[croquet engagement brunch]

My little sister Sarah is engaged!
To celebrate this happy occasion, we threw her and her fiancé Chris an engagement party.  Rather than your typical evening soiree, we held a Sunday brunch at a sweet little croquet club.
I had a friend of mine who's an aspiring florist to create the beautiful arrangements for the brunch table and had a few family members and Sarah's other bridesmaids to help with the tasty morsels.
It was truly a perfect winter's morning here in sunny Brisbane!

The lovely Rachel Evans created these stunning blooms, complementing the mint green and yellow theme beautifully with dewy succulents and billy buttons.

Gluten Free Banana Cake with Passionfruit Icing.

(Made by yours truly)

I discovered this completely divine recipe over at My Darling Lemon Thyme - a fantastic food blog full of delish gluten free goodness.

Clockwise from the top, Sarah, me (her MOH) and her lovely bridesmaids.

Me and my bearded husband.

Long time friends Brooke and Britney looking the part for a morning of croquet.

and the happy couple.

I love these shots,

they're a bit cute.

And so the planning begins.

Jx

[christmas day - part one]

On Christmas day we hosted a family brekky at our little unit.

Just a simple gathering of six.

After picking up this oh so sweet table cloth for a steal at Ikea, I thought run with it and go a little kitsch for the morning.

So sunny yellow, polkadots, paper straws and sunflowers it was.

And for the menu...

Lychee and apple juice

Red rooibos iced tisane

Fresh fruit salad

Ham, cheese and tomato croissants

Raspberry and vanilla coulis

Natural yoghurt

Homemade gluten free toasted muesli

The muesli was really delicious!

It was my first ever attempt at gluten free muesli and the finished product was a blend of a few different recipes I'd come across.

It was a big hit with the gluten intolerant folk!

Here's my version for those of you playing at home...

Gluten Free Toasted Muesli

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp all spice

1 cup quinoa flakes

1 cup rice flakes

1/4 cup pepitas

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/3 cup flaxseeds

1 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup macadamia nuts (chopped)

1/2 cup hazelnuts (chopped)

1/4 cup goji berries

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup dried apricots (chopped)

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

Line a few trays with baking paper.

In a small saucepan, heat honey and oil over low heat until runny.

Mix in vanilla and spices.

In a large bowl, mix together the quinoa, rice flakes, nuts and seeds.

Pour over the spiced honey mixture and stir in well.

Divide amongst the trays.

Bake for 10mins, remove and mix and repeat until lovely and brown.

Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Stir in dried fruit.

And you're done!

Enjoy! Jx

Stay tuned for part two x

[divine way to start the day]

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Let me let you in on a little secret this fine morning...

I love breakfast.

Not just puppy love... the real deal!

I catch myself lying awake at night picturing what I'm going to prepare myself for breakfast the next day!

I may be delving slightly into obsessive territory.

This was yesterday's morning delight...

Vanilla Quinoa Porridge with Apricots and Pistachios

(perfect serve for one)

about 1/4 cup quinoa

(I used the leftover quinoa from dinner the night before)

1/4 cup soy milk

a dollop of honey

about 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

a dash of vanilla essence

stewed apricots

(or get lazy like me and use pie apricots)

chopped pistachios

Bring to boil 3/4 cup water with the quinoa (the rule is 1 part quinoa to 3 parts water)

Simmer for about 10-15mins covered

Add in the soy milk, honey, cinnamon and vanilla

Stir until it's a lovely porridgey consistancy

Top with apricots, pitachios and finish with a glossy drizzle of honey

***

I made mine the night before, refridgerated overnight and heated her up in the morning with a little water.  Add your toppings right before you serve though.

Such a lovely healthy way to start the day (323 Cal says MyFitnessPal)

You really must try - I know you will love it!

And don't forget to let me know how you go!

Happy breakfasting! Jx

[mother's day brunching]

Happy Mother's Day Mum!!!

This was how we celebrated this morning...

