Thursday 2 May 2013

Anyone for a coffee at my place?

Okay so I admit April was a little busier than usual therefore very little blogging was done. I managed to keep reading all of my favourite blogs and am feeling the month of May will be a little more successful. Note: busy doesn't really mean that busy for me, I still manage to watch plenty of TV! Priorities priorities! 

I have committed to Fat Mum Slim's May photo a day challenge. Follow me on Instagram to keep up-to-date with my photos, I am fairly obsessed with Instagram. Profile name is simmoneclifford. It's my first photo a day challenge and I can see myself getting very addicted.

As you may remember my wedding photos took longer than expected due to the delay in getting our long awaited wedding coffee table book. Well it finally arrived, a few weeks ago now and here are some amazing pics of all its awesomeness. 

Now I want a new coffee table to place it on and want to have anyone and everyone over for coffee to peruse my 'coffee table book'!! I absolutely love it and am so happy with the quality and the photos chosen by our photographer Alastair Bett. He was such an excellent photographer and I believe his work speaks for itself. Thank you Al for taking such wonderful photos of our wedding and helping to make the day easy and organised. You are amazing.












I apologise for the very terrible quality of these photos, I am still waiting for a damn new camera although it is my own fault as I haven't sat down and done the research to determine what I would like. So these iPhone pics will just have to do for now.

Talk soon, 
 

Sunday 14 April 2013

Easter Baking

So I know this post is ridiculously delayed but better late than never. Over the Easter break I was able to satisfy my creative side and create some Easter masterpieces. Although I don't fully agree with the Easter celebration I love any excuse for some themed baking! There is something about making a bread product which really gives me a sense of achievement, I love kneading dough and waiting for it to rise and the smell it leaves in the house is amazing. If you haven't made Hot Cross Buns before, don't be scared to try, they are easy but do require a fair bit of time. To prove my dough I place if on a cooling rack over a sink of hot water and then cover it with tea towels this seems to create the right amount of heat for the dough to rise.

dry ingredients
yeast and warm milk
prior to 1st proving
after 1st proving



my proving station

after the oven and with glaze,
ready to eat!
prior to oven (my crosses left a little to be
desired this year)





I also made some dark chocolate Easter cupcakes but was a little rushed when decorating and didn't have time to take some decent photos of them.

my cupcakes
my gorgeous nephew Arden devouring a cupcake on Easter Sunday

Friday 29 March 2013

The week that was...

This week has been pretty uneventful consisting of the usual work days with the added excitement of the pending public holidays complimented by Easter eggs and hot cross buns. We celebrated Good Friday (today) with lunch with Alex's family including the little ones (niece and nephews). It's always lovely to see children enjoy Easter and makes the holiday all the more enjoyable for us so called adults.  This year I decided to avoid the usual lunch with one family then dinner with the other. We are always too exhausted after a big lunch and plenty of drink that the last thing we want to do is rush away to do it again. Plus the dinner family always ends up ripped off as we turn up sluggish with little appetite when they have prepared a beautiful feast. Instead we will spend Good Friday with one family and Easter Sunday with the other. I felt at first like I was being a little rude and unsocial but this works so much better for us. It means we are able to spend a little bit of these days with just each other. Today we came home after our long lunch and were able to relax, I even had a nap. So far I am a big fan of this new holiday arrangement and may have to find a way to make it work for Christmas as well.
An unfortunately blurry iPhone photo (I am still cameraless) of Riley finally enjoying some chocolate.
We finished off Good Friday with some Hungry Jacks, yes that's right I had a lovely juicy cheeseburger full of beef on Good Friday. I vowed for this blog to be honest so here I must admit that Alex and I don't believe the story of Jesus, we aren't religious whatsoever and I may even call myself an atheist. I am not here to argue so please don't take this as an invitation to debate. I may not be religious but I am more than happy to have religious people in my life, I wont push my views onto others unless theirs are pushed onto me, it takes all kinds to make an interesting and diverse world. What the religious holidays will one day mean for Alex and I is still yet to be determined, for now we choose to celebrate as our extended family do for the point of spending time with our loved ones, when we have our own children I am not sure what we will do. With my views of religion I do find it hard and a little contradicting to embrace these holidays as the western world tend to do. But that could all change when children come into our scene. 

I have managed to make a lot of progress on our wedding thank you notes which I will post about once completed as well as catch up on some Downton Abbey, my newest addiction. 

My brace and improving scar with still some minimal bruising.

My knee is slowly improving, although improvements aren't really noticed due to spending day and night in a movement restricting brace. My scar is slowly healing and I am coating it in Bio Oil daily to help the healing process. I really need to get motivated and take control of my diet, with limited movement and things like Hungry Jacks I can feel myself putting on some weight. And why is it when you can't move properly you feel as though you could get up early and run? or go for walks! I am not sure where this motivation comes from, we always want what we can't have! Lets hope it continues when I take my brace off on 9 May 2013.

Well I think I'll get to bed and watch another episode of Downton Abbey! Happy reading.
 

Saturday 23 March 2013

Sim and Alex ~ 12 January 2013

Finally wedding photos I hear you say?  This is a terribly long post featuring our amazing wedding photos, I will do also do some posts about the day as well.  Again, thank you to al involved in making our specialday as magnificent as it turned out to be.  (select photo to enlarge)

Photographer: Alastair Bett
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Villa Howden
Celebrant: Tom Payne
Bridal Gown: Essense of Australia - purchased at Rayanne Bridal
Bouquets: Harmony Flowers
Suits: Les Lees
Bridesmaid Dresses: Bridal Boutique
Hair: Shear Delite Hair and Beauty
Make-up: Sharkra Medi Spa
Band: Ebeneza Good