Bad Blogger

I’ve been a bad blogger, I know.  But not without reason – we’ve been a bit overwhelmed with busyness over the past few weeks and unfortunately blogging has been last on the list of priorities.

It started with a work function the week after our anniversary.  I was quite involved with the planning – it was a surprise party for the boss, so required lots of sneakiness and organisation.  I was in charge of invitations and decorations, so our lounge floor was covered in company memorabilia for a good couple of weeks while I cut out invitations and worked on the guest book and photo board etc.    

The weekend after my work-do was spent with Mike, doing the things he wanted to do with me on my birthday - seeing as he had to work on the actual day, we did them on the weekend instead.  He made me breakfast in bed and then we went out for the day, I had my hair done, then we had a nice lunch at a local café and did some shopping and just hung out together.  We went out for lunch with friends the next day too and then suddenly, I turned 22. 

I was very spoiled on my birthday – Mike got me a new camera (yay!).  And I also got lots of cute kitchen things – tea in vintage tins, pretty cupcake cases, baking tags and a pretty tea trolley to display it all on!  My lovely friend Neva gave me a patchwork book and the promise of sewing lessons, yippee; I have been wanting to learn for the longest time!

Two days after my birthday, I woke with a horrible migraine, so I stayed home from work and slept for most of the day and then lay on the couch in the lounge in my dressing gown and sunglasses, with all the curtains closed - I’m sure it was a really attractive sight for Mike to come home to!

The next day, our much-loved Granny went to be with Jesus :(  We got a call shortly before 6am on Thursday to say that she had collapsed and been rushed to hospital unresponsive.  We jumped out of bed and rushed to the hospital and on arrival, we were told that she had pneumonia, but also that all her organs were failing and there was nothing more that they could do for her.

It was special to spend those final hours with her.  We held her hand and talked to her and shared our favourite memories of her (my favourite was the time we went to visit and she called out, “Who is it?” Mike replied, “It’s your favourite grandson!”  And she said, “Oh lovely, is that you Paul?”  Hahaha, poor Mike!  He is sure that she really did mean him and just got the names confused.). 

Granny stayed with us until all of her kids in New Zealand were at her bedside and the ones who live in America and Australia had called and spoken to her, and then she peacefully slipped away in her sleep.

The past week and a half has mostly been spent with the family; two of Mike’s cousins came to stay with us and we have had lots of family dinners and barbeques to go to, as well as funeral preparations to take care of and then of course, the funeral.  It was a lovely service; the chapel was packed and it was a real celebration of her life.  There were some tears, and a lot of laughter, the way I think there should be.  Favourite memories, funny stories and some of her famous sayings were quoted (“Monkey know which tree to climb.”).  It was a beautiful way to farewell a lady that was so loved by so many.

Yesterday was spent at Granny’s house sorting through her things.  Mike’s dad put aside a beautiful crystal jug and set of glasses that he wanted us to have – they were given to Granny on her wedding day, so it’s precious that they now belong to us.

It’s going to take a while to adjust to Granny not being around anymore - It was hard going to her house and seeing all her things without her in the midst of them - but I know that she is at peace now and is in a much better place.  She loved Jesus and had told us many times that she was ready to go home to Him.  I am happy that she is there with Him now.

We will miss her so much.  She was a beautiful lady and I feel blessed to have known her.  

So, there you have it, that’s where I’ve been the past few weeks.  Things are starting to settle back to normal now, so I’ll be back soon.  I promise I won’t leave it so long before the next post - I have lots of recipes and crafting to share with you. 

Until then xo

Orchids.

Today is our six monthaversary and I got up this morning to find my lovely husband waiting in the lounge with these …

Yes, he is the best and no, you can’t have him.

I surprised him with a wedding album that not only has our wedding photos in, but all the readings from our ceremony, too.  You are probably thinking that we are shocking to have gone an entire six months without getting any of our photos printed… I would have to agree.

I know boys don’t really care so much about the wrapping, but I am a total gifts person and for me, half of giving a gift is making it look pretty.  I have a big crush on brown paper… and twine… and pretty material… so I am pretty happy with how this one turned out :)

Six months of marriage might not seem like a lot and to be honest, it’s not, but that doesn’t matter.  We’re not celebrating how long we have been married, we’re celebrating the fact that we are married… and we love each other… and we’re going places.  Great places.

