We need a montage

What do you get when Meegan and Katie tell the bartender to make whatever cocktail he thinks you will fancy and to follow it up with a shot? You get delicious scotch cocktails with a cherry on top, shots that were on fire and tasted like warm chocolate and a hilarious montage of photos! Thank you to the cute bartender at Lady Lamington who was right, a good cocktail is much cheaper than a shrink.

xo

Mini Quiches

This is one of my all time favourite dishes. It's super easy to make, quick and often can be made with just what you have in the cupboard and the crisper. I've adapted my own recipe for these delicious little mini quichies from the 'Self Crusting Zucchini Quiche' recipe in the awesome Day to Day Cookery book (thanks again, Mum, this really is one of the most handy cook books imaginable!)


Ingredients

• 2 medium size zucchinis
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup grated cheese, lightly packed
• 1/4 olive oil
• 1/2 self raising flour
• pinch of cracked pepper

Method

• Grease a 12 cup muffin tin and preheat the oven to a moderate temperature. 
• Grate zucchinis and carrots into a large bowl.
• Stir in onion, eggs, cheese, olive oil, flour and a pinch of pepper.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the cups in the muffin tin (sometimes you might get a few extra depending on the size of the veggies).
• Bake in a moderate oven for about 25 minutes or until the quiches are golden on top.
• Cool, and devour still warm or cold the next day.

Super easy, healthy and delicious! For meat lovers, a few bacon rashers added to the mixture is also good, but try the vego option - it really is delicious!

xo

Ruby Slippers

In my opinion, every girl needs a pair of classic red heels in her wardrobe. However my favourite Old Faithful red heels have been looking a little worse for wear lately - so much so that I had already mentally said goodbye to them and had put them with other old items in wardrobe ready to donate to the op shop/chuck. 

That was until, I saw this rather brilliant tutorial on how to fix ruined heels, and had a little brainwave of my own to breath fabulous new life into Old Faithfuls. I went one step further that the tutorial, and instead of just painting glitter on the heels of the shoe, I did the whole thing. Admittedly, my red shoes were a lot more worse for wear than the original shoes in the tutorial, and who doesn't secretly want a pair of red ruby slippers, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz?

Before:

After:

Creating ruby slippers/fixing my Old Faithfuls was actually easier than you think. All you need is:

• glitter (to match your shoe colour)
• glue (I used Mod Podge)
• paintbrush
• paper plate

Simply mix your glitter with the glue and paint on! It's actually that easy. Give your shoes a few coats, and try to keep the glitter glue as even as possible to avoid lumps and bumps. Mine did turn out a little bumpy but that was only because my heals were so hacked up to start with. Don't stress too much, because on your feet, no one will notice any little imperfections.

Ta-da! Now I have my very own ruby slippers. Now if I click my heels together three times and wish for my hearts desire do you think it will come true? Who knows, but Dorothy was certainly right about one thing: there's no place like home AND ruby slippers are super cute!
xo

Mirror Mirror on the wall...

... who's the prettiest of them all?
Mirror: Have you SEEN me? I am, of course!

Op shop find, lick of paint on a lazy afternoon with Nik, and hey-presto, the perfect mirror for above her bed in her beautiful new apartment. This mirror was the one Nikki has been searching for!

Before:

After:

xo

Parties: Urban Family Christmas

I love parties. 

I love throwing them.

I love attending them.

I love planning them.

Best of all I love the memories they leave with you. 

Don't get me wrong, I am also a big fan of the impromptu gatherings and spur of the moment decisions to go out with friends, and sometimes these turn out to be the best nights ever. But there is something magical about the bittersweet anticipation of a party. I spend weeks planning like crazy and get so excited for the night to happen, but I also end up having so much fun in the process of creating the party, I almost don't want it to actually happen.

I had a lot of fun planning our Urban Family Christmas last year. I think we decided in about April it would be me that would have Christmas for all of our friends, which was also bittersweet, since our fabulous 2010 hosts would no longer be living in Brisbane by Christmas time. My place (aka The Prince Street Palace) was chosen pretty much because out of everyone in the group I had the most space.

I also may have gone a little overboard, but damn it was fun! I spent ages collecting mismatched floral plates from op shops so we could use 'real' plates and not paper ones. Mum and I went on a mad dash trip to Ikea for a few extra supplies, and I had a brain wave to make everyone a bonbon with their name on it for place settings. Also a very cute party favour! 

A big thanks to my wonderful mum who pretty much decorated the tree, since I was off on a mission to get more chairs! And also to Peter and Smiley, my wonderful house mates, for helping to blow up 40 odd balloons because I could not located the two (yes, two!) balloon pumps that I do actually own! Also thanks, Meegs, for the photos!

