Frothy Skirts and Old Time Flirts....



Love stories are my best, call me a romantic or all those squishy names but I love nothing better than a good old love story.....I think all this romantic dreaming began with reading  too many Mills and Boons books as a teenager.. and has progressed from there, Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing, The Notebook, August Rush, About Time are all movies that I watch over and over..... My favourite and ultimate love story must however be..... Romeo and Juliet! Yes!  I have waded my way through the book and I have see every version of this tragic yet beautiful love story... The Latest version with  Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth is wonderful!

 

However in 1968, Franco Zeffirelli made the BEST version...starring Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this beautiful film... it is time less, it is riveting and it is above all else how LOVE should be! 

 

Now before I lose you all in a flurry of tears (if you are a romantic like me...) or a flurry of yawns..... I was recently asked to make 6 flower girl skirts for a friends beautiful little girls, who were to be flowers girl at a family wedding, ever the romantic... I of course said yes. We duly went to buy fabric and I was told the bride would be joining us! Great, I would meet her and ask her about her romantic story, then be swept away in the romance of it all!  

  

Cutting and Making

 

Imagine my utter delight and surprise when a lovely older lady walked into the fabric shop and I was introduced to the bride! Maria is a beautiful and eloquent lady, she is 70 years old and is marrying my friends father- in-law,  they are getting married after being together for 10 years.... When I asked her why after all this time, she simply replied I LOVE HIM! Be still my beating heart! Who says romance is dead!

Circles..... And More Circles!

And so onto the making of the skirts, the wedding wasn't going to be a big and fussy affair, but a beautiful family filled day! Maria was including all her future husbands  grand daughters - 6 little angels ranging from 1 - 7, once again be still my beating heart....Can imagine 6 little angels all in frothy little white skirts!!!

So here is how I did it! I simply cut out circles.... loads and loads of circles...
Each skirt needs -
1 lining circle
1 tulle circle
1  top circle (the heart tulle)- - do you remember how to cut out circles??  - if not look HERE
1 waist band from Lycra ( measure the child's waist and take off 3cm to make it tight)
2 m of thick satin ribbon per child

1. Cut out and sew the 3 circles together
2. Sew the end together so you have a circle then double the Lycra and zigzag it closed
3. Place the Waist band on the outside of the skirt and pin it to the circles - Stretch the lycra as you go
4. Sew the waist band to the skirt - I over locked them together
5. Thread the ribbon through the waist band. I never made any fancy opening for the threading through, I just made a small slit in the back of the band.( Lycra doesn't fray so it works perfectly!)  I then sewed the ends of the ribbon - to stop the ribbon ends fraying.
6. Roll hem the bottom with gut to give it a bit of kick ( I used 100 meters of gut)

DONE!

Frothy, Frilly, Twirly Bouncy Skirts

The skirts are beautiful and they are frothy(which I think I have mentioned about 40 times) and twirly and bouncy and frilly and  so sweet! I have asked my friend to please send me a picture of all of these little girls in their frothy skirts! I wish I could be there to see them and their antics as they walk up the aisle..... Can you imagine .... 

Waiting For Pick Up

 

Now please bear with me as I tell you another love sorry - it is a story of love that started in the trenches of  El Alamein in Egypt and lasted 55 years.....

 

My Grandfather Harry fought in World War 2, he meet a man named Jack Shultz who was fighting along side him, Jack saw my Aunt Edith's(Harry's sister) picture and asked if he could write to her.... They corresponded for 3 years while the war raged on, Jack and Harry were transferred to Italy and then France and still the letters flew back and forth! The Allies won and the war was over... Jack arrived back in Johannesburg, it was a Tuesday, he met Edith on the Wednesday, he asked her to marry him on the Thursday, they were married in court on the Friday.... They lived happily together for 55 years, spending a mere 6 days apart in all that time!  Uncle Jackie passed away having loved and cherished my beautiful Aunty Eddie for all that time...She was heart broken and passed away a few years later always maintain that he was the best thing that ever happen to her! She called him the LOVE of her life.....

 

You couldn't make up a love story like that  - now could you? xxx 

 

Jack and Edith Schultz

  

HomeTown Memories....

People always say that a Fragrance is an instant memory! The slightest whiff of something, be it baking, flowers, the smell on the tarmac at an airport, baby powder or the smell of a fragrance can instantly transport you back to a place you love, your granny's pancakes, your mothers arms, a favourite aunt, a special place.....or holding your child close while she sleeps......

 

Recently I had the chance to go to a place I loved, my home town, Pretoria! I have not been home for a while,(my family choosing to come and visit me - you know-fishing village, sea, sun and surf!) My mother had moved away a few years back, but my father and darling step mom still live there. It was said Lovely-Step-Moms birthday and Cin had organised a surprise gathering of the brothers, sisters and grandchildren... It was a lovely and very thought provoking trip..... 

