katiecrackernuts

HAVE LUNCH, WILL TRAVEL

2012-01-26T07:00:00.003+11:00

YOU people are the best. You endure my constant moaning about feeding the family and you supply menu choices. What more could a gal ask for of her bloggy pals? There are gems among the comments on my last post and, really, I know there's more to be shared. Don't be shy. Go on. What's your one-dish wonder? Even better, what's the dish you pack up each night as your next day's lunch? Seems we'd all like to know.

Lunches that will travel caught the imagination of a few attentive readers and let me tell you, with a two-hour train commute to work I feel I can confidently recommend lunch containers that can be packed a day ahead, will hold your food, keep it cool, keep it from leaking and keep it from stinking out an entire carriage. Nothing nastier than a fellow commuter for whom the last seat left on the train is next to you and your curried egg sanga.

Let me tell you, the Famous Five were on to something. They travelled light and simple - a little like the delightful Kylie, of Mizu Designs, (read her comment on my last post). Honestly, you can't go far past an honest, fair-dinkum sandwich for portability. But, Lordy, can it get dull. I tried this zucchini and rice slice recipe last week and it worked a treat. It could be eaten cold, or reheated, and it was filling - oh yes, it's hard to put in a 12-hour day on one sandwich. And, if I am not mistaken, it's gluten free. My only problem was that it was such a hit with the other worker bees in our household that it was gone by Tuesday.

Try it and keep the play lunch tips coming. Oh, and squeeze in a Lamington today. Think of me when you do: I'm at work.

MENU PLAN THIS (OR HOW COOKBOOKS FAILED ME)

2012-01-23T06:00:00.012+11:00

ONE more week and the last of our lot heads back to school for his final year. One more year, ya hear that? One more year of school terms and school holidays and the kind of routine that rolls with them because you know what, it’s boring, isn’t it? No, go on, it is.

Maybe it’s another wet weekend that’s done it to me, but I am bored to snores with the routine of our busy household. The chores are all done and there’s always food in the fridge but man, oh man, I’m kickin’ against knowing what’s going to be on the table three days ahead of time and eating the same portable lunch day in, day out because it travels well on the two-hour commute, doesn’t leak and doesn’t smell. Kickin’, I tells ya.

I swear the growing collection of old cook books is about looking for that perfect recipe. You know the one? It’s the one where all the ingredients are in the cupboard. The one everyone will like: the vegetarian, the meat-eater who hates vegetables, the diet-conscious and the carb-loader. The one you can whip out for guests and have on the table looking like it was no effort at all. Every time I bring a 50c cookbook home from the op shop, I scour it for some wisdom of the past, reading menu planners, ingredients and quantities like I am consulting an oracle.

So many cook books come out each and every season, and we, chumps all, buy them but, truth be told, the two cookbooks pulled from our shelves more often than not are old kindergarten and school fundraiser. Each one of those recipe bears the name of a women who’d baked and boiled and broiled and mashed and marinaded until she could do no more and turned instead to that one true fool-proof, time-saving, cost-effective dish – and bless her, she shared it.

What’s your one dish wonder?

The Family Cookbook: (Published on behalf of Stork Cookery Bureau, 1971), 50c, Vinnies

Kitchen Fun For Everyone: A cookbook for boys and girls: (Published on behalf of The Australian Dried Fruits Association, date unknown), $2, House of Stuff

Tooled leather purse: 50c, Vinnies

Willow Australia pie plate: $4, Salvos

TOO MUCH STUFF IS, WELL, TOO MUCH

2012-01-17T07:00:00.001+11:00

We’re 17 days in. How are those New Year resolutions going? I’m not good at them myself. I’ve heaps of room for improvement but I know my limitations and, let’s face it, I’d be setting myself up to fail – big time.

That said, if I had one resolution it would be to kick the habit of letting things pile up until I am stymied by indecision and overwhelmed by to-dos. Over the holiday break I sorted things. I didn’t really clear out cupboards – though that should probably happen someday soon – but I got things in order, physically and mentally.

I whittled down piles of paperwork, let go of projects clearly destined for another time and found places for things lying around the house. Piles of things. Mostly my piles. Piles of vintage fabric. Piles of mending. Never ending piles of unfinished books, magazines and recipe folders. You know, the things that’ll be better once I’ve taken them in, brought up the hem, ripped off the sleeves. The recipe to dazzle friends with when you finally get around to inviting them over for dinner. The magazine with pages of new things to look up and add to your reader. You know the stuff. The great big gargantuan piles of STUFF. I even photographed my latest pile. Two op-shopped books from my mother (I come from a family of pile builders); a vintage frock I WILL take the hem up on; a cheap and cheerful perfume I bought because I remembered wearing it 20 years ago; and, the latest still unread, edition of Frankie, bought because I adored the dress on the cover. See, I have a problem.

Even my digital space is cluttered. I’ve worked hard to rid myself of an extensive list of bookmarked pages and am instead using Pinterest to catalogue stuff I want to come back to and stuff I want to share. There’s just so much good stuff out there. I’m OD’ing on good stuff. How much good stuff can one girl handle? Is there a cut-off? A known limit? How do you turn away from the good stuff?

THINGS TO MAKE AND DO: Chinese rice bowl planters from Poppytalk.

THINGS TO COOK AND EAT: Raspberry curd from Kootoyoo

THINGS TO DROP DOUGH ON: This board is starting to look like a library catalogue but, hey, I like dropping dough on books. The Wilder Life, by Wendy McClure.

THINGS TO HANG ON THE WALL: OK, I failed. There’s four boards. Sue me. I can’t buy, eat or make E.A. Seguy’s natural history drawings of cicadas so there had to be another board.

Vintage dress: $20, from markets at Peats Ridge Festival
The Pooh Sketch Book: thrift gift from my mother
Frankie (Jan/Feb): $9.50, newsagency
$4711 eau de toilette: $12.95, pharmacy

FAMOUS FIVE SAYS...

2012-01-03T10:38:00.003+11:00

All my "Famous Five Says" posts may well be food-related. Each and every one of these picnic-like spreads has me salivating. Enjoy.

"Pork pie - home made, of course," said Dick. "And what's this - golly, it's a cheese! How enormous! Smell it, Julian - it's enough to make you start eating straightaway! And more of that home-made bread! Can't we start?"
"No - there are new-laid boiled eggs to begin with," said Anne with a laugh. "And an apple pie and cream to end with. So I hope you really are hungry, you two!"

- Back at the farm again from, Five Get Into A Fix, by Enid Blyton (1957)

SUMMER LOVIN', HAD ME A BLAST

2012-01-02T16:55:00.004+11:00

HOORAY. Summer weather has finally arrived and there has been a trip to the beach the past two days. I might be able to squeeze another in tomorrow before heading back to work mid-week. My new-to-me togs are laid out with the beach basket, ready and waiting.

TOGS: $49, The Glass Onion Society
BASKET: $8, Vinnies

2011 DONE AND DUSTED

2011-12-31T09:00:00.001+11:00

LAST day of 2011. Last day of December. Here's what merriment it brought.

READ: Mildred Pierce and Blue Shoes and Happiness.

LISTENED TO: The 2011 Boyer Lectures, New Orleans Christmas carols and Elvis Presley carols.

SAW: The Picasso exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW and the Sydney Town Hall Christmas light show.

BEEN: To 360 Bar for a work Christmas do, the NSW Southern Highlands for a post-Christmas family get-together and Glenworth Valley to set up for the Peats Ridge Festival.

EATEN: Rhubarb and vanilla macarons at Cafe Cre Asion, the trio of dips at The Glass Onion Society, tomatoes, corn and cucumbers (mini whites) from the garden.

IF THAT'S CHRISTMAS, WE'VE DONE IT

2011-12-26T13:44:00.009+11:00

WAS it merry and bright? Ours was but I didn't manage to get a record of it - there were platters to put out, pavlovas to make, salads to dress, presents to pass around, people to hug, celebrations to be had, good news to be shared, tears, cheers and beers (pear cider for me). The family snapped a few good shots including a typical Christmas action pic of me. I've whacked it up on Facebook. The rest of my photos were little festive cameos taken leading up to Christmas Day.

:: Handmade tinned shortbread made by daughter No.2 for extended family.
::   This year's decoration, stitched by me on Christmas Eve from vintage tea towels.
::   The New Orleans Christmas album had plenty of airplay this year.
::   Nanette, this gets pride of place every year.
::   Gorgeous soaps for my grandmother, aunt and great aunt.
::   Christmas reading and sweet, flickering tealight candles.

We're now basking in a kind of post-Christmas, holiday ease. I'll crack open a leftover bottle of pear cider tonight and think of you.

ALL IS QUIET

2011-12-19T08:25:00.002+11:00

IT'S quiet in the house this morning. I've been up, saluting the sun, drinking tea, making a list of all the things I need to do today. Tomorrow the house will be noisy, messy, food will fill the table and drink will flow. The boy is back from his weekend of camping and the girls - and their fellas - will drift in from interstate, around the corner and most likely from the surf to decorate the tree. It's an annual gathering, a tradition marked by each of the children getting a new decoration to hang, Bing Crosby playing through the house, fighting over the placement of tinsel, a spat and crazy Christmas crumping.

Merry Christmas to you and yours. Wear your sunscreen, eat a banana Paddlepop, or two, and make sure you get a nana nap in after lunch on Christmas day.

THE DAY AFTER THE OFFICE PARTY

2011-12-11T17:59:00.002+11:00

THE work Christmas party was Friday and though more champagne was thrown down the hatch then I'd usually imbibe in, I came up OK on Saturday morning. Best of all, I'd booked a room in the city, bought tickets to the Picasso exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and had my flats packed to enjoy a day hoofing it around the city. What I didn't drink in champagne, I made up for in macaron scoffing. Someone stop me eating. Seriously.

Image source: The Rules Of: The Office Holiday Party, on GOOD.IS

THE CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

2011-11-26T12:05:00.002+11:00

Because I've been asked, here is the Christmas wish list.

Clockwise from top right: Vintage Boy Scout outdoor cook book; Etsy; With My Body, by Nikki Gemmell; Cloudstreet DVD; Conversations with Creative Women, buy online; Design Files 2012 calendar, buy online; spectacle frames, Etsy; sandals, Etsy; Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, by Michael Pollan, available on Amazon; and, solid watercolour paints.

Please. Or, any second-hand, op-shopped thing you think I'd like.

FAMOUS FIVE SAYS...

2011-11-19T17:28:00.004+11:00

I'M introducing a new thingy to the blog. I'm calling it Famous Five Says...

Every so often - don't hold me to a routine - I'll whack up a quip from the Famous Five books I've started rereading. Already the books have inspired a drink and a nostalgia trip of ridiculous proportion and I thought I'd share a little of the wisdom and whimsy of the five's adventures.

It was a lovely picnic, that first one in the copse. There were clumps of primroses all round, and from somewhere nearby came the sweet scent of hidden violets. A thrush was singing madly on a hazel tree, with two chaffinches calling "pink pink" every time he stopped
"Band and decorations laid on," said Julian, waving his hand towards the singing birds and the primroses.

XMAS COMES BUT ONCE A YEAR (THANK GOODNESS)

2011-11-19T17:15:00.002+11:00

BOY, is it hot. Has it been hot where you are? Roll on the summer holidays I say. I'd like a little lie down under a beach umbrella. There's almost to much to do before work closes for its Christmas shut-down and I can take things easy. There's the shopping to do, menus to think about, treats to bake and make - like the garland I want to string from my op-shopped readers - or not. Each reader was only 50c each from Vinnies but I still have problems cutting up books. You?

Op-shopped goodies are being collected for all kinds of things at the moment. Some just because I can't leave them on the shelf - a 1930s handbag for $12 and silver pencil for 50c - both from last month's beachside car boot sale.

Op-shopped Christmas cards - all lovely and kitsch - $1 for five.

Linen tea-towels, $2 each and destined for a Chritmas-themed sewing project, and edged handkerchiefs - $1 the lot.

THERE'S FROZEN PIZZA AND DON'T ASK ABOUT SANTA

2011-11-06T17:50:00.001+11:00

THINGS have finally slowed down a little. The whirligig has thrown us off and left us checking for scraped knees and knuckles.

The rollercoaster ride starts again tomorrow and will be rattlin' bones all the way to Christmas but for now I'm just enjoying where things are at. There's frozen pizzas in stock, plenty of cereal, half a cake and leftovers from the weekend. No one's gunna go hungry and I wasn't in the running for parent of the year anyhoot.

You'all have a good week.

SAY A LITTLE PRAYER OR TWO

2011-10-28T17:17:00.000+11:00

LOOK, when times get tough, what can you do but pray. To the Op-Shop Gods, of course. It seems they took a good hard look at my week and decided I needed a win, and win I did. A Polaroid Sun 600 LMS camera, $4, and bit of sparkle, also $4, both from my local Vinnies.

OI, CAN I BORROW YA FLAK JACKET?

