there & back again...

We're home from our sisterly (ad)venture - we had a wonderful time, saw some stunning scenery, did plenty of walking (some parts more difficult than others), ate some really good food, laughed alot, did a bit of shopping & just generally enjoyed ourselves.

There are plenty of photos to share, but I thought I'd start by posting a few of my favourite iPhone shots, as posted on my instagram/tumblr. Lots of other images on our trip tumblr too.

1. Blue Lake, Mt Gambier \\ 2. Umpherston Sinkhole, Mt Gambier \\ 3. Bay of Islands, Great Ocean Road \\ 4. Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road \\ 

5. Hopetoun Falls, Otway National Park \\ 6. Lindt Cafe, Melbourne \\ 7. Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne.

august break | week 1 (& a bit)

   day 1 - lunch | day 2 - pattern

day 3 - window

day 4 - orange | day 5 - three...

day 6 - the prompt was 'reflection', but I ended up with this instead

day 7 - Today is...

day 8 - selfie

day 9 - in my bag | day 10 - drink....

something sweet | brisbane

a selecion of the delicious things we ate while we were away (there were lots of other lovely meals too - which we mostly neglected to photograph, lol).

photos 2,4 & 5 taken by Kathryn

lovely links...

The blossoms are mostly gone, but there are still plenty of signs of spring around - new growth, honeysuckle, baby birds, weather that is up, down & blowing us away...

Lovely, romantic photos of people in love...elegance amongst the blossoms, good humour by the beach, fun with a bicycle, a magical Uluru elopement and joy by the river.

What would you choose to learn?

An interesting talk, a garden in Stockholm, some beautiful spring blossoms, gorgeous portraits.

Beautiful black & white photography 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Some scrumptious coffee recipes I'd love to make (or just eat, if anyone else feels like baking?): Espresso Cheesecake Brownies, Vanilla Bean & Espresso Spelt Scones, Frozen Mocha Cake, Cappuccino Swirl Snickerdoodles (such a strange/awesome name for a biscuit) & Cafe Mocha Cupcakes.

& just for fun, some definitions of love from literature.

+ a little video about our local library, featuring yours truly (briefly) :)

sweet spice...

I've been wanting to try baking these muffins for ages - something about the combination of tea & poppy seeds just really appealed. I much prefer chai tea to earl grey though, so I simply substituted chai teabags when infusing the milk - plus a dash of vanilla in with my wet ingredients - and went with apricot jam for the glaze.

A double batch (with an extra egg) yielded 3 dozen nicely sized muffins - although they seem more like cupcakes to me... but then again, I really couldn't describe what the difference is. Not that it matters, as they are soft & delicious, with a beautiful hint of tea & spice.

Just in case I haven't tempted you enough, a few other recipes I've had success with recently(ish) - Spelt Apple Teacake (& Amy also made this Spelt Carrot Cake not that long ago), Magic Custard Cake, & the chocolate version too. Plus, I had this awesome chocolate cake for my birthday :)

lovely links...

It's my birthday today and although I'm not getting cake & presents (if I'm getting any - everyone has been very sneaky this year) until tomorrow, I have been promised pancakes :)

Stunning New Zealand mountains, majestic New York part 1 | part 2, breath-taking African mornings, afternoons & nights, the ever dreamy Paris (& one more, because I couldn't choose between them).

Take some time to smell the roses, embrace the power of the meaningless, make it work.

Some superb landscapes 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

A few tea-infused recipes I'd love to try: Black Tea Cake with Honey Icing, Earl Grey & Poppyseed Muffins, Earl Grey Dark Chocolate Cupcakes & another Black Tea Cake with blackberry lime jam & honey whipped cream.

The beauty of the everyday: greenery, people, spring, bringing a touch of nature inside.

Also this song, this song, another & this one too.

lunch on thursday...a taste or two...

august break 2013

lovely links...

More rainy days, interspersed with a smattering of lovely, mild, sunny days & a few frosty mornings. The rain is good for the garden & the farmers - it's also one of my favourite sounds the fall asleep to.

A beautiful farmer's market in Telluride & a market on Granville Island.

Some surreal self-portraits, a cold & frosty morning. Beautiful weddings elegant, colourful & in the mountains. A beautiful dress with a beautiful story.

Some gorgeous portraits 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Elsie & Emma recently celebrated six years of blogging at A Beautiful Mess - they blog about recipes, craft, life, all sorts of good things. Love this scarf tutorial, this one too & a super cute stamp.

It is perfect baking weather - time for some cake perhaps? Like Spelt Flour Carrot, Pear & Almond, Rhubarb Vanilla or Honey, Pear & Pistachio.....they all have fruit in them, so they are almost health food ;)

& not new, but still totally awesome.

lovely links...

Even wetter & colder than my last links post, we have had a very wintry, rainy start to winter. Thankfully it didn't rain on market day, so we're doing our best to enjoy it...

