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busy, busy

May 6, 2010 By corrie 10 Comments

long time, no blog post! I have been flat out here this week and here is just a taste of my week…

* Papercraft bar at S&C. I hear it’s very popular and running smoothly thanks to my ever so helpful team down there. My goodness it has involved a lot of emails with everyone involved and has given me a taste of craft shows! I’ll be at the Sydney show in August for all 5 days and be a total pro by then.

* Notebook Magazine’s The Craft Room! I am all packed and ready to go for my first sewing class tonight and can’t wait, the July timetable is done and looking fabulous. This is the gorgeous project you get to make in jewellery making in July, picture courtesy of Etelage and I’ll be bringing my mum along to this one with me….

*application approved for Handmade Living…woohoo now to actually make the projects and photograph them beautifully, I’ll be using my sister and keira as models I think.

* School tour and information morning for Keira where I started crying when kindergarten started singing ‘If I were a butterfly’…it just brought back so many memories of when we used to sing that at school combined with the realisation that my big baby goes to school next year…’and if I were a fuzzy wuzzy bear’……

*twins that climb out of the pram while it is moving and want to push the pram instead of sit inside of it. When they are not doing this they are wrestling each other and laughing hysterically at whoever gets knocked down first. No injuries….yet but thank goodness they love to play with each other

* growing a baby….I am now 16 weeks and have no idea where the time has gone, 3 weeks till I find out if its a boy or girl and can someone please tell keira it might be a boy! She’s argueing with me over it…

* crocheting hats after we almost sold out at Mathilda’s and I have Handmade Canberra, Mathilda’s Canberra and Mathilda’s Lane Cove in august to prepare for too

* ordering supplies for 60 kits for sew it together next week!

* new shoes for everyone for winter and a pair of very comfy silver birkenstocks for mummy! ballet flats just aren’t going to contain my expanding feet.

and the usual snotty noses, poo poo nappies, meals to cook, toys to pack away, floors to sweep and wash, clothes to wash and dry (this is now done at night time in the washer and dryer just to get it done), orders to get out the door and kiss my husband goodbye in the morning! But you know what… I’m loving it! Everyone is happy at home, things are getting done and so I can’t complain…..but this Sunday we have a special mothers day for my own mum at a beautiful waterfront restaurant and I can’t wait to just relax!

Filed Under: everything else

crochet with me

May 4, 2010 By corrie 12 Comments

Last week I found out that our very talented crochet teacher Sarah London sadly needs an operation and isn’t teaching for Notebook in May…..most of our ladies are transferring out to Sarah’s July classes and some are staying on with me this Saturday 8th May 9am – noon.

if you’d love to learn how to crochet a granny square, flowers and hats for little ones then come along! book here and just make sure you book for this saturday morning or the 22nd May and I’ll see you there!!!!!!! hopefully Sarah’s kits make it in time or I’ll be doing a wool run on Friday! If you want to book with Sarah then just sit tight and July classes are coming soon……

Filed Under: crochet, notebook magazine

we love mathilda’s lane cove

May 2, 2010 By corrie 11 Comments

oh my feet! they are puffy and sore but oh what a great day we had today, our best market so far and the stock was flying out the door! No time for toilet breaks but I did manage enough time to sneak a few cupcakes and muesli bars in my mouth behind the table.

I was still cutting some last minute fabrics at 5.30am this morning but it was worth it…lots of fabric, dresses, hats, orders for hats, lots of chatting to customers and all in all a lovely day.

We had a nice big space which was great so we could spread out and I wish I’d taken some photos of when people were bustling around trying to get in to the front of the table to have a look! Next stop is Handmade Canberra on 5th June and Mathilda’s Canberra 26th June, so Canberra ladies I’ll see you there. In the meantime I’m off to the shops to invest in some very comfy shoes for my ~~fat~~ pregnant feet which seem to be expanding.

Filed Under: markets

first classes

May 1, 2010 By corrie 6 Comments

after months of talking about it…today was the first day of Notebook Magazine’s The Craft Room! Here is a sneak peek into our very first class, cake decorating with Yogi of Sweet Dreams Cakes…

After sitting through 2 of yogi’s classes today I have some lovely ideas for Keira’s birthday cake and we were amazed by how quickly everyone picked it up! Nothing traditional about this class, no spending hours on one fondant flower. And here is Lisa’s hand printing class which I really wanted to join as the ladies carved their own stamps…I’m thinking russian dolls, cupcakes and cute little birds so we’ll have to run this class again.

I have so many photos to share but someone has to start packing for Mathilda’s now (yes it’s 8pm and bed is calling but I still have 10 flowers to attach to hats, fabric to cut and package and bags to pack…..) so I’ll be back tomorrow with more photos of our great day.