2011-10-23T12:57:00.000+11:00

YUP, it's been a mad, mad working week and I'm mentally and physically psyching myself up for the next round. I have no tips on how one does this and can't say I'm that great at it, especially when there's no tangible end in sight. I was saying to Jodi this week, gardening is one way I switch off from the routines of work and family life and immerse myself in gentler, earthbound rhythms. Being in the garden is as close to waving my white flag as I get. Out there, people just let me be.

However, even in my garden there are signs of other lives, families, routines and daily grinds. I've worked these beds near on eight years now and still find remnants of the family that lived here before ours arrived. The third generation of that one family were all boys - four of them, I believe. I found one of their marbles and a toy soldier only last weekend. That tiny, advancing soldier might be a message from the past. I'm not sure entirely what the message is, but if it's to do with strapping on a flak jacket and yelling "Charge!" I'm already there.

EAT YOUR DAMN SHEEP'S HEAD

2011-10-16T14:47:00.000+11:00

IT'S a crazy week here in katiecrackernuts-land. The news company I work for is relaunching its print newspapers across Sydney and we're all busy beavers making that happen.

Of course, not to do things by half, my partner and I are both journalists and both work for the same company so we've both been slammed by the roll-out.

Not one to be beaten - at least not in the first week post launch - we went into working-parent overdrive today and cooked evening meals to get us through to at least mid-week. There's a light vegetarian option for Sunday's supper, a chicken curry for Monday and a homemade family-size pie for Tuesday night. There's a plan involving a barbecue chicken, phone-ahead pizza and salads for Wednesday and Thursday.

Friday night I'll fall into a heap on the couch with a piece of toast and a cup of tea - if that.

Clearly, our plan is not exclusive to the modern day. If the vintage cook book collection I have is anything to go by, I am not the first working parent trying to menu plan ahead of time.

A recent addition to the cook books was My Daily Dinner Cookery Book. The book quite literally gives you a menu for evening meals, Sunday through to Saturday. It's an Australian book and starts in summer. Here's just a hint of what a Sunday menu was in the first week of menus (remember it's summer). Roast lamb, mint sauce, green peas and baked potatoes. A baked custard and stewed apples finishes things off.

Anyone feeling sweaty, or greasy, or sweaty and greasy?

The Thursday and Friday of the third week had me feeling downright queasy. Thursday's menu was fricasse of sheep's head, carrots, parsnips and potatoes. A sponge jelly helps wash the whole thing down. The following day, so as not to waste your sheep head purchase, it's a sheep's head broth, with scalloped fish and potatoes as the main, and half pay pudding to finish. I could go on with a description of how to prepare your sheep's head but, honestly, I've decided the blog has a G rating.

Despite the overuse of offal, the puddings and sweets are a treat to read - most of them for name alone. Apple Ferguson, Pineapple Snow, Ponsonby Pudding, Siberian Cream, Pirate's Delight. They're dream dishes, no? And, if the desserts don't delight, at least the hints are helpful. Did you know macaroni swells to three times its size? Now you do.

LIST IT ALL: THROUGH LEMONGRASS EYES

2011-10-16T14:05:00.004+11:00

JEN Sheridan, of Through Lemongrass Eyes, is what I like to call a "hearty" blogger. Hearty as in "a good hearty soup", and hearty as in "plenty of heart" too. Whenever Jen posts something new on her blog it's always got grit, is real, is inspiring and is just, well, Jen.

Q... What's the inspiration behind your blog name, Through Lemongrass Eyes?
A... I'd been letting the idea of writing a blog percolate for a while. All the cheesy puns using my name had been taken and at the time, I was working in an outdoor gear store. My friends and I had been laughing at the ridiculous names assigned to product colours. It seemed they were always Nomad, Storm, or Canyon Rose where blue, steel blue and siena would probably do. As we sat having a beer one afternoon, one of my friends remarked my eyes were the same colour as a shirt in stock. "Your eyes are the exact same green as that shirt," they said, to which I replied, "I believe you mean Lemongrass". We agreed Lemongrass Eyes would be a great band name, or a blog name, I quietly thought. It seemed to sum up my blog - a look at the world through my eyes - with a hint at plants and food.

Q... Who designed your blog header?
A... I use a photo with a little text for my header, which I haven't yet changed from day one. I wanted something lush and green and at the time the spoon lily plant shown was the only thing growing in the garden of the rental house I was living in so it was the default option.

Q... Do you have a design tip for new bloggers?
A... Make it easy for your reader. If I have to read a difficult font I'll never move beyond Google Reader to the actual blog. Choose a few basic rules about spacing that you try to stick to so it looks regular and even. Have an archive and tags so new arrivals at your blog can peruse your back posts and get an idea of who you are and your story up to that point. i like blogs that help you understand the author's recurring themes, whether by way of a summary in the profile or blog header, or a list of tags. And the one tip I wish I could follow but don't seem able to: take good photos.

Through Lemongrass Eyes blog

Source: All images Through Lemongrass Eyes

SIMPLE

2011-10-09T14:57:00.000+11:00

AT home, I'll be focussing on the simple things this coming week. A pile of new-to-me books picked up at my favourite quarterly book sale.

And newly sharp coloured pencils to be used on an op-shop illustration, or two.

ONE WORLD-SAVING CHARITY AT A TIME

2011-10-04T21:20:00.000+11:00

So, it’s October 3 and I’ve already failed the Buy Nothing New Month challenge. Don't blame me, blame the gorgeous Souvenir dress calling me from a rack at Everleigh Artisan Markets on Sunday. That and charity fatigue.

Go on, surely I can't be the only one suffering charity fatigue. Every time I turn a page in a magazine or scroll down my Facebook news feed, someone's spruiking some new worthy charity. I can't keep up.

It's World Food Day on October 16 and to team with the theme Australian Red Cross has its Big Cake Bake on October 14. A few days later, on October 17, you can host a Food for Thought dinner, supporting Opportunity International's efforts on the international day for the eradication of poverty.

If you wish to be kosher about the whole World Food Day thing, Oxfam is asking restaurants and their diners to Shout the Horn. If your local's not part of the action, Oxfam has another aligned initiative, Gather to Grow, supporting sustainable solutions for small-scale producers.If that's not enough, Australian Good Taste is the sponsor for the 1000 Plates Project and publisher Fairfax is backing UNICEF project Bread for Good.

If you’re not yet feeling guilty about every morsel you stuff into your overfed mouth, then start worrying about your wardrobe.

Loud Shirt Day is on October 21, supporting First Voice deliver language therapy services to deaf and hearing impaired children. Frocktober is raising fund for ovarian cancer research and Do It In a Dress is raising funds for One Girl, which supports the education of impoverished girls.

Another organisation doing similar work - sans charity event - is The Girl Effect. Heard of it? I've used The Girl Effects fabulous videos when teaching Girl Guides about advocacy and I defy anyone who watches this video not to feel upbeat about the possibilities of acting for change. Yes, yes, I know. That includes me. I've got to get over my charity fatigue and jump back on the bandwagon. Give what you can, do what you can. Girl Guides make a Promise, you know. It starts with... I promise to do my best. So go on, what are you waiting for? Pick your charity poison and sign up before the month of giving ends and the silly season has us in its grip.

Oh, before you start registering for one, or more of the listed events, here's one more: Global Handwashing Day is on October 15. Would I lie? Only a Girl Guide could possibly know about these obscure, yet so breathtakingly simple and important, international initiatives. The Global Soap Project is one way you can help.

BARTENDER, GIMME A FAMOUS FIVE, MAKE IT A DOUBLE

2011-09-27T20:13:00.001+10:00

I KNOW I am going on a bit with the Famous Five stuff but, hell, it's good stuff so indulge me a post or two more.

The last mystery I read, The Famous Five Get Into Trouble (well, der), had the gang downing ginger beer and lime every time they got the chance. What is this ginger beer and lime, I thought, and, as I do like to be in the know, I bought myself a bottle of ginger beer and a bottle of lime cordial and mixed myself a little 1950s kiddie beverage.

It's not bad. In fact, it's bloody good and if you don't believe me duck down to the corner store, pick yourself up some ginger beer and lime and start mixing. I'm calling it the Famous Five. If you know what would make it into a kick-butt adult version, hit me with it. I'm thinking gin, or maybe vodka for a cheat's version of a Moscow Mule. Suggestions?

PRINT TO POST, SAME RULES APPLY: TSK TSK

2011-09-25T10:58:00.000+10:00

TIEL, of TSK TSK, is one of those bloggers who appear in my reader sans pictures and copy and I always, always, click to see what new thing she's painted, or photographed. Her work is that good.

Not surprisingly, she's got the most to say about how she likes her blog to look. The theme, undoubtedly, from all the bloggers I've interviewed is a "less is more" approach. I'm unsure whether that's a particularly Australian design aesthetic. If I'd asked American bloggers I think the answer might have been more is more. I don't know about you but I can't come at a good proportion of American bloggers because their sites overwhelm me. One thing is for sure, in compiling answers for this series, I've learned a little about my own blog preferences. I am drawn to imagery and a clean blog design. The fact the answers re blog design are so similar is testimony to that. The question then is, am I simply a sucker for like-type blogs? Am I a blog snob with my own little clique of blogging favourites - all of them treasured online pals, mind you.

Do we all tend to fall for the blogs most like our own - in design and content? Is blogging just a natural social extension of our real-life selves where the people we meet and have in our inner circle reflect where we are, who we are, what we do, where we are in the cycle of life and what our interests are?

So much to think about.

Anyhoot, enough about me. Here's more about Tiel.

Q... What's the inspiration behind your blog and business name, TSK TSK?
A... Well, it's pretty straight forward. T is for Tiel, S is for Seivl and K is for Keevers. It's just my name. How I got such a long name is a story in itself but I won't bore you with the details. I was going to have TSK as a business name but it was taken, so I registered under TSK TSK. My name is too long and wordy to use as it is, hence the abbreviation.

Q... Who designed your blog header and how did you come to decide what images or graphics best suited your blog?
A... I have always designed my blog headers myself. I'm ready for a new one. With the current one I wanted to show two elements important to me. Nature and art. I made these paper vases and one day decided to put a real flower in it. I stuck it to my toilet wall because it always had good light - in our old house - with washi tape. Simple. I just design my headers based on usually a photo or artwork that I have created. I get bored with them so I change every few months.

(I love that Tiel has mentioned the strange places bloggers will set up photo shoots, in this case a toilet wall. I've been known to suddenly arrange things across the floor in the children's bedrooms or prop things up against a bedroom door, angled just so. - katiecrackernuts)

Q... Do you have a design tip for new bloggers?
A... Design tip. Keep it simple. I hate visiting blogs with too many graphics and ads, it can look like a dog's breakfast. Mine is a little messy right now and I need to strip it back. Oh, and don't use too many colours. Especially for the text component. There's nothing worse than reading coloured text on a coloured background. Keep all your font choices limited. Two at the most and your styles the same. Basic desktop publishing rules should apply to your computer screen just as they do to printed matter.

Tsk Tsk blog
Tsk Tsk website with links to Big Cartel and Etsy
Tsk Tsk Facebook

Source: All images TSK TSK

FRIED - MY BRAIN, NOT THE EGG

2011-09-21T17:17:00.001+10:00

I STARTED back at work this week and though I love my job, after two weeks of pottering around home, garden and the op shops, it's been a shock. I'm wishing I was back pondering the art of making the perfect poached egg, a skill I can say I successfully mastered - age 37 - during my annual leave. I know, simple things do amuse. I had to master it to make me this tasty treat.

Poached, scrambled, boiled or fried? Do you have an eggy preference? Come on, work with me here. It's serious stuff back at work. Help me keep the holiday glow for a couple more days, I beg of you.

FILL IT WITH EYE CANDY: GRRL+DOG

2011-09-18T11:12:00.000+10:00

I AM a relatively new reader of Denise's blog Grrl+Dog. You know the blogs that you stumble upon and they resonate straight away? Denise's blog was like that. In fact, one of the first posts of Denise's I read was not from that long ago and was a homage, photos and words, to a special woman in her life and to women, salt of the earth women, everywhere - or at least that's how I read it. This particular post also starts with a shout out to another fabulous blogger and blogging inspiration, Pia Jane Bijkerk.

So, without further ado, I introduce Grrl+Dog.

Q... What's the inspiration behind your blog's name, Grrl+dog?
A... I love my dog. We scrounge stuff together. Simple. And four years ago stsrtingout on this new fangled blog idea, I had NO idea. So I kept it simple, and personal. And looking around, I see that's pretty much how others have done it.

Q... Who designed your blog header and how did you come to decide what images or graphics best suited your blog?
A... Designed? Well thank you. I pick an image I like from my stuff and plonk a name on it. Not very tricky, though there seems to be a big trend for diptyches and triptychs at the moment. I change it when I get bored. The images reflect my work or a feel, which at the moment is all about using old fabric from the 1930s to make these primitive frayed hand stitched softies. So, of course, there had to be a softie there... and a dog.

