Outfit #98 - Happy New School Year

Today we had our start-of-school-year meeting.  Weather is still sticky and threatening rain, so I dressed moderately casually, in clothes (and shoes) that deal well with humidity and rain.  Unfortunately, this type of outfit is not terribly flattering.

Dress: Caroline Morgan.  Shoes: Target.  Earrings: can't remember (small silver roses - sorry no close-up today.  Trust me, this is a good thing).  Necklace: Mombasa.  Bracelets: made by me.

As it turned out, it didn't rain.  Well, not on me anyway, but I was glad I wore these sandals. 

It was humid enough though that, even though I was not doing any violin playing until this afternoon, I had to take the beads off as soon as I got home.  I'm tempted to put them in my pile to give away.

I'm totally back into wearing bracelets.  When I returned from Melbourne, I put one on to go to dinner, and I have rarely been without one since.  These are both thanks to Sunday - the blue one I mended, then I was inspired to make the pink one.

Ice Blocks

It's hot.  If you're reading this from somewhere else in the world, Australia is in a bit of a heatwave right now.  And we're looking at another next week.  I like summer, but... For starters, bushfires are scary, and we are seeing so much of the country affected.  People seem to act with less thought.  Anything useful has to be done at either end of the day, and just remembering to keep up the fluid intake is an effort.  Honestly, I've done hardly anything useful the last couple of days.  (Some things, and I'm about to tackle a Task, but added up it doesn't seem like much). 

On Tuesday evening, there were warnings for Queensland that Wednesday would be a scorcher.  I decided I would make ice blocks.  Not that it ended up being that hot - in fact, today feels hotter - but it's nice to know that if I need to freeze my brain, I have that option.

Admittedly, this is not my first time making ice blocks.  I bought the ice block mould a couple of summers ago, and made yoghurt and berry frozen things then.  Once.  Unsuccessfully.  Although I didn't think you could stuff up something so simple, I guess I was impatient and the removal of the ice blocks was just too much effort.  I was determined to do a proper job this time, and actually boil water, place in a smallish receptacle, and sit the ice block inside until ready to come out.

I also decided to make different flavours.  This came about because I was thinking about flavours, and realised the bag of kiwi fruit would do beautifully, and wouldn't lemonade be a great addition?  Then a friend said you have to have banana (3 squishy bananas available), and I found some pureed berries in the freezer.  So, I have 4 flavours of ice block: yoghurt and berry, lemonade and kiwi fruit, lemonade and berry, and yoghurt and banana.

None were consumed yesterday (thanks to an air conditioned friend - oops - friend with air conditioning... and a mariachi meeting/rehearsal), but today I had one at lunch.  Yoghurt and berry - which could do with a touch of honey in the mix.  The lemonade mixes had done what I thought might possibly happen, and expanded a bit more than the holders allowed.  Thankfully not exploding all over the freezer, though.

And I was really good, boiled some water, used the metal milk jug from the coffee machine, and stuck the ice block in there for a little bit. 

Longer than I wanted, but I was determined. 

Crunchy Raw Beetroot Salad

I received two recipe books for Christmas: Nigelissima and Cook with Jamie.  The first Jamie recipe I made was this Crunchy Raw Beetroot Salad with feta and pear.  Partly because it looks so summery and Christmas-y, and partly because I had 2 beetroots to hand.  I made half quantities, but I'll give the full quantities here, just in case.

Ingredients:
4 good-sized beetroots, 'lovely different colours if possible', scrubbed, peeled, and cut into matchsticks
3 ripe pears (or apples - I used Pink Lady apples), peeled, cored and cut into matchsticks
1 x lemon oil dressing (3 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - all shaken up in a jar)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g feta cheese
small bunch of fresh mint, smallest leaves picked
optional: a large handful of sunflower seeds

Method:
Dress the beetroot and pear matchsticks in a little of the lemon oil dressing and season with some salt and pepper.  Taste to check that the flavours are balanced and lovely, and add a little more lemon juice to check the sweetness of the pears and beetroots if you need to.
Divide the salad between four plates or put it on a big platter, crumble over the creamy white feta and sprinkle over the baby mint leaves and sunflower seeds if you're using them.  'Simple, but it's a treat and a half'.  Serves 4.  Apparently.

