My Little Monster Cat turns 4!!

well, babies in our house are officially finished!!

our baby, the cat turned 4 yesterday

he even got to have his own party with his own friends of his choosing.

such a big boy now! got a new scooter and hopper ball,

that he has not stopped hopping through the house on

let's just say, he really has gone hopping mad!!

such beautiful presents

a magnificent quilt made by grandma

hand pieced and quilted

a true piece of artwork!
well. thats it. my baby is 4!

what more can I say. on to bigger and better (and more grown up) things!!

the things you find!

the things you find when you clean out!

sorting through a rather old tin of buttons and assortments

the other day, I came across the most gorgeous weighing slip

from a ladies lounge in Melbourne

from 1945!!!

I just love finding treasures like this

so I had to pop in on my pin board with my growing collection of fabulous finds!!

our newest little 5 star, baby!

Happy Valentines day gift to my brother and his partner

a special delivery of the newest little 5 star baby!!!!!!!

such a tiny little squish

what a lucky auntie I am.

I can't get enough cuddles from this little packet of lots and lots of cute

such a beautiful time, I had to share with the world!!

Oodles of chicken noodles

with all the crafting and creating, my culinary adventures have been in the least rather dull!
so here is a long time favourite that I really must make more of an effort to make regularily.
PHO GA - Vietnamese chicken noodle soup
(serves 4)
1.5 litres chicken stock
1 white onion finely sliced
5cm knov fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
3 star anise
6 cardamom pods lightly crushed
1 tbsp palm sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp crisp fried shallots
4 spring onions finely sliced
2-4 chicken breast poached then sliced
400g fresh rice noodles
Heat chicken stock in saucepan with the onions, ginger, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, suger and salt. partially cover and simmer for 20 min.
strain broth, then add fish sauce and fried shallots. bring to the boil turn off, add the spring onions, cover and set aside.
prepare the rice noodles til soft drain, divide among 4 bowls. arrange chicken over noodles, gently pour over heated soup.
serve with platter of bean shoots, sliced lemon/lime, chilli, mint, basil and coriander
for each person to add according to tastes.
ENJOY!!

thankyou to the gorgeous Mel from Little Ted Canvas,

(you really must check out her blog, she is the frequent interesting blogger I aspire to be!!)

she has inspired me to bake!

so I have dusted off my beautiful kitchenaid

and voila! peanut butter choc chip cookies

here's the 3 that were left after I polished off the majority hot off the tray!
of course I ran out of smarties to put on them all aswell,

and yes, that's because I ate them while I was mixing!

and yes, I feel no guilt what so ever!

a billion birds...........

well, as promised, blogging more frequently, so please don't faint,

this is the second within a week!!!

a billion birds everywhere you look,

so here's some more!!

handcrafted birdcages make from reclaimed branches

so gorgeous in any little (or big) girls rooms

I would love a billion of these hanging from my ceiling if only it were higher!!

xx