Q... Do you have a design tip for new bloggers?
A... The "less is more" rule is a good one so is the KISS (Keep it simple) principle. It's tempting to decorate your new blog with all the toys they offer and maybe that is part of being a novice blogger. Take a look at the blogs you love and see what makes them work, design-wise. Most people visit blogs for the good eye candy.

Denise, like me, was curious about what her readers did and didn't like about blogs and though she posed her question differently, the answers she got back were interesting because they talked of design - things like big photos versus small photos and blog add-ons. Take a look at Denise's wrap-up of the answers to her own questions.

Grrl+Dog
Grrl+Dog blog
Grrl+Dog on Etsy
Grrl+Dog on Facebook

Source: All images Grrl+Dog

ONE LAST TILT AT THE OP SHOPS

2011-09-15T19:40:00.004+10:00

ONE last tilt at the op shops before I have to head back to work next week. Talk about a haul. I'd been told about an op shop north of where I live but try as I might I hadn't found the time to hunt it down. I made the effort this week and was richly rewarded. I spent a good two hours in this place and had to make myself put things back on the shelves.

What about that Italian pottery; my biggest spend at $12? And Snow White as illustrated by Laura Ljungkvist; the cheapest at 50c? Jeans $4.50, sewing and knitting patterns 70c each, silk scarf $3, sewing basket and embroidery ring (with pattern and cottons, not shown) $2 each and souvenir plate depicting Rockhampton's botanical gardens - a magic oasis of my childhood - $5. The basket was $15 from a Red Cross store on the North Shore but that's an entirely other story, maybe for another day.

PASS THE PECK'S PASTE, BY GEORGE

2011-09-12T13:35:00.000+10:00

HOW long has it been since you've read a Famous Five story? For me, I am guessing it's been a good 30 years. Lordy have things changed in that time. Granted, ol' Enid did write them in the 1950s but, by golly, my jaw hit the floor a number of times.

For starters, surely social services needed to be called in. Who lets their children go off riding into the never never for days on end, without even so much as checking where they're going and what they plan to do for accommodation and food?

And is it just me, or did Enid have a commission from the Department of Health to keep spruiking the virtues of exercise and hearty meals - in moderation and only when required as fuel? Either way, I was salivating at the simple, wholesome picnic spreads these young teens knocked up - mine have managed to rise to topping a pre-bought pizza crust, so I was suitably impressed.

Speaking of young teens, how old ARE the Famous Five. I picked Julian for 14 or 15? Anne at, what, 11 or 12? Anne seemed a whizz with fresh bread rolls, a bit of Pecks Paste and crisp lettuce - so dab a hand I tried it myself. Let me tell you, the five were onto something with that tasty morsel.

If you haven't read a Famous Five for a while and you've got one banging about at the back of a bookshelf, drag it out for a re-read. When you're done, get back to me and tell me if you weren't suddenly hankering to pack an overnight bag, slap it on your kid's back, hand over a couple of bucks and tell 'em to go off adventuring - possibly with a mobile phone programmed with Constable Plod's number?

BIG, BOLD INGREDIENTS: PEA SOUP

2011-09-11T20:38:00.001+10:00

SHHHH, don't tell Suse, of Pea Soup, but she's kinda my blogging hero. She's been blogging for, like, ever, and whenever Google Reader tells me she's posted something new I get quite excited. Suse keeps it real. She's unapologetic about her blog being HER blog, she's generous, super clever and she's just a little bit funny. I like people who are a little bit funny.

Q... What's the inspiration behind your blog name, Pea Soup?
A... It comes from my nickname. When I was 17 I went to America as an exchange student for a year. My host mother immediately nicknamed me Sweetpea and she called me that all year long. Many years later when I met my husband he, by coincidence, called me Sweetpea also, although he quickly shortened it to Pea. It stuck and 20 years later he still calls me Pea more often than he calls me Susan. When I started the blog, the idea of pea soup appealed because it allows for a wide range of content - the many different ingredients making up the "soup" of my life.

Q... Who designed your blog header?
A... I have no blog header these days, just a title. I used to put a banner photo up and change it semi-regularly but now I just have the blog title so the photos in the posts can shine without competition from the top of the page.

Q... Do you have a design tip for new bloggers?
A... I like the simple, unfussy template of a white background, minimal clutter on the sidebars, top and bottom, and a minimalist clean typeface. I like my photos to be as big as possible (the bigger of the two 'medium' sizes on Flickr), and for the photos to be the only colour on the blog. I've tinkered in the past and for quite a while I had a soft duck egg blue background, but for now it's white with soft grey text and I'm happy with it. It feels fresh and simple.

As for tips, I would advise using big bold photos. Don't use flash when taking photos and try to make your images crisp and inviting. Try not to clutter up your template with advertising or sidebar gimmicks, and don't use white type on a black background unless you want to give your readers severe eyestrain. Keep exclamation marks to a minimum,teach yourself appropriate apostrophe use and try not to split infinitives. Keep it real but at the same time, be discreet. The world really doesn't want to hear all about your domestic disharmony or your sex life. Have fun with your blog because that's what it's all about.

Pea Soup blog

Source: All pictures Pea Soup blog

WASHED, PRESSED AND PUT AWAY

2011-09-08T16:23:00.001+10:00

MY new-to-me spring wardrobe is washed, ironed and hanging in my wardrobe.

OP SHOP GOLD: THE WARDROBE OVERHAUL

2011-09-07T16:36:00.001+10:00

I HAVE two weeks of leave and have been making the most of a chance to dig about in my local op shops. I haven't posted a serious op shopping post for some time, the last one, from memory, was about cleaning leather.

Every op shopper has their op-shopping "thing", or "things" in my case, and today I realised seasonal shopping was one of my "things".

I've been scouring op shops for the basics of a new-to-me mid-season and summer wardrobe. I've already gone through what I own and picked out what can be mended or cut down into something new. Anything I don't think I'll wear again has gone out to be washed and bagged up for charity. I always, always wash anything that's going out. It's the decent thing, you know?

My wardrobe audit has produced a shopping list including a new pair of jeans, work pants, summer work shirts, shorts and casual tops. I do need T-shirts but I'll come to that in a minute.

It sounds a lot but I've managed to get through the past three summers without needing a significant wardrobe overhaul thanks to op-shop pieces I've picked up here and there. Now much of what I have is faded, jaded or I've had my fun with it. So, time to hit the shops.

Already I've found a pair of navy Country Road pants ($10) with a 1940s look to them. I've bagged a sandy-coloured pair of Faberge jeans ($1) and a pair of mid-calf pants in a fun '80s print ($4). Add a pair of Corfu blue jeans ($2), a patterned cotton shirt ($4) and a bright Oroton scarf in blue, yellow and white ($2.90) and you've got the makings of a mid-season wardrobe. I also picked up a 1970s Sportscraft knit that will be too warm to wear in a few weeks but just couldn't leave on the rack for $5.

In total, I've spent less than $30 and have four pairs of pants, two shirts and a silk scarf. Not bad for a morning's shop and at that price, even if I hadn't done a wardrobe audit ahead of time there would be little lost if I found the pieces failed to work with what I already had.

You'll note a few brand names in there. I do tend to fall on labels I know have stood, and will continue to stand the test of time - both in terms of style and construction.

I don't buy T-shirts from op-shops. They wear quickly, are often faded or greying, and usually pulled out of shape. The same goes for low-end chain store brands. If the price tag affords a cheap and cheerful season of wear, then by all means, pop your find in the basket. In my experience they'll only last a few more wears and are often a style from last season - not that it matters if you like it.

And, finally, launder everything. When you get your purchases home go over them looking for stains, pulls and runs or missing buttons. Soak out stains if need be and put the garment through the wash following the manufacturer's care instructions, if they're still sewn into a seam. Pulls and runs and missing buttons can all be mended.

Now, excuse me, will you, I'm off to hang out a load.

A SUCKER FOR WHITE SPACE: LITTLE PINWHEEL

2011-09-05T20:21:00.037+10:00

HAYLEY, of Little Pinwheel, is one sassy lassy. I've dipped in and out of her blog and always been amazed by how much energy she has. So much energy that she's jetting to California this week, not to hang beachside - though I dare say there will be some of that - but to strike something off her bucket list, to run a half marathon in the US of A. All power to you Hayley. Run like you've never run before.

Q... What's the inspiration behind your blog, and business name, Little Pinwheel?
A... The name Little Pinwheel came from the simple joy a child receives from playing with a rainbow of colour swirling around in the wind.

Q... Who designed your blog header?
A... I had a great designer who completely got me; Sarah, of Style Me Gorgeous. I wanted it to be simple but effective. Sarah designed my logo and from there I placed that into the blog header. Simple.

Q... Do you have a design tip for new bloggers?
A... I am a sucker for white space. I love that it makes your images pop and for me imagery is a big thing. I think when it comes to blogs it is the content that brings a reader back. You don't have to be a photographer, just someone who is good with words. Or you can be the complete opposite - a person that rocks it with imagery and uses few words. I believe when it comes to design you need to be you. I like things to be simple and I come from a design and photography background so I like the white space.

Little Pinwheel blog
Little Pinwheel shop

Source: All pictures Little Pinwheel blog

NOSTALGIA TRIP FOR LESS THAN A FIVE-R

2011-09-01T20:25:00.001+10:00

HAVE you joined Pip's Retro Reader's Club? It sounds like a lot of fun but I haven't signed up because I am not very good at book club's. I don't like the book or my head turns when I see a glossy new tome sitting on the shelves of my local library.

I did think about Pip and the Retro Readers when I found these Famous Five books for $1 each at Vinnies today. There was also a Mallory Towers paperback and one of Enid Blyton's 'young readers' but these ones came home because I credit them with a love of reading.

My mother introduced me to the Famous Five during, if I recall correctly, a bout of illness. She herself was a fan of the Secret Seven but thought the Famous Five more modern, I think. There was George, after all.

For $1 each they had to come home with me, as did the 1970s Polaroid sunnies. Come on, they were only $2. For less than a fiver I've had quite a nice trip down memory lane.

EVERYTHING JUST AS I LIKE IT: FOUR LEAVES

2011-08-28T17:02:00.001+10:00

FOUR LEAVES, is one of my blogging constants. Julie's blog has been there in my sidebar pretty much from day dot and for years we've shared our lives by way of a string of comments on each others blog, not ever really caring to let the rest of the commenting crowd in on the background of our ongoing dialogue. It's been an easy blogging relationship. With Julie, you can pick your comfy cushion, whack on the kettle and let it all hang out.

Q... What's the inspiration behind your blog's name, Four Leaves?
A... I walk a bit and on my way I often pick up fallen leaves and seedpods so I think part of the inspiration for the name Four Leaves comes from this daily activity. There are also four of us in our little family and I guess I have sometimes thought of us as four leaves blowing in the breeze, never quite sure where the day will take us.

Q... Who designed your blog header?
A... My headers are usually one of my own photos with simple text over the top. I don't have Adobe Photoshop and make these in Flickr using the Picnik photo editing tool. I do struggle with the theme of the headers. I don't want them to be a statement about what Four Leaves is about because what I see, how I feel and what I post about changes all the time. I change the headers every now and then but I soon switch back to my old dress on the hanger. I like this header because of its simplicity and because I remember clearly the day I took the photo - it was warm and the door the dress hangs on had been painted the day before. I still remember the fresh smell of paint mixed with spring.

Q... Do you have a design tip for new bloggers?
A... The general theme, for me, is to keep it simple. At different times I have added site counters and various widgets. I have also, along the way, turned my blog into a three column template and back to two columns. In the end I think simple works best for me. My life if often busier than I would like and my blog is a little space where everything is where it should be and just as I like it.

Four Leaves blog
Four Leaves Flickr

Source: All images from Four Leaves blog

DON'T JUDGE ME... I CAN QUIT ANY TIME I LIKE

2011-08-24T20:21:00.001+10:00

I DON'T smoke but for a couple of gold coins I couldn't go past the whole 1970s, earth mother, pottery vibe. What I am not showing you is the piece of West German pottery added to the - dare I say it - collection *coughs*. Come on. Don't judge. It was $4. It's not a habit. I can quit any time I like. What? Was I just going to leave it there? See, I knew you'd be like that. I'm simply not going to show you.

FILL IT WITH WHAT YOU LOVE: ELKHORN

2011-08-20T19:54:00.005+10:00

MONIQUE, of Elkhorn, is, I am proud to say, from my hood. I admire Monique's clean, simple blog design and beautiful photos - along with her screenprinted textile homewares and acccessories. She's also, I've since found, a truly generous spirit. When I asked her to contribute to a series of posts about blog names and design Monique's answers were sitting in my inbox the next time I logged in.

Q... What's the inspiration behind your blog and business, name, Elkhorn?
A... Elkhorn was dreamed up a couple of years ago when a friend and I were brainstorming names for my new business venture. At the time I wanted a business name that could capture my two passions of horticulture and textiles. Elkhorn instantly felt like the right fit. I've always loved the ancient-looking plants and the way they adapt so easily to their environment.

