Home Office Space - Before and After

I am so lucky to have a home office space in my house.  For a while we were putting up with the 70's decor but then I decided to claim to the space and Kane and I got stuck in to decorating and I realised I never did share the before and after pictures.

Before:

When I was stripping the wall paper off the walls I had a really bad cold.  I had to rest often because my body hurt but using the wall paper steamer did great things for my stuffed up sinuses!

I had to rope in Kane's help for doing some of the high painting and once it was all finished then we put up the new roman blind and light fixtures.  I had great fun spray painting the filing cabinet, but I think I might have spent more on spray paint than I did buying the second-hand cabinet in the first place!

I got a nice new monitor for my birthday and had great fun picking out the rest of the functional and not-so-functional decor.

After:

I like making myself a nice hot drink, lighting my scented candle, streaming a chill spotify playlist and cosying into my space to get stuff done!

Hygge Knitting

I found a nice pattern to use my North Ronaldsay yarn on that I bought when I last visited Orkney in 2016.  It's called the Bandana Cowl and its my first go with short rows. 

\\ From Purl Soho Website \\

The first two attempts failed because I didn't use stitch markers but on my third attempt I've made it passed the short rows and I'm heading for the decreases.

I find knitting quite therapeutic, almost meditative, and any excuse to cuddle with my cat on the sofa feeling cosy is fine with me!  The other cat prefers to go watch Kane play computer games =^-^=

// Me and Azzy cat //

I really ought to knit more often but I need to knit with a purpose, so I'm recommitting to knitting some baby hats for the local hospital and also knitting some hats and scarves for the local city mission.

Maybe now I can knit short rows I should give some hygge woolen socks a go?

\\ From Website \\

What's your favourite wooly item?

Winter is Coming .. better get out the blankets

First of all I am super excited about the new Game of Thrones season coming in July!  But I am not as excited about actual winter coming this week. 

In New Zealand winter officially starts on the 1st June, but many places in the country has already had a bit of snow and few cold snaps.  In Auckland we don't get snow but we still complain about the cold which leads the rest of the country to the south, to call us "soft" and make fun of us, as in this article from our national newpapers website:

//From NZ Herald

When I was in Scotland last year I really wanted to get a wool blanket in the Dress Stewart tartan.  I had seen this picture (below) when I was looking for inspiration for decorating the bedroom and I just love it.

So I set out scouring the streets of Edinburgh.  I had expected the high end shops like Romanes and Paterson or Hector Russell would have what I was looking for, but alas they had any blanket I could have wanted except Dress Stewart.  I started to feel like I wasn't going to get what I wanted, so when I found a blue version in the Edinburgh Woolen Mill shop I decided to get it.  Later, while trawling through all the tartan and Scottish shops on the Royal Mile, I came across the tartan blanket I wanted, but it was in a super soft lambswool and not the slightly rougher texture I was looking for.  I bought it anyway.

It wasn't until I was at the airport ready to head back to New Zealand that I finally found the blanket I was looking for!  So yes, I now have 3 tartan blankets!  That should keep me toasty warm this winter!

//My 3 blankets

Do you have a favourite blanket or comfort item?  Tell me in the comments!

Home-made Mayonnaise and Coleslaw Recipes

Last week while I was sick and home alone, I went to make a sandwich only to discover that we were out of salad cream and mayonnaise so I set about making my own.  I'm pretty sure the last time I made mayonnaise from scratch was when I was 11 and in the Brownies, but this is a very easy recipe and came out really well.

* * * *

Whole-Egg Mayonnaise Recipe

Ingredients:
* 2 Eggs
* 2 tbsp White Vinegar
* 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
* 1/4 tsp Salt
* 500 ml Vegetable Oil

Method:
1. Using a food processor, crack in eggs, add mustard, salt and vinegar and turn to a medium speed.
2. Very slowly drizzle in the oil in a small steady stream.

You can then put in a container and store for 2 weeks in the fridge.

 * * * *

Yesterday evening I decided that I would use up the leftover quarter cabbage and mayonnaise by making a coleslaw.  Again, another easy recipe with all the hard work taken out if you have a food processor!

* * * *

Coleslaw Recipe



Ingredients:
* 1/4 Cabbage
* 4 Carrots
* 6 tbsp Mayonnaise (more or less as desired)
* 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
* Pepper to taste

Method:
1. Shred the cabbage and then shred the carrots.
2. Stir in the mayonnaise and mustard and mix well.  Adjust amounts to taste and add pepper.

