mimi-creates

making stuff

2012-01-30T13:26:00.000+01:00

It's always fun to make cards, in this one I stuck one of my crochet flowers onto the painted pressie. It gives it a nice 3D effect. Plus I have so many of those flowers I am always trying to find good uses for them.

Gran's ginger biscuits

2012-01-19T09:50:00.001+01:00

Hi dear favourite eldest nephew Jon. (lovely email from Jon's Aunty Liz)

Sorry I don't actually have Granny's original recipe but this one is as near as you'll get - from my ancient Dairy Cookery Book - which I had for a wedding present in 1968!!

1/2 lb Plain Flour
1 1/2 level teasp ground ginger
1/2 level teasp mixed spice
1 teasp bicarbonate of soda
2 1/2 oz butter
3 oz soft brown sugar
3 oz golden syrup
1 tablesp warm water

Method:
Put butter, sugar and syrup into pan. Stand over low heat until melted.
Sift flour, spice and ginger into bowl.
Add melted butter mixture & bicarb combined with water.
Mix well & shape into approx 24 small balls. (do you remember rolling them in your hands?)
Place on buttered baking trays (or these days a sheet of baking paper which wasn't invented in 1968!) leaving them room to spread. (I think Granny used to slightly depress them with a fork - or maybe that was when they were cooked)
Bake in moderate oven (Gas mark 3) for 15 minutes.
Leave on trays for a couple of minutes before transferring to cooking rack.

Let me know how they turn out.....

Auntie Liz they turned out delicious!!! Here is proof in the pictures.

Jon admiring his handy work! We probably ate them all in two days, so of course we had to make another batch.

Flipping out!

2012-01-17T17:35:00.000+01:00

This past summer when my sister and brother came to Malta we had a really awesome time playing tourist. We did all sorts of sightseeing, and cruising around Malta. This picture was taken on an unbelievably hot day, we spent most of it in the water, and the rest of it eating gelato! I am longing for those warmer days, it's been freezing in our apartment lately.

My brother had a very interesting way of getting into that amazing turquoise water, he is such a little thrill seeker. I merged 5 different pictures together to get this look. I wish I had taken one of him standing on the little doc... Next time! This was in Xlendi bay on the island of Gozo

Isn't he kinda silly, I call him my little "big" brother, since for some reason he turned out 6 feet tall I'm 5'3!

Amazing water!


Extra points if you can spot the toes!

Minnis Bay walk

2012-01-09T16:09:00.000+01:00

I was so excited to be going back to the UK for two weeks over Christmas, and New Years. It meant getting to look at a few houses (we are looking for a place to buy, and call home) but the best part was getting to spend time with Jon's family.

We spent about a week down in Kent with Jon's parents, and Jon's brother and family came down for a few days after Christmas. It was a really relaxed time together, on one of the days we went for a walk in Minnis Bay. I brought along my camera....
The kids loved exploring the seashore, the dogs ran around like they were puppies again. The adults were chatting and catching up.
The sun was shining and the tide was coming in. It was a perfect way to spend the day together as a family.
How was your Holiday season, I hope it was relaxed and enjoyable.

Headshots

2012-01-08T12:07:00.000+01:00

I had the pleasure of taking a few shots of Katinka in December. Jon got to know her on Sinbad, she had a small part in it and then she worked with the script supervisor. She recently moved to the UK to break into the English acting scene. I'm looking forward to seeing her name in lights someday!
Check out her reel, shes a very talented actor!

La Bella Sicilia

2011-12-08T12:47:00.001+01:00

Jon and I spent the long weekend after Thanksgiving in Sicily... I'm putting together a long blog post on it but in the mean time I thought I would stick up a little teaser!!! I always used to dream about living in a villa in Italy, Sicily reinforced this dream. The light, the colors, the coffee, the fresh fruit and veg, my oh my. After we got off the early morning ferry from Malta, Jon and I went looking for some coffee... We found a town center and ordered two cappuccinos, I kept wondering what was taking the lady so long. When they arrived I quickly realized why it had taken her forever. She wrote welcome to Sicily on one of them!!! I was blown away by her gesture, plus they were super delish.

