A capital F

.......for FUN!!! Miss M's Hallowe'en party was a screaming success.
We decked out the house...

              

Happens when you don't do the dusting...

Kevin in his fave chair



A little bone action in the roses....(did I really say that?)



                    

Miss M's friends looked suitably ghoulish!

...........as did the ghostly shadows taking the photos!

Don't get me started on the freaky food!

Severed finger cupcakes courtesy of my very talented M-I-L

Enough food colouring was ingested to make for some very amusing Mummy Wrapping.....



.....and as all sugar-fuelled games go, it very quickly went "pumpkin" shaped!



After a very successful Trick-or-Treat around the neighbourhood 7o'clock hit, the ghouls went home, the washing up was done and Ms.K had a date with a cheeky vino in a darkened room! Can't wait till next Hallowe'en!!

xxMs.K

Happy Hallowe'en!!

Come on....we've all been there! I've had this pic in my stash for years but it never fails to amuse me...hee hee!!! I know Hallowe'en isn't for a few days yet but Miss M is hosting a Hallowe'en party tomorrow night and, as I'm in the throes of putting up the decorations (no excuses needed), I thought I'd pull this one out to get me in the mood. Box ticked!! Best be off to put the finishing touches on Miss M's "scary fairy" costume and sharpen my tail! Watch this space for pics of the goings-on at the party. Can't wait!

xxMs.K

Says it all.....

xxMs.K

Fruity Fun

While technically not all fruit, they ARE all fun! I know these food savers have been around for yonks but when I saw the four different types all together in a big basket at Kmart with a $2 sign above them I could no longer resist picking up a few for true Kitchen Kitsch! ....and the proof of their value is in the (tomato) pudding:



This sad half of a tomato has been sitting in it's protective house since Wednesday. Look at it....still fresh as a daisy!! Gotta love that!

You know, if you didn't want to use these as food savers you could put all sorts of treasures in there such as buttons, paper clips, spare change....or just split them in half and use as a whacky bikini at the beach this summer. Now there's an idea........

xxMs.K

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my dear friend Mrs.N!!! I made this just for you my sweet; I hope it goes well with your new Cape Cod deck chair.....This is my first attempt at sewing bunting...I promise it does look better in real life!

And we have a couple of new family members. Pleased to introduce you to Miss H's new friend "Berry":

You'd look cranky too if you were plopped into a very pinkly furnished new house. Lucky his mates can't see him! And Miss M's new buddy "Cristal":

Hilarious!!! I know, he looks like he's smiling; I think he quite likes his new pink glitter palace or is it just the water neutraliser??! Charge your glasses, be upstanding, and here's cheers for a long and happy life in the Kitchen Kitsch house!!! Ha!

xxMs.K



P.S

Just an add-on to last night's post. The piano recital brought back memories of my piano concerts when I was Miss M's age; in particular the "after party".....I blocked out the actual piano performance! We would adjourn to Mrs C's dining room where we would all share in an afternoon tea of epic proportions served on her lovely china....I'm talking REAL afternoon tea like ribbon sandwiches, cakes, scones with jam and cream, cupcakes; all homemade of course, but the part that has stayed with me is that she had the best crazy tea set I have ever seen. So it was then, back in the early '80's that my Mum started my china trio collection for me. If memory serves me correctly, this was one of my first!

Please be reminded that this post is a P.S done in haste so sorry, no ironing of fabric today!

xxMs.K



Tinkle the Ivories!

What a lovely afternoon I had today. Miss M had her end of year piano recital and we were privileged to hear a sample of a year's hard work. I was so proud! She didn't play a note wrong and she was even given a trophy to prove it. Well done you beautiful girl, you are destined for great things. Biased I know but you would feel the same if you met Miss M....





xxMs.K

Ebay Find

Another lovely Friday off today. Earlier this week I had a "win" on Ebay; I say "win" because, as my friend tells me (and her hubby tells her) you didn't actually "win" it, you still had to pay for it. So technically I "bought" this on Ebay......regardless, I LOVE it!!!
So I was very excited after school drop off because I was on my way to pick up my new treasure.


Voila!!!

