photo a day challenge for january - days 26 - 29

Day 29 | 1.16pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Inside your fridge. The top shelf: chocolate, coffee & cheese. It's a fine life.


Day 28 | 12.32pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Light.

The above still for 'light' was taken from this trippy filmclip.

Day 27 | 8.25pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Lunch was over when I came to my challenge photo so this is our easy Friday night dinner instead.


Day 26 | 5.01pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Colour: My T-shirt.

photo a day challenge for january - another week gone

Okay so it is time to update the blog with the photos from the challenge. I am so addicted to instagram now. I can't believe how busy some people are. When I say busy, I think I mean productive. My life seems to be pretty hectic but I don't feel I achieve enough. While I am not going to put pressure on myself in a specific way, I am going to try and have a productive year. The January photo challenge has been an awesome and achievable challenge for me. One month is realistic and has gone by so fast. Fat Mum Slim, who created the challenge, has made a list for February. I am tossing up whether to participate in February's challenge but think I probably will. It is a short month after all. Anyway, here are my pictures from the last week.


Day 25 | 8pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Something I made: Prawn Tikka Masala.


Day 24 | 12.30pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Guilty pleasure: Watching the Circle (morning telly).


Day 23 | 8.26pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Something old: My Dad bought this old iron from an antique shop and we have ended up with it...


Day 22 | 5.13pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Your shoes: my docs from 'back in the day'.


Day 21 | 7.59pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Reflection.


Day 20 | 7.55am | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Someone you love.


Day 19 | 7.28pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Sweet: My 2012 diary from Oxfam.


Day 18 | 6.20pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Something you bought.

I am revisiting Beck's album The Information today. I recommend a listen if you like a bit of slap bass and lo-fi action. It's probably not that lo-fi, I just like the term...

Anyway, a good album to have on in the background. You can bop along to while you blog or cook or craft or whatever it is you spend your time doing...

I sourced this image from sleevage.com

Does Beck ever age? He still looks about twelve.

Sigh...

So where is this blogging thing taking me?

I recently enjoyed reading Donna Moritz's article '5 Benefits From Blogging Regularly (or 14 Days to Blogging Challenge Enlightenment)' over at www.sociallysorted.com.au. So much so that I commented on the article. Donna was kind enough to reply to my comment and she even followed the link to my blog and had a look. In her reply, Donna referred to my blog as a 'lifestyle blog'. I don't know why but this made me cringe. Donna was simply stating a fact so I don't have an issue with Donna or her comment. My blog is about my life and is thus a lifestyle blog. It just made me think about why I am bothering to put my toe in this fairly deep already pool of water.

There are already so many awesome bloggers out there that seem to have it all down pat. It has me wondering what I can bring to the table that anyone would be interested in. I am not promoting this blog to family members, apart from hubby, as I want to be able to cut loose so to speak. I have to ask the question then, am I enjoying this experience? I think so...

photo a day challenge for january - day 17

Day 17 | 8.53am | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Water.

photo a day challenge for january - days 13 to 16

Goodness me! Time is flying. Here are my photos from the challenge for the past few days.

Day 16 | 8.51am | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Morning.

Day 15 | 8.17pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Happiness: story time with Poppa. xx

Day 14 | 6.35pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Something you're reading.

Day 13 | 7.26pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | In your bag: nappy changing stuff, purse, glasses cases.

photo a day challenge for january - day 11 & 12

Day 12 | 3.14pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Close up.

Day 11 | 8.24am | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Where I sleep (more like doze occasionally).

slice it up

I am on uni holidays at the moment and am attempting make something of my time, sometimes. Somehow the hours seem to get sucked away as I look at blogs and Facebook and most recently Twitter! There are so many crafty and busy people out there that always seem to be producing something of actual merit. My challenge for yesterday was to make caramel slice. Hubby is most content when he has a nice home-made treat to put in his lunch box. Often he will whip up a cake of some kind but as I am on holidays I thought I'd give him a break. I chose to make caramel slice.

Caramel slice is a childhood favourite of mine. As a special treat my mum and I would visit a bakery or cafe and indulge in a piece of caramel slice. It didn't happen all the time but probably did go some way to contributing to the ample amount of 'puppy fat' I was blessed with. Even using the term 'puppy fat' makes me want to puke so we will quickly move on from there and focus on the more pleasant side of this childhood memory.

I have made the slice numerous times from a recipe in an awesome old cookbook called The Muscular Dystrophy Cook Book. It's method calls for making the caramel by bringing the condensed milk, butter and golden syrup to the boil in a saucepan and then stirring it constantly for five minutes. Sounds easy but it catches quickly meaning that your caramel can burn!