Sicilia part I Siracusa

2011-12-07T13:11:00.001+01:00

Jon and I stayed our first night in Sicily at the lovely rustic Villa dei Papiri, a short drive from Siracusa (Syracuse) As you can see from the pictures the place is covered in groves, of lemon, orange and olives. Nearby is a wetlands nature reserve full of papyrus, which is where the villa got it's name. It's a perfect spot for a rustic Italian destination wedding, or a fun family get together. I think we were the only people there than night. I think both Jon and I were just so overwhelmed with how different the landscape of Malta and Sicily are. Even though they are only a 90 min ferry from each other, Sicily is just so big and has so much agriculture. They had just had a bunch of rain and everything was so green and fresh looking. Oh Sicily I think I'm in love!

Thankful

2011-11-28T13:22:00.001+01:00

I have so many things to be thankful for. Last week was Thanksgiving, and I felt a bit bummed that I was so far away from family and friends and unable to celebrate with others. I was feeling sorry for myself and complaining a bit to my lovely husband. He was so understanding, and just plain awesome. We decided to spend the long weekend in Sicily, as a little treat, and to do something fun since we couldn't be with family and friends this year. I am soooo glad we went! (Pics will be coming soon.) It made me realize that I really do have SO much to be thankful for. The picture above is just a little pretty with many things I love and am so thankful for, beautiful flowers, stunning colors, great cook books, my super awesome cozy red and white stripey scarf from H&M in the background.... I could go on and on.
What are you thankful for?

Lovely Gozo

2011-11-16T14:18:00.001+01:00

The Cornucopia Hotel never looked so good! That's where Jon and I have stayed a few times. Sweet and unfussy

The Grand Hotel in Gozo has a grand view as well. Jon's Aunt and Uncle stayed here a bit grander than ours.

The Azure window in Gozo is truly a spectacular sight.

Ta' Mena part deu

2011-11-16T10:20:00.001+01:00

I was trying to get the baby goat to come a bit closer so I could pet it, I used a bit of bribery in the form of cactus leaves.

We took my husbands Aunt and Uncle to Ta'Mena Estate when we were visiting Gozo a few weeks ago. I was so pleased that we finally got a chance to see the baby goats and explore a bit more. We went up to see all the crazy farm animals of course the dogs led the way. We even ran into Grandpa picking olives, he is in his 80's and still working hard, amazing!!! We couldn't leave with out buying a fab bottle of wine, and their delicious sun dried tomato paste which is to die for it's so yummy!!! I think we are addicted to it. Not sure what we are going to do when we leave Malta!

That is one thing I have really been enjoying since living in Malta all of the incredible fresh produce. I've been cooking a lot of Mediterranean inspired dishes, last night I made a tasty Sicilian fish stew. I can't get enough of the tomatoes and olive oil, it's been such a treat. I do have to be careful not to go crazy with the pasta, because everyone knows what happens when you eat too much pasta!!! Not a pretty sight. I have found a tasty gluten free alternative which is pretty similar to the original thing.

Birthday adventures in Beaune

2011-11-07T08:28:00.000+01:00

Le belle fille on her birthday..... riding the town carousel, all us girls got on for a spin.

Falls beauty

2011-10-31T07:37:00.004+01:00

A few weeks ago I went on a 10 day trip to Switzerland and France (with out my husband, he stayed home and went to work, poor guy). It was the first time I had spent any time in France. We stayed in a little town called Beaune in Burgundy. I went for a friends birthday celebration, the food, wine, and company was top notch. Fall was beginning to stretch her legs, I was able to capture some of it's gorgeousness with my camera, I love the turning of seasons.

Stumbled upon these little fungi on my way to play tennis with a friend in Switzerland, it was like a magical world at my feet with three or four different kind of mushrooms all growing in one small area of trees.

Stunning fall colors were beginning to show.

Down the street from the Emersons house...

