Vintage kitchenware

Phoenix glass cookware was produced as an alternative to Pyrex using lovely primary colours in their heatproof glass cookware. 

Makers marks – “ Made in England Phoenix “

Thought I would share a bit of mid week eye candy with you.  Vintage kitchenware from the 1950's.   An early Birthday present to myself from a favourite Retro store in town.

In mint condition, I wonder if it was ever used.  It is the most beautiful turquoise colour, with quirky handles, thick glass lid and a beautifully moulded base.  Made to stand the test of time for sure.  I won't cook anything hot in it but may use it to serve up (cold) desserts or similar.  It certainly won't be going in the dishwasher either.  Gently, gently.

Happy week lovelies!

Sunday brunch......Zucchini Fritters

I was up early this morning with the boys, not too early, about 7am which is really good for us.  Usually they are up are ready to go before 6am - so this morning I felt like I had a bit of a sleep in.

I put a couple of loads of washing on then made a pot of coffee, followed by bacon and egg muffins.

After breakfast Mr H took the boys out for a run around at the park.  I got to finish the weeding and tidying up in the garden, did a quick tidy inside the house and then I put some music on and went to work or grating zucchinis and potatoes for a late brunch.

The zucchinis are growing great guns in my vegetable garden at the moment.  I have also had them for dinner during the week, baked with cottage cheese, tomatoes, herbs and more cheese.  Delicious!

To make the fritters I grated a couple of zucchini, a few potatoes and then chopped up onion, garlic, threw in some salt and pepper, olive oil, chilli powder, mixed herbs, a couple of eggs, cup of flour, tea spoon of baking powder, splash of milk and a handful of grated cheese.  Mixed well and then fried until golden brown.

I served them on sliced ciabatta bread and topped with roughly chopped Roma tomatoes - both of which Mr H bought at the market yesterday.  A salad would have been a great alternative to serve them with.

Sunday tends to be all about leftovers or anything that needs to be used quickly - its amazing what you can throw together to make a meal.  It is a really good way of using the last bits of things that would normally go to waste.

  I hope your weekend has been a good one?  Have a great week!

Missing this project......

 

 

I'm really missing joining in with the weekly 52 portrait project.  It is such a great motivator for getting the camera out and taking photos of my boys.  I joined in the project during 2013 and 2014 and amazingly I completed all 52 portraits for both years - something I initially thought I would struggle to do.

One of my goals for 2015 was to continue with regular photo taking - I haven't been taking weekly snapshots but will make sure I take plenty of photos throughout each month.  I will continue to share them with family and friends and on occasion here on my blog.

In these photos the boys are playing in the garden.  Tom got his toy plane stuck up in the tree and tried for ages and with all sorts of things to get it down.  Eventually his persistence paid off when he booted a football up into the tree and knocked it down.

George is sporting a cropped hair do thanks to Mr H and a pair of clippers.  He was over heating with his long thick hair and the summer heat, but he absolutely hates having his hair cut.  This option keeps him cool and we won't have to trim/cut his hair for ages!

They are growing up so fast and I want to continue to capture (almost) every moment.

Send a little love

 

 

 

I joined in recently with another great swap arranged by Tracy from Mad About Bags blog.   A parcel to be sent and received by Valentines Day.

Something heart shaped or themed

Something deliciously edible

Something handmade

Something red

 

I was partnered with Sandra from Mason Mumblings blog.  A new to me blogger and a fellow Kiwi.  I received a beautiful package of treats.  Sandra sent me a lovely zippered pouch.  The chocolate will be demolished in no time (I love that it's dark chocolate, as no one else will want to eat it but me, so I won't have to hide it).  The DIY pin cushion is such a great idea and I can't wait to make it.  Also sent was a heart shaped cookie cutter, hand cream, buttons and a pendant.

This is the second time I have joined in with Tracy's "Send a little love" swap - a great time of year to receive some treats as Mr H and I don't really celebrate Valentines day.  We give each other cards but the rest of the day is all about wee Tom and his Birthday.

