Mini lamingtons

I wanted to squeeze in this post before the close of Australia Day. At least it is for us in the southern hemisphere.

These mini lamingtons are are healthy alternative courtesy from the healthy chef and were a pleasant treat at the end of the day.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

Well folks, it has been a while but I'd just like to say:
Happy Australia Day!

When friends of ours from Cairns dropped in yesterday on their way home from travels in South America, we took the opportunity to kick off our Australia Day celebrations a day early. As we all know, no Aussie BBQ is complete without steak, lamb chops, snags and my favourite brown rice salad all washed down with some beer and wine. And to top it off? An Aussie pavlova of course (just don't tell the Kiwis).

PS. There have been some requests for pics of our new home. I had planned to blog about it when all the boxes were unpacked however I now realise that could take a while. Watch this space...

Upholstery 102

I am writing this post a bit prematurely but I'm so impressed with the results of my first "real" upholstery project (see Upholstery 101) that I can't wait to show you. The kids tell me to stop bragging but I'm not bragging, I'm just happy the chair turned out how I had imagined it. The timber work isn't quite finished but that won't happen till late January and who wants to wait that long? – Not me!

My tutor Dave is a fountain of knowledge and experience when I comes to upholstery. I have to say, I almost blushed when he said my measurements and sewing were so good I must be a perfectionist. But a perfectionist, I am not. Call me a 80%-er; I'll gladly wear that label. I seem to have a finite pool of patience and diligence and when that runs out I take whatever shortcuts I can to get to the end.

So here it is...

The before shots

And the after

So even though I can tick that one off my "To Do" list, I already have my next project lined up. I'm sure my friend Charmaine will be glad to get it out of her garage!

Summer days

Today was my first trip to the beach this summer. The black sands at Muriwai Beach were heating up but there's a way to go yet before it reaches scorching point. I didn't actually get in the water however I am told that it was "really a lot warmer than you'd think." – hmmm.

Quote of the day

 

From one of my all time favourite movies Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I couldn't have said it better myself and a timely reminder at this time of the year.

 

m, xox

Love your mountain

Yesterday was Love Your Mountain Day at Maungawhau. The residents of Mt Eden can't help but love the mountain that watches over them.

Pyramid advent calendar

When I saw this pyramid advent calendar over at Mini Eco I just couldn't resist doing it. I won't be putting the Christmas tree up this year as we are heading to Oz so I thought this was a nice way to get into the festive spirit.

The end result may look more like an arrow than a Christmas tree which is what I was aiming for. Maybe it would have looked better if I'd just made it random. Nevermind, I'll try to remember for next year.