It struck me that I seem to blog about breakfast a lot. So I checked. There are 41 posts that mention breakfast, and of those, 10 involve a change in the regular breakfast routine. It might seem like I have a problem... Breakfast is really the most important meal of the day, though, and this really shows in my life.
Today's post is not really a New Thing for Today post. This is something I changed, didn't think it significant, but haven't changed back. A little while ago, I returned the stereo to its rightful owner. This meant I had no radio in the breakfast area. I like to listen to the radio over breakfast. There is, however, a radio in my bedroom. Also, we've just finished (technically) summer, and I've found the ceiling fan in my bedroom more effective at cooling than anything else. Both these factors have resulted in me having breakfast in bed most days. Luxury! Bonus - if necessary, I can plug my phone in to charge and still check Facebook over breakfast. And check the time regularly (yes, that's slightly more important).
The other change that has evolved is the day I have eggs for breakfast. For years, Monday was eggs day. But Monday is also (weather permitting) PT day. I've realised it's slightly comfier for my insides if I have my regular muesli breakfast before PT. Both meals have the same fat/carbs/protein quantity, but the muesli feels lighter for a pre-workout meal. Eggs are now usually Sundays, and on random days, I'll totally change things up and have a smoothie.
Friday, 8 March 2013
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Outfit #114 - Attic Brain
Sherlock Holmes' theory of the brain as an attic is not one to which I subscribe. However, I felt today he may have a point. My brain was working out scarf and cardigan and kid surprises and neglected the essentials of hat and sunglasses. Quite a few other ditz moments today but I won't give evidence against myself.
Skirt: Jeanswest. Top: Sportsgirl (op shop). Singlet: Ice. Shoes: Target. Earrings: Cose Belle. Necklace and bracelet: made by me.
This was my first stripes and florals pattern mix. Yes, it's quite a subtle stripe... The top with this singlet was rather annoying, it kept drifting down my shoulders. I'm not sure I'm ready for bold stripes with a floral, but you never know!
It seems my earrings these days are a little camera-shy. If you have an urgent need to see this pair, you can here. My last student at school said she like my earrings, and then screwed up her face. "Is that necklace... Well, are they meant to look like crushed lady bugs?" Lovely.
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Outfit #113 - Wrapped in Stripes
Lots of stripes today. Plus, the shirt is a wrap shirt, so there was no choice but this for the outfit name. This top is yet another Melbourne-Jeannie item. It's an interesting top, and for all the buttons (with buttonholes!), only 2 of them managed to stay buttoned after about 5 minutes. And I'm not a huge fan of the sleeves yet. I have a few more ideas for it though, so it's not going in The Pile just yet!
Shirt: Sisley (from Jeannie). Pants: Portmans. Shoes: Target. Earrings: from Oxfam. Bracelets: made by me.
After being so cold yesterday, I packed a cardigan for today. But we had sunshine! Lovely, warm sunshine.
I do apologise for the crooked pictures. I was hungry, and more interested in getting a photo done and eating than anything else.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Outfit #112 - Buttons Galore
Eight. Eight large white buttons. So, not buttons galore in quantity, but definitely in attention-grabbing - large and white and 'out there'.
Skirt: Sunny Girl (op shop). Singlet (not visible in pics but necessary, trust me!): Ambra. Shirt/jacket/top thing: Kirx (from Jeannie). Shoes: Zoe & Zac (from Jeannie). Earrings: from Mombasa.
I don't normally include a 'rear view' but the buttons on this top kinda call for it. That, and the fact that I couldn't wear this until I'd sewn one on more securely.
I would never have approached this colour top if left to my own devices. This was in the pile of clothes Jeannie had ready for me on my last trip to Melbourne. I thought I would give it a go, and I'm so glad - loving it. Moreover, the buttons can go all the way up - imagine the variety of outfits! The only problem with this outfit was that I was cold when it rained. Which was a lot.
The upper-junior school kids are away on camp for a few days, so I had only middle and senior girls today - no running around the school finding little people. I figured this was a perfect day to wear these shoes, and I was right! Note the absence of preemptive Bandaids.
How sweet are these earrings?
Monday, 4 March 2013
Outfit #111 - Staff Concert 2013
Looking in my wardrobe for tonight's outfit, I had a choice of the dress I wore for last year's staff concert, or the dress I ended up wearing. It's been a big more-than-a-week of concerts and gigs, with rainy weather to boot, so my black options are limited. Up close, this dress has rosin marks on it - it's going straight in the wash.
