Happy Australia Day!

Hope you are having a great Australia Day. I have been watching the Australian Open and marking. About to have friends over for a BBQ. The rain has cleared so it should be a good arvo. Back to work again tomorrow. Love a public holiday in the middle of the week.

Delenn's Afgan

For Christmas I received a beautiful handmade Afgan from Ellen, she had some left over yarn and decided to make Delenn one to match me. Here she is with it for the first time. We have up in her cat tower to sleep on.

Savoury Mince for Dinner

Needed something quick and simple for dinner, that also used up left over vegetables. The answer, Savoury Mince. I really like this recpice :) It would also be good in a pie.

Prep time: 15 mins (if that)
Feeds: 4 people

Ingredients
1kg beef mince
1/2 onion diced
2 carrots grated
3 sticks of celery finely chopped
1 zucchini grated
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 clove of garlic minced
1/2 bottle of pasta sauce
1/2 cup tomato paste
3/4 cup of beef or vegetable stock
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp brown sugar

Method:
1. Chop or grate ingredients.
2. Put all ingredients in slow cooker, stir with spoon.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
4. Serve with mashed potato.

I can see this working in a pie crust or over pasta as well. Very yummy and highly recommend.

My Escape

I have been so busy since I got back from my trip to Cairns. Here are some pics of my relaxing weekend escape.

ROAD TRIP!

Heading North with a mate. Should be good fun :) Sneak peek of the final destination.

Tranquil Tuesday

Tuesday was a wonderful day. Probably close to the most relaxing day of my school holidays. I spent it just being and doing things I normally put off because I don't have time or am to tired or just can't get there. I started off the day using a Christmas present. I went to Plant Essentials and got the most beautiful Buddha Relax Massages. Amazing, I floated for the next few days.



After that I posted off my wedding invitations (see previous post) which felt like a massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I then got to wander the city centre and look into the shops I always zip by. I found a bold vintage dress for $10.00 which I adore. I also managed to update my postcard collection with Townsville and Vintage Ad Cards.





However, the best part of the day was having the chance to walk through the Perc Tucker Regional Art Gallery. They pieces and exhibits in at the moment are beautiful. I loved looking at the patterning and reading the stories behind the Desert Country exhibit. I was fascinated by the 2 exhibits on the 1st floor. I adored the Tour de Force: In Case Of Emergency Break Glass with the skulls and birds. I spent an age looking at the Nothing has changed: Just a little bit on religion exhibit. All beautiful pieces.


To finish off the day I wandered down to the harbour, watched the boats and read until it was time to go and see War Horse. Good movie, a little long, but well worth it. It is quite graphic about war which I thought was ver appropriate. A touching story.

Go for Gold Delenn

Delenn moment...going for gold. She may have got into the Christmas Decoration box. Just saying.

Almost Ready To Go

I may be a little excited about this. We are keeping it small but wedding invites going out this week, both international and national. So exciting. Here is a sneak peek...

What I've Been Doing

Hello blogging world. Hope you have all recovered from New Years. This is just a quick post to let you know what is happening.

Loved New Years Eve, I went to the basketball (Crocs lost) and then headed home for a night with Scott. It was wonderful. We were up until 5.00am having a good laugh thanks to Community. Although the hangover the next day... Since then I have been busy trying to do lots of little jobs around the house before school starts. Sadly, I have hurt my right wrist and can't craft :( Sewing is hard in a brace. But, it will all be good soon enough.



I went out and spoilt myself. A good friend gave me a gift voucher to Robin's Kitchen and 1 of the items I brought were these cookie cutters above. I still haven't used them yet because I stuffed up the sugar cookie dough. But waste not want not. I may not be able to cut cookies (to sticky) but I can freeze it and eat it :)

Well gearing up for school again and the new National Curriculum and all those scary things. On the positive I AM ALMOST DONE with my XO Laptop training for the One Laptop Per Child Program. So excited :) That is all really for now. Sorry crafting and cooking world, you have not gotten the attention you deserve. On another happy note, I LOVE my Ugly Doll Calendar.