Henri & Rufus

meet Henri and Rufus... two of my little funny bunnies

This week we are taking a little break but  

I will be back very soon with new posts

...so be sure to take a peek! xoxo 

i ♥ darth

At our house Jedis are right up there 

with SUPERHEROES of course...

but personally I love a good super villain 

( have you seen 'Despicable Me' yet?)

orphaned plate from Beat Up Creations 

Aren't these just wonderful!  

Ari loves this illustration ↓ 

found via Share Some Candy 

Believe it or not there's no 'telly' at our place though... 

DVDs and videos (and the internet and youtube) are the go.

No we are not hippies (well, not strictly anyway) 

and we are aware of what's going on around the world... 

and we do watch some TV shows, just on DVD.

To be honest if we could afford to get the antenna fixed we probably 

would have telly, but it's just not that high on my list of priorities.  

Mostly, I hate Ads.  Most of them.

Ari doesn't see the ads for junkfood, so grocery shopping is a 

pleasant thing... there's no incessant nagging for rubbishy foods. 

(And Ari has never asked to eat at a McDonalds restaurant.)

Buying organic strawberries is truly a most exciting treat. 

And so they should be... all red and sweet and delicious as they are, 

and home-baked cakes are mouth wateringly anticipated.  

( How I love that they've banned junkfood in Australian schools now! )

Because, we don't watch telly Ari's oblivious to the hype around 

the latest in toys and video games and movies... 

and the old classics win out again and again at our house.

Occassionally, I watch Ads on youtube. Purely for amusement.

Ten years without telly and I've negleted to witness this change 

firsthand, but it has struck me recently that there does seem 

to be a new simple intelligence to some contemporary Ads,

(and I wonder if Madmen has played a hand in this).

Some are even cute and moderately entertaining...

Take for example this car Ad which recently aired in the US.

NINON

The most marvellous little creatures...

...can be found in this wonderful store

(click here)

AFRIKA

Yesterday, we threw on our warmest winter woolies,

and braved the dismally cold Melbourne weather to

take Ari into town to see this wonderful exhibition...

Igbo water spirit mask from the exhibition

UNESCO video via youtube

'From spiritual beliefs to daily life, masks to music, cloth to carving, West Africa: Rhythm and Spirit  explores the array of 

vibrant and dynamic cultures of West Africa.

This exhibition features over 200 objects from 28 different West African cultures, exploring kingship and authority, carved figures, pattern and adornment, divination, masks, masquerades and trade.'  

description via the West Africa: Rhythm and Spirit exhibition page

Ari made this using stamps provided in the gallery.

It's on until the 29th May at The Immigration Museum 

and is well worth venturing out into the cold to see!

Today, we are home sitting infront of the pot belly stove,

sipping hot chocolates, watching Noddy stories on DVD,

and colouring in our own beautiful African masks...

image and template found via the Immigration Museum's facebook page

I hope that you're all having a lovely weekend too. xo

the picture book

beautiful dreamer.
(click here)

Ninainvorm

Some of Nina's favourite things...

{ so lovely }

And a washi tape wall mural...

(posted today)

for her daughter Rosa's nursery

This is how the room looked 

before Nina recently 'revamped' it! 

( I wish Ari's room was this cute & TIDY )

You can visit Nina's blog here 

for more pics (and a mural tutorial)  

or visit her Etsy store 

for more delicious ceramic art and printwork


{ Ninainvorm }

the little sweetheart

What I miss about pre-digital days is that you never 

knew how photographs were going to turn out...

image found here 

You had to wait until they were developed & printed.

Then you were stuck with these photographs,

of a grumpy little baby or a cross-eyed lover

or a most unflattering portait of yourself,

to show off to your family and friends.

Isn't this picture delightful?!

Check out the 1940s getup, oh me oh my,

and the faux woodland scenic backdrop...

Oh how I love those scenic backdrops. Sigh.

But the look on the little girl's face!

Ain't it priceless?

♥ happy mother's day ♥

flobberdewotsky

in the chaos of life

it's easy and understandable

our yearning for neatness & perfection

well-behaved children

parroting parents

exactly replicated

cloned harlequins

unblemished mannequins

jerking puppets on a string

in the white and virginal snow

snow is cold

virgins are boring

give me the beauty of imperfection

keep your tranquillizers

i want to live

& hear the laughter in my soul

at the sight of 

a cross-eyed cookie-crumbled 

chocolate-smeared snot-covered 

child

words and images via 

♥ {flobberdewotsky} ♥


one of my favourite places on earth

UP, up and away

found via this wonderful blog  (story here)

    
WELL !

seems that it is possible to lift a house
using nothing but balloons afterall...

let them eat cake

There's a bit of a 'bake off' going on over at Meet Me At Mike's blog ... it seems Pip's little man is a fan of the old Rich Chocolate Mudcake.  So if you're in the market for a really good chocolate cake recipe, take your pick from the comments at the end of this post-                             

{ CHOCOLATE CAKE } 

there are so many chocolate cake recipes being posted there,

I just had to shake things up a bit with this family favourite...

Old fashioned German Plum Cake

(pears are good too at this time of year)

German Plum Cake image found via the super thisisloveforever

                              1/2 cup of butter (nutelex works too)

                              1 cup sugar

                              2 eggs

                              1 cup flour

                              2 tsp baking powder

                              10 plums (halved and stoned)

                              cinnamon & extra sugar OR icing sugar

1.Grease and flour a round (or traditionally ring) tin

2.Put butter, sugar & one egg in a bowl 

   and stir 'briskly' till thoroughly mixed. 

3.Add second egg and beat mixture with a wooden spoon until light. 

4.Add baking powder and flour and mix well. 

5.Spread mixture in tin. arrange fruit on top. 

Nb. At this point you can-

a)  sprinkle top with a half cup sugar mixed with 2 tsps of cinnamon                                                       OR/as I prefer

b) bake, cool, turn out tin and sprinkle top with sifted icing sugar   

...EITHER WAY...

5.Bake at 200c for 30mins or until crumbs come away from skewer 

   when spiked...   this cake should be moist inside & hard outside

Serve with thick pure cream for afternoon tea or dessert

( or/ as the germans do, have a slice for breakfast 

with a freshly brewed pot of strong black coffee ) 

...though in this house, there's usually only the crumbs left by then... 

As for chocolate cake...

I use the 'Simplicity Chocolate Cake' recipe 

to be found via this delightful cookbook.

(and substitute sour cream for milk to make it super moist)

originally published in the 1970s edition of the NMAA cookbook, 

which my mother purchased when she was preganant with me, 

this has been our standard family chocolate cake recipe all my life

       und so.... GUTEN APPETIT xox

fine little day

I've been reading these delightful posts

about this darling little green house,

so sweet, you just have to take a look...

my pretty baby

wasn't Ari a darling baby? 

how I do miss those chubby 

baby cheeks and cupid lips...