She who dies with the most fabric wins

Ever heard of the saying, "she who dies with the most fabric wins." Well, I am not a winner yet, but I am certainly in the competition. I just can't help myself sometimes. If I see fabric I like, whether for print or feel or both, I love to have it. Often with no plan in mind as to what I will create out of it.

I have my favourite fabric haunts and am grateful that some are close to home. I am grateful too that the one close to home has a box of toys to keep children busy while mums are shopping. It is as if they knew what I needed. Master Three loves to visit almost as much as I do.

I recently had the good fortune of purchasing some GORGEOUS fabric by the designer Charlie Brown. I have always loved her designs (honestly, how beautiful are they, and for more than just skinny minnie body types too). Her jersey fabrics are spectacular. I was so excited it was hard to maintain restraint in my purchases. And now that I have them I am almost too sad to bring scissors to them. I just want to drape them all over me. Really, that's how gorgeous this fabric is.

Well, I have obviously gushed enough. I will have to produce some kiddy frocks from this stash, but will just sit and admire them as they are for just a few days more.

Can't wait to make something with this one. Won't a dress out of this with aqua sandals look great?

Happy Halloween

No trick or treating for us this year but I did manage to bake some Halloween biscuits (albeit very last minute).

I used Martha Stewart's recipe (found here). I have reprinted below with my changes in red.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour 
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• Small candies or sprinkles, for decorating (optional) (smarties)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (190 degrees celsius - I did fan forced). In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg. On low speed, mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half, and form into 2 disks, each about 3/4 inch thick. Wrap disks in plastic; chill until firm, at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days. (I didn't have 45 minutes so I did 10 minutes in the freezer).
3. On a lightly floured sheet of waxed paper, using a floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/2 inch thick. (If dough becomes too soft to work with, refrigerate for a few minutes.)
4. Using 2- to 3-inch Halloween cookie cutters, cut out shapes, dipping cutters in flour as necessary to prevent sticking; place on a baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart.
5. Bake until surface is dry to the touch, 10 to 15 minutes (if decorating, press candies into dough halfway through baking). Cool cookies 1 to 2 minutes on baking sheet; transfer to a rack to cool completely.

And this is the result:

And this was a happy afternoon tea:

And here was my Halloween in 1986 (I am the hunchback):

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween.

10 things you don’t really need to know about me

1.       I don’t wear a watch but am often (usually) late.

This is probably THE worst trait I have. I am not overly late, but 10-30 minutes is the norm. I do get the kids to school on time (just) and am generally on time or early for doc appointments etc., but if you are meeting me for a coffee or I am meeting people at the park, going to the gym or a class, I will be late. I don’t mean to be late, in fact I operate on the notion I will be early. I just always feel I can squeeze in just a little bit more before I go. Wearing a watch makes no difference except to add to any anxiety. I also like to get things done properly and thoroughly before I move to the next thing and don’t want time to dictate when a job is done.

2.       I don’t finish as many projects as I start

I love new projects and learning new things. I LOVE it. But sometimes day-to-day chores get in the way of this enthusiasm. Thus I start things, have grand plans, but don’t always finish them. There is the album of souvenirs and mementos I was going to put together when I came back from my trip to Europe in 1997. There are the 4 baby albums I need to do. I have all 4 albums. Ultrasounds, baby photos, etc. are collated but nothing has been stuck in. I hope to accomplish this before they turn 21 or leave home.

3.       I still like Sesame Street – love it.

I only stopped watching it because we moved house and school and at the new school I would come home too late to watch it. I love Jim Henson and if I ever to the US I would love to go on a tour of his studios.

4.       I have to eat chocolate if it is in the house – addiction.

I generally don’t open it, but if someone does open a block of chocolate or a pack of Tim Tams consider them already eaten.

5.       I have never seen any Star Wars movie or Jaws.

I am working on a list called “40 things to do before I am 40” and these movies are on the list. I have no reasonable explanation as to why I have never seen them so far.

