me the couch and I

Got the place to myself again tonight, I’ll just grab one of Trav’s beers – and his beer nuts, put my feet up and settle in for a nice night of girly flicks. Aaaah the serenity!

Wait a sec ... what's that sound? It's my good friend over at Footscray Food Blog, she's featured my review of the Take Away Cafe at the Rotunda in Williamstown, well that just made my Friday! We're glad to have you back Ms Baklover!


If you're thinking of heading somewhere in the west this weekend, make sure you head to Footscray Food Blog first...

My favourite day is Sunday

Sunday was glorious. We woke early after a big day at Mum's Garden Party and I walked Rossi to the bakery to pick up breakfast and the paper. The morning began lovely and cool - a relief after all the sunshine yesterday. it was a lovely cool morning We took Rossi to see his friends at Pugwood and he well and truly conked out on his bed for the rest of the day.

Trav and I made the most of the beautiful afternoon and rode to Williamstown Beach to enjoy fish'n'chips (You might be lucky enough to read my review on Footscray Food Blog in the near future!). If only I'd been clever enough to put on sunscreen and now I'm sitting here with a very red neck and arms. When will I learn??

When we got home Trav enjoyed the cricket from the couch and I put my feet up in our courtyard. Then I started making a new dress which –if successful- I’ll wear to Andrea & David’s wedding in March. I’ve already named it ‘Ebony & Ivory’ and will start sewing it together this week I hope.

It's easy being green

What a brilliant weekend! Trav is back and we started Saturday at the Yarraville Farmers Market - I headed straight to Swampy's Eggs in the hope they might have some of their scrumptious Egg & Bacon pies, alas I was disappointed again but Swampy himself happily passed on the secret recipe for this weekend heart starter!

So here's how you too can enjoy these pies at home ...

..

...

...

Are you serious? Did you really think I'd broadcast it on the web? Not likely!

Next stop was Chalk on Anderson Street, I picked up a cute T-shirt for my cousin's baby boy and did a double take when I walked past a brand new store - the Green Collective. Clapping my hands with glee I raced inside and found a huge range of pre-loved clothing, recycled products and free trade items, as well as a friendly gent behind the counter. Wished I could stop for a chat but had to dash - unfortunately they're not open on Sundays so I don't know when I'll ever get there again - so that's how the flyer got on my fridge. 

All this while Trav was organising our breakfast from Hausfrau - what else but yummy bacon and egg pies!

Disaster!

My super cool flower fell off somewhere between home and the start of Lorimer street today - how did I miss that??

I think i might wait a while to decide what to put on there next.

Cyclodelic hits Oz

All you cycling fashonistas might want to check out Bicycle Victoria's chat with Amy Fleuriot of London's Cyclodelic here.

Cyclodelic

You can have the car

It took me 40 minutes to get to work today, but I wouldn't know about the traffic - I was back on Pashley! I'd been getting a bit jealous of all the cyclists zooming past while I wait at the lights recently and when Trav collected the car last night (to bring all his gear home on Friday) I had no choice! It took 15 minutes to make myself presentable and I was sitting at my desk with 5 minutes to spare.

It felt so good - I think Trav visiting and an early night also helped but however it happened, I'm well and truly back in the game and looking forward to tomorrow's ride... and the next one...and the one after that.

First Dog on the Moon strikes!

Looks like Pugville is getting some extra promotion - my neighbour saw this blog update on Twitter from our local cartoonist First Dog on the Moon!

The question is - will Firstdog make an appearance?

Back on the bike

What a brilliant weekend!

Yesterday I rode over to Spotlight to pick up some supplies for my latest projects, and as the temp hit 33 I did the rest of the running around in the car. Did I show you what I got for Christmas? Check out these absolutely stunning Pluma Panniers - handmade all the way over in Portland, Oregon by Queen Bee Creations. I've had my eye on these babies ever since I ordered Pashley. Thank you Trav - I just love them!! There's now no excuse for not riding to work - look at all this extra room for a pair of shoes and a change of clothes!

