4 MONTHS - HAPPY DAYS!

Victoria officially turned 4 months old at the end

of last month!

Good neck control and smiles all

round most of the time.

Such a hungry baby though that we've

already started solids!

This photo is taken in elise's room.

She's the spitting image of elise.

Being scool holidays - we ventured out to

the pool today.

Little Victoria enjoyed her first swim ever.

Cant wait for more 'firsts'!

Toshi-Koshi Soba - Happy New Year!

Farewell 2012 and welcome 2013! We bid 2012 farewell in the traditional Japanese way way - with a dinner of 'toshi-koshi' or end of year soba noodles. Elise set the table with her favorite pink partyware and TM set up a mini shrine to thank the gods for 2012 (especially for the safe arrival of Victoria). With incense burning and offerings of sake and grapes to the gods, all that was left to do was enjoy a glass of champagne. May 2013 be a wonderful year!

ith

rockin' around the christmas tree... happy holidays!

This Christmas, we decided to mix things up a bit and headed down to Apollo Bay for 5 days. With the beach right on our doorstep, it was a relaxing stay and enabled the whole family time to get to the know and enjoy my the latest addition to the family - the delightful Victoria Rose.

Let's Get Physical... ?!

Let's get physical, physical, I wanna get physicallllll.... Little Elise gave Jane Fonda a serious run for her money last night. TM caught her in action and couldn't resist a few happy snaps. I'm sure we'll be gym buddies before I even know it!

What can I say? She is the daughter of someone who used to dance on the trampoline to 'Uptown Girl", dressed in a leotard, leg warmers and makeup. (My goal in life at that age was to BE the girl in Flashdance.

Pondering The Hours Away

Forgive me for bragging, but TM is really quite talented in so many ways. He's one of those people who can do anything he turns his hand to. And so it was, that I discovered him making a pond at the back of our house. The pond is now complete and we now also have goldfish, much to Elise's delight. TM would have preffered Koi Carp, but they are apparently illegal in Victoria. Oh well, one day perhaps.

Elise and TM now enjoy "yachting" adventures on their pond, as the fish scramble for cover under the rocks and this little 'shrine'. Made from any recyclable materials that they can find, the boats enjoy hours of travel on the calm waters of our pond.

The other thing Elise enjoys is harvesting the produce that we occassionally manage to successfuly produce. This would have to be our biggest radish yet. Now that Spring is here, we are expecting more sunflowers and (fingers crossed) watermelon in Summer.

School Uniform Morning!

This morning Elise and I dropped in to the School uniform shop to buy her school uniform for next year (seeing as I will be a bit tied up with new baby at the end of the year). Plus I can't help myself. Everyone in my family knows that I like to plan months and months in advance. Elise was so excited! She looks so tiny in her little uniform and what a big school bag! Lucky school is only a block away. Now the job of sewing name tags onto everything. East Ivanhoe Primary School - here we come ... next year!!

Homemade Gyoza Nights

Gyoza - a Steadfast Family Favourite

Japanese gyoza (pan-fried dumplings)
are a family favourite,

but I only make them every now and then.

They are especially loved by kids.
This weekend was the gyoza weekend.

Please note you don't really want to attempt

making gyoza after a full day at work.

Leave it for a day when you have plenty of time.
They are actually very easy to make.

I usually make them on a weekend afternoon

and make 2 batches. One is usually eaten that night,

the other batch I freeze for another night.

The Moriyoshi Gyoza Recipe

Ingredients

Gow Gee Wrappers (round type) x 2 packets
(from refrigerated noodle section of most major supermarkets)
500g pork mince
Garlic x 2 cloves
Fresh Ginger x 1 small knob
Cabbage x one-quarter
Shallots x 4 lengths or so
Salt & White Pepper

How to Make
1. Roughly chop the 1/4 cabbage into manageable chunks.
Cut shallots into 4 sections.
Peel garlic and ginger.

Put cabbage, shallots, garlic and ginger into food processor.
Process until cabbage is finely shredded.
(Please note this could all be done by hand if

you have the time and patience - unlike me)

2. Next put the pork mince into a large bowl and
add the shredded cabbage mix to the mince.

Season with salt and white pepper.
(I use a delicious pink salt from the Murray River).

3. Use your hands to mix the pork and
cabbage mix together.
When it is well mixed,
you are ready to start making the

dumplings.

