Chilli Pepper Pin Cushion

Made out of felt. Quickly stitched together this morning when I needed to tidy up all the thread and needles lying around the apartment!!

Lazy Sunday...

Yesterday we had the laziest and loveliest of sundays...

A morning spent lolling around in pj's.

A stroll into Broadbeach and lunch at the Deli. 

An afternoon sitting on the beach making Princess Ella sandcastles.

A swim.

Dinner from Lola's, two films, red wine and a bit of sewing..

Lovely!!

Little felt flower

Olga the Owl

Here is a practice run at a softie!!! It was quite nice playing with scraps of fabric and doing some embroidery which I haven't done in ages!

Ella Bella likes it anyway and it sits lovingly on top of her cot.

I got the idea from a book called More Softies which has fab ideas and loads of patterns in it.

I picked up another one the other day called Stitched Toys which has some lovely embroidery designs and quirky toys.

  

Beach Berry Muffins

At the weekend I made some muffins which is the first bit of baking I have done while here in Oz, which will explain the slap dash approach due to lack of recipes and equipment!!

At home I usually make them to a recipe from the New Vegetarian cookbook and have in the past adapted the recipe using all sorts of different fruit, veg, cheese and nuts to make a variety of scrummy muffins.

There really are no rules with muffins which is why I love making them so much and they are soooo easy to do!

Beach - Bung everything altogether & chomp happily!!!!

Top tips...

Don't mix the batter too well. A lumpy mixture makes for better muffins. 
Keep frozen berries in the freezer ready for impromptu muffin making - no need to defrost just bung them straight into the mix!

Yummy varieties...

Tangerine and Dried Cranberry

Pear and Gorgonzola and Walnut

Apple and Cinnamon

Blueberry and Raspberry

Here  is the method I used although having no kitchen scales meant it was all a bit 'made up'!!

Although Mr H thought they were lovely!!

Lamingtons, Kookaburras and Humpbacks...

The weekend was our last with Aunty Lulu before getting her flight back to Blighty on the monday evening. So we tried to make it a good one.

On the friday we headed to our now favourite deli in Broadbeach (possibly 

only deli in Broadbeach) for lunch.

I couldn't resist buying a few bits. It's so lovely to have somewhere to shop for little treats and unusual spices and packets of this, that and the other, which you just can't get in Woolies!!!

We decided to have afternoon tea on the beach and indulged in a giant lamington (to share!!) from the deli. 

It was decided that as we have such opposing views of the 'proper cup of tea' (mine- strong builders, Aunty Lulus- weak Earl Grey) that we would make a flask of coffee instead. I haven't drunk coffee in such a long time and usually speak of it which such contempt but there was something really appealing about drinking hot coffee from a flask on the beach. I think coffee works better than tea from a flask, there's something of the 'caravan' about it! Whereas tea should only really be drunk from a bone china teacup and saucer and preferably at The Ritz!!!!

Anyway, we had a lovely walk along the beach and sat with the seagulls and Japanese tourists and had our lamington and coffee. By this point it was almost 4pm and as usual the sun had disappeared behind the high rises and it was freezing. We wrapped little Ella Bella up in whatever we could find in the bag and bless her she ended up wearing her swim suit with a baby grow over the top and with socks on!

I put the towel around her in the baby bjorn and she must have been cosy and warm as she fell asleep in the carrier as we hurriedly headed back, hoping not to get hypothermia!!

On the saturday we drove up to Mount Tamborine and stopped to have lunch in a lovely little cafe in Eagle Heights. The town is a haven for craft and art shops and bizarre little gift shops, even an eternal christmas shop!! It all looks a bit Bavarian and there is even a cuckoo clock shop adding to that rustic 'christmasy' charm. I bought some felt and some tiny buttons for more soft toy making!

Later we walked around the botanical gardens. There was a beautiful arbour covered in wisteria which kind of put my tiny little tree back home to shame!  The only thing to break the peace was the sounds of the birds singing to each other which was amazing. We spotted a few kookaburras and obviously the usual ibis wandering around.

