Special Others: Anne Day

Today is my mum, Anne Day’s birthday. She is a pretty amazing woman, as anyone who has met her would attest. Not only did she teach me how to be a lady (even though at times, I don’t always heed her advice) but she taught me everything I know about sewing and craft and for that I am forever grateful. I am very much looking forward to raiding her sewing room when I am home in Mackay next week, just like she used to do with her mum.

Best of all Mum made me this quilt when I was 12 years old and I have treasured it every since, and boy is it warm! (Almost as good as a Mum hug!) So this one is for the most important woman in my life, Mum. Love you, and Happy Birthday.

xo

Cumin Lentil Vegie Loaf

Another amazing new vegetarian win. This recipe was simple, quick and so very tasty! I modified the original a little, using only one tin of lentils and adding extra spices, including garam masal and a little tumeric and added shredded spinach into the side salad. Best thing about this dish, it is delicious cold the next day! Actually, I might go have a slice of left overs now.
xo

In the Bedroom: Part 2

This is the other bedside table in my room. The white chair was the very first piece of furniture I ever restored. I found it on the side of the road in my first year in Brisbane in dire need of some tender love and care. The back was coming loose and it was covered in hideous forest green paint that was peeling off all over the place. As it was my first foray into furniture restoration it took a very long time to complete and some hard hours with paint stripper (I learnt very quickly that paint stripper is NOT kind to skin) but I am so glad I rescued it, because now the chair is one of my favourite pieces.

Dressed with a little Ikea lamp, some sweet smelling dried lavender (my favourite) and a pile of vintage penguin books, the chair looks right at home as my bedside table. And the white pom pom on the floor next to the chair is another of my creations - the things you can do with tissue paper!
xo

Things I love: Snail Mail

I think one of the best simple pleasures in life is receiving a hand written letter in the mail. Luckily my lovely friends know this about me and humour me and have sent a lot of postal love from all around the world this year so far, which was topped off by a beautiful letter from my friend Ky in the my letter box today from the States. Thank you all, keep the post coming!
xo

Pink Deliciousness

On a whim I cooked this delicious Beetroot Risotto for dinner the other night from a totally new recipe. It was the first risotto I have made in more than a year, as my last effort was rather an epic gluggy fail. But since moving into my new house in February, which is complete with a beautiful gas stove top (LOVE) I thought I should give it another attempt, now that I have reliable temperature control.

I found this recipe for a vegetarian beetroot, walnut and goats' cheese risotto and I think the main reason I was so drawn to it was that it was pink! I have never eaten nor seen pink risotto before. Best of all it turned out to be delicious as well, which I was sincerely hoping it would, but was skeptical there for awhile as I have never cooked anything with beetroot as the base.

As far as risotto goes, this was fairly easy to make too (no added roasting pumpkin or other vegies in the oven). I also used feta cheese instead of goats' cheese and added extra leafy greens for goodness, and the leftovers were delicious for lunch yesterday as well. Total, unexpected win!
xo

In the Bedroom: Part 1

 

In a mad fit of pre spring cleaning I have been reorganising my bedroom and giving it some big touch ups over the last few weeks. My travel inspired bedside table is just the beginning in the series of what I have created in the only room in the house that is all mine, (although credit to my lovely housemates, they pretty much let me decorate how I wish!)

I was inspired by this picture to create my bedside table, and the best thing about this project is that I already had all the materials in my house, just begging to be used! The red suitcase I have had since I first moved to Brisbane in 2007 and have carted it from house to house in the numerous times I have moved over the years. It was originally salvaged for a prop for a friend's play and she was kind enough to bequeath it to me when the play was over, thanks Phil. 

The bottom two suitcases are spoils of the op shop mission Nikki and I took to Ipswich a few months ago. I spotted them as soon as we walked in, and just as I suspected they were a total bargain! Best of all the green one is still sporting an ancient airline tag (from the old days of Ansett) for Brisbane, which makes the suitcase even more special.

And finally, I topped it off with a picture of a vintage map with the quote "Wherever you go, go with all your heart" which was created by my lovely friend Amy. I bought the frame for $1 at a cent sale at a school one Saturday morning, and painted it white with a bit of left over paint I had lying around. The lamp was from an op shop, the photo frame from a garage sale, (the picture is my Mum and Nana out for a day of shopping circa 1960), the alarm clock is Ikea and the little jar is DIY moisturiser. 

Overall I am pretty pleased with my travel bedside table, and it gave new life and a new use for things that I just had lying around waiting for the perfect spot in my house.

xo

Indian Spiced Red Lentil Soup

This soup is one of my favourite things to cook, it's quick, easy, cheap, vegan and DELICIOUS! I have even served this for fervent meat eaters and one friend who doesn't really like chunky soup and they all loved it! Best of all, once you buy all the core ingredients they will make at least four batches of this soup.

I used:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup korma curry paste
• 2/3 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 1/4 cup pearl barely, washed (soaked if you have time)
• 400g tin of diced tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable stock (Massel is best)
• 1/2 bunch of fresh coriander
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 1 packet of pappadums

To make, simply heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat then add onion. Cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add curry paste and stir to combine.

Then stir in all remaining ingredients and cover. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes or until barley is tender. Divide between bowls. Top with fresh coriander, serve with pappadums (which can be cooked in the microwave to avoid oily deep frying).

The day Amy discovered this little gem was a very good one.

xo

Vintage Linens

One of my favourite things to scour the thrift stores for are vintage linens. As far as I am concerned, the bolder the patterns, the better. Going vintage is good for the purse strings too, this funky retro table cloth was just $2. But best of all, you know these linens are good quality because they have already been around for decades. Without sounding like too much of a nana, they just don't make 'em like this anymore.
xo

Girls Gone Wild... Op Shopping

During the uni holidays Nikki and I went on a few op shop adventures. While I love to frequent the ops and often just go for a quick browse, N and I were on a mission: prom was fast approaching and we needed dresses.

I realise in Australia we usually call the ‘Prom’ a ‘Formal’ and being in our early 20s, we were about six years late on the prom dress shopping. But our temporary insanity wasn’t without reason, we were planning a massive 80s Prom Party for two of our dear friends, and what’s Prom without a fantastic dress (or in the ‘80s a fantastically foul dress)? So our op shop missions were focused on hunting down taffeta, shoulder pads and lace.

We went deep into the ‘burbs tracking taffeta and our search led us into some terrifying moments in Ipswich and Logan. (For those of you who don’t know, Ipswich and Logan are surrounding ‘cities’ of Brisbane. Ipswich in particular is an older, quite quaint town, as long as you stay in the main street. Mostly ‘The Switch’ and Loganville are the native habitats of the boganis, a demoralising mutant strain of Australian rednecks, also known as bogans.)

Nevertheless we had a great time sifting through the op shops while taking in the local culture and sights. We also had fun ‘checking in’ to the places we visited on Facebook, like the Ipswich Magistrates Court, Centrelink, and the Ipswich cemetery. We had a gourmet meal of Hungry Jacks for lunch (dine in!) and even sped away from a Lifeline like criminals escaping with hot loot (really we just mistook the warehouse for an actual store and were scared of the creepy workwear clad men giving us weird looks). I even scored the macramé owl from Friday’s post for $2. 

But it wasn’t until we ventured to Logan that we both found our Prom dresses. Being a Saturday morning, N decided to take a little break from dress shopping to try her hand at some sports instead. I swear, it was the most fun I have ever had watching sport. I think fishing is the winner, N. Perhaps I should pop down and buy you the red fishing rod?

xo