Happy six month anniversary to my best friend and the spunkiest hubby out, I love you xx

Sister Act

My little sister and I did some bonding over the weekend.  Mike was off watching the rugby with his friends, so we snapped up the opportunity to trial a new recipe.  We baked by the light of the moon...

and drank tea from pretty cups.

Okay, it wasn’t really the moon.  It was the new light above Mom and Dad’s dining table.  But it sure looks like the moon and I’m quite fond of it.  So fond that I took a picture.  I might climb up there and steal it one day when they’re not looking. 

Roasted Pears with Chocolate and Walnut Crumble. 

Ingredients:

¼ cup honey
50 grams butter
Juice of two lemons
6 small ripe, but firm pears

100 grams butter

½ cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup flour
70 grams walnuts
150 grams dark chocolate

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a roasting dish with baking paper.

In a small pan, melt butter and honey (over medium heat) and stir in lemon juice.

Peel, halve and core pears (I used a melon-baller for coring them and it worked perfectly – Genius, I know.).  Dip and coat each pear in the honey mixture and place in the roasting dish with the cut side facing up.  Pour over the remaining syrup, cover with tinfoil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

For the crumble - mix brown sugar, rolled oats and flour, then rub in the butter (slightly softened).  Fold in walnuts and dark chocolate, both chopped roughly.

After 20 minutes, remove pears from the oven, uncover and top with crumble mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve on a pretty plate with cream or ice cream.

The Verdict:

It was… okay.  Not bad, not great, just okay.  The pears were quite bland and seeing as they are sort of the main part, it was a bit disappointing. 

The crumble was delicious though.  I will definitely be making that again, but maybe next time I’ll pair it with something a bit more flavourful.  I’m thinking berries or apricots – or maybe just apple.  Oh, the possibilities.

Next on my list of recipes to try is Caramel Mudcake.  I’m hoping tastes as delicious as it sounds. 

Super Simple Oaty Crisp Cookies

I promised you this yummy recipe a few weeks ago.  It’s taken much longer than I planned to get it to you, but I’m sure you’ll forgive me once you’ve tried it. 

I love this recipe for many reasons, but mainly because the cookies are delicious and it’s almost impossible to mess up – I have overcooked them and undercooked them and they were delicious both times – like, good enough to serve to guests kind of delicious!

Ingredients:

100 grams butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup

1 cup sugar

2 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons water

1 cup flour

Method:

Melt butter and add golden syrup, sugar and rolled oats.  Mix in baking soda dissolved in water.  Add flour and mix well.  Roll into balls and place on a lined baking tray and press flat (you don’t need to press them too much as they spread as they cook). 

Bake at 180 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Now that is a simple recipe.  Happy baking :)

182 Sleeps.

Ok, so I thought you should all know....

There's less that six months until Christmas!!

(182 sleeps to be exact)

June 25th is a great day for me.  It means that we're on the downward slope to Christmas.  I LOVE Christmas.  It's one of my most favourite things.  Not that it really counts as a 'thing,' but still.  It is.

I made the rule a few years ago (I may, or may not have gone slightly overboard that Christmas) that I am not allowed to shop for, think about, plan for, talk about or countdown to Christmas until it is less than 6 months away.

So, today is June 26th and I have already decided where the Christmas tree is going (in the corner of the lounge, next to my favourite frame, which I will peg all kinds of Christmassy things to).  
 
I'm wondering whether I should make Mike a new Christmas stocking and what kind I should make (I would make me one, too - but a special friend of mine made me one a few years ago and I love it too much to replace it.).

I've browsed the Christmas cookbook I gave myself for Christmas a couple of years ago for recipe ideas.  I'm liking the look of Hot Schnocolate.  

I've made a mental list of all the friends I want to make gingerbread houses for, and who I want to have around for a Christmas party.  Which reminds me - my elf costume needs fixing.

Ahh, Christmas.  I've missed you.

Two Years.

Today, Mike and I have been together for two years.  Two whole years!  How crazy is that?  I can't decide if it feels like less or more...  Less because time is flying so fast and seems like just yesterday he was asking me out.  And more because it feels like he has been a part of my life, of me, forever. 

