A Collection of Thoughts

Happy New Year

Wishing you all a fabulous New Year - May it bring all that you hope for and more :)

Our  First collection for 2008 is now on site. Clearly Yours

I am off to welcome in the New Year with that box of chocolates and champagne

  Enjoy

Tamar xo

Not ready

to let christmas go just yet - I figure I have an extra week on everyone else because we were away for a week right?

anyhow I found this amazing fairy land christmas vintage dream - no other way to describe it

I want one but am wise enough to know its never going to happen so  I will just have to admire from afar

1. Dining room Christmas mantel, 2. Sugary sweet dining room, 3. Vintage Christmas lovelies, 4. Vintage Christmas goodies, 5. Holiday Home, 6. Bedroom Christmas tree, 7. Dining room sweetness, 8. Christmas sneak peek, 9. Christmas decor, 10. Christmas sneak peek, 11. Christmas sneak peek, 12. Vintage Christmas collection, 13. Sugar plum dining room, 14. Christmas mantel, 15. My sugar plum dining room, 16. Angel centerpiece

You can see more here

Just beautiful all pink and glittery and divine my girls would love it.

Tamar

Surfing

One of the things I love about holidays is the chance to surf aimlessly or not so aimlessly as I tell  Richard its all work related - I love etsy and every now and then I stumble across something  I adore.

check out this.

Such a sweet idea and beautiful colours

You can see her store here -  Etsy

How good would those bookmarks look on a mini album?

Tamar xo

Big Picture- Book Club

Did you see this?

I am so excited - I was fortunate enough to run into Tena Sprenger at Memory Trends and she was just so lovely - but you know Im excited about having the chance to join a book club - 12 books in a year I can do that surely - and you know what its free :) How good?

I have the  first book on hold for me from the library - Ngai is chasing up book no 2 and  book no 3 is from compendium which I can get :) So thats the first three months down.

Starts January 3rd go register for FREE now.

Did I say yay?

Tamar

Holiday Photos

Each year we take a few days to go to the sunshine coast - We used to do this before children and its only been in the last three years that we have been able to start it again -2 years ago we went for 3 days - Last year we went for 4 days- This year we went for a week - The girls loved their time in the "holiday house" and I loved the chance to sleep read and complete a gazillion craft projects - Richard enjoyed the coffee on tap - with a coffee house and cake shop straight below the units -we could have stayed longer.

Lots of photos to share

Here are my favourite beach ones - we went over one afternoon to fly kites and take photos - but the batteries were flat in my camera as they had done duty in the  girls fairy torches..no comment so I went back to the unit got more batteries returned to the beach to find two wiggling girls who needed to go to the toilet ..photo shoot was abandonded and we tried again the nect morning nice and early.

Sofia

Talia

Isnt that curly hair just so cute?

and seriously this is my husbands attempt at a shot of me and the girls - thats it - as good as it gets

though  mind you i didnt do great getting a good one of him and the girls either

Hope you are all mnaging to take time to recharge your batteries for the year ahead... :)

Tamar xx

January Sneaks

Have now started on site....

watch each day to see the collection evolve

Joy and Thanks

So I am just taking some time to share our Christmas with you in pictures and words :-) could be mammoth- good luck

Let me start by saying Christams is my most favourite time - always - I love the  magic and the chance to give thanks to family, friends and community - Might I add here that I drive Richard  crazy with the traditions that I have started for our family... Nevertheless he supports them all.

I'll just start with Christmas Eve otherwise we will be here forever

One present - new Pjs - Reindeer Feeding - oats and sprinkles  - Christmas Eve Childrens Mass and Carols -  ( in that order)

This year my two added themselves into the Christmas story - they called for the angels and sheppards and decided they should go too - Luckily the organisers didnt blink and quietly let them join in - I won't tell you about the shannigans after they returned from being angels - clearly they left their angel behaviour at the front of the church

Everything has to be set and finished by the time we leave for Mass ( my rule) - it was just this year with a mad rush at the end - We return home and someone lucky gets to look after our two while we go to friends for adult christmas eve drinks and to swap gifts - This year my Ma and Pa  drew the lucky straw and along with that they had the job of redecorating the tree ( as the bottom half had been undecorated by the two santas helpers ) and Ma also finished off the spring roll cases for the starters for Christmas) Extra special duties this year!

So I came home at 11.00pm to this  :)

I am sure Suz could give me great tips on how to take a better shot but that would require me reading my camera manual - not going to happen anytime soon.

Christmas morning had two false starts one at 3.30 with Talia and a nose bleed and then again at 5.00am with two girls waking us up saying lets go see if santa has been - fortunately we were able to send them back to bed until the clock read seven zero zero  - at which time we got the shouts of Mumma Dadda Santa bought us bikes! They were up and no going back we were into the day.

Christmas morning is usually celebrated with our lovely neighbours who don't have children but they were away this year so its was just us - I found this awesome do ahead breakfast meal- French Toast and Maple Syrup - I highly recommend it - - Super delicious...

Apparently there are savoury ones too ...

1 loaf bread (thick slices)
8 large eggs
1 cup cream
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 dash salt
Maple syrup
***Praline Topping*
1 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:
Slice French bread into 1-inch slices. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cream,  milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well.

No pictures sorry

and no real pictures of present opening - happened so fast the girls are at that age where its all just so exciting

The New Bratz Pjs and the much coveted beaks ( hairclips like mummas just smaller that they begged for on a daily basis)

Lunch was at our place this year -so by 11.30 the family had arrived and we had set the table and organised lunch.- Takes so much longer with the two helpers but Im sure in just a few short years I will be grateful I had them so involved - still longing for the day they are old enough to make me a cup of tea -but I digress.

