Recipe and News

Tomorrow night, we shall be feasting on Lamb Shanks. One of our favourites in this house! My Mum used to make them when we were kids, and now I make them for our kids. I'll share the highly complex recipe with you (if you promise not to tell - shhhhhhhhh....).

Ingredients:

4 lamb shanks (or knuckles, as they're sometimes called)
1 pkt of powdered Onion Soup mix (we use the Maggi one, but Pams is just as good)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp Paprika

Method:

1. Put the lamb shanks into a crock pot/slow cooker.
2. Mix the brown sugar, Paprika and soup mix together and sprinkle over the top.
3. Switch the crock pot/slow cooker onto "Low" for 8-9 hours.

That's it!

We serve with fresh veges and mashed potatoes, but you can serve them with whatever you like. You don't have to add any water or liquid of any sort as the lamb will cook in it's own juices - and believe me on this, it is YUM! The meat literally FALLS off the bone - nothing beats it :) I prepare it before I head off to work in the morning (it takes but a minute, after all) and then, when I walk in the door after work, it's all done! I just need to cook the spuds and throw on some veges - hey presto, instant yummy!

Remember - keep it to yourselves...

As to what else I've been up to, well I've been waiting for the webhost to fix my site as I couldn't add any new pics (hence, no new items) until today, so have been updating the website tonight.

And watching the first episode of "Fringe" here on TV in NZ. Really enjoyed it - very "X Files", I have to say, which is not altogether a bad thing. Looking forward to seeing how it progresses. The only thing that puts me off is that TVNZ, in their infinite wisdom, managed to stretch a (probably) one hour show into 1hr 45mins with seemingly ENDLESS ad breaks...I kid you not, we had an ad break at 10pm and another at 10.05pm! And so it went on...bloody annoying and totally unneccesary. Stuff like that peeves me off no end.

We also had some great news at the end of last week - Karnivool's second CD "Sound Awake" (that I talked about here) went GOLD! Yahoo! Well done guys! Very exciting!

Willie and I have just finished watching series 2 of classic kiwi drama/comedy "Outrageous Fortune". Absolutely brilliant! We're now awaiting delivery of the series 3 DVD's...very impatiently.

And in honour of Outrageous Fortune, here's the theme song - the classic "Gutter Black" by iconic kiwi band Hello Sailor:

Enjoy! And - if you decide to give the lamb shanks recipe a bash, let me know what you think of it!

~A

New beads = Yippeeeeee!

I've been sucked in by the beadweaving bug...!

Yep folks, I'm talking about peyote here (the bead technique, not the drug. Just clarifying!). I've been trying to get the hang of peyote, on and off, for a couple of years, but each time I try, I give up in disgust.

And you know what the trick is?

1. A proper, flexible, beading needle (bliss!)
2. Delica beads! They're so uniform, the work just fits together like a jigsaw puzzle - awesome!

Anyway, my new Delica beads have been arriving over the past couple of days. Here's my new collection:

And here's my old collection (now just relegated to filler beads - NOT TO BE USED FOR PEYOTE WORK!):


I had a shuffle about in my studio, and even created a proper space for them! I just need to buy more of the little plastic tubes to store them in, so I can see them more easily at a glance. Here's their new home:


And here's what I've peyoted so far (to be added to the website this weekend-ish):

Ahhhhh...bliss!

~A

New blog template and 1950's style

I was fiddling about with my blog template today - do you like? I felt like a change :)

While I was looking for black and white pics of 1950's housewives for the new header, I came across these gorgeous pics of Audrey Hepburn. They reminded me of why I love her - who else can make black capri pants and a black top look as great as this? It also reminds me that it's not WHAT you wear, it's HOW you wear it. Style is about soooooo much more than just "fashion"...

Happy Stylish Monday!

:)

My Little Tipple

Let me just begin by saying: I am not a big drinker. Honestly - anyone who knows me well will confirm that. But, that said, if I was to have a drink, it'd probably be wine (either red or a sweet white wine - bubbles are good too!).

But that's more a summertime thing for me. In winter, I prefer a glass of whisky liqueur or of port (preferably tawny port). It's the warm glow that it leaves on it's way down that I really savour - perfect for wintertime drinking :)

Last night, up at my folks place with my cousin Gayl, visiting from Australia, we sat down to a wee sampling of sorts. We ended up with a few drinks in front of us: Black Sambuca (which I also like), brandy, Benedictine (euch!), whisky (Grants - not a favourite of mine) and Glayva.

