stained glass window cake...

This year I put my hand up to tackle one of the family Christmas cakes, previously the sole responsibility of my Mother and as Sunday was grey and drizzly here, it was perfect for a little festive baking...

We traditionally have two cakes at Christmas.., a lusciously rich fruit cake with lots of brandy and a marzipan/royal icing and the 'Stained Glass Window Cake' laden with nuggets of glace fruit and nuts, which is the one I decided to attempt (the easier of  the two).

Ingredients

3/4 cup of plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt.

3/4 cup of caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs   

1 cup of chopped dried figs

1  & 1/2 cups of whole brazil nuts

1 & 1/2 cups of whole walnuts or pecans

1/2 a cup of glacé ginger

1 cup of maraschino cherries

1 cup of dried Turkish apricots

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (150 for fan forced).
• Triple sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
• Add the sugar, fruit and nuts and combine.
• Whisk the eggs well and add to the bowl, along with the vanilla.
• Stir all ingredients until really well combined (it's a Christmas tradition in our family to all have a  good stir and make a wish).
• Press firmly into a greased and paper lined bar tin (approx 200 x 125mm) and level out on top.
• Bake on the centre rack for 1 & 3/4 - 2 hours or until firm.
• Allow to cool for half an hour before turning out of pan and then cool completely before removing paper.
• Once cool, wrap cake tightly in foil and cling wrap and then refrigerate.
• Slice very thinly with a sharp knife to serve and enjoy!!

I love this cake because beside from being really yummy (especially if you're  a nut fan like me), when sliced it really does remind you of stained glass. Making this cake turned out to be pretty easy too...

Now it will sit in the fridge (untouched) until Christmas. I will be strong...

a little reinvention, part one.

Earlier this week a favourite, albeit rarely worn necklace fell to pieces in my hands. It was a very long strand of deco hued jet, jade and creamy onyx beads by Day Birger et Mikkelsen.

With a heavy heart, I swept up the remains and was about to relegate them to the jewellery/clothes/random stuff in need of repair cupboard.., when all those images of the gorgeous girls at the Cup decked out in 'Statement' baubles, came flooding back to me. (I should note, I was nowhere near the Melbourne Cup, rather having a tres low key celebration at home, just Thom and I with vegemite sandwiches, in front of the telly).

Thus inspired, I rifled through my bead jars and ribbon box and pulled together some random bits and bobs that might work with the onyx... Then I got to work threading...

A couple of hours later and voila!! One homemade 'Statement' necklace!

Not too bad and so fun to do!  Next I'd like to create something dramatic with the jet and jade perhaps. Then maybe a couple of colourful trinkets for my nieces for Christmas...

 Look out, someones got the beading bug...

not so fantastic plastic

Last week, after years of just 'watching'..,  I finally experienced the rush from bidding on and 'winning' my first Ebay item!! 

My glittering prize was a set of classic Kartell nesting tables, at a too good to be true price.. Wow, what a bargain I thought.., perfect side table solution I thought...  

My husband brought them home and it was love at first sight!

On closer inspection however, it became clear that life has not been kind to these little tables at all. 

Alas, even with some serious spit and polish on my part there seems to be little chance of restoring them back to their original glory... 

The next best thing I guess would be to respray them.

I've done a bit of research and it appears that there is several decent paint products out there just made for such a job... I was even thinking of being a bit zany and spraying them three different (maybe tonal) colours. What do you think??

Before I take the plunge and spend up at Bunnings on paint though, I'd love to know if anyone out there has undertaken a similar restoration and has any tips?!

I really hope I can salvage them.., if not they may become destined to be my first Ebay sale...

ps. I've been trying to post this for a couple of days... I seem to keep getting these bugs in Blogger! Anyone else having the same problems..?

new boots...

The Hampton food fest everything I expected. Great food, music and stunning Autumn weather. We came away with full bellies and laden with organic vegies (3 avocados for $2),  home made ravioli, jams & an especially yummy raspberry vinegar...

What I wasn't expecting was the sartorial elegance on show. Those country ladies really know how to dress for the cooler weather... The common denominator on the style front were the boots! Proper country boots, comfortable and tough enough to kick around in all day, then dust off for the trip into 'town'...  I want some!

This Ralph Lauren pair I spied online here would fit the bill nicely.., vintage tan leather, stacked heel, mid calf, a little bit biker... shame they're a tad out of my price range.  Though the mid year Sales are just around the corner, so you never know...

happy easter!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Easter weekend! Like a lot of people I know, I'll be spending mine tackling a few long over due projects around the house and catching up with family, while trying to avoid eating my weight in chocolate & hot cross buns... 

See you soon. xx

how does my garden grow?

It's been one whole month since I planted my little garden and I'm happy to say (that against the odds), it's well... thriving!

Maybe as I blogged about lacking a green thumb early on, I now feel especially responsible for this little endeavour's survival... 

The tomato for example has almost quadrupled in size and even though it's not bearing any fruit yet (my little collage is a tad exaggerated), it is covered in flowers which means baby tomatoes are on the way right?

sign of good things to come... 

my asst gardener on snail watch

Now that our little patch is a bit more established, we've started to reap the rewards as well... Last night we had scrummy pumpkin and sage risotto! Now if only I could claim the pumpkin was mine as well...  

Happy gardening! 

my babies...

risotto with home grown sage

little bowl of sunshine

A leisurely Sunday breakfast at a favourite cafe is a rare treat these days... Our six month old is yet to appreciate such things.
Lately I've been missing this little weekend ritual and craving a breakfast menu staple, a good drop of bircher...

So instead of denying myself until our next breakfast out (whenever that may be), I made some myself.  I found a recipe on lifestylefood.com.au by Neil Perry to use as a starting point and adjusted it suit my taste. So simple and yummy,  wished I'd made some sooner...


The night before -

• Soak 2 cups of rolled oats in 2 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice (I used 'Daily Juice Company', much less work).
• Cover and refridgerate.

In the morning fold through the following ingredients -

• 1 cup of creamy natural yoghurt (greek style works well)
• 2 cups of freshly grated apple
• 4 tablespoons of honey (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Spoon into bowls and serve with a dollop of yoghurt, a dusting of cinnamon and top with fresh or poached fruit. (serves four)

on the hunt for...

chambray or tencil, midthigh with darts please...

extra long, super soft & hot pink!

boat neck, 3/4 sleeves & perfect stripe to white ratio.

tweed, cord or velvet or maybe all three...

Today I headed to the shops, in order to pick up a few items for my wardrobe...  As usual, I had very specific ideas in mind and... as usual I came home empty handed. 

Mind you, I wasn't after anything particularly exotic or outlandish, quite the opposite really and for that reason, my usual 'go to' stores had elements of what I was after, but nothing that quite fitted the bill...

Might mean trying my hand at making my own... 

Bit daunting though, as I don't knit and I haven't sewn anything wearable  since Home Ec class. We made elastic waisted shorts from nursery print curtain fabric. Yep, they were all the rage circa 1988... 

Speaking of late eighties/early nineties style... does anyone remember the 'Chic Simple' book series??

I used to own a couple of titles, 'Clothes' & 'Home' I think.

The design and layout of these books was very fresh back then... so I'd be interested to see if they've stood the test of time.

Anyway, the hunt continues...