4. Lay the wrappers out on a board or table.
Spoon about half a dessert spoon full

of mixture onto each wrapper.

Dip your finger into a bowl of water and wet the

edges of the wrappers.

Fold the bottom part of the wrapper over the mixture

and seal it to the top part of the wrapper.
This should create a semi-circle 'moon' shape.

5. Next, pinch the edges together to completely

seal the dumplings.

You may want to sit down to do this!

6. Cooking - if you have a good fry-pan, these are fine
in a fry-pan. If your fry-pan tends to make

food stick, dont attempt this in a fry-pan.

We use a small electric hot plate to cook ours.

Spray the cooking surface with some cooking spray.
Make sure the cooking surface is hot then lay the
gyoza bottom-side down on the surface.
Pour some water over the dumplings

and cover with a lid or foil to thoroughly

steam the meatinside the dumplings.

Once the meat inside looks cooked,

take the cover off and cook for a few more

minutes until the bottom of the gyoza are

nice and crispy, but not burnt!

7. Serve with a dipping sauce of Japanese vinegar,
soy sauce and sesame oil or chilli oil. Enjoy!

Picnic Days

As soon as the sun pokes its head out on the

weekends, we have been heading straight outside

for impromptu picnics.
As I waited for our turn to use the BBQ,

TM and Elise went looking for 'treasure',

although without a treasure map - much

to Elise's distress!

Tired after a long treasure hunt!

Oh and there was plenty of dancing as well!

I used to have this misconception that

picnics needed to be elaborate affairs,

with baskets stuffed full of homemade

goodies prepared well in advance.

But I have discovered the joy

 of a simple picnic basket that can be

thrown together in 5 minutes (well maybe 10!)

Add a ball and some outside

games enjoyed in the afternoon sun,

and I usually have one satisfied toddler

and two relaxed parents.

Fairies & Pixies & Magical Worlds

Elise is at that wonderful age where everything

is without doubt 'magical'.

Even the simple sheltered picnic area in the park that

we visited yesterday was quickly labelled a

'magical house'.

All of Elise's friends parties are either 'princess'

or 'fairy' themed and I find myself digging out

the fairy wings with increasing frequency.

And so it was that we found ourselves before

the facepainter at an event we attended

on the weekend requesting an image of

Tinkerbell be painted on Elise's cheek.

Poor Mr. Facepainter had apparently never had

to do a Tinkerbelle before, but

true to form, managed to produce a look-a-like.

Elise would have been delighted with anything that

even slightly resembled the good fairy,

so there were smiles all around when Mr. Facepainter

finished and advised us he 'liked a good challenge'!

When I think back to my own childhood days,

I remember believing in Santa Clause

and thinking that the Wizzard of Oz was a true story.

I remember dreaming up magical scenarios

in which magical and special things happened.

What a special age. And what a special reminder...

that we shouldn't forget to dream a little

and believe in magic.

Elise Runs Wild at the Melbourne Zoo!

After much pleading on the part of Elise,

we headed to the Melbourne Zoo last weekend.

It was Elise's first time to visit the Zoo

and I have to say she was at the perfect age for it.

Elise has been to every kid's annimal farm

 in Melbourne, but I had been waiting for her

to show an interest in going

to the zoo and am glad we waited.

Elise ran from exhibit to exhibit with a look of

pure joy and excitement on her face,

repeatedly asking "what's next?! what's next?!".

I have to say, her enthusiasm was charming.

After a great deal of walking, we managed to pursuade

elise to sit down for a rest

(... admittedly a bit of rainbow icypole bribery

did the trick!)

Elise's and my favourite exhibit - the giraffs

with their graceful long necks and Angelina Jolie lips.

Daylesford Get Away

I have always been a fan of Daylesford.

Mainly for the mineral springs spa center.

Last week it was the annual 'golden week'

holiday (1 week of consecutive public holidays)

in Japan, which meant, we were able to take a few

days off from work.

With Forest (our dog) and Elise in tow,

we headed to Chestnut Daylesford

(a boutique get away stay perfect for the 3+1 of us!)

The hostess, kindly allows dogs to stay inside the house.

And Elise slept on the generous sized leather couch.

The property had a very comfortable bed, kitchen and...

spa bath in the living room!