Last but certainly not least, thanks to my wonderful friends, who have become my Urban Family in Brisbane. The family you choose for yourself really does become just as important as your real family. 

For the delicious food, wonderful company, so much love and a great Christmas, this one is for the Urban Family. (Sorry it's late guys, I needed a rest after this epic evening!) 

Without further ado, I give you: Urban Family Christmas 2011 (aka UFXMAS aka FUXMAS, it's an acronym, so it's not rude!)

xo

You know you have taste when...

I was just watching 'The First Time' one of the new episodes of Glee and I noticed something rather familiar hanging on the wall in Blaine's bedroom behind Kurt.

I have the exact same vintage map of Europe currently hanging in my lounge room. Clearly I must have good taste if I picked the same map as a fictional gay guy who loves singing, is in show choir and wears bow ties almost as good as Chuck Bass.

Just another reason to <3 Glee!
xo

Special Others: Suzie Blue

Susan Hatchett is not only an intelligent, wise, sexy, talented woman and the artist behind my Knight in Shining Armour picture, she's also a special kind of friend.

I've known and loved my other best mates since we had cooties (Callan: besties from day one of grade one,) for more than half my life (Nikki: bonkers together since '99,) or from the days of the high school yard (Meegs and Milly: fellow trashbag winos). But Suz and I found each other as I was easing in to my 20s and she was ever so gracefully easing out of hers.

Becoming really close friends with someone new in your 20s is a special thing and one that I had never previously experienced. Sure, I had made friends with people other than my high school crowd, but they were work friends, party friends, travelling friends or friends of friends. That's not to say they aren't all amazing, interesting individuals, but none of them really got me like my other besties.

The best friendships you make are the ones that hum quietly in the background of your life without creating too much interfering noise. Bit by bit, the melody of the friendship grows louder and clearer until one day the music swells to a crescendo and one of you wonders aloud: how did we even get to be so close? You both pause for a second to think about it, but neither of you really know the answer, it all just sort of happened.

Then it's like you have known each other forever and as far as you can see into the future, you will always know this person. Before you know it you're each others' 'Knight in Shining Armour' and no matter what you've made a friend for life.
xo

Pretty in Pink

This is one of my favourite corners of my house. The collection of mismatching glass bottles have been scavenged from op shops, after nights of boozing and one even once contained a condiment in my fridge. The antique table was my parents answer to my persistent begging for a writing desk of my own, and was the first place that I sat and dreamt up stories when I was little. A vintage suitcase stashed underneath, complete with old travel stickers, offers the promise of escaping to foreign lands. Pretty pink blooms make this little nook look and smell like spring.

xo

Back with a bang!

Before:

After:

I have been absent for some time, and am once again guilty of letting other things get in the way of my little corner of heaven in Blogland where I share with you all the things I do. But my hiatus has not been in vain. I have lots of exciting new things to share with you, including my lounge room makeover. Best of all, the total cost came in just under $100.

I have really been drawn to industrial kind of furniture lately, and I think you all know how much I like reusing old things, so it seemed only natural to combine the two. I scored the wooden pallets free from one of the business near my office (working in an industrial area may not have many good cafes for lunching, but it does have it's benefits). I also got the foam mattresses off Gumtree, one of my favourite places to go scavenging for bargains (they were $10 and are in pretty good condition — and so comfortable!)

The next step was to cut the pallets down to size to fit the foam mattresses. Admittedly I did do this step the hard way and cut each pallet with a hand saw, but I was a little afraid of botching them to use my jigsaw for the very first time. And Dad wasn't around to help me. I then sanded the fronts of the pallets, not bothering about the sides that were going to face to walls to save time.

Some single fitted sheets (50% off on sale) and a few new throw pillows topped off with an hour of one Saturday afternoon spent putting it all together, was all it took to finish off my brand new lounge room. It is perfect for chilling out to watch a movie, read a book or to gather around when friends come over. Just ask my girlfriends, we recently spent a Sunday afternoon watching Bridesmaids together lounging around. My housemates are also justifiably pleased.

I also dug my round coffee table (below) out of the garage, an old favourite thrifted from the side of the road one particularly entertaining afternoon in St Lucia with Smiley. I had some left over contact paper that I had bought to line draws with and covered the table top with it to blend it with the red cushions on the couch.  I love the little shelf underneath and my stack of vintage hardcovers.

My new couch is also a handy little shelf for storing magazines. I don't want to shove too much stuff into the pallets but it IS a rather convenient little hideaway.

Stay tuned for more of my makeovers, and let me know what you think about my extremely comfortable pallet couch. 

xo

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