Mother’s Day Tea Party for 10

Our Mother | Our Butterfly

It has been some time now since I last wrote about our Mum. I think I went to sleep for a few years and just woke up again. Health jumped in the road of blogging for some time; however, now I see the road ahead a little more clearly, and I see happy gatherings as our way of living together and with the people we love. Mum turns 92 next week. How could we not want to celebrate Mother’s Day? Covid meant that we needed to be a little more careful and possibly prevented us from doing anything too elaborate, yet what truly matters is being together and doing something.

Like a person upgrading from a small car to a large family van, as with our Mum, she just upgraded from a domestic wheelchair to something much larger and more durable. Mum suffered a stroke a few months back, and moving her about has become a little more complicated. Despite this, she still thinks she has wings and can fly. Therefore we need to support her and fly with her.

Her body struggles massively, and yet her mind still sees the flowers in bloom on what is more so a mushy and brittlebush. One beats the bush, and another catches the birds.

Sometimes I think I prefer laying the table over all else: the precision, the little touches, my anal retentiveness starts to surface again.

The little detail is important to me. The bits one sees and the bits nobody notices yet form part of the total picture.

Happy Mother’s Day

A mother’s hug lasts long after she lets go. Hug your mother and hug her some more. As a mum, I don’t plan to stop hugging my boy for the rest of my life. ♥️

Here is my checklist for a smaller more intimate Morning Tea Party. I hope it provides you with some ease. Remember, you dont need an excuse to have a party. Just go do it.

Table Checklist:

  • Centrepiece 
  • Table Cloth 
  • Tea Pot
  • Milk Jug 
  • Sugar Bowl
  • Tea Cups & Saucers x 8
  • Coffee Cups & Saucers x 4
  • Side Plates x 10
  • Tea Spoons x 10
  • Cake Knife x 2
  • Serving Tongs
  • Cake Stands x 2 (for a high tea, use a three-tiered cake stand)
  • Chocolate Bowl
  • Serving Bowl x 1
  • Serviettes x 10
  • Water Jug
  • Crystal Water Jugs x 10
  • Music – Background
  • Lighting
  • Candles

Menu:

  • Savoury Sandwich Cake
  • Pear Upside Down Cake with Clotted Cream & Candied Walnuts
  • Rasperry & Dark Chocolate Cake with Rose Petals & Pistachio
  • Franski Sausage Rolls & Sweet Chilli Sauce 
  • Bowl of Bacci’s (my favourite)
  • English Breakfast Tea
  • Green Tea
  • Nespresso Capsules
  • Sparkling Water with a hint of Elderflower Cordial, Fresh Fruits & Mint (Iced Tea ideal for Summer)
  • Champagne (only the best – your Mother deserves that) ❤️

it’s all about the food |insanely sweet chicken

Here is a simple (well, simple enough when it comes to anything Ottolenghi) chicken recipe for that special occasion.

It is as sweet and delicious as it sounds.

Ottolenghi’s Sweet and Smoky Mexican Chicken. Emphasis on the sweet is achieved by the grated dark chocolate added before roasting.  Surely you are salivating just thinking about this dish?

His recipe uses chicken thighs and legs; however, I am a breast girl, and I used plump chicken breasts with the skin on and wing in.

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Photo | there is always something gorgeous about how Ottolenghi marinated his food. Who would have thought raw chicken could look and smell this good.

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Photo | my favourite little grating accessory, just perfect for grating fine dark chocolate.

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Photo | indeed, you can smell this as it cooks its fabulous sweet and spicy head off in the oven.  I had to stop myself from continually opening the oven door and enabling the chocolate fumes.
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Photo | all good things must end as my family quickly devoured these tiny plump breasts.

This recipe is perfect for a special dinner with the family or a dinner party. I served our family chicken with a simple coleslaw.

Other side ideas:

-roast potatoes and carrots

-chunky fries

top 10 decorating ideas | home 4 Christmas

Keep Calm … Christmas is Coming

A few friends have asked recently why they haven’t heard from me lately. Good question! In truth, I think the Christmas mayhem hit home earlier than usual. At times like this, we often find ourselves overwhelmed by all the pre-Christmas house guests, the gift shopping, the food shopping (which generally starts a good month out), the festive social encounters, and getting the house looking like it’s just a little bit of Christmas. The action plan keeps growing by the minute (a little like my waistline at Christmas…argh!).

Why is it that we place so much pressure on ourselves in the lead up to Christmas? If I consider my relentless need to create, update and mark off a daily action plan, I suspect the problem could well be me.

Despite the mayhem and energy that drains me like the kitchen sink, I adore Christmas.  Bringing together family, friends, fun, love, and laughter is worthwhile.

Our house consists of two these days … and yet this does not stop me from filling our home with Christmas joy.  It is about creating a festive welcome for every guest who visits. Share the cheer, I say!

Let’s get to the more exciting part of entertaining at Christmas, home decorations! What better excuse than Christmas to pull out all your little bits and pieces and apply some decorating glory.

1: Christmas tree | black is black  

A busy working mum said that she did not have time to put up a Christmas Tree for her children.  She is so busy juggling her business, house and children, and I am sure many of us know exactly what that feels like (well, at least remember what that felt like).  She is so not alone.  Many of us feel overwhelmed, yet if we take a breath, we might find that decorating can be one of the most mindful things you can do leading up to the Christmas mayhem.

