*e*

what's for dinner? soup!

i have made soup pretty much every day for the past 2 weeks, and this is why:

*it is easy

*it is inexpensive

*it requires the washing of only one pot

*it is the one meal all three littles gobble up and want seconds and thirds of

*it is the only way yindi eats vegetables

*it makes good leftovers for lunch the next day

(pretty much sums up all my essential needs for a meal)

i'm not a fancy cook, but i do make a good soup (no complaints at the dinner table is my idea of success). i never use a recipe - how is that for brilliance? i just throw things into a pot!  you want to know what i make - ok, i'll tell you. i start off every single pot with chopped onion + garlic sauteed in olive oil. got it? so these are our current faves...

 

lentil soup

after sauteeing the onion/garlic i fill the pot halfway with water, add some vegie stock and 2ish cups of red lentils (rinse them first). if this is all you do - it will turn out delicious! but i will often add diced tomatoes and chopped carrot or any other vegie too. kale is yummy and bursting from our csa basket each week. simmer, simmer...you may need to keep adding ater as the lentils cook and thicken the pot. i also add a teaspoon of curry powder along with salt + pepper to season. comes out nice and thick and delish! (see above)

 

rainbow soup

everyones favourite! after the sautee, i again fill the pot halfway (or more) with water and add some stock, or a teaspoon of vegemite (yes, vegemite). then a good mix of colourful chopped vegetables! this week we had potato, carrot, kale, spinach, beet, tomato, corn and black beans. simmer away until everything is cooked. salt and pepper. REALLY yummy and pretty!

 

broccoli soup

(onion/garlic sautee - you know that already yeah?!) 1/3 pot water + stock. 2 broccolis, chopped up nice and small - throw them in and let them go all mushy-like! blend up with stick-blender. add handful of grated cheese and some milk/cream along with s+p. yum. there are never any leftovers of this one.

 

simple, and yum. and repeated over and over and over!

and yes - i do have to give yindi her own little pot and ladle every night to serve her own soup. she's fussy like that! but i love it :)

pretty

 

i went to collect ivy from a playdate last week and fell in love with these sweet little decorations the girls had made from mother earth.

simple + nature = beauty of the best kind!

weekend adventuring

this weekends adventure had us joining forces with some (new - oh yay!) friends on a crisp afternoon in search of some apples to pick. we had no luck at the first farm we went to - all apples had been picked (but we did score some free corn), but hit the jackpot a mile down the road. friends-of-some-friends-of-our-new-friends owned a sweet, small farm and we went to visit the horses. not only was it the most picturesque farm imaginable with gorgeous horse, but we were entertained by some hilarious turkeys, fighting chickens and then the farmers said we could help ourselves to as many apples as we liked - there were tons of them up in an orchard where the pigs live.

so, where i grew up in australia was not city/suburbia at all - we had sheep, geese and chickens when i was a little girl. we weren't exactly city slickers. but here...i am constantly laughing at myself as i sometimes feel like a clueless city girl been in the middle of little house on the prairie! right here is where you should picture me with my basket collecting apples uder the tree...when suddenly i am surrounded by huge pigs snorting and nudging and nibbling on my jacket...cue LOUD SCREAM!

people here grind their own grain to make bread, 'put away' food for the winter, can, pickle, bottle, milk, live simple inspiring lives and i want to be just like them!

(without the animal attacks)

it was a good weekend. how was yours?

little pumpkins for sa-ale!

 i've been sneaking sewing time here and there all week to bring some wrap skirts to my etsy shop (hopefully this weekend!), and my little crafting companion has sat on the floor beside me, knitting away. i LOVE how she gets an idea and bustles away with it, needles a-clickin! no messing around!

she's never shown a snip of interest before in selling her creations - and i can't be sure if she will again, but these pumpkins are very proudly for sale and she so very sweetly wanted to give the money to "mumma and daddy to buy something" (bless!). think she has heard the words "we can't afford..." a fair bit in the last month or so. oops. moving is expensive, did you know?

there are just a few for sale in my etsy shop - and i doubt there will be any more  (and don't worry, proceeds will be going towards a coveted trip to the zoo, or something fun like that). this girl is just like her mumma - gets obsessively excited about one thing and then quickly moves onto the next project...

sound familiar mum?

have a happy weekend!

*edit: i wish you could have seen the look on ivy's face this morning upon learning all her pumpkins had sold while she was sleeping! we've never done the pocket money thing with her so this is HUGE! thankyou, pumpkin buyers!

oh, these leaves!

they are truly so magnificent! so satisfying to crunch underfoot, or roll around in, or pile into big heaps and take a running leap into...and the colours - wow.

dear leaves,

you have been a source of joy in my miserable world of moving far from home (i can be dramatic, i'm talking to the trees ok!). your beauty and colour fills me up when i'm lonely and homesick. i love to see you as i drive around, or out my kitchen window.

why are you leaving me already? i don't understand your thinking at all. i thought we had a good thing going.i thought you loved me too?

please stay a bit longer...

your friend,

e xo

it's getting cold here

well, the temperature has dropped in the past few weeks and we are beginning to feel very, very scared for what is to come! here we are in the middle of autumn, and the weather is a bit cooler than a normal perth winter, uh-oh!