Filed Under: cake decorating, notebook magazine

berry blondies

April 30, 2010 By corrie 3 Comments

after success with the brownies last night I decided to play around with my blondie recipe….another winner! And since I’m out of the house most of the weekend I don’t expect these to last long with retro daddy in the kitchen…..

300g white chocolate melts
100g butter
2 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup flour (I used plain but SR will give you a lighter brownie)
1/2 cup frozen berries

melt butter and chocolate over low heat and transfer to bowl. Gently stir in sugar, then eggs then sifted flour stirring gently after each addition then add your berries and combine. Pour into lined square cake tin and bake in 180 degree oven for 30-35 minutes and a knife comes out clean. Cool slightly, slice and serve.

This was perfect with a cup of peppermint tea and two episodes of Big love! what a night….

Filed Under: baking, recipe

my chocolate raspberry brownies

April 29, 2010 By corrie 20 Comments

oh my goodness! I didn’t think my brownies could get any better….but they just have!I bought all the ingredients to try a new cookie recipe and then it dawned on me…what if I put raspberries in my brownie recipe! My trusty, old faithful, been making it for years brownie recipe……

200g dark cooking chocolate
100g butter
2 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
2/3 cup SR flour
1/3 -1/2 cup raspberries

melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Transfer to a large bowl and add in sugar, eggs and sifted flour gently mixing after you add each ingredient. Gently stir in raspberries (no need to defrost) and pour into lined square tin. Bake for 30-35 minutes in 180 oven. A knife should come out clean (unless you dip it straight in a berry of course) but you want them looking crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.

I should point out that I DID have enough ingredients for 2 batches but I had the most shocking day with 2 huge dramas on my Notebook projects that 1/2 a block of chocolate was eaten as I sat solving my problems…because as you all know ladies….chocolate solves everything! Chocolate doesn’t equal love but it sure does help solve your problems….and I’m happy to say my problems are almost solved……

Filed Under: baking, chocolate, recipe

knitting for beginners

April 27, 2010 By corrie 3 Comments

30 stitches scarf
Originally uploaded by miss_fee

who knew that garter stitch could look so cool! With the official launch of classes for Notebook Magazine’s The Craft Room happening this Saturday (oh my goodness where has the time gone) here is a sneak peek of one of the projects you can make in beginners knitting.

I just love it……..and your teacher, well she only knitted her own wedding dress from Vogue knitting…..and it was stunning. To book your place just go here…..

Filed Under: everything else, knitting

cute book

April 26, 2010 By corrie 21 Comments

I heart macarons…..ok so we call them macaroons here but tell me, is this not the sweetest book cover you have ever seen ???? I put this back at the newsagency yesterday but couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the day….

step by step pictures, umpteen flavours of macaroon and then lots of different fillings, pretty pictures…oh so much to love! I have fond memories of eating these in paris when retro daddy was working there for a few years….I’d stock up on them for the eurostar trip home back to london! Oh so sweet and light and delicious!!!! I think this will be my mothers day gift to myself!

EDITED TO ADD on my morning shop I found the AWW book on macaroons and cookies…not nearly as many recipes but I find AWW recipes foolproof so it came home with me!

Filed Under: everything else

long time no dress

April 26, 2010 By corrie 22 Comments

Yes, it has been a long time between dresses for my big miss! Mind you with the way she poses these days who’s looking at the dress….

I had seen this pattern (simplicity 3510) on posie gets cozy and knew I had to make it, as luck would have it SL had it in stock (please note that this does not always happen to me). Great pattern, lots of variations and I love the little pin tuck detail on the front, back and sleeves.

I decided to use a simple fabric to do a first version because little diva (otherwise known as keira) has been rejecting my outfits each morning so I thought keep it simple to see how she likes it. Next time I’ll go for something a bit more flashy and also in a darker colour for winter too.

So this is a pink gingham from the Darla fabric range by Tanya Whelan (thanks Wynona for selling me some as Darla is one of my favourite ranges)

I will definitely be making this up again as it was easy, pretty and Keira adores it. That’s all I need in my sewing these days.

Filed Under: sewing

zucchini and feta pancakes…

April 25, 2010 By corrie 17 Comments

I made these last year from a moosewood cookbook….and that went back to the library and did I write down the recipe, oh nooooooooo! So I winged it and we had sucess as I remembered it was 4 zucchini’s and 4 eggs. So here goes:

4 zucchini’s grated
4 eggs separated
100g feta crumbled (I love danish feta all chopped up)
1/2 cup flour
1-2Tbsp finely diced red onion
salt and pepper to season
butter to fry pancakes in
lemon and mint to serve

– Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form and gently fold into mixture of grated zucchini’s, feta, egg yolks, flour, red onion and then season.
– In a frypan melt a Tbsp of butter and drop in mixture ( I use a heaped tablespoon) and fry in batches. Turn over after a few minutes and cook on other side. Keep adding a bit more butter when necessary to your pan as you are frying them up.
– Serve with mint leaves and lemon juice. I think natural yoghurt would also be lovely. Be warned that these will go quickly!

