A little while ago, when we were running errands on a Saturday, we stopped in at Silks bistro for some lunch.
The place was relatively quiet, it was obviously their downtime. But even so they had the music so loud we could barely hear ourselves think.
I was impressed by the presentation of the parma. It certainly looked better than your average pub grub. The olive tapenade around the outside was a hit in my book. Overall it was delicious.
Mr Polka-dots&sparkles had a burger, which he said was ok. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
The verdict? We’d go there again, if we were in the area. But we’re not going to be planning a special trip.
Well disaster’s probably a bit strong. I can probably save it, but I have to do a crash course in dress design before I would even attempt looking at this again.
I think I mentioned that I had a feeling that I had bit off more than I could chew? Well guess what! I bit off more than I could chew.
Some shaky seams, some terrible measuring, a wonky zipper, and a very low waisted garment means that it’s not going to be finished for a very long time. But I’ll post some unfinished pictures anyway.
Did I mention how terrible the lighting is in my apartmentI need more practice sewing zippersthe waist is in completely the wrong spot for me
So without further ado, here are 5 things I learnt about sewing.
Also titled, things Sparkles should have researched better or looked up along the way.
1) Basting means sewing it first and then unpicking it. Not just sewing the seam twice. It’s very difficult to press flat when you have two seams.
2) When transferring a pattern to fabric you actually cut out the triangles. That and transfer all the marks, even if you don’t know what they mean at the start of the pattern it generally becomes clear half way through.
Things like ease, I now know that’s important.
3) Cut slowly. Actually, do everything slower. You know how much you hate making mistakes and unpicking things, so just slow down.
4) When sewing something with lining make sure that the lining and the real fabric are the same size. Measure, measure, measure. You’re dating a carpenter, you’d think you would have picked this up by now.
5) If you think it doesn’t look right, don’t worry. You haven’t got the skills to write a pattern, so trust that companies that manufacture these things for a living know what they’re talking about.
I think my next project will be one that comes with step-by-step instructions, with actual photos, not a diagrams and a schematic.
Because Sundays are made for baking. These are biscuits from a her name was greta recipe.
Delicious!!
A few minor variations to the recipe. Mainly in that I had white chocolate in the cupboard so I used that instead.
And I didn’t have enough butter, so I adjusted the mix at the end and added just enough milk to create the right consistency.
I’m looking forward to crumbling these over some vanilla ice-cream.
That’s if there’s any left!!
On a hungover Saturday, the Mr dragged me out to dinner and away from my tracky daks and tea (hangover essentials).
The promise was pasta and pizza. The place was Piccos. I didn’t even know where it was, even though it’s just 2 minutes up the road. Turns out I used to run past it all the time.
The location isn’t idyllic, but the attention to detail inside more than makes up for the location.
From the handwritten menu on the wall, to the table numbers, to the umbrella stand, every little detail had been thought of and executed beautifully.
We were unprepared as usual, so it was water only for the table but we’ll know for next time (and there will be a next time).
After the promise of pizza and pasta, we had to choose. The pizza menu had so many delicious items, but I couldn’t go past the bbq chicken, with capsicum and onion. It’s one of my favourites.
Mr Polka-dots&Sparkles, had the linguini cabonara.
The food was good, just what I felt like. And we were able to take the rest of the pizza home (which is great because I can never eat a full pizza).
But looking around at all the different foods around us, next time I think we’ll be a little bit more adventurous.
I really wanted to take photos of everything, the whole place was just so cute.
Cottage pies. Or Shepherds pies. Or Potato pies.
Whatever you call them it’s what I made for Sunday night.
There wasn’t much pastry to go round so I made two with pastry (puff – prebought) and 4 without pastry in little ramekins. Continue reading Happy Pie Day
I never used to eat seafood. But I’m so glad I do now.
I never used to eat it because I never really liked the smell and couldn’t handle eating things that could look back at me.
However on my boyfriends love and passion for seafood I was persuaded to give it a try. Oh so glad I did.
Zucchini slice is my number 2 comfort food.
(mashed potato is number 1 – lasagne number 3)
Largely because of how easy it is to make. You just plonk all the ingredients into a bowl, mix, pour into lasagne dish, put it in the oven, and wait (or in my case knit).
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 oil
dash wooshter sauce
parsley, salt, & pepper to taste…
thanks Women’s Weekly…
it’s one of those recipes that my mum used to make all the time – which is probably why it’s so comforting.
and it’s one of the only ways that my boy will eat zucchini – mostly because of the bacon and the cheese.
but it’s really good, really easy, and really comforting.
and can be eaten hot out of the oven, or cold for work lunches.
Last night it was great because i didn’t feel like cooking, and i had a zucchini all ready in the fridge.
And what a way to start the year.
Southbound festival was magnificent. And 2 days of caravan park camping before that with my boyfriend and my best friend (and boyfriends brother but he’s pretty ok) were pretty awesome too.
Now I’m giving my liver a bit of a rest.
“and i just want you to know, and i just want you to know
here they complain that the city has changed, but i wouldn’t want
it to stay the same anyway”
all of these songs are just so
personal, it proving really difficult to write about all of them. i
guess they’re in my top 20 for a reason. i forget how old i am some
times, it feels like this song has been with me for years. Continue reading 3. British India – Frozen on the Inside (170)
polka-dots & sparkles 