* * * *

// Home made coleslaw 

However, as I began to shred the cabbage my food processor made a horrible clacking noise and I checked to find that the shredding attachment hadn't seated itself properly and was catching on the lid.  I adjusted it and continued on shredding the cabbage and the carrots.  I then proceeded on with my recipe and then decided to experiment a bit more adding in chipotle tabasco sauce and cayenne pepper when suddenly I bit down on something hard and spat out a small shard of plastic.  I looked at the lid I had put in the sink and yes, it was quite broken.

There was just too much broken away that there was no way we could have eaten the coleslaw safely.  I wasn't very happy - the coleslaw was really tasty!

// Broken Food Processor Lid

Thankfully, I found a replacement lid on a website called NeedAPart.co.nz and I have bought from them before so hopefully that will arrive soon and I can use my food processor again!

March: Meals, Miles, Books and Looks

I've really felt the change of season this month.  It's become noticeably cooler in the evenings and the clocks go back an hour this coming Sunday.  Motivation has waxed and waned and some days I'm running racing and eating sensibly while on others I barely leave the sofa and eat too many creme eggs.  The hot chocolate cravings and desire to hibernate are there already but it's far too early for all that!

Meals:

I finally bought the Le Creuset mini cocottes that I've been coveting for years and made and served lots of food in them this month.

I had my first attempt at making toad in the hole but as I was in the process of making it, I realised that I used the eggs that I thought I had so I used the egg replacer I had in the cupboard.  It was edible, but perhaps a bit drier than it would have been otherwise.

1) boiled egg & soldiers, 2) carrots & mixed peas and corn
3) toad in the hole, 4) macaroni cheese & broccoli

I upgraded my spice rack with some garam masala and cumin to make a kumara and chickpea curry as my last attempt using generic curry powder was too bland.  I'm pleased to say that the new spices really bolstered the flavour.

And as I mentioned in my Pi day post, I did make chowder out of the left over vegetables.  I blended half of the vegetable mix and added shrimps and some salt and pepper.  It made a really tasty, hearty soup that I'll definitely make again.

1) chickpea and kumara curry, 2) baked potato & shrimps,
3) mojito lime marinaded tuna and vegetables, 4) shrimp chowder 

Miles: 29.4km

A painfully low amount of kilometres this month.  I ran 2 races this month, which I did well in but other than that it's been a difficult month for motivation.  I've also done 4 strength sessions and 1 single yoga class.  Oh dear :(

Books:

I read 3 books this month to keep me on target to read 24 books by the end of the year.

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, was an amusing read.  I heard about this book over on Lisa's blog and it lived up to expectation.

A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton is the third book in this series that's become a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine.  Books that include recipes and knitting patterns? Sign me up!

All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka is a short read that the film Edge of Tomorrow is based on.  I enjoyed the movie and I really liked this book.  It's a bit different from the movie so it didn't ruin it for me having seen the movie first.

Looks:

I finally got my jeans hemmed and I bought some new shoes and red pants that I've not worn yet but hopefully that means I'll have some new looks for next month.  This month however I've only got my silly outfit I wore for a St Patrick's day dinner and a head band that I knitted.

//St Patricks Dinner

//Knitted Headband

I love this pattern and its available for free on Ravelry.  I'm not the fastest knitter but it took less than 2 hours to have a finished wearable product.

St Patricks Day Tea Cosy

Happy St Patrick's Day!

I've been meaning to make a tea cosy for myself for a while and since I've been spending more time in my home office I'm drinking much more tea by myself.  To help prevent the too-cool-second-cup problem I thought it was a good time to find a nice pattern and get it sorted.

My number one source for knitting patterns is Ravelry so I did a pattern search for an easy tea cosy and this lovely pattern called Little Cupcake Tea Cosy by Lisa Sisk caught my eye.  The pattern is available for free on Ravelry or it can be purchased for 3 Euro from This Is Knit.
 

//Tea Cosy

When I went over to my box of yarn to pick one out for this project, this green colour immediately jumped out at me and it's perfect for a St Patrick's day tea cosy.  Now I just need to pick up some Irish Breakfast tea from the supermarket and I'm all set.

Are you a hot drink fan?  Or would you prefer a nice Guinness?

Friday the 13th and Valentines Day

Friday 13th

The weekend started with Friday the 13th and we thought it would be fun to note the date with a cheesy b horror flick and some take out Hell Pizza.  I had suggested a haunted corn maze but in truth I would be too terrified to do this and was counting on a unanimous no way!

