back to school soup

I first made this soup in 3rd form home-economics with Mrs Hyder who spoke 100 miles per hour and, like most teachers, didn't love me! I was one of those teenagers that had this false hormonal confidence that lasted for 4 years and made me express my opinion constantly and without embarrassment (ugh, even I would have hated me). Who knows where that came from because I am the sort of person who will turn scarlett red when the attention unwittingly turns to me. Now, this is not the case around my family I must add.... Oh no... They get the full Kate (to them) works!! I will sing, dance, constantly joke and entertain them...but a client says "hi!" to me at the supermarket and you'd think, by the colour of my cheeks, I'd just dropped a dozen eggs and done a legs up fall into the mess.

So, if somehow my high school home economics teacher reads this (never gonna happen) I would like to apologise for the super-annoying, freakishly lanky teenager that took her class.....it wasn't me. Well not really. And to thank her for this recipe as I am pretty sure it was this recipe that made me stop just eating solely potatoes in their every form. This soup made me discover spices, lentils and generally opened my mind to a whole new kind of food. Geezzzzz thanks Mrs Hyder, you fast talking legend.

2 diced onions

3 cloves of garlic

2 cans chopped tomatoes

2 t paprika

2 t turmeric

1 t cumin

1/2 t minced ginger

3 T minced coriander

4-5 cups chicken stock

1 cup of red lentils

Salt and pepper

Fresh parsley and

natural yoghurt as garnish

Just soften the onion and garlic in your pot and then add everything else! Too easy!! Bring to the boil then turn down to a lower heat and once the lentils are cooked, use a stick blender or food processor to whizz it all up. You can do without the parsley (Guy isn't a fan so we often go without) but the yoghurt is a must in my opinion.

Ok so this recipe has been slightly adapted from my school days but it is reasonably similar. In winter I make it almost weekly....it's my absolute favourite! Hope you enjoy.... Let me know if you give it a try xx

 

banish bad dreams

 

On Sunday night I sat down and made myself a little dream catcher... I had a seriously bad dream the night before (full sweatin', knees shaking) and I had to do something quick smart. I was inspired to use a doily as the catcher when I came across this lovely blog and I got to work with some twine, feathers, leather strips and a broken turquoise necklace. I love how it turned out and last night I only had a weird jersey shore-esque dream that was less scary, more hilarious.

 

Sweet dreams

It's definitely winter

They said it would snow and snow it did! This is our second winter in a row where we have had a huge amount of snow down to sea level....and I'm not complaining! It is so magic! We had the most bluebird beautiful weather the next day, it was perfect for a walk down to the park with Jed and Guy...even my sweet Mum came along. It was f f f f ffreeeeezzing though, I had so many layers on that when I walked back into the house I broke into a instant sweat.

 

I did what anyone would do while cooped up in the house with no clients being able to get here. I baked, cooked and ate. I sent Nana her usual Wednesday quiche, made a yumbo blueberry crumble cake and some spinach and ricotta gnocchi for dinner. Yuuuuuuuuuum!

 

That cake got owned.

Snow is fun. That is the moral of this post. The little boys down our street wearing gumboots and rugby shorts agreed with me.

 

obsess much?

So, this is the first time I've talked about something other than the in's and out's of our everyday.... Breath of fresh air? I bet!

How amazing are these works by the vey talented artist/illustrator/embroidery gangsta Izziyana Suhaimi I am in LOVE { yep pure bold and underlined love} with her work and especially this little one above!

I am generally attracted to quirky, whimsy illustrations but how much more special can it get than Izziyana then taken the time to embroider the perfect bow/beanie/beautiful pattern onto an already beautiful eye catching drawing? It doesn't get more special..... In my opinion {i'm obviously very into these}.

If you haven't already clicked one of her links then click here for her website.... I'm sure you will fan out just as much as I have.

All photos collected from Izziyana's website

Published ramblings

Well.... I have taken my amateur writing to some semi gloss pages, aka Abode Magazine. I thought I would share my first and latest little 'columicle' {part column, part tiny article, and slightly comical that I am doing something like this... But also very exciting!!!!} here goes.... Be kind.