What I do know is that is that (besides Jesus) he is the best thing that's ever happened to me and that he makes my life richer.  I am beyond grateful - and blessed - to have him as my best friend and husband. 

He hasn't fixed me or completed me like they say in movies, but he's helped me to fix myself; he's been my cheer team and made me feel strong enough and worth enough to work on things and be a better person.  He inspires me every day just because of who he is.  And with his dreams and plans and passion for life.  He makes me happier and more content than words can describe.  



Mike, I love you.  Thank you.  For everything.

xoxox

Queenstown.

Queenstown was awesome!

It was a miracle we actually got to go – there’s a volcano billowing ash in Chile and a big cloud of it has drifted down over Australia and New Zealand and it’s been causing major disruption to flights for a couple of weeks now.  We were the first flight to Queenstown that actually went ahead.  We flew back into Auckland on Monday night and flights were cancelled again on Tuesday afternoon.  Big ups to The Man Upstairs who cleared the cloud just long enough for us to have a weekend away. 

Tiki touring up mountains, walking the waterfront, riding bikes, luge-ing, exploring,  wearing furry hats, taking silly photos and of course, lots of relaxing.  And lots of cuddles with this guy...

Oh yeah, and throwing eggs off the deck… Shh...

The weather was pretty gloomy the day we flew down, so for most of the flight all we saw were clouds, apart from a misty glimpse of the mountains as we came in to land.

After arriving, we spent the rest of the day unpacking and settling into our cliff top mansion.  Ok, I don’t know if it would technically be classed as a mansion, but it was definitely cliff top and it was beautiful.  Check out the view from the deck…

On Saturday morning we did the Shotover Jet; both fun and terrifying.  Mostly terrifying.  Just when I was thinking I liked it, the driver would throw us ridiculously close to the rocks and I’d be screaming my face off.  I look petrified in the photos, it’s quite hilarious. 

After the Shotover, we watched Matt do a bungy jump. 

Watching your brother in law jump off a bridge is much less scary than you’d expect - it was over before we knew it and thankfully, he made it safely to the bottom. 

We used up the rest of the daylight tiki touring up a mountain and visiting Arrowtown (a cute historic town just outside Queenstown) and then headed back to the house for dinner, a movie and a spa – all seven of us.  In a four-person spa.  Yep, that’s how we roll.  

Sunday we wandered around town for most of the morning.  In the afternoon, Mom, Dad, Mike and I hired bikes and rode around the lakefront.  Dad picked a chopper, Mom picked one that was the right height and I picked the only one with a basket.  Mike picked the one with the newest tyres and got told off for doing skids before we’d even left.  On our way around the lake, I did an unintentional stoppie (which is when you stop suddenly using only the front brakes and the back wheel lifts up) which stoppied me from riding off the path and into the lake (and earned me mad street cred with the gangster kids out riding that day).

On our last day, we packed our bags and headed into town for breakfast, then headed up the gondola, which was a m a z i n g.  Mom, Dad and the boys went luge-ing at the top, while us girls had coffee, admired the view and browsed the souvenir shop. 

We gondola-ed back down and got burgers for lunch from Fergburger.  It’s kind of famous in Queenstown; there are always queues of people out the door.  They gave us our order in a paper bag – like, a shopping bag sized paper bag – I thought that was a bit strange until I got my burger out.  It was literally the size of my face.  See the look on my face?  Yeah.  That’s intimidation. 

After our burgers we headed to the airport, the boys returned the rental cars and then we ran for our plane.  If you’ve never been so late for a flight that you’ve had to run for it, you should definitely try it.  Makes the whole experience so much more exciting.  Of course, if you do, you can guarantee that at least half of you will get stopped for an extra scan and one of you will lose their boarding pass at the gate.  True.  Story.

 

The sky was pretty clear over the South Island on the way home, so it was a much prettier flight. 

Back in cloudy Auckland now and I’m already planning our next trip there… I’m gonna go paragliding next time.  Dang.  I said it on the internet, now I have to do it.  Hopefully it will be snowing and *hint, hint, husband* I’ll have a new camera.  

Thanks for having us, Queenstown.  And thanks family for an awesome weekend away – where to next?!