One Sparkly Life

We have an event coming up at work next month where we want to offer a Candy Bar as part of the food options. This has started me looking around at options and noticing the use of these great ideas as part of catering at all sorts of functions. Including a fundraising lunch I attend recently, where there wa small Candy Bar on each table with volunteers selling little paper bags for you to get your fill. What a great idea. I wanted to share my research with you. What do you think? Do you like the idea of a serve yourself Candy bar? have you seen one that you liked or perhaps put one together for your own party? Macaron Tower Cupcake thanks to Amarantos Cakes Cakes and Macarons on the table Candy Bar at St Kilda Youth Services Gala Lunch Colour coded Candy Bar Another beautiful Candy Bar - Love the use of glass jars Cake Bar - Marie Antoinette Style - Taken from the Sofia Coppola movie More Cupcakes and Candy from Amarantos Cakes ...

A few beautiful sunsets from my balcony recently for you to enjoy. Bring on summer! Beautiful Melbourne! xxx

Apologies for the silence recently. Work seems to have a funny way of taking over and by the time I have gotten home recently the last thing I feel like doing is jumping back on to a computer since that is where I spend my day for work. But this got me thinking and reading about Blogs and why I chose to start this one. Most Blogs sit idle within a few months of being started and according to some study this seems to be due a lack of passion for the topic chosen to blog about. Another interesting fact is that it is said that you should pick a niche, a particular subject that you are passionate about to blog about rather than being a generalist. This way your readers get to know what to expect and those passionate about your particular subject will find you and follow you. While this makes sense to me on one hand, I find my self in a quandary as to what particular thing should I focus on? Should I pick...

It's been awhile since i have shared some of the fashions and items I am loving at the moment. So let's move away from my holiday snaps, my work events and my culinary skills to things more exciting and lustworthy. Here's a little bit of girl fashion porn of the things that have caught my eye recently. What is not to love? Thanks Jimmy Choo. I am a size 6 if anyone needs that for an Xmas present. Loving these Tom Ford Gladiator Heels Love these! I love the 60's flick A perfect bright pink hue A pop of colour Ted Baker Handbag. The closest I have seen to the neon handbag I crave New Summer range from Witchery. Again with the pop of colour  A little bit of glam for today. xxx

After my weekend of home grown country hospitality and food I was inspired to send a little thank you gift to our hosts including some homemade Lemon Curd. (Or Lemon Butter as we call it.) I am sure most families have a recipe that Nan made, and we are no different. Though over the years this has been adapted for different tastes and technology. The recipe I used this time was from the Donna Hay Classics 2 cookbook. But it is a simple mix of lemon juice, butter, sugar and eggs. My secret is home grown lemons. The juice is just so much better than the ones you buy in the store. I also throw in all the egg rather than separating out the whites.  I hope the jar gifted will be enjoyed as much as I am enjoying slathering mine on freshly sliced crunchy crust bread today. Homemade Lemon Curd xxx

I am back after a crazy weekend at the 15th Deni Ute Muster . Held of course, in Deniliquin, NSW. What a crazy weekend of utes, cars, car enthusiasts, sun, dust and country hospitality. Over 20,000 people, over 15,000 cars, utes and caravans. 9 bands, 500 portable toilets, 100 portable showers and 4,00 people in blue singlets (Going for a Guinness World Record Attempt). At least 50,000 cans drunk, 10,000 dagwood dogs eaten and 15,000 coffees poured and drunk. It was a long, sunny and busy 2 days! Firstly thanks must go out to our hosts for the weekend for such a great stay and for getting access to the event from a fundraising capacity in the first place. While everyone else was enjoying the onsite facilities we had access to hot showers, warm beds and amazing food. Thanks Shane and Roxy! You guys rocked! To those with no idea what I am talking about - a Ute Muster is like a fashion parade for utes. They line up all polished and pretty for judging. Th...

I love looking back over the photos in my iPhone and seeing what caught my attention this month. From photos I have taken to things I have saved from Facebook. It's great to see the the themes evolving and the experience si have had. After my last share all I thought I would make this a regular thing to look back at the month that was. So here is September in a snapshot or two. Sunset from my balcony Ceiling at the NGV, Melbourne - I attend a luncheon with Rachel Griffiths as the guest speaker I found this quote the day I booked my Fiji trip! Sunset in Fiji. Bliss Six days of nothing but reading and relaxing in the sun And swimming in water that was a very pleasant 24 degrees! Getting up early for sunrise in Fiji Loving this new look from Alannah Hill SS13/14 collection Homemade seafood laksa overkill. Amazing but way too much to eat Morocco or Brazil (Can't remember) but loving the colours and architecture. Both are on ...

Today I am off to the Deni Ute Muster , in Deniliquin NSW, for work. As the charity of choice for this massive event, it's all hands on deck this weekend to raise awareness and funds. I can't wait to share some pictures and stories with you all when I return. My brother, who is attending this year too, tells me it is THE major event on the ute enthusiast calendar. I'm looking forward to sharing this country institution with him and raising some great money to boot. (ha no pun intended). So this little city girl is heading back to the country to regain some of the of the things she left behind when she moved to the big smoke and embrace all that this weekend offers. I wonder what they will think of bright pink gumboots??? Plenty of pictures to follow when I return! xxx

What Island holiday is complete with a long cool cocktail? None that I want to go on anyway. While I had a great time sampling the food in Fiji I also had fun working my way through the extensive cocktail menu as well. Wanted to share a few of the tasty creations with you from my week in the sun. Everyones' Beach Favourite - Pina Colada Keeping me hydrated between cocktails - Fiji Water My old school favourite - Midori & Lemonade My new favourite - Absolut Mandarin Ruby Midori Splice Made cool again by Sex and The City - The Cosmopolitan And there you go. The last of my Fiji holiday updates. From the picturesque views from my deck chair each day, sunsets galore, food and drinks and my reading list, you have a capsule of my most relaxing 6 days in the sun. I highly recommend a tranquil solo break to anyone suffering from the stress that comes with our current need to be plugged in and switched on all the time. And if you are looking fora...