Homegrown vegetables? Yes peas!

I love the idea of home grown fruit and vegetables, but I question how much stamina and dedication I have and whether my fingers are actually green. We tried our luck with five tomato plants this year and the daily watering beat us.

At this year's Melbourne Flower Show I made a snap decision to take the plunge with a set of five Greensmart Pots that are self-watering. Dare I say it, an intelligent (the pot not me) way to produce vegetables that "out-perform and out-yield those grown in traditional backyard gardens." (website blurb).

As we are in Autumn and hurtling towards winter, we have planted broccoli (the alien spiral one), mini and purple cauliflowers (may as well have a pretty selection), carrots (purple and dutch), onions (red and brown), garlic, radishes, chard (multi-coloured), spinach, rhubarb, beetroot, lettuce (mixed) and a selection of herbs that we use most often - all as plants and not from seed. We have also planted some peas from seed and the bright green shoots are already peaking through - now that is exciting! Quite a bumper crop and not something I would do if the process was more manually intensive. So we shall see whether they can out-perform and out-yield backyard counterparts!

Pots are made from food-grade plastic that will withstand the Australian climate.

Dave will be building a greenhouse type structure to ensure possums don't have midnight feasts.

Add water and food on a weekly basis and the pot takes care of everything else.

Chard, radishes, lettuce and beetroot

Rhubarb (nearest pot) and broccoli and cauliflower

Herbs

Carrots and onions. Garlic isn't visible yet.

Need to exercise a bit of patience before we see broccoli or cauliflower emerge.



Check out the fat radish back left corner of the pot!

If you look closely enough (try squinting) there are three pea shoots.

Introducing Ned the red Australian Cattle Dog

Two and a half years since my last blog post... Not very good and must try harder to post updates with a better frequency. Shouldn't be too hard!

This weekend operation puppy-proof-the-house-and-garden started. Fences are being built, shoes, handbags, electrical cables and rugs all stored away and replaced by a plentiful supply of chew toys stuffed with peanut butter.

Ned is a 10 week-old red Australian Cattle Dog and I am sure when we have finished the current puppy-proofing jobs... he will find more to keep us busy.

A very affectionate little chap, Ned is settling in well. He follows Olive's every move, and everything she does... he does too. He has discovered the world of barking and thinks it's great. Sorry to the neighbourhood!

We expected Olive to take to Ned being around well and she has. Showing Ned the ropes she lets him clabber all over her but sends him head over heels every now and again to remind him of his place.

Will share more photos of Ned as he grows into his paws and skin but here are a few for now...



"He's behind me, isn't he?"





"I'll just shut my....zzzzzzzzzzz"



"I think my right side is my best side"













"Do my paws look big in this?"

To collect, or not collect, that is the question...

So... most people know that I have always wanted to collect "something" and that over the years I have found various things that I think would make a beautiful collection. But nothing ever stuck. Until recently when I found milk glass.

If you haven't heard of milk glass it is an opaque white glass which at first glance looks like porcelain. Fenton Art Glass is an American company and probably the most well known and desirable for milk glass collectors. I love trawling second hand and antique shops seeking out pieces here and there.

However, there isn't much milk glass in Australia and what there is can be overpriced compared to US sellers on sites like eBay and Etsy, and the really pretty pieces have not found their way across the Pacific.

But that is ok... I am happy window shopping on the internet. Well... I was until I spotted a couple of lovely milk glass cake plates on Etsy from Barking Sands Vintage. I ummed and ahhhed but eventually decided it was worth buying them and shipping to Australia. I bought! And I bought them both... very naughty...

Fenton Spanish Lace pedestal cake stand (picture from Barking Sands Vintage Etsy shop)

Westmoreland Petal and Ring low cake stand (picture also from Barking Sands Vintage Etsy shop )

I liked the different heights and thought the patterns looked pretty together. I was slightly nervous about shipping them all the way to Australia but my want for such pretty pieces won me over.

