Group Emails

Pics courtesy of a group email "Weird and Wild Photos" - source unknown

Terrorist Negotiations

"You know, this whole camouflage thing, for me, doesn’t work really well....Because if you go in the jungle, I can’t see you. You know, it’s like wearing stripes and plaid. For me, I want to do something different. You go in the jungle, make a statement. If you’re going to fight, clash. You know what I mean? "

Robin Williams, Good Morning Vietnam

Having a toddler is pure psychological warfare. No lie. This past week I have been reduced to tears almost every day as our boy engages me in a full-frontal battle of will.

I am a pretty straight up person. I like to confront my issues head on and am happy to talk about anything at anytime - lay your cards on the table and know where you stand. It is only now that it has become clear to me that with a toddler you can't just chew the fat and say it like it is over a glass of wine, a cup of coffee, or a bottle of milk. It is a war dance. A very lonely solo dance that I am really just mildly guessing the steps to.

I know that our Son is about to experience his first surge of testosterone. He is asserting his new found independence and is frustrated as he can't express his emotions verbally, so has to chuck a tantrum - this I get. I am fully aware that he is pissy at me because I am the one who dumps him at daycare two days a week so I can work from home. I realise that he wants to only be with fun man Dad who is at work most days and comes home when it is time to rumble before bed. The control freak in me is aware that I have to just let things go (obviously to a point). And I know not to take it personally, and should appreciate the time out that I get when he prefers his Father as a playmate. But it is heartbreaking, and I am navigating my way out of this minefield blindfolded, trying not to scar him emotionally. Dig deep. Find strength. Poker face. I would make a really bad POW. 

Country Cook Off

I have just about completed my gluten-free, dairy-free, red meat-free, fun-free cleanse. I have to confess I took a night off in the middle, just when I was starting to feel energised. It has been said that if you do anything for three days it breaks a habit. That point was about when the anger and headaches dissipated and the feel-good set in. I was no longer hungry due to the ant sized portions provided, so I messed with it by drinking wine and eating cheese. I felt no guilt, just jumped back on the wagon, and I can say that the Dietlicious program is a winner for me.

Whenever I am doing some sort of cleanse I find it really therapeutic to go through recipe books and get inspired to make new dishes for myself, my partner and our son. Drooling over the pictures of food I am missing out on sadistically helps ease the suffering. If I can't eat it then I can at least bloody well cook it. In our kitchen I came across an old folder that I made for my Mum when I was younger. I have collected all of her hand-written recipes, some her friends passed on to her, as well as ones I have put aside over the years to cook someday when I was Domestic Goddess in my grown up kitchen. I am confident in that I will never be wired to be that image of domestic bliss I had in my head, however, I am now on a mission to attempt each and every one of the dishes each week to expand my very limited culinary repertoire. Except the Pumpkin, Apple and Scallop Soup. Oh, and the Soupe Aux Broutes (Spring Cabbage Soup). I don't have the origins of most recipes so apologies ahead of time for plagiarism. Country Women's Association eat your heart out. 

Opening Doors and Windows

Peace, Love and Mung Beans

Pic courtesy of superhappycupcakes.com

I was in bed at 9pm this past New Years Eve. We were staying in Vanuatu on a family vacation. It was a welcome change to wake up at 5.30am on 1st January feeling fresh and revived, looking out at the ocean. I am taking it as a sign of things to come this year in regards to my wellbeing. 

Once or twice a year I do a juice detox. I am still trying to kick the last of my baby weight - it took a little longer for me due to the borderline alcoholic tendencies I have towards red wine. Any new Mum will back me that there is nothing wrong with a glass or ten each day. I have also been burning the candle over the Silly Season - too much good food and beverage. We have just waved off the last of our weekend guests - they have been coming in various droves since October last year, so it was a long season and the Farm Stay Social Club is now officially closed. I am feeling like it is time for a health kick start. 

My current approach to dieting is that it is better to eat healthy, well balanced meals and not cut out too much, rather just be aware of portion control. Eat fresh produce, not too much sugar and keep carb intake for the first past of the day. Get plenty of sleep and regular exercise. So the thought of a whole 5 days of just juice, or a streamlined diet cutting out coffee, a bit of chocolate here and there and my red wine is a shock to my system. 

I am taking a two pronged approach:

1. Urban Remedy's juice cleanse to start. Urban Remedy make it easy as all the juices are prepared fresh and delivered to your door in a neat refrigerated pack. They offer varying degrees of pain within their program, so there is something that can work for everyone. 

2. Dietlicious. More appealing than Lean Cusine. They too offer varying degrees of pain. I opted for the Gluten-free 5 day cleanse. The idea of not cooking for myself for 5 days won me over.

Neither companies deliver to us in the country at the end of a dirt road, but both deliver Sydney metro. In theory I am excited and motivated. In reality? Talk to me in a week.

Keeping It Real At Christmas

Let us let the little children have the fairies and the rest;

Let them keep the glad illusions of the years that are the best;

Let them know the joyous fancies of the mystic fairyland,

And the wonderful enchantments only they can understand-

For the years are coming to them when they’ll sigh, and softly grieve

That they left the realm of childhood and the Land of Make-Believe.

The Land of Make-Believe and Other Christmas Poems, Wilbur Nesbit

It seems the end of the world did not come about as predicted, so we forged ahead with the Holiday Season this year. I feel like even though every effort is made to to keep things a low key affair, without spending too much money on gifts and food and all the trimmings, the general energy leading up to Christmas Day is rushed and frenetic and stressed. Then all of a sudden, come Christmas Eve, everything just drops – the buzz quietens down as people get on with cooking and festivities, friends and family. And welcoming Santa Claus. 

