Love a bit of pomp

Nat here.  We were in a great vantage spot at work yesterday to see the Governor of Queensland arriving at Parliament House in style with marching bands and a 19-gun salute...she waved, it was very royal-like..

I love a good march!

Husband and I picked up our new car yesterday which was fun, they had a sign prepared welcoming us to our new vehicle and an unveiling of the car, it was something else!

We went to Liquorish at Bulimba to celebrate our new pick-up.  Dessert was something to write home about..

Vanilla pannacotta with strawberry jam doughnuts, pistachio crumbs and fig vinicotto, that all spells d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!

Mother's Day and other pieces of Sunshine

Nat here.  We started the weekend off with a lovely breakie at Merthyr Street Cafe, these were husband's blueberry panckakes.  Apparently they were fantastic, not that I would know as I blinked and they were gone!

Saturday night was another famous Guinea, this time hosted by the lovely D and fiance C.  Indian was the flavour of the night and can you believe I didn't take a pic?  It was de-licious.  I think my favourite part was the homemade coconut ice-cream and rum soaked banana - yum!

Sunday was a lovely picnic in the park for Mum, Grandma, Aunty B and Cousin N who we spoiled as much as they deserve, although not the best shot here's the little set-up.  Don't the tulips look cute?  Each Mum received a pair of slippers as a gift because let's face it, winter is coming in BrisVegas and you can never have too many slippers.

We enjoyed scones, an assortment of sandwiches, quiches, rice paper rolls, banoffee slice and this cake that I made with a big cup of love..

I've had a few requests for my pumpkin and fetta pies which are super dooper easy!  Of course it's a taste classic and you can find it here.  Mum has also asked for the banoffee slice recipe which I'll scan in from the book at a later date for all to enjoy!  Happy Tuesday!

Still pinning!

Nat here.  Did you all jump onto pininterest like I suggested? I have been madly pinning, although still getting the hang of it I must admit!

Saw this fab storage idea which might be great for the cottage tidy-up....

It was originally found here - the American better homes and garden's people are very clever!

What do you have planned for Mother's Day?  We're having a nice picnic on the river, should be lovely.  Am cooking up a storm on Saturday.  How good do these look?

A recipe for these is here

Speaking of cooking I was chatting to my lovely pal A last night and guess what?  She put her first entry into a competition at her local branch of the CWA and.....she won!! Of course she did!  Remember, A was the one that put this together for my kitchen tea...

Those little banoffee pies formed part of her entry.  What a superstar, the next stop is the district finals - wooohooo for A!!

If you haven't - you must go to pininterest - go on!  Happy Weekend!

Pot of gold and more sunshine

Gem here. Now that I have digested all the food from New York it is time to report on the rest of our trip. We decided to hit the road and drive north from NYC to the beautiful state of Vermont. We stayed in a cute little house right on Lake Champlain enjoying the cooler temperatures curled up in front of a nice cosy fire.

By day we meandered along the country roads exploring the gorgeous villages and sampling all the delightful local produce; cheeses, ice cream and the liquid gold- maple syrup. Our timing was perfect as we were lucky enough to be there at the tail end of the extremely short maple sugaring season which only lasts 4-6 weeks/year but for some farmers was only 2 weeks long this season due to the weather. We visited a quaint little 3rd generation sugarhouse where we wandered among the 150 year old sugar maple trees, watched the precious sap drip from the spout in the trunk and then the 8 stages of boiling and making the syrup ready for all the hungry hoards.



The slow drip of clear maple sugar sap

We bought up big and I ate pancakes every morning with lashings of local maple syrup- heaven!!!!!!!!!!!

Pots of gold!

The final leg of our journey took us over the border and into the French Canadian city of Montreal where we stayed in the beautiful historical suburb of the 'Old Town' - Vieux Montreal. Cobblestones, stunning old buildings and churches and lots and lots of incredible French food (many menus encouraging you to follow the chefs suggestion and add Foie Gras to all their dishes!).

We had a gorgeous lunch at 'Lemeac'- Pumpkin soup Gratin (didn't think it was possible to beat French Onion Soup but this version with its grilled bread and oozing cheese topping was to die for), grilled calamari with a balsamic and zucchini salad, the obligatory Pomme Frites and husband had Beef short rib with a pearl barley risotto. 



www.restaurantlemeac.com



Another memorable meal was at 'Le Club Chasse Et Peche'- I had gorgeous Sea Bass followed by chocolate meringue with Maple ice cream and husband had piglet risotto with truffle oil and shaved foie gras then Guinea Fowl cooked two ways. (http://www.leclubchasseetpeche.com/)

Of course a trip to Canada is not complete without trying the national favourite dish of Poutine which originated in Montreal's state of Quebec. We sought out the home of Poutine which came highly recommended by the locals: 'La Banquise'. Basically the dish consists of pork larded fries with a topping of salty gravy and fresh cheese curds. Glorified chips and gravy to an Aussie and could easily be called a 'heart attack on a plate', 'La Banquise' offers over 20 variants on the classic dish. I chose the original and husbands selection was topped with pepperoni, bacon and grilled onions- as I said, heart attack on a plate. In saying this it is the perfect hangover food and definitely something to try 'when in Rome'!

To top off a fantastic holiday I became quite familiar with the local wildlife. On our final day we took a stroll through the lovely parks of Mont Royal with gorgeous views over the city of Montreal. I have to say I have never seen such tame squirrels- this one took me by surprise and I was so glad husband weighed up rushing to my rescue or taking a photo?! I lived to tell the tale but my apple wasn't so lucky.

Long weekend sunshine

Nat here.  I'm so sad the weekend is coming to an end!  We had an absolute ball celebrating the lovely P's birthday at a Day on the Green yesterday.  Have never seen a bigger crowd! We had a prime position at the top thanks to J who sprinted to the top of the hill to secure our spot...

Daryl Braithwaite had to be the stand out, after that I think the Sirromet wines took over and we may have danced our little hearts out more to the DJ interlude between the next sets of bands.

Today the husband and I headed to Sandgate for a bike ride along the water, it's a lovely spot...

And a trip to Sandgate isn't complete without the customary fish 'n' chips..

And Mountain Dew?  Maybe not....

Happy new week all!

Ready for the long weekend

Nat here.  We had a toast to the long weekend with afternoon tea at work today...

You can see my calculator in the background, just to prove there was work involved!
I'm "totes" (word used with express permission from Shaanie's sister) excited about A Day on The Green on Sunday, this will be us....we have hired a tarago and J's lovely sister is driving it for us...what a superstar!

Can't wait to report back!

Colours

Nat here.  I would love to add some colour to our apartment and have been googling interior design - I stumbled across another great blog here.  This is one that caught my fancy from Kelly Interior Design...

How fresh!  Although somehow I think I'd have trouble convincing the husband.  Hope your week is going well, the whole ANZAC day holiday has thrown me out of whack, we all agreed at work today - it feels like Thursday.