So you can imagine that my interest was sparked when I discovered another recipe which bakes the caramel in the oven instead. The verdict has been positive with my husband giving it two firm thumbs up. I sampled a slice this morning with my coffee and I am impressed. The recipe called for two cans of condensed milk and I only had one. I panicked for a moment as I had already started the whole shebang. I called upon my cooking confidence and thought about what Nigella or Jamie would do. They would say bugger it, use what you have. As the new recipe was out of a promotional pamphlet for a brand of condensed milk, and the old recipe only called for one can, I decided it must be a ploy to make you buy two cans instead of one. I pulled this conspiracy card to back up my decision to use one can. I was undecided about whether to adjust any measurements for the other ingredients and promptly forgot to before it was too late. No fear though! It turned out lovely.

My only challenge now is to perfect the art of cutting the slice without butchering the chocolate on top. A quick survey from Facebook friends tells me that the hot knife method works well as does scoring the chocolate before it is fully set. I will try both of these tips next time. If you are interested, my modified recipe is below.



Cheers, Kirsten.

if you feel that moisturiser just isn't enough anymore...

This video shared by the awesome peeps over at Mamamia.com.au somehow makes me feel a bit better about those lines under my eyes. Being a face sleeper is catching up with me. I think it's time to trade in the Target jobbies and opt for some silk pillowcases. Either that or I'll just invest in the latest version of Fotoshop. No one will ever know the difference. Enjoy.


Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

lucky mummy

The weekend usually involves a long list of jobs. We attempt to get things done but the list seems to be ever growing. One of the recent jobs on the list, which we managed to cross off, was for hubby to put new stakes in the garden for the tomato plants. It is our first attempt to grow some veggies other than herbs. I haven't really done much in this effort apart from go and purchase the seedlings and seeds to plant. Hubby has donned the green thumb and run with it. We are both really enjoying watching the plants grow and it is great for Elliott, our two year old, to see where food comes from. We have three types of tomatoes, some leeks, some zucchini and some spinach. Very exciting! This is the result of hubby's hard work.

After the boys had spent some time in the garden Elliott decided that he would bring me in a flower. Aren't I a lucky mummy.

photo a day challenge for january - catch up

I have been taking photos each day for this project and uploading them to instagram but I am a little behind in blogging about them. Better late than never though so here goes...

Day 10 | 6.43pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Childhood.

This bunny was given to me by my maternal grandparents when I was born. It seems to be the only toy that I have hung onto from childhood although I don't remember getting rid of the others along the way. I have a photo album filled with nostalgic shots of my childhood. I love the round corners of the old photos and the colours produced by the old school film. I remember the poncho I was wearing in the photo on the bottom right. It was a favourite. This photo reflects one of my earliest memories. I'm pretty sure my dad took the photo and I was leaning in to see what the camera was all about. It is one of those moments where you aren't sure if the memory is real or just created by the photo. I like to believe that it was real.

Day 9 | 6.40pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Daily routine.

Bath time with dad. This is our little fella, Elliott. Bath time is mostly a fun experience depending on how tired Elliott is. He is a grand sleeper when he is at home but on childcare days he doesn't always get enough of a nap. This can lead to occasional hysterics but overall he is a pretty happy chappy.

Day 8 | 9.12am | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Your sky.

This one is pretty self explanatory. I contemplated whether to include the trees or not for probably longer than necessary. The greenery won.

Day 7 | 8.00am | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Favorite: toasted sour dough, one butter, one Promite.

A great Aussie debate is always Promite vs. Vegemite. I have to admit, I like both. Promite is probably the go to for me. I love Vegemite on toast accompanied by a cup of Earl Grey tea. Lately though I have been off tea a bit and therefore have been spreading Promite on my toast more often. We have had a couple of days of cooler weather here in Radelaide so I might go a cup of tea and some toast with Vegemite for breakkie tomorrow. Right now though... I feel like ice-cream!

Cheers for now, Kirsten.

photo a day challenge for january - day six

Day 6 | 10.15am | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Makes me smile: Cooking muffins with Elliott. I just love his morning bed hair too.

These fresh strawberry muffins were the result of our cooking adventure this morning. Elliott is actually really good when we are making muffins. He likes having a job to do and I explain the steps as we go. He tips the ingredients into the bowl after I have measured them out. He also lines the muffin tray with the muffin cases (patty pans). It is such an easy recipe that we get through it quite quickly with minimum fuss. For these strawberry muffins I adapted a banana muffin recipe we have made a few times. Instead of a cup of mashed banana, I used about two cups of very ripe strawberries. All the members of the household, apart from Howard the cat, think that they are a winner.

If you are interested in the original recipe I found it on the Kidspot website and have linked to it here. Seriously, it is so easy and they taste great.

