Saturday, November 26, 2011

Sparkle-arkle


We are having Mum and Dad and Mr K's Aunt at our place for Christmas this year. It will be tres casual but lots of fun - good food, lots of presents, a real tree. All the good stuff.

Baby G has about a gazillion outfits to wear to celebrate the festivities, so in the spirit of supporting the downtrodden retail economy here in Australia, I made a purchase during the week. Something nice and new. From Blue Illusion, I think Faux Fuchsia would approve.

It's not particularly breastfeeding friendly but it is embellished and very comfy - I figure I can get a few hours wear out of it. At least. It will make a change from my regular outfit of tracksuit pants, breastfeeding top and cardigan, and I have a great pair of wedges I can wear with it. Because if you can't go all out and get dressed up at Christmas when can you?

Kitty xx

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Tea time.



I think this mug says it all really. From the marvellous Catherine Colebrook. They ship to Australia and have the most fabulous giftage.

Kitty

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Not on the High Street

Has anyone else discovered this fantabulous website? Full of amazing things that are a bit quirky and fun, it's like the UK Etsy but not quite as "handmade" or crafty. It's the place where you can find all those charming, unique and carefully-made things that you sometimes stumble across in cool markets, fairs and tucked-away boutiques. A place that was quick and easy to get to, where shopping was simple and fun, and where you can always find inspirational, unique and wonderful things.

Every single item is designed, made or selected by a UK based independent small business, whose passion for quality, innovation and style shine through in every little detail of their products. Its the perfect place to find that special gift or present for hard to please friend or loved one.

I have been bookmarking a lot of different things for Georgie's first Christmas (she's getting a lot of presents apparently). Among my favourites are the following:


Plum Pudding Onesie from LittleChook. Already in the shopping cart - Kaching!! She will be wearing this on Christmas morning I think...


Keep Calm onesie from Jack Spratt Baby. So cute!! Will get this a little bigger for next winter I think.

Hand knitted rabbit from ChunkiChilli. I love knitted toys for babies - they are so beautiful. This seller makes monkeys, elephants, bunnies, pigs... And a fab range of hand puppets too! So many beautiful, slightly quirky options!

I could spend hours on this site - really! It's wonderful and I anticipate many of the gifts given by moi this Christmas will be purchased here.

Kitty

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Raspberry yoghurt cake

As you will have noted from my most recent posts, at the moment I am all about the easy options. As much as I still love to bake, with a baby who doesn't really like to sleep much during the day you need to pick your battles carefully. Very carefully.

I still need to do the washing, eat breakfast etc. so when I do get 15 minutes to myself (somewhat of a luxury at the moment), I look for maximum impact baking options. This is one.

Unashamedly plagiarised from the brilliant Clothilde at Chocolate and Zucchini, this is a fabulous cake. Delicious, moist, tasty, and most of all, easy. Plus we have a large number of raspberry plants bearing fruit at the moment - yes, already! I can't wait for the height of summer when we will be inundated with luscious ripe fruit, bursting with flavour. Unfortunately I only had half the amount required to make this cake but that's better than nothing. And I am determined to make this cake with wholly home grown raspberries before the summer is out.

You can use the measurement device as described - Dairy Farmers does 125ml pots of plain yoghurt, or you can just use a half cup measurement like I do. Either way, it's delicious.

Gâteau au Yaourt à la Framboise

Recipe courtesy of Chocolate and Zucchini

2 tubs of plain yogurt (one tub is 125 ml, which is the French standard, which amounts to 4 oz, or half a cup)
Use one of the empty tubs to measure out :
2 tubs of soft brown sugar
1/2 tub of oil
3 tubs of sifted flour
1/2 tub ground almonds

You will also need :
3 eggs
1 Tbsp baking powder
a good pinch of salt
300 g raspberries (fresh or frozen -- no need to thaw them if they're frozen)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F). Copiously grease a 9-inch (22 cm) round cake pan and line with baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, the oil and the sugar with a wooden spoon or whisk. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition. In a medium bowl combine the flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the almonds. Add the flour mixture to the batter in three or four additions, and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.

Alternatively, use your food processor to mix the batter, adding the ingredients in the same order as indicated above.

Pour half the batter into the cake pan. Cover evenly with half of the raspberries. Pour the other half of the batter, and arrange the other half of the raspberries on top.

Put into the oven to bake, for 50 to 60, until the top is springy and a cake tester comes out clean. If it looks like the top of the cake is browning too quickly, cover with foil for the rest of the baking time. Let rest on the counter for at least ten minutes -- I repeat : let rest on the counter for ten minutes -- then run a knife around the cake to loosen it, and turn out on a rack to cool completely.

Delicious served with King Island yoghurt or plain with a cup of tea.

Kitty xx

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Enchanted

Link
If I didn't already have this necklace, I'd be burning a hole in my credit card to get this new issue from Mimco. They are almost identical, other than the new one only has four strands of pearls rather than 5 and a different (although still vintage inspired) clasp.

Does that make it different enough for me to indulge? Hmmm... Dilemma. Tis a smidge pricey at $249 though...

Kitty

Friday, November 4, 2011

Beautiful Georgina


Last week, Georgie had her first professional photo shoot. We were given instructions by the photographer to have her fed and settled for her arrival, which I timed to perfection.

Except Baby G didn't get the memo.

Feed - check.
Nappy change - check.
Settle - nope.

She spent all but the last half hour of the session wide awake. We tried feeding her, singing to her, sitting in the dark with her, swaddling her, rocking her, feeding her again... Nada. So we had to work with what we had. Which was a very awake, alert baby.

The photographer, Karen Coulstock, did a brilliant job in somewhat trying circumstances. I can only sing her praises - she never got flustered and kept the mood light for these increasingly frustrated parents.

And the result? Karen posted a few of the shots as a sneak peek on facebook yesterday and they are stunning. So beautiful. Baby G looks so serene, you'd never know she'd spent the morning squealing and peeing all over everything. It's amazing.

I'm not tired mummy!!

With the blanket crocheted by The Mummy especially for her. So gorgeous!

Don't be fooled by her angelic looks...

I don't need sleep...

So if you are looking for someone to take some shots of your newborn or family, check Karen out. She's really fantastic and her work clearly speaks for itself.

I can't wait to see the full selection of shots!

Kitty