one heck of a sambo

seriously, sandwiches have never really been my first love. oh, yes, i do love a good vegemite sandwich (only on the freshest of white breads, butter & that black goodness). and yes, there are those fond memories of my mother who would send me to school with faces on my sandwich (currents for eyes, tomato for the mouth, carrot for the hair. and that was even in my senior year!). 

but have i found the sandwich bar for you. thankyou earl canteen (like the earl of sandwich... geddit?) for dreaming up a sanwhich that encompasses crisp skin free-range pork belly, apple, cabbage & fennel coleslaw, wilted silverbeet on a baguette. yes it tasted every bit as good as it sounds! if you are in melboune (heck, if you are in a 300km radius of melbourne) do yourself a favour and get. there. now.

quick thanks to melbourne gastronome for sending me in the right direction.

pics: earl canteen 

some light relief...

...for your lazy weekend entertainment, can i suggest you open this little video and unashamedly have a little giggle at this cute porcupine who thinks he's a puppy. (thanks Alyson!)

because it's good just to let out some laughter for no reason!

happy weekend!

(incidentally, this is how my puppy is spending the weekend...

...what a life they lead!)

spring has sprung

... after a very wet and wild week (or two!), the sun made a spectacular appearance this weekend...

we are a no-dryer household, so i felt a little chained to the washing machine with all the back log of washing... but i do love my trusty hills-hoist. such an aussie classic!

i also had a little fight with the (should be) white grout in the bathroom... a winner hasn't been declared yet, and alas, i don't think i'm a chance for the gold medal!

 

 there was also considerable time spent yelling at this little brood... we are dog-sitting two loveable cocker-spaniels for some friends at the moment! there is a lot of puppy love to go around, but sometimes i think they gang up on us!

tonight we're having a simple dinner of thin spaghetti with a cherry tomato sauce (and plenty of parmegiano!!)... oh bliss!


what domestic delights did you get up to this weekend!

a spring sky

spring sky, originally uploaded by bec hem.

new shoots on the frangipani tree

a beautiful blue sky with wisps of clouds

today is a good day... my other half comes home after a week long work trip to the other side of the world. it'll be nice to have him home

what's the sky like in your neck of the woods?

this is part of the blog this challenge for this week. why don't you come and join in the fun!

{cooking} best bircher

best bircher, originally uploaded by bec hem.

bircher muesli... one of the loveliest ways to begin a weekend.... and it's almost the weekend, right?

so i thought i'd post my best bircher recipe. it's very easy! so grab a few quick ingredients, head through the "6 items or less" checkout, and whip this up for a lazy weekend breakfast...

ingredients
[serves 2. Can easily be doubled/tripled/etc.]
1 cup apple juice
1 cup rolled oats
1 apple, grated
1/2 punnet strawberries, chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2/3 cup natural yoghurt
2 tbs honey

 method
combine apple juice & oats in a bowl. cover and allow to soak overnight in the fridge.
just before serving, combine all the ingredients and mix well.

[would also be lovely with other berries, grated pear, banana... the list is endless!]

bon appetit!

fitzwilliam darcy the second

...and puppy makes three! everyone, i'd like you to meet fitzwilliam darcy the second.

we picked him up from the RSPCA (animal welfare centre) yesterday. we thought we'd just "go and look" and there he was. who knows where he came from, or what his past was like. but now he's ours...

he's got a cute little face, and long, athletic legs. he's skinny, but they say that's the stress of being at the shelter. he's still a bit nervous around us, but he loves our backyard.

and his name? we'll call him Fitzy, and I hope he'll grow into the confident and handsome man that he was named after!

(i'm thinking of naming all our dogs after jane austen characters... Captain Wentworth could be next!! my husband thinks i'm crazy. what do you think?!)

images :: my flickr

{harvest time} sqash

 

today's harvest of squash! they are beautiful furry bundles of yellow...

what's coming out of your vegie garden for dinner??

everyone loves a bargain...

what. a. morning.
we decided to hit the black & spiro sale. you know, black & spiro, only the most lovely design & interiors store in brisbane?? goodness there were a lot of people, and even more bargains! a LOT of self control was used this morning, and in the end i came home with an armful of material (lovely material!), some babushka dolls (!!) and this awesome stool...

i think it has found it's home beside my lovely tasmanian oak sideboard, by MOMA New York in a Bag, and my beloved Tram Roll Tea Towel that I won over at Daily Imprint!

what do you think?? you will laugh when i say i paid 2 (yes, TWO) dollars for it!! it's been a productive weekend already!

what a weekend...

What a weekend! as always, it went too fast... but hey, that's life.

it's fun to do crazy things every now and again. like put up a christmas tree. in july. and have secret santa presents. and bon bons. and sit around a table and have a big cooked dinner and tell the stupid jokes from the bon bons.
[eg. what's big and green and always points north? a magnetic cucumber. seriously. who comes up with these?? ]



so yes, Christmas In July happened this weekend for us. and it was great to catch up with some friends that we haven't seen for AGES... it's good, isn't it?? to catch up. chew the fat. laugh. cry.

(love christmas!)

and here i am, sunday night. i have so much blog inspiration: and so little time. but here is a little promise: a blog this week! mayhaps two... oh i'd like that :)
shall i finish with a picture of rudolf in my lounge room. He's gotta have a red nose for Christmas, right?!



i think'd make santa proud, don't you?