Sweet moments

Unexpected messages that make me smile

Sweet blanket pillow embroidery

Lovely rides

Savouring each moment with my boy

Refreshing craft and coffee with lovely friends

Drawings of us holding hands

Sweet word creations with the help of my sweet girl

Searching for hearts in the clouds

Surprising my girl in the morning

Love that she knows what I love

Emotional first letters that spell "mum"

Beautiful autumn leaves everywhere

 Baking days with my mamma

Sweetest kids in my world

Hope you are enjoying all your sweet moments.

Please tell me one of yours to make me smile.

Sweet hugs to you from me ♥

✗ ♡

Cinnamon Scrolls

Hello dear blog world, I have missed you so.

Seems with all the social media out there I didn't know where to turn.

People are tweeting, blogging, facebooking, instagramming, pinning, google + ing and so many other things that I just can't get my head around, so I walked away and enjoyed a break from the computer.

I am enjoying the kids, especially the little guy because I know that him going to school next year will be unbelievably devastating.

M.e also turned 3, I didn't feel like a party, maybe I will soon.

I also baked and wanted to share this recipe with you.

Cinnamon Scrolls

print me

makes 12

ingredients

• 100ml lukewarm milk
• 60g caster sugar
• 7g dry yeast or 20gr fresh yeast
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 500g plain flour
• 50g partially melted butter

cinnamon filling

• 80g butter, room temperature
• 100g brown sugar
• splash of maple syrup
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Coffee icing

• 200g icing mixture
• 1 tbsp freshly brewed espresso, hot
• 20g butter, room temperature
• splash of maple syrup

method

• combine milk, sugar and yeast in a jug, if using dry yeast, allow to stand for about 5 minutes to activate, it should froth a little.  if it doesn't it may not be active so best start again
• place yeast mixture in a bowl of a mixer with a dough hook and start mixing
• add eggs and a pinch of salt and continue mixing 
• add flour whilst mixer is still going and then slowly add the butter and mix on low until mixture is well combined
• increase speed and allow the dough to knead for another 5 minutes until smooth and elastic
• take dough out of bowl, spray bowl with oil spray and place dough back in and cover with plastic wrap
• allow to stand in a warm place for about 2 hours or until doubled in size
• in the meantime, make your cinnamon filling by whisking butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon until combined. Set aside
• take dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 30 sec
• roll out to a rectangle, 30 x 60cm with the longest side facing you
  
• spread your cinnamon filling leaving a few centimetre border all around
• roll dough from the longest side to form a long thin roll, cut into 12 even pieces and place in a greased 20x30cm pan allowing room for them to expand
• preheat oven to 180C/160C fan and bake until golden, about 20-25minutes, you may need to check half way through baking time and rotate pan
• make coffee icing by placing icing mixture in a little bowl, add hot espresso and mix to dissolve. Add butter, mix well then add maple syrup and mix until well combined. If your icing is runnier than you'd like, add some more icing mixture. It should be thick enough to pour onto scrolls
• pour over slightly cooled scrolls and enjoy

If you don't have an electric mixer with a dough attachment you can knead it all by hand, about 8-10 minutes until it's elastic and smooth

Enjoy my friends, and hope to see you here again.

So what social networks are you on?

By the way, if you are on instagram, I'd love for you to look me up, I'm Melbourneepicure ♥

✗ ♡

On the wall

I have been a little behind on playing along with memes lately, I seem to start them but then get easily distracted and the excitement wears off

Perhaps I am afraid of commitment, pressure, deadlines.

I seem to do that alot in real life aswell.

This is the wall in our family room, it's still a work in progress.

It's filled with all the things I love, creations by my little ones. 
The first time they wrote their names, family portraits, birthday surprises and some pics of Amelie from a gorgeous mad stitches photo shoot by the awesomely magical Julieanne Perara.

What's on your wall, go on, we'd love to see.

Pop round to the ever so cool chic and check out more wall loving.

Are you a meme follower or do you crumble at the mention of them.

Happy Wednesday all ♥

* pics taken on phone so may be a bit grainy
✗ ♡

Happy LOVE day everyday ♥

Whether you celebrate or not, I hope your days are always filled with love.

 

Do you celebrate LOVE day?

