A Whirlwind Weekend!

My whirlwind afternoon started at 1pm on Friday when I decided to buy a new car,

and get the Princess a goldfish... called Goldie!

And then on Saturday, while having lunch with a friend, I decided to go to Bali for a holiday, by 10am on Sunday I had booked and in 5 sleeps time I will be there!  I CAN'T wait!

Sunday saw us at Auckland Zoo, which I adore going to and then a clairvoyant show on Sunday night which was interesting to say the least, actually it was a crock of s#%*!

Today I have been to the Auckland Museum, somewhere else I love going to. I went especially to see the Outrageous Fortune exhibition - fabulous!

Tomorrow I have a lunch date and also Thursday...

Cramming in good times before university starts on 28 February!

And.... HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Take Care
Rachaelxo

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As you do...

when you are so tired and plan an early night, but first have a quick game of UNO with your guests and your Princess,

while munching on Caramello Nibbles,

you ponder what they would be like baked in cookies and find yourself whipping up a batch of chocolate chippy cookies using the Caramello Nibbles at 10pm instead of the very early night you had planned!

but oh so delicious!

Here is the recipe.

Guess what I had for breakfast...?

take care
Rachaelxo

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Summing up Summer...

These summer holidays have been wonderful, so much going on:

• getting to know precious little family members from Australia
• fun times with other family members
• the best Christmas day ever
• fun times with my best friend Mary Thistle
• fun times with new friends from overseas, especially Matthi and Celine from Austria
• fun times with my flatmate Juliana from Brazil
• long lazy days in the sun
• reading for the sake of reading
• fine food
• too much wine
• card playing till the wee small hours
• getting a tan
• swimming in the sea
• kayaking
• lunch and dinner dates with nice men
• buying a car
• not buying a car
• buying an apartment
• not buying an apartment
• having my stereo blow up in a power cut and getting a cool new one
• giving up wine
• rejoining a pole dancing fitness class

and mostly just about her, being with her, enjoying her, having fun with her...

her is now back at school, I miss her!

take care
Rachaelxo

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Oops

Note to self:
do not leave the kitchen when filling the sink...

take care
Rachaelxo

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In the kitchen...

all this cooking has inspired me to buy some much needed new kitchen equipment like...
*a new electric beater
*coffee mugs
*chefs knife
*glass measuring jug
*stainless steel sieve
*coriander and parsley plants

small pleasures that make me happy!

The coffee mugs are divine to drink tea out of! Fine bone china and in a pattern that suits the Princess and I, roses and butterflies.

While I was doing my 'photo shoot' cheeky Juliana, my flatmate from Brazil was 'photo shooting' back at me! lol

I could say that I am off to cook, but that would be a lie, am off to drink Coke Zero and watch a movie!!!

And yes, you read correctly, Coke Zero, not WINE!!!

take care
Rachaelxo

Publish Post

What's cooking?

I have been doing a lot of cooking this summer, trying out delicious new recipes like this red lentil, pumpkin and spinach curry which is just divine!

It's fun to get guests to try out new things as well. We have had quite a few guests from overseas, here is my good friend Celine from Austria and the Princess making sushi with the magic sushi making machine,

and Matthi and the Princess about to eat the sushi made with the magic sushi making machine!

When you have guests from other countries you should also serve them traditional food from your own country right? Obviously not sushi! I made pavlova one night for dessert, a very traditional New Zealand dessert (don't let the Australian's tell you otherwise!). It's made mainly with egg whites and sugar and whipped cream on the top.  The egg whites have to be beaten just so to make a good pavlova, of course my elderly beater crapped out part way through the beating so I had to do the rest with a whisk, and then...my oven at this castle is gas, hard to get used to the temperature and also that you have to turn the oven fan on separately, which of course I forgot to do until part way through cooking my 'pav'! Anyone who has cooked a 'pav' knows the oven temperature has to be just so.!!!  But despite those little hick ups it turned out pretty damn good!

We have had lots of fun with our visitors and also a great day and night at my brother and sister in laws house at beautiful Whangaparoa where its a short walk down a track to the beach. My Princess is a water baby, can't keep her out of it and she will happily swim in deep water to keep up with her big cousins, thank goodness for life jackets!

We learned to kayak, she is so good at it, I am now looking to buy us our own.  This was her first go at it, after a few pointers from her Uncle she was let loose on her own, paddling along the shoreline.  Thank goodness for life jackets and safe beaches!

One of the things I love at my brothers house is the outside shower, it is totally private, great water pressure and makes me feel like I am on a tropical island when I use it.

This is such a long overdue post, I finally found a USB cable for my camera, the burglars stole mine and blogging is no fun without photo's!

Hard to believe January is almost over and I haven't even made my new year resolutions yet!!!

I'll leave you with a quote from my sister in law the Island Princess ... "Coffee is so 2010, lets have a glass of champagne" at 10am

Take Care
Rachaelxo

Happy 2011!!!

I have had the best Christmas and New Year and holiday!!!

How about you, really hope yours was as fantastic as mine...

Wonderful times spent with my family - the Princess, my Mum, my Auckland sis in law and my 3 nephews, the wasband and my Australian brother and his family....

so much fun, so much laughter, so much food, too much wine....

and lots and lots of photo's....

such as my Christmas Princess,

cozy cousins,

laughing till I cried when I found this little man sitting on my kitchen bench helping himself to the drinking chocolate powder,

and at my sister in law modelling my fur cape,

-

Another laugh till I cried moment, making a gingerbread house with the kids, monumental failure, has L my sis in law said, it was a leaky home... it was so hot the icing wouldn't set so the house kept collapsing and as fast as I could build it the little ones kept scrapping the icing off it, in the end they just ate it, un-assembled!!! lol

The tree and all the presents under at my other sister in laws house on Christmas Eve,

Christmas breakfast, done in two shifts, kids first, my sister in law cooked french toast, bacon, strawberries, banana's and maple syrup, oh and champagne for the adults!!!

and I have so many more photo's with cute and funny stories, I will post again tomorrow,

meantime I have work to do!

take care
Rachaelxo

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