That's Dinner Sorted!

It seems a bit light-hearted to write about dinner, while here in New Zealand we all seem to be in a state of shock and helplessness following yesterday's terrible earthquake in Christchurch. But to me, the shock of this earthquake has reinforced the importance of appreciating everything in life, no matter how small. Today for me that is the time spent with my daughter, hearing her squeals of delight as she found each vege in our garden and baking biscuits together.

Miss 3 and I have just picked this gorgeous basket of goodies from our very tiny vege patch. I managed to remove the basket from her clutches before she ate all the butter beans! So courgette stuffed with rice and veges is on the menu tonight. Yum.

With some yummy homemade bread - I think dinner is well and truly sorted.

We also made some double chocolate chip biscuits (wearing our matching spotty aprons!) - again most of the mixture survived to make it into the oven although quite a bit made it into her tummy.

Just what my new/old plate was waiting for don't you think?

The rest are now in my favourite biscuit tin. This tin has been dropped so many times by the children that it is covered in scratches, dings and dents but to me it just looks well loved. And talk about cheerful - I do so love dots!

Sometimes it takes a tragic event for us to put things into perspective and to realise just how lucky we are. Sadly the death toll from yesterday has risen to 75 according to the latest report with many people still missing, buried under collapsed buildings. I am struggling to write about it without crying - this is such a tragedy for our beautiful little country. My love and best wishes are with everyone in Christchurch. xx

Birthday goodies!

Well it's official - I am now 40! Although I have taught my small folk to tell people I am only 28 - it's not really lying, it's just a bit of creative maths. I had a fabulous birthday, lots of lovely gifts and treats. Don't you love these gorgeous measuring cups! My sister-in-law gave me these - little did she know I've had my eye on them for ages.



My dearest friend gave me the most wonderful bag of goodies including this delightful book. This is the book I was talking about in a previous post - where my body butter recipe originally came from it turns out. It is full of wonderful old fashioned tips, household hints and recipes. I'm really looking forward to having some quiet time next week when school goes back, so I can sit and have a really good read.

I was also given some gorgeous tea - a beautiful New Zealand Breakfast mix which I tried last night. It was absolutely beautiful. The other one is Earl Grey Blue Flower which is my all time favourite. Brewing a pot of this is just such a treat. Having it in a vintage tea cup makes it taste even better! So it is perfect timing that I am going to start making a beautiful tea cosy in the next week which I'm sure will make the tea taste better still. Can't wait to get started on it but it will have to wait a few more days while I finish off another project first.

Homemade Goodies

Looking back at my weekend, there was a lot of time spent in my little kitchen. My gorgeous new measuring cups inspired me to whip up some baking (not that I needed an excuse - I love it!). First up was a Nainoma Slice that I made for the very first time. It was just gorgeous, all chocolatey and custard-y and it didn't last in my house for very long at all - always a nice feeling knowing your baking makes people happy isn't it. So with that tin empty, I made some Afghan biscuits which are my husband's faves. Not so great for my healthy eating but hey, sometimes you just need a chocolate fix!

Next up I made a batch of old fashioned Body Butter. I found this in an old newspaper article about things our nana's used to do/make. It's such a lovely lotion - and really nice knowing that it has no hidden nasties in it. Nothing but natural all the way. I use it for almost everything. It's wonderful to apply to 'smile lines' at bedtime, it's brilliant for getting your tootsies looking tip top ready for summer, it's even a great lip balm. It's also working wonders on the nasty burns I got on my arm on New Year's Day. They are healing very well and I'm sure it has something to do with this lovely body butter being massaged onto my arm regularly. Yay.

I usually make two big pots of it with the following recipe but this time I made lots of smaller ones so I can share the love with family and friends. There is a wonderful factory/shop in Newtown, Wellington called Arthur Holmes and they produce the most amazing pots/jars/bottles at the most amazingly cheap prices. I love visiting them and getting inspiration for other projects. Not really the sort of place to visit with children - all those shelves of glass products eeek!

If you want to have a go at making some, it's so unbelievably simple and very cheap. The recipe is:

1 cup almond oil

1/2 cup grated beeswax

In a saucepan, gently melt the beeswax into the oil. Once melted, remove from the heat. You can add a few drops of essential oil at this stage if you like. Then stir slowly with a fork until it cools and starts to set. Pour into prepared, sterilised pots/jars. Easy peasy!

Time to hang up my apron and get out my hook instead. I have had two unsuccessful attempts at an African Flower due to little people wanting to help! I need a bit of quiet time to have another go. My latest attempt is not perfect but to be honest I think it looks lovely. I will post pics of it's progress next time. I really like the potholders Alice from Crochet with Raymond makes so that was what I was aiming for. But I loved the look of it so much I couldn't stop at potholder size and have continued on to make a fabulous round cushion cover.