Decorations need not be extravagant or complicated work.  Find a theme and do more with less.

This year I have gone with a lit black Christmas Tree adorned with baubles (a great eBay find).  Black is more contemporary, and I love how the black worked back with an abundance of colourful, bauble splendour.

IMG_0523Photo | well, isn’t this a little ray of pitch black!

2: bauble delight

Each year I grow my collection of Christmas baubles.  I invest in 10 new ones each year, in different colours and styles.  Baubles work for me with a touch of heart here and there, while another friend has a collection of birds.  I go with a more lux look while she has a more natural organic look.  We love many of the same things, yet we both create entirely different looks. I love that! Share ideas, and then go make them yours.

IMG_0643photo | the more colourful, the better

3: light show | the easy way

I purchased a few outdoor lamps online this year.  They were inexpensive and yet gave a great splash of Christmas cheer … with nothing more than the click of the switch. You don’t have to spend weeks installing outdoor lighting (but please don’t let that stop those who provide such magical wonder); you just place this in your yard, shine it on your house, and have an instant light show in red or green.

I plan to also install one in our internal courtyard for our Christmas dinner.  In seconds it showers thousands of lights and movement all over the walls.  What is a little more movement when the house is already awash with so many busybodies?

qjA+ZzD4SyW1elf1RNhcOAphoto | google laser light 

4: glorious tulle

Personally, I adore tulle (while my friend again prefers more natural fibres). The softer tulle gives a softer look and is easier to work with. It is a cheap way to get some wow.  Fill gaps in your tree with a handful of tulle, which can resemble a rose when bunched correctly.

IMG_0648photo | naturally black tulle for a black tree 

5: doing more with less

Hint | Don’t attempt to fill the entire house with decorations, as this can sometimes resemble decoration mania and quickly go from elegant to overwhelming.  Focus on various locations throughout your home that you can decorate…more with less.

Don’t forget to layer your Decorations.  So much more attractive to the eye.

5jl0oKHFSR+iBXzmvqMIKwPhoto | decorations don’t need to be expensive! 

img_0663.jpgphoto | don’t forget your little touch of cheer in the guest bathroom

6: wrapping up Christmas

Wrapped boxes to match your tree makes for a gorgeous complementary look.  Better still, shop where they wrap your gifts which can then be placed under your tree and create some additional wow (the added bonus of shopping in the same shop is that the packages all look lovely in the same boxes and paper).

IMG_0642Photo | we have a bit of a Chanel thing happening this year, so there is no great surprise for my family here.

7: the power of flower

Flowers are a gorgeous Christmas inclusion, yet they can cost the earth and not last past a few days!  This is an already expensive time of the year.  I prefer investing in white potted orchids because they keep giving for months and months (if you talk to them nicely and don’t overwater them). Dried stems can also look equally as attractive.

IMG_0662Photo | this orchid has been given back to me for 18 months.  I am still astounded by its kindness.

8: secret scents 

Loads and loads of candles always look fabulous at Christmas.  Combine plain with scented because nothing looks better than when it gives off a wonderful scent.

Hint | tie bunches of cinnamon sticks together with black ribbon (or a colour of your choice) and place them in your tree to add another beautiful slight secret scent.

IMG_0664photo | there can never be too many fairy lights

9: adorn the table with all your little wonders

Your table is a great space to decorate.  You can provide a look filled with Christmas decorations before and on Christmas Day.  Load your table with anything you think looks festive, and move it around.  Add coloured stones, candles, nuts, potted herbs, etc. My husband knows that the table is not for eating in December.

I appreciate this is not terribly practical if you need to use your table in the lead up to Christmas, but since when has practicality played a role in the art of decorating?  Remember to layer your table and add your little treasures here and there to make a gorgeous splash of Christmas.  Many looks can be achieved very affordably.

Don’t be limited by colour.  Christmas does not need to be red and green, you know.

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IMG_0689Photo | Lesley would be proud of me for shopping at K Mart and buying a few table decorations.  So affordable and so good!

9: all plated up

I cannot believe that we are switching to disposable plates this year (can you hear me gasp).  We are opting for a more leisurely Christmas Dinner, and paper plates come with that option.  Finding the ones that actually look great on the table can be a challenge.  So many of the more decorative plates are way too small and very expensive.  So, what to do?  I opted for a mix of more expensive paper plates, which I now plan to team back with a cheaper Coles variety.

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IMG_0569photo | paper plates and paper napkins – mix up for larger gatherings

10: just how sweet can one get?

Don’t forget the lolly jar.  When you fill it too early (as we have done), you will just need to keep on refilling.  Every house should be filled with lollies for our little treasures and big kids.

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How can I do a Christmas blog without sharing a pav!  I tried this one out last night to see how we could make it look more like Christmas. Add some pistachio and dried raspberries to a brittle, and then add the shards to the top of the pav for a little added wow!  Note, however, I had 3 goes at this before I got the brittle to look more like shards and less like a slab of peanut brittle.  The key I found is to make sure the sugar is totally melted before bringing it to a boil.