Now, Glayva is one of my favourites, has been for a few years now. It wasn't always the case though - I remember trying it once about 10 years ago and I hated it. Now though, my tastes must have mellowed, becuase it truly is at the top of my list.

The other whisky liqueur I love is Wallace. We bought a small bottle from somewhere on the Royal Mile (may even have been from the gift shop at Edinburgh Castle?) in 1998 when my folks were visiting from New Zealand. Unfortunately, we can't seem to find it for sale here in NZ. Boo hiss! And to get a 70cl bottle in from the UK will cost NZ$120 - I DON'T THINK SO! Not that desperate for it...

But that would be my first choice, definately. Glayva is a very close second though. And I really enjoyed drinking it last night (both neat, and on the rocks - the flavour is lovely and smooth on it's own, but I do like it with ice as well).

So, if you happen upon either of these two and haven't tried them before: DO! And let me know what you think of them :)

~A

Peyote Bezeling....tick!

Woot woot! FINALLY (and I don't say this lightly - I dread to think of the hours I've spent this week trying to master this!) - I have figured out how to do the peyote bezeling thing! Really! I'm that excited!

Here's the first peyote bezeling necklace I've made (using a vintage glass faceted cabachon, pink freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals and seed beads...and a shedload of concentration, irritation, patience and hard work!!). What do you think? Of course, I *had* to make matching earrings when I was done with the necklace (goes without saying). Never mind that it took me until 2pm...ish...

And yes, now I've been bitten with the peyote bug...have a few other ideas in mind and am now gathering supplies like a madwoman...again...

~A

Year of Jewellery for June - "Square" - tick it off!

Woot woot! Finished my Year of Jewellery piece (theme this month: Square) last night - what a relief! I'm really happy with it! I used Swarovski crystals and freshwater pearls, along with gorgeous faceted Cubic Zirconia teardrops in "autumnal" tones. The pendant frame was hand-hammered and then coiled with non-tarnish antique bronze artistic wire and the chain's brass. I'll be listing it on the website later this week.

Now I'm playing around with peyote bezels...not all that successful, but I'm not giving up till I've got it sussed...and the way it's going lately, it could be awhile...

~A

Another Week, Another Completed Order

This weekend just flew by. I'm actually quite scared that it's already halfway through June and it feels like yesterday I was doing the end-of-month stuff for May - where are the weeks going? I hate that.

The weekend itself was fun - especially Saturday! Actually, starting Friday (backtrack with me a little, won't ya?). Friday night after work we went out with Rozelle and Ron to celebrate their engagement (so romantic - he bought the ring for her and CHOSE IT HIMSELF!! How many guys do you know who do that?!).

Saturday afternoon Verna came round on her way back from Gisborne to Auckland (hell of a trip, that one), so we got a chance for abit of one-on-one catching up, swapped some books and agreed it's been far too long since we last visited her up there. So, come Labour Weekend (October), we are SO there! Can't wait :)

Later on Saturday afternoon, we headed off to Ron and Rozelle's "official" engagement party, at their house. A great afternoon was had, we were all nice and chilled, and the rain even stayed off for long enough so the kids could play outside. Bonus!

Saturday night is best forgotten. We headed home to watch the rugby (All Blacks vs France). Not a good idea. I think I'm jinxing my teams. First the Chiefs in the Super14 Final, then the AB's in the first International Test of the season...what the hell?!? Come ON guys, I mean, really! Time to pull finger and win a game or two, 'K?

Sunday was good too. Managed to finish two custom orders. The first one is earrings to match a top:

Then it was a faceted garnet, Swarovski pearl and Vermeil/Goldfill rosary bracelet:

And I finally finished the embroidered cuff bracelet I've been working on all week. Woot woot! I've called it "Treasures of Atlantis":

I also updated the website (finally!) with alot of my new pieces. Including my new beaded bead earrings and bracelet! Really loving the beaded beads right now. So much fun to make!

Today I've been working on my Year of Jewellery-themed piece. The theme is "square" and I had abit of an epiphany this afternoon, so it's almost done. Just heading off to finish it now. Yay!

Inspiration works like that for me. It truly does come out of nowhere. Strange. But I'm happy with strange :)

~A