Dreaming of Steaming Hot Chocolate

Can't believe it's nearly the end of March.

Long summer days are almost distant memories, and soon we will change our clocks (forward or back, I can never remember.. and let's be honest, I've now come to rely on my trusty smartphone to get it right!)

So now I'm dreaming of all things winter - warm socks, furry ugg boots, too-full bubble baths, and heavy blankets.

This winter I have promised myself that I will make it to the snow atleast once! 

If only for a weekend - 

Enough time to remind myself that I can still ski (it's like riding a bike, right?!); 

to feel the frosty cold turning my cheeks pink on the way up the mountain on the chairlift;

to layer myself up in oh-so-stylish ski clothes, scarfs, mittens and beanies;

and don't forget the best part - trudging awkwardly in my ski boots into the toasty warm cafes to drink delicious hot chocolates with a marshmallow floating on top.

I can't wait!

See my Winter Wonderland inspiration here

xx

Twinkle Twinkle

Needed a little sparkle in my day today, so I spent some quality time scouring Pinterest for pink and gold pretties.

Here's the resulting mood board.

Gorgeous, yes?! 

xx

Images from here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; and here.

The Hunger Games

I'm sorry for my absence.

I have rekindled my love of reading and dived head first into the pages of The Hunger Games. 

The Hunger Games. By Suzanne Collins

I'm half way through the second book and would describe the trilogy as a 'Tomorrow, When The War Began' / 'Twilight' / 'Harry Potter' (post-Hogwarts) cocktail.

It's a strange reality tv concept, in which Tributes fight to the death in an arena, in a post-apocalyptic era. And, well... I don't want to give anything away, but there's also a love story. Perhaps a love triangle.... But that's all I'm sayin'.

To say I am loving it would be a gross understatement. Imagine me coming home from work, throwing on my pj's and snuggling on the couch to read instead of preparing something nutritious for dinner. I've become obsessed in a 'I'll be late for work... but I'm just gonna read one chapter before I go' kind of way. As in, if I had an e-version, I would read it at my desk and pretend I was working...

Yep. It's tragic.

And I don't care.

Anyway, gotta go... Have some reading to do :)

xx

In A Trench

Lunchtime shopping.

One of my many vices.

The credit card HATES me right now. But I simply couldn't walk past this one of the rack.

"Take me home, Andie"; it cried out. "I would be such a marvellous addition to your wardrobe". 

And it was right.

I couldn't argue.

This raspberry, double breasted trench fits right in with my other clothes.

The perfect addition to my autumn collection.

xx

Death by Chocolate

I was obviously having an insane chocolate craving when I conjured up this latest cupcake creation.

Chocolate cupcake; filled with Baileys chocolate mousse; topped with whipped cream
[As seen here]

In all honesty, they didn't turn out quite like I imagined.. Somehow I thought they'd be a little prettier... But my trusty taste-testers have given them the thumbs up, so that's always a sign of a successful day in the kitchen.

I used my basic chocolate cake recipe, then when the cupcakes had cooled, I hollowed out the centre of each cake. Then I piped in the choc mousse, topped with the cupcake top, and decorated with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

The chocolate mousse recipe makes enough to fill 24 cupcakes AND still have leftovers for dessert... 

In fact, I highly recommend that you make this mousse even if you don't fill any cupcakes with it. It is delicious.

Ingredients

• 250g dark chocolate, roughly broken up
• 4 eggs, separated
• 50ml Baileys liqueur
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 300ml thickened cream, softly whipped
• 
  

Method

1. Place chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir constantly with a metal spoon until smooth. Remove from heat. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, stirring well. Add Baileys. Stir well.
2. Beat eggwhites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar, a little at a time, beating until thick and glossy. Gently fold half the eggwhite mixture into chocolate mixture. Fold through remaining eggwhite.
3. Fold cream into chocolate mixture.
4. Spoon into 6 x 3/4-cup ramekins. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

xx

I Am Where I Should Be

Today's horoscope provided by news.com.au resonated with me..