Jenny Jenny's

Mother's Day Brunch Menu:

Spinach, Basil and Parmasen Mini Muffins

with Light Philly

Warm Roast Pumpkin Tarts

with Persian Feta and Olives

Homemade Toasted Muesli

(My complete and utter favourite!)

with Natural Yoghurt and Cinnamon

Baked Cinnamon Ricotta with Honey Drizzle, Berries and Fresh Figs

served with Warm Mini Brioche

As well as a splash of sparkling

and a cup or two of Melbourne Breakfast tea.

Hope all you wonderful mothers out there are having one fabulous day! Jx

[bake me banana bread]

As promised, here's the recipe for the banana bread I baked for the pink ribbon breakfast I held a couple of weeks ago.  It makes the house smell sooooo good!

The photos are courtesy of the lovely Louise from A Pot of Tea Under a Tree.

Banana Bread

100g butter

1 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup mashed banana

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

- preheat oven 180 deg.

- grease & line loaf tin

- cream butter & sugar, add eggs and beat between each

- stir in banana, vanilla & cinnamon, then flour baking powder/soda & salt

- pour in tin (sprinkle with raw sugar if you fancy)

- bake for 1 hour or until firm

- cool on wire rack

...and here's another little pic of Louise's that I adore!

 Queen St mall at Christmas.

Isn't it pretty!

nine more sleeps!

Jx

images via a pot of tea under a tree

[pink ribbon breakfast - the art auction]

After we all gorged on the delicious goodies and had ourselves a couple of champas and guava, the art auction for breast cancer began.  Everyone was to bring along an original piece of creativitiy to auction off to one another...

Sarah's colourful typography "Auf Deutsch" that I purchased.

Tiffany's beautifully painted cup, entitled "cup" which I also bought.

(Straight to the pool room... or Dan's Christmas stocking!)

The two pieces that Al won:

Katie Green's "Owls in Flight"...

...as well as my "Flying Wall Ducks"

My other water colour that Amber purchased.

 <  Becky's piece - a lovely Buddhist quote that Amber also fancied.                                

                                 Becky with her purchase - "Love"- a mixed medium by Lozzy  >

Louise (from A Pot of Tea Under a Tree) painted a suitably fashionable piece that Tiffany won.

    Another by Louise, that Cass won        and Al's painting which Louise won.

Amber's origami lily that Miss A had her eye on

Cass' "Hooters" painting that Sabina bought...

...and Sabina's "Icecream" bra and coffee cup that Katie Green bought.

Between us we raised $474.35. Not bad for a casual Saturday brunch.
Thanks for the "support" girls!
Jx

[pink ribbon brekky]

It's creeping up! October is Breast Cancer Month and there's no better way to raise money for such a wonderful cause than to get together with you're closest girls for a pink ribbon brekky!  I'll be a busy bee over the next few weeks organising my little gathering!

I thought I'd share some shots of mine from the event I hosted in 2009.  The website has a myriad of ideas to raise money at your event.  After much deliberation I decided to encourage my friends to put their crafty-caps on and create an art piece to auction off to each other.

Firstly there was the business of champagne with guava nectar, ham and leek mini quiches, blueberry yoghurt muffins and of course the pink cupcakes.

This was my little piece that my lovely friend Al bought...

...and I won the bid for Al's creation of words to inspire (creatively directed by her now fiancé Chris of course).

 Adie-pants' piece was perfectly suited to the cause:  Dayna's lucky buy for the day.

...and me and my gorgeous sister.

Looking forward to the next one!  Make sure to stop off at the Pink Ribbon Breakfast website for more information on hosting your own.  Wonderful way to start the day for even more wonderful cause! Jx

[shirley]

I can't believe it's been three years today without having my little Nan around.  I feel very lucky to say that she was one of my best friends.

Started the day in the perfect way! A walk around the burbs with my sister and then apricot and cinnamon spiced porridge and a cup or three of Melbourne Breakfast tea from Nan's teacups.

All my love Nan, miss you x