Sunday 22 March 2015

Rainy Sunday kitchen fest


This is the view from our apartment: super grey and rainy. It's been threatening rain most of the weekend and from about midday Sunday it has been falling nonstop.

I actually really like the rain.  It might be an Australian thing or growing up on a farm or having a country family but rain means everything is getting a wash, the plants are getting water, the dams and waterways are filling up and everything is going to be a-ok.

Of course, urban life means the rain can be a bit of a downer what with having to negotiate public transport and dodgy puddly uneven footpaths in heels etc etc but personally I still really love it. M loves the sound of it falling on a tin roof so he's been a happy humming little bird all weekend. We just have to be judicious about walking the fat dog as soon as it stops, even just for a moment!

Because last weekend was so busy, we agreed to keep this weekend to a minimum and that meant we said no to every social invitation and instead spent Saturday shopping for M's wedding suit. I don't think either of us was really looking forward to it. I luurrrrve shopping for me, but I'm have next to no interest in 'dressing' M, although I know a lot of women do enjoy that.  M is probably about as awkward shopping as the average heterosexual male his age so when the two of us get together, I pity the sales assistants.

Because it was so humid, I relished the opportunity to wear a dress. Not just any dress but my new DvF dress from Matches that arrived during the week and is just as beautiful as I had hoped:

Dress: Diane von Furstenburg (available here)
Sandals: Nine West
Bag: Michael Kors
We tripped off to the city on the ferry, clutching umbrellas. I needn't have worried, as it turned out: we got a wonderful girl to help us at David Jones and it was so nice to have someone professionally guide us through fabrics, cuts and colours. One of the occasions where bricks and mortar retails definitely trumped internet shopping. She encouraged us towards charcoal with an ivory shirt and black or dark navy tie (still to be decided). M has never looked more handsome and I'm so excited to see how he looks on our wedding day.

After that, I had to go briefly into work to do a few things in preparation for Monday. I have such a busy week ahead - not looking forward to it :( It was good to knock a few things over on the weekend so I start the week in a better position.

When I got home, we did one of my favourite DIY things: picture hanging!

I have some photos I took when I was in Paris in 2009 that I've had enlarged and printed on archival paper and then professionally framed. I quite often take photos to use as interior art for either the office or home. It's fun, it allows me to use my (small) creative side and, being ever the economist, it's incredibly cost-effective for the aesthetic end-result.  This is immediately recognisable as the Musee d'Orsay interior clock:




We've hung it in our entrance alcove, which I painted a deep dark blue a couple of years ago and I have to say, all the gold against the blue looks really rather fetching!

We were invited to come out for a drink on Saturday night at around 9pm and I'm rather embarrassed to say, we were already in bed! We're both working such long hours at the moment, I sometimes miss my younger days when I could go out at the drop of a hat but I really don't have the energy anymore. Sleep is so much more tempting than loud music and expensive drinks/food. I'm getting old :(

Because it rained virtually all day today, I decided to break out the baking gear and make this cinnamon pull apart bread from Joy the Baker:

Getting ready to go in the oven...

Ta-da!!
M is the sweet tooth in our house and spent a fair bit of the afternoon snuffling around the kitchen and asking me "Is it ready yet?" I told him to bugger off and it would be ready when it was ready. When I took it out, I almost tripped over the fat dog AND M standing 2 inches behind me desperately trying to see it. I'm really happy with how it turned out and would recommend giving the recipe a go if you're looking for something sweet and a bit unusual for an afternoon tea with family.  Unsurprisingly, it disappeared in a very short time!

Now I'm sitting preparing to watch an episode of The Fall and eat a delicious bolognese. I had quite a bit of veg in the fridge that I wanted to use up so bolognese was an easy choice: it's so versatile and you can put almost any summer vegetable in it and it will be superb.


I'll definitely be off the air this week - sad face! But work is how it is and it's got to be done. I will just look forward to more posting next weekend :) xo

No comments:

Post a Comment