What the almost four year old and I got up to whilst the littlest one was sleeping (yes sleeping in the daytime!! Shhhhh don’t jinx me!)

We don’t really ‘do’ Halloween here in Australia (despite the retailers ramping it up this year, and the abundance of US children’s television). The mere mention of Halloween gets a very mixed reaction amongst adults…..so trick or treating is out of the question unless it’s secretly arranged with friends and neighbours. So we’re finding a middle ground and taking these to playgroup this afternoon. Eloise is itching to wear her witches hat. She has her cauldron, magic wand, sparkly shoes and fairy wings ready to go (she’s a good witch she tells me)!!

Have an awesome Halloween everyone (especially you Auntie Kelly!!!)

While Eloise was busy refusing to nap for the first time in weeks, I decided to do something I have been wanting to do forever…make Lemon Butter (Lemon Curd). I was inspired after reading this entry on Melissa’s lovely blog Tiny Happy. I used a mix of lemons and limes and it turned out to be pretty delicious for a first attempt! By the time I had finished I took a peek around the corner into the loungeroom and this is what I found…

Ha! There’s a first time for everything. Even the blanket is her own doing! I just KNEW she was tired!

Eloise and I made cookies this morning. She doesn’t get many foodie treats because of the dairy thing. I feared these gingerbread cookies may be a bit too spicy, but no, sure enough she comes toddling over and drags me into the kitchen asking for ‘more star peaaseee, more star’. (this also explains why only one star made its way into the photo above!)

Cooking doesn’t come naturally to me, actually I’m not very good at it at all. So when I had to improvise and use a wine bottle as a rolling pin I freaked out a little. I think I also overcooked them a bit….but hey…my little customer isn’t complaining….although she did call my gingerbread man a bear!

It’s been a very strange and unsettling week, and as a result I am feeling so behind in everything. Yesterday I felt the need to cheer us all up, so I decided to bake a cake! I was fully in ‘domestic goddess’ mode yesterday—not sure what was with that!

Miss Eloise has a dairy allergy so I have to do a bit of creative cooking (yes no cheese and no chocolate *gasp*!!). I have been finding many good cake and cookie recipes for those with special dietary needs on VegWeb. My first non-dairy cake attempt was her first birthday cake in December which I must admit was a deeeeelicious chocolate and raspberry cake topped with mauve coloured icing. Last night’s Pineapple and Carrot Cake has both fruit and veg in it, so it’s lulled us into believing it’s healthier.

Pineapple and Carrot Cake

1 1/2 cups wholemeal self raising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup finely grated carrot
3/4 cup pineapple pieces with juice
1 tspn cinnamon
1 tspn vanilla
3/4 cup apple sauce
2 eggs

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. Bake at 180 C for 30 minutes or until cooked through. NB: Would be perfect with cream cheese frosting, but I didn’t have the ingredients to do a dairy free version. Next time I might try and get rid of the sugar by upping the fruit…

OK, so to a true ‘coffee geek‘ this would be all wrong. But it’s just the way I like it including the addition of some extra indulgence (currently sipping ‘Swoon’). I admit, my ‘milk frothing’ abilities still need a little fine tuning and my coffee ‘art’ is a bit skewiff. But hey, give me a break and let me have my espresso fun!

It’s raining here and I am taking a little moment to ponder my next move. The whirlwind that is Eloise has a cold so has been particularly clingy (read: whingey) this morning, so while she has her nap I am just kicking back sneaking in some ‘me’ time.

As an aside, years ago I added some coffee cup rings to a project I was working on with a cafe/coffee theme, but the client thought it ‘devalued the product’ so I had to remove them. I am just not good at ‘clean’ and simple!! That’s the beauty of this little place…I can ‘devalue my product’ as much as I want!

Ahhhh!! The silence is broken! ‘Me time’ over…