So... I only had 2 beetroots, so I did a half quantity.  On my 4th day in a row of beetroot salad for lunch - still with 3 serves (or so) to go - I decided that was it.  I couldn't face any more beetroot salad after that.  Actually, I don't think the salad itself could have lasted another day, so I didn't feel too bad.  I was tempted to make some weird beetroot bhaji concoction but decided against it, this time.  I imagine this quantity (as in, half - just 2 beetroots) would serve 4-6 as a side dish.

This also took forever.  Forever, as in, an hour.  I can't imagine turning 4 beetroots and 3 pears into matchsticks, at least not if I'm doing it the old-school way with a knife.

I was really glad I used a large ceramic salad bowl.  I anticipated the beetroots filling maybe a third - I was wrong.  At least two thirds full, before the apples made it in.  This photo doesn't show it, nor does it show the shock and worry on my face.  Yes, I washed my hands thoroughly, and I wore an apron.  Go me.

For all that, though - Jamie totally gets the flavours right.  Sweet, salty, crisp, crumbly - everything balances beautifully.  Which means that I am turning this over in my brain, looking for another, less long-lasting, less-time consuming, method of getting these flavours together again.

Outfit #91 - Summery Apron

Outfit details:
Dress: Caroline Morgan.  Shoes: Target.  Earrings: made by me.

I haven't worn this dress to school very often.  In fact, I think this was the second time.  The first time I wore it (about a year ago), a girl in grade 3 or 4 asked if it was an apron - it's not (it has a double layer so it's a bit deceptive), but I think of it now as my apron dress.  Today I was told I looked very summery, but really it was just uninspired.

And my hair started the day not pulled back, but it started to look ... umm... weird (like a haystack) so back it went.

Today's photo:

Recently I was introduced to coffee bags.  I forgot to buy any last week, but I made sure they were on my list yesterday, and today was my first at school.  Win.

Cartel Coffee

There is a coffee cart on Adelaide St that has often tempted me.  Cartel Coffee has that Havana vibe, I think from the little motif of a hat.  Clever.  I had never bought a coffee from there though, I'm not quite sure why.  So when Aidan said on Sunday that the coffee place outside his work does pretty fantastic coffee, and my brain put together his workplace and the coffee cart that is Cartel Coffee, I was excited.  We arranged to meet for coffee today.

This is really good coffee.  They certainly live up to their mission: good coffee, good service, good ... um... I forget the other thing.  But it was good.  I even broke with tradition (I know, right?!) and ordered a cinna-cino.  Yummy, but I think I'd stick with regular cappuccino in future.

Apart from having a very cool "I'm in Cuba" vibe (yeah, not the actual cartel association), it's organic, and it's Fair Trade.  I like.  And you get bonus feet in the photo.

Monday's photo:

First thunderstorm of the season.  I love summer storms.  This wasn't the most amazing, but it's still getting into the groove so I can deal.

Today's photo:

Early morning sunlight plus kangaroo paw (plus spider web strands).

Outfit #23 - Six 'P's

 Meh.  Today's outfit was not a winner.  On the upside, this has reminded me that Proper Preparation and Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

Outfit:
Singlet: Ice. Top, Earrings: Sportsgirl (op shop).  Pants: Portmans.  Shoes: Pulp.  Necklace: gift from Jeannie - she's one of these talented people who can buy a necklace in an op shop, then rework it into a new necklace.  This was even in her blog here! 


Normally, I plan my outfits on Monday, if not before.  But not this week.  So yesterday I had a bit of a plan for today, but not anything definite.  Eventually I thought this combination might work, and as I actually got a sleep-in this morning (thank you, school camp for grades 6 - 12!), I didn't stress about checking it beforehand.   Of course I ended up with not much time to change the plan, so I was stuck with this. 

