Dragonfly Cupcakes

The first cupcakes we made out of our new cupcake cookbook were dragonfly cupcakes.

You can tell that it's a dragonfly, can't you?

This was my daughter's choice, which gave her decorating rights, although she did have some 'help' from her younger brothers.

The dragonfly's body is made out of white Nestle choc bits, with shredded coconut 'feelers' and chocolate freckle 'wings'.

I am very happy to hand over fiddly food preparation tasks like this to my children. And they think I am doing them the favour!

Little brother's proud creation (I love his new dark blue shoelaces too, don't you?)

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Easy Cupcakes by Colour

For months, every time I have wandered down the magazine aisle of the supermarket I have been tempted by the Australian Women's Weekly's Easy Cupcakes By Colour cookbook. Many a time have I leafed through this book without buying. That is, until today.

I couldn't hold off any longer. Spring is just around the corner and with it comes the desire to bake pretty, spring-like cupcakes. Lacking inspiration of my own, I knew this cookbook would provide ideas. And it does, in abundance.

Easy Cupcakes By Colour is divided into five chapters based on colour: pink, white, yellow, blue and green, and chocolate. There are over 100 pages of scrumptious pictures of cupcakes and descriptions of how to decorate them. Pictures of the various decorations, along with cake and frosting recipes, are at the back of the book. Included are dairy and gluten-free cupcake recipes for those with restricted diets.

Mind you, I have had very little opportunity to look at the book since I arrived home as the kids keep disappearing with it. I can see that cupcakes are going to feature heavily in next week's menu.

Let the baking begin!

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Perfect Drying Weather

Especially in winter, when it's least expected, perfect drying weather makes me smile.

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A Scaly Old Hag

I have always had a lackadaisical attitude towards skincare, that is to say, I have rarely moisturised, ever. Every so often I try to set up a beauty routine of sorts, but it never lasts for long.

Unfortunately, like many natural redheads, I have very fair, dry, sensitive skin -- skin that I am sure will turn into a mass of wrinkles over the next decade unless I do something about it now. You'll see a scaly old hag strolling down the street and it will be me. Or maybe I'll go into hiding. Or wear a burkah.

It's just that I blanch at the cost of most commercial skincare products. And the few that I've tried don't seem to make much difference. Sometimes they even seem to dry my skin out further. And I worry about all the strange things they have in them.

So tell me, can you recommend a not-too-expensive commercial moisturing cream or treatment for someone with dry, sensitive skin?

Do you have a home-made recipe that actually works?

If you tell me of a recipe that I like I'll publish it, acknowledging you, of course.

I know that I'll never look 18 again, but I would prefer not to have a future where I am regularly compared to a crone/a sharpei dog/a prune/a walnut shell.

image is a 1939 Ponds ad

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Beautiful Bathers

Like most women, especially those who have had several babies, I cringe at the thought of shopping for a swimming costume for myself. However, I almost swooned over the Fifties' fabulousness of the cossies in the video below, which I filched from the 50s times. Anyone for a Wingding?

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Have You Versed Anyone Today?

No, I am not talking about spouting poetry or quoting Bible verses.

When two sporting teams play against each other, the preposition 'versus' is commonly used. For example, a game might be described as Australia vs. the USA, or New South Wales vs. South Australia. 'Versus' comes from the Latin vertere meaning turned (in the direction of) or opposite.

However, when my children refer to a sporting competition they turn 'versus' into a verb. They say, "we are versing Lothian Park in netball next week" or "they versed South Adelaide and lost."

I first heard my children speak this way in Melbourne but friends have commented that their Adelaide-born children say the same thing.

So I wonder, is this an expression that children use and that they grow out of? Do children everywhere say 'versing' or is it just Australian children? And, from an etymological point of view, is this a new expression that we will see adults using next?

So tell me, do your children 'verse'? Do you?

image is from www.allposters.com

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Hello Daisy

The daisies are beginning to dance in the garden:

another sign that spring is near.

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Raindrops on Roses (and Ten of My Favourite Things)

While they don't quite make my top ten list of favourite things, raindrops on roses are certainly exquisite. In a dry city like Adelaide all rain is a cause for celebration. There are very few experiences quite so wonderful as seeing a parched garden revive after rain, with raindrops glowing like jewels on every blade of grass, every rose petal.