(It got a very good work out, trust me)

We were even allowed to pick the lovely tomatoes

from the vine in the garden.

The view from the garden was lovely.

Smokey chimneys, mountains and autumn foliage.

The two younger ones seemed considerably worn

out as we headed back home to Melbourne.

So did I! Somtimes I think you need a holiday

after a holiday...

A Humble Harvest

Today was such a lovely Autumn day that we decided to set out on a picnic/drive.
After one bbq sausage too many and a bit too much bouncing around playing soccer,
we headed home, much to the dissapointment of Elise who continued to ask why we
had to go home (a bit of an icy-pole bargaining did the trick in the end though).

On arrival home, I decided it was time to harvest some of our prized veggies that we
have finally managed to grow. Although a very humble harvest indeed, this is a big
improvement on our carrot harvest of a couple of years ago! (Refer to picture up the top!)
Our first attempt to grow lebanese eggplant, cucumber and capsicum was successful, so we are now looking forward to planting some things for the winter and reaping the delicious rewards.

A Cubby House for Tea Parties & Secret Gatherings

Last week, I decided it was time Elise discovered

the joys of the good old cubby house.

Tea parties have been held every day since

and a handmade wooden tea cup and saucer

set from a friend is her most prized possession.

Happy Easter!

Re-using/Recyling & Giving Back to the Flow of Life

When the fence that divides our abode from

our neighbor's was replaced over the summer

(much to my distress as our energic puppy & Elise

were not impressed at being confined to the verandah),

we decided to keep all the untreated timber for fire

wood for the winter.
As we lugged all the old timber that the

contractor threw onto our front lawn

(happy that he didnt have to take it to the tip)

down to the back of the house,

I wondered whether we had lost our minds,

just for a bit of free kindling.

When TM came up with the project idea

of converting some of the tired old timber pailings

into a deck to spruce up the old concrete area

at the front of our house, I was still

skeptical. It's hard to imagine old greying timber

that looks thirstier than our labrador,

turning into a decking area.
But here is the result of our modest effort.

Some nails and stain from the hardware
shop were the most it cost us.

And a few little gnomes to keep Elise happy!

Sometimes its nice to have things with character.

Not everything has to be brand new.

And it is the most pleasant feeling

when you can give back, rather than take

from the environment.

(We have also started composting all our

food scraps and we have managed to

significantly reduce our rubbish volume).

We also grow all our own salad leaves (rocket etc).

It's the easiest thing in the world,

1000 times tastier and we don't have to

buy expensive bags of mouldy salad from the

supermarket anymore.

First Fairy Party

Elise is attending Fairy Hills

Kindergarten this year to do her final year of kinder

before school starts next year.

Fairy Hills is a beautiful

kinder in East Ivanhoe that I'm so glad

we stumbled upon..

We set out to attend Elise's first

party of the season a few weekends ago.

Most of her little friends will be turning

5 this year.

Compared to some of the girls

who came fitted out in

professionally-made fairy atire,

our costume was a little

make-shift but had character none

the less.

Elise had a ball, but mum was badly

in need of a coffee hit given the 10:30am

saturday starting time.

Any ideas for Elise's 5 yr old party in December?
If you know me, you know I like a good

pre-planning!!

Another Year to Live!

When you live with a 4 year old,

having a hot spicy meal is a rare special treat.
And so TM's birthday dinner

the other day ended up featuring 

an array of steaming, spicy Indian dishes,

due to my lack of imagination

and love of curry and rotti.

(I was seriously ridiculed by TM when all I

ate in Singapore was Indian curry!)

I have to admit the usually reserved TM  loosens up

considerably when it's party time!

My attempt at a Japanese strawberry shortcake

(sponge cake with cream and strawberries)

was a success. But putting it in the fridge was

not a success as it was a little hard when we

ate it later that night.

I also realized I needed to soak the sponge in more

syrup (which prevents it from drying out).

Happy Birthday for 2012 TM.

May all your wishes for this year come true.

xo

REFRESHING SHOPPING EXPERIENCE AT LA MANNA DIRECT





La Manna Direct.
Photo: From La Manna Website

http://www.lamannadirect.com.au/index.php



On Saturday morning as TM slept like a baby,
Elise and I tip-toed out of the house on a girl's
mission to investigate a recently opened new-
concept supermarket near the airport. It's
called LA MANNA Direct and its located
in Essendon Fields,which was quite a trip for
us, but actually well worth the experience.

