Pea, broad bean and curd cheese salad

Recipe of the week

Image courtesy food.ninemsn.com.au

So this is on tonights menu

200g peas, podded, blanched and refreshed
200g baby broad beans as above
1 spring onion shredded and finely sliced
1 large tbs grape seed oil
juice and zest of a large lemon
large handful of fresh herbs. Mint, coriander, parsley and basil
200g curd cheese like goats cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large bowl mix the peas, broad beans, spring onion, grape seed oil and the juice and zest of one lemon. Season.
2. Transfer to a serving plate. Drop spoonfuls of the curd cheese onto the salad mixture and scatter over the remaining herbs.

Give it a try and let me know how you go. I am going to have mine with some salmon.

Recipe courtesy of The Simple Things magazine.

Pizza, salad and figs

How yummy does this look? This was taken at a recent visit to Lil' Darlin in The Spot Randwick. The pizza's are truly amazing. We also ate delicious cocktails which I did take photo's of but didn't turn out very well. One that I had the pleasure of devouring had vanilla fairy floss hanging over the edge. Amazing just to look at.

Home made salad at home. Figs came fresh from food week in Orange (courtesy of my neighbour and good friend). Simple yet completely delicious.
Seared asapagus, figs, baby spinach, blue cheese and procuttio. Drizzle with a little very good quality cold pressed extra virgin olive oil... perfecto!

Saying no to Sugar

Well like many of you I have over dosed on sugar!!!! and I am officially over the stuff. I had anxious feeling every time I saw my children put a piece of chocolate into their mouths. I have hidden all the chocolate and lollies.. and will probably throw them int he bin or bring them into work and let other people poison the bodies.

We are having a super healthy week. Back to basic eating and wholesome stuff. I am not sure how long it will last but we need some de-toxing for sure.

I came across this site a while are. http://www.sarahwilson.com.au and just went in for another look. She is very inspiring. Take a look and even if you can't do it all you can at least start on a no sugar diet.

Not easy to do as you will learn that nearly everything that is commercially purchased has sugar in it.

I'll keep you updates on my quest. So far I am 1 day with out sugar. The biggest test for me is after dinner... that seems to be when I crave something sweet.

Easter - Hope it is a dry one.

With Easter just around the corner I have squeezed in an extra couple of runs to cater for the chocolate consumption over the next 4 days.In addition to Easter it is my birthday on Saturday so I am in for a very indulgent weekend. Bring it on!

What do you do over Easter? How do you celebrate?

We are planning on doing Easter show, maybe apple picking in Bilpin, BBQ's, breakfasts, lunches dinners and of course chocolate eating.

Design - House design

Most of you know that we bought a new house with the view of building. I am always adding to my Pinterest board with inspirations. Here a couple of my latest additions.
We need to design a flat roof... well we don't need to but if we want to maximise on height to gain better water views then this is what we need to do. I did have my heart set on interesting roof lines but it would also be criminal not to design a home that captures its amazing surrounds and its water views.

Beautiful Bali finds

Bali is full of amazing things. Clothing and homewards a plenty.
here a couple of lovely pieces I spotted on my recent trip. As always I felt like a bought so much while I was there and when I got home thought... 'why didn't I buy that?'

Next time... always a next time.

Bali - Take Two

This is one of the many fabric stores that I visited on this last trip. I was like a kid in a candy store.
Minimum purchase was 5 yards for plain and 10 yard for print. I only purchased one kind for sample making.

So much too choose from.

And I love this chair. This was in a shop window of a salon near where we stayed. I got my hair cut at the salon on my last day. $25 total cost... Call me last of the big spenders.

I can get hold of one for $100. A far sight cheaper than what they sell them for here.

I'll keep you posted as things develop but fingers crossed all is on the right track.

Also I did receive everything from the dishonest Linda. So that is being shipped back to me as we speak.

