Three Ps

Did anyone see these on Etsy's handpicked items today? Gorgeous Pillows, Purses and Passport Holders from Bridget Davies.

Tuesday Tunesday - No Sex for Ben

What is the etiquette in calling up a Ben when this is on the radio and singing it to them? Methinks High.

A Second on the Lips, Forever on the Hips

I did not realise how deliciously sinful diet-wise cheesecake actually could be, 'til I made my first one from scratch (not packet) for Father's Day dinner this weekend. Everyone ate it and my brothers did not pull faces like they were dying from the agony of it all, so I think it worked. I used this recipe from Notebook magazine. My fave part of it was the passionfruit curd which I had made once before and it worked beautifully - this time, not so good, but no-one seemed to notice.

Passionfruit Curd Cheesecake

250g butternut biscuits

200g digestive biscuits

120g butter, melted

500g cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup (100g) caster sugar

300g sour cream

2 eggs

1 tsp finely grated lemon rind

Passionfruit curd

2 passionfruit

50g butter

2 eggs, lightly whisked

1/2 cup (100g) caster sugar

1 tbs lemon juice

Line the base of a 20cm (base measurement) springform pan with baking paper. Place the biscuits in a food processor and process until finely crushed. Add the butter and process until well combined. Transfer mixture to the pan and use a glass to press the crumb mixture firmly over the base and side of the pan. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

In the meantime, to make the passionfruit curd, place passionfruit pulp, butter, eggs, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and set aside for 30 minutes to cool.

Preheat oven to 160°C. Use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese and sugar in a bowl until smooth. Add the sour cream and beat until smooth. Add eggs and lemon rind and beat until just combined.

Pour half the cream cheese mixture into the biscuit base. Dollop spoonfuls of half the passionfruit curd over the cream cheese. Pour over remaining cream cheese and dollop half of the remaining curd. Use a bamboo skewer to gently swirl passionfruit mixture and cream cheese to make a marbled pattern.

Place on an oven tray. Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until centre is just set. (here is where I went wrong - make sure you oven is on the cooking setting, not the defrost setting when you go to check your cheesecake 45 minutes later). Turn oven off. Leave cheesecake in the oven, with the door ajar, for 1 hour or until cooled completely. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill. Spread over remaining curd to serve. Shovel into mouth like the little piggy you know you are.

Pinch Me

You know how some cheeks are just made for pinching...
Too adorable via Brooklyn Bride

This is me - Monday Night

I gotta get me some tissues

I've reached a century

100 Posts. Who'd a thunk it?
On a sidenote - it is 100 years (and a few days) since the birth of Don Bradman.

I feel privileged to share any sort of milestone (even just a numerical one) with such a legend.

BIG News

For those of us who do not have Pay TV, this is the most brilliant news ever.

Channel Nine will be screening Gossip Girl over summer.

Lets hope they don't pull another OC deal on us and yank it off air too early.

Wooooooo Hooooooooooo. So excited, I might pee my pants.

Off my Trolley

I currently have one of these trolleys for when I go to the markets (see Brown Button for the most gorgeous pics of the Central Markets)

But, I was flicking through an old Vogue and got a serious case of trolley envy.

There was the most gorgeous wicker shopper from Vicino in Sydney. I couldn't find a pic online so I did a bit of a search and came across these lovelies that I would be quite happy to have trailing behind me while I'm choosing my bananas.

Wicker basket from here. This is crying out for some baguettes and a bunch of hollyhocks.

Orla Kiely Pear Trolley from here. I want one. No, I'll take a pair (geddit -pear, heh heh)English Rose Trolley from here. Also good for when you need to hide your shopping in your neighbour's garden.

Trixie shopper from here. As above, but substitute garden for flannelette sheets.

Rolser trolley from here so I can work this look and literally stop traffic...

Um? Yum!

Peach and Marigold truffles from cake and commerce via tastespotting

Vale Wally

Today I went to the funeral of someone who, although not a blood relative, had been part of my family for over 60 years.

Following a lifelong love of horses, Wally got a job working on my grandfather's farm in his teens. He went on to be one of his milk men, traversing the streets with a clydesdale named Mickey and his milk cart, eventually becoming one of the last in the metropolitan area to do so. I heard today in his eulogy that he would often have a cup of tea with his customers and at the end of his rounds, he would go to the deli and buy Mickey a cake. There was a touching moment when the celebrant read out a fax from a former customer, who was just a boy when Wally did his round. He had read about Wally's passing in the paper and felt moved to show his respects, so he faxed the story of how he would wake up early and wait out the front firstly so he could pat Mickey, but also so he could run out his family's bottles so Wally wouldn't have to get off the cart and Wally would give him a couple of shillings for his help. Isn't it funny how how some people stay in your memory like that.

Image via here

After my grandfather died, Wally stayed on with my Nanna, choosing to live in a caravan at the back of her place until he fell and had to have a hip replacement. It was only after this that he accepted that he would have to move inside the house.

He lived his life simply and the way he wanted. He loved Cowboy novels and sport on the wireless. He apparently never had any obvious girlfriends, no children of his own and chose his friends carefully and sparingly, but to us grandkids he was always kind, gentle and quite the teaser. The celebrant kept referring to Wally as a character and I guess I never really thought of him that way. I thought every family had a Wally. I will miss his ready smile and cheeky jokes and I have the greatest appreciation for the loyalty he showed to my family.