Q... Who designed your blog header?
A... Oh, this is probably the one thing I haven't worked on too much. One day I will have a proper header focused more on our Elkhorn logo but for now I like to use images of either my favorite Elkhorn design at the time or a place that inspires me and reminds me of the current season.

Q... Do you have a design tip for new bloggers?
A... I know this is bit cliche but I would have to say my best tip is to try and keep it simple and consistent. The old K.I.S.S. method. I try and keep colours and fonts minimal to make it easy to read and distraction-free. Blogs can be a pretty personal place and it should represent you and the things you love then it will always look great.

Elkhorn blog
Elkhorn on Etsy
Elkhorn on Facebook

Source: All images from Elkhorn blog

YOU CAN CALL ME NANA CRACKERS

2011-08-15T11:08:00.001+10:00

IF you've swung by my blog anytime in the past fortnight you'll have noticed I've been tinkering with my blog header and social media buttons. It's been more than three years since I started my blog and I haven't changed things much. Sure, my pics got bigger, I dabble with how to load my pictures and the blog roll changes but I haven't invested a lot of time in the blog's design, mostly because I liked what I had, and you can see I haven't strayed far from it. The header's hand-drawn and sans any Illustrator, Flash or other Adobe suite bells and whistles, and I reckon it says a lot about my blog. It's just a little splash of creativity. It toddles along beside bloggers marketing their handmade wares and others with an opinion much more weighty than mine. I don't have any wares to market and you can take or leave my opinion, Lord knows most around me do.

Anyhoot, the exercise has had me thinking how other bloggers decided upon their blog names and how their blogs looked. I wondered whether they'd agonised over a name, or wrestled with the templates available to them and what they'd loved or hated and changed as time went by.

So, I asked them. Just a handful. I asked how they'd chosen their blog name, whether they'd designed their own blog header, and what the process had been, and whether they had any design tips for fellow bloggers.

As their answers arrive, I'll share them with you.

As for me, the blog name and the images in the header come from a story I read to my four stepchildren when they were little. I don't have the book I read it from anymore but a rough translation is on Wikipedia, derived, as is the picture above, from the 1890 book English Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs.

When little, the children - based on an evening of mirth where none of us could utter the word "Crackernuts" without dissolving into giggles - nicknamed me Crackers. To this day my partner will use it as a term of endearment and it's even the chosen "grandmother" title I am to bear when the children have little ones of their own.

Nana Crackers. I'm sure to be a hit among the Bingo set *winks*.

THERE'S A GAP IN MY LITERARY EDUCATION

2011-08-11T21:41:00.005+10:00

I HAVE a confession. I have never read Jane Eyre. I haven't read Pride and Prejudice. No Bronte, no Austen. It's true. I am a neanderthal. Even worse, before I go and see the movie (one of drillions I've never seen) I thought I'd cheat and read the abridged version Sophie sent me. Or maybe I'll just see the movie. It must be good. Alisa's busting for it.

And, if the 1970s illustrations in my Reader's Digest are anything to go by, it's going to be a bodice ripper.

Ah, yes. Another confession. That is another pair of op-shopped Jonathan Sceats frames. $3 from the Salvos, thank you very much.

THIS LITTLE BOWERBIRD'S ALL A TWITTER

2011-08-03T21:23:00.002+10:00

I HAD such grand plans for this post but I am juggling so many things I am going to have to let the pictures speak for themselves. They're proof shots I did at my latest favourite hidey-hole The Bowerbird Project.

Speaking of pictures, I've been thinking about ditching the Flickr account. I have been using PhotoBucket professionally but I was thinking maybe I should just keep with the whole Google theme and use Picasa. Thought? Preferences? Comments for or against any of the web photo-hosting tools?

And web stuff. Lordy, Google+. What do you think? I looked, didn't dive in and now I am waiting for my "invite". I am over here at Pinterest if you'd like to take a gander and I promise some day soon I'll get around to my header and pointers and update the widgets for Facebook and Twitter. Socially-connected, my arse? I seem to be spending more time indoors keeping my "connections" up to date these days. You?

DONE AND DONE, AND DOING

2011-07-25T20:17:00.000+10:00

SO much to do. So little time. At least they'd see me coming, right?

Ken Done bling bought on the eBay auction to support this sassy Sydney-sider. We like it big and bright up our way. Worth every penny, I reckon.

I'll GIVE YOU THAT. IT IS FUGLY

2011-07-18T20:01:00.001+10:00

A TEENAGE girl whistled at me, then sneered and called out to ask where I'd found my "fugly" shirt. Her friends sniggered along. I smiled, crossed my fingers in a hex and wished that in 30 years time silverfish would lay cataclysmic waste to their wardrobes.

I'll give her one thing, it is fugly, and a longtime friend of my mum's knew I'd love it so much, she bought me two.

WAITIN' AND HOPIN' (SING IT DUSTY)

2011-07-15T13:47:00.002+10:00

REMEMBER my flashy green glass and marcasite earrings? I've been thinking about special things and why, when something is deemed special, we tend to distance ourselves from it, wait for it, long for it, even resign ourselves to never having it.

By way of Pip, I found the podcasts of The Happiness Project, and low and behold the first one I listened to was about author Gretchen Rubin's grandmother and a bottle of perfume she had, full, up until the day she died. In saving it for a special occasion it was never used.

It's much like this nightdress my mother salvaged from her local tip shop in a basket of giveaways. It's not been used. It's so fragile had it been used I can't imagine it would be with us today. I imagine the woman who owned this, saved it for a special evening, perhaps with a special someone. What happened? Did she decide it couldn't be worn? Why? I'm sure she would have looked, and felt, a knockout in it.

The unused perfume and lingerie has had me thinking about what it means to "wait for the right time".

I'm reading Australian author Cate Kennedy's book Sing and Don't Cry: A Mexican Journal. This particular work has had me nodding, quietly weeping and tsk-tsking, all at different times.

In it Kennedy dissects the Spanish meaning of the word "wait".

"The word for 'wait' in Spanish is the same as the word for 'hope'," Kennedy writes.

So rather than "waiting" for, in her case the irritations of living in any developing world, she learned to "hope".

"Hoping for the Post Office to open, hoping for the photocopier to be fixed, hoping the train will move so the traffic can flow again."

It's a shift, a small shift in thinking, a shift I once had a handle on while living as an aid volunteer in Vietnam, but I feel like I've forgotten it. I've become impatient and selfish. I grumble about my job, my wages, my commute - the job and wages "fantastic" and "more-than-adequate". The commute, well at least I'm not walking all day just to bring water to my family.

Oh, I could go on, but I won't, I'll just say I've been thinking ... and hoping.

Please, what's something you've got stashed away that you've been, another cliche, saving for a rainy day? Why?

Oh, and that special something I told you was coming my way arrived. Thank you Sophie. I'm not saving any of it for good. I know you'll understand.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

2011-07-10T21:05:00.002+10:00

Ta da! The final pieces were on show at Sturt on Friday. If that's winter school, I've done it ... and am back at work tomorrow. So much for a school holiday.

NEWS FLASH: BASKET WEAVING MAY CAUSE INFIRMITY

2011-07-07T21:05:00.001+10:00

DAY four of the basket weaving course and I am nursing a pinched nerve in my neck and my hands are claws. And yup, those there teeny weeny baskets on my work table are all I have to show. Don't talk to me about it. Gah. If hopsital patients made to do basket weaving as therapy weren't infirm when they went in, they sure were by the time they came out.

MORE THAN YOUR DAILY DOSE OF FIBRE

2011-07-06T20:32:00.001+10:00

MY hands and the tendons in my forearms ache. I will never, ever, ever look at a basket - any basket - without bowing my head in awe of its maker. I'm doing a winter school and learning how to make baskets using native fibres. All I know, thus far, is not to mess with the mentally insane, or infirm. They have really, really strong hands.

PS: Not my hands but among the set of hands you will soon not wish to mess with.

OP SHOP GOLD: CLEANING LEATHER

2011-07-03T16:11:00.001+10:00

I SPENT $25 on a leather satchel at a school trash and treasure sale today. I've emptied it out, scrubbed the lining clean with a nail brush and a little warm wool wash and run the nail brush over the leather exterior. When it's dry, I'll rub a leather dressing over it, stuff it with scrunched up newspaper and put it in the sun so the dressing can soak in and do its work.

A secondhand bag is one thing but I'm often asked whether I wear secondhand shoes. I do. Secondhand shoes are not everyone's cup of tea but I've found great shoes and boots in op shops. If I like the style, and the price, and if the leather and sole still has life in it I'll give the pair a good home. My favourite boots, long retired, and a number of my go-to work shoes are secondhand finds.

My advice is, once you've spied a pair of shoes you like, check the sole of the shoe and the heel. Give everything a good shake, bend the sole and check the upper leather is attached at the heel, toe and along each edge. If you do spot a fault, don't despair, I've had shoes reheeled for significantly less than the cost of a new pair of shoes. A lot of perfectly good, and sometimes top end, shoes end up in op shops because people don't know what to do with them once a heel's broken. You'll be grabbing a bargain.

If the shoe is lacking shape, or like my most recent purchase, has moulded to the distinct shape of another person's foot - bunion included - do as I've done for the bag. With a nail brush, or cloth, use a little warm water and detergent to lightly damp down the exterior leather. Stuff the shoe with newspaper and leave it to dry in a warm spot. The leather will contract in the drying but rub with leather dressing and slip your own foot in it while padding around the house and you'll soon find the leather moulds to your foot - and its podiatry peculiarities.

But don't they smell? Honestly, I can say I've never found a good quality pair of leather shoes, or a bag for that matter, that stinks. Synthetic shoes might but I steer well clear of them - I leave them where I find them.

YOU'RE SPECIAL. NO, YOU'RE SPECIAL. NO... YOU ARE...

2011-06-21T11:01:00.001+10:00

I FOUND these green glass and marcasite earrings at an oppy yonks ago. They’ve been sitting on my dresser waiting for a special occasion and, like so many of my op-shop finds, have sat waiting for me to come a-calling. Special occasions are far and few in my household – well, super special, if you know what I mean. There’s no Academy Awards kinda special. Maybe you have that all the time. We’re, you know, more pizza and a vino-special.

Anyhoot, I digress. I’ve taken to dragging out the special pieces for ordinary occasions. So, if you see me rocking green glass and marcasite, don’t worry that you’re in your daggies, come along and join me for a pizza topping of your choice.

The green theme is ably supported by a couple of more recent car boot sale finds, including a booklet of embroidery transfers, an English field flowers guide – with lovely colour plates of things you read about in Enid Blyton’s books – and an old grooming brush I’ll use to polish boots.

They'll join a good deal more green coming my way soon courtesy of a little blogging giveaway by Sophie, of Her Library Adventures.

WRITE ON... AND ON... AND ON

2011-06-13T20:36:00.000+10:00

I DO love a journal and this wee little journal is a handmade delight. I've been imagining what kind of things I'll write in it. It's got to be good. I can't use it for shopping lists and to-do lists, it's a journal for grander things than that. I start an online creative writing course with the Sydney Writers' Centre in a couple of weeks time. My little journal will fill up then.

I've been scouring for an online writing challenge something like Illustration Friday. Does anyone know of one? A weekly, or maybe monthly, writing prompt to kick-start the creative juices? If I can't find one I may start one. Kinda like a book club where words are penned by writers and not picked over by readers. Hmmmm. Let me know what you think. Could it work?

DEAR MISS GARBUTT...

2011-06-10T14:26:00.001+10:00

IT'S going to be a wet and windy Queen's Birthday long weekend where I live so we're escaping the east coast low early tomorrow, leaving the adult dependents to fend for themselves, and trekking west to where good food, fine wines and friends abound.

I'd like to think the dependents will be cooking for themselves this weekend but, I fear, not even Miss Garbutt of the Good Housekeeping Institute could help them. My partner arrived home yesterday to find one of the dependents ironing her dress with a hair straightener. While wearing it. Sigh. Miss Garbutt, where did we go wrong?

I'M PULLING ON THE BOOTS AND GLOVES

2011-06-01T14:02:00.005+10:00

THE weather forecast is for clear sunny skies on Saturday. I'll be a-bringin' out ma new gardenin' tool, a-pullin' on ma boots and doin' me a bit of diggin' and a-weedin'.

This new-to-me weeding thing-a-me-bob was bought at the church carboot sale for $5 in one of those "name a price" kinda negotiations. I only had a fiver. Smiles all 'round.

And, yes, yes, I know it's only Wednesday. Bring on the weekend is all I can say.

TAKE A DEEP CALMING BREATH

2011-05-29T17:23:00.003+10:00

I'VE been sulking. I'm cranky. Foot-stomping, tanrum-dropping cranky. I can admit it. I have had squinty, glaring eyes and I've been fixing them on people. People who push and shove to get to the next train. People who whine about the food on the table. People who say "I can't". People who say "I don't like it" before they've even tried it.