   

Bindy and Patch!

Cin and I took Little Madame to the Zoo on Saturday morning and all the familiar sights and places  made me feel like I had never left, so for those of you who help with those happy and wonderful memories.... this post is for you.... 

  

*The Voortrekker Monument (in the distance)
*Unisa (a huge university)
*Church Street
*Pretoria Central Prison
*The National Printing
*The NG Kerk in town!

The places mentioned above are old and seeped in history! Pretoria or Tshwane as it is now known is a beautiful city, I had forgot just how beautiful it is! The Jacaranda trees line almost every street and when they are in bloom it is a profusion of  beautiful purple hues.....almost like a purple snow fall

*The Cuthbert building - My first full time job!
*Broekie Lace veranda's on  buildings
*A sign pointing toward my home suburb - Lyttelton!
*Burgers park
*The apartment building were my Grandparents Harry and Granny Sheila lived!

Pretoria ZOO

I have been to many Zoo's around the world, Pretoria Zoo must be one of the best I have ever seen! I began going there as a little girl and continued going through out my childhood, and teenage years!  It was revamped a few years back and this was my first visit in many, many,  mannnny years!  The enclosures(not cages) are huge, you really get the sense of space and nature! There are no concrete or iron bars to be seen!



Cin And Little Madame Being Flamingo's

The Beautiful Fountain above has been there since I was a very little girl, I can clearly remember, standing transfixed for what seemed like hours watching the water run from it! It is very old, 107 years old to be precise and was a gift to the Pretoria Zoo by a gentleman named Samuel Marks! It seems it will always be there.....

 

A Big Ole Brown Bear!

Beautiful New Enclosures

Old and Familiar Cages



 

I had to add this picture, here is sunny ole SA we speak a few different languages one of them is Afrikaans (a throw back to our Dutch fore fathers...) Now some of the words still make me laugh, the direct translation are often really funny and this must be my all time Favourite.... as you can see it is a sign for Candyfloss - however the Afrikaans translation says anything but candyfloss, but is a very apt translation.... Spookasem is literally - GHOST BREATH!!!!! Now isn't that lovely?....It cracks me up every time I hear it!  

  

Presenting my Home Town...

The Main City... Pretoria

And to the Left The Union Buildings!

We could have spent the whole day there, riding the cable car, picnicking, eating ice creams  and lying on the warm grass watching clouds go by.... However soon it was time to head back home to take Nana out to her surprise birthday lunch, as we were driving out of the main city I had a thought......It seems funny to me, no matter how much one grows up, how much of a grown woman you think  are, if you have a husband and a child of your own.... a home of your own...... Going back to the place where you were born and raised always bring you back to your roots, grounds you and makes you remember the people and places that have helped shaped you. Going home is like falling into a big old comfortable cushion.. It just feels right....xxx



Daddy And His Beloved dogs!

PS: For those of you wondering why I didn't include a picture of our beloved Jacqueline's, I honestly could not  get a good picture of the arcade it is in.... SORRY - however I will never forget that part of Pretoria!!! NEVER EVER!!



 

Mad Scientist Stuff.....

It all about experiments in our house right now, like mad scientist experiments.... Little Madame likes nothing better than mixing and brewing! She loves it! I have no idea where she gets it( I am certainly no scientist - as my poor science teacher would have told you! )

I often put Little Madame in the bath with lots of little bowls full of "science" stuff (flour, sugar, food colouring, bath salts, Eno's, Baking soda..... well you get the picture) She spends hours and hours being a 'Mad Scientist' , its in the bath so no mess, no fuss!  We go to the Science Centre often..... She works things out, I hook - that is as scientific as I get!  

So today's very quick post is  simply this - GLOOP! Made with three ingredients and no effort at all - Here goes..... The quickest post ever.....

 

Gloop!

Corn Flour - 3 tablespoons

Water

Food Colouring( in our case PURPLE)

A bowl

A Spoon

A bit of Glitter(of course - no self respecting scientist would be with out glitter!)

Three Things

Put the corn flour into said bowl! Add the food colouring, and add the water a bit at a time, suddenly it will be hard to mix! Boom! You have the right consistency. Now scoop it up and put it into eager little hands!

Corn Flour

Food Colouring and Water

Mix!

Feels Hard - You Good To Go...

It is hard at first and then starts to run, so do it over a bowl! I was playing with it after a while too! It is such fun!

That's it! Did I mention it is so easy to clean up too, it just washes away! Good for me too!

Runny

Funny!

Gloop!

Hard!

Soft!

Lots Of Fun!

Please forgive me for this not being the most creative post, but I really wanted to share this fun activity with you. Now, if you want to be  'The best mom ever!'  Little Madame's words not mine! give it a go!  

 

Just thought of the other fun sciency  thing we often do.... Vinegar and Bi Carbonate Soda in a pill bottle with a flip lid - explodes like a rocket ship. Add the about 2 tablespoon of vinegar to a quarter of a teaspoon of Bi Carb, closed the lid, leave it for a few seconds and BOOM rocket ship! Oooh maybe I am a Mad Science Mom after all!  xxx 

 

PS: I am almost finished with a big Hooky Ta Dah! Watch this space

 

Baaaanananaaaaa!

I LOVE banana's, I can eat them by the bunch full. I am a regular monkey, uh lets make that  a gorilla! Besides mango's they are my favourite and best fruit! However..... I often buy them and never can eat them fast enough! Call me weird, but  I cannot eat a banana that has a slight blemish on it when peeled! The mere sight of a brown mushy spot makes me get all funny inside! Like seriously vomitty! I kid you not! Hence there always seem to be 3 or 4 mangy minging banana's in my kitchen.

 

See What I Mean?



There really is only so much Banana Bread and Banana Ice Cream one can make! And to be honest I could make and eat more but I also think I am a bit bored with my recipe(even though it is Yummeeeeee!) I had thrown these 3 sad and tried looking banana's in the fridge a few days ago.... I was determined to find something useful to do with them... For 3 days I watched them look more and more pathetic! Really, they looked Disgusting! When I looked at them today I decided enough was certainly enough! I popped on to the World Wide Web - trawled and took pot luck- and Boy-Oh-Boy, did I find a winning recipe!

This recipe had all my favourite ingredients in the title so it was my instant choice! I mean when you type Healthy Banana Muffins into your search engine........ a trillion recipes come up - The one that caught my eye said Skinny  Peanut Butter and Banana  Muffins - Bingo!!!  And on the plus side - you could add my other favourite thing CHOCOLATE!!!!!(Don't know how Skinny that makes them but really - who cares ?)

 

That Looks Better!

I am not going to bore you with the precise making- suffice to say I threw everything in and baked, I also changed a few things here and there but nothing major! I will give you the recipe and tell you what I did in red and  brackets.... You all know me MRS EASY!

 

Chocolate..... Heavenly Chocolate!

Yummy Looking Batter!

Skinny Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins

• 2 ripe large bananas, mashed with no chunks - I used 3 Banana's
• 1/4 cup honey (or pure maple syrup)- I used half Honey ,half Maple Syrup(didn't have enough of either)
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup 0% Plain Chobani Greek Yogurt   - I used plain  old yogurt
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or cow's milk, soy milk, rice milk) - What ever... I used 2% low fat
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (non-oily natural style is OK) - I used normal peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 and 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour (or an even mix of whole wheat + all-purpose) - Used White Flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder - I left out the Baking Soda and used 2 tsp of Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips - I used 100g of milk chocolate- which was perfect!
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, melted

Directions -

Preheat oven to 425F(225 degrees Celsius) degrees. Spray 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the mashed bananas, honey, brown sugar, yogurt, egg, and milk together until combined.  Whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla extract until smooth and thick. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips together (if using).  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and lightly whisk until combined.  Try not to over stir the muffin batter or your muffins will have a tough (not soft) texture. Stir as little as possible until no flour pockets remain. - I put the Dry ingredients straight into the Wet bowl( why wash 2 bowls!)

 

Fill the muffin cups practically all the way to the top. Between 3/4 full and all the way full.  Bake for 5 minutes at 425F (225degrees Celsius)degrees. Keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350F(180 degrees Celsius) and continue to bake for 12 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. - I baked mine for about 17 minutes  Drizzle muffins with melted peanut butter if desired. - I  left out this step as I felt it might be too Peanutty!

Muffins stay fresh at room temperature for 3 days. Muffins without peanut butter on top freeze well, up to 3 months.

Oh! One last thing on these muffins - I used muffin cases but won't do this again, they stuck to the cases and there is NOTHING more frustrating than trying to get half your muffin out of a fiddly bit of paper!!

Pre Baking



Baked!

Moist And Delish!

They smelt gorgeous, a combination of peanut and banana wafted through the house! They rose beautifully they looked delicious and when APPLIED TO MOUTH ....... SUBLIME! The combination of peanut butter, banana's and chocolate is mouth watering! I initially thought that I should add more Chocolate however the amount I put in was just  perfect. I will try them with Dark Chocolate next time I make them....  Will I make them again ?  The recipe  has been printed out and stuck into my cook book already! So I think that is a resounding YES!  And as for  Ripe banana's they might not be so bad after all!  xxx

 

PS: I was just looking at the recipe and realised that they really are very skinny and really healthy!(Weeeellll, if you don't add the chocolate!) No butter and only a quarter of a cup of brown sugar! So NO extra fat and very little sugar!

Muffin Number 2 being Applied To Mouth!