A while ago when our local video store closed down we bought a few DVDs for practically peanuts and one of the ones I picked up was Loch Ness Terror.  I'm not much of a fan of horror movies but I've seen a couple of these SciFi (SyFy) channel ones now and they are quite funny and entertaining.  (See my post: Cinco De Mayo)

Images TL: Amazon,TR and BL: Pixgood, BR: Jennya'things

Kane and his parents had been at the liquor store and bought me some Budweiser and then Kane ordered pizza for delivery and then we all just relaxed with a beer or wine and once the pizza arrived we put on the movie.  This movie was just what we needed at the end of a long week and we laughed, jumped at times, and had a good time.  And we recognised a few of the main actors from other shows like Psych, Eureka, Star Gate SG1, and Charmed.

Valentines Day

The next day was Valentines day.  I've never really celebrated this day much before and when we got married our anniversary became the day to celebrate love.  However this year I wanted to give an outward expression of love, of platonic and neighbourly love, of familial love, and of romantic love.  Whilst our anniversary is a private celebration of our personal love story, Valentines day can be a way to express the sentiment "be the change you wish to see in the world" and maybe the world could use a little more affection.

I wanted to make a nice breakfast for everyone and had planned on heart shaped eggs and toast with rose and french vanilla tea or Irish cream coffee.  The heart shapes weren't very apparent on the toast and I only managed to make 1 successful heart shaped egg (which I gave to my husband of course!) but the tea and coffee made it to the table as planned though.

At least I had decorated nicely thanks to this simple craft tutorial I found on Strawberry Chic for vertical heart garlands.  I got some patterns from Mein Lila Park that I printed out and then cut hearts of various shapes and sizes and cut slits in them to thread string through.  I had trouble getting the string to go through so I threaded it onto a large wool darning needle and used that to make it easier.

I had also got all 4 of us special valentines day tickets for the rugby (Blues v Chiefs).  This included access to the Valentines lounge where there were pre-game games and post-game player socialisation, and a complimentary drink.  We were all given Blues flags and blue roses too.  It was the first game of the season and it was a roller coaster of a game that unfortunately the Blues lost but I think my in-laws enjoyed the experience.

All-in-all a successful weekend even though I came down with a cold on Sunday and spent the day watching TV and playing computer games!

A Spanner in the Works

Well my plans for Tuesday and Wednesday were cancelled because I have come down with the cold :(

But I'm feeling much better today so will be going to the Auckland Knitting Group tonight.  I still have a sore throat and I hope I don't infect everyone there!  I've been working on a blanket, but I haven't done anything with it for a couple of weeks so I really need to get going with it again.

I'll report back later!

Blanket in Progress

I'm making progress with this blanket, it's the first time I've tried cabling :)

Inspiration for my house

When we were looking for somewhere to live, dear hubby and I made up wish lists.  I always wanted to live somewhere like the holiday park in Dirty Dancing.  I loved the lake, trees and the little chalets.  When I saw The Simpsons episode, "You Only Move Twice" (the one with Hank Scorpio), I really wanted to live at Homer and Marge's house in Cypress Creek!

Ceiling Completed

Whilst I was away for a lovely girls spa weekend, dear hubby had painted the ceiling.  It's a skillion roof we have so in our upstairs rooms it makes up a sloping wall.  It was great to come home to a nice white ceiling.  Some parts had needed up to 5 coats of paint! 

I also got some very nice chairs from a friend of mine and they look fantastic in what is becoming our reading room, although I think I may have to fight the cats for space!

So here is white sloping roof and new chairs.  Still to do: flooring and shelving.

Home Improvements in the Planning

We have been in our house for about 9 months now and finally inspiration has struck! I have a plan for how to decorate and have been gathering stuff to make it happen.

We bought some wallpaper and paint and ordered up some new furniture items and I'm quite excited about how it's all going to look when it's finished. However, there is a lot to do before that happens and the following weeks are going to be pretty busy!

For amateur decorators like ourselves, I think the whole project will be challenging and we might need to call in the professionals for some parts but I'm quite keen to give it go.

The first two jobs are to strip off the wall paper and to paint the ceiling. The ceiling is cathedral style with wooden beams so that's going to be fun!

Heartbeat

My niece is getting a tattoo of a heart with headphones. I don't know what shes planning but I thought I'd draw a little picture.

I coloured it in with lipgloss.

A Very Busy Weekend

I love doing things on a Friday night because it always makes the weekend feel longer don't you think? This Friday I went to visit friends of mine who have recently returned from Australia and are currently living in a caravan in Linwater, although they move into their new house today.

Friday night was a lovely night for sitting out in the countryside in the last bit of warmth from the sun. It was a very chilled out an relaxed night and it was great to chat and catch up.