Sending you many hearts wherever you are ♥
✗ ♡

Kids Lunch box dilemma

So the school year is only just back but the never ending dilemma of the school lunch box has already begun.

You hear it all the time, the worries about good food wasted, the "my kid won't eat sandwiches", or the fear that they will starve at school.

In reality, they won't starve, but the mother guilt is always going to nag at us to make sure they are fed well.

We must remember, children will only eat until they are full, once we become adults that fabulous thing unfortunately turns itself off and we forget to stop when we are full and just eat something because we want to.

So don't worry mums out there, our children will not starve, we just have to find what works for them.

If it's Vegemite sandwiches every day, then go with it.

Here's a few tips I have found along the way having a sometimes fussy, vegetarian child who absolutely does not like soggy sandwiches.

• Soggy sandwiches are not a good choice as they always come back home, instead of a cucumber or tomato sandwich try two pieces of wholegrain/wholemeal bread with cream cheese, Vegemite, mustard or any other spread and put cucumbers & tomato in a separate container in the lunch box
• Pitta bread or mountain bread toasted cheese sandwiches
• Slices of cheese or a cheaper alternative to pre-cut cheese shapes is to buy a block of cheese and using small cookie cutters cut out shapes 
• Variety of vegetables cut into circles or thin sticks, cucumber, carrot, bean shoots, thinly cut red capsicum slices 
• Variety of seasonal fruit freshly cut or frozen in a little container, watermelon, berries, kiwi fruit etc or some tinned fruit 
• Dried fruit mix, dates, mango, cranberries, sultanas, pawpaw, pineapple 
• jelly with fruit
• home made custard in a tub
• home made rice pudding
• Mini savoury muffins or vegetable patties 
• Dinner leftovers in a Thermos 
• Rice Cakes
• Ryvita crackers
• Water is a must, in the hotter months use a bottle that can be put in the freezer and they will enjoy cold water all day long
• Mini Muffins,Mini Pancakes or Breakfast bars
• Muesli or mini fruity weetbix in a little container makes a great sweet snack
• Home made Granola (without nuts) in a little tub with a mini long-life milk they can later add to it 
• Home made oat cookies
• Home made muesli bars

Remember to keep things chilled with an ice pack, especially anything with milk, egg or rice and ask them to eat that at snack time. 

Even though I do a lot of baking I do not tend to add sweets into the lunch box as I try to keep it as healthy as possible, if a baked treat is included it will be a wholegrain biscuit or home made muesli bar.

These are just a few ideas which may help you through the school year.
If you are still worried about them, have a chat to their teacher to keep an eye on their eating, maybe they are distracted or eat very slowly.

What about you, what's in your child's lunch box, what do they love and what comes back home every single time?
I'd love to hear.

Good luck mum's for the new school year.
I am still pinching myself to believe I have a 6 year old grade one child...eeekk!! thanks for the sweet wishes!
♥
more about lunch boxes over here
✗ ♡

Six

cake made by me inspired by Amelie's drawing

I love the way you call me mamma,

I love that you are so sensitive,

I love your imagination,

I love your creativity,

 drawing by Amelie, embroidery by me

I love that you sometimes know things that I don't,

I love that you love to take photos & "movies" with my phone,

I love that you can read your own birthday cards,

I love that you will be able to read this,

I love that you still hold my hand when we walk to school,

I love your neverending energy,

I love that you can be the most caring big sister,

I love that you are the sweetest big cousin,

I love your sweet smile,

I love your nervous smile,

 refashioned skirt, panel made by me

I love how much you love me..always,

I love that you can now reach and help me hang the clothes,

I love your innocent shyness,

I love that you enjoy school,

I love that you love to read,

I love it when you make me pictures and write "Love mum" on them

 these two made by me

I love that you are a little monkey on the monkey bars

I love that you are a little bit cheeky

I love your witty sense of humour

You know I just love you always..to the moon and back... 50 million times and I especially love that I am your mamma

Happy birthday baby girl ♥

p.s I would love to freeze this age

amelie's 4th birthday
amelie's 5th birthday
✗ ♡

Fruit & Nut Granola

A few weeks ago we dehydrated some fruit, pears, bananas and strawberries and I added them all to our Granola mix.

It's all gone and the kids are asking for more.

