hmmm, we have budburst...

In winter! Grapevines are bud bursting already. Can't blame climate change can we? Must be another freak weather event.

Giveaway time!

It's about time I had a giveaway...

So one lucky person will win $30 to spend in my shop. All you have to do is have a look at my shop, and tell me which item is your favourite, and comment on this post. To gain additional entries, you can tell your facebook or twitter friends, or mention it in your own blog post with a link to my blog. So that's up to 4 entries per person. Just in time for spring, and some warmer weather wardrobes. Open to everyone, anywhere in the world. Remember to make another comment here for each additional entry. Good luck, you have until midnight next Wednesday the 31st of August to enter.

New upcycled blanket dress

I found a gorgeous blanket in an op shop this week, perfect for another blanket dress. It's now available for custom order in my shop. 100% Australian wool, Australian made blanket and dress. Again, it looks much better in real life, the camera flash has washed it out a little.

Bits and bobs cont'd

Swallows in my kitchen from Love Mae

Removable birch wall paper from the Wall Sticker Company
Both of my parents have asked (separately) if I'm doing the whole wall, so it obviously looks funny as just one section. I plan to hang something on the hook on the right hand side, might make it look less bizarre hopefully.

Haunted Houses from Wendy June

Poppy's Puddle by Belle & Boo

Whale by Bride & Wolfe in my bathroom (the walls aren't painted yet, that's the colour of the light, as we have no natural light in there until we get a skylight)

Sourdough...

So I baked my first sourdough loaf yesterday. A bit of a dense pancake. It had the sourdough taste, but was not great. It is now in the compost bin. The starter bubbled away nicely, maybe I need more practice. The starter is sitting in my fridge now, while I decide whether to have another go.

Bits and bobs

Owl & baby from Bride & Wolfe

"I wish I was a real girl" wall hanging by LoveHate, from Design Doctor

Flying ducks from Delilah Devine

I've been doing a little decorating around the house (hopefully Andrew will see this before he boards a plane to come home so he won't be shocked!), there is also a small section of wall paper behind the TV that I'm not sure how to photograph well (not that the above photos are great). After 3 years in this house (we got the keys 8/8/08), I'm really feeling the need to make it ours, with a few quirky features. Actually, I'm getting sick of the word quirky after Josh & Jenna have used it so much on The Block
Everything you see here is from Australian artists, and handmade.
Might have to post some more photos later, have a kids party to attend...

Starting the starter

Day 3 of making a sourdough starter

I've decided to try sourdough bread baking, so here's the beginnings of my starter- organic spelt flour and pure water, in a pottery bowl on the kitchen bench. I'm using the method as described in Frugavore, but with spelt flour instead of organic rye, as I read a few people's experiences using rye, and having it not work for them. It should take about 6 days, then I can start baking!

I'm trying sourdough, as I've been having some digestive problems, probably for a long time, but didn't realise. I limited my bread intake as I knew white bread was a problem, I didn't eat much white bread anyway, mostly just made my own bread. I still had some problems after not eating bread, so I had to delve a little further. I had been making my own granola on and off for years, but had been eating it (dry) for breakfast most of this year. A few weeks ago I switched to porridge- rolled rather than quick oats, soaked in water overnight, and cooked on the stove, not in the microwave. Problem solved for a week. I think it was the soaking of the oats that helped, but I have my suspicions about dessicated coconut that I used in granola too (sulfite intolerance?) I ate some salami a week after my porridge experiment, and had pains within a few hours- probably sulfites. Sulfites are food preservatives, not always listed in the ingredients, but are the 220's if they are listed.

Anyway, it seems that in this modern age of fast everything, we make bread to quickly, and with cheaper and cheaper ingredients, with the addition of commercial yeast and bread improvers to speed things up. My bread takes about 3 hours from start to finish, the bread sold in supermarkets only takes about 1 hour to make. Sourdough breads are left to rise usually overnight, sometimes for 24 hours, which makes the gluten/wheat much easier to digest, as the proteins have started to break down (my simple understanding). Same principle with soaking oats overnight, to make porridge in the morning- much easier to digest. So gluten intolerance may not be as wide spread as it seems, if we just slow down, and cook things properly. I'll update you if the starter works, and I have bread :)

Free shipping...

until Sunday 7th August at midnight, use the code Freeship11 at checkout in my shop. Thanks for looking!
This code is for Australian buyers only.

Bear in the Forest dress

This fabric was too cute, so I had to make a few dresses for the shop

I'm just restocking after Maia's Market, and freshening up the shop a bit for Spring. Feels like it's already here, 20 degrees today!

National tree day

A group of us from church/ Ecofest went out to the Dog Rocks at Batesford for National Tree Day on Sunday.

But alas, by the time we got there, all the tree planting had been done.

So we had a play on the Dog Rocks instead

This is all we planted on national tree day, an acacia "limelight", to replace one that died last summer.