People who say the beautiful Hornsea Heirloom dinner set you bought for $55 at Vinnies and proudly installed in your kitchen cupboard as your first-ever full set of crockery is ugly... in front of you... and go on and on and on about how ugly it is.

People who "forget" to pay their way. People who don't say thank you. People who announce they're bringing people over and get stroppy when you suggest these people are their guests and they should be helping cook and serve up the mountains of food being prepared for them and don't even ask what you were planning to do that day (ah, I had paid-for tickets to the Sydney Writers' Festival, thanks for not asking).

People who are anxious and cranky and tired and stressed and need you not to be. (Ah, I had some shit to deal with too, thanks for not noticing, it's all good now, sorry for the inconvenience.)

So, yes, I've been cranky. I can admit it.

How about you? You got stuff you need to get off your chest?

WANTED: ONE CAVE TO HIDE FLABBY SELF

2011-05-19T14:59:00.002+10:00

THE pumpkin pie filling from my last post was made from the same homegrown pumpkin I made Stephanie Alexander's pumpkin, coconut and seafood soup from her Kitchen Garden Companion cookbook. It was just as pictured, which always gives me a thrill. I even added the seared scallops.

My only problem is I used the whole pumpkin for the soup and pie filling and have a spare batch of pie filling in the fridge begging to be made up into something delicious - and artery-clogging, no doubt. Why is it we want buttery, carb-laden goodness when the weather turns cold? I don't need the padding. I'm not a bear and there's no cave. That said, I may need one to hide in by the time summer rolls around.

Nadia if you're as much a fan of pumpkin soup as you say you are, I'd recommend this one. The Asian flavours give it a real kick.

Rachel, you always know just the right thing to say but I assure you, we're as manic as every blended, working, studying, walking-the-dog family.

PUMPKIN PIE V PORKIN' IT ON

2011-05-16T12:05:00.000+10:00

I'VE been baking. Dessert Saturday night was a rhubarb and berry crumble and on Sunday it was Stephanie Alexander's New England pumpkin pie, made from pumpkin I grew out the back. Both were good. Too good. They're the reason I carry my running shoes on the long commute to work and pound the pavements during my lunch breaks.

YOU KNOW. LIFE THINGS.

2011-05-11T09:47:00.002+10:00

I AM here. I'm just being a little bit quiet. I've been working and commuting and reading and baking and watching and knitting and op-shopping and gardening. All the usual things. You know. Life things.

THE GLASSES INDICATE A BOOKISH TYPE

2011-05-02T21:05:00.007+10:00

I HAD an op shop niggle last week and it was a good one. I scored four tubes of buttons - each 50c a tube and these Jonathan Sceats frames from the 1980s for $3. Boo-yah! They're my spectacle Nirvana and my optometrist hasn't been asked to pull apart a vintage pair of specs apart for some time. Hey, I need these specs to be fitted with my prescription. I read. I read a lot and I've got a backlog of books piling up (and sewing if the above photo of my long-standing Easter craft UFO is any indication).

The Sydney Writers Festival is this month and I have tickets to a couple of events, one featuring Kate Holden. I'm reading her book In My Skin during the daily train commute and today nearly missed my stop I was so engrossed.

In reaching for new books, mostly with the help of a couple of well-worn library cards, I have bookmarked the Black Book Challenge. Go on, how many books by indigenous Australian authors can you claim to have read? Hmmm, me too.

Keeping with the literary theme, I was at the Sydney launch of Pia's book, My Heart Wanders, on Friday night. I couldn't stay long, more was the pity. I've had the good fortune to write professionally about Pia's books before and though I haven't yet read this book it's waiting as a treat for when I duck off to a creative residential at Sturt's Winter School in July. I just know it'll be perfect for cosying up to of an evening.

Before I toddle off and stick my nose back into Holden's writing, Caz, of Bird with the Golden Seed tagged me last week. I'm blushing to have this tag come my way again so quickly. Instead of boring you with more about me I'll point you to Caz's own reading challenge, which has been to hunt down cult literature in The Year of Reading Backwards. Maybe instead of seven things, you can pluck out seven books to read in the remaining eight months of 2011. Gosh, how did that happen?

EASTER MARKET THRIFT SCORES

2011-04-27T10:39:00.001+10:00

WHAT was with the rain? I had markets bookmarked, cash in my wallet to buy up big at the cake stalls and book sales, and then the heaven's opened and plodding out to the nether reaches of the coast seemed a bad idea.

I did plough on only to be elbowed away from tables at what was my first visit to a well-regarded annual book fair. Miffed. I'd say so. I did feel a good deal better when I finally rolled in to my favourite seasonal book sale closer to home at Macmasters Beach. It's fabulous. You really should go.

Other weekend market scores were a bamboo-look ceramic jug and pair of screw-back earrings, in bronze and perfect for the '70s vibe looks I am seeing everywhere. I blame Paper Giants: The birth of Cleo and new series screening on ABC2, Swingtown. Haven't seen the latter? Do. It's like Melrose Place meets Mad Men for the 1970s.

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THINGS TO MAKE AND DO

2011-04-21T11:35:00.003+10:00

THREE days off. I know everyone else has five. Don't start with me. I was going the way of being grateful for three. If I am super lucky my lapsed, and now renewed, subscription to Dumbo Feather will arrive in the mail today and I'll be able to curl up in this glorious autumn sunshine and catch up on a little reading.

A new mag subscription means old ones have to go and I have a stack of Mixtape zines to send on to a lucky crafter, or two. Just pop by my Facebook page and post a link on the wall to a fab online craft tutorial or idea I can add to my "Things to Make and Do" Pinterest board. Are you on Pinterest?

I've got the full set of Mixtape zines but if you're just after one to finish your set let me know. I'm happy to share the love and will do my best to hand the lot over to one super keen Mixtape fan or to lovely craft-sters who have gaps to fill.

Oh, and I've heard about an underground craft club soon to launch in Sydney. It's been described to me as an inner-west alternative kinda craftin' scene. Who's excited?

If you have time to be online this long weekend, or the inclinaton, pop by and vote for Australia's best blogs, as hosted by the Sydney Writers' Centre. I've voted for Curlypops, Daily Imprint, Gary Pepper Vintage, Girl With A Satchel, Her Library Adventures, Maxabella Loves, Meet Me At Mikes, Op Shop Diva, pottymouthmama, Strawberry Communications and Tsk Tsk.

And you can vote for me too, if you like. Clickety click on the button below.

Happy Easter, long weekend, or whatever you're doin' right now.

Ooops, my Facebook wall was locking crafty peeps out. It's open for your links now.

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TILLS RING. PASS STRING. KITCHEN BLING

2011-04-19T12:30:00.003+10:00

I BOUGHT a new bit of op-shop bling at Turramurra Vinnies on Saturday. It was $15. Whoa. I know. Prices are up there on Sydney's North Shore but it's a bit of fun. I teemed it with my sloppy joe, a grotty pair of shorts (they really were grotty, I noticed stains once out the front door) and my yellow SaltWater Sandals to pick up milk and bread on Sunday. If you're not wearing your op-shop bling to Coles, you're not getting your money's worth, I say.

Sunday was a tidying up day and, yes, I wore my op-shop bling dusting, cooking, filing paperwork and finding a rightful home for the chilli crop. I think you can see my $15 was well spent. Wallah! Kitchen bling.

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YOU SAID YOU WANTED THE HOT STUFF

2011-04-14T07:02:00.001+10:00

ACTUALLY, they're not that hot. Quite mild. I've already diced and sliced a number of them for a Thai chicken broth and chicken and chickpea bake. Just the right amount of kick.

In their place have gone leeks, a stock of new herbs to replace plants past their prime, a blueberry, curry plant, cumin ... you know, whatever looked good at the nursery. There's more trimming, pruning, clipping, weeding, edging and planting scheduled for this weekend.

What have you been doing in your garden?

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JOAN HOLLOWAY, EAT YA HEART OUT

2011-04-12T20:52:00.001+10:00

I WAS admiring Rummage's plastic peonie on Friday and, wham, a parcel arrives Monday and inside there's a brown paper package with said plastic peonie attached. Thank you Nanette. I'd have been pleased with a piece of brown paper, a couple of strips of cute tape and the peonie, but no, Nanette is the most generous blogger ever who can spot a covetable item at 10 paces. She can. Indeed she can.

Inside the paper packaging was a Girl Scouts of America handbook, dated 1953. Boo yah. Not only am I a Girl Guide leader, I collect the Movement's ever-so-brilliantly-daggy vintage handbooks. Given the Movement is 101 years old this year, each one is a snapshot of not only a fabulous organisation that supports young women to become leaders in their communities but also of the women's movement.

This one in particular lists a number of badges one would expect from 1953, like Homemaker, Dressmaker and Good Grooming but it also lists badges like Journalist, Aviation and Metalwork. In fact, the introduction gives a nod to great women like scientist Marie Curie, African American poet Phyllis Wheatley and aviator Amelia Earhart.

"...as a Girl Scout you can explore new fields of knowledge," the introduction says.

Remember, it's 1953. Have you seen Mad Men?

"You can make your contribution today as a citizen of your troop, school and community. You can prepare to make your contribution in the future as a homemaker, a business woman or a professional woman."

Joan Holloway, eat ya heart out.

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MIXED... BAG... UP... NUTS... YOU DECIDE

2011-04-10T14:54:00.001+10:00

THIS weekend I've managed to visit a friend in hospital; plant broad beans seeds, a blueberry bush, leek seedlings, cumin, rosemary and a bunch of other herbs; and, cook real food - not the harried muck I've been dishing up. There was a Thai chicken broth last night and today I've got a parsnip and chilli curry in the slow cooker, baked a chicken and chickpea dish to serve up with mashed potato and greens tomorrow night and put on a pot of spiced pumpkin and lentil soup.

It's a return to normality and a little slowing of pace. It's autumn. The evenings are cooler, mornings darker and Daylight Saving time has, thankfully, for me, ended.

The light is mellow, my mind turns to what I have stacked on my bookshelf for indulgent winter weekend reading. I've aired the winter wardrobe and taken a few things to the dry cleaner so they're ready to wear when the days turn cold. My scarves and brooches have been looked over with a critical eye. Which ones can be paired and what will they be draped over? My new kingfisher brooch, made and sent to me by the talented Kate Slater seems a good fit for a vintage Desert Designs silk scarf I picked up at the op shop for $1 a few weeks back.

I'm even thinking about the blog again. It's been drifting along on its own merry way but I feel like I'm ready to pull this poor old thing back into shape, starting now with a shout out to Tracey Sargent, of Quiet Paws, who bestowed upon me a versatile blogger's award. If that's a nice way to say my blog's all over the shop, I'll take it on the chin.

I tag Etcetera, FanGirlish, Pepper Stitches and Maxabella Loves to tell you seven random facts about themselves after, of course, I've shared mine.

1. I have a birth mark on my left hand and use it to tell left from right.
2. I hired a car for the first time while in Hobart. Too true. 37 and never hired a car before.
3. I used a GPS thing-a-me-jig for the first time while driving above said hire car. I got cranky with it.
4. I commute four hours a day to work and back. Yup, count 'em. Four hours.
5. I have never seen a full episode of Glee. Tell me, am I missing something here?
6. Kelly Doust's book, Life in Frocks, was the last book I read.
7. I only learned to swim at age 17. Properly swim, that is. I could float just fine.

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SAME, SAME ... COULD BE A BIT DIFFERENT

2011-04-05T21:05:00.001+10:00

PEOPLE were asking me why Hobart. Well, I spotted a cheap airfare, had a friend near the city I wanted to visit and found cheap accommodation and couldn't really think of a reason why not. I did a lot of walking - much of it in the rain - and hired a car to head up to New Norfolk where my said friend and former landlady lives. The fact MONA was open and I was in town for the start of 10 Days on the Island were a bonus.

PLACES I ATE
Look, I'm not going to lie, I didn't find the food all that good in Hobart. I like to fuel up with an early breakfast and either a late lunch or early dinner when I am on the road and found it near impossible to do in Hobart. Breakfasts started about 8.30pm or 9pm and lunches were done by 2pm and places serving dinners not open until 6pm, some later. If you're on the Apple Isle, it's worth keeping that in mind.

Tricycle Cafe and Bar: This was recommended to me and it is cute. It's in the Salamanca Arts Centre, which is worth a visit in itself. I had a breakfast there but found the choices limited and the coffee inconsistent (I had three there over two days).

Salamanca Art Centre, Hobart

Mezethes Greek Taverna: Again, the decor was good. I edited an entertaiment supplement for near on six years and I always knew when my food writer had nothing much to say for the food. He'd write about the decor. That's not to say the food was bad, it just didn't sing to me - and I usually love Greek food.

Salamanca Square, Hobart

Preachers Bar: My standout eating experience (granted that by my fourth night I opted for a selection from a deli and ate in my hotel room) was Preachers Bar, Battery Point. I quite literally stumbled upon this place, soggy and cold after a day of walking around the city and waterfront. A "Beer of the Day" sign out front sold it to me and I ordered a haloumi salad and Tassie born and bred ginger beer.

