Winter Sunshine...

It's cold, cold, cold here at the moment. Winter Solstice is upon us, the mornings are dark and it's almost impossible to get the washing dry. These little biscuits are my attempt to inject a little sunshine into our light deprived lives.

Sunshine Biscuits

Ingredients
125 grams butter, softened
2 teaspoons of finely grated lemon zest
2/3 cup (110g) icing sugar, sifted
1/3 cup (55g) polenta
1 1/3 cups (200g) plain flour, sifted

Icing
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
juice of 1/2 lemon (add a few drops of water if necessary)

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 180C/ 375F and lined two trays with baking paper
2.  Cream butter, icing sugar and zest then stir in polenta and flour.
3.  Roll dough out between two sheets of baking paper until it measures about 1-2cm.
4.  Use cutter (or just roll into balls and flatten) and place each biscuit on tray.
5.  Bake for 10 -15 mins or until lightly golden and slightly firm to the touch.
6.  Leave to cool before icing.

The Simple Things...

Cabbage roses. What's not to love about a flower shaped like a vegetable?

Link Love...

 

Music Room designed by Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell via The Library Time Machine

 

It's been a long time since I've indulged in some link love. Each week I see so many amazing things I'd like to share with you but somehow the time flies and the moment is lost. Not this week. Here are a few things that have been tickling my fancy over the pass little while.

:: 30 Abandoned Places That Look Truly Beautiful took my breath away (am I the only one who finds what has happened to Detroit incomprehensible?)

:: Dave Walker at The Library Time Machine continues to delight with stories drawn from the libraries of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. I particularly enjoyed this one about 1930s interior design and his recent one which takes us inside the Imperial Institute in 1893. If you enjoy these two do take a look around the site. There are some fascinating stories lurking within.

:: How clever is Leeyong? Never have Explorer socks looked so good.

:: I am totally obsessed with Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk's monumental novel, 'The Museum of Innocence' and the whole wheels within wheels story behind it. Do you know the story? Nobel Prize winning author writes novel about a museum then spends prize winnings on replicating it in real life? Check out these gorgeous photographs of some of the exhibits The Museum of Innocence in Istanbul.

:: Finally, it's been great fun following Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield on Twitter this year - amazing photographs and experiments - but nothing to top his version of David Bowie's, 'Space Oddity'. Take it away Chris...

I Am Anxiety

This week beyondblue released a new Get To Know Anxiety campaign to raise national awareness about the symptoms of anxiety, and to help sufferers get the help they need to manage it. Having lived with anxiety for over 20 years now this is a subject close to my heart. Although an estimated 2.44 million Australians reportedly experienced an anxiety condition last year, awareness surrounding its various manifestations remains low.

Genuine anxiety can not be dealt with by just 'sucking it up' or wishing and hoping that it will go away. It's not the result of an acute reaction to a very stressful situation (although sometimes it can start this way), it's a chronic condition that can have a massive impact on your quality of life. So if you or someone you know thinks they might be experiencing some of the warning signs don't wait to get help, the sooner the better. Yes, it's confronting having to admit that you are not coping with seemingly everyday situations but the sooner you learn the triggers and get some professional advice on how to manage your anxiety the better. I put in some hard yards when I was first diagnosed but I must say that since I've had children I've really let things slide and if I'm really honest with myself I've built my life around my (perceived) limitations. This campaign has been a wake up call for me. I let my last management plan slip past its use-by date but I rang my doctor today and I'm getting back on track. You can too.

Happy Easter...

Spending a lazy day at home with my family, enjoying the cooler weather and baking these sweet little biscuits for Easter. They are inspired by this Fluffy Bunny Biscuit recipe only a much simpler version topped with orange icing and sprinkled with coconut.

Hope you're enjoying your break too.

Treasures!

 

Discovered this amazing place Railway Bizzare earlier today and can't believe I walked away empty handed. So many treasures I just couldn't decide.

 

 

So many patterns, hand-embroidered placemats, balls of wool...

So many records...

 

So very many shoes...

 

How about you? Found any treasure lately?

There's no place like home...

 

 

So, it's official. After a very long four month settlement period we finally made the move leaving our sweet little weatherboard (above) for a larger, more modern abode just around the corner. On one of the many sweltering days we're endured over the hottest summer on record we sweated and swore until every last box and pot-plant was accounted for and transported to its new home.  

 

 

 



See what I mean. Much more modern, open plan. Quite neutral with not much personality yet but that will come. 

 



 

Unfortunately this little fella which belonged to my Nana didn't make it. I'm pleased to report though that he was the only casualty.

 

 

As you may remember it's not that long ago that I renovated my old kitchen so that it was just the way I wanted it so the new one has much to live up to. Never having lived in an open plan environment before Henry still can't quite understand why you would build a 'kitchen in your living room' but it certainly does give new meaning to the kitchen being the heart of the home. For me the kitchen more than any other room represents family and friends so I like to have things out on the benchtops that remind me of them like this pottery jar that my Mum made during a brief pottery phase in the 70s and this lovely oil flask handpainted by Melbourne artist, Daniella Germain which I received as a Christmas present from Tom's sister...

 

 

...who also gave me these quaint little measuring spoons (1 tablespoon of kindness) which sit in front of my much utilised babushka measuring cups, a gift from my sister Angela.

 

 

I love this bowl which Henry painted when he was just three and of course every room in the house must have at least one reference to books. Let's face it, we've got a lot of them but that's a story for another day...

 

 

Do you have a favourite room in your house?

The countdown begins...

Packing up, moving on, trying to remember to breath...

Summer days...

 

 

I'd be the first to admit that I'm not really a Summer person. In the past I've been one of those people who take off Christmas and New Year then go straight back to work (read: the airconditioning!). This year I decided to take three weeks off  to enjoy time with the kids at home and at various beach-residing family members' homes. Bliss.

It was so nice to see everyone exhale and relax after a busy year. For a few brief weeks life ceased to revolve around 'three square meals a day'. Instead, days were punctuated with any number of grazing sessions and snacks became an important part of our daily rhythm. The combination of time to spare and no airconditioning made using the oven an unattractive prospect (although a little baking was done on cooler days) and so we went out in search of delicious, fresh, seasonal ingredients.

On hot evenings and for lazy lunches we opted for simple salads made from whatever we could find in the fridge and pantry. My sister and I were particularly proud of our Spinach and Mango Salad with Feta and Almonds (above) which is great on its own but can also stand the addition of a little barbequed chicken or even sliced lamb sausages. We also discovered the joys of giant couscous and experimented with quinoa as a salad base although the kids are yet to be convinced on the latter.

Having time to make food for pleasure rather than just sustenance was also a joy especially for the kids. We had great success with our homemade icypoles. No need for a recipe just blended fruit combinations the most successful of which were Watermelon dotted with whole Strawberries; Mango and Strawberry Half and Halfs; Banana and Vanilla Yoghurt and, Pure Mango. The wait until they were frozen was a little agonising but so worth it. Edging closer towards instant gratification were the Strawberry Tulips (above) which I usually only make for parties but which the kids made and devoured before I even had a chance to taste one.

Alas, the lazy days of Summer are on the wane. The kids are back at school and we are back at work. 'What are we doing today?' has been replaced by the dreaded 'What's for dinner?' but I'm pleased to say the lessons learnt over our Summer break (eating healthy, fresh light meals; using what's already in the house; making new meals from leftovers) seems to have stuck so if the answer is 'a great little salad I've just whipped up', I'm much less likely to be confronted with sad faces.