Did you spot my other present?

 

I was lucky enough to receive this Pashley leather frame protector as a gift from my friend Stephen at Bakerlite Trading

New basket complete with one huge red bloom.

I'm pretty sure my bike is the only one decked out like this

 

Check out my shoes, these Lacoste beauties started giving me blisters, but as biking shoes they're just perfect!

Here's my first entry for the Royal Horticultural Society Great Hanging Basket Competition. After trying to be really clever and unique, I opted for (as usual) understated elegance in the form of a pale yellow petunia surrounded by calibrachoa of a similar shade.

I just hope they look good for the show in March!

 

 

 

I finally made another delicious Nigella recipe today, this Happiness Soup from her Forever Summer series really brightened up an otherwise cloudy Melbourne afternoon. It's made of yellow squash, flavoured with lemon and turmeric, what a cosy combination! Accompanied by a sprig of fennel, Baker D. Chirico Epi and a glass of Pinot Grigio it's an excellent midweek dish.

Rossi and I enjoyed dinner al fresco with a crisp wind circling above.

Time keeps on slippin...

Already halfway through January? Can't be!

I've been keeping myself busy with sewing - Tamra and I spent Monday sewing buttonholes on our gorgeous retro sundresses. It's only taken 4 evenings so far!

I was very excited to visit Trav last night - although Rossi was less than impressed when fed him and raced out the door for the 2nd night in a row.

I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike tomorrow - there's lots of errands to run!

I'll also begin sewing my dress to wear to a wedding in March - don't want to be finishing it in the car like Lacey's outfit!

I have lots of exciting little projects on at the moment - I'm helping to organise a hens day for my close friend, I'm organising the new Pug gettogether in Yarraville and I also put my hand up to enter a hanging basket competition for this year's Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. What was I thinking? These next few months are going to fly - and then there's the list of wedding projects. Well, I better get cracking!

Pugville!

With the amount of pugs we meet around our neighbourhood we think it's high time that Pugwood came to the west. We already have lots of puggy friends at Pugwood North in Ascot Vale and on Sunday 7th February we're heading to Yarraville Gardens to meet some new friends. It's also Rossi's 4th birthday! We hope to see you and your pug there!

A rose by any other name...

A year ago I came across a really beautiful rose, during one of my regular strolls around the neighbourhood. The pink blooms were large and stood on very tall stems, the petals were wide but delicately ruffled and the fragrance was one I didn't recognise.

I plucked up the courage to ask for some cuttings and the owner was happy to oblige. Two attempts later none of the cuttings survived and all I could do was wait for summer to enjoy this rose from afar.

Can anyone out there suggest what it might be called? Does it look familiar to you? Until I can confirm the variety, this beauty will be known as 'Pilgrim' to me...

What goes around...

I breathe a sigh of relief as the first few raindrops land on the window, I think everyone around here is relieved at the cool change breezing through Melbourne right now - 35deg at midnight?? Enough is enough!

Kitchen Karma has got to be the best kind! My good friend was thinking of investing in a food dehydrator and as mine's been sitting quietly in the cupboard for at least 8 months, I offered it to her to try out first.

Two weeks later I received a special homemade jar of the sweetest semi-dried cherry tomatoes as a thank you!

Kitchen Karma!

My man is at army training for the next 2 weeks so I'm working through all sorts of movies and projects that i've been saving for these episodes, and I'm finally ticking off a couple of recipes I've been looking forward to. Two words. Nigella Lawson. I know I know everyone has their own opinion but as this is my blog my opinion is that whatever makes people want to cook is fine by me!

So encouraged by our heatwave, I started with the Spiced Pink Soup from her Forever Summer series. It was dead easy to make and I enjoyed my first bowl tonight. The cumin in this recipe gives the beetroot a hint of warmth and smokiness (even in a cold soup) and  the lime adds in a refreshing zing. And who could resist the colour??

Tempted?