Rest in Peace Wally.

Tuesday Tunesday - Ghosts

Love this.
Makes me smile, makes me cry, makes me sing

Can you believe Laura Marling is only 18?

Funny Face

Picture from here

You probably wouldn't know it from a lot of my posts, but I love grammar and good spelling is really important to me - I'm the kind of person who gets goosebumps when I see a preposition at the end of a sentence.

So, when I was double checking the spelling of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, I found a picture of her and immediately thought of her contempory celebrity look-alike: Ross Noble.

Check them out
Seperated at birth, oui/non?


I have seen Ross Noble perform at a few of the Adelaide Fringe Festivals and I think he might be the funniest comedian I have ever seen. He goes off on the strangest tanjents, but always comes back to where he started. He often describes his style as random and this spot on Rove's "Things we Love" is the most perfect example of this that I could find. Bizarre.

Cocoa Compliments

These Sweet Talk chocolates from Baska Jon Fine Foods were designed for use as bonbonniere, but I like the idea of keeping them on hand as little thankyous.

Its a clever, but simple concept, which one could easily pilfer and make into your own little personalised wraparounds.

Actually, the more I look at them, I see those blank spaces and want to get a felt tip pen and graffiti them all.

Heh heh

Neck Candy

I love these gorgeous necklaces by fabricfarrago found via here at only $22 each.

When I was Younger - Equine Opine

Photo from Flickr

My grandfather bred trotting and race horse as well as owning Clydesdales for his milk rounds, so I should really know better.

But a few years ago, I found out that a pony was not a teenage horse.

It made perfect sense to me that their life cycle was

Foal

Pony

Horse

I thought that kids wanted ponies cos they were the most fun, foals were too little and horses were too old. Also, it makes total sense that My Little Ponies were teenagers, with all that bad make-up and crazy coloured hair, hanging out with Barbie....

A-peel-ing Aromas

I bought a bag of the last few mandarines of the season from the markets on Saturday and have them in a bowl on my table. They are a bit woody and have lots of pips, but I don't mind because the smell of their peel is one of my favourite smells ever.

photo via Flickr

For the Cricket

Has anyone got a spare $US1,197?

I've got the hat (and boy am I excited to wear this little baby)

and the shoes (well, these are an approximation of my Sportsgirl Jesus Thongs - thanks Polyvore)

but I think that because its on SALE from $US1,995 that I might need this dress as it would be perfect for the cricket. I mean, that is a bargain if ever I saw one.

And if you want to spring for the ticket too, be my guest.

Look Both Ways

I just watched Look Both Ways tonight and loved it. I can't believe I waited so long to see this movie, especially as it was filmed here.

I really felt my heart being tugged - I laughed and I cried buckets.

All the characters were so real - which is a testament to the actors as the two main leads are quite recognisable and even at this local level, it can be hard to separate the character from the actor when that is the case (Come on, its Roo from Home and Away people !)

I think William McInnes is gorgeous and as this film was directed by his wife Sarah Watt, he just shines. If you haven't seen - go hire it and do your bit for the Australian Film Industry.

Expressing Myself

I've just been round to K-Bro's for tea, ostensibly to watch Keating the musical, but we were seduced by the chiselled six packs on US So You Think You Can Dance, the shameless hussies that we are.

We made cold rolls and read mags and Kimberlee fed her facebook flair addiction (its sick - you need help Brian)

Her self expression unwittingly introduced me some of the funniest cartoons I had ever seen.
When it was time to go, I promised her I would go straight home to bed, but I had my fingers crossed.
I had to check out more of this cyanide and happiness

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

That's my kind of flair.

To tell you the truth, I was actually lying to you

Did anyone see this last night?
Hil-ar-i-ous. Go Sally!
Did you see how pumped she was?
I cannot stop laughing. I just love her.



I don't want to take anything away from her medal, she did a brill job. Her excitement and shock at winning was so real - its what the Olympics are about, but hell, it was funny.

Misplaced Patriotism

Call me a dork, but I love coming across Australian things on OS sites.
Case in point from Photoshop Disasters

Kmart (the Oz variety) has a refreshingly direct way of getting kids to fit into their ads. Cut them in half. You're a fireman. Tough it out.

Makes me proud of the good old green and gold.

Tuesday Tunesday - I go to Rio

I was re-reading last month's Gourmet Traveller and they had a section on cool hotels. I was completely struck by the restaurant below at the gorgeous Hotel Fasano in Rio de Janeiro. The hotel was designed by Philippe Starck and features some stunning 50s and 60s furniture.
Today I am feeling a hundred million bazillion miles away from Brazil, so I am hoping that Wonder Woman can bring me a bit closer

My Favourite Joke

Talking about cows, this is my favourite joke

What do you call an Arctic cow?

Bovine Bangs

Today I feel a bit like Buddha. Not because I am serene and enlightened, but because I too have a third eye. An all seeing, all knowing spot right in the middle of my forehead. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

Buddha

I sideparted and blowdried my fringe across my forehead, which I hoped would look like Nicole Richie's stylish coif

but I think I actually looked more like this Emo cow.