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Sending you loads of love and sugar! 

all about table|and labels

I adore great homewares & accessories, yet I constantly see much of the same. So when I recently fell across a gorgeous homeware & accessories store, Ondine, in Double Bay, Sydney, it was hard not to get just a little bit excited.

Talking excitement | It wasn’t that long ago that my niece suggested that both my sister and I maybe had ADHD (so we already share a love of Ottolenghi and breast cancer, so seriously, what is one more thing)! You might well ask why I drop the big “BC” in from time to time…it is simple…to serve as a constant reminder to you all to stay on top of your mammograms and take excellent take care of yourself…which has always been and quite possibly continues to be the only true purpose behind my blogging, camouflaged as incessant food chatter.

“When it rains, look for RAINBOWS.  When it’s dark, look for STARS”. FionaChilds.com

At first, I wasn’t totally comfortable being handed yet another label. Still, then I didn’t much care because I know our niece loves us both equally, and it was never intended as a criticism, more an observation.  Regardless, I thought about what she had said and decided that if this is the label we get for being mindfully energetic, doing with our minds what our body is way less inclined to do, gymnastics, then so be it.  So my sister and I love creativity in any form. We are constantly looking for something new to challenge us. Rather than this being viewed as something positive, it can be considered unhealthy hyperactivity and labelled as some medical condition.

However, it makes me question why we are all so quick to try to hang labels on our behaviour!  I love shopping. I love homewares. I love clothes, so the love keeps on pouring out all over the shop…so does this mean I am a shopaholic or does it simply mean I am passionate about beautiful things?

Interestingly, I googled shopaholic the other day to see if I had any of the same traits.  Remarkably, I almost got a perfect score.  So now I have ADHD…and I am a shopaholic! So help me if I start reading up on people who need to hang all the same colours together in their wardrobes or store their spice jars in alphabetical order!

I love and adore my family and friends, and I can become equally obsessive when it comes to that, yet there doesn’t appear to be a medical label for excessive heart matters. Why is that?

I always hate to digress, but let’s digress anyway…after all, I am hyperactive. My sister and I recently undertook a spring cleaning of our mother’s bedroom. Something which could only have been done when your Mother is in hospital having a total hip replacement and incapable of moving (at 87, I am still so totally in awe of her having had her hip done).

We ruthlessly tossed away bottles of unopened perfumes and handbags (after all, surely you only need about 10 good bags, so the other 20 odd starts to become somewhat obsolete).

As the clean sweep progressed, so did my self-awareness, which somehow and sometimes I had morphed into my mother. I adore my mother, so maybe this is not such a bad thing.  Seriously, why do we think she has a problem? She stashed away 30 plus handbags (and the rest, but I am doing my best to be nice here). Does it really matter in the bigger scheme of things? Can’t we just be happy being and accept these little habits, obsessions, and delights? However, we want to describe them. Indeed they can simply be attributed to who we are as people.  It is these things that define us rather than label us! The way I see it is simple, if it makes you happy and feeds your soul or the soul of others, then embrace it. If it makes you feel somewhat anxious, you may just need to give it some kind of attention.

Now back to earth | another one of my obsessions, homewares. I adored the earthy heartiness of these Danish ceramics pictured below. I am a little frustrated that I did not purchase any and bring them home to add to our already heavily (maybe obsessive) range of plates and serving trays.  I am sure I can find a little more space…just might need to move the other half out!

Photo |Ondene Transvaal, Double Bay, New South Wales. A Nordic range by  K. H. Wurtz (an internationally sought-after Father and Son team of studio ceramics, located in Horsens, Denmark. Exclusively sold in Australia at Ondine.

Photo | Ondine carries another gorgeous range by Rina Menardi, Italy.
Photo | Another piece by Rina Menardi, Italy, available at Ondene, Sydney.


Photo | K. H. Wurtz Go see for yourself just how wonderful they are  | There is something fabulous about the tools, colours, and textures sitting so harmoniously together on their website.

Photo | taken from K.W.Kurtz website.  It reminds me of that utterly sexy scene from the movie “Ghost” with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore getting down and dirty in clay. This was one of my best movie scenes and soundtrack of all time. Maybe I am getting old when I think potting is the new sexy!

My time to get down and dirty | So it is only to be expected that I now want desperately to do a ceramic class. When I told my sister, she said, “but you know you won’t be content making an ashtray…you will want to make a full dinner set”. I wasn’t sure what point she was trying to make because I wanted to make a complete dinner set (who smokes anyway)! I enrolled and started my first lesson today!  Stay posted; you never know what fabulous things I might come up with, or be warned, you might never know what you might get for your birthday.

IMG_0013Photo | This photo was taken today at my first pottery lesson (SO not sexy). When I asked Graham Hay, my instructor, where the potting wheel was located, he said, “we are a ghost-free studio”. Oh seriously…what have I let myself in for!

brunch|down and dirty on eggs

I’m nothing if not consistent. Food always stays high on my agenda, and it is all about eggs this time!

While in Sydney recently, we were constantly looking out for a great brunch; our favourite meal of the day and our favourite time was “guts up” (as we would say). This always came hard on the back of much walking, great exhaustion and a total food spill.

