Photo Wall Madness

I LOVE photo walls. I think i get it from my mother, who created huge photo walls long before they were fashionable. In my family home she had photos lining the walls on either side of the hallway as you entered the house. On one side were photos of her family through the generations, and on the other side my fathers. It gave me a lovely sense of family heritage; I loved pouring over the photos, looking at the different clothing and stern faces.


In the lounge room there was a second photo wall filled with photos of our immediate family.


I knew that when i had my own home i too would have a photo wall feature. When we moved in it was one of my first decorating projects. I brought two packs of frames from Target at 50% off and got to work.



I find the hardest part of the wall is getting the right balance of photographs, with everyone that you want represented. I had a half finished wall up for a while until i had found the last key photographs for the wall.



Through the school holidays i got to work on my wedding photo wall. This one was to take pride of place on the wall near the kitchen, off from the hall, leading into the lounge room. I had spent a while trying to work out how many frames i would need, what colour etc. However one huge concern was the cost of frames, with me realising that even with cheap frames it was going to most likely cost about $150 - $200. Cue my Mother, who i remembered had a huge stack of unused frames last time i was over. A quick phone call later and i had secured the unused frames.

My only glitch was that some of the frames were black. Now black frames are lovely, but i don't really use black frames in my house, as the colour scheme is mostly white, creams and mint green. I did not think these would look nice against my pale green wall. Luckily, as fate would have it, i also remembered that the previous owner of the house had left tins of paint in the garage. After a dig i found white paint.


My next photo wall project had begun...

Fluffy ANZAC morning omlette

My husband and i woke early on ANZAC Day. We had a busy day ahead of us, with two birthday celebrations to go to.

Earlier in the week i had made my own super fluffy omelette and had been keen see if i could replicate it. It seemed a miracle that i had managed to make a successful omelette, given that all previous attempts has been a dismal failure, with me turning it into a scrambled egg mixture instead.

However i used my old faithful Donna Hay cookbook this time around, and my wonderful KitchenAid!

Lo and Behold, beautiful fluffy golden omelette!

I love the ceremony of breakfast, and like to set myself up with a tea cup, a pot of coffee or tea, and my milk jug. There is something really wonderful about starting a weekend with a wholesome lazy breakfast.

Fluffy Omelette for two

4 eggs - Separated

1/2 cup milk (I used skim)

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

salt & pepper to taste

baby spinach

deli ham

1. Place yolk, milk, cheese, salt & pepper in a bowl and mix to combine.
2. Put egg whites in a clean bowl, whisk until soft peaks form
3. Fold through yolk mixture
4. Heat fry pan in a non stick fry pan over medium heat ( i used a wok! worked just as good and gave me room to flip). Spray pan with oil
5. Pour mixture into fry pan, turn heat down to low.
6. Put any ingredients on top (i added spinach leaves, ham and extra sliced cheese)
7. Cook for 10 minutes until the base is golden. (I also put a glass lid on over the top to help steam the spinach a bit)
8. Fold omelette in half onto itself. Carefully slide out of pan onto plate,

It is beautiful served with hot buttered toast!

It was a wonderful start to the day, and provided great sustenance that kept us going through the birthday celebrations. This was the first time in my memory that i had been out of the house on ANZAC Day. My parents had always spent the morning watching the march until the couldn't sit for any longer, then they would do some work around the house, before heading back in for more march viewing. As i grew up i followed much the same practice.

Being a history teacher I think I feel the reverence for the day all the more deeply. I often think back to the images that i have seen over and again of the soldiers of Gallipoli, and remember all the lives lost within such a small patch of ground.

I also take a moment to reflect on how the day has changed. Many historians argue that the true ANZAC legend is about the dead soldiers, not the living left behind. Whilst i think this was certainly true in the beginning i would acknowledge that it has become more than this. I know that when I ask my own students what the day means they often refer to all wars and how it is about remembrance for all lives lost for their freedom, but also to respect all those living that have also fought. I like this shift and I think it is the key to the day continuing on for generations to come, as a reminder to us all for the heavy price of freedom, and the cost of war. After all - Lest We Forget.