Filed Under: cooking, recipe

sweet potato and feta frittata

April 25, 2010 By corrie Leave a Comment

1 sweet potato
1/2 cup peas
8 eggs
100g feta cubed
1/2 red onion slice
grated cheese or cheese slices on top

– Peel, cube and steam sweet potato and add to mixture of eggs, feta, peas and season well.
– Pour into lined square baking tin and top with red onion and cheese
– Bake for 20 minutes in 200 degree oven. Slice and serve…..we love ours with salad and bread and I make frittata almost every week!

Filed Under: cooking, recipe

zucchini and feta pancakes

April 25, 2010 By corrie Leave a Comment

I made these last year from a moosewood cookbook….and that went back to the library and did I write down the recipe, oh nooooooooo! So I winged it as I remembered it was 4 zucchini’s and 4 eggs. These disappeared very quickly from the plate and this week I’m going to try pea and feta. So here goes

4 zucchini’s grated
4 eggs separated
1/2 cup flour
1-2Tbsp finely diced red onion
salt and pepper to season
butter to fry pancakes in
lemon and mint to serve

– Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form and gently fold into mixture of grated zucchini’s, egg yolks, flour, red onion and then season.
– In a frypan melt a Tbsp of butter and drop in mixture ( I use a heaped tablespoon) and fry in batches. Turn over after a few minutes and cook on other side.
– Serve with mint leaves and lemon juice. I think natural yoghurt would also be good.

The best thing about this recipe is that my twinnies although they love vegies wouldn’t eat lots of zucchini but this recipe packs 4 in! That makes it a winner!

Filed Under: cooking, recipe

I do love to shop

April 24, 2010 By corrie 14 Comments

I do love shopping and dressing my little ones up and making them all look beautiful! If I had the time I’d love to sew more clothes for them but there isn’t much of that time around here at the moment! So when I heard gymboree opened it’s first australian store I was there in a flash to get some super cute outfits. I’m a huge fan of the complete outfit…..

All the little boys clothes are so preppy just how I like them with argyle sweaters and vests, navy puffer jackets, rugby shirts, chino’s, cords and button down shirts….

and for my girls lots of pretty pinks with matching leggings, tights and hair clips as well as skirts and cardigans!

I was in heaven and I thought I was very restrained but the ladies behind the counter seemed impressed with the amount I was buying……I do have 3 little people to dress and maybe its a good thing for the family budget that the store is on the other side of Sydney….Parramatta Westfield to be exact and I hadn’t been out there since my OLMC days but it was well worth the trip…I’m thinking once a month trips would be acceptable!

Filed Under: everything else

bakes and braids

April 23, 2010 By corrie 8 Comments

Who needs cookbooks when you have blogs!!!!! I think Liss is my new mealplanner! Tonight I decided to try her creamy tuna tortellini bake….another winner! It’s like tuna macaroni but instead of regular pasta you use tortellini (I used spinach and ricotta agnoletti) and add leek and mushroom and then lastly top with breadcrumbs as well as cheese! It was delicious, everyone ate it all up and loved it! I actually used more pasta than the recipe so mine isn’t looking as creamy as Liss’ version but it was still beautiful!

And totally unrelated to dinner, I’ve also decided I need to get a bit fancier with Keira’s hair. Here is my first attempt at a braid over the top….its not perfect but she loves it, in fact you need to drag her away from the mirror. At the moment she’s a single lady….you know ‘all the single ladies, all the single ladies’ and is telling me we need to buy her a single ladies dress so she can really be one…..hilarious!

If you need some hair inspiration I’ve found some pretty cute hair blogs…..now be warned that some are totally OTT with ribbon and stuff going every which way but the basic braids, ponytails and updo’s are gorgeous.

Filed Under: cooking, recipe

heather ross on spoonflower

April 22, 2010 By corrie 7 Comments

I love heather! Well I love both heather’s (ross & bailey). And yes I will be stocking Far Far Away II….I can’t wait! Anyway, about a fortnight ago I found out I could get Heather Ross on spoonflower and I was there straight away. What’s not to love…cute little gnomes

and cute little mushrooms. You get to pick the colour, the length and don’t have to pay a small fortune on ebay or etsy for a teeny tiny piece of it.

These will go in my special fabric tub (yes, I have one reserved for little bits of my very special fabrics) and be used in some quilts for my girls….but now I think some need more…..you know to really fill out the quilts!

Filed Under: fabric, heather ross