Very much enjoying Rosa's 100 days of Summer - this, this & this, with many more to come (she's only up to day twenty-two & I had trouble only picking three).

There are so many wonderful places - visiting Seattle looks like fun (especially Pike Place Market), hiking in Arkansas, or walking around Gothenburg.

Some beautifully foggy photographs 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

A beautiful Scottish wedding (check out the bride's shoes), a lovely Melbourne wedding & an atmospheric Lake District wedding.

We're focusing on eating extra healthy for the next three weeks at least, so some (reasonably) healthy recipes that look interesting: Vanilla Chia Pudding, Winter Greens + Crispy Quiona Salad, Lazy Girl's Zucchini Pasta, Chewy Granola Bars.

& the lovely Kellie from 74 Lime Lane featured my jewellery over on her blog.

lovely links

 We've been having some lovely rain - the perfect weather for hot tea & catching up on some reading...

Looking forward to seeing the photos from Jess & Nick's trip, Natasha has me dreaming of Paris & Meredith has me dreaming of San Francisco pt1 | pt2...

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Alice - I love her photography & these gorgeous portraits are a great example.

plus more gorgeousness, with a red VW bus, a wedding at a stunning location & then there are some stylish ladies.

Some beautiful autumn colour over on everyday miracles & also at 74 lime Lane. Also here & here.

So much delicious looking food on my pinboard - would especially like to try Honey & Pear muffins, as well as Honey Chocolate Chunk cookies.

Also some beautiful, abandoned places & the champion's crown

lovely links...

Still getting used to when the light is good, now that daylight savings has ended - I'll be starting week two of my project soon. I am vaguely dissatisfied with the title for these posts (although it is accurate), but I'm yet to come up with anything else, so I'll just get on with the good stuff...

Lots of gorgeous recipes making me hungry - from skillet baked choc chip cookies, to chewy granola bars, to fancy grilled cheese. Not forgetting carrot cake with honey cream cheese icing or berry curd (with scones!)

Big congrats to Katrina & Chris (plus, how cute is the video they made to announce their news?)

Hopefully I'll find the time to try shrinking myself (only photographically of course)

The Lake District  looks beautiful (but cold!).

I'm enjoying the beginning of Autumn with it's cool mornings & mild days, but it's nice to see pretty spring flowers (also here) + a mint bicycle.

It was Mum's birthday at the beginning of the month - I think she liked her presents  :)

lovely links...

 Another collection of blog posts that have recently caught my eye, there are lots of wonderful things out there...

Dreaming of far away places - of Paris from Above, of Berlin, of Autumn in Munich, of Paris again.

Gorgeous portraits in vintage, in the snow, & behind the scenes.

A big project in need of a little help.

Happy Birthday to Rosa :)

I've mentioned Kathryn's blog fairly often here - our sister Amy is blogging now too. She's all about fashion, beautiful things & glitter (& she has pretty good taste).

& some cuteness to finish up - Joy's adorable little girl & one of Sara's gorgeous cats.

no-bake choc fruit bites

You might remember my mention of working towards launching our shop blog - which is now live. There will be recipes, craft, articles about things like aromatherapy & much more. I am one of four contributors & my first post is about these awesome no-bake fruit bites.

They are delicious, healthy, easy to make & did I mention delicious? You can find the recipe here.

lovely links...

Just thought I'd share a selection of blog posts I've read/looked at/drooled over recently. Plus a few photos - out-takes from my mornings project...

I love Cindy's photography - these portraits are a gorgeous example. Speaking of portraits, how lovely is this engagement shoot on Kinsey's blog.

A Beautiful Mess is always an inspiring place to visit - recently I'm loving these scarves & this cute shoe make-over. Also inspiring - a feature on some gorgeous ceramics, some colourful artwork & gorgeous jewellery.

I've been loving Joy's honey mustard dressing on pretty much any sort of salad - it even keeps well in the fridge if you make a big batch. Totally tempted by apple walnut cakes & espresso chocolate kisses (chocolate, coffee & shortbread! no other explanation needed).

Some interesting thoughts on not getting too caught up in the 'rules' of art.

Just because they're beautiful & cute cats need no reasons at all :)

sweet somethings...

I think I already mentioned that we've been baking lots of goodies for Christmas...

we baked lots of honey cookies - they're something my Babcia (grandma) has always baked. Ours are never quite the same, but they're pretty good, if I do say so myself...

& I do mean lots...

I also baked a pair of boiled fruit cakes - we've already ah, 'sampled' one. Actually it's pretty much all gone - this is the recipe I use - with the addition of a teaspoon of coffee, dissolved in a little hot water - I also just used a mix of the dried fruit we already had (including sultanas, cranberries, apricots & peaches)...

& I baked these rye muffins last week, to help with the cleaning.  I adapted them slightly - in a double batch I added an extra egg, some mixed spice & some chopped dried fruit - they make a very nice snack.