This is how we do it

My brother recently visited from Berlin, and for his leaving dinner he wanted a barbeque... Unfortunately it started raining just before dinnertime. The solution? The picture below!

(Once the flames died down a bit we did move the barbeque into the garage).

xx
Lucy

What I've been up to lately!

Spent an afternoon on Herald Island

Visited the annual lantern festival in Albert Park

Checked out a friends cute as a button new home (this was taken on her doorstep)

Went to a barbeque at my sisters (this seems to be the only decent picture I took sorry!)

Eating beautiful (and yummy!) mini cakes made by my boyfriend

Hosting afternoon tea at my place

A few pictures to make up for my lack of regular blog posts!

xx
Lucy

Christchurch Earthquake

I was going to do a pictorial post about what I have been up to lately, but will save it for later, because as you may have heard, there was a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch yesterday afternoon... Several buildings have completely collapsed, many people have been injured, there are many reported deaths, and many many more have been left homeless. Watching the footage on tv has brought me to tears, it is completely devastating. 

My heart goes out to all those in Christchurch, and especially those who have friends, family and loved ones among the missing.

xx
Lucy

Waffles for dinner!

I haven't done much baking this week, so to make up for it, I decided to have breakfast waffles for dinner! (I love having dinner leftovers for breakfast too heh).

We don't own a waffle maker, so I borrowed my sisters, mainly to experiment with making vegan waffles, because my family are crazy about waffles and whipped cream, both of which my vegan boyfriend can't eat!

The waffles were fairly average, a little bland, and having the same problem I seem to have with vegan pancakes, - a little bit heavy and chewy, rather than the light, fluffy and crispy non vegan ones (although these ones did get a nice crust). The recipe I used can be found here.

Instead of whipped cream, I served these with whipped coconut cream, which I have read about, but never made before, and man was I impressed!!  To make this, you put a can of coconut milk (full fat, don't use the low fat ones), in the fridge overnight, until the cream separates and rises to the top. Scoop the cream out, leaving the runny coconut liquid, which can be used in smoothies or curries, and whip the coconut cream as you would normal cream, with a teaspoon of icing sugar and a dash of vanilla!   If it's not whipping properly, put it in the freezer for 5 mins or so, and then continue to whip it into soft peaks.   *EDIT* I tried making this with coconut cream and it was gross, so make sure you use coconut milk when making this!

I then garnished it with pineapple (which was great with the coconut), blueberries, agave nectar (instead of maple syrup), and a sprig of mint!

All in all, it was pretty delicious, I just need to tweak the waffle recipe a little... or find a vegan substitute for beaten egg whites, to make the waffles lighter and fluffier!

Do you ever have breakfast for dinner or vice versa?

xx
Lucy

What skirt length suits you best?

Whilst trawling the internet the other day, I found this great post about skirt lengths.  This mathematical approach takes into account your upper and lower leg measurements to determine what the most flattering length for you is! Now if everyone was perfect, the lower leg and upper leg measurements would be the same, but since we're all different... Some people have longer lower legs (apparently most supermodels have this), some people have shorter lower legs, and some peoples measurements are the same.

As soon as I read this, I ran to get my measuring tape to see what my 'ideal' skirt length is...  Click here for measuring instructions.  In my case, my lower leg is 3.5 inches shorter than my upper leg (there go my supermodel fantasies haha!). This means that my ideal skirt length is 1.75 inches above my knees...

Well I admit I didn't rush off to hem all my skirts to 1.75 inches above my knees, this did however get me thinking that maybe this is the reason I feel dowdy in longer skirts/dresses (unless I'm wearing heels which are nice and high).

What are your measurements like?  Do you think this is an accurate way to determine your skirt length?

 

xx

Lucy

 

The valentines that was..

My man and I aren't normally big on valentines day, so it was a complete surprise when he came home with flowers and chocolates on Sunday night, and then made me a yummy big breakfast on Monday morning!

Here's a not so great picture of us, or actually our reflection, at the bus stop (we went out for coffee and ice cream too, but I didn't take any pictures).

