domestic bliss

Passionfruit

Posted on May 2, 2014May 2, 2014 by bekswhoknits

I don’t think I’ve told you lately just how cool having a house is. Particularly a house that’s been well looked after by people who were clearly interested in sustainable living and growing their own produce.

Apparently we have a passionfruit vine, and are about to be inundated with them.

So I’ve been researching passionfruit recipes and I’m now impatient that none of them are ripe yet.

How does Passionfruit and White Chocolate Mousse sound? The correct answer is delicious!!

Then there’s Baked Passionfruit Custard for wintery nights, or Passionfruit Cheesecake for those warmer days.

For a dash of nostalgia there’s Passionfruit Jelly or the classic Passionfruit and vanilla ice-cream combination. That was always a winner when I was young.

Lemon and Passionfruit Shortbread and Melting Moments sound like just the thing to bake and give to family. Edible presents are the best kind of presents.

And these Orange, Passionfruit, and yoghurt Cupcakes would use up some of the oranges that we’re about to have a glut of.

OK everyone’s invited around for afternoon tea! I’ll make sure to have a cocktail waiting for you.

My weekend in numbers

Posted on March 31, 2014 by bekswhoknits

1 – the number of times I got to pretend it was cold enough to wear my unicorn jumper

2 – Buffy fans made happy with a ‘walk through the fire’ bracelet
10 – geeky bracelets I now have
1 – hour spent searching for lost items
4 – rings found
0 – metal stamping letter Rs found

1 – PlayStation 3 which decided to not read discs any more
9 – hours to transfer all our data off our old PS3 to the new one
1 – heart palpitation when Hewhofishes suggested I could ‘just start over’ in Skyrim
3 – the number of times Hewhofishes pointed a laser pointer from the tv couch to the kitchen couch to annoy me whilst waiting for the data transfer.
1.5 – books in the Grisha series read despite such laser pointer intrusions

55 – points my team beat hewhofishes’ team by
15 – minutes hewhofishes sulked for after his team lost
infinite number of times I thought about rubbing in the fact that my team is better than his team but decided to be the bigger person

12 – episodes of Bobs Burgers watched
4 – quotes I tweeted from the show
2 – confused comments I had back from followers who were unaware I was quoting Bobs Burgers

1 – old but new to me china cabinet was delivered
7 – years my 21st birthday china waited before being unpacked
4 – years my tea cup collection has been waiting for a home that wasn’t constantly under threat of being knocked over.

but by far the biggest and most important number of the weekend
100 – the age of my Great-Nan who celebrated her birthday on Saturday.
6 children, 19 grand-children, 26 great-grand children (me!), and 2 great-great-grandchildren

(Numbers are from my memory and are approximate. It may have been more than 12 episodes of Bobs Burger we watched.)

things to do this afternoon

Posted on March 4, 2014March 4, 2014 by bekswhoknits

– buy and drink 2 litres of cool drink so I can make these oh-so-cute cat rabbit and bear recycled planters. (Also buy some chalkboard paint. It’s amazing that I don’t already have any. Probably because once I start I won’t stop and EVERYTHING WILL BE CHALKBOARD!!!)

The cutest ever planter boxes (from teaandcraft.blogspot.com)

– Grab some of the beer cans out of the recycling bin and experiment with making bracelets. Hopefully my shoulder won’t complain too much and I can give my metal stamps a try.

– Make some pasta in the breadmaker for a lasagne

– Hook up my camera to my ipad and download my latest gig photos.

– Put the air conditioning on full blast and persuade the boyfriend to take photos of me in the knitted jumper I just finished but only tried it on for the briefest second because I don’t want to sweat all over it.
This is a terrible photo of it.

– Try not to just collapse on the couch and watch Grey’s Anatomy. I’ve never watched it before and have been mainlining it for the last 2 weeks and I’m now up to Season 3.

What are your plans for this afternoon?

Where there’s tea there’s hope

Posted on January 31, 2014 by bekswhoknits

A cup of tea can solve pretty much anything.

A cup of tea in a pretty cup even more so.

With my aching old lady bones getting me down, my first shipment from Monstrositea came at the perfect time.

Each month Monstrositea takes you on a tea adventure with a tin of 5 different teas.

I’ve tried three of the five so far and have enjoyed all of them. I’ve never given white tea much of a chance, but I’ve nearly finished the packet already and am craving more.

All the teas have been carefully chosen, packaged with care, and come with delightful tasting notes.

I probably have 20 different types of tea in my cupboard right now and they’re either herbal or black varieties. There wasn’t a herbal or black tea in the tin so it really was a tea adventure.

I even made ice tea with some fresh mint from the garden. (Yes it’s in a beer glass – yes I still can’t resist the stained glass windows.)

I can’t wait to see what we get next month!

(If you’re in Aus and wish to sign up for the monthly box today is your last day for next month so hop to it!!)

Another house tour

Posted on January 14, 2014January 14, 2014 by bekswhoknits

I think it’s been a whole week since I showed you some house photos.

Well it’s obvious time for some more!!

I have a claw foot bath.

And a pebbled shower floor.

Continue reading Another house tour

zucchini slice

Posted on January 10, 2014 by bekswhoknits

I love zucchini slice. (For any american’s wondering what I’m banging out about a zucchini is also known as a courgette. But just hear how zucchini rolls off the tongue. Zucchini. Zoo-kini.Zoo-keeeeeneeeey)

It’s the number one thing that I search for on my own blog.
Even though it’s so simple, I always think I forget something.
The original recipe is from the Australian’s Women’s Weekly cookbook that my Mum owns. When I left home I had a photocopy of it, which is now impossible to read.