6.       I once worked as the Easter Bunny, Goofy and Grumpy (from the Seven Dwarfs)

I used to do Jazz Ballet as a teenager and my dance school used to do a lot of the school holiday entertainment, so I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to be employed in this way. Very easily the best first job to have had. The Easter Bunny was a bit scary as I was on my own (my chaperone was sick) and I was attacked by a bunch of youths who stole all the chocolate eggs I was handing out and then dragged me by the arms around the shopping mall (I slipped and slid everywhere as there were taps on the giant feet I was wearing). Thankfully a shop keeper came to my rescue.

Me as Grumpy December 1988 (sorry for the bad quality)

7.       I am a hoarder

I wish I was a minimalist but I love stuff too much.

Hoarding example #1: Kinder surprise trinkets from 1997 - bought in Wales as we were about to board the ferry for Ireland.

Hoarding example #2: Souvenir given to me by my friend Natalie in 1985 from her trip to France.

8.       I have never had a manicure

I don’t really know why this is as I LOVE painted nails, I love painting my nails. I have had a pedicure and can’t wait to squeeze another one in as the hot days approach.

9.       I need more sleep but love going to bed late

I love that time late at night when everyone is asleep and there is no way anyone will call. You can be guaranteed of no disruptions. I can read, write, surf the net, go blog-manic, iron or just sit without disruption. I think this stems from childhood. My only sister left home while I was still young so I grew up very much an only child in the home. Lots of “me” time. Now we are a family of 6 so the household is very active and busy. Late nights are getting back in touch with my thoughts. (That’s my reasoning anyway)

10.   I am grey – completely

This is not a surprise to me. Both my parents greyed early. I only remember my dad with grey hair, and mum home-colouring her hair was a common thing. I am getting VERY grey now and am having trouble dealing with my roots. I recently home coloured a shade lighter than I normally do and ended up with orange roots and brown hair. I know, I know, I should have used the root touch up instead of doing the whole head. It will be a trip to the hairdressers soon so she can tidy me up a bit. (Long curly hair hides a lot of my mistakes).

So there you go. Some innocuous things about me. Thanks to Fat Mum Slim for passing the buck that was started by It Must Be Coffee Time.

Family Holidays

I’m already looking forward to our next family holiday in December. Being a family of 6 we do try and budget well for family adventures. No 5 star hotels, and no Disneyland (just yet anyway). Last school holidays we went away to our favourite camping spot (except we stay in cabins). It is by the Shoalhaven River in southern NSW.

We love our campfires. Cooking on it, roasting marshmallows on it, singing around it, or just staring at it.

We played with sparklers.

The kids ride their bikes and have fun with dad

We love to play along the river and dip our feet in (even when icy cold).

We love to go on bushwalks, get a little lost, and then discover something magical.

We had a wonderful holiday. But we were sad to see the loss of our favourite tree. It used to look like this, but now it has been chopped down. We knew for a couple of years that this would happen. It was a sick tree. It now looks like this:

Still fun to climb.

 

And on a hot Sydney day like today I can't wait for our beach holiday!

Things I am loving at the moment…friendship

Today I went out with a couple of friends to celebrate our 21^st – not our birthdays – but our anniversary. We met 21 years ago, sitting on a school bench in year 10 gearing up for a new school in year 11. Madame M and I had met six years earlier and were about to embark on a new school adventure. New school, getting ready for the HSC (matriculation in NSW for those outside of this zone). Madame N was sitting alone on the bench, a new school for her too, and we met, and we became friends, and we remained friends. We remember the date because Madame N’s brother was born that day so he has proven a good reminder.

As any friendship of such a duration we have shared lots together. LOTS. We have done so over endless cups of coffee (and cake, and icecream). One of our favourite haunts was Bay Vista Gateau Café at Brighton le Sands in Sydney. We first went there in 1992. This is a picture of me there in July 1992: (sorry for the quality - it is an old photo)

The ‘90s were made up of many nights out often starting (and sometimes ending) with a coffee at Bay Vista. We loved our time there. We shared so much. And it is such a gorgeous place. Right across from the bay, on a balmy Aussie summer night it was great. I sort of felt like it was my Big Al’s in my own Happy Days.