It was one of 'those walls'. A wall that is a funny shape or has light switches in awkward places, just generally not very art friendly. My particular problem was my low 1960's ceiling and with everything that I had going on at floor level, it meant that the space would have been too busy with art hung above. It was too boring completely bare, it just needed something subtle..... Cue lightbulb moment (insert ding noise). WORDS! I love words as wall art.

I found these fantastic, super-lightweight {not going to put a hole in your Tv when it falls in an earthquake} wooden letters at a local online store - www.mumsknowbest.co.nz for $5each. They come in upper or lower case and in their natural wood state which looks great. Because I was going for an 'it's there but not quite' look, I painted them the same colour as our wall. I used a mini sponge roller so I could paint just the top without losing the depth on the side which gives them the shadow effect on the wall from any angle. I used a level and a pencil to draw a straight line and then an eftpos card to space the letters evenly. You can hang them with anything from blu-tak to adhesive strips. I chose the end of a quote we like; "Whatever you are, be a good one", a nice daily reminder. Hopefully this helps to put an end to one of your awkward wall moments.

 

Other ways with words

Scour garage sales, markets and opshops for old prints with great frames. Flip the print and paint the backside with blackboard paint or get a thin sheet of plywood cut to size and use that instead. Use your new blackboard as a dinner party menu in your kitchen or scratch down weekly quotes for some inspiration.


Also check out Typo for their array of mismatched letters, great for kids rooms, or in our case, our bathroom.

 

 

travellin' treasures

One of the best parts about traveling overseas has got to be the shopping, there's something about being away that allows you to spoil yourself far beyond what you would ever allow at home.

I am a serial opshopper (thrifter) or chain store bargain hunter and I occasionally welcome a bigger ticket item into my pauper closet.... This was one such occasion. I'm not gonna lie, I threw this one a parade.... I marched it down the hallway cursing myself for not bing able to find my recorder playing some super hip and cool tunes and I introduced him to all of his poor cousins and taught him not to judge one on one's price tag.

 

This is he, my new bag... made of supple calf leather {I really wish it was supple old cow who lived a long and happy life leather} and suede. I love the two tones because I think it will go with practically everything in my wardrobe. The long shoulder strap is perfect for me and I like it has the smaller handles as well. The best part is just the general slouchiness... Slouchy Mcawesome bag. I mustn't forget my latest owl {ewol} edition, his name is Fitzroy...as named by my sister and he is very cute.

Next up is my long coveted Emma Leonard 'a perfect mess' print. My veeeeeery generous sister bought it for me and I absolutely love it.... I often stare at it instead of watching TV.... Not in a strange way, it's just that it sits near the tv and I find it's beauty somewhat distracting. Thank you lisey loo! X

This is my Bondi markets skirt... I was so drawn to the pattern and the fact it had the aqua base colour which happens to be one of my faves. A tight skirt is a first for me... Tight anything is something I tend to sprint at high speed away from but this skirt slipped through the cracks. The fact that it has a dip in the hem around the back was definitely the thing that got me looking.... I thought it would be quite a flattering shape. And whadaya know.... It ain't too bad! The only downside to this skirt is... I seem to start singing the Aztec corn chips song when I'm wearing it..."Aztec corn chips, made the natural way, they're in your store today, dededededeeeeeeeeeee OK!!!" in a very Mexican accent. I assure you this is a tune that does not give up easily.

The scabby New York tshirt I'm wearing was a $2 op shop find about 2 1/2 years ago...I have slopped a fair amount of bleach onto it while working... Oops. Still my favourite old tshirt.

My new mustard shirt.... This is a winner because it has crinkly fabric and the iron is the devil. Love it with my old faithful necklace from shop hallelu and the skirt/shirt/necklace combo is kinda cool I think, if not a little matchy matchy but I don't care even a little bit.

 

Whenever we go away I buy Guy a card that I think is really cute and I write him a love note because my middle name is cheddar. This card is made in Melbourne by some clever folk that you can find here.

So that is pretty much all of my loot!! Actually really quite tame! If I had to post the amount of pilsner and gourmet food that was ingested you would understand...... Until next time Australia.

 

 

 

slacker pants

 

I have not blogged for nearly a week, that's practically my first drought since I started.... Sooooo.....here is a photo of bells beach and a surfer boy getting some wave action. Look! They sound really happy about it.

I will be back very soon with a blog on the goodies I bought while on holiday in Aussie. Hurrah!!!