Note to self:
do not leave the kitchen when filling the sink...
take care
Rachaelxo
P.S.
would love you to follow me
would love you to be my facebook friend
would love you to check out my Etsy
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Oops
Note to self:
do not leave the kitchen when filling the sink...
take care
Rachaelxo
P.S.
would love you to follow me
would love you to be my facebook friend
would love you to check out my Etsy
Thursday, 27 January 2011
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
*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
Monday, 24 January 2011
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!
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
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
Monday, 10 January 2011
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
P.S.
would love you to follow me
would love you to be my facebook friend
would love you to check out my Etsy
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
P.S.
would love you to follow me
would love you to be my facebook friend
would love you to check out my Etsy
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Magic in the Air!
Christmas magic has entered the castle...finally
the falling down tree in the bedroom has been rebuilt - for the second time now... my 20 month old nephew from Australia loves to pull the pink balls of it and run around with them hanging off his ears and clasped his wee hands saying "MINE" and "NO" if I ask for them back!
As he pulls the pink balls off the tree, the branches come out as well, which he just discards, my bedroom floor is very sparkly at the moment!
For the first time in years I have a real Christmas in the living room. The smell of pine is just divine. This tree has its own set of issues, the decorations keep falling off it and it has toppled over once...
The mantle is decorated very simply with my rose lights, faux branches and a gold angel. Its all very pretty at night time. And one lone stocking, I wonder if that means a good haul from Santa!:) What is very good is nothing has toppled off the mantle although now that I think about it there were a line of Christmas cards hanging with that stocking....
Among all this tree toppling, the Princess and my little three year old niece from Australia crafted today. We made beeswax candles to give to the Mummy's and Daddy's,
before walking into the shopping centre for a nutritious dinner, McDonald's for the girls! There has been quite a bit of that lately! I haven't quite finished my shopping or finished making gifts or done my baking or shopped for food but its all good - heaps of time!!!
While I am airy fairy-ily going about Christmas preparations I have also had a few more dates... two guys who only seem to be available during the day... very suspect!
There is one though, that has quite taken my fancy....
looking forward to a magical Christmas and a magical summer...
take care
Rachaelxo
the falling down tree in the bedroom has been rebuilt - for the second time now... my 20 month old nephew from Australia loves to pull the pink balls of it and run around with them hanging off his ears and clasped his wee hands saying "MINE" and "NO" if I ask for them back!
As he pulls the pink balls off the tree, the branches come out as well, which he just discards, my bedroom floor is very sparkly at the moment!
For the first time in years I have a real Christmas in the living room. The smell of pine is just divine. This tree has its own set of issues, the decorations keep falling off it and it has toppled over once...
The mantle is decorated very simply with my rose lights, faux branches and a gold angel. Its all very pretty at night time. And one lone stocking, I wonder if that means a good haul from Santa!:) What is very good is nothing has toppled off the mantle although now that I think about it there were a line of Christmas cards hanging with that stocking....
Among all this tree toppling, the Princess and my little three year old niece from Australia crafted today. We made beeswax candles to give to the Mummy's and Daddy's,
before walking into the shopping centre for a nutritious dinner, McDonald's for the girls! There has been quite a bit of that lately! I haven't quite finished my shopping or finished making gifts or done my baking or shopped for food but its all good - heaps of time!!!
While I am airy fairy-ily going about Christmas preparations I have also had a few more dates... two guys who only seem to be available during the day... very suspect!
There is one though, that has quite taken my fancy....
looking forward to a magical Christmas and a magical summer...
take care
Rachaelxo
Monday, 13 December 2010
What price?
There is no price...
the burglars who broke into the castle on Friday night took my laptop, my jewelery and my camera USB cable!
The laptop and USB cable are replaceable, all the lost information. photo's and files on my computer are not replaceable, and no I did not back up regularly, my grandmothers engagement, my gold baby bangle and all the jewelery my dad gave me when I was a little girl is not replaceable, as is my Princess's pillowcase that they stripped off the bed to carry the jewelery out in. And what is hard to replace is feeling secure in our home now that it has been violated.
What has gone and how we feel is not measurable in $$$, there is no monetary price!