And…if they ever tell you that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks, so not true.  Walking through some gorgeous park in Lavender Hills, my eye bypassed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and made its way to some children’s party in the park (strange that), and I saw a sign which read “yay”.  I called out, a little overly excited, “so that is how you spell yay…not yah”. My son flashed me one of those looks…that look when he cannot quite believe I actually said that (whatever that is), and he added, “so that is what you meant all those times you texted me saying yah”?  “I just thought you were being an idiot”.  Seriously…after all the love and kindness we give our kids, this is what they give back. So for every yah I have written in the past, please now know (assuming, of course, you didn’t already) that it was meant to mean yay! I keep seeing “yay” as a deliberate reminder of my stupidity.

Let’s not stray from the point of my blog…and that is eggs! We are total egg snobs, and if you are going to have a brunch, honestly, you expect it to be an incredible egg!

Interestingly, an egg is a New Zealand slang word for someone acting like a dumbass, clown or idiot. Which really is a little fitting for the point of this story.

I love the quirkiness of those smaller, more intimate cafes which offer something just a little different.  The PCP  in Surry Hills offered a soft baked and crumbed poached egg (slightly running as it is meant to be).  How amazing does this look and something I am sure we can quickly whip up in the kitchen with a bit of effort and imagination? On the side, they had a dollop of peanut butter and Vegemite, blended together and while not entirely to my liking, interesting nonetheless for the Vegemite diehards.

IMG_9595Photo | PCP Sydney in Surry Hills, soft poached egg coated in a light batter and deep-fried! 

Photo | the Vegemite and peanut butter dollop! Doesn’t look great, does it?

IMG_9590Photo | the teapot and cups just make everything a little more interesting.

My favourite breakfast of all was at a place called  Fable in Darlinghurst.  The best breakfast I have ever had, and I am not joking!!! Simply bursting with flavours that merely tasted delicious!

IMG_9683Photo |Fable Coffee Sydney sumac free-range bacon bruschetta with roasted apple puree, heirloom beetroot, fresh avocado, fresh cherry tomato, tarragon infused Pepe Says creme fraiche, Hilltops organic poached eggs.  Seriously good and only $16.50!!!

IMG_9685Photo |Fable Coffee Sydney Hilltop organic poached eggs on toast with house-pickled radish, spring leaves and hand made almond dukkah.  

fullsizeoutput_1df8Photo | Breakfast rolls on the go from  Omeio Artisan Deli, a lovely delicatessen located in Paddington offering fresh bread and pastries and wholesome, yummy breakfast to go. Run by some charming young Greek guy. 

We grabbed a takeaway (egg on the go) on this gloriously sunny day. As we sat in the warmth of the park, a cute little dog made his way under my legs for some mother comfort (well, so I thought), then I heard my son’s laughter ring out in the park, and as he squeals with delight, he says “the dog just pissed on your shoes”(my new shoes, purchased a day earlier).  Good old Mum, still amusing her son in whatever cheap way she can!

My new and “pissed on” shoes aside, nothing beats a great burger, and this was a great burger perfect for that brunch bordering on lunch and well away from parks and dogs and sons lacking good manners.

IMG_9557Photo |Reubens Hills Cafe & Roastery in Surry Hills offered this amazing Dirty Bird Spiced Grilled Chicken, tomato salsa, manchego, pickled slaw and chipotle aioli. They also provided a “Really F*#king Great Fried Chicken” which was a little hilarious and totally in keeping with the venue.

IMG_9689Photo | A casual little Swedish Cafe, Fika Swedish Kitchen in Manly.  I loved these words as they say everything close to my heart.

When we weren’t eating, I was being dragged around the hilly streets of Sydney by my son and husband.  I cannot tell you how many photos I took of the two of them walking, almost as if they had forgotten me! It reminded me of the book I read to my son as a child, “Where’s Wally”, and the only thing missing was my red and white striped shirt! Boys…seriously, give me an incredible egg any day.

IMG_9709Photo | A day in my life of “Where’s Wally”, the only problem is you have to be looking, to find! 

from the heart | attachment

I always said my blog would be mostly about entertaining and sometimes purely from the heart.  This is one of those.

From time to time, I ask myself why I blog, and I keep coming up with the same answer, I have no bloody idea!  My friends would argue that I am one of the most private people they know, yet here I am not only opening up my house, friends and family (and so it seems nobody is off-limits), but I am also sharing personal things about myself.  Nobody could be more surprised about this than I.

In part, you feel a sense of freedom writing, a little liberated by sharing your words.  Paper provides you with the breathing space to think, and it leaves you feeling lighter somehow.  So indeed, that is reason enough for now?

My sister sets the challenge |my sister phoned me (and I am fast thinking I might need to retitle my blog… “a  day in the life of my sister and me” and she told me how a friend of hers had just returned from a yoga class, and the teacher gave them one word.  I could hear where this was heading, and I didn’t like it.  She would occupy some of my refreshed headspaces to undertake some challenges.  She must have listened to my sigh because she gently pushed on regardless and added that the word was “attachment”.  In my head, I am thinking, so the challenge begins!

