Monday, January 31, 2011

A man and his Paella

Hubby cooked up a Spanish storm tonight in our backyard!

Our evening view!
Inspired by our delicious anniversary lunch he decided to have a go at making Paella. Boy oh boy! I'm glad he did! I was out for the day so you can imagine my delight when I arrive home to find him out on the deck brewing away happily. He decided to cook out in the garden using a gas burner and one of our treasured Le Creuset pans. 

Table decor
What a treat! What a success!
Indeed I found it blog worthy and Juz has kindly agreed to share his recipe:

Voila!
100g rice per person + an extra handful!
Salt and pepper
125 g Chorizo sliced at an angle
Pinch saffron
Heaped Tablespoon smoked paprika
Bunch flat parsley
1.25L chicken stock
Tin crushed tomatoes
12 prawns, deveined, tails on
8 mussels in shell de-bearded
200 g solid white fish cut into chunks
1 squid tube, sliced into strips
1 brown Onion chopped finely
125ml white wine
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 cloves garlic
Lug of evoo
2 lemons

Heat your pan to a medium heat. When ready, add evoo and then fry onion and garlic for 3 minutes.
Add chorizo and fry for another 3 minutes. Grind pepper and salt to taste.
Next, add rice and white wine. Stir. When mixed evenly, pour in 1/2 of your stock pinch of saffron, paprika and stir. Gradually  add the remaining stock until rice is nearly cooked, stirring occasionally.
Stir in squid, peas and can of tomatoes. Bring back to boil and then stir in chunks of fish. When rice is now tender, place prawns and mussels on top of the paella. Cover with foil and simmer for 3-5 minutes. After this time, peel away foil and check.  When the prawns are pink and mussels cooked, take off the heat, sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges. 






Muy delicioso Hombre!
Por favor, cocinar de nuevo!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Look what I got!

Well I've been waiting quite a while now but today it finally arrived! All the way from the UK!



Of course I love Brown Paper Packages (even when not tied up with string) and so you can imagine how much I enjoy receiving any of my orders from the Book Depository

Yes, a great book store is a must in everyones life and yes, browsing through newly pressed pages, and hard cover copies gives me a high; but I must say that the prices, selection and efficiency of this service is second to none! 

(Also I just love the word "depository"
Not sure why but it's a fav!!??)


And this is what I ordered! Divine hey? Filled with the most insanely cool wood and electrotype engravings. Thank you Mr Noah Webster! I will not show you any of the images inside - even though I want to! I took these three photos with my phone but I'll need my SLR to do justice to the inner marvels of this parchmented perfection! Does anyone else get this excited by a book? The smell of newly printed text? The stiffness of the spine? A linen finish, good typesetting (well done Eloise Leigh!)


And look at the spunk on the cover! 
Ok, I gotta go now... got some serious studying to do!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Lucky 13!

It is my 13th wedding anniversary today!
(Happy Anniversary my darling! XXOO)


 To celebrate my hubby took me to Fremantle yesterday; for a delicious lunch at The Monk. If you have not been here before it's well worth a visit! Very casual and the atmosphere is "Uber Freo" They brew their own beer and make a mean pizza too! We also had olives, bread and dips - but next time we might forego the extras - the pizzas are huge! The real "must try" though is the Paella. Cooked fresh on their terrace and boy does it smell amazing! 



Their mid-strength beer tastes full strength and I believe that most beer lovers would agree that's a good thing. 


The Dude who makes the Paella even sounded Spanish!




There he is behind Jb wearing a Sombrero! 


The service was great and I recommend sitting outside for the "full experience" - we really are so blessed to live in such a vibrant and entertaining city!










Fremantle really comes alive on a Sunday and we love the vibe. There are some cool shops to check out - 

Remedy, The New Edition Bookshop and Store. The architecture and the Norfolk Pine trees are also just a small part of the magic....
To top it off it was a rather grey and gloomy day....

 





the kind of crazy weather we love!!


Too full for desert(truly we made porkies of ourselves!)we decided that a walk along the dog beach was the perfect way to finish off the afternoon...









We even found some faces in the rocks!


And some treasures in the sand....











Romance at it's very best! I love you babe... 


to the moon and back.....

(Photos taken with an I-Phone4 and the HIPSTAMATIC app)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Caravan Love...

I've been looking at pictures of cutie retro caravans and...

 well...
 I want one!
 Seriously cute 
 and seriously cool!

I could use it as an office, a meditation space, a guest room or even a place to 
laze away the day reading and musing and blogging.
Yes I can see linen blinds, bunting and of course little pots of colour out the front
Oh what a treat that would be!

*Photo A is from FLICKR/Happy Loves Rosie
Photo C is of an Airstream caravan- taken from Influx Magazine
Photos B/C & D are from a book called "My Cool Caravan by JF Lewis and C Haddon
I think I'll put this book on my wishlist - you know for inspiration!!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Waiting for Winter...


Forgive me for saying so.... 
but I'm just not a summer person. I was made for all things cosy & warm...


So these are some things that have been popping up in my dreams...
Decorating with these

 and using these

To make this!
(whilst wandering around wearing these)


Or....
Wearing this

teamed with this...

...and these

Sigh... 
Sadly we have many more weeks of sunshine and heat ahead.
(I know, I know! All you beach bums think I'm nuts!)

So I shall just be content with my dreams for now.

In case you are a winter woman like me and you wish to own some of these delights here's where you'll find them:

Cute Slippers and Mini Milk Jug, Mr Sparrow
Gorgeous Scarf - Pixelated Mushroom at Madeit
Funky Handbag - FOSSIL
Bird Button,Dreamy Outfit and Shoes - Anthropologie
Hot Chocolate - Taste
(All images from respective websites)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Gratitude

Wandering around my house this morning I was filled with such gratitude for all my many blessings. First of all it is a stunning morning here in Perth, the birds are chirping like crazy and the cicadas chorus along in competition - summoning me to put on the kettle and get ready for the day. 

My son is still asleep - it's school holidays and he's been going to bed rather late - the joys of a vacation. 

So I have my favourite morning brew and I have my lens and this is what I find....


Flowers and Candles
(I can relax)


Pretty "bathroom birdie" 
(I can smile)


Books on a well stocked book shelf
(I can learn)


Mini cloches...at my kitchen window
(I can dream)


Bottles in my craft cupboard
(I can create)


My incense burner
(I can meditate)


My child's room
(I can love)


A nest found by a friend
(I can share)


A beautiful tea set
(I can enjoy)


A window to the heavens
(I can behold)

How can a day be anything but amazing when it begins with treasures such as these!


I wish you all a day of grateful senses!
 Go forth and taste, touch, listen, view, ponder, cry, relax, expand, love 
......and be loved


Oh by the way, the pictures were taken using my I-Phone and Hipstamatic - camera packages were Helga Viking/Float for the colour shots and Roboto Glitter/Claunch 72 for the Black & White.