This weekend we’re driving out to the country to Adam’s hometown. I’m craving the country air and quality time with family. For the drive out, I’ve made some muesli slice for us to snack on. I found this recipe from the pastry chef at Three Girls Skipping and it is nutty and sweet, with the dates making it a little more luxurious than your average muesli slice. Simple goodness.
We built a little office nook in a corner of our house that is sandwhiched between our cupboard laundry and two sets of ikea linen/storage cupboards. While it perfectly functional in its present form, when it comes to inspiration, the environment is a little lacking. I’ve been dreaming of ways to inject a little flair and creativity into the space and have been searching through the internet for inspiration.
Here are some of the spaces that take my fancy…
This mood board:
{Via Apartment Therapy}
Love the whimsy of this one:
{Photo via Design Sponge}
This chair:
{Photo via Little Green Notebook}
The clean, uncluttered desk in this one (in theory, that is, I’m not sure I could keep it so tidy!):
{Via Apartment Therapy}
The femininity of this space:
{Photo via Cupcakes and Cashmere}
Adam’s birthday was last week but because we had just arrived home, we were jet lagged and the house was upside down, and the day was a sort-of…non-event. I hate that we let it slip by as I hold the firm belief that birthdays are a very important celebration, a time to reflect on the year that has been and celebrate all that is good at that moment in your life. So, I’ve organised a belated celebration. I’ve made Adam’s favourite ‘cake’ and we’ll have a birthday dinner of steak, chips and salad with sticky date pudding for dessert. With candles and presents of course. Better late then never, right?
You’ll see from the state of my typed out recipe that this is a favourite in our house. I typed it verbatim from a family friend who made it for dessert for one of my parents’ dinner parties in 1998. This recipe is one of those fool-proof recipes that turns out every time you make it. I always make individual sized puddings so leftovers can be frozen and saved for those occasions when you don’t feel like making dessert, but feel like eating dessert. The caramel sauce is so good, you could drink it. And lasts up to a month in the fridge. That’s if you don’t find yourself dipping a teaspoon in a few times a day which, I’ll be honest, is hard to resist.
Along with brown paper bags, twine, and grosgrain ribbon, paper doilies are one of the staples found in my craft cupboard. And, as I’m a true believer in the beauty of a homemade card, this morning I set out to make a lacy little birthday card for one of my closest friends. I cut the doily to size, glued it onto a piece of A5 card and trimmed it with navy grosgrain ribbon. Then scored and folded to size, wrote a heartfelt message and slipped it into an envelope. Now, its sitting on our kitchen bench ready to send on its merry way.
After an indulgent month of eating and drinking I’m craving a healthier lifestyle. Starting with hot yoga tonight (have you tried it?) and eating more fresh fruit and vegetables and less bread and cheese. A few years ago, I had lunch at a friends place and she made this subtly spicy zucchini soup. I’ve had it in the back of my mind to recreate myself and this morning decided that today was the day. I used this recipe and the whole process took under an hour. The yoghurt and flat bread are delicious when paired with the soup, creating the perfect almost-winter dish.
A new and shiny rose gold Michael Kors watch {as the strap on my watch has broken}
{Photo via Michael Kors}
Discovering some new and delicious soup recipes for winter
{Photo via Gourmet Traveller}
A copper saucepan set from E. Dehillerin {I wish we had room in our suitcase}
{Photo via E. Dehillerin}
A new pair of J Brand Jeans {as my favourite pair now have holes in them}
{Photo via J Brand}
Learning more about the Art of the Potager Garden for use in our own backyard.
{Photo via The Potager Garden}
No one realises how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. {Lin Yutang}
As I sit in Singapore airport ready to board the last plane of our month long journey it hits me that I can’t wait to be home. We have had an incredible holiday and I can’t wait to share more of the details with you. I’ll be back with regular posts tomorrow – bear with me while I readjust.
