Thursday 19 December 2013

I'm Wide Awake It's Morning

I loved Bright Eyes in high school - still do, really. My little sister used to always make fun of my 'terrible' taste in music (while listening to Groove Is In The Heart on repeat), until she got older and was always asking me did I know this great Bright Eyes song she'd just discovered. 



Since I can't sleep here is a list of Bright Eyes songs I like, accompanied by some unrelated snaps. 


The Calendar Hung Itself. This has been in my head for weeks. Thanks Liam for introducing me to Bright Eyes via this song. It's still my favourite. 


Lover I Don't Have To Love. 


Lua. 


Bowl of Oranges. I used that as a related text for Imaginative Journeys in year twelve English. I still think it was an awesome choice. 


First Day Of My Life. 


Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh. 


You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will. 


Make War. 


At The Bottom Of Everything. The intro is the best. 


Monday 25 November 2013

Festive

Only one month 'til Christmas!

Let's get into the spirit with some snaps of Christmas past. 












Yay!!





Saturday 9 November 2013

Mars Bar Baked Cheesecake


So a while ago my friend Blake (hello if you're reading!) did me a favour in exchange for a cheesecake. I don't like cheesecake that much so I'd only ever made one before in my life but it had turned out pretty well (according to my friends - I didn't eat any) so I was keen to try it again. 

I used Faux Fuchsia's baked cheesecake recipe, which you will have to google because I don't know how to do links via the Blogger app. It's pretty straightforward but I didn't have my Kitchenaid yet and had to do the whole thing by hand, so even with Emily helping (thanks again!) it took half the day. 


I guess it turned out okay though because Blake asked for another one, only Mars Bar flavoured this time instead of plain. Except he only likes baked cheesecakes, and EVERY recipe for Mars Bar cheesecake is for the kind with gelatin that sets in the fridge (apart from one that just advises stirring chopped Mars Bars through your plain cheesecake filling), so I had to come up with my own variation. And here it is:

Ingredients
250g chocolate biscuits
100g melted butter
500g cream cheese
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
Vanilla essence
Nestle Top n Fill caramel
1 packet Fun Size Mars Bars



Method

1. Put your biscuits in a food processor for a few seconds to turn them into crumbs, or, if you're me, put them in a plastic bag inside a second plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin for half an hour

2. Brush a springform tin with a little melted butter, then mix the rest through the biscuit crumbs and press them into your tin (base and sides) to form a crust. Refrigerate for a bit. 



3. Meanwhile, mix the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in your Kitchenaid until smooth

4. Add the eggs and mix some more

5. Pour the mixture into your biscuit crust. As you go, plop some of your caramel in then use a knife to swirl it all about. 


6. Bake at 160-170 degrees for about 45 minutes. Once your cheesecake is baked, chill it in the fridge for several hours or overnight. 

7. Top your chilled cheesecake with heaps of chopped up Mars Bars. Serve at room temperature for maximum gooey deliciousness. 

Tips
*I wasn't that impressed with the caramel Top n Fill, it was too thick to work with plus it cost four whole dollars. Next time I'll try making my own, or I might just use ice cream topping, which I think would be fine.

* When I say cream cheese I mean like Philadelphia, not that Kraft cheese spread in a jar. I only say this because I once knew someone who made that mistake. 


I have to say, even though I'm not wild about cheesecake and I don't much care for caramel, I really enjoyed this. I can't wait to try more variations of it!

I did burn my base though which was disappointing. Any tips for avoiding this? Any ideas for other cheesecake flavours?

Wednesday 9 October 2013

Cheerful

Last week I came home from a very busy day at work to these lovely flowers from James. 


Isn't that bright yellow just so cheerful? 

I hope everyone remembered to participate in Faux Fuchsia's sequin festival over the long weekend! I sure did. 


You can't really see but my scarf there is a sort of nude pink colour with a pattern of silver sequins! The top is from Vincenzo's but before that it was from Ezibuy.


I'm a bit indifferent to this black Targét dress but it has been very good to me. 


I'm not indifferent to this black dress with gold sequins:


It's from one of those cheap shops in Cronulla - I had to search through a lot of  "festival wear"* to find it. 

Found these pink glitter shoes in Cronulla too:


Pink, glitter and shoes are pretty much my three favourite things. Followed closely by thrift, which is lucky 'cause they were only $10!


Do you like my Andrew and Fergie royal wedding plate?

In other news I had a super long weekend, thanks for asking. 

Meg and I went to the Pedestrian Blogster Awards on Friday night to eat popcorn and hot dogs. 


It was good fun - thanks Meg for inviting me!

I spent the rest of the weekend going out to eat and drink.


Nice to do something different. 


Had the family over for a BBQ too. 


And I still adore my KitchenAid:



*Festival Wear is the official name for fluro tops, denim shorts and flowered headbands. 

Sunday 6 October 2013

Birthday Princess

I had my birthday the weekend before last. I know lots of people don't get that excited about birthdays once they're past childhood but not me, I love my birthday!



The night before, some of my best lady friends treated me to dinner with a veritable buffet of BYO beverages:


After which we went to the pub for karaoke. It was such fun! I made all my friends sing the Grease Megamix and I even got a lady called Valerie (who I don't know) to sing Valerie for me. Thanks friends and Valerie!


Cara and I made a bet which neither of us won so we both had to drink the Cocktail of the Month - I forget what was in it but it was something like equal parts petrol and cough syrup topped with creaming soda.

Emily made me a birthday cake - I didn't take a photo but it was delicious, thanks Em! I'm so lucky to have such a kind friend - she also gave some lovely gifts including the fabulous tiara below:




On my actual birthday Jimmy gave me this big box - can you guess what was inside?





Tada! A pink KitchenAid! I may or may not have squealed when I saw it...


Thanks James I love it!!!!!

After I opened the Best Gift Ever, James told me to put on something comfy and not too fancy for a surprise birthday date. But he also said "I'd better start making the picnic"...


We borrowed his dad's car and drove down to the national park. 


When we got there Jim hired a boat and rowed us down the river for a picnic!


The food was really delicious too. Well played Jimmy!