Isn't she sweet? The lovely man who I bought this vintage coffee set from lives locally and tells me it belonged to his elderly mother who very recently passed away and he remembered her using it in the 1950's which makes it extra extra special. I paid him (was tempted to give him double!) and promised him I would take good care of them.....too scared to use them now!! The set actually has six cups and saucers but I couldn't fit them neatly in the pic. We then had a nice chat about how wonderful Mothers are (reckon my girls will say the same about me when they're my age???) and I told him I was just on my way to visit my Mum which I later felt a bit guilty about seeing as though he just lost his....timing Ms.K, timing.......

So off I went to Mum's for a sewing lesson but on the way I got distracted by a discount fabric shop where I picked up these beauties.

I have some cute ideas for these babies after I've had a few more sewing lessons. Hmmm....could do with some photography lessons also. Have a great week end and here's to fabulous Mums!!

xxMs.K

This can only mean one thing.....

He he he....no, not that it's wheelie bin day, but that we're in the thick of Spring! For me it's the time I not only think about the cuteness of newborn baby lambs but more importantly: Fruit Mince!!  When the beautiful Jacarandas are in full bloom around Brisbane is about the time I stock up on my ingredients for this Xmas delicacy which I make every year. So without further adieu I present to you my version of Fruit Mince.

You will need:

1 large glass jar with a screw top lid

A cup of pecans

1/2 cup of honey

Rind and juice of an orange

A green apple, chopped

Dried fruit of your choice; I use sultanas, raisins, prunes, dates and figs (enough to fill the jar)

Cointreau

Vodka

Cranberry juice

Fresh lime

First of all you will need to pour one nip of the vodka, half a nip of the cointreau, a splash of cranberry juice and a squeeze of lime into a cocktail shaker (yes, I'm serious... you'll thank me). Whack in some ice and give a good shaking for about 30 seconds. Decant into your fave cocktail glass.

Step 2 is to finely chop all of the dried fruit and nuts. Take a quick swig sip of the Cosmopolitan (in case you didn't know) that you have just mixed....you'll need it to help you get through all this chopping. I like a bit of Nigella action and do my chopping with a mezzaluna.  Those with squeamish tendencies look away now.....

They're prunes, I swear!

So once all of the chopping of fruit and nuts is done put them into a large bowl and add the chopped green apple, the honey, and, as I don't like mixed peel, I use orange juice and the finely grated rind. Give a good mix and tip into the sterilised glass jar.

Pour in enough Cointreau to fill about a third of the jar and pop on the lid, then sit back, and slowly sipping your Cosmo, admire what will very soon be the best fruit mince you've ever tasted.

Store in a cool dry place and tip upside down on day two, then back the right way on day three etc for the first seven days. This will keep for months and will be perfectly sloshed in time for your fruit mince pies on Xmas Day and used as a topping on vanilla ice cream thereafter. Mmmmmmm!  Please excuse the tangled mess of Xmas ribbon I have draped so unprofessionally around the base of the jar...

and now a moment of truth:

My first attempt at sterilising my brand new jar with boiling water. Don't do it!

xxMs.K

Mondo Cherry? Mondo Good!!

I love it when I look in my hefty overstuffed handbag and find forgotten treasures. This happened to me very recently when I reached in for my car keys and pulled out a lovely little package. You see, on Sunday I checked out The Boutique Markets at Portside, Hamilton. My first port of call was to Mondo Cherry where I could have easily snapped up all in sight at this gorgeous corner of the markets but I begrudgingly limited myself to these cuties:

Sorry if I've confused you....I'm talking about the gift tags with the the cherubic little children on them.  I know, I know....how could I possibly forget buying something so lovely only 3 days ago? You haven't seen inside my bag! The tags are made from vintage children's books and are oh so sweet. This is merely a snippet of the huge range that the Mondo Cherry girls lovingly cut and sew by hand.  My biggest dilemma now is trying to decide which three of my friends and family I love most to give these little beauties to?  I've a feeling this won't be my last Mondo Cherry purchase (I just love saying that name!)

xxMs.K

Market Flowers

For me, Saturday morning means only one thing: Market morning. So 5.30am nearly every Saturday I pack my little trolley into the car and head over to the Brisbane Market Place at Rocklea to stock up on fresh fruit and veges, bread, fish, meat, deli goods and flowers (my pat on the back for getting up so early). This Saturday morning as I was pulling out of my driveway 2 young blokes who live down the road were just stumbling home from a huge night out after obviously catching the first bus of the day home and I was hearing reports on the radio that a huge storm was headed our way. Must say I was thinking at the time "who's the dummy in this picture??" but I drove on, determined to fulfill my nurturer gatherer role.
As always the markets did not disappoint and my present to me was probably my best purchase. Three bunches of Alstroemeria aurantiaca for $10 !! Took alot of googling to find that name!