I always love putting together swap parcels and I hope Sandra enjoys her parcel.  I sent cream and red cotton tea towels, a crocheted (bought at a craft fair) face cloth, heart shaped soap, heart printed fabric, washi tape, chocolates and a heart pendant that I made.  I wish I had remembered to photograph it before I wrapped it all up!

If you haven't joined in with a blog swap yet, give it a go - you don't have to be a blogger to join in.  You get to "meet" some really lovely people and it is always nice to get happy mail instead of bills.

Thank you to Tracy for organising this swap and to Sandra for being such a lovely swap partner.

"The Season"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things have been busy around here - the last two weeks we have been getting used to the new school year and after school routines.  I have been settling into my new job which (so far) I'm really enjoying. 

 

February and March for us also means birthday "season" - and to start the ball rolling, Tom turned six years old.  He is our Valentines baby and has been counting down to February 14th for at least the last three months.

 

So on Friday we had an afternoon with close friends after school.  I made an M&M and Kit Kat chocolate cake for the occasion, we sat in the sun under the big tree and ate afternoon tea.  The kids played in the garden while we mums chatted and drank (beer) cold drinks.

 

On Saturday Tom has some class mates over and despite the rain we played party games and had a Birthday lunch.  My friend Rebekah (who is The Sugar Princess) made us the most delicious Lego cupcakes topped with buttercream icing and fondant Lego pieces.  As much as I love organising a party, it is exhausting and I love it when everything is cleared away and I can sit down and relax.................and listen to Tom as he plans his next one!  Just as well there is a whole year to recover.

 

We had a cold spell over the weekend and had the fire going (in February, crazy).  I made chicken soup for dinner and we spent most of Sunday making Lego Creations.  A really nice ending to a full on weekend.

 

I'm looking forward to a quieter week............... how is your February shaping up?

Happy Birthday little man Tom xo



 

The garden share collective......February

 

 

 

Here is my garden update for February as part of the Garden Share Collective.  Thank you for all the advice regarding my unruly tomatoes.  You can see in the photos above that they have now been tamed, cropped and staked.  The three tomato plants are producing lots of sweet cherry toms......the smell stays on your hands after picking them, just delicious.

The capsicums are plentiful, as are the chillies - a branch or two have succumbed to either small children or animals (no one is owning up) - so I picked the small chillies off the broken branches, bagged them up and put them in the freezer for winter cooking.  The ones that are still going strong on the plants are growing to a really good size.  Pretty pleased about these.

The zucchini (courgette - is it the same thing?) plant is enormous!  If I had known that they get so big I would have planted it somewhere with more space around it.  I'm constantly learning things about growing vegetables all.  I love zucchini grated into salads and will be making up a batch of fritters with them too.

My celery are growing well, now they are no longer hidden away under the tomato vines.  I now have space for more plantings - I just need to decide on what to put in.  Any suggestions?

One thing that I can't seem to grow is broccoli and cauliflower.  The leaves grow but the heads NEVER form.  Does anyone know why this would be happening?  We eat a lot of broccoli so it would be great if it is something I could produce in my garden.  The guinea pigs however are benefiting and enjoying the green crunchy leaves.

Growing in the garden I have:

Tomatoes
Capsicum - red/orange/yellow
Chillies
Zucchini
Celery

Jobs to do:

Start another herb garden
Decide what to plant next
Weeding and soil turning
Netting over crops (I still haven't done this)
Extend the vegetable garden (remove some of the compost and clippings, turn soil and lay down manure) - this is my long term plan.

Happy gardening!

Joining in with Lizzie from Strayed from the table.

"The Garden Share Collective is a group of bloggers who share their vegetable patches, container gardens and the herbs they grow on their window sills. Creating a monthly community to navigate through any garden troubles and to rival in the success of a good harvest we will nurture any beginner gardener to flourish. Each month we set ourselves a few tasks to complete by the next month, this gives us a little push to getting closer to picking and harvesting. The long-term goal of the Garden Share Collective is to get more and more people gardening and growing clean food organically and sustainably."