home made

Monday afternoon finds me at home post job interview & rainy travels, in the kitchen baking accompanied by Birdy's latest album. My goodness.

Sweet serenity. I am in a good place.

Happy Monday,

from a Monday Child fair of face.

{Birdy}

thursday

It's Thursday, it's summer - it's warm, but not totally uncomfortable. There is a pleasant little breeze that pops through my kitchen as I'm multi-tasking many a thing.

In light of a recent lay-off from my job in the design world (due to co. financial issues - it's tough out there!) I have resolved to keep my hands busy and my mind creative so as to not lose too much steam and keep one's soul happy.

Yesterday, I made a quirky little 'tongue in cheek' calendar (collaboration with the BF), today I'm trawling the world wide web for the perfect font for a logotype, whilst making shortbread and conjuring up sweet packaging concepts for said products. I'm quite liking my at-home baking experiences of late and pondering the idea of markets in the future. But let's just test run these delicious treats first - it's a little exciting! ;)

Last week's success was my gingerbread men and mango chutney. I cooked up a batch of gingerbread men and took a jar of chutney to the Boyf's house Christmas dinner, and to my surprised delight it was a hit! I've never cooked anything so fancy before and feel this may have ignited a little flame of passionate curiosity for the kitchen. Especially when you see those around you enjoying it.

This year will see a small Christmas at home with the BF, brother and sister. My parents will be in Adelaide, so the success of Christmas lunch and dinner rests with us. We have the turkey and ham (and mango chutney), we will have the gingerbread men and shortbread, but the rest is something I'm looking forward to putting together. Summer salads and seafood perfectly matched with our drinks and refreshments of choice. Let's hope there is a gorgeous breeze to accompany the day!

It's nice to be able to focus a little more on the blog aswell, despite the employment situation is not ideal. I am really looking forward to establishing more freelance opportunities and seeing what else is out there. In the meantime, creative freedom is here. Time to extend one's creative abilities, to collaborate and enjoy the summer season.

Mixing the butter, sugar and flour. 

The Christmas ingredients - cranberries, almonds, pistachios and white chocolate!

Where it all comes together. Cookie cutters galore! 

My festive oven mit ready to take the first batch out of the oven! 

My first batch of Christmas Shortbread is a success. Huzzah!

What are your plans for Christmas? Not many sleeps now!

Happy Thursday.

X

red velvet

I don't know about you... but I didn't know what a red velvet cake was until last night. A little slow on the up-take ey? And to think - I've loved the work the girls over at Red Velvet Art do for... well, it could be eons.

Not only does this cake sound amazing, it looks positively scrumptious aswell. I'm in one of those cake-craving moods you know, but I'll just have to settle for adding it to my 'To Bake' list and salivate over the following delicious images.

The cake.

The cupcakes.

The cake-pops!

The Red Velvet kisses.

Oh. Did I mention it has cream cheese frosting... oh yes.

Where can I find one in Brisbane, without making one?

Someone help me sate my 'hunger'.

;P

{of course I heart these}

those things

I'm sitting at my desk here at work this Australia Day Eve and have the urge to share with you something simple... plainly, the things that I love. Things that have recently made me smile, lit that creative fire, soothed my soul and ultimately made my world go 'round that little bit easier.

Things like...

>  my Beatrix Potter mug nestled amongst days work. The warmth of the sweet tea and those illustrations that evoke childhood memories add a pleasant nostalgia to my Tuesday morning.

{image via google images}

> listening to Adele's second album, 21. With music that captures your heart within the first few bars, leaving an impression that lingers long after. At the moment I've been taken away by her cover of Brandi Carlile's 'Hiding My Heart' - a song that takes me back to one of the hardest, yet most important times in my life in 2009. I was at my parent's in Inverell.

Home is such a good place to be. I can't wait for Easter. Inverell is such a beautiful place as the season turns, the liquid amber leaves start to illuminate and autumn colours your immediate world.

> I'm getting a few more hip shots in {the ol' point & shoot}, in my recent adventures. This one I love. My sister thinks I'm strange, but I love this shopping centre billboard. There's something whimsical, hippy, yet chic, contradicting and ever so artistic about it.

> I attended a festival with my little sister {our first together}, Amy over the weekend - the 2010 Gold Coast Big Day Out. This was taken as the afternoon sun gave us a little reprieve and the always amazing, show-stopping John Butler Trio took to the Orange Stage.

> My gorgeous cousin and mama-to-be, Casey, sends me pictures of the delicious sponge cakes she's baking on her days off while I'm at work. All amongst a myriad of tweets and emails of course! I told you - it's all about what makes your day that little bit brighter, and yummier!

> speaking of the said festival, I got to witness a band I have been hanging out to see for quite some time.

{image found on my heart}
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros.
I had to leave the JBT set to catch their gig, by myself, but I was surely not disappointed. A little self-conscious to begin with... then the inhibitions were let loose and I grooved, bumped, jumped and skipped around to the ecclectic sounds and entertaining antics of Mr Sharpe and his entourage.

> and before I blog about the next thing that pulls on my heart strings, in my lunch break I read two of Emma Magenta's gorgeous little books, and on the final page of A Gorgeous Sense Of Hope I came across the sweetest moment...

Perhaps this is where I'm at right now.

Let's see if you're mapped in.

what's a cookin'?

I think these little guys speak for themselves.
Deliciously cute.

Ideas for Christmas treats and foodie love are spilling from my mind. Gingerbread, shortbread, chocolate chip; icing, sprinkles, treacle and dip!

{yum}