But it ain't all bad in fact most is good...
*The Princess finished school today, eight weeks of summer holidays - awesome!
*My sister in law, my 3 year old niece and my 2 year old nephew are out from Australia to have Christmas with us - awesome!
*The Princess and I put up and trimmed the bedroom Christmas tree and then the wind blew it over and we had to start again, it is now bolted into place -awesome!
*We went to Christmas in the Park on Saturday night - awesome!
*I haven't done any Christmas shopping or making presents but have bought new clothes - awesome!
*I had coffee with the hottest guy ever today and he wants to see me again - awesome!
And hey! Thanks for all the comments and feedback about online dating, really interested to hear that many of you have experienced online dating!
I should clarify that I am just interested in having a male companion type person rather than a serious relationship at this stage but in saying that, it was fascinating and inspiring to hear that is how some of you met your husbands - awesome!
take care
Rachaelxo
the burglars who broke into the castle on Friday night took my laptop, my jewelery and my camera USB cable!
The laptop and USB cable are replaceable, all the lost information. photo's and files on my computer are not replaceable, and no I did not back up regularly, my grandmothers engagement, my gold baby bangle and all the jewelery my dad gave me when I was a little girl is not replaceable, as is my Princess's pillowcase that they stripped off the bed to carry the jewelery out in. And what is hard to replace is feeling secure in our home now that it has been violated.
What has gone and how we feel is not measurable in $$$, there is no monetary price!
But it ain't all bad in fact most is good...
*The Princess finished school today, eight weeks of summer holidays - awesome!
*My sister in law, my 3 year old niece and my 2 year old nephew are out from Australia to have Christmas with us - awesome!
*The Princess and I put up and trimmed the bedroom Christmas tree and then the wind blew it over and we had to start again, it is now bolted into place -awesome!
*We went to Christmas in the Park on Saturday night - awesome!
*I haven't done any Christmas shopping or making presents but have bought new clothes - awesome!
*I had coffee with the hottest guy ever today and he wants to see me again - awesome!
And hey! Thanks for all the comments and feedback about online dating, really interested to hear that many of you have experienced online dating!
I should clarify that I am just interested in having a male companion type person rather than a serious relationship at this stage but in saying that, it was fascinating and inspiring to hear that is how some of you met your husbands - awesome!
take care
Rachaelxo
Thursday, 9 December 2010
The Dating Game or should it be called The Mating Game?
Following on from my post about my new collection titled Eclectic Men, I thought I would give you a run down on the highs and lows and ups and downs of Internet dating...
My foray into Internet dating started on the recommendation of a resource I downloaded on how to recover from being cheated on, this resource cost the Wasband $90 US, I had his credit card number - haha!
Anyway one of the recommendations was to have coffee and go to movies with male friends to build your confidence back up, well I didn't have any male friends as such and didn't think my girl friends would lend me their partners! Where do I find some male friends I wondered and then I had a light bulb moment, ONLINE!!! My own slant on what was recommended - LOL
The first site I registered for cost $30 NZD per month to be a member, very pricey and then I found another site $10 NZD per month, bargain!!! I suspect you get what you pay for...
To belong and to 'find and meet friends' you register, pay and create a witty and interesting profile of yourself with a stunning photo that has been photo shopped! Ok, I am joking about the photo shop bit! And then you wait...
not for long though, your new meat, they sniff you out like bloodhounds and you can't keep up with the messages coming into your mailbox.
Sounds great doesn't it!
It was an eye opener and I mean an EYE OPENER. Men think nothing of doing the following, and this is often without even a hello in the first line of their first message to you...
"do you want to f#@*?"
"how much do you charge?"
"can I buy your underwear?"
"would you like to watch me on cam?"
"can I watch you on cam?"
and they send you revolting photo's of their private parts... which believe me could do with a lot of photo shopping!!!
So you very quickly acquaint yourself with the settings on your account and fortunately you can prevent most of that from getting to your mailbox!!! But truly, that is what happens, I thought I was reasonably unshockable but I swear my jaw would hit my keyboard some nights until I figured out I could prevent those messages!!!
It's quite easy to sort out the chaff from the hay, you reject 99.% of them and engage in humorous and clever chat with the 1% that sounds and looks ok and after a while you meet them for coffee!