Fruit & Nut Granola

print me

Ingredients

• 5 cups rolled oats 
• 1 cup wheat germ 
• 1 cup bran 
•  ½ cup shredded coconut 
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds 
•  2 cups flaked almonds 
•  2 tablespoons cinnamon 
• 1 cup honey 
• ½ cup olive oil 
• ½ cup maple syrup 
• 1 ½  cups sultanas/raisins
• Dried fruit of your choice, banana, pear, apple, mango, papaya, paw paw, cranberries etc

Method

• Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan 
• Combine all ingredients except dried fruit in a bowl and mix to coat 
• Spread onto a greased baking tray and bake for 30 minutes whilst stirring every 10 minutes 
• Mix in fruit, allow to cool and store in an airtight jar

   You should try it, it's easy and healthy and gives you and the family something different for breakfast or even for an after school snack. 

   

   What do you have for breakfast?

   Here's more about dehydrating fruit over at Mum's Business.

   

   Happy week to you, we are back to school on Friday....eeeeep, grade ONE ♥

If you're on facebook, pop by here to see what else m.e has been up to
✗ ♡

Easy one bowl Orange Cake

This is a really easy one when you know you should bake something but really can't be bothered.

Pop all the ingredients in a bowl and mix away.

Orange Cake
makes one 20cm round cake, serves about 10

print me 

ingredients

• 150g butter, room temperature
• 150g sugar
• zest of an orange
• 3 eggs
• 225g self raising flour
• 30ml milk, room temperature
• 30ml freshly squeezed orange juice  

method

• preheat oven to 180C/160C fan
• grease and line a 20 cm round cake tin or a loaf tin
• put all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for a few minutes until mixture is smooth
• pour into cake tin and bake for about 35min, test with cake skewer
• allow to cool in tin, ice when cool

to make icing 

• 30g butter, softened, a couple of tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice, about 200g icing sugar, maybe more
• beat with an electric mixture a few minutes until light and fluffy, add more icing sugar if too runny,or if you like runny leave it as is, spread over cake and enjoy

Go on, you know you want to make it, smells delicious aswell.

Enjoy ♥
✗ ♡

Captured moments

Since my new phone came to live with us, my most favourite thing about it is taking pics.

I absolutely LOVE the anywhere any time pics, I absolutely love the freedom of it.

I now sometimes even forget I have an DSLR and all my pics seems to come from the phone.

Here are some of our moments from the last month.

What about you, how do you take your pics, do you edit them? do you love them?

What's your favourite way to capture your moments?

If you want to make a photo mosaic, pop by here

Hope your January is filled with captured moments ♥
✗ ♡

2012

It's been so long I think I forgot how to blog! 

Blogger even asked me to sign in, forgot who I was, as a matter of fact I forgot who I was for  while.

I became surrounded by things I had to do, things I wanted to do, being a mum, being a partner, being a daughter, being a sister, being a friend.

I neglected those close to me because I knew they would understand, I promised my mum we would bake together yet things just got in the way.  I missed girlie get together s because I had so much to do. I was late for deadlines which upset me.

I baked for what seemed like weeks on end and even the flour bucket was empty...empty, my flour bucket is never empty.

Things seem to be back to normal, I want to feel like I am back to normal!

I have enjoyed some family days with my beautiful loved ones and it has made me look at things through different eyes, eyes that need me, that want me to be there, that love hanging out with me, that love seeing me smile and be happy.

I am not a list maker or a resolution kind of girl, I like to do things that make me smile, so this year, I am just going to do more things that I love, avoid the fuzzy head by being less stressed, take some time out for me, enjoy this year, enjoy those around me and appreciate all the little things that make me smile.

What about you, do you make resolutions, do you stick to them?

Is it like being accountable for something?

Do you feel pressured to do things?

Now I have been really bad with the memes lately..see too much pressure gets to me, but I have joined in with a photo a day in January round at Chantelle's, pop over and check it out, it's a good motivator* to get clicking.

So as I smile to you and wish you a fabulous 2012, I hope it finds you happy, healthy, smiling and surrounded by love....psssst, don't forget to enjoy some hugs aswell ♥
 ✗ ♡

 * despite wanting to post pics here everyday, you know I probably won't, so pop round to twitter or FB, they'll definitely be there