I love putting my flowers (cleverly (?) digitally enhanced for effect!) in old olive oil tins, chilli sauce bottles, tomato tins etc with a white vintage table runner placed underneath to tame it down. It looks busy but that's the way I like it!!  Happy flowers....happy Me!


xxMs.K

Friday Projects

I love my Fridays off and today was no exception. I recently ordered a lovely batch of fabric from the US which I had loaded into the car along with my sewing machine and a headful of ideas.  After the school drop off I made my way to my parent's house where Mum and I started on some exciting projects using the fabric I had chosen.

Unlike my very talented mother who has always been quite the sewer, I was not blessed with the desire to cut and stitch anything, apart from the odd cushion cover over the years.....why would I when I was a direct descendant of one of the best of them? So now the time has come when I actually want to learn the craft.....and maybe make a few bucks on the side with the finished product.

After a morning of pattern making, designing and cutting I'm pleased to say I'm delighted with what's about to transpire and look forward to divulging more on this subject in the very near future!

Of course the morning was topped off by a beautiful lunch of sushi, Stilton, fruit and a cheeky vino to wash it all down..........ahhhh the joys of sewing!!

Thanks Mum; you're the best!!



xxMs.K

  

Fleurette

I want to mention a lovely purchase I made on the week end. Now those who know me may not know this, but those who know me well do know this: I'm a terrible shopper. I can shop till I drop for homewares, craft, vintage ephemera and the like, but shopping for clothes does not come naturally to me.  I think it's the whole getting undressed thing; I'm not a fan of the undress and standing in those brightly lit change rooms surrounded by a pentagon of mirrors....well I'd rather eat my own hair.

That was until I found the Fleurette by Fleur Wood range at Myer on Saturday.  It wasn't actually the clothes that first caught my eye it was the cute little fabric swing tag. Gorgeous!!

In my 1/2 hour window of opportunity to shop before I was whisked away on my "Wedding Anniversary Weekend" I grabbed the first cute dress I saw and raced into the change room (read: walked briskly to join the 20 minute long queue to the change room).  The range is feminine and vintage inspired (well the bits I fleetingly saw were), and very well priced. So....what did I buy?? A delightful little teal and white floral number, very Mad Men in its shape and cut just to the knee.  I teamed it with my little white cardi, black opaque tights, my very old and well worn square toed t-bar heels and red lips. Tres chic!! Well I thought so....Mr.D said "it's not real flattering on your butt" or was that just how I heard it?? Not sure if Trinny and Suz would have approved either, see I'm a short hourglass, not the '50's pin-up shape but more of a Salvador Dali-style hourglass....kinda curvy and droopy. Too much information! Get thee to Myer to check out Fleurette for yourself.....at least check out the swing tag.

PS Poor Mr.D, he actually said I looked pretty...see how I can twist things??

xxMs.K

Afternoon Tea

I've got my cranky pants on tonight. I'm not certain as to why....just in a Cancerian mood (blame it on astrology). To help me get through the night, until the kids go to bed, I decided to have a flick through my latest find. I know I'm probably preaching to the converted but recently I "discovered" frankie magazine and all the treasures that go along with it such as this lovely little cookbook appropriately called, afternoon tea. It's a pretty-pictured book that's full of old-school recipes which have been handed down through generations and at $19.95 it's a steal. Even if you weren't into baking you'd buy it just for the pictures....well I would.

Makes me want to don one of my vintage aprons and skip into the kitchen tout de suite! Only problem is, which one to bake first; the crunchy pink slice or the macadamia beer cake???

xxMs.K