It was a massive supermarket but nothing like
the standard supermarkets. I liked the black
and green colour scheme straight away and the
groovy green trolleys. It was more like a market
that an a supermarket. As you enter the store,
it stretches for miles ahead of you, a bit like the
American Cosco chain, but much more
aesthetically pleasing and interesting.

(The only reason I joined Cosco was to get my

hands on the massive King Crab legs they sell there.)

Large signs adorning the walls divide the store
into large sections including a massive area for
cheeses, small goods, fish and meat, veggies,
pastries and cakes, bread and then standard
supermarket items. It was all the fresh produce
that was of most interest to me though, so after
sharing a croissant and having a coffee in their
cafe, Elise and I hit the aisles.

All of the fresh produce is grown and purchased
locally orfrom within Australia, so prices were
noticably cheaper for all these items. There was
also a really amazing selection of different meats
and poultry including rabbits and quail.

I found some chicken hearts that I knew TM would

love, so they made their way into our trolley too!
If we lived closer I would definately be a regular,
but we still invested in quite a bit of meat, poultry
and fish which we have frozen and can use as we need.

I stumbled across some black truffle oil, which
automatically fell into my hands.We splashed
some of it over our homemade pizzas that night.

As you may have gathered by now, I am in
love with citrus.So I was also happy to stumble
across this Dilmah blend of tea infused with
mandarin.

Given the distance, this new shopping phenomenon

won't be on my weekly list of things to do,

but it will definately stay there for the occassion trip

when I want to get away for a weekend morning.

La Manna Direct

10 English Street
Essendon Fields Vic 3041

http://www.lamannadirect.com.au

Out of the Sewing Box

First let it be known that I am very much
a beginner sewer.

I took my first sewing course 2 years ago

where we learnt the basics for making

a pair of pyjamas
(which by the way TM never wore!)

I guess the experience taught me the basics.

Although it should also be known

I have very little patience for the kind

of sometimes mind-numbing
attention required of sewing.

I am a quick results girl when it comes

to things like this.

Today I dragged the old sewing machine

out of its hiding place in my wardrobe

and made Elise a set of

miniature rice bags for throwing around.

I can't quite remember how I used

to play with them when I was

little, but I have a feeling

it was a little like 'knuckles'.

Our new family addition, Forest (a black labrador),

seems to have grown at an amazing rate since

last year, so my next project was to make a larger

and fluffier comfy cushion

for her bed.
Some old tracksuit pant material and

filling and a few dangerous-looking

seams later, I had proudly created what I

had started out to create.

(Something of a triumph given that

I broke a machine needle and had to

re-thread about 20 times in all).

After getting into the swing of things,

I thought it was about time

I bought back the old

lavender bag, and with that final creation,

my old sewing box resumed its place

in my wardrobe.

Until next time!

Cultivating Happiness - Sundays in the Garden

Sundays are a day for rest and quiet

(to the extent that a 4 year will allow..)

and aimless pottering around in the garden.

Today we planted mini eggplant, more cucumber

and Russian tomatoes.

But Elise and Forest were oblivious to these 

goings-on ...

Oh to be that small again!

Treasured Christmas Gifts

I am a big fan of all beautiful smelling products.

My favorite aromatherapy oil would have to be 'YUZU'.

Yuzu is a kind of Japanese citrus - a cross between a

lemon, lime and orange.

This Christmas, I was overwhelmed to discover

that TM had actually gone to the trouble of

walking into an airport shop to buy my xmas gift,

rather than doing his usual 'in-flight shopping' thing.

He really did well this year and his little gifts

are just the kind of thing I would have bought
for myself.

A trio of beautiful Jurlique handcreams.

(Lavendar, citrus and rose).

I am saving my favorite - citrus - for last.

Rose is divine. So subtle and gentle -

like rubbing rose petals into my hands.

The trio of hand creams have joined

my birthday gift received from a friend

last year - the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Gel.

I apply this in the mornings, before I settle

down to work.

The other gift was a pack of 4 Japanese soaps,

with lovely aromas, including

honey, aloe vera,
my beloved Yuzu and rice bran.

Here's to a sweet smelling year..!