Knopwood St, Hobart

WHERE TO DROP YOUR DOUGH
Given Tasmania was where, in 1903, Australia's art and craft movement was born, I wasn't at all surprised to find a visible art and craft scene in Hobart. My number one recommendation for finding retail therapy of the bespoke nature is Tasmania's SmART Map. This clever site helps you plot and map cultural experiences.

Hammer and Hand: This is part blacksmith's studio and part retail experiment. I bought a cute pair of earrings made from recycled anodised aluminium kitchenware and fashioned by Ella Knight.

77 Salamanca Place, Hobart

The Country Women's Association: Who couldn't drop a little dough in a inner-city retail outlet for the CWA, of all things. Knitted beanies, jam drops, cakes, fresh flowers plucked from the garden, lemon butter, jam ... all the goodness of the CWA in one homely place. You can even get a cuppa if you strike up a little banter with the behind-the-counter volunteers. I can't begin to tell you how outrageously un-cool the beanie I bought here is. It's a dahlia for the head.

165 Elizabeth St, Hobart

MONA: Yes, there's a gift shop. How could there not be in a place like MONA. The place is smick and if there's only one thing you do when you're in Hobart, go here. Forget the Cadbury factory. Forget a day trip to Port Arthur, go here. There is a wealth of writing online about this place but if I was to add my two cents worth it's Willy Wonka meets Walt Disney. There was something oddly Oompa Loompa about the severly dressed and numerous staff in this place. That said, the gallery has pieces I'd only dreamed of seeing, like Sidney Nolan's Snake, pictured.

My accommodation this time around was Blue Hills Motel, in Battery Point. It was walking distance from Salamanca Place and the quaint village of Battery Point itself. It was clean and more than comfortable and for under $80 a night, you won't find me complaining.

96 Sandy Bay Rd, Battery Point

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I'M LOOKING FOR THE OFF SWITCH

2011-04-04T15:10:00.000+10:00

IT'S been fun but now I need to come down from my trip to Melbourne, a stressful Girl Guide camp, a trip to Hobart and ANOTHER Girl Guide camp - this time not so stressful. I need to get back into a routine and pronto. I've worked on and off through the tripping away and camping and, let's just say the "on switch" has been stuck in that position for a while.

This week I'm working on reintroducing good food, exercise, a little gardening and a little time spent on the phone catching up with friends and family. No pressure, just one thing at a time. If I wiggle my nose I might even get a signal from the op-shop Gods. They sent me to North Parramatta Salvos weeks ago to find these beads and the ones above, both at just $2 a pop. But that was February and things have been a bit out of kilter since then.

So, I repeat, one thing at a time and I'll let you know when I think I'm back on track. Who's with me?

MELBOURNE - SAME, SAME AND DIFFERENT

2011-03-30T22:11:00.003+11:00

THAT'S me to the right, pre-haircut. I look a little manic. I think I was just about to give up on the camera taking the picture and, bam, it did. I'm with my sister. We look the same and different. We are the same and different. After three days together in Melbourne I shed a little tear on the flight home because I already missed her. She lives in Brisbane and me near Sydney and we ran away from our respective familial duties to kick up our heels south of the border. You might have followed my updates on Twitter and Facebook. There were a few funny moments, girlie moments, food, fashion and frolic moments.

I've been asked about my favourite places in Melbourne. Honestly, do you need to know? No one has trouble finding places to eat and shop in Melbourne, but because you asked - you in particular - here's my picks from the three days.

YOU JUST GOTTA EAT HERE
Easy 15, Elwood: The borek, spinach and fetta cheese in filo pastry served with tzatziki and lemon wedges hit the spot for a light lunch and the coffee was top notch.
Bear Brass, Southbank: Oh man, if someone can tell me how the dressing on the roasted beetroot salad is made, you'd be in my good books for life. And those honey walnuts. To. Die. For.
Cafe No.5, Centre Pl, Melbourne: We splurged on breakfast at a couple of great places but this one was my favourite for a top, on-the-premises, freshly-baked muffin and, again, great coffee.
De Clieu, Fitzroy: My fermented lentil and rice pancake and potato curry was D.E.L.I.S.H.
The Deanery, Bligh Pl, Melbourne: Fabulous cellar and a smooth-as squid ink ravioli, with tomato, seaweed and citrus sauce.

WHERE TO DROP YOUR DOUGH
I could go on and on and on and on about vintage and second-hand scores in Melbourne. I did bring home extra kilos but, for me, was reasonably restrained. My top picks were:
Sheila Vintage, Brunswick St, Fitzroy: Don't dismiss the $10 rack out the front. I picked up a sassy "Made in France", dress with an '80s-does-'50s vibe that I'll be rocking this winter. I was tempted by a very early Cue-branded piece. The label was a little bit "Pina Colada" - a label I rarely see in op shops, so I'm thinking it was a pretty early Cue piece. At $10 I probably should have grabbed it.
Currency, Brunswick St, Fitzroy: My sister and I had words about what I bought here. Let's just say we agreed I would never, under any circumstance, wear this out if she was going to be with me. Come on, there's nothing wrong with a purple angora jumper dress with cowl neck you could drown in.
Peter Sheppard Footwear, Collins St, Melbourne: I defy anyone who loves shoes not to find something here. It's an emporium of gorgeous, beautifully-made shoes. I bought boots and have had miles of compliments on them already.
Muff, Degraves subway: I'm not sure whether I've got the name of this store right, but it's a teeny tiny vintage collection from which I bought alligator brogues. They bear a David Jones label in the insole and are in beautiful condition. I can't help imagine who bought them and where they were worn. They were clearly an expensive shoe in their time - maybe the 1940s - and so carefully looked after.

There's many, many more but these were my favourites and remembered because I brought goodies home from them.

As for where we stayed, The Victoria Hotel, in Little Collins St, will always get my vote. It's well-priced, clean, comfortable and walking distance to everything.

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TWO FOR TWO, OR IS THAT THREE

2011-03-24T21:47:00.001+11:00

I THINK I'm about done. Two states in two weeks, with a quick stop home for a Girl Guide camp ... so really, three states in two weeks. Oh, and sorry Hobart. Think I might have brought the rain. I'll be gone Saturday morning and your forecast swings back 'round to fine about then.

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I LOOK LIKE MY MOTHER

2011-03-21T20:25:00.001+11:00

I HAD a hair cut. The before and after photos are quite a revelation. I look like my mother. I am not sure whether that's the reason but the votes are in and I should have kept my locks. Oh well, change is as good as a holiday. Speaking of holidays, I'm off again. Hobart this time.

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OH, PURPLE TULLE, COME FLY WITH ME

2011-03-12T08:00:00.002+11:00

WOW, what a couple of weeks. I've been meaning to tell you about the magic you can create with Bombay Sandwich Spread and the inspiring UN Women breakfast I was at last Friday for International Women's Day with Justice Unity Dow as guest speaker. That was a week ago. More.

Now, I am heading to Melbourne to meet my sister for a few days at the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. I am flying in from Sydney, she from Brisbane, and phone calls flew back and forth last night to discuss the merits of packing purple tulle and "tight but not too tight" and "short but not too short" dresses.

It's a welcome wee break but we'll be busy, oh, will we be busy. We'll be catching up, eating too much, spending too much, running around like teenagers. Oh, the fun. We deserve it. Oh, yes we do. I'll try and keep you up to date with Twitter and Facebook posts. Make sure you pop over and follow our ramblings there.

In the meantime, this colourful scrap is heading off to the queen of glorious fabric to refashion into something gorgeous and the earrings are part of my secret desire to be a Fly girl. Bought for $2 at North Parramatta Salvos.

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Bring on the comfort food

2011-03-08T13:15:00.000+11:00

DO you find yourself cruising through your day, your week, your year, doin' the stuff you do, from time to time checking out your bloggy pals and then suddenly remembering your own poor neglected spot in cyberspace? No? Hmmm, just me then.

I snapped this pic about a month ago when I was riding high on op-shop finds like a stash of unused 1970s tea towels, a set of 1970s drinking glasses and a Margaret Fulton crock pot recipe book. My mum had also given me a cast iron casserole dish and I was imagining all the wintery treats I'd be cooking against a back drop of oven doors draped with bright '70s linen and jugs filled with Tang.

That was then, a month ago. It was hot, stinking hot. It was summer. Casseroles seemed a far-off promise of cosier, more comfortable times.

Wham, bam, thank you Ma'am and it's autumn. Bring on the comfort food.

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BOMBAY SANDWICH SPREAD WITH THAT?

2011-03-02T21:01:00.003+11:00

ALLY, a “long-time lurker” and Sean the Prawn, who lives in the prettiest spot ever and not very far from me, asked for the slow cooker Indian dahl recipe. The adult dependents call the slow cooker, or crock pot, the crock pock. Rude, hey? I tell them to: “shut up and eat your free food and don’t think I haven’t noticed you haven’t paid rent or made your bed for about a month”. Fair? I think so.

Anyhoot, back to the dahl … the dependents said they liked this one. Don’t skip the lime twist at the end. It makes it. And, though I didn’t try it, if you can get your hands on a jar of Bombay Sandwich Spread, a little mixed through at the end, or spooned through natural yoghurt and dolloped on top, would be yummo too.

Have I mentioned the Bombay Sandwich Spread before? I don’t think I have. I must do. Off for my fix of Indian down Harris Park way right now though. I’ll tell ya’all tomorrow.

Coconut, tomato and lentil
dhal with toasted almonds

2tbspn vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 carrot diced
2tspn cumin seeds
2tspn yellow mustard seeds
2.5cm piece of root ginger, grated
2tspn ground turmeric
1tspn mild chilli powder
1tspn garam masala
1 cup red split lentils
400ml boiling vegetable stock
400ml coconut milk
5 tomatoes, chopped
Juice of two limes
4tbspn fresh coriander, chopped
Salt and black pepper
¼ cup flaked almonds, toasted

Heat the oil in a pan and soften the onion. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, mustard seeds and carrot and cook until the mustard seeds start to pop and the carrot starts to soften.

Add the turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala and cook until you can smell the yummy spices mingling.

Tip the mixture into your crock pot. Add the lentils, the stock, the coconut milk and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, stir and cover.

Cook on high for two hours or until the lentils are soft. Stir midway through to prevent the lentils from sticking. Stir in the lime juice and coriander and cook for a further half hour. Serve up with rice and your usual Indian accompaniments and top with the toasted almonds.

Now, I stopped the crock pot at two hours and let it cool before putting it away in the fridge to serve the following day. I did not add the lime juice or coriander until I reheated the dhal the next day. Worked a treat.

This recipe is from The Slow Cooker Cookbook, by Catherine Atkinson, published by Hermes House in 2010.

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It's Saks Fifth Avenue, Dahhhhhlinnnnkkk

2011-03-01T07:14:00.000+11:00

I HAVE no idea where I am going to wear a full-length, pleated, pure wool tartan skirt but it was $6 from Vinnies and the label said Saks Fifth Avenue. I'm a vintage label whore. So sue me.

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MY MOTHER CALLED TO REMIND ME

2011-02-22T20:29:00.001+11:00

I AM serious. My mother phoned last night to remind me I'd not dished the dirt on this fashion fancy I drove six hours to see Sunday last. I'd forgotten about it. Honest. It's been that busy at work and at home, I'd simply forgotten.

Anyhoot, author of Dreaming of Dior and Dreaming of Chanel, the super glam Charlotte Smith - that's her in the glorious lime and watermelon confection - loaned garments from the Darnell Collection for an event at Katoomba's The Carrington Hotel.

There were 200-plus people there and it was a little dark and you had to crane your neck to see the paraded garments, but it was a lot of fun to imagine the lives of the people who owned each piece. What about that hat? That plume, and that shawl? Ay yi yi.

Oh, and it was worth the six-hour drive to bring home a little confection of my own from Mr Pickwick's across the way. More 1980s than 1930s but lets just say it lives up to the glamour of the occasion. I have no idea how to capture the true purple, metallic-foil, tulle-layers glory of it all. You'll just have to wonder.

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OK, I'M A BASKETCASE BUT IT WAS FREE

2011-02-21T20:56:00.003+11:00

HOW hot was it yesterday? Hot. Sticky, sweaty, burny hot. So what did I do? I spent six hours in the garden and have the tan marks to prove it. You can spot gardeners. Their tan lines stop where their boots and gardening gloves start.

I saw this woven thing-a-me-jig on Gardening Australia on Saturday night and used the prunings from a hibiscus to weave my version of it - a fence-like contraption I plan to grow things over. Cost me nothing but my time and a wee bit of heat stroke.

Gardening Australia is on Twitter. That's cute, right?

And what about my new trug? I hauled it out of a council clean up. I know, I know, I am one of those people. Hey, cost me nothing save a police profile and neighbours who pull down their blinds and slam their doors when I walk past.

