pretty photos

I've been playing a bit more with photoshop - this time with graphics-y kinds of things, like my new blog header.

And then there's these cute photo overlays from Pugly Pixel, which is a fabulous blog full of ace tips, tutorials and freebies for using photoshop.

Jinxy  

Birthday cake & tea  

Gorgeous stack of fat quarters I picked up this morning  
There are loads more tricks at Pugly Pixel I can't wait to try out - expect to see a few more soon!!

xo

The muppets movie

We went to see the muppets movie this afternoon - a birthday treat for the guy.

The movie was lots of fun, but the best bit might almost have been Amy Adam's amazing wardrobe!

Look at the sleeves on this dress:

And the colour in this outfit:

I think this was my favourite - the bodice is reasonably plain (with cute pintucks) but I just adore the flowers around the skirt!

I definitely wasn't the only one distracted by the wardrobe during the film - I came across a number of blog posts on the very same issue, which also have pics of the other outfits (I also love the blue and yellow one!) including here, here, and here. Gorgeous!

xo

In January I am reading...

We're not having long 'school days' kind of summer holidays this year (quite the opposite actually - it's a very busy time at work, so I have spent most days this month doing at least some work at home) but I think my reading material this month does have a lazy summer holiday feel to it.

I've got a couple of books from previous months that I'm finishing up (I know - my attention span is appalling) beside that I'm reading...

The end/start of the year is such an inspiring time in blogland as people review projects past and plan for the year ahead. I've discovered loads of new (to me!) gorgeous blogs the last week or so - three of my favourites being:

• A Piece of Lisa
• Skunkboy Creatures
• Kat got the cream

Also inspiring in summer is all the amazing fruit and veg that's around.

I've been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of delicious produce overflow from friends - which has me dipping in and out of my Canberra Gardener and Sally Wise books as I plan both what I'd like have in my garden next season and how to preserve the excellent summer flavours in my fridge now!

xo

 ***
What's on your summer holiday (or cosy inside by the fire for our northern hemisphere friends!) reading list? Join in with our bloggy book club by letting us know in the comments. Remember to leave a link if you post your current reads on your blog too!

zucchinipalooza

I've been lucky enough over the last few weeks to get my hands on some gorgeous home grown produce - rhubarb and eggs, and now some amazing enormous yellow zucchinis! (Very exciting, since both my plants appear to be duds - loads of flowers but no fruit =( strawberries about the same!)

So far from my 2.5kg of zukes I've made zucchini slice (nice, but I think I'd prefer half tasty/half Parmesan cheese), zucchini pickle (I think I've mentioned before how much I love Sally Wise?!) and of course you simply can't have a zucchinipalooza without at least one batch of zucchini fritters!



I went with a recipe that has feta in it - and added some peas and corn to the mix. These were a pretty big weekend lunch hit!

I'm still planning to try this zucchini bread and/or these zucchini & carrot muffins - unless someone has a different recipe I should try?

xo

Cheesecake ice-cream

I haven't used the ice-cream maker for ages, but I busted it out and dusted it off to make dessert for our New Years Eve dinner.

I had a real hankering for cheesecake ice-cream, and after looking around the net a bit I decided on this recipe.



I tweaked it a bit - I used 2 full packs of creamcheese (the recipe asks for 1.5, but I didn't want the half pack leftover). I also folded through a few tablespoons of my delish strawberry and rhubarb jam when I added the biscuit crumbs.

And no special dessert would be complete without sprinkles - I went with the hearts, but edible glitter would have been perfection for NYE, no? I must keep an eye out for some!

Next time (and there will be a next time - it is amazing) I'll half the recipe - this made LOADS.
Did I mention that I love it?

xo

photoshopping

This week I treated myself to photoshop elements. I'm a complete beginner, but over the last day or so have had a lot of fun playing and figuring out how some of the bits and pieces work. It has mostly been trial, error, and some online tutorials (although I found most of them assume basic knowledge beyond what I had) - here's a look at some of the shots so far...

Mum's new kitten, Topsy Button

before:


after:


Postboxes in Denmark (taken on our holiday last year)

before:


after:


I've made a set on flickr here I'm saving shots I have been playing with, if anyone's interested.
Like I said, I'm a total novice, so would love any tips on using photoshop elements, or where to go for good tutorials! =)

xo

Same procedure as last year?

Godt Nytår =)

xo