We  made our own bon bons this year  which was really fun and not stressing at all - truely - I loved doing it - searched on line for comics and jokes and I used joy quotes for all the adults - the girls  helped load each bon bon up and stuck the letters to the tags for each person cut the ribbons for tying - It was good.  Spotlight for the inside snap bits and the  "toilet" rolls - I used Sweetwater paper and Rhonna Farrer felt - we put a number on the back of each tag and placed all the gifts inside organza bags with coresponding numbers -I decided on this when I I realised it was just going to be too hard to get small gifts to fit inside each cracker.

Reindeer spraypainted  with bling brads for eyes and ribbon from May Arts. Candles from Target and Holders and vases from Ikea  Flowers from dusk.

Our menu was simple this year and much to Richards horror no ham or turkey  just chicken from the butchers preprepared.  Salads courtesy of Nigella  found online at 7.00am when I had to be lined up at woolies at 7.45am nothing like last minute

The Menu

Nibbles

Guacamole Boats -avocado sour cream tabasco tomato inside spring roll warppers that have been shaped in muffin tins in the oven ( thanks Ma!)
Chicken Boats - shredded chicken mayo cheese dill
Smoked Salmon Pikelets - smoked salmon cream cheese
Tomato Pikelets -cream cheese half a cherry tomato macadamia pesto

Main

Mango and Apricot Chicken Rolls
Or  Mushroom Quiche and Rice salad for the vegetarians

Smashed Potatoes
Coriander and Kumara Salad
Watermelon and Feta Salad
Bread Rolls

Sweets

Pavlova and Berries
Triple layer Ice-cream log

Afters

Coffee 
Christmas Cake
Chocolate Sticks
Cherries

 

Salad recipes

Coriander Kumara Salad

4 med kumara

2 avocados

1/2 cup cashews

3 spring onions

1/4cup lemon juice

1/4cup oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4cup coriander leaves

salt and pepper

Baby  spinach leaves

Chop kumara into rounds and then in half. You can either roast or boil - While cooking mix the rest of the ingredients but not the cashews in a bowl and leave to sit for the flavours to really melt into each other – Add the kumara when cool and serve with cashews.

Watermelon Salad

One and a half kg sweet, ripe watermelon

250g feta cheese

Bunch of mint, chopped

Bunch of flat leaf parsley

1 small red onion

2-4 limes depending on juiciness

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

100g black olives

black pepper

 
Peel and halve the red onion and cut into very fine half moons and put in a small bowl to steep with the lime juice

Remove the rind and pips from the watermelon, and cut into chunks.
Cut the feta into similar sized pieces and put them both into a large, wide shallow bowl. Tear off sprigs of parsley and add to the bowl along with the chopped mint.

Tip onions, and juices over the salad in the bowl; add the oil and olives, then using your hands toss the salad very gently so that the feta and melon don't lose their shape.

Add a good grinding of black pepper and taste to see whether the dressing needs more lime.

Icecream layer cake

So simple but definately needs to be done the day before

4 litres of vanilla icecream - no name is good

2 litres of chocplate icecream - I buy the best I can afford

Dark Choc Choc chips White Cchoc chips Frozen Raspberries Honey Slivered  Almonds

No real measurements - just whatever looks good

You need to work fairly quickly  so the icecream doesn't overmelt

Line a baking dish with foil

Split the vanilla icream into two- work in a LARGE bowl

Add raspberries and white choc chips to one lot and Honey and Almonds to the other lot - Mix until combined

Add dark choc chips into the choclate icecream - for non children famiies you can also add  Kahlua or  Baileys

Spread the almond layer into the bottom of the tin then the chcolate layer then the raspberry layer - you don't need to freeze inbetween -  Place into the freezer with a lid of alfoil

To seve turn out onto a plate and use a hot sharp knife to cut into slices.

By 4.30 everyone had headed home Tali Sof and I were curled up asleep and Richard was watching cricket? I think and doing dishes.

Friends arrived at 9.00pm with coffee and we both shared our christmas day stories - :)

and so ends another christmas - I hope your day was filled with joy and laughter - thank you for taking the time to drop in and see how we are.

Tamar xo

Shipping and Holidays

A quick shipping update - all Addiction and Obsessions left here Thursday - Everything else left here friday including all Limited Editions - except for any orders which also contained December Inklination - they are now packed and will be delivered to the post office on Monday.

We  are closed now for one week from this afternoon until this time next week. We wil be back before christmas and wish you all happy final days heading to christmas - See you in a week :)

Tamar

December Gallery

If you have been sneaking peeks at the Gallery over the weekend you must have wondered what was happening - a deisgner  at a time with many hours in between - Our team has been plagued with sickness and end of year commitments  -  tonsillitis chicken pox vomiting bug head cold migraine -- its a fab list isnt it?  We could play a which family has had what game but lets not-  all our projects are now in and loaded so head back if you have already visited.

  the gallery looks great :)

Speaking  of looking great  here is  the lovely Gigi Kennedy her profile has been missing so I'd like to introduce her here ..

Isnt she just beautiful?

and so is her work.

I even manged to find time to create this month but ill share the stories behind those projects later :0

Have to tell you about  this months Teckni designed by Suz

or Ill just show you ...

Beautiful stuff ! - collection or just instructions available under limited editions

Enjoy

Tamar

xx

NZ Customers

It seems that xtra is playing up again - - my isp is optusnet and they seem not be friends.  When an email doesn't go through to you I dont get notification until 4 or 5  days later - so I just wanted to let you know that I am replying to you - I started ringing  tonight but Nic told me to stop - its now 9.45 in your land - Sorry :(  I'll keep emailing and rining at a decent hour till I can return all messages.

Tamar