While I am in a Sound of Music frame of mind, I thought I would share with you some of my favourite things.

Ten of My Favourite Things

1. The smell of a new baby, especially at the back of its head and the nape of its neck.

2. The pleasure of baking a cake from scratch; creaming the soft butter and sugar with a wooden spoon, beating in the eggs, then sifting in the flour.

3. The smell of damp earth in a well-tended vegetable patch after rain.

4. Summer at the beach; warm sand between my toes; the smell of salt; the shrieks of happy children

5. My beautiful children and husband; I often wonder how I got to have such a wonderful family; what did I do to deserve such joy?

6. A hot bath with bubbles and a good but not too serious book; a guilty pleasure with our water shortages but one I enjoy greatly.

7. Classical and jazz music; I shut my eyes and soak the music in; I wish it would never end

8. A meal cooked by someone else: while I love to cook, I also relish being cooked for -- especially when I am not responsible for cleaning up afterwards. And because I cook all the time and know what work it is, I value the effort made by others when they cook for me.

9. A quiet, clean house: a rare but joyous experience!

10. Time spent with good friends: I value friendships all the more because I have had to move interstate twice and start again. New friends are a blessing, but old friends, where you share a history and feel accepted even on your bad days, are even better.

What are your favourite things?

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Sneezy and Wheezy

Sneezles

Christopher Robin

Had wheezles

And sneezles,

They bundled him

Into His bed.

They gave him what goes

With a cold in the nose,

And some more for a cold

In the head.

They wondered

If wheezles

Could turn

Into measles,

If sneezles

Would turn

Into mumps;

They examined his chest

For a rash,

And the rest

Of his body for swellings and lumps.

They sent for some doctors

In sneezles

And wheezles

To tell them what ought

To be done.

All sorts and conditions

Of famous physicians

Came hurrying round

At a run.

They all made a note

Of the state of his throat,

They asked if he suffered from thirst;

They asked if the sneezles

Came after the wheezles,

Or if the first sneezle

Came first.

They said,

"If you teazle

A sneezle

Or wheezle,

A measle

May easily grow.

But humour or pleazle

The wheezle

Or sneezle,

The measle

Will certainly go.

"They expounded the reazles

For sneezles

And wheezles,

The manner of measles

When new.

They said

"If he freezles

In draughts and in breezles,

Then PHTHEEZLES

May even ensue."

Christopher Robin

Got up in the morning,

The sneezles had vanished away.

And the look in his eye

Seemed to say to the sky,

"Now, how to amuse them to-day?"

- A.A. Milne, Now We Are Six

Like poor little Christopher Robin I am beset with aches and pains, sneezles and wheezles. I have been in bed most of the weekend. Right now I feel a little better and hope to be well enough for work tomorrow. I need to save my sick days in case the children get sick and I have to stay home with them.

Meanwhile, I'm trying not to breathe on or kiss anyone; this is a more difficult task than it may seem!

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Blossoms in Winter

The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.

~Gertrude S. Wister

Out walking with my son last week, I was thrilled to see that the first blossom trees have burst into bloom.

Despite the grey sky and chilly air, spring must be just around the corner.

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Custom made wallpaper

O meu irmão fez este papel-de-parede, baseado numa foto que escolhi. A qualidade não é perfeita, porque a fotografia tinha baixa resolução, mas adoro as cores e a sensação da água! E resolveu-me as dedadas constantes na parede das escadas... as mãozinhas da Carlota! :-)

My brother did this wallpaper based on a picture that I chose. I find it so seventies and this was the best way to solve the problem of Carlota's fingertips on the wall! I love greens, and water, and that calming feeling...

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HoMeWoRk

This where Carlota does her homework... The pad is covered with Kitsch Kitshen paper and the cushion is Designer Guild's. It's hard to have Carlota doing her homework by herself, alone in her room, but as she's getting older she's becoming more responsible and she really makes an effort to do it all by herself. I tried to make her room her little haven...

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BEIJOS DE ALGODÃO

O trabalho da Sandra Nascimento é fantástico e eu gostava de ter mais paredes onde o pudesse expor! Vejam as coisas lindas que ela desenha em Beijos de Algodão. Não é lindo?

