Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas, everybody!

May your weekend be filled with joy, laughter and many happy memories.

More photos to come...

Blueberry & Almond Cake

There is something immensely satisfying about baking with your very own home-grown, hand picked produce.

Our blueberry bushes are laden with fruit this year, so yesterday afternoon I whipped up a delicious Blueberry & Almond Cake.

Blueberry & Almond Cake

4 eggs

1 cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup self-raising

150g melted butter

1 cup almond meal

250g blueberries

Preheat the oven to 160˚C. Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk for 8-10 minutes or until thick, pale and tripled in volume. Sift the flour over the egg mixture and fold through.

Fold through the butter and almond meal. Pour the mixture into a 20cm x 30cm slice tin lined with baking paper and top with blueberries. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Turn onto wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Pink Party

Yesterday afternoon, we had a party in the orchard for my sister’s 10^th birthday.

She had a few friends over to help celebrate, and we all had a lovely time playing games, eating the delicious party food, and opening presents.

Here are some photos...

The Cake

Musk Lollies

Cucumber Sandwiches

The beautiful table in the orchard

The Birthday Girl and her friends

Pink lemonade!

Sally was under the table, waiting for some manna to drop from Heaven

3-legged races in the garden, which somehow turned into a hopping contest!

Pink Jelly Lamingtons

Last week, my camera lens broke because I dropped it (!) so while it's getting fixed, I thought I'd share a few of my favourite photos I have collected over the years. Enjoy!

Images via lucette

The Lost Art of Letter Writing Part I

I orginally wrote this as a guest poster on Holly's blog but for some reason a whole paragraph was cut out and I couldn't fix it.

I was going to post part II this week, but I've lost it (!!!!), so here's part I while I re-write part II.
Enjoy!


After arriving home from a holiday last week, I picked up the pile of mail that lay on the kitchen table and shuffled through it. There, among the colourless business letters and gaudy Big W catalogues, lay an envelope with my name on it, the address written in beautiful swirling handwriting. Turning it over, I noticed an exquisite seal of red wax, with a pretty 'A' imprinted on it.

After dinner and a hot bath, I made myself a cup of tea, lit my bedside candle and - feeling like a heroine in one of Jane Austen's novels - broke the seal of my precious epistle. It was a letter from my friend Alice; two delightful pages of amusing stories, news and questions.

In this era of emails, texts and social networking, the experience ofreceiving a handwritten letter is rare. People no longer take the care and time to sit down and write a proper letter, or even a thank you note. There is nothing more delightful than getting an unexpected letter from a friend, it makes one feel so special and loved knowing that someone has taken the time and effort to create something just for you!

I love writing letters. the ritual of sitting down at my desk, carefully selecting the pen and paper, and contemplating the words to be written, makes me yearn for the "old days" in which text-talk and Facebook were as unheard-of as walking on the moon. I keep all my papers and stamps in a beautiful box with a sachet of lavender, so every time I lift the lid, I am greeted with that distinct fragrance that brings so many precious memories racing to mind.

I keep my letters in a drawer of my desk, all tied in red velvet ribbon. Among them are letters from my older sister Kate, who wrote to me while she was studying at university in Sydney. I loved racing up to the mailbox to see if the long awaited-for letter had arrived. Her letters, written on thick cream paper and with a proper quill pen and ink, often made me laugh out loud, and I treasure them lovingly to this very day. I also have letters from my darling great-grandmother, who is now 100 years old (and the best letter writer I know!). Her letters hold a special place in my heart, and though she is now unable to write, I still keep in touch by sending her long newsy letters about the latest escapades of our family.

One of the most exciting letters I have received was a letter from Queen Elizabeth's Lady-in-Waiting. I wrote to the Queen for her birthday in 2009 and a few weeks later received a reply on thick white paper with the Royal Coat of Arms embossed on it.

Dear Elizabeth (it said)

The Queen wishes me to write and thank you for the letter and kind message which you have sent for her Official Birthday.

Her Majesty was very pleased to hear from you, and I am to thank you most sincerely for remembering the Queen at this time.

Yours sincerely,

Susan Hussey.

Lady-in-Waiting

I was so excited that I had got a letter from somebody so famous!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Part II coming soon....

Party!

A few weeks ago, my friend Holly threw a party for her 13th birthday. The theme was that you had to come dressed in a costume from any period before the 20th century.

As you can imagine, it was HEAPS of fun! Everyone looked amazing and we all had a fantastic time.