Benefits:  it was quite cool - as this was a warmer day than I expected, and my train was not air-conditioned this morning (peak hour - ergh), I was relieved I'd decided on a summery top.  Also, the necklace is great!  I taught with it, but then also played duets and practiced, no problems.  Woohoo!

Drawbacks:  these pants are now too big.  Cue Big Sad Face.  They're not outrageously big - I can still get away with it, and in a couple of weeks when the weather is cooler and I can wear a vest it will be ok, but right now... No.  Plus when I'm used to them being quite fitted, having them this loose is just a bit uncomfortable.  And it means I absolutely must wear heels.  Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, of course.  Although this morning, I got all the way to the station (including at least 3 thoughts about shoes) and it was only on the platform, checking out the shoes of the woman in front of me, that I realised my heels were still at home.  Good thing I had left earlier than necessary for work!  The workmen in my street smirked at me on my return trip.  And, the shirt and singlet combination - again, a bit too loose and floppy, at least for teaching.

One friend effectively worked out yesterday's expression (almost Zoolander - actually just from a model shot, once I stopped giggling).  Any guesses for today's head shot expression?

Outfit #19 - Face It, Summer's Over

 Getting dressed this morning, I couldn't face the world without leggings and a cardigan.  I wore flats to work and it took some effort to change into the green shoes, exposing my toes.  I'm facing it - summer is over.  But that's ok - I love this time of year. 

Outfit details:
Dress: Hot Options.  Singlet, Leggings: Ambra.  Cardigan: Jeanswest.  Shoes: Pinet.  Earrings: Oxfam.  Bracelet: Eumundi Markets.

Every time I photograph these earrings, they look a different colour.  They're mother-of-pearl (or something similar) and so they're more reflective than most of my jewelry. 




The bracelet is nearly 3 years old - I bought it just before Easter in 2009, on the way up to Fraser Island and a fabulous holiday.  It's perfect for me - it's green, and it's the style that wraps around and stays put, so it doesn't jangle around when I play.  Other bracelets tend to annoy me so much I remove them within about 10 minutes.



I was glad I changed shoes, eventually.  A few teachers now check out my shoes as soon as they see me - a big change from last year!  As I was vacuuming on Monday I was checking out the shoe collection, thinking for some I'd better wear them this week or it will be another few months - this was one of those pairs. 

 My first student after lunch looked at me with a raised eyebrow and asked if I was wearing leggings.  Well, yes, I've been cold all day.  I don't think she really believed me, until I had to fix one of her hands - then she felt how cold my hands were.  She believed me then.

I must apologise for the slightly blurry photo here.  And for the less-than-enthusiastic expression on my face.  I didn't take that many, thought they were all fine, and this was the only one with my head and my shoes.  Great.  I blame it on the woeful lack of sleep recently.  Last night I had just over 5 hours and it felt like luxury. 

Summer School

January.  Big plans, small achievements.  But not this year!  All last year Jeannie was making me promise I would do summer school with her this year.  "Sure", I'd say... Screaming on the inside.  The thought of 2 weeks of my holidays taken up with assessment and being forced to interact with a bunch of people I don't know didn't fill me with joy. 
Yesterday's registration didn't really make me feel any better, especially as I found myself put in a class 2 levels higher than I wanted.  It's been a long time since I've made myself work this much.  This morning, I found I was still in Level 6 instead of the compromised Level 5 but our director was unflinching.  He thought he was being nice to me, letting me be in Level 6 instead of Level 7 or even 8.  But - he was right.  I didn't drown.  A lot of the material was revision and I could tell I wasn't at the bottom of the class. 
The string teaching programme is such a good environment, only 9 of us, supportive and useful materials.  Plus I already knew 3 other people so the 'bunch of strangers' doesn't really apply.  So far, everyone seems pretty friendly and it is such a good feeling to have neurons firing in my brain again.