Friday, February 18, 2011

Happy Friday... with some Chocolate Macarons!


I love chocolate and love a good macaron... there is stall at our Farmer's Market that sells the prettiest macarons. They are so cute and pretty!  Little pink ones, with little love hearts and then some green ones... gorgeous!  

Although I am not brave enough to make them myself just yet.. I have searched for some recipes to share.  This yummy image above came from the very blog Ms Aventures in Italy ... you can visit here: 

http://www.msadventuresinitaly.com/blog/2008/02/19/chocolate-macarons/

Enjoy xx

Monday, February 14, 2011

Monday, January 31, 2011

Today's image... Vibrant


Some days the colour green is the thing I need to see in order to bring some vibrancy and life to my day, my mood or to allow space for that burst of creativity... today I needed some green... just a little to boost my vibrancy and give me that jolt in the arm.

Not sure where the book is going... many changes are in progress with it and some very interesting developments with plots and characters... the wind is changing for this particular project, and you what?
That's ok!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Zucchini & Broad Bean salad with Garlic & Herb dressing


I had purchased heaps and heaps of Zucchini from the Farmer's Market last Saturday and then thought to myself "What am I going to do with them all?"

Some were allocated for Chicken, Leek & Zucchini pot pies - E's favourite dish ... he would eat it every single day if he could!  We made a yummy Tomato, Zucchini, Feta & Sweet Chilli pizza with another one... but I still had 4 left.

So I went to look for some more Zucchini recipes... and found this one that was such a great lunch time dish.  Very fresh and full of flavour:

Ingredients:

1 small baguette, sliced    (I used sourdough bread instead)
Olive Oil for drizzling
Sea Salt
2 x Zucchini (Courgette) thinly sliced
1 x baby cos lettuce (can use baby spinach or rocket if you prefer)
500g of blanched broad beans
1 x Lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced
Shaved Parmesan to serve

Garlic & Herb Dressing:


1/4 cup (60ml) Olive Oil
2 x tablespoons of white wine vinegar
2 x tablespoons of chopped chives
2 x tablespoons of chopped chervil     (I used fresh basil as we had just bought a huge bunch)
2 x Garlic cloves crushed
Sea salt and black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F)
To make the dressing; place the oil, vinegar, chives, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to combine.  Set aside

Place bread on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt.  Bake for 5 minutes or until golden.
Place zucchini, lettuce, broad beans, cucumber, croutons (the bread you just baked) in a bowl and gently toss.
Spoon over the dressing and top with Parmesan to serve.   Serves 4

Recipe via Donna Hay Issue 47 Oct/Nov 2009 www.donnahay.com


Enjoy!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Today I Love ...

day

I have always admired Vera Wang, she is one of my Style Icons.  She has an amazing way of making everything look effortless even when there seems to be a lot of detail...

To see more of Vera Wang and her gorgeous clothing; visit http://www.verawang.com/

Happy Weekend!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The flower shoe


So pretty!

I love the elegance of the flowers in this image - the designer captured the stylish flow of the flowers and crafted them beautifully to replicate a gorgeous shoe.

I was looking at shoes (of course) and sustainability and found this image via a website called Righteous Shoes. They specialise in promoting designers and manufacturers of Vegan shoes that were stylish based out of the UK.

Quite an interesting website www.righteousshoes.com - however there have been no additions to the site for a little while ... will keep an eye out for any thing new that might be added!

Image:  Elena Feliciano Shoe picture via Righteous Shoes

Monday, January 17, 2011

Vintage ... Greys


Love the colours and look of this room.... although vintage, I think it has a bit of a twist

Greys and tones of blue seem to be my thing at the moment... interesting to see how that develops and where it takes me.

Image: Ideal Home, UK 
http://www.idealhomemagazine.co.uk/inspiredecor/gallery/v/Bedroom+Ideas/blue-bedroom.jpg.html

Friday, January 14, 2011



When I was pregnant, E's nickname was Apple.... long story, anyway everyone called him - or rather my bump Apple.  At Christmas (prior to his arrival) we received some many lovely gifts for Baby Apple ... our family and friends all called him Apple.

The kookie thing is E loves loves loves eating Green Apples now!

Just one of those random things I remembered today xx

Image:  Green Apple with water  Photographer: Pixomar
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Fruit_g104-Green_Apple_p21223.html

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Working on....



Lots or researching taking place for the new book covering all manner of things.  However, the best thing so far is working on bits of it with E.  It  has been so interesting listening to his take on our planet; trees, water and looking after each other in a better way.

I love the fact that even at 4.5yrs old, he has an understanding of the harm and damage that can and is being done to the planet and how aware he is of things going on around him.  Not in a 'doom and gloom' kinda way, he is more about understanding and compassion for the things around him.

It has been such a priceless experience for me as his Mummy and also from a writing perspective... the book has taken a new turn and a very different path from where we started.

I hope to really capture E's essence in the story and bring about an adventure to remember.



Feel it's just the beginning of our collaborations ... which I kinda love!

Images:  Eco Friendly text & Bamboo  Photographer:  amieco

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy 2011!



Wishing everyone a wonderful, joyous, happy & healthy 2011!

Enjoy all things gorgeous this year xx

Image:  2011 Photographer:  Salvatore Vuono
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/New_Year_g168-2011_p24998.html