This moment ~ joining in with Soulemama

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

The best kind of collaboration

I love a collaborative project and this has been my favorite so far.

My little 2 year old often tags along fabric shopping and quite enjoys looking at all the patterns with mummy. On our most recent trip to the local kid friendly quilt shop he found some fabric with diggers, planes, trains and helicopters on it. So just like mummy does he picked up the whole bolt and walked over to the counter and pushed it over for the lady to cut. And if that wasn't cute enough he then went back for the other designs he liked too.

My goodness i just melted, too cute for words, and yes mummy folded and bought some. It was good timing actually as he's nearly ready to go into a big bed and i'd been planning on sewing him a single bed quilt.

So home we toddled and over the next week we have had so much fun, getting out the fabric and playing with it. I cut all the squares out and Cohen's job is to hand them to me to sew.

It's been a lot of fun sewing with my little boy and i love his enjoyment of the fabric and the process.

Plenty of fun, laughter and a little bit of time for mummy to indulge her hobbies too. 

Have a great week everyone and hopefully we'll have the finished project to show you soon.

xxxx

This moment with Soulemama

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Caramelised walnuts, salad and pizza night

So this is one of my new favourite things, caramelised walnuts. I've seen this recipe all over the net but hadn't tried it. So finding myself with an abundance of walnuts i thought it was the perfect time to give it a go. The idea was to make a healthy, sweet snack to avoid the not so healthy kind but turns out i enjoy these more in a savory salad.

Now these are super easy to make and last well in an airtight jar. I hope you'll try them out.

Caramelised walnuts

2 Cups of walnuts

2 T honey

pinch salt

Firstly toast the walnuts in a frypan for 3-4 minutes until golden. Stirring frequently. Be very careful to watch them, toasted walnuts can turn into burnt walnuts very easily.

Once toasted, add the pinch of salt and the honey and cook for a further 2 minutes on a low heat until caramelised. 

Mine were on the borderline to getting burnt! but luckily i saved them in time.

Turn out onto a non-stick plate or mat to cool. Once cooled eat or store in a airtight container.

I sprinkled these on a green leafy salad with some shaved parmesan and a balsamic dressing. It was so delicious i had two helpings. The walnuts aren't super sweet so they were perfect on a salad. I think they would be yummy with some blue cheese too.

It made for a yummy dinner alongside some hummus pizza and my first movie night with my little man.

'just keep swimming, just keep swimming' - excellent advice from Dory.

Have a great week everyone.

xxx

Back from the edge

Hello toe everyone still following along. It's been a while since i have been in this space. Life definately took over this past month and i'm so so happy to be on the other side of that craziness. In short i took on some extra work over the past few months to prepare a group of organisations for audits. Please don't go to sleep quite yet, i know auditing is a not a riveting topic for most but for me i love helping an organisation to find value in an audit and to move forward to better and bigger things.

So for the last month i have lived and breathed it and in truth - it was awful. As i've said i enjoy auditing but with a small son this meant extra long days, extra time in care, dropping out of activities like music groups, play group etc...
I'd like to say first up that some mum's do an amazing job working full time and raising kids but i'm not one of them. The stress piles up, i stop doing as much housework, i'm checking emails while playing with Cohen, i stop eating and cooking, takeaways and snack foods start to take up residence. And the whole while i'm tired, frustrated, stressed and have no energy for my family. Everything i enjoyed dropped away - yoga, coffee with friends, crafts, this blog and quality play time with my son.

And for all that - I am grateful.
- Grateful my mum came and took up residence for the final week, cooking, cleaning and caring for my son. - That is the most valuable thing she could have done.
- Grateful that it is finished.
- Grateful i can choose not to do that again
- Grateful i don't need to work more than is right for our family.
- Grateful to be home
- Grateful to be up to my elbows in stickiness, cartoons, cars and parks.

Life is back in balance and nothing makes me feel better.
So coming back is the crafts, the sewing, the cooking, the baking and the playtime. Life is good this week.

Simple broccoli salad

1 head broccoli, cut into florets and boiled for 2 minutes

2-3 rashers bacon, chopped

parmesan cheese

2 T pinenuts

oil

In a fry pan cook the bacon in a little oil until cooked, then throw in the pinenuts and toast for 2 mins until golden.

Then in a bowl assemble the cooked broccoli, bacon and pinenuts. Top with shaved parmesan to taste and a simple vinegarette.

I used 

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 clove finely crushed garlic

1  whoelgrain mustard

1 t honey

 1 T olive oil

Serve cold alongside roasted meat or with a handful of cooked chickpeas as a main.

xxx 

Loving... Grateful.....

My Monday night ritual to reset and start the week in a good place. Feel free to join me and tell me what you are grateful for in the comments. 

~ Loving....

- A little time to rest and relax amongst a busy schedule.

~ Grateful

- For the safe arrival of a perfect little nephew this week. I can't wait to meet this lovely little man.

- That the busy times will be finished in a few weeks and we can go back to our regular routine. The routine where i have more time to play, laugh, bake and sleep! 

- For photos like this that make me giggle. In case you are wondering this picture was taken inside a big blue toy bin which is over our heads. We're never too old to play and be a bit silly.

Have a great week everyone.

Pause, breathe, be kind, be grateful

xxx

Red garden soup

I made this soup at the end of autumn with the last of the seasons tomatoes. Yesterday i was feeling a bit under the weather with a cold and thought it was the perfect time to pull a bowl of soup out of the freezer. It is such a delicious nourishing soup recipe, packed with veges and perfect for those cold, damp days, i thought it was about time i shared it with you all.

Red garden soup

So into a pot put 2T oil and heat. Throw in

2-3 sticks celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 onions, chopped

and 1 bay leaf

Saute for about 10mins

Then throw in your tomatoes. I chopped the bigger ones but left the little ones whole. I used about 1.5kg of tomatoes.

Pour over 3 cups of chicken stock.

Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer for about 30mins until all the veges are soft.

Remove the bay leaf.

Blend with an immersion blender.

If you like a smooth soup you can also push the soup through a sieve. This is good if the tomato skins are a little tough.

Serve with warm toast and butter, or you can add a dollop of unsweetened yoghurt and some fresh herbs like chopped parsley or coriander for something a little different.

Have a warm, happy day.

xxx