Grateful for...

1. Super shoe sales...yes, superficial as that might be, I love a good shoe sale. And I love buying shoes at such shoe sales..oh yes!

2. Toddler talk...so, so cute! Even when Levi is being grumpy and a little bit naughty, I really struggle to keep a straight face...he's just too adorable, with his little words and that sparkle in his eyes.

3. Time to concentrate on my health and well-being - time-out at the gym is not only physically helping me, but mentally too and I am so appreciative of the support of my family and friends too, helping me get there regularly.

4. Good reports...my two schoolies did fantastically on their reports this semester which makes me so proud of them, and also grateful for children who love school - it makes life a lot easier when they enjoy school.

Linking up with Maxabella over at Kidspot, celebrating two years of 'Grateful for' posts - well done Bron!

xx

Pin It! Make It! : Buttermilk Cookies

Sometimes what I make is dictated by what I need to use up in the fridge or cupboard, which is what happened today.

I had buttermilk, I needed to use up my buttermilk so I jumped onto Pinterest and had a look around and came across these cookies....funnily enough, called 'Buttermilk Cookies'..

A simple recipe.
A rustic, homemade looking cookie resulted.

And gobbled up, they will be (a little bit of yoda talk there, hey? he he..my man's SW influence must be rubbing off :-P)..

Pinned here.
Original recipe and pin from YumSugar.
(just a small note : this is an american recipe which calls for 1 1/2 sticks of butter which actually equals approx 170g butter - just FYI)

xx

Pin It! Make It! : Personalised Date Poster

I've seen a couple of different versions of this personalised date poster around Pinterest, and I like the sentiment behind it, the important dates in your history, the story it tells..

And I had this cute little red frame sitting all empty, just waiting to be filled with something sweet..

So I had a go at doing one myself...now, it's not as pretty as some, but I'm not that computer savvy and we dont actually have MS Word on this computer and adding new fonts onto this program was becoming a bit of a nightmare issue...anyhow all disclaimers and excuses aside...here 'tis..

Pinned here.
Originally from here.

How about you? Anything made/created/inspired by Pinterest this week?
Would love to have you link up below!

Around Here...

there has been flatpack furniture assembling...

there has been shades of teal added to the living area...

there has been fabric I adore purchased, now sitting, waiting to be made into couch cushions...

oh yeah, and Miss Alannah has discovered 'One Direction'...he he.... 
(oh the boy band obsession memories - makes me smile)

xxx

Baked Banana & Caramel Swirl Cheesecake Slice

In my baking madness, this was one of the new recipes I tried, taken from an advertising feature for Dole Bananas, out of Australian Good Food magazine.

And my hubby even liked it, who isnt a big fan of bananas, so that's a good sign, right?

Anyhow, here's how it's done...

Ingredients :
250g plain biscuits, broken
100g butter, melted
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large ripe bananas
375g cream cheese, at room temperature
250g mascarpone, at room temperature
1/3 cup caster sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup thick caramel fudge sauce

Method :
1. Grease and line a 26cm x 16cm slice pan with baking paper, extending paper at long sides for handles. Place biscuits in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add butter, coconut and cinnamon and process until combined. Press mixture evenly over base of prepared pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 170C or 150C fan. Mash 1 banana in a small bowl until almost smooth. Using an electric mixer, beat cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Add mascarpone and sugar and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in banana. Spoon over base of prepared pan and smooth surface. Drizzle over caramel sauce and use a skewer to create a marble swirl in surface (do not over swirl).

3. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until just set at centre. Turn oven off. Cool slice in oven with door slightly ajar. Refrigerate for 3 hours, until firm.

4. Slice remaining banana. Cut slice into pieces and serve with cheesecake slice.

Will be linking up with Make : Grow : Thrift this week over here. Maybe I'll see you there?

xxx

Pin It! Make It! : Chocolate Pavlova with Raspberries..mmm

Pavlovas were one of those items to bake, that scared me - along with sponge cakes, macarons and pastry.

But when I saw Maggie Beer do a coffee pavlova which looked so rustic and just lovely, and then 'Fat Mum Slim' blogger Chantelle posted up a chocolate pavlova recipe, I just had to jump in and have a go.

So this week's Pin It! Make It! is taken from Chantelle's blog, which I pinned a fair while ago.

Chocolate Pavlova with whipped cream and raspberries...

And even though it could've done with maybe a few more minutes baking, it tasted yummy according to my family and...

I'm not afraid of Pavlovas any more!

Maybe you have a project inspired by Pinterest, that you'd like to share. Feel free to link up below - would love to see a few people playing along...

Creative Space : Cosy

So, here's the new knitting project I've started. The pattern is taken from April's Better Homes & Gardens mag, from the bonus knitting book, and it's called a 'Chincilla Tunic' which I am making for Alannah.

This will be only the second item of clothing (scarfs are accessories really - yes?) I've ever made. And I even did a test swatch this time (my mum will laugh at this :-P) and fortunately it was the right size.

I'm in love with this yarn - it's such a beautiful mix of colours and also so soft.

In other making, I've been loving quite a bit of baking this past week. There is just something so cosy, so warm, about walking into a house where baking has been going on - the smell is usually just so yummy by itself, without even taking a bite. I mean, don't get me wrong, biting into it is 'oh so good' too...

So we've had : cornish pasties, banana & choc chip loaf, slow roasted shoulder of lamb, pavlova (more on that with my Pin it! Make it! post tomorrow) and a banana & caramel cheesecake slice which has proven a hit with my boys (recipe coming later today!).

I think I'm all baked out this week!

Onto some sewing, I think...

Linking up with this week's Creative Spacers. Lots of lovely people sharing their creativity over here

xx.

Beanie Weather

Most definitely, positively, beanie weather here in Melbourne...it's super chilly, with foggy breath and crisp air.

Perfect weather for snuggling on the couch in the evenings, with a ball of yarn and a crochet hook in hand, with a coffee at the ready.

So far, there has been 2 indie slouchie beanies (charcoal for Lana, green for stock), and 2 regular beanies created (red for a friend, charcoal for stock), with a third on my hook (in black).

Although I have been distracted, of late, with another new knitting project (will share tomorrow) that the black beanie on my hook has been sitting one third done for over a week...oh well.

And I have been doing a bit of baking too..back a bit later with that :-)