March Love List

Some things I am loving this March…..

 The colour Indigo….forever classic, timeless and so very romantic….. (image source)

 Blue and white china (image source)- might have to go raid some antique stores!

 Indoor Greenery…..(Image source)

Back to my blue theme….Ive been eyeing off this Saint James Striped Tee
since last spring but with coming into Summer and the weeks of sweltering heat,
it got sideswiped to my wishlist for this winters wardrobe.
Available in navy/white, royal blue/white, red/white and black/white….
a good wardrobe staple for the cooler months!

I would so love to do this workshop, but motherhood duties come first…

another time perhaps. Details here.

Image- Original artwork of Lauren Merrick.

The beautiful and creative talents of Sydney stylist, Emma Duckworth. 

See Emma's blog for more details on her business, 

and you can follow her on Instagram- her photos are such a treat!

Or have a read of this great feature from Temple & Webster on her.

And finally, with cooler weather on its way, Im feeling the need to make soup and this one sounds delicious (and a smidge healthy too !)- Carrot Soup with Tahini and Crisp chickpeas

Enjoy your Thursday……

Styling 101 Workshop with ISCD and Real Living Magazine

Last friday I headed south to Melbourne to participate in the Styling 101 Workshop run by Real Living Magazine and the International School of Colour & Design (ISCD).

It was a three hour workshop held at The Prince - a lovely boutique hotel in St Kilda. I have to say, I had an absolute ball and loved every second of this workshop. There were limited spaces (I think on memory about 40 spots only) and so the group was small. I met some lovely women all sharing a common interest, and the teams from both real Living Magazine and ISCD were so friendly and happy to chat. Can you believe the Styling Editor and National Marketing Manager for Real Living Magazine were both there and very happy to chat about their roles and anything else design related? You can imagine most of us in that room would have done anything to have their jobs- especially the Styling Editor!

So, what did I learn?
I learn't that the awful question everyone asks- What is your style?- shouldnt make you freeze up as you think to yourself your style is a combination of about twenty or so different styles. Creating your own style is about mixing everything you like all together but in a way that it flows together. So you can mix your love of boho with shabby chic or New York Glam- its how you put it together that makes or breaks it! And, as we all know, there is an art to that!

Obviously, you cant learn all the tricks of the trade in three hours- but we did cover quite a bit from learning a few of the basic golden rules of floor plans and furniture layout, choosing the right furniture to suit the mood and function of the space, developing moods and concepts and creating it with colour and texture. Also good tips on traffic flow and how much space to allow for walk through areas and seating. Heights of chairs, tables, artwork and positioning of floor rugs and finally the big word of the moment…VIGNETTES! We learn't a few tricks when it comes to clustering your pieces together whether it is a collection of art or special pieces on a sideboard.

It wasn't all about sitting back, listening and taking notes. There were two activities we had to do- putting together a mood board of all the things we love, and in a small group, we had fun making a  vignette.

The presenter and team from ISCD were fantastic, encouraging and so incredibly helpful. She spoke to us with such passion and using her experience both professionally and personally. I came home wanting to sign up to the Foundation Course (Cert IV in Design) at the ISCD. They really were an inspiring bunch!

The ticket was only $60 and included a delicious brunch, the workshop and a bag of goodies at the end. I can highly recommend these workshops to anyone interested as I felt it was exceptional value and even though, most of the information was common knowledge (to those who have an interest in interior styling), it was great reinforcement and nice to bounce ideas around both teachers and students, and keep up with current trends.

Below are some images I took on the day.

For more information on upcoming workshops and courses, contact ISCD 

or keep an eye out in Real Living Magazine.
The International School of Colour & Design offer a range of design related courses
which can be studied via distance education. All information available on the website.

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Cooking with Claire- Upside Down Apple Pudding

We all have friends whom we know as really good cooks and love swapping food stories with. Today I would like to introduce you my good food friend, Claire Enever, who has gained herself a reputation in the Albury- Wodonga area for whipping up many a delicious storm!

Claire grew up on her family's farm on the gorgeous Mitta River in the North East of Victoria. A country girl at heart, she has always had a passion for cooking. Wherever she is, be it at work or on the tennis court, there will be a plate nearby filled with freshly baked cake, slice, biscuits or last nights left over of some gourmet dish. Everyone loves Claire's cooking!

Today Claire shares one of her favourite cakes- Maggie Beer's Upside Down Apple Pudding. Claire came across this recipe in a Womens Weekly Magazine a few years ago. I made it on the weekend and it certainly does taste as good as it looks!

I am absolutely delighted to be a guest cook on Town Mouse Country Mouse.

Maggie Beer’s Upside-down Apple Pudding will be perfect for your next special afternoon tea or dinner party.  This classic dessert has layers of apples and lashings of syrup and thick cream…it’s amazingly delicious!

Make this cake on a day that the kids are at kindy, day care or, when they are having a nap, as this recipe is a little fiddly and time consuming and you will need to concentrate…especially when making the caramel syrup!!!  I did find the syrup quite sweet, so I served it on the side rather than drizzle it over the pudding. This recipe does call for a large quantity of verjuice, so if using a small bottle, you may need to buy two!

Enjoy- My Master Taster (Tim) says this dessert is gourmet! Claire x

Upside Down Apple Pudding

POACHED APPLES

3 medium Pink Lady apples

1¼ verjuice

¼ cup caster sugar

2 sprigs rosemary

2 Tabs extra verjuice

VERJUICE AND ROSEMARY SYRUP

½ cup caster sugar

2/3 cup verjuice

1 sprig rosemary

PUDDING BATTER

3 eggs, separated

2/3 cup caster sugar- (1/3 cup for the yolks and 1/3 cup for the whites)

½ cup plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat your oven to 200 deg cel (180 deg cel if fan forced). Grease and line a 20cm cake tin, ensuring that paper is about 3cm higher then tin. (I used a springform pan and just lined the base).

2. Cut the unpeeled apples into quarters and remove the core. then slice lengthways into 2mm pieces.

3. Place the verjuice, sugar and rosemary in a large, high-sided frying pan and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer the apples for 4-5 minutes or until tender.

4. With a slotted spoon, remove the apples from the pan. Reserve 1/4 cup of the poaching liquid and set aside.

5. Place the frying pan with the remaining liquid back over a high heat and bring to a golden caramel; add the extra verjuice to inhibit the caramel from cooking further. Return the apples to the pan and gently sauté to give them some colour. Remove from heat.

6. Arrange caramelised apple pieces in the base of prepared cake tin.

7. For the pudding batter- place the yolks and half the sugar (1/3 cup) into a medium bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until pale and creamy. Fold in the sifted flour and baking powder. Gradually beat in olive oil and reserved poaching liquid.

8. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites (using clean beaters) until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining extra sugar and beat until sugar has dissolved. Gently fold the meringue mixture into the pudding batter, in batches, until combined.

9.  Spread the pudding batter into the cake tin over the apples and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the puddings springs back when touched. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn upside down onto a serving plate and gently ease out cake.

10. For the remaining syrup- combine the sugar, 1/2 cup verjuice (keep remaining for at the end!) and rosemary in a small saucepan. Stir until sugar has dissolved and bring to boil. Allow to boil until it starts turning a dark caramel colour. Remove from heat and add the extra verjuice to stop the caramel from cooking any further. I found that the syrup changes to a caramel colour as it cools, so be careful not to overcook this. It is very sweet, so you may also like to alter the sugar quantity.

11. Drizzle the syrup over the pudding and serve with thick cream.

A very special Thank you to Claire for sharing one of her favourite recipes.

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