Bay Vista recently went through a refurbishment and they have done a delightful job. I took my kids there (actually my nieces took us there during the July school holidays) and tonight I went back with Madame M and Madame N in celebration. Oddly enough our order numbers for our meal and dessert were 21 and 3 (3 of us celebrating our 21^st). It was such a relaxing and uplifting night shared with people who know me, love me and have shared so much laughter and tears.

This is called the Athens 2004 and it was spectacular! It included things like pistachio icecream, fig and honey icecream and rosewater icecream (which was to-die-for), among many other ingredients.

Visiting Bay Vista with the kids - 20 years of icecream fun. And making the experience a generational one.

Thanks to PaisleyJade for her "Things I'm Loving" segment on her blog. Visit her here.

The granny square

In my current state of doily-dom I am rediscovering the granny square. I love it as a rug, I love it as a blanket, I love it as a cushion cover, chair cover, throw, anything. So of course I figure I could dab my hand at that one and do up a few granny squares. But this is where I get stuck. I can't pick the pattern for the square I like and then fixate so much on this point I can't move on.

When we went away for the school holidays I took a few patterns I had downloaded from the net to try out. (Freebies - hooray). I made a trip to Spotlight to buy some yarn, which is another point to fixate on. I stood in those aisles for way too long trying to make up my mind on what I wanted. I think Spotlight should employ someone who can just be there for a second opinion - for those of us who are shopping alone and just need to ask "what do you think - this one or that one?" At the end I was actually pretty disappointed with my choices, but they'll do. I need some lessons in yarn purchasing.

I also bought some new crochet needles, a set where each size is a different colour. Initially I thought this was awesome but I should have just stuck with plane metal ones as there is some friction with the coloured ones which is annoying when crocheting.

So, here are the results:

Basic granny square done with a 4mm needle. Pattern found here.

Basic granny square using a 6mm needle.

Together

The Wagon Wheel Square found here. (That's the pattern I followed but there are a few of them about).

This is the Kingfield Sqare. You will find the pattern for it here.

This one is known as "Katie's Bliss". It was a bit tricky but I managed it in the end. Pattern for this one found here.

So, now the next step is to decide which one to go with (or maybe do a few more patterns) and then make an afghan rug or something similar. Shall fixate on this for a while.

Magi

Sunday

Today we did:

The Nippers season started (and we have a new Nipper on the block: Master 3 has started!)

I tried to be clever with some product shots:

I started a new mosaic project. This time a very easy one that requires very little cutting of tiles.

Hubby made dinner:

And that was Sunday. It will be ended peacefully with everyone in bed and me drinking a nice cuppa over the Sunday paper.

Hope you had a nice Sunday too.

Today

Today, my three year old discovered how well he can draw:

my keys got so tangled I couldn't unlock the house until I sorted out the mess:

and I made the yummiest blueberry muffins thanks to Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim.

How was your day?

Magi

Happy Birthday Annie

Happy Birthday Annie. Miss our coffees together and miss so much more.

Anna Maria
13 October 1974 - 9 March 2003

Donate to Cystic Fibrosis Australia here.

Every woman loves to shop for shoes

Found these shoes online - on sale for 25 pounds (about 40AUD). I love online shopping. Aren't these absolutely gorgeous.

They are Office Simple Minds Red Floral shoes

Here are some other gorgeous ones:

Saturday at the Salvos

I took a quick detour to the Salvation Army depot last Saturday for no particular reason but to just drop in and see if there was something special. And there was. A Sunbeam Mixmaster.

Ta daaa:

My mother-in-law has an awesome one she got as a wedding present 42 years ago. I think it is fab and it works like a dream. So when I spotted this one at the Salvos I started salivating. The original price tag was $65, and then it had a reduced price of $25, but it was half price Saturday so it was only $12.50! That's right folks $12.50!!!

I had no idea if it worked but thought the price tag was well worth the risk. I took it home, gave it a good clean and then took it for a whirl.

One cake later and I am so in love.

And one happy family: