Ah, woe is me, I again have lapsed into the land of being a bad blogger...but don't despair blogettes, I am back in Blogging!
So there is a lot to fill you in on, but I will start with what gave me the renewed intent to continue my blog - an article in the latest Marie Claire Magazine that illustrated how women have made MILLIONS of dollars around the world from writing their own online Blogs. I don't need millions, but you know, 500 thou wont be a bad deal...Anyway I digress.
So the last time I wrote a post I was still planning to have the 'Weekend in the Country' party on the 1st weekend in spring on my parents property in York. That was however supposed to have been over 1 month ago, and no, I have not had the party. There have been a couple of reasons for this. One is animals, two is grass and three is bunt tins. It would appear that bunt tins are out of fashion in Perth, and for weeks I couldn't find one anywhere, new, used, to buy or borrow. Luckily however, when shopping for baking supplies for a baby shower I baked for, I found a mini-bunt tin (as required to cook the marble cakes in the book) and despite the large price, added it to my collection (and it is a collection) of bakeware. The next day I went around to my mothers house and sitting in her shopping bag was not one but two different types of bunt tins and this was the phrase that accompanied my astonishment that she found one "oh you can get them everywhere..." Obviously not the everywhere I went.
The other two problems, grass and animals have been just as difficult and time consuming to solve, but I think I am well on the way to having them fixed. Ok - animals, I was having a lot of trouble finding a travelling farm to supply me with some animals to come to my party, but last week when I was at the Perth Royal Show, I meet a man whose travelling farm is based in York. All I have to do now is email him and find out his availability so I can set (in concrete) a date around when the guests of honour are available baa lambs, moo cows, horsie neigh neighs...
The last problem is grass. Because the first date I had set in September had to be postponed because it was the same weekend as Fathers Day, the party was re-scheduled, then re-scheduled and now here we are on the 10th of October and well into grass growing season in the country (it can grow taller than the average 6 year old). My Dad is required by council law to get it mowed before the start of summer, and bushfire season. Therefore as soon as the grass is mowed and the cows, pigs and sheep are gathered (not the ones we are easting, they will be cooked first ;-) ) The party will be all systems go!
Watch this space...
Now onto how a faulty GPS made me a very happy person. One day, while travelling to somewhere I had never been before I turned on the GPS, entered in the address and set off. I travelled in the direction that I was supposed to travel in and drove up and down, up and down the stretch of road that the GPS promised the shop I was looking for. After around 10mins going up and down a 200m stretch of Albany Hwy I decided that no, a large Bunnings Warehouse had not been swallowed by the Hungry Jack's in its supposed place, but that in fact I was the one in the wrong place. Just giving up and ready to make my umpteenth u-turn something caught the corner of my eye (music from heaven please) and there they were, two beauties just sitting there on the pavement, the colour, the shape, the look, they were exquisite. The most two beautiful peacock chairs sitting outside a Good Sammy's store. Well I think I may have broken a land speed record getting over there, but 10 minutes and $85 dollars later I had two more peacock chairs in the back of my car, making me the proud owner of 3 peacock chairs out of the 8 needed for my finale party. Yipee! p.s. I did get to Bunnings after calling my boyfriend while he was at work and he googled it and put on a GPS voice and directed me over the phone.
The only other thing I am seriously looking for now is a roof. Not any roof - a nice flat roof with a pretty city scape surrounding it in order to have another one of the parties I would like to host soon. So, keep your eyes peeled peeps!
Monday, 10 October 2011
Monday, 8 August 2011
Cows, Chickens and All Things Country.
Less than one month to go until party number 2, 'A Weekend in the Country' and I have a lot to do:
Finalise the guest list and complete the invitations,
Collect some more wicker picnic baskets,
Make a LARGE paper machie cow (unless anyone has a real one I can borrow...? Sheep....? Goat....? Pig...?)
Collect some children to come to the party, or maybe I could just invite them.
Purchase the CD's and vintage glassware, enamelware and china.
Buy a new cake stand to replace the one that I broke in the carpark of Big W after a long day at work.
Beg and Borrow wooden trays from family
And buy shares in a balloon company before I buy the required amount of balloons required for this party, which is probably enough to make a small child airborne.
HOWEVER;
I do have the tables and chairs needed, except the armchair,
I am very happy that Target and Big W has awesome girly gumboots that I hope people will purchase to get into the swing of the par-tay
AND, being a teacher, I have more than one blackboard.
In addition to this, I am really looking forward to cooking
- Blood orange, radicchio and frisee salad with orange blossom dressing
- Pork sausage buns with red plum relish
- Picnic bread with cheddar baby figs
- Macadamia and lemon fried chicken
- Roasted potato salad with preserved lemon and fresh herbs
- Iced chocolate cookies
- Marble cakes
- Jam tart with berries
- Fresh Lemonade with blackberries
Therefore I had best get everything else into order so I can get into baking! (and look up an anti-rain dance that works only on the 4th of September. I'm sure Wikkipedia with have one...
Finalise the guest list and complete the invitations,
Collect some more wicker picnic baskets,
Make a LARGE paper machie cow (unless anyone has a real one I can borrow...? Sheep....? Goat....? Pig...?)
Collect some children to come to the party, or maybe I could just invite them.
Purchase the CD's and vintage glassware, enamelware and china.
Buy a new cake stand to replace the one that I broke in the carpark of Big W after a long day at work.
Beg and Borrow wooden trays from family
And buy shares in a balloon company before I buy the required amount of balloons required for this party, which is probably enough to make a small child airborne.
HOWEVER;
I do have the tables and chairs needed, except the armchair,
I am very happy that Target and Big W has awesome girly gumboots that I hope people will purchase to get into the swing of the par-tay
AND, being a teacher, I have more than one blackboard.
In addition to this, I am really looking forward to cooking
- Blood orange, radicchio and frisee salad with orange blossom dressing
- Pork sausage buns with red plum relish
- Picnic bread with cheddar baby figs
- Macadamia and lemon fried chicken
- Roasted potato salad with preserved lemon and fresh herbs
- Iced chocolate cookies
- Marble cakes
- Jam tart with berries
- Fresh Lemonade with blackberries
Therefore I had best get everything else into order so I can get into baking! (and look up an anti-rain dance that works only on the 4th of September. I'm sure Wikkipedia with have one...
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Pass me that picnic rug please...
Gumboots. Cows. Cake. Armchairs. They all go together don't they? So as you may have guessed I have decided on my next party. The swans have flown away, the angel wings returned to the angels and the kitchen mess from the previous party is now a mere memory. During a recent trip down south I was inspired by the rolling hills of Bridgetown and the numerous cows, sheep and alpacas of the South West to host another of the parties in the book Food, Fashion Friends by Fleur Wood (see earlier posts for the link to her website and book). The party in the book is called 'A Weekend in the Country,' and, in the book, it was a birthday party for the Author's husband. However I don't have a husband, therefore I can't celebrate his birthday. I have a boyfriend, but his birthday is in March and I simply can't wait that long... So instead I am going to have a birthday party for Spring! Therefore the party (weather being co-operative) will be held the 1st weekend in September.
Although I was inspired by the South West to host this party, particularly Bridgetown, I will host the party on my parents country property in York, Western Australia, which is only roughly a one-hour drive east of Perth, rather than the 255km trip to Bridgetown. This will, I hope, make it easier for my invited guests to make a round day trip, or if they so desire, can stay overnight at my parents 5 bedroom country house (pleeeeeeeese mum and dad can I have the keys?) (note to self: secure venue) and also there is a FABULOUS location in Bridgetown for one of the other parties, so if your going to make your guests travel, why make them travel to the same place twice?
Anyhow back to gumboots. And vintage glassware and china...Looks like I have some shopping to do, I'll keep you posted!
Although I was inspired by the South West to host this party, particularly Bridgetown, I will host the party on my parents country property in York, Western Australia, which is only roughly a one-hour drive east of Perth, rather than the 255km trip to Bridgetown. This will, I hope, make it easier for my invited guests to make a round day trip, or if they so desire, can stay overnight at my parents 5 bedroom country house (pleeeeeeeese mum and dad can I have the keys?) (note to self: secure venue) and also there is a FABULOUS location in Bridgetown for one of the other parties, so if your going to make your guests travel, why make them travel to the same place twice?
Anyhow back to gumboots. And vintage glassware and china...Looks like I have some shopping to do, I'll keep you posted!
Monday, 11 July 2011
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
That's a Wrap!
Finally, as promised, a quick re-view of my first party - Cloud 9. Also are a few ;-) more pictures taken by MY official photographers... my awesome brother and his fabulous wife.
Overall I would have to say I am pretty damn proud of myself for the way this party turned out. My best successes are:
- Finding all the necessary decorations, serving ware and equipment. (It takes time, it took me at least 4 months, numerous hours on ebay, trawling second hand shops, asking friends to borrow things, and going to every swap meet, garage sale and flea market this side of Mars!)
- The pavlova for the Eton Mess and the dessert as a whole.
- Budgeting - I think I was quite creative in finding and using materials that were cost effective and re-usable.
On the flip side are the things I would improve upon if I was ever crazy enough to do the same party again:
- Setting up time. I allowed a whole day to do a quick clean of the house, decorate the lounge room, and cook the roast, apples and pumpkin. I had already cooked the truffles, dessert and mousse the day before. And when I say a full day, I mean a full day, I got up a little after six and my guests were not arriving until 7pm, so altogether, 13hours. However, as I mentioned in an earlier post, time still managed to get away from me and not all elements were completed. Very few of the stars got put on the wall, and the white painted clouds didn't get done. I would allow one day for the decorating and set-up alone, with 2 people.
- Cooking - I didn't do a dry run of the roasts first (as I was not sure who to feed all the pork to!) but in hindsight, I should have. It would have meant less smoke alarms going off, and not so starving guests.
So here are the final costs:
Plates: Average cost of a plate $1, number of plates - 20, total $20
Dessert bowls: Average cost $2, number of bowls - 20, total $40
Side plates: Average cost $1, number of plates 30 (extra for decorations) total $30
Swans: Total cost for 15ish swans $230
Gold candles: Number of candles, 9, total cost, $35
Serving plates and trays: Total cost $35
Gold Cutlery Set $150
Fabric for both sets of chair covers $150
Angel wings $120
Food: $200 (including $90 worth of meat)
Alcohol: $100
Invitations: $40
Carnations: $45
Cd's: $60
Stuffing: $60 (plus a lot more I had for free)
Black tablecloth satin: $35
Misc (blu tac, heart shaped tin, white napkins, star paper etc) $50
So, total cost of party? = Expensive!
But at the end of the day (or night as it was) it was most definitely worth it, I had a fabulous time researching, organizing, planning and hosting the party. I had a wonderful night with brilliant friends and family and I have my own happy memories to keep from that night. So now that the party is just a memory, my lounge room back to normal and my ebay account now idle, I find myself thinking...which one next? ;-)
Overall I would have to say I am pretty damn proud of myself for the way this party turned out. My best successes are:
- Finding all the necessary decorations, serving ware and equipment. (It takes time, it took me at least 4 months, numerous hours on ebay, trawling second hand shops, asking friends to borrow things, and going to every swap meet, garage sale and flea market this side of Mars!)
- The pavlova for the Eton Mess and the dessert as a whole.
- Budgeting - I think I was quite creative in finding and using materials that were cost effective and re-usable.
On the flip side are the things I would improve upon if I was ever crazy enough to do the same party again:
- Setting up time. I allowed a whole day to do a quick clean of the house, decorate the lounge room, and cook the roast, apples and pumpkin. I had already cooked the truffles, dessert and mousse the day before. And when I say a full day, I mean a full day, I got up a little after six and my guests were not arriving until 7pm, so altogether, 13hours. However, as I mentioned in an earlier post, time still managed to get away from me and not all elements were completed. Very few of the stars got put on the wall, and the white painted clouds didn't get done. I would allow one day for the decorating and set-up alone, with 2 people.
- Cooking - I didn't do a dry run of the roasts first (as I was not sure who to feed all the pork to!) but in hindsight, I should have. It would have meant less smoke alarms going off, and not so starving guests.
So here are the final costs:
Plates: Average cost of a plate $1, number of plates - 20, total $20
Dessert bowls: Average cost $2, number of bowls - 20, total $40
Side plates: Average cost $1, number of plates 30 (extra for decorations) total $30
Swans: Total cost for 15ish swans $230
Gold candles: Number of candles, 9, total cost, $35
Serving plates and trays: Total cost $35
Gold Cutlery Set $150
Fabric for both sets of chair covers $150
Angel wings $120
Food: $200 (including $90 worth of meat)
Alcohol: $100
Invitations: $40
Carnations: $45
Cd's: $60
Stuffing: $60 (plus a lot more I had for free)
Black tablecloth satin: $35
Misc (blu tac, heart shaped tin, white napkins, star paper etc) $50
So, total cost of party? = Expensive!
But at the end of the day (or night as it was) it was most definitely worth it, I had a fabulous time researching, organizing, planning and hosting the party. I had a wonderful night with brilliant friends and family and I have my own happy memories to keep from that night. So now that the party is just a memory, my lounge room back to normal and my ebay account now idle, I find myself thinking...which one next? ;-)
Friday, 24 June 2011
Party Time!
Ok, I think I have teased you all long enough, lets get to the actual party time! I think last time I left off my blog bearley 5 minutes before guests arrived and just ready....
Set Scene: Doorbell rings, moments of heart palpitations and light sweat from hostess....Compose one's self with a swig of Kir Royal and open door, cue smile.