it's looking like gumboots and hoodies won't cut it for much longer.

so i have been looking in op-shops for woolens to cut up and make into leggings and vests, planning what i can felt and feebly attempt to knit (don't worry - ivy is onto it already!), sew and repurpose what we have to stay warm. and hitting up all the yard sales i can find. just you wait a few more months until i bust out the kermit-green snow dungarees and matching jacket i for for myself for $1. oh yeah! it's gunna look GOOD!

i love the quality and naturalness of wool for keeping everyone warm. wool is so yummy!

i was reading an old issue of living crafts magazine recently which had an amazingly cool 'hip mama coat' project - this is wet felting like i have never seen before! i'd love to attempt to make one though i'm thinking thats a whole lotta wool and without my master-mentor-guru-goddess nicole around i'd probably end up with a giant clump of (very expensive) wet wool on my hands!

but check this artist out, his felted fashion is incredible and sooo inspiring!

and speaking of keeping warm, and felting magic-ness, and nicole...feast your eyes on this delicious little baby papoose! oh oh oh!

several months ago nicole organised for a few of us to get together and felt a papoose for a friend's baby blessingway, it turned out amazing (it was baffling to me how it happened. i just did as i was told!). that one was white, and her latest creation is so adorable-cool it makes me want another baby just so i can pop it in a cosy wool pod! read more about it here, or be the lucky one to buy it here.

i'm off to dream of wool and felting. night!

ps if you live in a cold climate, hook me up with some good links for what i/we need to be wearing!

dreaming of straw

(source)

if the three little pigs could do it, surely the 5 little falcos can build a house of straw?! oh, this is a dream of ours - to build ouw own strawbale house. since we first saw one years ago it seemed like such a cool option for affordable, eco-friendly housing. since we have been slaves to the rental system (and bums to our family), its a dream that has kinda been forgotten, until now (inspired by how much we do not love the rental homes in our budget, a friend moving into her dream strawbale, and my dear nicole and her lovely strawbale studio i so miss being in). therefore we plan, dream and scheme the life we want for our family. 

to live in the trees, have chickens and a goat and live in a house that we LOVE because it is just our style - sigh!

(source)

(source)

we are talking about just how do you turn dreams into reality? (really, how do you?) it's exciting.

and bookmarking. lots of bookmarking!

hooray, giveaway!

something i have learned is that whenever i set a deadline for myself (ie etsy shop re-open), my children JUST KNOW and decide to get sick. like this afternoon when i was just settling in for some photo-taking and uploading, the school called and i had to pick ivy up from the sick room. ah well!

so, more stuff will be coming over the next few days to add to what is in there right now :)

my etsy shop is now open!

and...

to celebrate, i'm giving away a camera strap (winner's choice of design)

AND...a funky wrap-around skirt made from upcycled tshirts + organic cotton. i am obsessed with wearing skirts over pants (doubles as apron, nose wiper, bum cover-up, thigh warmers...should i go on?) and will be bringing these to the shop next - yay! winner will receive this skirt of brown and pink goodness...

wrap skirts are my fave - they are so kind and one size fits all.

so leave me a happy comment below (i'm homesick, remember? cheer me up!)...and i'll draw a winner on monday. have a great weekend and enjoy the above picture of my bum won't ya?! (wondering why mick cut half of it off...?!!)

*hello! it's monday and i can't tell you how nice my weekend was reading all these happy comments! thankyou, i love you guys.

JILL SCRIPPS...your name was picked as the winner! please email me!

next shop update (with skirts!) will be this friday. stay tuned!

quilty!

theres nothing like cozy weather to make you want to get all crafty-like. i had this idea for a cozy, quilty scarf while up with banjo one middle-of-the-night recently. middle of the night is a good time for crafty ideas, i tell ya!

scarves are the best, and you can see how to make one yourself...along with a vedy, vedy simple pom-pom scarf over here at todays mama.

i've finally braved-up to start using favourite fabrics stashed for years...and, gulp, am really obsessed with quilting! (the gulp is because i hate to admit this...as i know my mother is on the other side of the world saying "told you so!" as she reads...she is a big-time quilter and tried to get me into it for years. because she wanted me to, i stubbornly refused!). you may or may not recall my first attempt at making a quilt - almost a year ago now. i had mum show me the ropes, but due to my inability to be a good student she got frustrated with me and finished the quilt herself (thanks, mum!). a few months ago i found this fabric and HAD TO BUY IT, could only afford a small piece so i planned a simple quilt (figuring things out for myself this time - easier for me to learn that way) for mr banjo. i LOVE IT and you can read all about how i did it with step-outs HERE.

(hideous picture quality due to camera that may or may not be hurled through a window one of these days)

are you a quilter?

have you made anything cozy lately?

etsy shop re-open...

 
yeah! i'm excited to be opening up my etsy shop after being closed for over a year! all my yummy thailand ribbon straps will be there, as well as some art & craft supplies from nepal - journals, papers and felt treats. lots of ideas have been collecting and swirling for my shop that i hope to have time for in the weeks to come. mama skirts, baby clothes, project kits and who knows what else?!!

friday, 10pm EST/

saturday, 10am perth time (i miss perth!)

to celebrate the re-opening, there will be a giveaway here on friday...so come back and see me!