My birthday invites

I have a special birthday coming up so have decided to have a bit of a party!
As we have quite a lot of family and friends that live away from us I designed some 'Save the Date' cards and sent them out earlier in the year.

I then created some invites to match the 'Save the Date' theme and they went out a few weeks ago. I've blurred out appropriate details. It was fun desigining my own invites.

 

Lovely rural setting

Well, I failed the photoaday challenge, but I did make it to day 15 without a break!

It was one of my sisters birthdays on the weekend and a lunch was organised for Sunday for anyone who could get there so I decided to go down by myself for the weekend.

I stayed with my youngest sister Bronny and had a nice time, just chilling and we watched 'Eat Pray Love' on Saturday night. I hadn't seen it.

Bronny has never been one to make desserts, let alone cakes, so we got out her newly purchased Sunbeam mixer and made a sponge for our sisters birthday on Sunday.
As you can see in the picture she is looking very proud of her/our efforts! I posted this photo on Facebook and we had a few comments asking if it was the cake they made on Masterchef! It wasn't but apparently they made one that looked like ours. It was filled with strawberry jam, whipped cream and strawberries and topped with chocolate/coffee icing.

 

I just looked up what the word was for photoaday and it was 'Fav photo you've ever taken'...that was an easy one.

 Above: We holidayed in Noosa a few years back and travelling to the Eumundi Markets on one of the days we passed this beautiful house. On the way home we stopped so I could get a photo of it as I loved it so much. This was quite a way off the road but I zoomed in as much as I could. If anyone reading this blog knows who owns it, I'd love to go back one day and have a cuppa with them on their verandah!!

I also had the photo enlarged and framed in one of the calendar frames. 

Photoaday...June 14

Today's word...Time

I love this TIME of the day...off with the work clothes and boots and on with the ugg boots and trackies!  Time also to stoke the fire, make tea and take up residence in my recliner with hubby close by to enjoy a cosy night of TV watching, while surfing on my ipad and perhaps picking up the knitting needles.

 

This book arrived in the mail today....it is the second book in the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy. I wasn't expecting it to be available until November, so it was a surprise when a friend told me she had seen it in a shop. You can read an excerpt from it here.

 

Above: This was the first book...I really enjoyed it and it wasn't until I got to the end of it that it mentioned book 2 wouldn't be available until late 2012!!  

Art

Photoaday...June 13

Today's word is Art

One of my sisters goes to an art class and is learning to work with pastels. This was one of her first pieces of work in progress. It turned out really good but I don't have a photo of the finished piece!

 

And the artist herself...my sister Bronny.

Photoaday...June 12

Today's word...From a low angle

I struggled with getting a shot for this day's photo challenge. This was the best I could do. You can see we have a compacted straw roof in our family room...very 70's, but I don't mind it.

Photoaday...June 11

Word for the day....Door

This isn't our door, but I really like them!
 

Photoaday...June 10

Word for the day...Best part of your weekend

 

Sharing pre-dinner drinks and nibblies at our place with a group of friends before we headed out for a meal together.

New knitting project

While having a coffee with a friend during the week she was showing me something she had knitted and it got me inspired to get my knitting needles out and make one too. I won't reveal what it is as yet, but I picked out my coloured wool yesterday afternoon and started on it last night...so much fun!

Photoaday Challenge...June 9

Today's word is 'Your view today'

This was taken from our family room, looking out into our back yard. It's a very cold winter's morning and there's not much to see at the moment. The large Claret Ash tree has just finished loosing all it's leaves, I pruned the vine off from the verandah last weekend and the garden down the back is in it's winter mode so not too many things flowering.

Photoaday...June 8

Today's word - 6 o'clock

At 6am I am usually just starting to wake up.
At 6pm I'm usually in my kitchen, dishing out tea and starting to wind down for the day.

Photoaday...June 7

Word of the day...Drink

"Come and share a pot of tea. My home is warm and my friendship’s free"
Emilie Barnes

We've always had an 'open house' policy at our house...meaning friends, family, aquaintances are welcome to call in and have a cuppa without making prior arrangements. Real friends are those who don't care if you have dishes in the sink or if your haven't dusted for a while, but who come to share a part of their day with you.

 

For the record...I don't drink tea but coffee or hot chocolate is my choice of a hot bevvy!

 

Photoaday...June 6

Today's word...Hat

With the celebrations of the Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations I thought it appropriate to show one of her hats. I love the way the Queen dresses, it's always very well co-ordinated, stylish and suited to her age.

I found this youtube video which shows many of her hats over the years...enjoy!

Photoaday...June 5

Today's word...Sign

 

Knitting Noodles...I love this!

Photoaday...June 4

Today's word is 'Close-up'

It's the beginning of Winter here in Australia, so our fire has been going non stop for a few weeks. I love the even warmth the fire gives to our home.

"Hot coffee and cold winter mornings are two of the best
soul mates who ever did find each other."  ~Terri Guillemets

 

Photoaday...June 3

 

On Your Plate

 

 

I had a few bananas in the fruit bowl that were going brown, so made a banana cake yesterday.

Photo a Day and Home made Pasties

In the June Photo a Day challenge the word is 'Empty'.

It was quite simple for me to think of a photo for that subject as I unpacked an electrical item yesterday which of course left an 'empty' box.

The electrical item was this

As I have never had a coffee machine before I didn't want to get an expensive one and then find that I didn't use it. So I read a lot of reviews on line for different types of machines and the Sunbeam Piccolo Espresso had lots of good feedback, so it got delivered yesterday.

It is quite easy to use and clean but will take a bit of practice to get it tasting just right. I purchased a tin of the Amanti brand of ground coffee which our Bakery uses. So as you can imagine there is a bit of coffee drinking (and throwing out!!) happening at the moment.

Home made Pasties

During winter I usually make quite a few batches of pasty slice that I put away in the freezer. Growing up in my family Mum would regularly make 'soup and pasties' during winter on Saturdays. It was lovely nutritious food that was enjoyed on a Saturday night after our various sports that was played during the day. We would quite often eat tea in front of the TV, watching footy on a Saturday night which was a treat as meals were usually eaten at the table.

 Above: In a big container I mix up about a kilo of premium mince, approx 3 each of shredded carrots and potatos, a couple of cups of shredded pumpkin and 1 onion and then add a good dash of worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce along with 2 eggs so that it mixes to a nice moist consistency.

Above: I use a packet of Puff pastry and spread the mix out as above onto one sheet, the roll over. Once rolled, pinch the ends together to seal it, then repeat with the other sheets.

Above: Place the slices onto baking trays and brush with a little milk.
Pop into a moderate over until golden brown.

Above: I sometimes sprinkle them with toasted sesame seeds.

Well, in keeping my family tradition alive, I've made soup today and might just pull out a couple of pasty slices as the footy will be on over tea time tonight!

I have also made a banana cake, so tea will be followed by that and no doubt a coffee!

Hope you have an enjoyable weekend.

Tomorrow's photo subject is 'On your plate'...see you then.