I make my way from the bedroom, down the stairs, and headed towards the kettle for my second cup of tea for the morning while emptying the dryer and feeding the goldfish.  We are extraordinary multi-taskers, we women!  As I make the walk (holding my mobile phone in my left hand and knowing that my steps are being recorded at the same time, because seriously, who else would walk around the house with their mobile phone in their hand), I picture the attachment as many things; clothing, MAC lipsticks, shoes, crockery, cheeseboards and I am starting to think that these are addictions not “attachments”, and I like the challenge even less now. I put my mind to my husband and my son, and the thoughts start to ramble and fill my otherwise quiet space, and I again realise these are not attachments but commitments.

I am multi-tasking my demanding and meaningful list of things to do. I also fill my arms with our over-flowing medicine chest because I remember telling myself yesterday that today was the day I needed to make good here. Unlike my spice drawer, which is filled with love and organisation, our medicine chest has been starting to resemble my son’s bedroom (before he left home). It is beginning to look a little like Niagara Falls, same cascading attributes just missing the abundance of beauty.  But hey, my mother told me my mind was filled with imagination, so I am confident that I can turn this exercise into something exciting (feeling my creativity fast depleting as I hold that thought).

Finding my attachment | I sit myself down with my cup of tea and our medicine chest, and in this lovely, almost mindful state, I start to again think about attachment. I am still struggling to see its point, further frustrated that my sister has filled my otherwise restful mind.

I reach where the bulk of the medicines have banked up and start to discard them.  One by one, I start throwing out Endone, Tramadol, Targin, MC Contin, Maxolon, Kytril, Glycerol Suppositories, Coloxy, Dexathasone, Naproxen, Ural, Lorazepam, White soft paraffin, Jelonet and the list just kept rolling out like a roll of toilet paper on a bad day.  Before me, I saw a group of medications that I did not even know existed before a breast cancer diagnosis.

As I look at these medications, I feel a certain sadness come over me, weird.  It reminded me of where I was just less than two years ago. This emotion is closely followed by some strange sympathy I extend to myself (which I never afforded until this truly reflective moment because I always believed I needed to stay strong throughout treatment). As I sat there thinking, I started to accept that this was why I have been continuing to struggle somewhat with my health and why I have been getting so frustrated with myself (and if I am, to be honest, sometimes truly disappointed) that I don’t seem to be able to find my way back to that same person I was “before BC”.

I look at all those tablets, and I remember how my body has been to hell and back and that I deserve to be kind to myself, not disappointed.

I sit with the thought that it is OK not to be perfect, not to be able to do maybe everything I did before, and if I find myself visiting my Doctor more times than I do my hairdresser, so be it!

So why did I hold onto those medications for all this time? A list that I never knew existed before BC, which I never needed to know existed. I haven’t needed them now for almost two years, so why?  Then, I see my “attachment” and why I have been holding onto them…just in case.

Photo | my bad…find your unhealthy attachment, look it in the face and kiss it goodbye!

Bugger the just in case!!!  Out the door went my attachment!!!

If I dig a little deeper, I might find that my writing has helped my recovery. Anxiety creeps into your head in the middle of the night, disguised as a friend, and before you know it, this other person has settled into your thoughts and your behaviour uninvited and unwanted.

I know that some of you who read my blog have also been affected by a breast cancer diagnosis and are, like me, still in treatment in one way or another. If not breast cancer, then it is something else.  Let’s be honest, a diagnosis pulls us up short, and it changes us. In many ways, the changes are good and, in some ways, just not always in our control.  I prefer to focus on the good and the sometimes great, yet it does not stop those times of incredible frustration and disappointment trying to wrestle for a spot.

This is why I blog. It is my therapy. Saying things aloud means that they no longer clog your otherwise poor recovering brain, which has already gone to war for you and keeps on fighting.  This is why we need our girlfriends to keep the talk happening.

Having found my attachment, I give myself a little more time to reflect, and I see that I have been mourning an earlier version of me, a more vibrant, energetic and healthier me.  I ran a business; how demanding can that get. Maybe these feelings start to creep in when we begin to create space.  Any diagnosis will do this, some more serious than others and some with unspeakable outcomes.  Whatever the diagnosis, it is natural for us and those around us.

And yet, I am now other things that I wasn’t before.  I am more compassionate, patient, understanding, a better listener, and more caring, and finally, I am more honest about my feelings.  What blessings! My diagnosis taught me many things, as I am sure it has you.

I am on tamoxifen, which comes with its own set of side effects, my legs don’t work like they used to, and I take pain killers to dull the nerve pain, etc. Recently I found myself watching a girlfriend, a healthier version of me, stand up from the table, and her legs didn’t work. She told me it was age.  I started to think that maybe I am attributing too many of these changes to treatment rather than just accepting them as part of life and getting on with it.

It is so easy to give things labels.  Once they have a label, they become an attachment.  My days of heavy treatment and a truckload of drugs were back then, and this is now.  Whatever challenges we have going forward is life, so there is little point in staying stuck. This is a new phase and can be a significant phase if only we start to be in the moment.  We need to embrace our lives the best way we can and enjoy them.

My spiritual friend recently told me that this is the path we are all on, an unfolding journey that every soul finds themself on, called life. When we are starting to move from singular beings toward a beautiful collective space. 

