incredible food!

Breakfast inspiration

Check out this great site for breakfast inspirationCheck out this great site for breakfast inspiration

A warm cosy afternoon tea

It is raining and cold outside but we are all snuggled up with blankets, a roaring fire and a nice afternoon tea.

Toasted sourdough bread with lots of butter and chunky black cherry jam. And to make it complete, a cappuccino and candles.

My latest find for storage solutions

I can't handle clutter of any kind so I am always looking for new ways to keep cupboards organised and find ways to store those 'bits and pieces'

But of course I am obsessed with everything matching and looking stylish which makes it even more of a challenge!

I love these boxes that I came across in Kmart. They are cheap, neat and tidy and the perfect size for wardrobe and under bed storage.

My little girl enjoying an interior decorating magazine

Like mother like daughter!

Jada (at 17 months of age) sat, flicking through this magazine for ages looking so engrossed.

A definite photo opportunity :)

Our 2012 Valentines Day

The kids and I spent a day of schooling preparing for a family valentines day  meal.

We did everything from resaerching how it came about to menu planning, decorating the table, shopping for supplies, writing out easter jokes for some dinner time fun and cooking the dinner. We also cooked and decorated heart shape cookies for the main table decoration and the dessert.

The kids made place cards with a special little note to each person on the inside, the jokes were on little colourful strips of paper and then curled to fill glass bowls and of course all the prep for the centerpiece.

Not only did we have a great fun day but we covered everything for schooling for the day......english, history, culture, project reasearch, craft, writing, spelling, food tech with the menu planning and cooking, math with the cooking measurements and budgeting etc.

And the best part of all was that we managed to surprise the whole family and the night was a great success!

I just love my coffee!!!

My nespresso machine was a gift from my older children last year. It gets a work out every day!

It is one of my favourite things in the house.

I would encourage anyone to get a nespresso macine....it is quick and easy to use (my 8 year old can use it) and it makes beautiful coffee.

An old favourite

Hot cakes served with banana, sweet ricotta and hot caramel sauce.

I am a bit of a hot cakes fan.....I tend to try them at every cafe that I visit at breakfast time!

One of my favourite breakfast dishes at the moment....too good!

This is one of my favourite breakfast recipe's at the moment. Home made crumpets with pears, butterscotch sauce, sweet ricotta and almond crumble......mmmmm!

It is a creation compliments of my eldest daughter who is a chef at Lee and Me in Wollongong.

This was the first time I have ever made or even tasted freshly cooked crumpets. I don't think I could enjoy packaged crumpets ever again.

What inspire's me

The simple things in life.....gardens, blue skies (God's amazing creation), second hand stores, old furniture and outdoor markets.
People that inspire me are my family, my friends and other bloggers.
Other things that I find inspirational are recipe books and magazines, design magazines and other fantastic websites.
This is my 'soon to be' herb garden inspired by the cute painted ceramic pots which were a gift from my littlies.

My favourite time of the day

My favourite time of the day is first thing in the morning. Am I a morning person....NO! My children even know that they won't get any sense out of Mummy until she has had her morning coffee....and I am ashamed to admit that sometimes it takes two coffee's to get me moving

It's certainly not the early time that I love so much, but what I love is what I get to do in that first half hour or so after waking.

I love my morning ritual which is opening the blinds and windows in my bedroom, I enjoy a nespresso cappuccino in bed (which my children make for me), I check emails, face book on my laptop and flick through a design magazine.

I have just recently become a bit obsessed with other peoples blogs. I just love reading what other people are up to.....so this might be added to my morning relax time as well.

Choosing colours for the front entrance, one of our latest decorating projects

The first few rooms that we have painted and decorated have been all white. The entrance was a fun project because we got to work with something other than white.

We were working around furnishings which was a bit of a challenge. We already had a shaggy brown rug, dark stained bookshelves and a white cane drawer with matching mirror so we got lots of colour swatches and the fun began!

We went for a latte type colour on the walls with white ceiling and trims. A few white photo frames with black and white photo's and it was complete.

I love the finish....it is a mix of modern country with the white cane pieces adding a touch of beauty and style.

Cappuccino and design magazine....two of my favourite things!