Here a few photos of the dress I wore. To read all about the party, go to Holly's blog.

Guest posting over here today...

Tagged!

Both Lauren and Alice have tagged me with the Lovely Blog Award. Thanks girls!

In this tag, you have to list seven things about yourself that people may not know, then tag 15 other bloggers. Not sure whether I can come up with 15 different people to tag but I'll give it a go!

Seven Random Things About Me That You May Not Know

1. Kevin Rudd is my fourth cousin twice removed
2.I wrote to the Queen for her birthday in 2009 and got a reply from her lady-in-waiting

3. I have extremely weird dreams all the time. The other night I had one about mum making me swim 5 kilometres while carrying my handbag and water bottle.

4. I absolutely ADORE mint and chocolate biscuits

5. I have really long toes

6. I started playing soccer but after one game I quit

7. Everyone who knows me calls me 'Eebee'


Okay! So now I'm going to tag just a few girls - Bri, Kenzie, Briony, Alexandra, Jessica, Bria, and India.

Have fun!

Happy Spring!

Goodbye Winter!

Well, today is the very last day of Winter. I am so looking forward to Spring, but there have been some things that I love about the cold season. Things like:

♥ Curling up by the fire with a good read

♥ Long, brisk walks with the dog

♥ Bokeh

♥ Cute flannel pj's

♥ Snowdrops

♥Beef Bourguignon

♥ Endless games of Scrabble and Take Two

♥ Beautiful white mornings

♥ Nursing a cold with an enormous pile of Donna Hay magazines and steaming Peppermint Tea

♥ Crisp, clear nights with an amazing view of the stars

♥ Hot chocolates

What are some things you like about Winter?

I love this!

Image courtesy of That Kind of Woman

I love roses...

Couldn't resist capturing this beautiful rose this morning.
I'm really sorry for the delay with the Kusodamu Ball tutorial. It's coming!

Kusodama Ball Tutorial, Part 1

And finally, the long-awaited Kusodama Ball tutorial! I'm planning to do this tutorial in three parts over the next few weeks. Have fun!

Kusodama Ball Tutorial, Part 1

In this post, I'm showing you how to make the individual petals for the flowers. All you'll need is 60 pieces of paper cut into 8x8cm squares.

Step 1. You start with a square of paper.
Step 2. Fold it in half to form a triangle.
Step 3. Fold the left corner up to the middle corner.
Step 4. Do the same with the right corner.

Step 5. Fold the left point in half again so the edge of it is exactly in line with the outside edge of the square.
Step 6. Do the same with the right side.
Step 7. This is where things get a bit tricky! What you have to do now is open up the left flap you've just folded, and flatten it out.
Step 8. Do the same with the other side.

Step 9. Fold the top of the left triangle down so it's level with the edge of the paper.
Step 10. Do the same with the other side.
Step 11. Fold the left triangle back together again along the crease you've already made.
Step 12. And the same with the other side!

Repeat with the other 59 squares.

I'm still trying to work out how to make my photos bigger, but in the meantime, if you click on each photo they'll come up in their full size and you'll be able to see the individual steps more clearly.

Kusodama Ball...

I first discovered these delightful creations in an article from Australian Country Style, and I've been smitten ever since. They make the perfect gift, and are so simple to make. All you need is paper, glue, bobby pins, and a bit of patience. I used vintage music to make this one, but you can also use old books, maps, scrapbooking paper - anything that tickles your fancy!

Tutorial coming soon...

Fledgling Farmer

spiced maple biscuits

Here is a recipe for a batch of delicious biscuits I made this afternoon. Enjoy!


Spiced Maple Biscuits

125g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons boiling water
1 1/2 cups plain flour

maple icing
1 cup icing sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Place the butter, sugar, maple syrup and mixed spice in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until melted and smooth.
Place the bicarbonate of soda and water in a bowl and stir to combine. Add the butter mixture and stir to combine. Add the flour and mix until smooth. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time onto baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper, allowing room to spread. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the biscuits are golden and firm around the edges. While the biscuits are baking, make the maple icing. Place the icing sugar and maple syrup in a bowl and whisk until well combined.
Cool biscuits on wire racks. Drizzle over icing and allow to set.
Makes 12.

Recipe from Donna Hay Magazine

'Catnap'

Puss having a snooze in the morning sun. Trés mignon!

Hydrangeas...

more pink