Another week has flown past!

I curled up  to watch Northanger Abbey. Felicity Jones is just too adorable don’t you think? I was inspired to dig out my old penguin copy for re-reading.

I gave myself a head-start on this years handmade giftmas presents. I can still smell the vanilla all over my hands! Tutorial to come soon!

More painting and drawing! Hopefully I will have something pretty to share with you all later this week.

On Tuesday my Library launched some new search software. We had to wear these awful oversized grey T-shirts. I figured if I had to wear the shirt, I was going to wear it my way! I made this cute little detachable peter-pan collar to wear over the top. It’s a little bit ridiculous with the polka dots and the felt hearts, but it made wearing a silly T-shirt easier to bear.

Finally decided to defrost my attempt at clarified tomato water. Instead of using egg whites for clarification I tried the gelatine method but substituted vegetarian-friendly agar agar. The result was less-opaque but still cloudy.  To this I added some chilli and basil infused vodka I made, but the result wasn’t as good as I was expecting. K said it had a BBQ after-taste! Though after a little experimentation I discovered that it tasted amazing when mixed with Hendricks Gin!

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Extra flavour this week: swimming in the afternoon, tasty burgers, catching up with old acquaintances over dinner, getting all the laundry done (it was a mountain!), the sound of cicadas, giving strangers directions, fancy dinner Fridays, exciting trips to the post office, taxi rides home and Sufi poetry to keep me company.

What a crazy ride! This week’s wrap up is tiny. Like a Tiffany’s box, or a parcel of chocolate truffles!

I continue to dabble in ridiculous crime novels! This week was more Kerry Greenwood.

I went to the farmer’s market on Wednesday. What do you think I found? Bright poppies! So close to Remembrance Day too. They were fresh enough to wear in my hair on Friday.

My family gathered together to celebrate my Grandfather’s 70th birthday. An impressive milestone don’t you think!

After a super relaxing bath I banged my knee getting out of the tub. The resulting bruise is nothing short of spectacular. It was pointed out by a lot of concerned relatives. Not to worry, arnica to the rescue!

Warm fuzzy extras this week: barbecued falafel! amaaaazing foot rubs, pots of tea, The Shooting Party, gratitude, watching puppies play in my neighbour’s front yard, planning tea-parties with friends, cool breezes, chocolate truffles, popcorn, lazy mornings, tweeting about coffee, making plans for travel.

What made you smile this week?

 This week I indulged in one of my favourite cocktails. You can find the recipe here.

Inspired by Violet I decided to make Royal Fig Jam Drops with Cointreau drizzle. Spectacular.

A friend said I could borrow her gorgeous Elna sewing machine, and even tied it up with a pretty red bow! Here are some of the sewing projects I have been working on.

This week I read A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. To say I was disappointed in the complete lack of vampire sex is an understatement. I have moved on to The Radioactive Boy Scout by Ken Silverstein.

We have a whiteboard in the kitchen and I love to write silly things on it. My brothers can attest that this has been a lifelong hobby of mine. Mr K said that attributing the quote to Gandalf was completely unbelievable, but I like to think he said this to Saruman right before breaking his staff in The Two Towers. Or you know, its equivalent.

So, I read Kailey’s post about The Aristocats. I confess, I’ve never seen it and made a mental note to grab a copy next time I went out. The very next day at work, a co-worker hands me a DVD of The Aristocats and says casually “I thought you might like this….”

OMG GUYS IT WAS FATE!

Extra things that made my heart flutter: winning small change on Melbourne Cup day, Mr K cooking dinner (horay risotto!), issue six of coilhouse being finally released, lazy afternoon tea, people watching, bandannas, realising that I have a total of four legitamate library cards, Summer is finally here, Upstairs Downstairs, deciding on Christmas presents and projects, fake bacon, and little doses of sunshine.

Do share, what rocked your world this week?

It’s the end of another week!

I’ve bee reading more murder mystery novels than is probably good for me. I’m fond of Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher series at the moment. They’re set in Melbourne in 1929 and are full of twenties era glamour. Greenwood writes simply, so they’re an easy read and I can get through about one novel a day.

Inspired by a post on {this is glamorous} about silver trays and julep cups, I snapped up this tray at Lifeline last week for the costly sum of $3.50. It isn’t hallmarked, but it might be silver. It has that patina that old silver gets when it hasn’t been used in a while. I don’t mind really, it’s just a nice way to organise my curl-clips and make-up.

I spent and awful lot of money on artisanal cheese this week. Soft creamy brie, heavenly blue, sharp cheddar and a goat’s milk cheese that makes my mouth feel funny. Sometimes it’s not always about flavour…

I contributed more photos to The Toast Files! My love of toast for breakfast lives on!

How amazing is Rimmel Lycra PRO nail polish? Their colours are spot-on for my skin tone, last for ages and as a bonus, the brush is extra big, making applying the stuff easy for the detail impaired (such as myself….)

Trust me, its more stable than it looks! I tried my hand at organising our book collection. For someone who works in a Library, with knowledge of AARC2, Moys, DDC and LC, I sure did choose an atypical sorting method. Trying to get a book out of the collection is bit like playing Jenga. Still, it beats keeping everything in boxes and I don’t need to go out and buy a bookshelf…just yet, anyway.

Extras things that make me happy at the moment: watching the sun set, cocktail hour in my lounge room, short macchiatos, birthday cards, rubarb, finding out about my newborn niece (!!!), boiled eggs, my enslaved tame web developer <3, getting motivated enough for yoga, toast, having comments work on the blog again, laughing at my horoscope, jacaranda trees, petrichor, getting good odds on Southern Speed, pilates, Downton Abbey, organising my shoes, Midnight Oud perfume.

What made your week phenomenal?

Things I <3!

1. Books, books, books, books, books, books, and books., 2. bed sheet, 3. Orchid attack, 4. Moét & Chandon, 5. Storm Windows, 6. orchid (opexy)

Reading a good book. I love sitting down to read. I think it is one of life’s most luxuriant pleasures. There are few things that can compete with the thrill of loosing oneself in the whirl of an imaginative novel, a compelling magazine article or a book on a favoured subject. Keep track of your reading adventures with Shelfari. See my shelfari here!

Sleeping in. An all time favourite I must say. My bed is one of my best loved places on earth.

My orchid! It’s amazingly pink, resilient, & always happy. I’d never thought I’d be so head over heals for something so ridiculously pink! But I am & I love it!

Drinking champagne. The froth & bubbles make me happy. Sharing a bottle with friends is wondrous! Yesterday I went to a wedding & afterwards there was much champagne & lots of conversation. I was thoroughly thrilled.

Rain. When we get it, it is lovely & cool & makes everything green. At the moment it is sunny & hot, meaning we are all sticky & sweaty. The weatherman promised us a big electrical storm this afternoon. I hope the clouds are delivered & the rain drops begin!

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