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THE PART WHERE SHE SHOOTS HER BOOBS

2011-02-19T18:24:00.003+11:00

NORTH Parramatta Salvos. It's da bomb. It can even survive a fire, twice, and trade on.

A couple of girls from work and I go there every few weeks to rummage through the racks. Mostly I shake the beads down and rat through trays of earrings for my goodies. This spiky number was frowned upon by my op-hopping buddies but they indulged me with "it's very you". I hear that a lot. 'Twas $2.

As for the photos, I did have a bit of a giggle to myself while sitting on the the lid of the loo and photographing my boobs - at least that's what it felt like. We bloggers do ridiculous things sometimes, don't we? The dependents raise an eyebrow when I shoo them away from the evening's dinner so I can snap a few quick pictures, or when I doll up in some newly op-shopped confection during the day - or in the wrong season - so I can blog about it. Go on, it's nutty, right? Good nutty though, don't get me wrong.

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LEND ME A PATTERN TIP, I'VE LOST THE SPOT

2011-02-17T11:49:00.002+11:00

YESTERDAY I was over here and today I am over here. I get around a bit - in a nice kinda way.

While I am here, I need some advice. I want to know where to buy paper patterns online. The chain stores have let me down and last weekend I was two paces short of marching behind the counter and teaching the poorly-paid junior staff how to use a cataloguing system.

So hit me. Where do you buy your patterns online, or at all?

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GUIDES SAY ... WELL, THEY SAY A LOT

2011-02-16T14:09:00.000+11:00

I'M over here today but do come back and tell me what you think. I would love to know how you're doing your bit - or savin' the world, as I like to say. Maybe you've thought about this for your daughter and you'd like to ask a few questions. Fire away. I warn you, I can go on though.

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STUFF I THOUGHT I'D SHARE WITH YA

2011-02-12T19:53:00.001+11:00

I WATCHED Gardening Australia tonight and will buy the magazine sometimes this week so I can lust over Hendrik's garden.

This afternoon I preordered PJ Harvey's Let England Shake on iTunes.

I also ordered Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life and Angie Lewin: Plants and Places from Amazon as an early birthday present to myself.

I am cooking felafels for dinner tomorrow night and will put a pot of dahl into the slow cooker for Monday night's dinner. It's always better if it's allowed to sit for a day.

I am wearing my yellow Saltwater sandals. I love, love, love them. Can you see them peeping out from below my new-to-me op-shopped apron? Look at those sweet pockets. They're perfect for filling with the day's crop of yellow cherry tomatoes.

It's the weekend and I have a play date tomorrow.

What are you doing?

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FEEDING THE HAND THAT BITES THEM

2011-02-10T13:47:00.003+11:00

I HAVE mutant bush rats in my roof. They're eating everything. They've even eaten an eggplant seedling I bought at Saturday's local church car boot sale down to a stump. I had four pumpkins on and because they've moved through one at a rapid rate, leaving just a shell, I picked the other three and have moved them inside to dry and ripen off. The vine was almost done. Almost.

The only thing the bloody rats haven't touched is the chillies. Damn them.

PS: The tray to the right was brought home from the car boot sale. I bought two. I've been snapping away and illustrating recent op shop finds and promise - no, truly, I promise - to blog about them soon.

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ART AS THERAPY

2011-02-06T20:21:00.001+11:00

WEEKENDS are busy. They're the only time I get to squeeze in all the things normal people do during their lunch hours or evenings. I worked a full week of meetings and heavy executive stuff, then juggled extra hours on Saturday and Sunday. I then backed up with another full week - working most of my lunch breaks - to keep on top of the load. So this weekend has been a game of catch up. A truncated game at that because weeks ago I booked myself into a friend's screenprinting workshop. She wanted to get back into running workshops from her studio and I wanted to book a block of creative play time.

The two prints above were what I managed to pull alonsgide some much needed chatting, communal eating and more chatting ... you get the drift.

It was lovely and well worth a frantic Saturday - so frantic I had a brain fritz mid afternoon. I know. I know. Heat, exhaustion and an overloaded schedule equalled meltdown. Hayley, of Little Pinwheel, admitted this week in a post to her own meltdown and yesterday I knew just what she meant. So, like, Hayley, I admitted defeat and just plodded through the making of a meal, packing my bag for today's workshop and the usual of shower, teeth and bed.

It worked. Today things seemed more calm. My mind seemed more open and, despite the niggles of a summer flu coming on - yes, yes, my body is giving me more than a gentle nudge - I started plotting a couple of creative projects. I'm going to need your help though. I'm keeping a list of things I need to source online and over the next few posts will ask for your tips on where you order your craft supplies from. I'm after macrame cord, sewing patterns, screen printing gear ... oh it's going to be good.

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COULD I BRING THE MEETING TO ORDER

2011-02-01T12:46:00.003+11:00

OH for a parent committee like the one in the manual. Girl Guides goes back this week and I am a bit worried. I need help. I need more hours in my day. The leader I work with is 20 and heading off to the big smoke soon and no one seems to want her job. What? Why wouldn't you? We pay nothing, you put in extraordinary hours and give up a fair chunk of your weekends. There are perks, it's just I am having trouble thinking of them. It'll be good. I am sure it will be. We just need to get our committee of two - soon to be one - back into the swing of things.

Hang on, I just looked and my manual seems out of date ...

And back in katiecrackernutsland...

Caz, of Bird with the Golden Seed, alerted me to Margaret's iPhone app. No more asking what Margaret would do, we can just look it up.

Lexi, of Pottymouthmama, spied Margaret out and about doing the shopping last month and pointed out, for such a powerhouse of Australia's culinary world, how small she is. She is small. I met her at a Girl Guide do last year. Yup, too true, Margaret was a Girl Guide. How uber cool is that... hmmm, maybe not so...

Tracey, of Quiet Paws, and Julie, of Four Leaves, have been coveting the same yellow Saltwater sandals as me. Well girls, I went ahead and bought 'em and love 'em and so will you.

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WHAT MARGARET WOULD DO NEXT

2011-01-27T08:00:00.001+11:00

I AM thinking this is what Margaret would do. She'd make her Persian rice salad - with fresh apricots, thank you very much. She'd marinade chicken in a korma sauce, grill it, slice it thinly, add fresh lettuce, a lick of Greek yoghurt and wrap it up as a light, tasty summer dish. Yup, I think that's what Margaret would do.

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WHAT WOULD MARGARET DO

2011-01-25T15:53:00.004+11:00

YOU know I like bright colours, yes? Well, I added a little colour to the table this week. This set of aluminium coasters was $3 from Vinnies. Is it a picnic set do you think? Did people once pack coasters for picnics? Wow. How civilised.

Margaret Fulton probably has a set of picnic coasters. She'd certainly know what to pack for one - a picnic that is. This is the 1983 edition of her cookery bible, bought for $6 from a Salvos store. While I am not going to tick off all the recipes in a Julie and Julia-style culinary blitz I have made the apple tea cake and swear by Fulton's pavlova recipe. So many to try. I can't even imagine cooking them all in one lifetime. Fulton's a machine. When pondering mealtimes in our house, any domestic chore in fact, we ask, what would Margaret do? And damn her, if her encyclopedia doesn't always have an answer.

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SHINY NEW SHOES (THESE ARE NOT THEM)

2011-01-22T16:55:00.000+11:00

I HAVE been bangin' on about a yellow pair of Saltwater sandals for goodness knows how long. Well, move over navy Saltwaters, a shiny new pair's riding into shoetown.

And, please indulge me in a sneaky showing off of Chrissy presents. This is one of two rag rugs the dependents gave me and the TMOD "paper doll" tote was snatched out of my hands while browsing cool-kids store Made By Others. My partner ceremoniously bought, wrapped and presented it to me for Christmas. Look at this way, there's never awkward "oh-you-shouldn't-have" moments at my joint.

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I'M THE ONE ROCKIN' TANGERINE

2011-01-18T17:54:00.001+11:00

I DO like a bit of colour. These earrings, purchase from a Vinnies store for a couple of bucks, are my go-to accessory at the moment. As for the lippie, it's new and I might have, just might have, been won over by the name alone. Who can resist a lipstick called Tangerine. Fruity? Zesty? I think so. With my yellow nail polish and dark acid wash Lee jeans - also cheap as chips from the op shop - let's just say you can spot me in a crowd.

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A LITTLE WASH-RESISTANT COLOUR

2011-01-13T07:47:00.003+11:00

WITH all this rain and dirty mucky water swirling about let's bring back the colour.

Did you pick them?

Miss Cherry Chocolate's idea that the skirt should be a riot of jewel-like tones almost had me colouring it as she'd imagined.

Quiet Paw's idea for a purple sheer with black polka-dots, what can I say, she knows me too well. I'd have loved this shirt even more had it been true. Tracey, of Quiet Paws, is from Brisbane so a big, dry, sunny, hoy hoy to you Tracey. Hope you're OK.

Four Leaves, how cool would it be if the palazzo pants were an on-trend denim?

In flood news, my sister phoned for the first time last night. She has settled the family into a house out of Brisbane and will be trying to get news today on how far the Brisbane River peak came into her house. My nephew, 5, is distressed and clingy and started crying when a shoping centre alarm went off yesterday. Poor dot. The neighbours in her street have a plan to pitch in and start cleaning out the house at the bottom of the hill and work their way up. Good plan, hey?

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ARE YOU HIGH AND DRY

2011-01-12T11:44:00.001+11:00

HOW are you? I hope you’re safe. I hope you’re high and dry. I hope you have power and a phone line and if not a stock of baked beans, rice and water and a camp stove to cook them on.

It’s been pretty wild and woolly up north, hasn’t it? And to the west, for different reasons? Have you been thinking about our bloggy friends and their neighbours down in Kinglake, Victoria, and wondering, nay, marvelling at how they picked up the remnants of their lives and soldiered on as the folk of southeast Queensland and northeast NSW will have to do?

My sister has moved to higher ground. She lives at the bottom of a hill in a suburb close to the river. Even when I was there at Christmas the street's drains overflowed with each high tide.

She's fine. Phone contact is limited because there's no power but she'll be fine.

The photos, found on Brisbane's Courier Mail, show what her suburb looked like in the 1974 floods.

It's not over yet. I have a friend working in Brisbane's disaster relief centre, another filing news copy from a pub, another holed up her workplace for the next few days. All in all, everyone I've heard from is OK. That's good, isn't it? The waters will receed, neighbours will help each other drag out their household contents to dry out - again - and they'll dry, homes will be patched, roads rebuilt and lives go on. I am in awe of that kind of resillience, that collective show of strength and spirit.

Bless.

If you're in Sydney, you can keep track of local Queensland Premier's Flood Appeal fundraisers here.

GUESS THE COLOUR COMBOS

2011-01-09T21:30:00.000+11:00

FOUR new op shop illustrations. I am on fire. I haven't done one for months and then, bang, four.

I am yet to colour these but thought I'd throw it over to you to try and guess what colours they are. No spoilers from those of you who have seen me wearing these. Yes. I wear my op shop finds ... all of them.

The cut away T-shirt is a slinky little number. The label is Charlie Brown and I can't recall where I bought it but it was cheap, $5 or $6 from memory. The spotted number is an Anthea Crawford fromt the late '80s or early '90s. It's a sheer jacket with deep pleat in the back that swings when you walk.

The skirt was a steal. It's silk and, again, I paid $5 or $6. I think the Salvos volunteers couldn't imagine anyone actually wearing it and put it out on the bargain rack. Here's a hint, I wore this Christmas day teamed with a watermelon-coloured tank and bright, lolly-coloured shell and bead necklace.

The palazzo pants are getting a lot of wear of late. I'll be hunting down more of these during my op shop wanderings.

ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY

2011-01-07T07:26:00.002+11:00

ARE you comfy? I am, well the dependents are, on my new hand-printed sofa cushions made by Miss S - aka child No.1, “the eldest”, Miss Independent (as opposed to the two Miss Dependents and one Master Dependent).

Miss S and her fella Mr S (handy that they both have the same first initial) gave me these cushions for Christmas. Miss S scoured my blog for this design, created a block print of it and, wallah, printed up four of these cushions to replace our woefully old sofa cushions.

Spoiled? I’d say so. But that’s not all. The dependents splashed out and gifted me rag rugs for the front and back doors, ceramic planters and a book voucher, which I promptly spent on Dreaming of Dior, a book I have coveted for some time.

So, the silly season is done and dusted. Tree down, decorations stored, everyone back home and rough plans mapped out for 2011. Bring it, I say.

CHINK-CHINK AND CHEERS

2010-12-31T11:36:00.005+11:00

I THOUGHT I'd drift back through to wish 2010 a jolly good riddance and cheer in 2011. Not that 2010 was bad, I just like fresh starts, clean slates, blank pages, new beginnings. Don't you?

So, chink-chink and cheers.

