More Elk.

Longtime readers of this blog will know I have an ongoing love affair with the accessories brand Elk. I think their items are stunning - on trend, well made and moderately priced.

Whilst purchasing a gift for a friend, I stumbled across this necklace.

It's something I have seen before and liked but never got around to purchasing. At $45, I thought it was really good value so I clicked and purchased. Shipping is reasonable at a flat rate of $10.

It arrived today. I am very pleased with my purchase, even though it's a little more casual than I was anticipating. The beads are chunky and fun. I have loads of formal jewellery so a casual addition to my collection is definitely not unwelcome!

Kitty

Marmalade.

Mr K likes Marmalade. A creature of habit, he has a selection of breads every morning for breakfast, spread lovingly with promite, nut butter (usually ABC spread) and some kind of sticky jam-like marmaladey substance (on separate pieces, not the same bit of bread).

He likes jam too - apricot, peach... But at the moment oranges are in season so I decided to tackle marmalade, having successfully conquered jam earlier this year. I made commercial quantities of apricot jam with the almost 10 kilos of apricots we purchased at the markets and a smaller quantity of subtle yet delicious peach jam which has a rosy tint and a floral nose. It's by far and away my favourite of the preserves we have made.

But back to today's activity: Marmalade! It's trickier than jam in the sense that it takes quite a bit longer to make - normal jam netts you 6-8 jars in about an hour. This takes more like 2 and a half hours. But it's really not that hard - you just need to keep an eye on it.

1.5kg oranges (I used ruby red oranges from Harris Farm) or other citrus fruit - a mixture of grapefruits, oranges and lemons would work well
1.2L water
2.5kg sugar
25g Jamsetta (available at supermarket near the sugar)
Juice from one lemon (optional - see below)

Scrub oranges well, cut into quarters removing the endy bits and the pips. Slice thinly - about 3-5mm wide strips. Place in preserving pan or very large saucepan with the water and cook gently uncovered until the fruit is soft (1-2 hours, this batch took almost 2 hours).

Warm sugar in a large ovenproof bowl in an oven preheated to 150 degrees for 10 minutes. Stir sugar and Jamsetta into orange mixture and heat gently until dissolved. Bring to the boil for at least 10 minutes.

To check if the jam is set, spoon a small amount of jam onto a saucer that has been in the freezer for a few minutes. Let to sit for 3 or more minutes - set jam should crinkle when you run your finger through it. If it doesn't, boil for an additional 3-5 minutes and test again. Add the lemon juice to taste - the marmalade shouldn't be too sweet and you can use the lemon juice to temper some of the sweetness. You won't need this if you use sour fruit like grapefruits. My oranges were really sweet so I used the lemon.

This batch of marmalade took about 20 minutes to reach setting point. It won't set stiff like store bought jam, but that's a good thing. Remove jam from heat, let sit for 5-10 minutes and pour into sterilised warm dry jars. Seal immediately with lids and turn upside down for a few minutes.

To sterilise jars: wash in warm soapy water, rinse with hot clean water and place on a tray upside down in a preheated 150 degree oven until the jars are dry. Remove the jars from the oven and allow to cool slightly before pouring in the marmalade. The jars should be warm, not molten hot! Wash the lids thoroughly and dry but do not put them in the oven.

This batch made 10 decent sized jars of sticky yummy marmalade. Total cost - $5.65 in total (plus jars). Bargain!

Enjoy!

Kitty

A Decision.

Ladies (and gents, if there are any reading)...

It's a momentous day in the Kitty household. We have come to a decision on the baby bag.

Behold the Skip Hop Duo Deluxe in Lime!! When I listed all the things I wanted from a baby bag it ended up being the one that ticked all the boxes. Plenty of room, loads of pockets, versatile in that it clips to the Boo or can be carried as a shoulder bag and it almost matches the light green cover for my Boo. Almost. Plus it's not too girlie (important as Mr K doesn't want to feel like a wuss when he carries it around) and it's bright enough we are unlikely to lose it in the house like I do my handbags. It also came in under my (albeit arbitrary) $100 threshold which makes Mr K happy too.

