Daydreaming about Europe and life drama

This week I feel slightly insane or maybe "all over the place" is a better way to describe it. We had a busy weekend, I had very little time to work and now I'm running behind trying to catch up which is so not ideal considering my week ahead. I guess it doesn't help that I've spent forever looking at pictures that remind me of Paris- but it does mean that you get to see these pictures (tell me i'm not crazy, tell me they want to make you go to Paris RIGHT NOW).

 

This weekend I baked the entire weekend. We had friends over on Saturday for tea (and then happily they stayed for lunch) so I baked (being the wonderful domestic goddess that I am) Cinnabons (a recipe from my best friend) which were sensational and everyone was super impressed (because no one really thought that Cinnabons could be made) and I also made brownies which turned out to be pretty crud. This is my brownie problem, everything is fine until I put them in the oven for the "required amount of time" then after this time, when I take them out, the top is black and the brownie underneath is still sloshing around in the pan. So how on earth do I cook the mixture through without burning the top (and in the "required time")? I made Cinnabons again on Sunday so now I'm all Cinnaboned out- and my kitchen smells like cinnamon which is never a bad thing.

   

I promised a biscuit recipe a while ago and so here it is: 

[recipe for the most amazing vanilla biscuits ever] 

Ingredients 

200g butter, softened 

1 cup (200g) castor sugar 

1 egg, lightly beaten 

3 cups (420g) flour 

1 tsp (5ml) vanilla essence 

-Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Grease a baking tray 

-In a bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter and castor sugar. Add the egg flour and vanilla essence. Mix until combined. 

-Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour before using. 

-Dust the work surface with flour and roll out the cookie dough to the preferred thickness. 

-Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. 

-Decorate with royal icing 

Royal icing 

Ingredients 

2 egg whites 

21/2 cups (350g) icing sugar sifted 

juice of 1/2 a lemon 

-In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites, icing sugar and lemon juice together 

-Start on low speed and increase the speed as the mixture gets smoother 

-If the mixture is too dry add more egg white 

I hope it brings you much eating happiness

   

I knew this week would feel bitty and odd- Graham left for a conference yesterday and I'm leaving for Cape Town tomorrow to apply for my French Visa (party time) and then we're racing back to Durban to be here for a show on Friday night. On top of this my delightful lecturers have saved all the enormous tests for next week and the following week (I have a test the day before we leave for Europe- apparently I won't be studying for that one). Argh it's all a bit overwhelming at the moment.

   

In other happier news- it's Spring! Spring sounds like it should be a really nice season but in reality it's pretty crud. In Cape Town Spring isn't very different from winter and in Durban Spring seems to be the ONLY time in the year that the wind blows like mad (In case anyone is wondering- Autumn definitely wins for the best season of the year) I'm tired of this "cold" Durban weather and impatiently wait for Summer every single day (will take this statement back when I'm dying in the summer heat wave).

 

Did I mention it's 2 and a bit weeks to Paris and Amsterdam?

Lolita and musings

After the shortest long weekend ever I'm back in the same place as I was last week when I told you I had resolved to get my reading butt into gear and I am happy to report that I have! I'm on my way to finishing Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita which has been an incredibly challenging read. Not because of how he writes, I love his whimsical sarcastic way of writing, but because of the subject matter. The narrator often begs the reader to try and understand the things he's writing from his point of view or at least to be sympathetic to his unhealthy obsession with little girls ("nymphets") and Lolita in particular. I do think I'm more sympathetic than Graham has been (who tells me the narrator should be locked up in an asylum for perverts) but it's still been difficult understand or to get on board with Humbert's (that is, the narrators) illicit actions regarding his "step-daughter."

   

Aside from reading we had a friend come and stay over at our place this past weekend. We only have one bed so we had to buy a blow-up mattress and slept on it on our lounge floor which was like a mini camping trip (a camping trip where graham would slam/roll his body into the tv cabinet every 2 hours or so throughout the night). We spent saturday lounging around, getting tea, going back to bed, having hour-long heated debates in bed while the sunlight streamed in through the curtains- the perfect way to spend a day in my opinion. We decided to take a chance on having lunch at a mexican place well known for their food poisoning and we came out alive with full tummies (the food was surprisingly good!).