So I made a printable to hang on the wall in the kitchen.

If it’s your first time making it, here are the proper instructions.

The ingredients:
1 grated zucchini (don’t bother peeling it)
1 cup grated cheese
1 chopped onion
3 rashers bacon chopped
5 eggs
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
dash wooshter sauce
parsley, salt, & pepper to taste…

The method:
Put all of the ingredients into a bowl. Mix well. Pour it into a pyrex baking tray.
Pop it in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees and wait for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Eat.

Right click here to save the image
Feel free to print the recipe and display it in your homes, but please do not sell it. This is my gift to you.

another cushion for another black books fan

Posted on January 9, 2014 by bekswhoknits

We’re everywhere!
And by we I mean black books fans.

If you’ve never watched it, I suggest you track it down (unfortunately it was just taken off netflix – boooo!), pour a glass of red wine, and commit the next 10 hours of your life to laughing.

And then we can be friends.
And you’ll know why I have ‘I’m a happy go lucky scamp’ in almost every single social media profile.

So when Midnite Moose asked me to make a black books inspired cushion for a friend I immediately accepted.

I even imposed a crazy stupid deadline on myself so it would be ready before Christmas.

I love making things for people, and most of all I like making things for people who will totally appreciate, cherish, and love what I make. So I knew that this was going to a good home.

I can’t find a youtube clip of that exact scene so you’ll just have to take my word that it’s funny.

Or, you know, watch Black Books already!!!
(The quote is from episode 2, but definitely watch episode 1 first. Just watch all of it.)

My new favourite room

Posted on January 7, 2014January 7, 2014 by bekswhoknits

My crafty room.
I’m pretty pleased with how it looks at the moment. It has just been organised so everything is neat and tidy which won’t last too long, but it’s become my favourite room in the house. (This post is really picture heavy – I tried to cut it down but it didn’t happen)

Continue reading My new favourite room

Good bye 2013

Posted on January 2, 2014 by bekswhoknits

2013 was awesome in so many ways.

We bought a house, went to our 6th test match together, saw plenty of live music, holidayed on a houseboat, and I helped out with the Port Adelaide Football Club.

I’ve had green hair, pink hair, purple hair, red hair, and several different combinations.

I participated in the Knitting & Crochet Blog Week. I even made two youtube videos!

And I worked my way through 13 goals.

1. Open my little etsy shop. – Tick!

I opened a shop and closed it just as quickly. I didn’t enjoy knitting for strangers or the etsy fees.

2. Host a giveaway on my blog – Tick!
This was so much fun! And this is where I figured out the I like giving things away more than selling them.
The lesson to be learned is that postage is a killer. In the future small and light will be the way to go.

3. Finish Start the knitting crafting for my Pay It Forward post. – Tick!
Again this was ridiculously fun! And it was the beginning of embroidering fabric to go on a frame.
4. Knit 12 pairs of socks. – 8/12
I completed 8 and I currently have 3 on my needles. I didn’t quite get to 12 but maybe I was being a tad optimistic.

5. Sew 6 cushions.- 10/6 – Tick!

I caught the cushion making bug hard!
I even learnt how to sew an invisible zipper.

6. Write a knitting pattern and post it on Ravelry.
I have started this one yet. I don’t know if I still want to.
Maybe if inspiration strikes I may be able to check this off my list.

7. Post a tutorial or a how-to guide. – Tick!
Seriously making a video was not what I had planned for this. But it turned out to be a really good experience. And now I have youtube subscribers. That’s a weird feeling for someone who only has two knitting videos.

8. Try a new craft, or 2, or 3.
I tried arm knitting, spinning, jewellery making, yarn dyeing. I’m looking forward to seeing what new crafts I can learn next year.

9. Create an artwork for my apartment – Coming Soon!
I never showed you this one. But it did happen.

10. Embroider a whole song (lyrics) onto something.
This is totally my favourite embroidery ever!

11. Sew a garment from a pattern, and wear it.
This is going on next years list.

12. Read a new book every month. (something I haven’t read before) 15/12
I joined goodreads to keep track of it all, so I realised I well and truly met this goal.

13. Crochet a granny square. – Tick!
2013 was the year that crochet and I finally understood each other. I still struggle with patterns and only have one loop on my needles, but the instant gratification is awesome.

I’m currently deciding whether to do 14 in 2014 or, as I’m 30 next year, 30 before 30.
Either way 2014 is going to be awesome. I just know it.

The first (probably of many) new house tours

Posted on December 10, 2013 by bekswhoknits

My new house!!!!

We’re almost completely moved in now, with only two wardrobe doors, a dining table, and some cleaning supplies left at the apartment.

Moving day wasn’t quite as easy as I had hoped. There was emergency dental surgery, settlement delays, rain clouds, friends who didn’t turn up, some moving day bruises (me and the house) , and a really sore back.

But we got there. Jen once again wins the best friend award as she carried boxes for most of Saturday, where as the Man’s best friend showed up precisely as the first beer was opened on Sunday.

I always buy new bedding whenever I move into a new place. Any excuse for new sheets and quilt covers.

This isn’t the grand tour just yet. Stuff is still being sorted out. And I can’t do anything much with my crafty room until the wardrobes have doors, so it looks more like a spare room but give me time.

But I have sorted out the kitchen!

And as soon as I figure out how to take a good photo of the book shelf I’ll give you a guided tour of that.

But for now I’ll have to love you and leave you with the view from our balcony. The first night we were greeted with fireworks and we’ve had a few spectacular sunsets as well.