All of Gavin's and my guests arrived quite quickly (except 2) and drinks of Kir Royal were quickly in hand, yes, I did share the alcohol....and we mingled around the very small entry area, as my lounge room had been converted into a floating style restaurant. I passed around the salmon mousse and croutons, unfortunately the croutons were not as toasted as I would have liked, and instead were more like stale bread rounds, oh well. People were however suitably impressed by the decor, if not calling me just a little crazy for 'pizazz' factor of the decorations and layout of the dining area.
It soon became apparent that unless we were about to start a game of sardines, that it would be better for all guests to be seated in the dining area, to give them more comfort. Once people were comfortably seated I went into the kitchen to check on how the entree was heating up. Almost done, I layed out the entree bowls, served another round of drinks, and as they would say on Masterchef, plated up. It took 2 people 3 trips to the kitchen to get all the bowls to the dining table, but yum! The entree was (I think) yummy. (I can say this because I just mearly copied a fabulous recipe in a book).
Conversation was thankfully flowing fine, so I set off back across the hall to check on main. Big problem number one. All dishes required did not fit in my oven as I had predicted. No matter, I solved the problem by placing one tray of pumpkin into a steamer and cooked one lot that one. Big problem number 2, more than 40mins later the pork was nowhere near done. No matter, just ply said guests with more alcohol. That done I went to check on the pork again. Still quite rare I put plan B into action. With Gavin's help we removed the 2 and a half racks from the oven, sliced them into cutlets and set about searing them in our two large frying pans. Problem number 3, the smoke alarms went off...twice. Thanks to my brother Justin who worked out how to hush them... By now I had worked up a minor panic, as guests had arrived at 7pm and has so far only eaten a small amount of salmon mousse and a small entree. And I had been giving out a lot of alcohol. Deciding between making my guests wait a little longer or give them food poisoning, I choose the first option and main was served a little before 9. Everyone loved the pork (Phew), and the brussle sprout and pancetta salad was yum. The pumpkin could have been cooked a little more evenly but overall I thought it was passable.
After dinner has settled a little while and conversation was still flowing nicely I went to finish plating up my favourite course for the evening, Eton Mess. mmmm Eton Mess. This was by far the easiest course to prepare and serve (except the chocolate truffles) but I am biased, I do love to cook and eat dessert and sweet things! Unfortunately once I had divided up all the desserts I realized that due to 2 bowls being broken in storage I realized I was 2 desserts short. Feeling my heart break just a little, I bravely faced up to the fact that I would have to sacrifice Gavin's and my desserts so all my guests would have one. But, to my fabulous surprise, Rav, one of my fabulous guests, informed me she could not eat egg. Shame, oh well dessert for me, her partner then announced he was not really a sweets fan and passed it bowl to Gavin. This course of the meal sounded like this. Nom Nom Nom Nom.
Next was coffee and chocolate truffles of which a person who shall remain nameless took two (Yes you Philip), and more wine, beer and Kir Royal. The evening began to wind to an end, and guests departed between 11pm and 2am. Gavin and I dragged ourselves to bed to face the cleanup in the morning...
Set Scene: Doorbell rings, moments of heart palpitations and light sweat from hostess....Compose one's self with a swig of Kir Royal and open door, cue smile.
All of Gavin's and my guests arrived quite quickly (except 2) and drinks of Kir Royal were quickly in hand, yes, I did share the alcohol....and we mingled around the very small entry area, as my lounge room had been converted into a floating style restaurant. I passed around the salmon mousse and croutons, unfortunately the croutons were not as toasted as I would have liked, and instead were more like stale bread rounds, oh well. People were however suitably impressed by the decor, if not calling me just a little crazy for 'pizazz' factor of the decorations and layout of the dining area.
It soon became apparent that unless we were about to start a game of sardines, that it would be better for all guests to be seated in the dining area, to give them more comfort. Once people were comfortably seated I went into the kitchen to check on how the entree was heating up. Almost done, I layed out the entree bowls, served another round of drinks, and as they would say on Masterchef, plated up. It took 2 people 3 trips to the kitchen to get all the bowls to the dining table, but yum! The entree was (I think) yummy. (I can say this because I just mearly copied a fabulous recipe in a book).