Dress: Hot Options. Leggings: ? Shoes: Target. That's right, I forgot my earrings. Ditz. I also forgot my heels.
I did remember my glasses, thanks to the student I had before I left home. A few students at school hadn't seen them before. The staff concert is not only great for the kids (and parents) to see their teachers playing at a professional level, but it's a good chance to meet and talk with parents. This year's combined staff piece was the best yet - we all played strings, and had the school's leadership team (head of middle school, chaplain, that sort of leadership) get up and play strings too. For the first time. We even had a (musical) staff member conduct us.
Hilarious.
I did remember my glasses, thanks to the student I had before I left home. A few students at school hadn't seen them before. The staff concert is not only great for the kids (and parents) to see their teachers playing at a professional level, but it's a good chance to meet and talk with parents. This year's combined staff piece was the best yet - we all played strings, and had the school's leadership team (head of middle school, chaplain, that sort of leadership) get up and play strings too. For the first time. We even had a (musical) staff member conduct us.
Hilarious.
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Chicken with Tarragon Salsa Verde
The last time my mum was coming to visit, I was looking through Nigellissima for inspiration. I mentally bookmarked the Chicken with Tarragon Salsa Verde recipe. When mum arrived, I handed her the book and asked for suggestions for dinner. Guess what took her fancy? Nigella explains why she lists weight of herbs - it's more about the ratio here, 1 part tarragon to 4 parts parsley. As it was just the 2 of us, I halved the quantities, and we both enjoyed some leftovers the next day. Here I'll put the full amount though. Serves 6-8.
Ingredients
For the chicken:
2 x 15 mL tablespoons olive oil
4 chicken breast fillets (preferably organic and corn-fed) with skin on (turns out it's impossible to find chicken with skin on around here)
small bunch fresh tarragon (2 sprigs for chicken plus more leaves for sauce)
pepper (preferably white coarsely ground), to taste (so, just regular old black pepper for me)
For the sauce:
leaves from small bunch fresh parsley (approx. 20g)
leaves from sprigs fresh tarragon (approx. 5g)
1 spring onion (including green part), roughly chopped
zest 1 unwaxed lemon and juice 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or 1/2 teaspoon pouring salt, or to taste
6 x 15 mL tablespoons olive oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into a shallow ovenproof dish or roasting tin in which the chicken breast fillets will fit snugly and then arrange them in there skin-side up. Tuck 2 sprigs of tarragon in between the chicken pieces, add a good grinding of pepper and dribble another tablespoon of oil over them, then pop them in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the skins are golden and flesh tender.
Take out of the oven, and let the cooked chicken stand for 5-10 minutes in the tin while you prepare the sauce.
Put the parsley and tarragon leaves, along with the spring onion, lemon zest, salt flakes and 3 tablespoons olive oil into a suitable receptacle and, using a stick blender, whizz to a paste, adding the lemon juice and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil slowly as you blend. Leave for a mo (seriously, that's what she wrote), while you slice the chicken.
Cut the chicken into thickish - 1cm or so - slices (if you need it to go further, then slice more thinly) and arrange on a platter.
Pour any juices that have collected in the tin into the tarragon salsa and whizz again with your stick blender, tasting for seasoning before dribbling the sauce over the tender sliced chicken.
This was really yummy, and really easy, and really good for a hot weather dish. No standing over a hot stove, just chuck stuff in the oven, whizz stuff up in the blender, make it look as pretty as desired, and done. It just might be my second-favourite method of cooking chicken (after poaching), and the sauce component is just begging for variations.
For the chicken:
2 x 15 mL tablespoons olive oil
4 chicken breast fillets (preferably organic and corn-fed) with skin on (turns out it's impossible to find chicken with skin on around here)
small bunch fresh tarragon (2 sprigs for chicken plus more leaves for sauce)
pepper (preferably white coarsely ground), to taste (so, just regular old black pepper for me)
For the sauce:
leaves from small bunch fresh parsley (approx. 20g)
leaves from sprigs fresh tarragon (approx. 5g)
1 spring onion (including green part), roughly chopped
zest 1 unwaxed lemon and juice 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or 1/2 teaspoon pouring salt, or to taste
6 x 15 mL tablespoons olive oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into a shallow ovenproof dish or roasting tin in which the chicken breast fillets will fit snugly and then arrange them in there skin-side up. Tuck 2 sprigs of tarragon in between the chicken pieces, add a good grinding of pepper and dribble another tablespoon of oil over them, then pop them in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the skins are golden and flesh tender.