For me Christmas is really all about the kids, and this one was the time that we had to lie outright to our 14 month old and start the whole 'Santa is real thing'. I was conflicted – just be straight from the start and tell him like it is? Treat him as an adult early on so he can mature to face the world around him? Or allow his imagination to be free to believe in the extraordinary, things not of this world? I figure the boy is only young and he will have plenty of time to deal with reality when his buddies break it to him in the school yard, or when he sees the gift we bought him and gets it in his stocking the next morning. I had taken him to sit on Santa's lap and he cried his eyes out. He will work it out in his own time that Santa is just some strange old man who gets paid to put on a smelly suit. Let him believe in the make-believe until that time comes.

Keepers and Chuckers

Pic Courtesty of 6 Minutes of Interesting Stuff for Doctors Today

I am fascinated by the extremes of the Human Condition.  I have been obsessed with the reality TV program "Hoarding: Buried Alive" on Foxtel's Bio channel. I can't get enough of it and I am really interested in the deeper rooted emotional and psychological issues that cause individuals to compulsively accumulate and hoard.

My friend Catherine Merchant has recently produced a program for ABC RadioNational - "Keepers and Chuckers". It deals with the very subject. Merchant explores the fine line between attachment to objects and hoarding. The show is about learning to get rid of things.

Our relationship with stuff is highly idiosyncratic. Some people like to hang on to everything they've ever acquired in a ramshackle and dishevelled style; others crave minimalism and bare spaces. Some say they are 'organised' hoarders; others like to keep everything for a while, then go on throw-away binges. And then there are those who believe ‘junk’ is something they will need a few days later, if they do get rid of it. For them, everything is a resource. No matter our style, 'stuff' is what we must deal with—and it's everywhere. Keepers and Chuckers

Appartamento 57

Located on Queen Street, Woollahra, in a heritage apartment building, Appartamento 57 has recently opened and there is nothing like it in Sydney. This gem of a store oozes cool character, charm and sophisticated style. Owners Sharon and Damian Fisher showcase pre-loved, high-end international labels such as Lanvin, Dries Van Note, Erdem, Stella McCartney and Alberta Ferretti - amongst others brands - and the space is a mecca for luxury at an affordable price. New fashion pieces arrive weekly, so there is always something fresh. Amongst the fashion, Men's tees, art, Homewares and unique pieces make Appartamento 57 a mix of high-end class and cool street style. 

In store now - Celine, Louis Vuitton and Gucci handbags and a new shipment of Homewares and Furniture. 

Appartamento 57 

39 Queen Street Woollahra Sydney

Store Hours: 

Monday-Saturday 10-6

Sunday Closed

No Time Like The Present

Young Buddhist Monks In Cambodia

When I contemplate how it is that I have ended up as a new Mum on a farm at the end of a dirt road with my crazy life amongst my family, the dogs, chickens, cows and horses and the unforgiving elements, I compare it to how busy I always was when I was working. In fashion retail you are always looking at least two seasons ahead, so it was sometimes hard to focus on the here and now. I always felt stressed and anxiety ridden. I was constantly on the go and forever scrambling to catch up with myself. 

Here on our property amongst the flora, fauna and the natural landscape, everything just takes a more simple, organic and much quieter course. Time really slows down in the country and instead of racing from appointment to office to stores and travelling overseas up to four times a year for buying, my days are now punctuated by our son's naps, cooking, washing and endless walks through the paddocks with him and our dogs. Some days I am feeding him in his high chair and as I gaze out the window at our Arcadia with the cows and horses casually grazing in the 100 degree scorching heat, all I want to do is scream. I have resisted and been dragged kicking, so as not to slip into the seemingly borderline banal passing of time - until I recently realised that this is my chapter to learn to be in the present moment. To just breathe, as the breath is the only thing that connects us to the present. I say this as I take shallow breaths from my upper chest. 

Having a child also forces you to get down to the basics and just drop back the pace a little. When I am cursing my monotonous days of washing and cleaning up and feeding the kid and animals, alone and isolated whilst my partner is at work, I try to remind myself that had I not moved to our property, but had kept on with my career in Sydney, I would never have had the opportunity to really strip back to live a much quieter existence and learnt to let go of a lot of things that really don't matter. Having said that, I still fantasise about being in a photo shoot feeding the chickens, wearing my Hunter Wellington Boots and my Nina Ricci ostrich feather sweater - aka. the one worn by Carrie in Sex And the City. So when I beat myself up for not getting to my yoga classes - only a picnic and a thermos away - I figure that I shouldn't be so hard on myself and that this is my yoga - be like Buddha and just live in the now. 

Ellie's Fail-Proof Chocolate Sponge Cake

It was our Son’s first birthday a couple of weeks ago and we had a party for 50 of our nearest and dearest. Not confident enough in my cake baking skills I ordered a dinosaur themed cake and cupcakes from My Little Cupcake.

We had an intimate party a few days before with the Grandmas, and I was determined to try at least to bake a cake for his first birthday. My partner loves a chocolate sponge cake, and as it’s all about him, I thought I would give it a go. I can bake cupcakes and muffins and cookies, however my forte has never been a cake. I tried a Chocolate Sponge from a recipe I found online. The result was so bad that even the horses wouldn't eat it. I didn't want to resort to packet mix so I asked my partner’s Mum. She gave me this one from her neighbors Nana, Ellie. I didn’t end up serving mine, but this is a good and easy recipe, and edible even made by a novice like me. Apparently packet mix is the way to go and it is all about the icing. 

2 cups self-raising flour

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup castor sugar

1 teaspoon bicarb of soda

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 large or 2 small eggs

1/3 cup soft butter

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup milk

Sift dry ingredients into large bowl. Add sugar, butter, milk, vanilla and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. 

Bake in preheated oven 180 degrees C for 25-30 minutes.