On Saturday I played Haze most of the morning, was disappointed that there isn't any trophies in Haze. There doesn't seem to be any trophies for playing multiplayer capture the flag in Unreal Tournament 3 either.

Capture the Flag in Unreal Tournament is my most favourite multiplayer game. I used to play this years ago with the rest of the Systems team at Realise when we would take on the Programmers in the next office. I used to be fairly good. My husband can sometimes have difficulties with motion sickness when playing first or third person games. Recently he had to take a break from playing Mirrors Edge and has had to do the same with Tomb Raider. So I suppose I thought I'd be able to kick his ass at this game – WRONG! I totally got my ass handed to me over and over. My new plan is to practise secretly and then get him to play Mirrors Edge or something for a while before I challenge him again!

Also on Saturday I carried on with my knitting and I'm now at the arm hole shaping. It was a bit tricky since the pattern says to bind off at each end, but as I discovered, you can't cast off at the end of a row without cutting your yarn, you need to cast off at the start of the next row. So I've made a slight error with it because of the pattern, but hopefully all will come right in the making up.

Whilst knitting I also finished season 4 of Greys Anatomy, which was very good and I'm looking forward to season 5. This also means I can finish playing the Greys Anatomy NDS game that I have. I started it but got worried it was giving away too much of season 4 before I had watched it, but now I can play – yay :)

Saturday night was party night. It was Kane's boss's birthday party at his house and it was a gorgeous house. I really hope I didn't drive over the roses attempting to get out the drive way!

I managed to resist the urge to play games on Sunday and actually started packing. After all it's only a week before I move out of my flat. So I packed up the bedroom. I left a weeks worth of clothes and stuffed everything else into big black bin bags. I also packaged up my DVD and CD collection. When I got to my parents house, I discovered that they are not yet prepared and thought they had a further week. My stress levels are close to through the roof! So I spent the rest of Sunday sorting out the rooms there. My Mum is going to contact a company to come and take away the remaining furniture that has been cluttering those rooms for some years.

The rest of this week will be spent packing. Maybe I will video from the thick of it.

This Past Week and a Bit

I've been wanting to blog for a while but have been having trouble trying to think of something substantial to blog about. Instead I have lots of little things to note which I think that's what Twitter is for but I'm blogging it all anyway.

So for starts there was the Edinburgh Rugby 7s which was on 30^th and 31^st May. It was a really good weekend. The sun was shining, the chips were hot and the beer was cool enough. I had to go out on the Sunday and buy shorts and vests to wear as I discovered that all my summer clothes are at my parents' house. I also have a nagging suspicion that none of them will fit me anyway.

I always like the 7s because it is a rare chance to surround myself with my fellow kiwis and there are loads of people in fancy dress and silly outfits. My favourites from this year were the really brave guys in Morph suits, the buff looking cavemen and of course The Stig.

Later that week, I met up with a friend of mine who now lives in San Diego and it was really good catching up. The conversation always flows so naturally and I hope I'm not offending Rosie, when I say that I think we are quite alike in a lot of ways – we have similar tastes and similar thoughts on many things. Later on we met up with hubby and pub quiz team where sailed to victory! Another £50 bar tab under our belts!

And then on Saturday it was my cousins wedding. It was held at Forrester Park Resort which was a lovely location for a wedding and everyone agreed how lovely it was inside. I discovered an unfortunate side affect from having to do the dance-offs at the pub quiz so often is that I have almost forgotten how to dance normally. It took a few attempts before I was dancing normally again, but I did treat the others to a few of my classic moves including the robot.

The rest of the weekend was spent watching the last of the Big Bang Theory and the start of Greys Anatomy season 4 and I've started knitting a singlet. So I expect knitting and Greys Anatomy will be how I spend the majority of my time over the next while.

As well as knitting, other plans include Resident Evil 5, getting creative with this blog layout and my Twitter page, and reading about how to get skinny and putting it into action. Well that's the plan anyway.

Cats like Yarn!

As much as I love staged, 'posed for' photographs, I also like to take snap shots of a moment in time when people are just doing something ordinary. I have a pretty poor memory (probably due to alcohol abuse in my teens!) and I wish I had more photographs to help me fill in some of the blanks. If you look at my photographs from events, like a family barbeque or a party, you're likely to see as many pictures of people talking and laughing as you are of them posing. Although some people automatically pose when they catch a glimpse of the camera!

Anyway, here is a snap shot of me knitting and battling with my cat!

Warning: These pictures are not particular glamorous nor are they at all flattering to me!

The worst part is when you reach the bit of yarn that he's been chewing and it's still wet and smells of cat food!