It's been ordered, along with the mattress and linen for the oddly sized cot we seem to have purchased, from Bambini Pronto. It's due to arrive tomorrow so I'll report back with my thoughts!

Kitty

Boo-yah!!

How unbelievable is this romper?

I saw it and I had to have it.

Part of yesterday's haul from the Baby's got Style sale, it is so ridiculously cute I am already crying for when she grows out of it. Slightly preemptive but there's no accounting for pregnancy hormones, is there?

It's from the cute kids label Rock Your Baby. They have some amazing things that are so sweet - some of their dresses are just divine. I think I'll have to hand my credit cards over to Mr K at this rate!

Kitty

PS: BGS seems to have sold out of the short sleeved version but the long sleeved version is still available! You can still buy the short sleeved version directly from Rock Your Baby.

Dear Baby...

Dear Baby,

Mummy has a favour to ask, precious. Can you please stop her buying cute little things for you to wear? When she stumbles upon a website with lots and lots of yummy sweet things to buy, can you remind her that you already have lost of clothes and she might want to wait a little while before buying anything else? Sales just make things even harder for her self control.

Besides, Daddy gets angry when he has to go to the post office every day to pick things up for you. And he gets even crosser when he sees the credit card bill.

Lots of love,

Mummy xx

Like a black and red magpie...

Last year when I was in the UK I bought a divine Alexander McQueen scarf from the outlet at Bicester Village. It wasn't a cheap purchase (about 130 pounds minus the VAT refund, I seem to recall) but I loved it so much I couldn't resist, plus the price was very good for AMcQ. I'd been seeing it online for a while but missed out buying it in the NAP sale. It was the magpie scarf in red and black - identical to this one but in reverse (the red is around the edge rather than the black). I finally wore it for the first time yesterday and I find myself attempting to design outfits around the scarf now. It also, when draped the right way, distracts very well from the whale like proportions of my baby bump!

And now, like the magpie that I am, I have spotted this scarf on Net-a-Porter...


It's not on sale but it's totally totally me, however I'm not sure I can convince myself it's a good buy right now. But it is amazing. And I'm sure that despite the price it will be very economical on a CPW basis over a number of years...

I'm erring on the side of not buying it and being responsible but I'm willing to be convinced though!

Kitty

A bag for the baby.

I have many handbags. I know - you are shocked. So am I, if I am being honest. But there is one thing I don't have and that's a bag that is suitable for toting baby stuff around the shop. Or shops, in my case.

I have been keeping my eye out for a suitable receptacle for baby things. But the actual problem is that I don't know how much I'll be carrying around with me. Is it a suitcase worth? A couple of nappies and a muslin? If you have any advice about size or function I'd very much appreciate it (keeping in mind my handbags are often the size of small suitcases).

In the interim, here are some I have found that might work.

This silver spectacle from Seed Child ($139): I thought it would work because of the neutral colour. In my opinion you just can't go wrong with silver. And I love Seed.

The Bryn Nappy Bag from Soon Maternity. It's on sale for $89.95 which makes it really attractive and it's nice and colourful. There are other colours on sale too!

The Skip Hop Duo Diaper Bag. Really cheap at $58, but it has to get shipped from the US which adds extra cost. Or alternatively available from Bambini Pronto for $99.95. The multitude of colours and the great reviews makes it a really attractive option. Plus it has clips that attach it to any stroller which means your hands are free for other things and the weight of all those baby things doesn't weigh you down.

If anyone has any advice about things that are important in a nappy/baby bag, I would very much appreciate it. I know it needs loads of pockets, for example, so that I can put things like bottles and toys and muslins in them. The rest is a bit of a mystery to me!

Kitty xx