A thought | Be kind to yourself and keep talking with your girlfriends (coffee, cake, and chocolate are just fine with me). Girlfriends are better than any medicine.

        Love to all our sisters. 💋
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tip | removing candle wax & water stains

Tip 1 | When candle wax falls on your stone bench (as it did on mine), your first thought is, that the bench is ruined.  Naturally, I had purchased dripless candles (dripless my foot), and by the end of the evening, the wax was all over the benchtop (so nasty).

Possibly you already know how to resolve this, and yet despite the many years I have on my odometer, I didn’t!  There might be a reason my husband calls me “Mrs Google”, and yet, thankfully, for google, the day was saved.

Google | to the rescue.  I scraped (ever so carefully) the excess wax off the benchtop with a blunt knife (in my case, a butter knife). Then I placed paper towels directly on top of the wax and put warm iron on the paper towels. I continued doing this until all the wax melted its way onto the paper towels.  BTW…paper towels are my best friend in the kitchen! I can’t move sideways without grabbing a paper towel for one thing or another.

It worked! I restored our stone bench. p.s. my sister said she does this (who needs Google when you have a sister), and yet she uses a brown paper bag!  You can use either, yet I don’t find too many paper bags in my house, whereas I can find a cupboard full of paper towels.

IMG_8885 Photo | my trusted paper towels and the iron did the trick!

Tip 2| It was only a year earlier that I awoke to a water stain on our dining room table (a dinner party and teapot can do this).  I don’t do colours well and thought the table would need to be put out on the next verge pick up.

Fortunately, before I had time to do this (and the table is a tad heavy), I googled and found on YouTube that several videos showed you how to iron the water stain out of your table.  I could not believe it!  I considered sending the table out to the ironers (just kidding…remember it is too heavy), and it worked just like magic.

IMG_1144Photo | With stain and photo below post stain!

The only difference with the water stain was that I had to cover the colour with a tea towel and then with a steam iron and iron away (I started ever so slowly)!  I so wished I had taken a video of myself doing this so that I, too, could join the world on YouTube.  And yet I wasn’t quite sure how to handle iron in one hand and my iPhone in the other.   Trust me, it works! Our table was saved for another occasion.

I will buy my husband one of those t-shirts, “I don’t need Google; I have my wife”. 💋

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cheese please | platters

“Life is too short for fake butter, cheese or people” SheFinds

After a fabulous relaxing girlie week in Bali, I got to spend a further girlie week with two wonderful friends in our equally fabulous South West.  Life just keeps getting better!

We did what every great woman does; relaxed, slept, movied, chatted lots (and naturally the world is now a better place) and dare I mention we ate lots!

I ask myself, why it is, that in my life, all roads lead back to food?  Maybe we will let that one slide for the time being.  Girl time is such an important time for me (and I hope for you). While food fills your belly, girl talk fills your head and heart.  All three of us are experiencing little brain freezes for one reason or another (mostly treatment-related) and this at times makes for a very funny conversation. It feels great to be able to laugh at yourself in safe company.  The beauty is that when I think back to those conversations I can’t remember them! Girls your conversations are safe with me. I have become the most trusted friend of all, the keeper of secrets because I can’t damn well remember them! Well, some maybe.

Each night, we pulled out the rather large cheeseboard and pretty much emptied the fridge onto it.  It was surprising how that small fridge just kept on giving back to us.

We purchased our little “girl in bathers” in Bellagio, Italy last year (so important that I add this bit to the story, serving no or little purpose whatsoever other than to say we went to Italy) and she now has a home in our beach house, oh and of course sometimes on the cheeseboard (for that little bit of drama).

IMG_9450Photo | girl in bathers and cheeseboard (cheeseboard from Empire Homewares, Mt Lawley and small bowls by Ecology).  Cheeses are no longer whole after a few nights of being regurgitated time and time again onto that same board.

The cheeseboard became our happy time of day.  Where we sat together around the table, with a drink in hand (and surprisingly mostly sparkling water filled with delicious fresh berries and fruit).  Some of you might argue the toss that a “Claytons Cocktail” cannot possibly be as good as the real thing, and yet it tricked this little brain of mine.

Susie tried to teach us Bridge, which is difficult with only three people (and remember women who are experiencing memory malfunction).  She made it more difficult by creating a fictitious fourth player named “Drongo”. So I found myself playing my hand and the hand of this idiot named Drongo and I am starting to think that maybe Susie had intended the name for me. It was difficult juggling my hand, the hand of Drongo and a fist full of cheese and biscuits.

Not every night was filled with quite so much food (oh…maybe most), however, we did manage to bring out the smaller board on one occasion as the fridge stock tragically started its slow descent into nothingness and was fast becoming depleted of all things delicious.
fullsizeoutput_1cf5Photo | a BIG cheeseboard is the next best thing to an Italian long table!

IMG_9414Photo | a small board can work just as well (small blue and white coasters, doubling as small serving plates from Ecology).


I love a great cheese board!  For me, it needs to be packed and is a great excuse to clean out your fridge (remembering to keep it fresh).  It should result in an abundance of glory on the board.  Done well, this can also double as an alternative to a dessert at a dinner party.  You could add a few sweet treat items and fresh fruits to the cheese board, and voila, dessert is done!

