A love of cook books

There's nothing quite like flicking through a pile of cook books while sipping your morning cuppa or a cheeky afternoon g and t. I've been pretty restrained lately and haven't bought many new ones at all but this week splashed out in the new Donna Hay. It's full of light and tasty meals perfect for summer. I was happy to find a heap of recipes using quinoa including quinoa sushi. Yum! 

I also spotted these gems in the bookshop shelves. Perhaps next month...

 

 

 

Auckland

Last week I got my first days off in a month so rather than hanging out at home doing housework like I should have,  I took a flight to Auckland to catch up with some family. 

First stop was mini golf as it's right by the airport.  It was my first time actually and so much fun. It appears I'm not a natural but all 3 of us managed the same score in the end -all winners or all losers depending on how you look at it.

Then it was across town to the zoo. It was easy to find with the combination of Google maps and GPS on my phone.

I hadn't been to the zoo there in 10 years. It's changed so much and I particularly loved the new New Zealand area. I saw my first antipodes island parakeet. It was also neat to see the elephant and hippos. We don't have those down our way. The orangutans were also particularly cute hiding from the sun under their sheets and vintage blankets.

After the zoo we decided to go out to west Auckland to find the house that starred  outrageous fortune. By then my phone was out of battery so no GPS to help us. We got there and took some snaps in front of it. Photos of that to come.

Then it was time to head way out east to spend the evening with family. Read: knitting time.

New habits

It was pay day today which is always nice, but even nicer when 4 stat days fall within one pay period! I splashed out a little on mince and bacon for empanadas and a nice bottle of central Otago pinot noir.

Yesterday I made the most of a sunny afternoon and walked up mt Victoria.

Next week I'll be joining the gym in the hopes of shedding a few kilos and looking after myself a little better. In 2012 I actually lost about 10kg purely by running around too much at work and eating sporadically. Not healthy at all. So 2013 heralds some better habits and fitting in exercise around my mad work lifestyle. The gym's open 24 hours so no excuses. 

Right, time for bed. I want to get up early for a walk, finish the empanadas and meet a cheese supplier at the farmer's market.

Happy weekend!

Knitting resolutions

Happy 2013!

 

My year started with a heck of a hangover and it's still a week until my next day off but nevertheless, it's time to think about my knitting goals for the next year, despite having zero time to pick up the needles right now.

 

So here goes:

 

• Make myself a sweater or cardigan. Perhaps this or this...
• Finish the other sock
• Make a lace something
• Make something awesome with the Manos del Uruguay in my stash
• Use the strawberry lemonade 4ply that's been sitting prettily in the knitting crate for over a year now.

 

Should be able to achieve that.

Spontaneous purchase of flights

I've just finished my 19th day of work in a row with 6 more to go this week at least. So I can be forgiven to feeling a little crazy (hearing The Hobbit play 3 times a day every day will do that to you - I know the music score by heart). In a moment of slight craziness this week I booked flights to Samoa for May next year. Now I have the thought of that to get me through the rest of a busy summer.

I'm looking foward to going back to Savai'i and especially Lano again. I haven't decided yet whether to hire a bike for the 2 weeks and circumnavigate Savai'i or to head to American Samoa for one week and the other week simply lazing on Lano beach.

This trip is a little bitter sweet right now due to thoughts of the damage done and lives lost in the recent cyclone over there. The last bit of news I heard mentioned that the water and power supply to Apia has been severely damaged. One of the reasons why I want to head back over is to spend my tourist dollars which is my way of helping the recovery. The other reasons are simply because the country is beautiful and the people couldn't be friendlier. There's got to be a reason I'm heading back for the 4th time in 3 years.

Cannot wait!

Late night baking. Again.

A second batch of chocolate cupcakes are in the oven as I write. It's just one of several things I need to bake before going to bed. I'm exhausted but with a trip to a farm park and bbq tomorrow,  then work all night there's not really much time left between now and when people come over for brunch on Christmas day to get things done.

I did splash out a bit tonight during a last minute late night dash to briscoes.  Somehow I left with a new crockpot,  tablecloth, bowls, serving dishes, champagne flutes,  sunnies etc etc. Whoops. My bank account will not thank me for it but I'm a sucker for things that match.

Busy baking

This past couple of weeks I have probably worked more hours than ever before in my life. It's hard to switch off at the end if the day when you live and breathe your job -also when your flatmate and most friends all work at the same place.

Although it's busy I'm having more fun than ever thanks to being constantly surrounded by an awesome team and being given some new (exciting but frightening) challenges and responsibilities.

Interestingly this surge in hours has coincided with me doing more baking than ever. It's my way of unwinding and I love sharing food with others. If it gives them a moment of joy during their busy day then the job's done. So now I finished for today at a reasonable hour (home before midnight) i'm going to crank up coldplay and bake something for tomorrow. The only question now is, what to make.. I sacrificed the vege market this morning in favour of a full 6 hours sleep so the fridge is a little bare....

Banana loaf won out in the end