Commercialism aside, I think valentines day is a nice reminder to spend quality time together, especially in this day and age with computers and tv taking up so much of our time!

Here's a better picture of my not-very-vintage valentines day outfit..

The hall table is actually my new sewing machine!

xx
Lucy

Outfit Post

Hat: Vintage (Gift from my sister)
Top: Dollydagger
Shorts: Glassons
Belt: Vintage
Shoes: Ruby

I absolutely adore this hat, so had to show you a close-up!   This is what I wore out to dinner the other night. It's been unusually hot here, so I've been living in my shorts.

My sister has a huge collection of vintage hats, many of which are for sale here, check them out!

xx
Lucy
P.s. The first picture was taken by my front door :)

House of cards!

Hello!
I've been terribly slack with blogging lately, things have been rather slow around here!  Just wanted to share with you this great sculpture I saw on Waiheke Island on Monday... A hugge house of cards!

xx
Lucy

More food stuff!

Well, I did bake some bread on Saturday, but unfortunately it didn't turn out quite how I envisioned (due to mis-reading the recipe)... I was going to be all sneaky and make another loaf and act like it came out perfectly the first time heh, but I just haven't gotten around to it!

Instead, here are some pretty pictures of what I've been eating for lunch the past few days!

Haloumi on bruschetta, from a cafe near my house.

Vege burger and fries, from my trip to Waiheke Island (more pics to follow!)

 

 

 

Potatoes fried in butter, garlic and rosemary on salad, this was made by me!

It's been really hot and humid here the past week or so, which I absolutely love, except for the frizzy hair the humidity brings... So the other night I decided to work with it, and brush my hair out.. The result was this (this picture was taken at the end of the night so it's not as big as it was, and I'm nice and shiny haha!)

(Really must find a better place to take pictures)

Here's a video of the band I went to see (my favourite local rockabilly/psychobilly band)

Baking, baking and more baking!

Hello!

I've been on a bit of a baking frenzy in the last few days, and now I am thoroughly sick of sweet stuff (which is pretty unusual for me).

The above cake is a vegan avocado chocolate cake, with avocado icing... sounds kind of gross right? Well, this is actually the best vegan chocolate cake i have EVER made. Fluffy yet dense. Great crumb. Moist. My only complaint is that it needed more chocolate, I think next time I will add some chocolate essence (has anybody ever used chocolate essence before?).  Now, lets not forget about the icing!  This was amaaazing, so delicious, the ingredients include avocado, lemon juice and icing sugar. It doesn't taste one bit like avocado, instead it is like a really light, fresh tasting delicious lemon butter cream.  Definitely my new favourite, I want to do more baking just so I have an excuse to eat more of this icing!!
The recipe can be found here.

Next I made another plum cake, but a right side up one heh. It wasn't bad, but still not totally happy with the recipe.

Thenn I made a nectarine tarte tatin. The nectarines were caremalized to perfection, but unfortunately I had some trouble with the pastry, which did not want to be rolled out at all, and just totally fell apart, but it still tasted great!

The recipe was from a Cuisine magazine, and I just subbed the apples with nectarines (unfortunately the recipe I used isn't on their website).

Then finally on to something savoury!  These are just basic cheese scones, nothing fancy!  The recipe can be found here (since I am vegetarian, I omitted the ham).

Tomorrow I will be making rosemary and olive bread. I was actually supposed to make it today but I went to see some local bands play last night and had a few too many drinks, which lead to feeing less than great today, and also really unmotivated. Blah!  But I will make sure I get off my lazy butt tomorrow and bake some bread!

xx
Lucy

Tammis Keefe Fabric

Just HAD to share with you that Michael Miller Fabrics are re-issuing 15 Tammis Keefe printed fabrics. I am really really excited about this!!!!!!!!  I have no idea about the pricing, I'm sure it's way out of my price range, but hey, who needs food when you can have amazing fabric!!

You can read all about it over at Retro Renovations! 

Here are a few of my favourites.

xx
Lucy