The box arrived and we eagerly started unwrapping... until I heard a noise. Not only was I devastated, I felt absolutely awful that something so pretty was now destroyed because I wanted it.

The good news was that the Fenton Spanish Lace plate was intact (and I love it!) The Westmoreland was destroyed beyond repair... Poor Jeni when I sent her the photos said it hurt to look at it. I know exactly what she means...

Jeni very kindly reimbursed the cost of the plate but it got me thinking it was very selfish of me to buy these plates and ship something so fragile. Should I continue collecting milk glass? And if yes, should I stick to the restricted choice in Australia or continue to buy from the States?

I haven't reached a decision yet. The reason I haven't reached a decision is because what I should do, and what I want to do, are two different things. What do you think? Do I find something else to collect? Do I stick to Australia only? Let me know what YOU would do!

In the meantime I have bought something from Pottery Barn in the US. But I am feeling less guilty (rightly or wrongly) as it is from a major retail chain that offers shipping to Australia and it is not an antique. Too cute to resist I am sharing a photo with you...

Bunny Dessert Stands from Pottery Barn

So it would seem I haven't learned the lesson yet...but let me know what you would do... and check out Jeni's Etsy shop whilst you consider my dilemma :)

And here are some pictures of the Fenton Spanish Lace cake plate with my red velvet cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook to prove it arrived and is a welcome item in my home...

Looking forward to your comments!

Take care for now.

Corrinne

xxx

Some of my favourite things... friends, bubbles, shopping and dogs.

So who can believe we are into the second week of February? I for one can't! And a short month to boot...

The last couple of weeks have included a lot of my favourite things: friends, bubbles (the drinking kind), shopping and the dogs... I did start a house project but it isn't finished so more on that another time...

Friends...
Last time I wrote we were about to set off to Adelaide for the Australia Day weekend to catch up with Hugo, Amy and their six week old son, Tom, as well as many of the usual Adelaide suspects. A great weekend which (needless to say) included lots of socialising in true Adelaide style. Dave did manage to get a couple of hours to relax at the cricket but Adelaide weekends tend to leave me needing a holiday!

Bubbles...
It seems the Adelaidians are in the know about a rather lovely and faintly pink sparkling wine - Bird in Hand. It was the offering of choice wherever we went and I thoroughly recommend it. Very drinkable indeed! The website blurb is a pretty accurate description and I know Dan Murphy's stock it in Victoria :)

Shopping...
Whilst zipping around a very hot and humid Adelaide, we managed to find our rattan chairs for our veranda at a bargain basement price (a third of the cost we had seen in Victoria.) All we need now are some footstools and a small table to rest a glass of bubbles or a G&T on. Once we have rearranged the veranda furniture I will share some photos.

Dogs...
Still on my drive to use my Canon more often, Charlie and Olive landed roles as my models for the day. Below are a few "portraits" to share with you. I may be biased but Charlie is a very handsome boy and Olive a very pretty girl. They are great models and I could take pictures of them all day...

Have a good week everyone and until next time...

... take care!

Corrinne

Charlie...

Olive...

The bake and make continues!

So what did everyone get up to this weekend?

I decided to have another productive weekend and continue my focus on baking and making things. I did say I would tackle bears this weekend but... well I am easily distracted and didn't take the cover off the sewing machine.

Baking...
I am still in love with my Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook so picked another yummy recipe from that - the lemon loaf. Oh my! Delicious! Reminds me of the lemon cake Lynne used to make years ago as it has a lemony syrup that you pour over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. I love that extra lemony sugar hit so this one is a winner for me and will definitely be baked again it at some point.

Making...
I got a bee in my bonnet about making something of a torn sheet (a victim of Olive practising her digging skills on our bed) that I couldn't quite bring myself to throw out. I think I must be watching too much Lifestyle Channel and reading too many home focused blogs and am getting a bit thrifty!