You are doing something incredible. How could anyone else on this entire planet take on what you have taken on? How would they handle such a unique set of circumstances? You think they wouldn't find them exhausting too? Do you imagine that somehow, they would make a better job of it than you? Don't kid yourself. You are brave and brilliant. You are struggling... and you are surviving! Never mind the odd step back that you must inevitably keep taking; what is impressive are the many steps you have already made.

Perfect timing for me to remind myself that everything happens for a reason.

xx

Finding Comfort

This one's for the gorgeous Miss Morgan. 

Allow me to introduce you to one of my fabulous house mates who loves all things pink and sparkly (just like me).

Miss Morg's had a tough weekend, so I did what I do best - I baked. 

[And provided alcohol.]

There's nothing better than comfort food.

So Miss Morg's - just a few little tips from me to you - -

Harry Potter knows best

And retail therapy solves EVERYTHING

And finally... when in doubt -

Much love.
xx

Time Out

I took a very important test at the doctors last week.

It was a multiple choice test in a Marie Claire magazine from 2010..

Marie Claire, Dec 2010

Back to my test...

The results did not surprise me.

Hello, my name is Andie and I'm a stress junkie.


Most of the time its an unconscious reaction to often unavoidable situations in life and it's something I'm forever trying to work on.

I'm all in favour of a relaxing walk on the beach to de-stress, but in this somewhat 'unsummery' weather, my favourite way to relax and unwind is with a good old fashioned cup tea and a biscuit (or two).

On a side note - How can a doctor possibly be running 35 minutes late when your appointment is scheduled for 9am ?! No wonder I'm stressed..........

xx

Home Inspiration : Living Spaces

Hoo-to-the-Ray

Miss Morg's and I have found a new place to live in and I am SUPER excited!

My mind has been spinning with decorating ideas and I can't wait to finally get my new furniture out of storage.

I turned to Pinterest to revisit some of my living room inspiration images. There's a definite trend towards white furniture with pink accents. No surprises there.

And luckily, Morg's and I seem to have very similar tastes, so I'm sure we'll be able to create a super cute environment which we both love.

In the meantime, these are some of the ideas floating around in my head - - -

White couch with pretty cushions = Eternal Love.

White Slip Covered Couches; Coloured Cushions

OR

A pink couch with more pink!

Or perhaps we could achieve something a little more sophisticated?

No.... This is probably more my style. Pink armchair, shag pile rug, white coffee table.

Yep - loving the colour popping

And, this piece is very similar to my very own mirrored drawers.
I love the cute vignette, complete with statement lamp.

And here I am loving the glass coffee table with stacked magazines. 

Coincidentally, I happen to have a glass coffee table in storage... 

And finally, what's a share house without a blackboard for quick notes scrawled to your housemate ?

I'm now on the hunt for a small board that we can mount on the wall..

Official move in date is less than 4 weeks away! Totes exciting!

xx

Strawberry Frosted Cupcakes V2.0

I made vanilla cupcakes with strawberry icing for Valentines Day.

They were a huge hit.. So today I made them again! This time they were for Miss Morgan.

But this time I used a different vanilla cupcake recipe. It's more buttery in flavour (because it requires buttermilk) and very crumbly.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 180.  Line about 16-24 muffin cups and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.  In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in eggs and egg yolk one at a time and then mix in the vanilla.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.  Combine.  Add 1/2 of the buttermilk.  Mix.  Add another 1/3 of the dry indredients.  Mix. Add the final 1/2 of the buttermilk.  Mix and then add the final 1/3 of the dry ingredients.  Mix until combined and the batter is smooth.  Spoon out batter into lined cupcake pan, filling only halfway or just barely over halfway.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes

This time, I tried a different decorating method with the same icing recipe from V Day.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Icing

xx

A Family Re-United

Miss Morg's and I have just had confirmation that our rental application for a pet friendly home has been accepted. WOO HOO!

This is super exciting, because it means I will soon be re-united with a special friend of mine - Miss Emmy.

Miss Emmy

I can't wait! We are going to spend some time together at the dog park tomorrow in celebration.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend with your loved ones too.

xx

Bite Me

I have a crush.

On a vampire.

With smouldering eyes.

We've been spending some time together lately.

I've stuck photos of him up around my desk at work.


Allow me to share him with you...

Ian Somerholder

*swoon*

Find more swoon-worthy pics here.

xx