Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone out there! Make it as fun or more fun than last year.

I woke up with a lovely sore throat, which is frustrating as I didn't spend my New Years' Eve out partying. We sat around watching ABC Sydney fireworks coverage (not very good at all) and a 4wd Action DVD (much funnier than ABC).
A successful New Years' Eve in my opinion! It was very quiet in the neighbourhood too - just the local fireworks to punctuate midnight.

Personally I love New Years' Day morning. It's so quiet. Like, super quiet. Sitting out on the back patio watching the hubby play with his truck was so relaxing.
Our wonderful daughter woke up at 5:30am (wet and therefore cold!) so I fixed her up and bought her into our bed for a half hour snuggle. Then brekkie at 6:30am, and she went back to bed for her morning nap at 7am ish! I will always forgive her for waking up early if she'll do a morning nap.

New Years' Day itself will be spent at my parents place for a BBQ, just relaxing. I was given a bottle of Moet Chandon for Christmas so I'm going to 'pop' that today and see what it tastes like. I think it's probably not going to be a favourite, but I'll keep an open mind (or is that mouth?).

So, the washing is on the line, the Christmas tree and decorations down and the new year has begun. Bring it on!

Speculating on Speculaas...

I attempted to use my speculaas mold the other day using gingerbread dough, and here's how it turned out.

Hmmm. Next time maybe I'll follow the hints and tips on the blog -  http://www.thedutchbakersdaughter.com/2009/12/speculaas.html
No bicarb soda next time!

And that means I'll have to wait till next year! Although I'm not in the Netherlands,  so I might make an exception.  
I also made some gingerbread biscuits with crystallised ginger on top as a gift.
They must taste alright as my daughter ate one in the space of a second. They are bite sized though!

My final craft for the Christmas period was a robin tree ornament. It's a bit wonky, but that's because I didn't use a template. I think he's sweet.

Now, I have some mushy bananas.I'm sure I saw a recipe for banana bread on that blog...

Toilet training...you have been warned!

It has begun. Sporting cute little training pants, my daughter is being introduced to the idea of controlling her bodily functions. No luck yet, but she doesn't like the idea of a puddle at her feet so I'm sure this will be a relatively short lesson in life.

It's been fairly ordinary on the baby front, just a little teething here and there to keep us on our toes. The weather is now nice and should stay that way from now till March next year at least so that will make the toilet training even easier.Like most babies, my daughter loves getting around in the nude. Wait till she works out she can take her own pants off!
Personally, I'm just taking advantage of the weather to roll up my pant legs and attempt some 'holiday skin' in the mornings. I'm writing this from a chair in the backyard and it's only just starting to get too warm now at 9am.

Bring on the beach weather I say! My daughter was fascinated by the water when we took her early this month and I'm eager to take her in to the water. She loves the pool so loving the beach won't be hard. Can't wait to take her to the dog beach either.

Christmas is shaping up nicely, as we've just got the news that our daughter will get to meet her uncle for the very first time in the flesh. It will be interesting to see if she recognises him from Skype.
That won't be till after Christmas itself though. I've hit a rut with the Christmas craft, but hopefully I'll feel inspired in the next day or two to get going again. Haven't gotten to my lego lately either. I may need another bucket to sort out the little apartments I'm building. I'm lacking windows, doors and standard blocks.

I might just take a nap in the sun now...covered up of course!

Christmas update

Christmas AGAIN! That went quick. Not a bad thing either, as it must mean I enjoyed the year a lot. It's been a busy one (obviously, due to lack of posts) but mostly fun.

Cooking hasn't been anything much lately, with only a few gems discovered in the recipe department recently. One of which was last night's effort - Asian inspired pork belly with stir fry veggies.

The pork crackling was perfect, as was the meat itself. It was all so good, we ate first and took photos second!

And my other little cracker of a recipe was an instant sponge 'cake' that I found on the 'net. 1 and a half minutes in the microwave and you've got a yummy sponge cake. http://lifehacker.com/make-a-surprisingly-moist-sponge-cake-in-the-microwave-1028723713

I didn't have baking powder, so I just used SR flour instead (and no normal flour of course!).
They rose beautifully.

Next post will have some of the inevitable Christmas decorations and general Christmasy goings on...