Some recent pic of my family

As you know we moved house and are now living about 5 minutes walk to one of the nicer places on Sydney's shoreline. We are making the most of it. Looking for crabs, jumping into bogey holes, swimming, boating and just generally having fun in the sun by the sea. I am the luckiest person going at the moment. Don't get me wrong life can be tough. Very tough. But I am not one to dwell on negative thoughts and actions.
Welcome to my new backyard.

Resent purchases from Ikea and Anthropologie

Two recent purchases: one from Ikea and one from Anthropolgie.
As mentioned in a previous post I am into white at the moment. So no surprise that two of my recent buys are white.
The white orchard is from Ikea. I know who goes to buy Orchards from Ikea. I didn't plan as I went to buy curtain rods.
The owl is from Anthropologie. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this store. We are heading to NYC later this year so I can't wait to visit and buy and save on postage.

What have you bought recently?

The Simple Things Magazine

I am loving this new magazine. It is great. Although in Australia we are experiencing a different season to what's being mentioned in the magazine as it is a UK based publication. Regardless there are loads of great and inspiring ideas.

http://www.thesimplethings.com/

As a graphic designer the layout of the stories and recipes is superb. I take my hat off to the designer and creative director.

The photography is gorgeous, recipes delicious and stories interesting.

So if you are in need of a new magazine to subscribe to then this is a good one.

Happy reading.

My work neighbourhood - Surry Hills

I love living by the beach. It is so lovely.

I do like though also having the opportunity to come to Surry Hills twice a week for work. My design studio, Fresco Creative, is located on Holt St amongst so many cool cafes, restaurants and shops.

What I love about Surry Hills is its diversity. The suburb is a buzz with families, groovers, designers, newspaper people (News Limited is down the road). Basically a real ecelctic mix of personalites, careers and people of different walks of life.

Some cool places to visit in Surry Hills.

You will always find the perfect gift at this store. It is located in the heart of Surry Hills, paper2 is a beautiful boutique paper store owned by graphic designer, Margaret Rockliff. _{In pursuit of her passion for paper and stationery, Margaret searches far and wide, collecting the most innovative and luxurious paper creations the globe has to offer. As well as delivering products from Tokyo, London, Frankfurt and New York, paper2 also stocks it’s own range of products, all designed and printed in-house. 
You can buy online.}http://www.paper2.com.au/home.php

There are amazing places to eat

For some delicious breads, cakes, sausage rolls and sandwiches check out

http://www.bourkestreetbakery.com.au/index.html

Something more fancy I would suggest Movida's. But book ahead. The tapas is innovative and not to mention delicious.

http://movida.com.au/

I buy my coffee here on the days that I am in the office. Their freshly baked muffins and little breakfast tarts are  delicious and I try very hard to not to by one every time I buy my coffee. I limit myself to one a week. The staff here are lovely and so hospitable. Oh and if you do visit have a look at the light/vase display above the bar. Very cool.

http://www.ortotradingco.com.au/

Yummy and classic Thai food. You will pay a little more but you also get a little more when it comes to flavour.

http://www.muummaam.com.au/

So that is very brief snap shot of why I love working in Surry Hills. All of these places are within a 5 min walk from our office. There are so many more amazing place to visit if I had more time on my days in the office. In saying that though I love our little neighbourhood and the people that make it what it is.

I'll doing shopping separately. There are few great shops on Crown street which I want to share.

Bespoke Rugs in Australia

We are in the market for a new rug. I find rug buying very difficult and costly.

I want something that is neutral and natural that would suit the beach feel I am trying to create for our home. The problem I have is whether I go contemporary or more traditional. What do you think?
This company is amazing as you have so much control of the perfect rug.
Only problem is there is so much choice.

Above are some of my favourites so far but still so much more to trawl through and some final measurements of the space.

This site allows you to change colour, pile height and dimensions. A price is calculated based on the information you provide AND only 6 weeks delivery....

Check them out
http://www.bespokerugs.com.au