The cocktails are courtesy of my new favourite online magazine Sweet Paul. I've been hoovering up new online finds and bookmarking old favourites for later. I've even bookmarked Christmas bits and bobs, like these no-sew decorations, for next year. Yup, I'm thinking way, way ahead.

What have you found?

I've checked out the shows I'd like to go to over summer. Martha Wainwright and Cat Power are playing the Opera House and Cyndi Lauper's coming to the State Theatre and I don't know where Lanie Lane is going to be but I'd like to see her too.

I don't watch telly much but if Thrift America was to launch an Aussie version, I'd be front and centre.

I did watch the Doctor Who Christmas special? It was good. Are you a fan?

Hmmm, what else? I can recommend stopping at the Super Strawberry outside Glen Innes. The folk there make a mean strawberry milkshake. Just the thing to revive one on an interstate Christmas road trip.

Ooh, ooh, ooh, speaking of road trips, I have booked a little trip to Melbourne with my sister in March (and will be visiting another new discovery, Milly Sleeping). Then I'll be travelling solo to Hobart soon after. Advice on what to see and do at either destination would be most welcome.

See you next year. ; )

Picture source: Sweet Paul magazine.

THE CARD'S IN THE MAIL - PROMISE

2010-12-18T21:59:00.001+11:00

THIS idea for a printed Christmas card has been in my head for weeks. I was going to cut the tangram stamps out of erasers, and may still do that for future use, but this evening I cut the tangram from potatoes and printed up card stock left over from cards I printed last year.

I just need to find the time to pen a few heartily felt Christmas wishes and send them out. The card's in the mail. I promise.

That said, this will be my last post for the year. I'll still cruise by your blogs using good ole' Google Reader but I am going to down tools for a couple of weeks and enjoy what ever warm weather summer can dish up. There's gardening to be done, books to be read and ginger beers to be drunk (with or without rum and ice for a Dark and Stormy, or vodka, lime juice and ice for a Moscow Mule).

Have a lovely Christmas and enjoy your holiday. Now, where are those postage stamps?

CARRY IT ON

2010-12-16T09:56:00.007+11:00

IMITATION is supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery so I am following Pip’s lead. and think you should do. In my head there is a tune, maybe something festive. Do play along – tune or no tune.

I need more time.
My hair was cut last week.
Pressies are done, not wrapped.
I need to buy a fridge .
And want to make gingerbread but
know I’ll be the only one to eat the LOT.
I have one more decoration to stitch.
And want the dependents to stop
watching DVDs at cinema volume
of their own accord.
I gave a six-pack to the fella who mows
He said VB was his brew.
There have been fights, not in a laneway,
in our house. That happens.
The teen got his school certificate.
Bed linen is mostly unwashed.
I gave up washing the dependents’ sheets this year.
I am paid weekly. Bless.
I think I heard Claire Bowditch on the wireless yesterday.
I ate breakfast at 5.30am and now want fruit toast.
I've been meaning to post about the Things You've Been Meaning To Do
I don’t know what angel chimes are.
I have been thinking about a pedicure – I’ve never had one.
There are always newspapers.
Nope. No chickens here either.
Nor vintage wallpaper.
And I like them too.
We have a dog and a banana tree.
Walls. Check.
Sore feet. Check. Sore neck. Check.
I don’t like Japanese food but then
I don’t know whether I’ve really tried it.
I want yellow SaltWater sandals.
I can’t fill a mug of tea to the top because I’ll spill it.
I hate answering my phone. Don’t phone. I’ll call you.
All out of work lunch ideas.
I have a diary of good ideas.
I have booked flights for a Melbourne holiday in March.
I thought I’d buy Frankie for the train trip home.
I am watching Ashes to Ashes season two.
Now I am done playing with Pip’s list and
hand it over to you.

Image source: Joannane Borsky,
of The Things You've Been Meaning To Do,
as seen on Kickcan and Conkers

HANG THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

2010-12-15T06:56:00.002+11:00

HOW can it be that there are only 10 days until Christmas? The bush advent calendar, made by Little Eco Footprints, is my favourite of all the advent calendars I've seen online this season. Super simple Aussie decor. What's not to love?

Even though it's the silly season and my patience for all things Christmas is waning I think we're on top of it. I even managed to squeeze a bunch of non-Christmas things in this past week,

I ordered the Paper Doll Primer and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks on Thursday and it arrived Monday. Yay.

The Penny Black Project exhibition at Myrtle St Studio closed on Saturday but there is a rumour there will be a second round of the project announced soon.

I did the Portuguese walking tour of Petersham on Sunday. If you're a Sydney-sider, or visiting, take a look at what's on offer for 2011. It's amazing what you can find so close to home.

Hope you're hanging in there. 10 days and counting.

Image source: Little Eco Footprints

WHO'S FED UP WITH FESTIVE FARE

2010-12-13T11:22:00.000+11:00

JUST in case you're a wee bit tired of festive fare, greasy snags, soggy salads and rum balls. Good wholesome homecooked food. You in?

IT'S A WRAP ... AND A WREATH (WELL, DER)

2010-12-08T07:33:00.002+11:00

THE Martha Stewart peg wreath was easy to make. I think I was done and dusted in less than 15 minutes. A packet of wee pegs, an old embroidery hoop I'd picked up from an op shop for less than $1 a few months back and ribbon from my tin of saved scraps. Wallah!

My partner is a whiz with the shortbread. No one even comes close. These were for family that visited for a pre-Christmas barbecue on Sunday. Shortbread packaged in reusable kitchen containers and wrapped in a tea-towel. We're all about the sustainable Chrissy pressies and decorations at Chateau Crakernuts.

THE TREE AND ALL ITS TRIMMINGS

2010-12-06T13:11:00.000+11:00

THE tree is up. Each year I give the children a new Christmas decoration each. My partner and I dressed the family's tree with cheap trinkets many years ago. Over time most have been replaced with the pieces I have picked out for the children, almost all of them now adults. In time, I hope the trimmings will gravitate to, and hang on, their own trees.

This year the decorations were made with bits and bobs I found at home. The braid was made from cut fabric, the cottons and cross-stitch cloth scraps saved from other projects and the backing was cut from an empty and washed milk bottle.

I've also cut gift tags from saved cards and have another project to show you later this week. In the meantime, pop on over and check out Joanna's pictures taken at the Penny Black Project exhibition opening on Friday.

THANKS FOR YOUR STAMP OF APPROVAL

2010-12-02T13:36:00.002+11:00

I KEEP meaning to thank you all for the sweet, supportive comments about the Penny Black Project exhibition opening this weekend. I am one of a bunch of super artists and I feel somewhat humbled to be hangin' with them, literally.

I struggle with the artist tag. I could happily say I am a writer. I get paid for writing. But art... nahhhh, get away wif ya.

Anyhoot, I am the featured artist over on the Myrtle St Studio blog today. You can have a sneek peak at the first piece I did for the project. Super simple, hey? Art, I don't know. I can go with "doodle". I wanted to work small - the image posted by Myrtle St Studio is about twice the size of the original - and to a theme I thought would translate as a singular graphic element but also look good grouped with the five pieces I did for the collection. I look back now and feel like I achieved that.

It's got me all fired up to try new things and I have a tangram project on the go that I hope to finish this weekend. It's very much inspired by Dudley Redhead's hand carved stamps and a how-to I saw on Creature Comforts blog recently.

Image: Creature Comforts

25 DAYS AND COUNTING

2010-12-01T14:05:00.001+11:00

I KNOW the first Sunday of Advent has been and gone but the first day of December, in our case also the first day of summer, reminds me of those old-school advent calendars my mother used to trot out. There were never chocolates or sweets or hidden treasures in our calendar, just a window to open each and every day on the countdown to Christmas. It was an exercise in patience and restraint. Hmmm, a life lesson I’d like to see a little more of in this hurly burly world of high expectations and immediate gratification. I won’t go on, it’ll start to sound all bah-humbuggy.

The image is from JHill Design, and first spied on Design Sponge.

IN CROWDS AND OUT OF THE CROWDS

2010-11-24T07:12:00.002+11:00

DO you remember the RayBan sunglasses I picked up at an op shop for $2? One of street-style photographer and blogger Garance Dore's subjects, Lolita, was snapped wearing something similar. Oooh, la, la. I suddenly felt a small part of da in crowd when I saw it.

Are you all going crazy with the Christmas countdown? I'm almost done with the gifts, have a little stitching left to do and will next weekend put the tree up. I have to say I am already over tacky store Christmas carols - and worse, anthems. What's with the celebrities belting out Christmas themed tunes? Ai, yi, yi. Thank goodness my shopping's done. I am thrilled to be done with those kind of crowds.

Now, couple of quickies. Do you read Heather's blog. I do. I think, like me, Heather has a thing for 1970s stoneware mugs.

And this is what I am making this week. Martha Stewart's pin-up wreath found on Creature Comfort.

Image source: Garance Dore

MY DRAWINGS. ON A WALL. GASP

2010-11-22T14:18:00.000+11:00

I can't hold on. I have to share this with you now. I am going to have my work hanging in an art space, in an exhibition. I am pinching myself. The Penny Black Project will be showing at Myrtle Street Studio and is the brainchild of all-round clever chick Joanna Coltman.

PUT THE KETTLE ON, AND THE COSY

2010-11-22T09:56:00.000+11:00

PUT the kettle on is an oft repeated phrase at my place. We drink a lot of tea. A lot. To that end we have a cupboard full of teacups and mugs and of late I’ve been amassing ‘70s stoneware mugs. I like the look of them all together and individually, they’re just the right size to cup in your hands.

And though we drink a lot of tea, and also have a lot of teapots, we have never had a tea cosy. I put that right a couple of weeks ago, buying a knitted cosy at a fete. Fetes are exactly the right place to find, and buy, nana-knitted tea cosies.

TWEETS AND TREATS

2010-11-18T06:53:00.001+11:00

HAVE you seen the latest edition of InSTYLE magazine? I’m Tweet of the month. Too true. I spied a block colour fashion spread in last month’s edition that had me ratting through my collection of op-shopped stockings for a golden pair I’d tucked away. I was so inspired I teamed them with a cobalt pencil skirt and sheer black blouse. Ooh la la. I loved it. Bold, bright and quirky.

Next time I wear it I’ll try it with the Sportscraft blazer InSTYLE shouted me and spritz with the perfume I bought while shopping in the big smoke. Well I could, couldn’t I? I’d already saved all that dosh not having to fork out for the jacket. Oh go on, I wear op-shopped clothes for goodness sake. Let me enjoy my consumerist high for just one post, OK?

BEAN THERE, DONE THAT

2010-11-15T06:49:00.003+11:00

BORLOTTI beans from the garden – a garden I yesterday weeded and mulched. Coriander seed went in, along with rocket seedlings, more lettuce and chillies. The pumpkin is up and starting to run. The tomatoes are flowering and the capsicum is doing OK now I’ve cut cloches from PET bottles to stop the slugs snacking on the new leaves. The strawberries are still fruiting, the olive looks healthy, the herbs look lush and even though I failed to do much with my lemons this year, the old tree looks like it’s got a few more seasons in it yet. Bless the rain.

ONLY THE BEST SILKS FOR MY STAR JASMINE

2010-11-11T07:08:00.004+11:00

HEY, thanks for all the comments on my update of what I was reading. You've extended my reading wish-list, that's for sure. Do pick up a copy of The Big Issue next time you see a vendor selling them. The new issue is out now and a new issue comes out each fortnight.

So, how about this weather. Chilly, stocking clad legs, jackets and even umbrellas and now I'm in sandals and frocks, but still not leaving home without the brolly.

I kind of miss the stockings. I got into them for the first time this winter, mixing it up with the odd assortment of colours I'd find packaged - unopened, of course - and languishing at op shops. Man, I tells ya I am onto something. They're always gorgeous high-end numbers. Do people buy their fancy silks in bulk and then when the colour is out of favour, ditch 'em? I don't know, but listen up kids, there's gold in them there op-shops.

This pair are Christian Dior - ohhhh la la. I know! They are the most glorious pair of stockings I've ever worn. No sinking, no saggy crotch - come on, you know it's an issue - no bunching around the ankles, smooth as ... and they even have a little sewn in label and instructions on how to put them on, just in case you had misgivings.

Shame I snagged 'em on the first wear. I didn't say I was good with stockings. A little shabby and careless really. I've cut them into ribbons and they're now holding a couple of out of control star jasmines to their climbing posts. Waste not, want not. Good thing I paid $1 for them. Right?

I RAISE ME CUPS TO YA

2010-11-08T07:13:00.008+11:00

TEA for Joy blogged about the photography of Charlotte Brown late last month. The photos reminded me of a wee little tea set I have, gifted after I spoke at a VIEW Club meeting. It was such a lovely surprise. So different from a card or box of chocolates. I was taken with the thought, who might have chosen it and why for it was, as my partner said at the time, so very me.

So, here 'tis. My ode to the work of Charlotte Brown, miniature tea sets and lovely surprises. Have a great week. Take a deep breath and don't get too caught up in the end-of-year countdown.