A few ideas | homemade rocky road, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, walnuts, pistachio nuts, dark chocolate, dried apricots and how about trying your hand at homemade violet crumble.

Check out my Pinterest boards (Debbie-Ann Scott) for more ideas – photos saved under the board titled “Event Food | Cheese & Fruit”. I have 220 photos that have been pinned to this board alone.  Many an hour has been wasted pinning!

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Photo | cheeseboard from Empire Homewares, Mt Lawley

Photo | Tom Dixon cheeseboard


While cheese plays a massive role on a board, it is more than just cheese.  It is about the board, the plating and the other wonderful items which fall onto the board as little bits of heaven.  Imagine your board with just cheese, biscuits and grapes for example. How bland!  Cheese needs to sit alongside rich colours and flavours, anything which is in season.

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fullsizeoutput_1cf0Photo | a recent backyard party – talk about a massive cheese board!  The fairy lights simply added impact.

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Investing in a couple of great cheese boards is an investment well made.  Ideally, three boards are best.  A small one for more intimate grazing, a medium for a dinner party for 8-10 and a massive one for that dinner party when you need to please a much larger crowd. I won’t tell you how many we have!!! They are starting to look a little like my napkin collection.

IMG_7104Photo | cheeseboard by Tom Dixon comes in many shapes and sizes


Photo |farmhouse serveware from the Ecology range.  A gorgeous new (and massive) whitewash cheeseboard just waiting to be filled.

img_8845.jpgPhoto | long-styled boards perfect for grazing platters.

No ordinary butter | Of course, we made our butter!  Nothing beats (and trust me there is a lot of beating and is the reason why every girl should have a sister) homemade butter!

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Tip |As a minimum you should have the following 3 kinds of cheese on your board.  Don’t forget the honeycomb!

soft cheese

hard cheese

blue cheese

💋

 

 

cooking class in Bali | the fish that should have got away


I am relaxing at the Bali InterContinental Resort about to share in an Indonesian Cooking Class organised by Encanta.

Yes, how exciting a Perth based PCO managing events in the warmth and accomodating Bali, and they have been running this particular medical conference here for the past three years. They say the life of a PCO is tough!

Last night, I watched a delegate walk into the welcome reception (located outdoors, on the grass, overlooking the ocean as the sun set, barefoot and thongs in hand). I thought how wonderful and how quickly delegates relax in a location such as this.

Photo | Sunset Bar

The hotel is secluded within boundaries of the exclusive Jimbaran Bay overlooking the beach.  The Resort is reasonably isolated from the busier parts of Bali, and this is music to my ears. It is exactly the location I was looking for, tranquil, despite being full, the space here is so abundant that you can sit on a daybed (as I did yesterday, overlooking the calmest of calm lakes, and feeling that the world had stopped for 4 blissful hours). I barely saw a soul that entire time. Talking about soul, how totally soulful!

Photo | Tranquility and Peace

Naturally the delegates and their partners are taking full advantage of the day spa and its many services and treatments and I am reminded that with each treatment (trust me there have been a few) the Balinese women truly make you believe that they love what they are doing. Each treatment, you are left feeling just a little bit more loved and pampered.

Photo | Day Spa Ritual

So the cooking class, which Encanta organised for the accompanying partners (and lucky me gets to do this as well…after all it was a birthday gift from Alison) starts with a bus ride into the bustling seafood markets (which is interesting given I am allergic to seafood and you will never see me serving seafood at our table). The smell is often more offensive than the side effects from eating it. It is very likely that I will be that difficult person who declines the walk through the markets. I don’t think this girl is ready to come face to face with any big fat or small groper today (and is there even a fish called groper)?

Let me not digress, after all my blog is all about food and entertainment, not self indulgence and tranquility (seriously…food is all about self indulgence)!

So proud of myself! I thought stop being a wimp and get on that bus headed for the seafood markets, and I did!

I made it off the bus, right to the front door of the markets, took one whiff and pulled away, and I am left asking myself what am I doing…a seafood cooking class…I must be seriously mad!

The gracious Chef from the hotel takes pity on me after seeing the distraught look etched across my face, and I am liking this man just a little bit more now.


Photo | Chef and Seafood Markets behind

I see a man, resembling an Australian (maybe the thongs). His plate is not filled but piled with prawn shells. I have a vision of the inside of his belly and trust me it is not the prettiest thought. I think he has just eaten someone else’s lifetime supply of prawns in one sitting. He even let me photograph his plate, quite possibly unaware how the photo would be used.


Photo |let me say no more…

Photo | this is quite possibly one of the ugliest photos I have seen! Taken by Stacey who was couragious enough to venture inside the markets! What is it…a groper? Definitely think it should have gotten away this one.

OMG how fantastic am I!

I made it to the front door of the markets. Who would have thought and all I can think is, how totally disgusting! I think maybe I might throw myself under a passing motorbike, which pretty much happens without me even trying.

I am thrilled that I get to now sit under a canopy, far enough away from the markets and my nostrils start to clear (and yet sadly the smell still etched in my brain) looking out onto another glorious and tranquil beach.