I have had some interesting coffee experiences, the guy who turned out to be 6ft8 compared to my 5ft and had cerebral palsy and stuttered, not that there is anything wrong with that but he hadn't told me so it was slightly shocking when I met him! The guy who went on and on about his ex wife and how she screwed him over financially, the guy I had coffee with whose wedding I went to 6 weeks later or the white shoe man who I posted about! And then finally the Cartoonist who was a decent man and who I was involved with for 15 months until recently.
And because I like to have a man in my life, I am back in the Dating Game... and have met a couple of nice guys, one of who might develop into something further than a friend....or not!
Before I finish this post I need to reassure you that I have rules to keep me safe while going through the Internet Dating process:
I never divulge where I live or study
I never divulge that I have a child when conversing online
Coffee is always in public and I am careful when I drive home
I never give out my phone number
and finally my Princess has no idea of her Mummy's dating life and unless I meet a man I am very serious about and confident it is going to be a long term relationship, I would never introduce anyone into her life.
There you have it, Internet Dating 101!!!
I'll keep you posted!
take care
Rachaelxo
P.S.
would love you to follow me
would love you to be my facebook friend
would love you to check out my Etsy
My foray into Internet dating started on the recommendation of a resource I downloaded on how to recover from being cheated on, this resource cost the Wasband $90 US, I had his credit card number - haha!
Anyway one of the recommendations was to have coffee and go to movies with male friends to build your confidence back up, well I didn't have any male friends as such and didn't think my girl friends would lend me their partners! Where do I find some male friends I wondered and then I had a light bulb moment, ONLINE!!! My own slant on what was recommended - LOL
The first site I registered for cost $30 NZD per month to be a member, very pricey and then I found another site $10 NZD per month, bargain!!! I suspect you get what you pay for...
To belong and to 'find and meet friends' you register, pay and create a witty and interesting profile of yourself with a stunning photo that has been photo shopped! Ok, I am joking about the photo shop bit! And then you wait...
not for long though, your new meat, they sniff you out like bloodhounds and you can't keep up with the messages coming into your mailbox.
Sounds great doesn't it!
It was an eye opener and I mean an EYE OPENER. Men think nothing of doing the following, and this is often without even a hello in the first line of their first message to you...
"do you want to f#@*?"
"how much do you charge?"
"can I buy your underwear?"
"would you like to watch me on cam?"
"can I watch you on cam?"
and they send you revolting photo's of their private parts... which believe me could do with a lot of photo shopping!!!
So you very quickly acquaint yourself with the settings on your account and fortunately you can prevent most of that from getting to your mailbox!!! But truly, that is what happens, I thought I was reasonably unshockable but I swear my jaw would hit my keyboard some nights until I figured out I could prevent those messages!!!
It's quite easy to sort out the chaff from the hay, you reject 99.% of them and engage in humorous and clever chat with the 1% that sounds and looks ok and after a while you meet them for coffee!
I have had some interesting coffee experiences, the guy who turned out to be 6ft8 compared to my 5ft and had cerebral palsy and stuttered, not that there is anything wrong with that but he hadn't told me so it was slightly shocking when I met him! The guy who went on and on about his ex wife and how she screwed him over financially, the guy I had coffee with whose wedding I went to 6 weeks later or the white shoe man who I posted about! And then finally the Cartoonist who was a decent man and who I was involved with for 15 months until recently.
And because I like to have a man in my life, I am back in the Dating Game... and have met a couple of nice guys, one of who might develop into something further than a friend....or not!
Before I finish this post I need to reassure you that I have rules to keep me safe while going through the Internet Dating process:
I never divulge where I live or study
I never divulge that I have a child when conversing online
Coffee is always in public and I am careful when I drive home
I never give out my phone number
and finally my Princess has no idea of her Mummy's dating life and unless I meet a man I am very serious about and confident it is going to be a long term relationship, I would never introduce anyone into her life.
There you have it, Internet Dating 101!!!
I'll keep you posted!
take care
Rachaelxo
P.S.
would love you to follow me
would love you to be my facebook friend
would love you to check out my Etsy
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