a week in photos...

Steve has been in Italy for a week now and Summah and I have had an eventful week, we've done so much and it has been fun.  Here some of the highlights of our week alone with out Daddy.

I miss you daddy, come home soon love Summah xxx

colour love...

My new favourite colour for the winter is this....

 gorgeous blue!!! love it!

So I've bought a new scarf and cardigan to pair with some of my old winter clothes from previous years to freshen up the wardrobe.

Yay! and I'm loving some of the new knits coming in for the winter months this season too, exciting fashion.

happy squeals..

On this frosty morning I have happy squeals echoing around the lounge as my little girl plays in front of the fire, it is just gorgeous :).  I love hearing her little squeals of delight as she discovers something new, by rotating a book in her hand or a wooden puzzle piece.  A babies mind is incredible, how quickly they learn and develop and the pace they learn at in the first year blows my mind...if only adults could learn that quickly! 

It's very cool and I love that I'm able to be a Mum as I did think it may never happen and had prepared myself for that (a blog topic for another day), but I've (we've) been blessed and I thank the Lord daily, for each day is a gift and a blessing from Him.  

So today if you feel stressed, over worked, and ready to pull your hair out and scream at the top of your lungs....STOP/PAUSE.... and be thankful for at least one blessing and refocus.  Then continue on like there is no tomorrow.

Have a blessed day xx

What's cooking Wednesday?

In the kitchen today is the delicious aromas of chicken noodle soup, a good hearty winter classic and I am already wishing it was dinner time.


This is a favourite recipe of my sister's and she shared it with me a few years ago when I was unwell with the flu (you remember with swine flu hit..yep, that was it!),  and all I wanted was chicken noodle soup. It did the trick and filled the spot when I was unwell, but today I'm fit and healthy just want some of that hearty soup again.


The recipe is:

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

By Simon Holst

This creamy chicken soup is crammed with hearty flavour and goodness.

The easy recipe requires only a few ingredients – including egg yolks – and the result is bound to become a family favourite.

Ingredients

For 3-4 large servings:

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 large onion
• 1 large potato
• 1 stalk celery, optional
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves or pinch dried thyme
• 4 cups chicken stock, or 4 cups water plus 3 tsp instant chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp sherry, optional
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 50g spaghetti, fettuccine etc. (or 1/4-1/2 cup small pasta)
• 2 tsp corn flour
• 2 Tbsp cold water
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cream
• 2-3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
 

Method

1. Melt the butter in a medium-sized pot. Cut the onion, potato and celery into small (5-7 mm) cubes and stir these and the thyme into the butter. Cover and cook without browning for 5 minutes.

2. Add the next three ingredients and heat to boiling. Once the soup boils, add the chicken breast and the spaghetti, broken into 2cm lengths, or other pasta.

3. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the vegetables and pasta are cooked, then lift out the chicken.

4. Mix together the cornflour, water, egg yolks and cream and pour these through a sieve into the soup.

5. Stir constantly until the soup bubbles round the edge and has thickened slightly, then remove it from the heat and add the chopped parsley and the chicken breast, cut into small cubes.

6. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately or reheat, without boiling, when required.

Fresh, hot bread is the perfect accompaniment.

(I've even blended some of this up for my 8mth old's dinner maybe don't put the sherry in if your concerned and replace the cream for milk if you think the cream is too rich for a small person's stomach.)

Enjoy cooking this and thanks Dee for sharing this delicious recipe with me when I was sick xx

Autumn...

Autumn is possibly my favourite season, why? because I love the colours in the sky at night, the sunsets are gorgeous, the colours in the trees are beautiful and it always amazes me Autumn.  Eveything appears crisp and sharp just before it dies away for the winter months to hibernate till spring. Not to mention we generally have gorgeous sunny days during Autumn which are perfect for walks outside before hibernation hits too.


Hibernation is knocking at our door already, the fire has officially been lit for the first time for winter 2012...and I'm loving the warmth it provides already.  I love having a fire it is the best thing since sliced bread during those long winter days, and now I'm a stay at home Mum (which is awesome) I'm going to enjoying the fire so much more.  It will be burning 24/7 and yes I'm glad those night feeds are well and trully over...yay! for having a spring baby.


There is something comforting about curling up on the mat with a book, and hot chocolate and enjoying the longer evenings in front of the fire.  Then the winter food is awesome too, good hearty meals with lots of root vegetables, soups and the list goes on.  I will be sharing some of my favourite recipes from time to time so keep an eye out for those.


So as hibernation kicks in for the next 3-4months I will be turning out some little side projects hopefully :).

dinner party for 5...

My mother's birthday was 4 days ago but we couldn't stick around to cook her dinner, so tonight we are doing just that.  

menu:

starter

freshly baked ciabatta bread

main meal

pork belly served on pureed parsnip & caramelized apple wedges 

with sides of-

watercress, walnut & parmesan salad with citrus dressing

whole grain mustard potato mash (for Dad who loves mash)

dessert

poached pears cooked in red wine 

maple walnut ice cream 

That is our delicious dinner menu for tonight, also love to cook with what's in season so pears, apples, parsnip, citrus and walnuts are great in seasons foods.  

What's cooking in your house this Sunday evening?

(photo's to come watch this space)

DIY: high chair make over

I'm a little bit opposed to big chunky looking furniture and the thought of buying a white, plastic high chair with some crazy pattern print on it did not excite me.

I was inspired by an article in a NZ House & Garden magazine (around May/June 2011 edition I think), where there was the background of a picture a super cool high chair.  At the time I was pregnant and thought that would be a cool idea for when the time came to purchase our high chair. 

What did I do?

My sister Dee found the perfect old school high chair for me, cost $20!!! bargain. 


Before photo:

1. I painted the chair in a dark charcoal grey then got a sweet wallpaper cut off from the local home design shop (bonus).

2. cover the sides and back of chair with your wallpaper, cut to size and paste with wall paper paste.

3. Allow to dry and then varnish with a high gloss polyurethane to get a nice glossy finish on the chair.  I did 3 coats to help seal the wallpaper and avoid little fingers picking at the edges in the future.

This was a fun little project that took little time at all, and now I have a high chair that sits neatly in the corner unnoticed.