Donna Hay - Spicy Pumpkin soup

I thought seeing as this was originally meant to be a food blog i should really post some food item.



Now that the cold weather is starting to kick in i have been turning to my winer warmer dinners, soups, stews, curries and so on. For me the classic winter warmer is pumpkin soup. My husband and i were out shopping the other day and decided to stop for lunch at the food court. We were hungry but didn't want anything too heavy or junky. We spied a sign at Sumo Salad advertising their soup and roll/wrap deal. It was the perfect solution. I in particular liked this option because i always have a case of wanting a bit of everything, so being able to have a soup AND a choice of a roll was great.



I chose the chicken and corn soup and a ham and pesto roll, while my husband chose pumpkin soup and a chicken schnitzel wrap. Eating our soup got us talking about how much we both loved pumpkin soup, and so i put making a pot on my to do list!



Fast forward to last night, when i finally made the said soup. I had seen a curry pumpkin soup recipe in one of my Donna Hay books that i had been wanting to try. I is basically a normal pumpkin soup recipe but with a bit of red curry paste and coconut milk added.



I didn't have red curry, so i used green instead, and i also used low fat coconut milk. If you want an even lower fat option you could also use coconut evaporated milk.



The resulting soup was full of flavour with a yummy creamy spicyness... mmmmm. Leftovers went in the freezer and the recipe has been marked for a do over!



Spicy Pumpkin Soup



1 TBLS Green Curry (Original recipe said red)

1 kg Pumpkin - Peeled and Chopped (I used 1 small butternut, and also added a carrot and sweet potato)

4 cups chicken or Vegetable stock

1.5 cups Coconut Milk

1 Chilli (optional)



1) Fry the curry in the pan for 1 minute

2) Add the stock and pumpkin, stir. Put a lit on and let it cook for approx 6 minutes or until soft

3) Blend until smooth (either in a processor or with a stick blender)

4) Add coconut milk, stir

5) Sprinkle optional chilli on top.



I made the soup up to step 3, blended in the processor thn put it in the fride ready for dinner that night. Then i just poured the contents into a pot, added the milk and reheated it. Add some toast or croutons and enjoy!

After the wedding i have experienced post wedding blues. I just loved the creative outlet that planning the wedding allowed me. I had thoroughly enjoyed researching, looking at wedding blogs for inspiration and designing bits and pieces.



I have now focussed that creative outlet on our house. I love our little home, and have always been delighted that we brought it. It had been freshly painted subtle shades of green and cream. It had quite a new kitchen, a new bathroom, and imber decking outside. Initially i thought that it is the kind of home that i won't have to do anything to... until i started to get bored.



I have a long list a little jobs i want to do around the house, things to imprint my taste and style on the home. The list incudes

• Extend the pergola to the second part of the decking (the current pergola only covers the first half)


• Build seating around the perimiter of the first half of the pergola


• Build a pergola for the concrete clab in the corner of the yard


• Turn the corner of the yard into a BBQ cooking area with an outdoor kitchen


• Pave both sides of the house to minimise the dirt that our dog tracks onto the decking


• Buy awnings for the back windows and from bedroom windows


• Replace ugly pink curtains in bedroom and Entertainment room


• Decorate entertainment room (currently the 'this and that' room)


• Take bookshelves from Mum's and put in recreation room


• Print, frame and hang wedding photos wall


• Buy a sideboard to put pretty decorative items on


• Landscape the from garden (On the way in doing this after buying 100 Tulip bulbs online

I know that this looks like quite the list, but some items are long term plans, while others are more immediate.

This is what i have in mind for the outdoor Kitchen, althought without all the sandstone, and the roofing will most likely be colourbond.

The only obstacle to these grand plans.... money. Sigh....

Alright so i am a lousy blogger. I am the type of blogger that i hate... the blogger that never really blogs. But i am persisting.