Conversation was thankfully flowing fine, so I set off back across the hall to check on main. Big problem number one. All dishes required did not fit in my oven as I had predicted. No matter, I solved the problem by placing one tray of pumpkin into a steamer and cooked one lot that one. Big problem number 2, more than 40mins later the pork was nowhere near done. No matter, just ply said guests with more alcohol. That done I went to check on the pork again. Still quite rare I put plan B into action. With Gavin's help we removed the 2 and a half racks from the oven, sliced them into cutlets and set about searing them in our two large frying pans. Problem number 3, the smoke alarms went off...twice. Thanks to my brother Justin who worked out how to hush them... By now I had worked up a minor panic, as guests had arrived at 7pm and has so far only eaten a small amount of salmon mousse and a small entree. And I had been giving out a lot of alcohol. Deciding between making my guests wait a little longer or give them food poisoning, I choose the first option and main was served a little before 9. Everyone loved the pork (Phew), and the brussle sprout and pancetta salad was yum. The pumpkin could have been cooked a little more evenly but overall I thought it was passable.
After dinner has settled a little while and conversation was still flowing nicely I went to finish plating up my favourite course for the evening, Eton Mess. mmmm Eton Mess. This was by far the easiest course to prepare and serve (except the chocolate truffles) but I am biased, I do love to cook and eat dessert and sweet things! Unfortunately once I had divided up all the desserts I realized that due to 2 bowls being broken in storage I realized I was 2 desserts short. Feeling my heart break just a little, I bravely faced up to the fact that I would have to sacrifice Gavin's and my desserts so all my guests would have one. But, to my fabulous surprise, Rav, one of my fabulous guests, informed me she could not eat egg. Shame, oh well dessert for me, her partner then announced he was not really a sweets fan and passed it bowl to Gavin. This course of the meal sounded like this. Nom Nom Nom Nom.
Next was coffee and chocolate truffles of which a person who shall remain nameless took two (Yes you Philip), and more wine, beer and Kir Royal. The evening began to wind to an end, and guests departed between 11pm and 2am. Gavin and I dragged ourselves to bed to face the cleanup in the morning...
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
T minus 12 hours
Imagine, its the night before the party. Due to the fact the chair covers took so long to make, I still have to buy all the groceries, make the chocolate minted truffles, cook the salmon mousse, collect 6 chairs from my brother and sister-in-laws and get some sleep. I was also supposed to attend the disco run by the P&C that night, but in my state of full party prep, I declined my invitation. Almost straight after school finished that afternoon I left school, drove to the shops, did the quickest grocery shop in the history of grocery shopping and worked on the chair covers. At 8pm I took a break to get the chairs, came home finished the chair covers and then cooked the salmon mousse, meringue and chocolate minted truffles. Not my best work, but it was edible. By this stage I dragged my body upstairs and fell into bed.
Ok its the morning of the party - 7am. I am lying wide awake in bed with sheer panic running through my veins:
List of things to do:
- Collect 4 chairs, a CD player, baking trays, 2 trestle tables and Pyrex dishes from my parents.
- by a gazillion carnations
- buy the bottle of creme de cassis for Kir Royal drinks (after calling about 20 bottle shops in Perth the only place I could find it was De Vine Cellars in Inglewood).
- collect meat from my wonderful local butchers (Wharf st Quality Meats)
- set up the lounge room including covering the walls with black paper.
- clear all the furniture out of the lounge room in order to make room for the party furniture
- Make the entree, main and whip the cream and make the raspberry sauce for dessert.
You know, just the usual Saturday ;-)
To cut a long and boring story short I did manage to get everything done, but only with the help of my wonderful friend Nancy who helped my wallpaper my lounge room walls, by best friend Lisa that helped dress the chairs, put the candles in the vases and is my number one cloud maker, and her fiance Russell and my boyfriend Gavin who covered my windows with black plastic, put the stars up on the walls arranged the flowers in the swan and whipped the cream. So with just 5 mins before guests arrived, I was ready.
Ok its the morning of the party - 7am. I am lying wide awake in bed with sheer panic running through my veins:
List of things to do:
- Collect 4 chairs, a CD player, baking trays, 2 trestle tables and Pyrex dishes from my parents.
- by a gazillion carnations
- buy the bottle of creme de cassis for Kir Royal drinks (after calling about 20 bottle shops in Perth the only place I could find it was De Vine Cellars in Inglewood).
- collect meat from my wonderful local butchers (Wharf st Quality Meats)
- set up the lounge room including covering the walls with black paper.
- clear all the furniture out of the lounge room in order to make room for the party furniture
- Make the entree, main and whip the cream and make the raspberry sauce for dessert.
You know, just the usual Saturday ;-)
To cut a long and boring story short I did manage to get everything done, but only with the help of my wonderful friend Nancy who helped my wallpaper my lounge room walls, by best friend Lisa that helped dress the chairs, put the candles in the vases and is my number one cloud maker, and her fiance Russell and my boyfriend Gavin who covered my windows with black plastic, put the stars up on the walls arranged the flowers in the swan and whipped the cream. So with just 5 mins before guests arrived, I was ready.
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