I took inspiration from Pinterest (that's a link to my board if you are on Pinterest and want to follow me and a button at the bottom of this post) and made something of my own - a wreath. Here were my inspiration images:

French ticking Christmas wreath and the original blog is Confessions of a Plate Addict
Fabric flower tutorial and the original blog for this one is Emily's Little World

I can hear some of you asking "So what is it for?" I don't know! It's a wall decoration of sorts which as we still don't have much on our walls beyond paint is a welcome homely touch. Super easy, satisfying and cheap. I spent $9 on the contrasting flowers and tie and used an old cardboard box as the wreath structure which I wrapped with 2 inch strips from the queen size fitted sheet - it took most of the sheet as I wanted to get a padded effect.

I am really pleased to have made something of the sheet, had a lot of fun learning to use a glue gun for the first time. Also very happy to find another method for making things that doesn't involve a sewing machine. I have had challenges fixing the bows to my bears so maybe hot glue will come to the rescue... but I need to check I can use it on children's toys first.

Photos for both below as I continue to try my hand at product photography. This time I played with Picasa which is Google's photo editing program.

It is Australia Day on Thursday (think barbecues, Lammingtons, Pavlovas and icy cold beer) and so we are off to Adelaide Wednesday night for a long weekend and to catch up with friends (and I think Dave wants a day to sneak off to the cricket too) while Allie house and dogs sits for us (thank you Allie!) So no baking for me next weekend but Dave has been making great progress with painting the house so we may even be able to reveal a photo or two soon!

I hope everyone has a lovely week ahead.

Corrinne

Lemon Loaf

Yum! I definitely recommend trying this...

Home made wreath using an old bed sheet and some quilters fat quarters

If I can make this... anyone can...

A drop of creativity and a dollop of satisfaction

It's rare to have a weekend without deadlines or events and so this weekend I decided I would do three things... Three felt like a good number that I could set my mind to happily and achieve - any longer it would become a list of chores!

My list:
1) Bake (it has been a while since my Kitchen Aid has seen the light of day)
2) Dust off my Canon and get creative (these days I favour the quick snap on the iphone rather than lugging my beloved camera everywhere)
3) Push on with knitting my baby alpaca wool throw (I will finish it!)

Even better, two of the three could be combined. (No I wouldn't be knitting cupcake cases or oven gloves.)

The result? Yummy strawberry cheesecake brownies from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook snapped using my Canon and edited using Instagram a new app I have downloaded for all things "i" in our home.

I am surprisingly pleased with both the baking and the photos. Of course my attempt looks quite different to the cheesecake brownies offered at the London-based bakery because I didn't whip the cream enough. But, I think I prefer the way the cream on mine oozes over the cake :)

Who knows? I might even do this all over again next weekend but I can hear my bears calling for attention.

This last photo was taken with my iphone. A great reminder that an iphone cannot replace a Canon!

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Why dog walking is not a chore...

... At least not when it is a beautiful summer evening!

The reserve just across the road from us

Mount Eliza is full of aliums... so pretty

Dappled light...

The perfect end to a stroll with the dogs...

Seeing something through to the end

I am notorious for starting projects and not finishing them. Not because they become too difficult or I reach a boredom threshold but, like a magpie with a shiny penny, another project catches my attention and off I go in a new direction.

The lovely baby alpaca wool throw I started knitting three years ago is a case in point. But today I found a renewed determination to finish it. The wool is so soft and wonderful for a chilly night that it would be a shame to leave it loitering in a carrier bag for yet another winter. And let's not forget all the hours I have spent over the three years knitting long row after long row!

So I am 27 balls of wool down. 13 to go and counting...

It will be done...

Trying to get started

I follow a number of blogs, mostly for inspiration about home and crafts, and so it got me thinking that I should start a blog for Dave, Charlie, Olive and me. I hope it will be a way for us to keep friends and family up to date with our news and share some of our house renovation progress, antics from the dogs and my dabbling with crafts.

I can't promise that I will post with any regularity but I will do my best to to post little and often.

Lots of love
Dave, Corrinne, Charlie and Olive
xxxx