What's this all about? Check out this link for more info.

Cheers, Kirsten.

photo a day challenge for january - day five

Day 5 | 12.32pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Something you wore.

So, these are from the nineties. It would be cool to say they were vintage from the sixties or seventies but I'm not quite that cool. Nevertheless, I'm glad I still have them. I remember wearing them on a trashy bus tour through Adelaide on one of my first big nights out. I was a late starter and didn't really bother clubbing while underage so I think I was eighteen at the time. For those of you who don't know what a bus tour is I'll explain. Basically a bus takes you from dodgy night-club to dodgier night-club all the while plying you with beer and mystery cocktail mix between stops.

I thought I looked pretty cool in my platforms, black turtleneck (okay it probably was more like a skivvy) and black miniskirt. I can't remember what movie about the sixties I was trying to embody. Maybe Backbeat or possibly Secrets with Dannii Minogue. Probably both. I may have looked okay at the beginning of the night, in a try-hard kind of way, but I'm pretty sure any trace of class would have been destroyed by the end of the night. I do remember dancing and not falling over though. Always a good thing.

What's this all about? Check out this link for more info.

Cheers, Kirsten.

photo a day challenge for january - day four

Day 4 | 11.54am | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Letterbox.

Welcome to suburbia. We are lucky enough to have lovely gum trees in our street. They can sometimes be a bit of a hazard during wild weather but the occasional koala makes up for any risk they pose. Just down the street is a stark contrast to this leafy outlook: Maccas. I chose nature as the back drop to my letterbox, rather than the golden arches, this time.

What's this all about? Check out this link for more info.

Cheers, Kirsten.

time to say goodbye...

Image from mamamia.com.au

Who would have guessed hey? I actually thought Katy Perry and Russell Brand might defy the odds and be one of those couples that actually lasted. There are not many in show-biz that are able to achieve a lasting marriage. Meshel Laurie sums it up well when she says, 'I feel sorry for people too beautiful to share their ugly' in her article Nobody said it was going to be easy on mamamia.com.au. I think she is right. You have to take the good with the not so good. The little things can usually be worked out with compromise if you actually take the time to talk about them.

One of the major things in good relationships is communication. It sounds so boring but it works. Partners aren't mind readers. How are they going to know that they are peeing you off by not putting the chilli sauce on the shelf you think it should go on. The problem being it doesn't properly fit on the usual condiment shelf. Actually this doesn't pee me off but it was the most recent conflict I could think of. It is that bad at our house! That is not to say there hasn't been bigger issues but holding onto them and not moving on is just too tiring. 

Money must come into it somewhere. For most people weddings come at a considerable cost. Budgets are adhered to whether you are self funded or lucky enough to have your family contribute to the extravaganza. When there is no shortage of dosh perhaps the decision to jump on board the marriage wedding train is just too easy. Many stars love a good party, especially one where they are the main attraction. The big question is does that matter? If they want to be self indulgent and have an over the top soiree in their name perhaps we should just let them. Many of us can't help but check out the wedding pics that get sold to the magazines. I'm guilty of standing at the servo and sitting in waiting rooms eagerly spying on the wedding of the month. When I write that I'm not sure I actually want to admit it but hey, we will treat this like a confession.

All it comes down to is that marriage means different things to different people. Marriage is after-all just a piece of paper - as is a divorce. What really counts is the relationship. Where the relationship is good so is the marriage.

photo a day challenge for january - day three

Day 3 | 8.46am | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Something I adore.

I adore my little family. I know many people will probably be sharing photos of their loved ones and I am no different. It makes me happy to think about these two lovelies and that is definitely a good sign. Things in life can sometimes be a bit crazy and hectic - it's all too easy to get caught up in fluff. It is so important to take the time to think about the people we are lucky enough to share our time with.

What's this all about? Check out this link for more info.

Cheers, Kirsten.

photo a day challenge for january - day two

Day 2 | 7.50am | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Breakfast.

Breakkie was a bowl of cereal, Special K to be specific. I forgot to take the photo before I ate. Whoops!

What's this all about? Check out this link for more info.

Cheers, Kirsten.

photo a day challenge for january - day one

Day 1 | 6.25pm | Adelaide | #janphotoaday | Me

The subject suggestion for this one is 'me'. I have to admit I wasn't feeling very photogenic today... at all. Hopefully I will get braver as the challenge continues. For now, welcome to my feet.

What's the challenge all about? Check out this link for more info.

Cheers, Kirsten.

happy new year...

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you partied like it was 1999 without gaining a headache or any other ailments for your efforts. Cheers to a successful and happy 2012.

Cheers, Kirsten.


PS. This starts today so I will be back later with the first instalment.