Friday, March 23, 2012

Quincetastic.



I love Autumn. I love the crisp mornings, the warm days and the promise of cardigan weather ahead (and Baby G has a lot of lovely cardigans to wear). But mostly I love Autumn because of the fact it's quince season.

Like our leader, Faux Fuchsia, I am a devotee of the lumpy, ugly, inedible fruit. Well, inedible until it's poached in a pot with vanilla, a cinnamon quill, a strip of lemon peel, some sugar and some water for hours on end. Then it's pure ambrosia. I like to eat them for breakfast with yoghurt (or dessert with yoghurt, or afternoon tea with yoghurt) but they are also good in plain butter cakes too. I am making a frangipane tart tomorrow with some from this batch before starting the process again and poaching more fruit on Sunday for the week ahead. They perfume the house beautifully.


They don't last long in the shops but I am reliably informed that poached quinces freeze well. I will be attempting that with this next batch, but for now, I am sitting back with a few delicious morsels and, yes, some yoghurt.

Kitty

Poached quinces

4-5 quinces
3 cups sugar (castor is fine)
5 cups water
1 cinnamon quill
4 cloves
1 vanilla bean
Peel of a lemon

Peel, quarter and core the quinces, reserving the scraps. Im a heavy based pot, dissolve the sugar in the water and add the aromatics: the cinnamon, cloves, lemon peel and vanilla bean. Add the quinces and the core and peel and bring to the simmer (adding the peel and core will make the colour deeper in the cooked quinces). Cover the quinces with a round of baking paper (a cartouche) and the lid of the pot (I use my Le Creuset french oven) and place in a slow oven (150-160 degrees C) for about three hours, checking to make sure the poaching liquid still covers the fruit. The quinces will feel soft to touch and pierce easily with a sharp knife when they are done. Strain off the aromatics and the scraps and store in the fridge in the syrup for up to a week.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Wedding attire

So we turn our minds to what we can possibly wear to such a splendid cosmopolitan occasion, which no doubt my sister's wedding will be. I am thinking of shopping my wardrobe - I have a stunning dress that I have yet to wear, purchased before I got pregnant. I don't know if it's going to be appropriate (they have yet to decide the style of the wedding) but I think it will be suitable given the time of year.


Erm... I don't quite look like that in the dress...

And frankly if Kate and Pippa think Alexander McQueen is suitable wedding attire then so do I!

The dress is Alexander McQueen Fall 2009 and is a gorgeous houndstooth in red and black merino wool. I bought it at Bicester about 18 months ago. It will travel well in my suitcase for a few weeks through Europe and it's certainly warm enough.

At this point it's the leader of the pack in terms of options. I have a couple of other ideas but I think I'll wait until we have a bit more information about the style of wedding before I start packing any bags.

I'm so excited - and thrilled for my little sister! I wish I was in London so I could help her go wedding dress shopping. That was my favourite part of wedding planning. I think I almost tried on every dress in Sydney...

Kitty

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Weddings and anniversaries

Over the weekend, my little sister got engaged. Suffice to say we are beyond delighted (the young gentlemen who proposed seems to be lovely - he certainly did a bang up job with choosing a stunning vintage engagement ring) and now find ourselves planning a longer than anticipated stay in London in October. I am thrilled at that prospect because I adore London and will love spending a little more time with my sister!

Hearing her lovely lovely news reminded me of my own wedding and how excited and happy we were. I took the opportunity to go through our wedding photos to reminisce about the day again. Our fourth wedding anniversary was last week (very timely indeed) - in some respects it seems like only a few weeks ago that we got married, in others it feels like we have been through a lifetime since that wonderful day.

Every day since has been a gift. I truly believe that. Together we are so much more than the sum of our parts.

Mr K - thank you for all the joy, love, happiness and laughter you bring to my life. I love you - more than words can say.

Here's a selection of my favourite shots from our big day.






Kitty

Saturday, March 10, 2012

New dresses for Baby G: A shout out to my readers!


Before she was born, I bought some beautiful Liberty print material from Patchwork on Central Park in Melbourne with the intention of having some little dresses made for her. She's now almost 5 months old and... Well, no progress on that front! Like many things, it has been pushed to the back of the drawer, dragged out this week when she grew another size. Again.

These are the fabrics I have:

Betsey J Tana Lawn

Ros A

Aren't they beautiful? I wanted more but drew the line at these two. For the moment.

If anyone out there in blogland can help me with recommendations on what to do with the fabric and - more importantly - someone who can make them for me, then please let me know. My usual dress making lady in town has gone AWOL...

Kitty
Link

Friday, March 9, 2012

Mini me mk 2

Remember my fur vest post from last week?

Well, I indulged - not for me, of course, but for Baby G. Target have them for $16 at the moment on sale (normally $20). If that's not being thrifty then I don't know what is.

The jury is still out on whether we should match though. I'm erring on the side of no - Baby G will look cute enough for the both of us!

Kitty

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Glittery Sparkly.


I mentioned a little while ago that Mr K had made a significant purchase for me. This purchase was collected a few days ago.

They are more beautiful than I could have possibly imagined. Our jeweller did a magnificent job. They have barely been out of my ears since I got them. I absolutely adore them.

I'm such a very lucky kitty. In so many ways.

K xx

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Mini me.

I don't really "do" the mother daughter matching clothing thing. Occasionally I'll wear stripes (aka nautical) if the Little Bird is wearing them but more often than not I'll forget until we are at our destination that I had something in my wardrobe that would have gone perfectly with her outfit. But when I saw these two items I almost couldn't resist.

The first is from Sussan and is $149.95. Inconveniently, free shipping is only available for purchases over $150.
The "mini me" version is from Country Road and is $59.95 (delivery is $10).

It's just too cute but I'm just not sure if I am a fake fur vest kind of person... I think I might have to check it out in person before making a decision.

Kitty

Friday, March 2, 2012

Hera.


I love scarves. They are a beautiful way to dress up the monotony of my boring black baby friendly breastfeeding outfits. Sounds so sexy, right? It is, believe me.

I recently bought a beautiful amethyst and emerald leopard scarf (is much nicer in real life than it sounds) but I have my eye on this beauty when we go to the UK in September. It's lush. So ethereal, plus I love the feather motif. It's from Liberty and features the Iconic Hera print from their archives. So beautiful.

Kitty

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Daytime dreaming: Marchesa


I don't have anywhere to wear this. Nowhere at all. I can't even make up a place to wear it. But I want it so desperately there are no words. It's Marchesa and a mind-blowing $7,500. For a dress.

I still want it. Stunning. I even have the perfect pair of shoes and handbag.

Look at this detailing.


Sigh. I need to find a hobby... One that doesn't involve so much cash.

Kitty