One Sparkly Life

Another month has flown by and we are already in the middle of February. Why does time go so fast as I get older? January was a month of craziness. I started the year with a cast iron desire to stand up for myself and not sell myself short. My first act in this was to hand in my resignation to the that was draining everything from me. Thankfully my contract included only a 1 week notice period so Monday morning I booked a meeting with the CEO and by Friday I was waving goodbye. While this brought a massive sense of relief that no longer was I being hammered in a toxic environment, the reality of what I had done started to sink in. I had thrown in my job with no back up plan. No savings and no other job to go too! Ahhhh sheer craziness and a sure sign of just how drained I was being there. It has been a long time since I had done something so foolhardy without a plan. But I had enough cash to pay the next 2 months of rent and a new enthusiasm for myself. My first week was a joyous...

Happy New Year! Here's hoping you all had a fabulous start to 2015 and said goodbye to last year in a way that made sense to you. Before the posts about reviewing goals and and making new ones, I thought I would squeeze in a review of what my December looked it. Or at leaf the part that ended up in photos. A snapshot of the month that that was for you. Inspiration - Blanc de Blanc - White Dinner in Paris The Xmas Tree this year Summer sunsets on the balcony Homemade Honeycomb & Chocolate IceCream The drinks table at our holiday drinks Brunch - my favourite meal of the day Xmas baking - Choc & Cranberry Panforte Nan's recipe Lemon Curd Quick & Easy Raspberry Jam The finished gingerbread people ready for Xmas Xmas hampers for 2014 Fruit Mince pies The post Xmas lunch food coma Discovering Nan's original UK recipes The last sunset of 2014 Happy New Year from the balcony. I...

It seems that I am not the only one who has been craving the taste of creamy homemade ice-cream. Thanks to all those who have let me know that you loved the look of my recent cooking efforts. I thought I would share the recipe with you all so that you can enjoy too. Homemade No Churn Ice Cream 1 x 395g Tin Condensed Milk 600ml of Thickened Cream Flavourings and toppings of your choice Pour cream and condensed milk into bowl of mix master and whip on medium until soft peaks form. Using a spatula fold in flavourings. Transfer to an airtight continuer and freeze overnight. Makes 1.2L. Flavour Option 1 - Rum N Raisin ⅓ cup of rum or bourbon ½ Cup of raisins or sultanas 1 Tbs of instant coffee powder dissolved in 2 Tbs of billing water Leave raisins soaking in rum overnight or for at least 4 hours. You ant the raisins too be plump and have soaked up the liquid from the rum. Once cream and condescend milk have been whipped, stir in raisins and coffee. Transfer t...

Obsessed with making icecream. Batch number 2 - mint choc chip. Verdict- yummy!

Let's get this out up front - I LOVE travel! Whether it be exploring off the beaten track locally or taking on a big overseas trip. I love it. I love exploring new cultures and the history that so many other places have that Australia just doesn't provide. In Australia we are a multi cultural society, we a surrounded by many cultures and beliefs everyday, but i feel we do not have a true identity of our own, rather than a mixture of those that have made this great country. Unlike European countries that have centuries of history, culture and architecture. I have always geared to learn more and discover more. So any time spent travelling is a wonderful time for me. June was an exciting month as me and the man and his little man took ourselves across to the USA. While the main point of the trip was Baseball (a under 15s junior tournament that the little man was lucky to get accepted into) I still managed to find sometime to soak in the culture of mid...