Cusion

I just love my cusion - Scando style from IKEA!

Monstera deliciosa

The Monstera deliciosa in the garden is growing out of control, it's bigger than I am. looks good though - keep growing! :)

Frangipani

My frangipani who nearly dies in the move, is now very happy!!

I have to get a new pot for this one and move it I think....

Courgette Carbonara

Last night a bit naughty and had dinner that included  cream. I don't do well with dairy as a rule (tummy ache in large quantities) and defenitely not a huge fan of lots of cream. However in the afternoon I watched "Jamie at home" and he made a mean Courgette Carbonara that I just thought we had to have.... I showed it to J and of course he screamed yyyyeessss. Off he went and came back with lovely pancetta and other fresh ingredients. he then whipped up a fabulous Carbonara!!! Not a health kick, but oh so naughty and good! Yuuuuummmmmm!!!!

 sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 medium green and yellow courgettes
• 200g penne
• 2 large free-range or organic egg yolks
• 50ml double cream
• 2 good handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• olive oil
• 6 thick slices of pancetta
• a small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped, flowers reserved (if you can get hold of flowering thyme)
• optional: a few courgette flowers

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Halve and then quarter any larger courgettes lengthways. Cut out and discard any fluffy middle bits, and slice the courgettes at an angle into pieces roughly the same size and shape as the penne. Smaller courgettes can simply be sliced finely. Your water will now be boiling, so add the penne to the pan and cook according to the packet instructions.

To make your creamy carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the cream and half the Parmesan, and mix together with a fork. Season lightly and put to one side.

Heat a very large frying pan add a good splash of olive oil and fry the pancetta until dark brown and crisp. Add the courgette slices and 2 big pinches of black pepper, not just to season but to give it a bit of a kick. Sprinkle in the thyme leaves, give everything a stir, so the courgettes become coated with all the lovely bacon-flavoured oil, and fry until they start to turn lightly golden and have softened slightly.

It’s very important to get this next bit right or your carbonara could end up ruined. You need to work quickly. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little of the cooking water. Immediately, toss the pasta in the pan with the courgettes, bacon and lovely flavours, then remove from the heat and add a ladleful of the reserved cooking water and your creamy sauce. Stir together quickly. (No more cooking now, otherwise you’ll scramble the eggs.)

Get everyone around the table, ready to eat straight away. While you’re tossing the pasta and sauce, sprinkle in the rest of the Parmesan and a little more of the cooking water if needed, to give you a silky and shiny sauce. Taste quickly for seasoning. If you’ve managed to get any courgette flowers, tear them over the top, then serve and eat immediately, as the sauce can become thick and stodgy if left too long.

    

Carl Larsson

Found some Carl Larsson Napkins and just had to have them. No not usually my style of napkins, however if you find them in a small pharmacy down under, they must be purchased!!! Very cute indeed!

I was brought up with Carl Larsson, seen all his paintings, many in real life and all of them in books at school or 'around'. Sure, they have been copied a lot, sure, they have been used on everything and everywhere, but I have not really seen it for the last decade and quite frankly - I miss it. I want more Carl Larsson around! Starting right here and now with my new napkins!

 Read more about Carl Larsson here or here

My new pack of napkins: Carl Larsson - Brita With A Cat And A Sandwich

More Carl Larsson prints here 

The joys of having a dog 2

Naughty!

Rain

Very rainy here at the moment. Has not stopped for 3 days!!! All day today on couch watching dvds and relaxing...

Some pictures from the decking this mornin...

Frida is having her breakfast....

And J is having his in front of the telly following the news re Rudd!!

Sleeping arrangements take 2

Another weird sleeping position....

Doggy heaven

Oh and forgot to post this one from our Sunday morning at Gold Coast. We went to a doggy heaven beach. Lots of playing in the water and running around. A very tired dog on our hands afterwards...

Pink and cute

Cute table today. Always get flowers for the weekend, big, small, different colors, sizes etc. This weekend I got pink as the house is all sorts of cute right now....

Sunday morning

Lovely Sunday morning excursion to the Gold Goast. Reading papers, going for swims, playing with Frida (very happy to be in the water!). Wonderful morning!!

Converse

Present from J - a new pair of Converse. Yey! I have a gazillion of them but I did not have a pair in this color: char coal..
Now I do and I love them!!

Eating stones

Just saw the dog digging up a stone and starting to gnaw on it! Weird!

Los Estados Unidos

J is back from the US. So nice to have him back in the house again. One part of me really likes being alone, I can do what I want when I want it, but then it is just so quiet to be solo and I miss him.
Now order restored!

The Joys of Owning a Dog

No more mint!

Smoking again

Last night, after a very productive day - J started up the smoker again. Then we sat at the back of the house guarding the fish and having a cold beer. Nice!

Next time salmon or prawns!!

Before

during....

after....

nice pre dinner snack!

New power tool

As you all know I love power tools. makes life so much easier in the garden / house and it is just so much fun! i love gardening and fixing things, organising, changing, improving etc...
Yesterday I went to Bunninngs whilst J was working. Oh yes, good old Bunnings, when we lived in HB they knew who I was there as I used to go so often... they called me the 'busy bee'... Yes, sad but true. However I am not ashamed to say it - I really like going to Bunnings!
Got a number of items for the garden, soil, mulch etc and also a new toy - so excited about this one - check it out:

Yes. It's a high pressure cleaner!

Beautiful mornings

All day Saturday and today - so far no rain!! Pure bliss.... Beautiful mornings, sunny, not too hot. Papers, tea and generally just a very calm time of the day... I love mornings just before everyone wakes up, when it's still calm and not too hot. I then call my family and friends overseas, read a book, pat the dog, drink tea.... oh and let me just say this again - so pleased it has stopped raining!!! :)

View from front decking!  

Later

Friday night. After walk with Frida we are staying in, just hanging out together after a very loooong week!!
Lovely chats, glass of wine, catching up on the day, the week, life.
Roasted chicken w rosemary,lemon and verjuice. Roasted sweet potatoes and garlic. Huge sallad. Yuuum!!!
Now watching "Later with Jules Holland".
Nothing beats a good night in with J! xx

Smoker

As you know, J got, among other things, a fish smoker for X-mas. The other night J smoked a whole trout on it and it was delish!!!!
The result :

House at Smiths

Here are some photos from the house we rented at Smiths Lake. I loved the house, the design, the floor plan, the appliances, and the furniture. This is the kind of house I would like to build. Dad can you come over and help us!? J