The work of portuguese designer Sandra Nascimento is amazing and I'd like to have more free walls at home where I could display her drawings! Look at the beautiful things she does at Beijos de Algodão. Isn't it gorgeous?

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***borbolegas***

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Walk-Along Learning

Have you ever noticed how effectively children, and boys in particular, learn when they are doing something active. I have had some of my best conversations with my children when we have been going for a walk, or baking a cake, or looking for eggs in the backyard.

Today was a case in point. My youngest son and I were walking along when he said, "Mum, you know the word territory, like, 'you are in my territory!' -- that's got four words in it hasn't it, 'ter-ri-tor-y'."

I told him that those sound groups are called syllables, and a syllable is a group of letters that make a single sound group. If a word changes direction, then there are two syllables. We discussed how some words only have one syllable because they only go one direction, such as "crack", but other words change direction, such as hap-py.

I knew he had it worked out when he said, "Some words have two syllables when they go in the same direction twice, like 'poo-poo', don't they?"

Boys will be boys, won't they, even when they are learning!

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DESIGNERS GUILD

Chegaram hoje as almofadas da Designers Guild! Estou tão contente - sou fã nº 1! Vivam os saldos de Verão!

Já gosto do trabalho da Tricia Guild há muitos anos. Por cá já encontramos muitas coisas, mas alguns dos seus têxteis-lar e objectos de decoração são mais difíceis de encontrar - e, para grande pena minha, a loja online só vende para o Reino Unido. Mesmo assim, consegui chegar a estas almofadas (e outras preciosidades) e tenho a minha casa recheada destas e de outras coisas lindas! É sempre uma fonte de inspiração para mim, por isso visito muitas vezes a página web desta marca.

My new Designers Guild cushions have arrived!! I'm so happy! I love summer sales! 

I love Tricia's Guild work for many years now. We can find lots of Designers Guild products around here, but some of the things are hard to find (and expensive) or they don't even exist here, so it's a shame their online shop doesn't ship abroad. But I got to find a way of having these cushions and many other lovely things, so now my home is full of beauty! I visit their online shop quite often, as I find it a great source of inspiration...

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HERE COMES THE SUN

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GOOD MORNING!!! :-)

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JEJÉ's ROOM

A minha casa é pequena e o espaço tem que ser o melhor aproveitado possível. Redecorei o quarto da Carlota com isso em mente, pelo que a cama e a secretária foram feitas à medida. Apesar de não gostar particularmente das linhas industriais e de móveis modulares, penso que encontrei a melhor solução para este quartinho.

O papel de parede é da Pip Studio e a roupa de cama é da Designers Guild. Os móveis são da Just4Kids, excepto a estante e a cadeira, que são do Ikea.

Ah, se eu tivesse uma casa maior...

My house is very small, so I have to keep that in mind when decorating. That's why Carlota's bed and desk were made by measure. Although I don't particularly like industrial and modular furniture, I think this was the best solution for her small room.

The wallpaper is Pip Studio's and the bed covers are Designers Guild's. The bed and desk were bought at Just4Kids and the bookcase and chair are from Ikea.

Ah, if I had a bigger house...

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Summer Time...

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Blue Sky in Winter

And they were canopied by the blue sky,

So cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful,

That God alone was to be seen in Heaven.

Lord Byron, The Dream

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Elin's bedroom

Foi nas fotografias deste quarto sueco em que eu me inspirei para decorar uma parte do quarto da Carlota. É nele que descubro os papéis de parede da PIP Studio, os maravilhosos tecidos da Scarlet Fig e aquele tapete do IKEA, que nunca cheguei a encontrar... É lindo!!

 

Credits: Crafts Creativity

It was in this swedish bedroom pictures that I found inspiration for Carlota's room decoration. This is where I have foun Pip Studio wallpapers, the wonderful fabrics of Scarlet Fig and that Ikea rug, that I never got to find... I find this room beautiful!

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OS LÁPIS DA CARLOTA

Os lápis da Carlota vão ficar guardados nuns frascos do IKEA, como estes. Ela perguntou se podia pintar com eles :-)

Image Copyright by Mer Mag Blog

I'm going to keep Carlota's pencils in these Ikea vases. She asked me if she could use them afterwards. :-)

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