Photo | Beach on Jimbaran Bay, near the seafood markets 


The Cooking Class | Note all recipes provided below

Shopping for seafood is complete and we are back at the hotel.  We arrive at the InterContinentals famous Japanese Restaurant, Ko, to commence a further 3 hour cooking class.


The restaurant is exclusively ours, and the Teppanyaki Bar is filled with glorious fruits, vegetables, and gorgeous Indonesian spices and yes…seafood.



Photo | Cooking Class area 

My white orchids which I have at home in a very minor way are everywhere here and in such great abundance that I am suffering a massive dose of orchid envy.

My Chefs hat keeps falling off my head and I am hoping it is a child’s size as opposed to the size of my head. It erks me just a little that Liousa’s hat fits perfectly and yet beware of the woman with a small head and massive knife.

Photo | Luisa ready for action

What fabulous value; a bus ride to the markets with our lovely chef, water supplied throughout, our group is exclusively seated around the stunning Japanese Bar of the Ko Restaurant, a chefs apron and hat (which on my head is now looking a little more like a member of the ku klux klan than a chef), chopping board and massive chefs knife sharper than sharp. Added to this cooking class we get to enjoy a substantial 4 course meal with an abundance of red and white wine flowing.
Photo | Stacey trying her hand at cooking (note hand…because the other has wine in it)

Luckily for me my meal was especially prepared (no seafood) and I am eternally grateful. Staff constantly refresh our scented hand towels, and I see the mess Luisa makes alongside me and I start to understand why (sorry Liousa, but you don’t get to be the spunky model and be tidy).


Don’t worry, all the recipes have been provided below for the seafood die hards and my brother.

By this stage I am starting to feel very special as my meals start coming my way and this includes the Gado Gado (my Father’s favourite), photographed below.

We have made our way through four courses and drank a little more wine than we possibly should and I start to think that any moment now I might die and fly away to heaven…but hey what a way to go…totally stuffed with food! How good is life!

Seafood Menu 


Note | this salad menu above is pictured below with the prawn wrapped banana leaf





Photo | Dessert and the recipe will be added shortly 

To finish, the resort’s head chef (French and need I say more) came to welcome us and thank us! Perfect way to finish a perfect cooking class!

Thank you Alison for 5 wonderful hours. The perfect birthday present!
Thank you Encanta, the perfect accompanying partner event. You did well yet again!
Can’t talk anymore, at the spa after yet another exhausting day in Bali!
Photo | waiting for Balinese massage 

it’s all about the food | dinner menu

It is An Ottolenghi inspired dinner party for 12 guests.

I am blogging this from Bali, surrounded by the many wonderful foods and let’s not mention cocktails at sunset.  What better time than right now to blog about food! So here goes, my blog on a dinner party for 12, which includes the menu and photos from a recent dinner party held at our table.  Hope it inspires you for your next home entertaining.

Starters | Ottolenghi’s Labneh with Olives, Pistachios and Oregano. Search http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk for this recipe.  The best thing about this is that you can make the labneh 2 days ahead of your dinner party.  You can cut up all the other bits and pieces and store them in small containers, ready to serve at the night.  I served this with Lebanese flatbreads purchased from the Lebanese shop (I was too lazy to make the yoghurt flatbreads from my earlier blog).

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Entree | Antipasto Platters and small serving dishes. Again this is a very easy option because everything can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge.  I prepared 2 antipasto plates, one for each end of the table.  To accompany this was fresh baguettes and flatbreads.  Don’t forget the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and those little dishes of other lovely antipasto items such as olives, marinated capsicum, dried fruits and the likes.

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Main Meal | Simple Spinach Salad with spinach leaves, roasted tomatoes, purple onion, pinenuts and a great dressing of zesty olive oil, lemon and honey dressing. Again you can prepare the dressing ahead of the dinner party and throw it together at the last minute.

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Ottolenghi’s Roast Potatoes and Jerusalem Artichokes.  All Ottolenghi’s recipes can be googled if you cannot find them in one of his cookbooks. This is one of my favourite potato dishes.  If you cannot find Jerusalem artichokes you can substitute using water chestnuts which can be purchased in a tin.  I have tried both and I prefer the tinned water chestnuts because they give a slightly nuttier result.  I always make more than is needed.  It is a great left-overs dish.

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Ottolenghi’s Za’atar Roasted Chicken Breast | is another of my favourite dishes because the chicken is packed with flavour.  Check with your butcher when purchasing the chicken breast, bone-in, skin-on, that they can supply medium size breasts. These were massive and it felt as if you were eating a full chicken.  I would have preferred smaller breasts so that our guests didn’t have to experience an “I feel stuffed” kind of moment.

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Ottolenghi’s Meringue Roulade with Rose & Morello Cherries. What a surprise, another meringue/pavlova dessert from me! At least I am not rolling out the same one each time, because we are always keen to try out a new pav and meringue recipe! I must say this was delicious! It was more about the meringue and the cream than the actual fruit which was a change from the usual fruity pav.  Well so “the other half,” said …and he does love his pav!  I have had morello cherries in the fridge in the past and never quite knew what to do with them. Now I know!

The photo looks a little like a dog’s breakfast, but don’t let that put you off. Hard to prepare and photograph sometimes!

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