   

[Only 6 more weeks to Paris and Amsterdam. One of my lovely friends is in Paris at the moment and all her pictures and tweets are causing the anticipation of traveling to be SO much more than is rationally acceptable. Grahams mom bought me a beautiful brown leather passport cover to take with- 6 weeks seems like a century away!]

 

For the past few days (and days to come) I've been cooking my little heart out-obviously not to the level that it's done on master chef but still- I made my (when I say my I mean Jamie Olivers) amazing chorizo pasta on saturday night which has become to go-to dish for when we want something yummy and spicy that requires very little effort. I baked for women's day on Thursday (regular vanilla biscuits with royal icing but for some reason they turn out to be flipping fantastic) and I shall put the recipe on the blog soon. Last night I made spicy fish stew which may replace the chorizo pasta as the easiest tastiest dish I know. And tonight it's roast chicken and oven veggies- so chilled. I must admit that I'm pretty impressed with myself, a year ago I could make toasted sandwiches but now I think nothing of making roast chicken. Its pretty awesome what you can teach yourself to do when you have to. When you have a starving husband at home who looks at you with puppy eyes when he asks what dinner is. 

 

I know you're dying to read a bit of Lolita now to see what dodgy things the characters get up to so i'll save you the trouble of hunting the book down; 

[this quote is taken from the time that the narrator first sees Lolita] 

"It was the same child-the same frail, honey-hued shoulders, the same silky supple bare back, the same chestnut head of hair. A polka-dotted black kerchief tied around her chest hid from my a gaping eyes, but not from the gaze of my young memory, the juvenile breasts I had fondled one immortal day. And, as if I were the fairytale nurse of some little princess...I recognized the tiny dark-brown mole on her side. With awe and delight... I saw again her lovely in-drawn abdomen where my southbound mouth had briefly paused; those puerile hips on which I had kissed the crenulated imprint left by the band of her shorts- that last mad day behind the "Roches and Roses." The twenty-five years I had lived since then, tapered to a palpitating point, and vanished."

A bit of excitement and a lot of blandness

5 years ago I went to Paris with my mother and one of my sisters. I think I had seriously low expectations of what it would be like because it turned out to be way more magical than I could ever have dreamed. I have wished and wished to be able to go back (not over exaggerating at all) and my wish has finally come true thanks to my fairy godmother- or my mother and father whichever you prefer. 

In just less than 2 months time my mother and (now) two of my sisters and I will be jetting off to Paris and Amsterdam *contains excitement*

 

I am now on the hunt for things to do in Paris. Most of the large museums and art galleries we checked off our lists last time we were there although to be honest I wouldn't mind doing them all again (if you have any ideas of exciting things we can partake in in Paris please do tell).

 

In other news: we love love watching modern family (okay, so maybe I do more than Graham does) and there is this one scene in the first few episodes where Cam, a pretty hefty character tries to convince the audience that he's only put on a "few pounds" due to adopting a baby. In the next scene we see Cam being caught on camera in the pantry stuffing his face with food. How does this relate to my life? Well, I got fat. Okay maybe not fat but certainly 10kgs heavier. We first realized when I zipped up my skin in desperately trying to fit into one of my dresses (that I fitted into perfectly 8 months ago). So I have been packed off to gym for weekly sessions with a trainer and a super delicious (heavy sarcasm) new eating plan. Things like regular cheese and pasta and potatoes and fruit loops (only just recently re-discovered) are considered "cheats" and apparently I'm only allowed to cheat once a week.

 

In the past 8 months-being married to Graham- I have developed more of a love for food than I had before. I pour over my recipe books for hours trying to decide what to make for dinner, something that will challenge me and develop my cooking skills. And (I think) that Graham has had fun tasting all my exotic creations. But now with this new eating scheme things have become more difficult (and I can't help but feel more bland). We are limited to meat, chicken or fish with veggies for dinner. Last night worked out pretty well, I haven't cooked fish before and I added in some cous-cous for Grahams carbohydrate need. If any of you dear readers have ideas or recipes that fit our -hem- restrictions please email me or Facebook me or comment in the section below.

 

I'm busy making lists for Europe in my head. My parents bought our flights yesterday. I found a little paper version of the Eiffel tower and a beautiful passport cover and am just trying to justify buying them. Be prepared to hear lots more about Paris and Amsterdam on the blog in the weeks to come.

x

the breakfast club

I like tuesdays - lectures end early, i have dancing in the afternoon, and they're the beginning of the end for the week. Once tuesday is over the weekend comes faster, i always find.