On the sunday we took another trip to Byron Bay as Aunty Lulu hadn't been with us the first time. This time we headed straight up to the lighthouse. The view, as last time was staggering made especially so this time with the countless sightings of humpbacks! Apparently this view from the lighthouse is the best land based place (I'm not sure if it was the in the world or just Australia!) to watch whales. Although I'm willing to contest that statement with the view from our balcony! Everyday now we have been able to spot humpbacks breaching, tail flipping and generally splashing around and it never gets dull watching these magnificent creatures!

I already know I'm going to be very disappointed with the view of the street when we get back to Blighty!

Brisbane

On thursday we took the train to Brisbane. It took about an hour but as Ella Bella found it difficult to settle ( I was hoping the motion of the train would send her to sleep but the journey was too smooth!) it was not as relaxing as I hoped it would be!

She really liked looking out of the window though and watching all the other passengers - she's so nosy!

We arrived at the Southbank station and had a good look round. It was a gorgeous day.

I thought I really couldn't remember Brisbane from when I toured there with the Ballet but instantly remembered the twisted wrought iron promenade walkway. It had beautiful purple flowers growing all over it and looked amazing.

It was fun and slightly strange to see so many people sunbathing and swimming in the manmade beach. It's almost like a mini Gold Coast but with the city skyline directly behind it, so weird!! I love the fact that they even have a lifeguard.

After lunching in a lovely greek cafe on the Southbank we didn't have that long to walk around before having to get the train back, because of getting back for Ellas dinner.

We wandered up Queen St which is the main part of Brissie (!) It was so busy but I guess it was lunch time and everyone had escaped the office.

The guide book suggested visiting the Customs house and the 'oldest building' in Brisbane, the Windmill. The former had stairs leading up to it which ruled out a visit inside, it was quite an nice building but nothing exciting.

After an exhausting walk/pram push up what was probably 'Brisbanes steepest hill' and red faced and pouring with sweat we finally made it to the Windmill. ~To say it was an anti-climax would probably be the understatement of the century!

The building was  covered in scaffolding and unfortunately could not be seen at all! After almost collapsing with shaky legs (me and Aunty Lu Lu, princess Ella just looked at us bemused from the comfort of her carriage..!) we walked back down the hill, stopped for a cuppa and a big slab of cake on the way then continued walking to the station to start the long journey home!

Byron Bay

Today we drove south to Byron Bay, crossing states from Queensland to New South Wales.

It's only actually one and a half hours away so not too far for Australia!

The weather was amazing. Gorgeously sunny and hot. We had amazing views of the beach with the lighthouse in the distance as we walked into the town centre, where we had a lovely lunch.

The town centre is like a little pioneer town and is full of quirky little shops and cafes. Reminds me of Ubud in Bali with hints of Venice beach (but quieter!) and Queenstown NZ.

It seems quite a popular surfer/student traveller destination and has an abundance of 'tie dye' type clothes shops with incense burning and several hippie crystal shops. It was great though and I actually found it quite inspiring looking around all the hand crafted items.

I bought Ella Bella a sweet little hat from a cute kiddies shop. Hopefully I will use it as a guide for a pattern to make other similar hats to sell - when I get back to my sewing machine!

After walking around the town we drove up to the lighthouse to get a good view. It was beautiful up there. The view was breathtaking and there were even whales and dolphins basking in the waters below us!

I love a good lighthouse! Reminded me of the one I visited in Tasmania.

The first week in Oz

After a very long flight, with a baba in tow we finally made it to the Gold Coast.

The apartment is gorgeous with amazing views of the coast from the balcony and already many hours have been spent watching whales breaching whilst sat on the balcony with a cup of tea!! Amazing!

Last weekend we went to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, we fed the kangaroos, watched the 5ft croc being fed and fed ourselves with yummy icecreams!

All the different aussie animals were amazing to watch. 

Great inspiration for the small cuddlies I am hoping to make while out here. I sent over a box of fabric and trimmings to keep me busy while out here. Although with the weather getting warmer, the golden beach on my doorstep, the indoor pool and great shops and cafes a small step away I'm not exactly sure how much free time will actually be free!!

Oh and looking after a small baba!! Free time???? yeah right???