Take out of the oven, and let the cooked chicken stand for 5-10 minutes in the tin while you prepare the sauce.
Put the parsley and tarragon leaves, along with the spring onion, lemon zest, salt flakes and 3 tablespoons olive oil into a suitable receptacle and, using a stick blender, whizz to a paste, adding the lemon juice and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil slowly as you blend. Leave for a mo (seriously, that's what she wrote), while you slice the chicken.
Cut the chicken into thickish - 1cm or so - slices (if you need it to go further, then slice more thinly) and arrange on a platter.
Pour any juices that have collected in the tin into the tarragon salsa and whizz again with your stick blender, tasting for seasoning before dribbling the sauce over the tender sliced chicken.
This was really yummy, and really easy, and really good for a hot weather dish. No standing over a hot stove, just chuck stuff in the oven, whizz stuff up in the blender, make it look as pretty as desired, and done. It just might be my second-favourite method of cooking chicken (after poaching), and the sauce component is just begging for variations.
Saturday, 2 March 2013
Movie #32 - Star Wars
A couple of weeks ago, I watched Star Wars for the first time. One friend is adamant that I've seen this before. I maintain that if I fall asleep in the first scene of a movie and have no recollection of the rest of the movie, that doesn't count as having seen it. This wasn't even my second attempt - it was at least the 3rd. I'm not sure why I was so resistant to seeing this until now. That said, a lot of it wasn't really new, thanks to The Simpsons and countless other references in popular culture. Some things that would have been such a question mark when it first came out were no mystery at all.
I have a friend who really wanted me to see Star Wars. It was only a matter of time before I caved. That, and the promise of dinner. I was advised to watch this with the mind of a 7-year-old boy, forgetting all the movies and the advances in movie technology that have occurred since 1977. That might sound really weird, but it worked. I stayed awake for the whole movie!
One of the aspects I found off-putting before was the unknown. The whole space ship thing is just not for me. Determined to stay awake this time, though, meant I made it to the Tunisian planet, and more familiar (just) territory. And by then, there was enough character development and storyline happening that I wanted to see what happened next. And to find out when the whole Luke/Darth Vader thing happened, and all that jazz. And I got used to the weird creatures.
I'm going to assume that most people have already seen this, so I won't go into plot intricacies and such. A few things I enjoyed:
Well, intricate plots. It's simple enough on the surface, but enough going on that you don't get bored. And a whole lot of different characters to remember and follow.
As mentioned before, finding out the origin of all those references in popular culture.
The Shakespearean element - I almost expected a 'poor Yorick' moment or something similar from C-3PO.
Seeing all these actors much younger!
Music. It's so good! Really full, and dramatic, and a part of the movie instead of being a flimsy add-on. Not to mention the bonus effect of full symphony in context. Rather different from many of my experiences (think, 10-yr-old boy who begs to learn how to play it on the violin...).
I cheated - I got to see Episode V only a week or so later. Nothing like the 3 years between releases. More on that, soon.
I have a friend who really wanted me to see Star Wars. It was only a matter of time before I caved. That, and the promise of dinner. I was advised to watch this with the mind of a 7-year-old boy, forgetting all the movies and the advances in movie technology that have occurred since 1977. That might sound really weird, but it worked. I stayed awake for the whole movie!
One of the aspects I found off-putting before was the unknown. The whole space ship thing is just not for me. Determined to stay awake this time, though, meant I made it to the Tunisian planet, and more familiar (just) territory. And by then, there was enough character development and storyline happening that I wanted to see what happened next. And to find out when the whole Luke/Darth Vader thing happened, and all that jazz. And I got used to the weird creatures.
I'm going to assume that most people have already seen this, so I won't go into plot intricacies and such. A few things I enjoyed:
Well, intricate plots. It's simple enough on the surface, but enough going on that you don't get bored. And a whole lot of different characters to remember and follow.
As mentioned before, finding out the origin of all those references in popular culture.
The Shakespearean element - I almost expected a 'poor Yorick' moment or something similar from C-3PO.
Seeing all these actors much younger!
Music. It's so good! Really full, and dramatic, and a part of the movie instead of being a flimsy add-on. Not to mention the bonus effect of full symphony in context. Rather different from many of my experiences (think, 10-yr-old boy who begs to learn how to play it on the violin...).
I cheated - I got to see Episode V only a week or so later. Nothing like the 3 years between releases. More on that, soon.
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