My last post was about preparing for my wedding. Well the weding is long gone now. It was a fabulous day (doesn't every bride say that?) with everything going very well. Although it is so true when they say the day goes fast! It wasn't until we got up to exchanging the rings that i really realised what was happening, and then i thought 'Oh my god! Hang on! It's nearly over!'.

My hairdresser and florist both out did themselves with their wonderful creations. I was delighted. Our reception venue (The Colebee Centre) was also absolutely outstanding. They looked after our every need, nothing was too much trouble.

It was truly the best day of my life!

I have settled into married life very happily. It is lovely to be Mrs X (Yes, that is actally my initial!).

More wedding stuff!

Ok so, time for some more wedding madness. Things are really revving up now it is only 5 days until the wedding. Woot Woot! We have meetings wit the reception, last minute details to attend to etc etc.

There have been a few dramas, namely the fact that we are still to pick up the Groomsmen's pants, which are still to be altered, my sister's Bridesmaid dress has also offered a series of dramas with the alterations. But i am holding out hope that it will all be sorted, AND SOON!





These are my OOS fans. I am really happy with how they turned out. I have the blossom motif on there, along with info about each member of the bridal party. I am always curious as to who are th people in a bridal party, and WHY they are chosen. So i decided it would be nice to explain why each person is so important to us.


I have to take more photos of other bits and pieces.

I thought i should also share the WONDERFUL handiwork of Myra Kim from her etsy shop Twigs and Honey. She is truley AMAZING. I sent her a piccie of my wedding dress and she made this stunning headpiece. The colours in it are PERFECT.




A close up of the hairpiece


She also made my bridesmaids lovely pieces. I can't wait to see how they will look in their
hair!

I am in love with etsy (for those who are unfamiliar, Etsy.com is a place where you can buy, or sell, all handmade or vintage items. Everything must be handmade or vintage), everything in this place is just beautful. I can't wait til i have a child i can buy all the beautiful children's clothing for, and i am always meaning to but some of the lovely unique pieces on there. The only problem is that it is all so lovely that i can't ever settle on anything to buy!

Let me know your favourite etsy supplier!

Bad Bad Blogger!

Ok, so i am a lousy blogger! I started the blog at the craziest time of my life, with the end of the school year, christmas, New Year AND my upcoming wedding. I am now less than a week away from my wedding, and have been making bits and pieces for the day.

I thought i would share some of my handiwork. It's my way of gaining forgiveness of my (as yet) non existant readers!!!

These are my DIY invites. I made the design myself, which i was very proud of! I brought an old version of Photoshop on ebay, and did some self taught fiddling. I then found some 'stamps' in patterns i liked. I blended two stamps together to come up with my design, then recoloured it in my theme colours (which are pale green, pale blue, Latte and Gold). I was lucky enough to come across some GORGEOUS japanese paper that matched my design. I also made the pocket, with the help of some templates at Mirkwood designs, which i modified.

These are our placecards. You may think it's a little odd that i have a chicken bone on there, but let me explain. This is a bit of a family traditon. When my parents were married in the early 70's they had wishbones as their bonboniere (aparently it was popular back then). In those days they didn't have plastic ones, so there was alot of chicken eating to be done!

When my parents had us kids, my dad decided that he would take the hassle out of collecting chicken bones, and started keepng them. Except he didn't let my mother and us kids in on this, so while he thought my mother had been taking the dried bones and putting them away, we had been gleefully breaking them!

Fastforward many years later when my Father discovered the mishap. He explained the story and we stopped breaking the wishbones and left him to collect them (mind you neither myself or my siblings were overly thrilled at the idea of using real chicken bones at our wedding!).

However there is another twist to the story. I decided i would use the wishbones in my wedding on the placecards. My father carefully counted out the right amount of bones, washed them, dried them, and painted them... only to come outside a few hours later to collect them to find only one wishbone, but a very satisfied looking dog nearby! So now we have to make sure we have enough bones for my sisters wedding in may, and re did my bones.

Now the image uploader isn't working, so i will come back later and add more bits and pieces!
items will include
- The order of service in the shape of a fan
- My Biccie jars for my biccie buffet