The rain has yet to stop, and every so often when a slice of sunshine enters the study [in winter you forget that the sun is so bright] my dog and I fall onto the floor and bathe in it- for that one lovely minute [then we close the door to keep the rain out]

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain

have an amazing tuedsay x

cinderella

“ For with each dawn, she found new hope that someday, her dreams of happiness would come true." -Cinderella

happy tuesday. ordinarily i love tuesdays and today was good. yes, it was. However this insane capetown wind (which blows even though its sunny outside) becomes a bit much after four days.

[my dad is home from north africa]so im sorry ive failed at blogging these past few days. its been a little hectic here. too hectic for my liking. i just want to crawl into bed and sleep for a few days - or until the bags under my eyes have disappeared.
[agh. wishwishwish]
sleeptight.

crepes and caterpillar juice

thismorning we went out for brunch. I have problems with food markets. there is just so much food and it looks amazing and smells amazing, my senses go into overdrive - making it very difficult to actually choose something to eat. today, however, it was easy to settle with crepes

everytime i eat crepes i remember paris in autumn, walking along the rue mouffetard eating chocolate crepes [yes it does sound pathetically romantic] so today we ate crepes. and because we were at an organic food market we had fresh apple juice.ilove fresh apple juice -the layer of apple foam on top, not so much- My sister commented that it was like drinking a caterpillar [which was disgustingly accurate] and now everytime i try drinking apple juice i see this little caterpillar face.

[the following images are not for delicate viewers]






[the harry potter marathon continues]
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."- Albus Dumbledore

don't you ask me if its love my dear

[a new obsession]

Talk all the talk with a poet's style
Tongue like electric, eyes like a child
Buy all your wives and the classic cars
Live like a savior, live like the stars

Talk all the talk with a model's smile
Tongue like electric, eyes like a child
Buy all your highs and the classic cars
Die on the front page, just like the stars

The big screens, the plastic-made dreams
Say you don't want it, say you don't want it
It's our world, the picture-book girls
Say you don't want it, say you don't want it
Don't you ask me if it's love my dear
Love don't really mean a thing round here
The fake scenes the plastic-made dreams
Say you don't want it, say you don't want it

Pace all the rooms with a jealous style
Tongue like electric, eyes like a child
Paint all your soul with the grand designs
Reach like a savior, your heart on the line

The big screens, the plastic-made dreams
Say you don't want it, say you don't want it
It's our world, the picture-book girls
Say you don't want it, say you don't want it

Don't you ask me if it's love my dear
Love don't really mean a thing round here
The fake scenes the plastic-made dreams
Say you don't want it, say you don't want it

[goodnight all]

nostalgia and a good lunch

happy mothers day :) (argh wayy to much cake today)

its been raining all day again* this is good. we went to pastis for lunch, the food was okay but the vibe was amazing. i felt like i was in a bistro in paris in the middle of autumn with the leaves beginning to fall. (ah travel bug much?)

and this brief lunch has created a yearning for france

true story :)
have a glorious rainy (or not) sunday

a late night

ah my goodness, another break in = another lame post about things that made me happy this week* although what really made me happy is hidden between the lines, or in this case, the pictures :)

I don’t know but
I think I maybe
Fallin’ for you
Dropping so quickly
Maybe I should
Keep this to myself
Waiting ’til I
Know you better
I am trying
Not to tell you
But I want to

I’m scared of what you’ll say
So I’m hiding what I’m feeling
But I’m tired of
Holding this inside my head
I’ve been spending all my time
Just thinking about ya

I don’t know what to do
I think I’m fallin’ for you
I’ve been waiting all my life
And now I found ya
I don’t know what to do
I think I’m fallin’ for you
I’m fallin’ for you

As I’m standing here
And you hold my hand
Pull me towards you
And we start to dance
All around us
I see nobody
Here in silence
It’s just you and me
I’m trying
Not to tell you

But I want to
I’m scared of what you’ll say
So I’m hiding what I’m feeling
But I’m tired of
Holding this inside my head
I’ve been spending all my time
Just thinking about ya

I don’t know what to do
I think I’m fallin’ for you

have a good night*