Baby "puka" blanket

2011-10-21T11:26:00.001+02:00

Thanks to the encouragement of my awesome sister in law, I learned how to crochet. It all started Down Under with a bamboo hook and a few pieces of turquoise yarn. A few months, many crochet flowers, and YouTube tutorials later I am proud to say I completed my first baby blanket. I started at the beginning of summer but had to stop for a few months because it was just SO hot in Malta. Sitting crocheting with a wooly blanket on my lap was not at all practical, but now that the weather has cooled off a bit I am back to crocheting. In Hawaii these are also known as "Puka blankets" a "puka" means hole in Hawaiian. I learned this chevron pattern from this video. This guy Mikey does a bunch of awesome crochet tutorials I think there are 3 or 4 in this jagged chevron series. My plan is to make a few of these, hopefully I will get better with each one!

Random favorites

2011-10-16T22:59:00.000+02:00

This is a collection of a few of my favorite photos from the past year that never found their way onto the blog, there seems to be a bit of a color theme running through them as well. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Gorgeous apples just ripening.


Self timer on our honeymoon at Ashford Castle Ireland, Love the happy relaxed looks on our faces.

Yummy coffee in Flinders Australia. Love the old skool formica table.

Jon throwing the ball on Killiney Hill.

A rock climber with a view of Dublin in the background, in the radiant evening sun.

St Stevens Green in Dublin Ireland, on a gorgeous fall day with my trusty assistant Chelsea!


Sailing on Loch Lochindorb in the Cairngorm National Park, Scotland, that's a mouthful!

Jon, enjoying a glass of wine and the view from Table Mountain of the 12 apostles and Camps Bay, after a good hike.

Reminiscing

2011-10-14T11:23:00.001+02:00

This is an oldie but a goodie, I took this photo during my photography school back in 2000. It was taken in my parents swimming pool and my model was a friend, I think the rose is from my garden as well. It was taken on a Rolleiflex medium format on negative film, I processed it and printed it. I remember being really pleased about the way the entire roll came out. Which wasn't always the case. There is a bit of the mystery of film that I miss these days. My brother recently picked up a film camera and started taking pictures, I will have to get him to do a guest post someday!

Visit to Meridiana Vineyard

2011-09-29T09:11:00.000+02:00

As some of you may know JB and I are always on the search for good wine... About two months ago we got an email from a friend wanting to introduce us to an acquaintance of his who just happened to own a vineyard in Malta. We were intrigued so we got in touch and planned a visit to Meridiana Wine Estate . We met with the owner, Mark, who personally hosted us with a tour and tasting. We were also able to sit down and have a chat with him during out tasting. We got to know the story of Meridiana and how it all came to be. Jon was like a reporter he was asking so many questions, I should have been taking notes! Wine making fascinates him.

We tried two of their wines, a delicious crisp chardonnay called Isis, (it's a great way to beat the Maltese heat) and Bel, their Syrah, which is rich and full bodied, Jon's favorite!

We had such a lovely visit, and we have been working our way through all of the wines that Meridiana Wine Estate produces. I say get your hands on some if you can!

The amazingly Blue Grotto

2011-09-21T14:35:00.001+02:00

The Blue Grotto on Malta is pretty spectacular, we ended up there a few months ago when my brother and sister were visiting. We paid our 7 euros and hopped in a boat, the seas were a bit choppy and I was a little hesitant because I had brought along my big camera, I kept seeing visions of myself trying to swim while keeping my camera out of the water... but, I am so glad that I brought it along! Our awesome guide took us through a few caves and then in one of the last ones he said, "Okay, now you swim!" We were so surprised to be allowed to jump into the water. My brother went first, he brought his new dive mask which was great because we all got a turn. You can see from the pics below that it was intensely turquoise and super clear the visibility was probably 30 meters. The actual "Blue Grotto is tiny and when you put your hand into the water it looks like someone turned on a neon blue light, it's that bright. I would have to say the highlight was our really cool boat captain and getting to jump into the water in the cave.

Trying out the new Dive mask, and my sisters feet as she jumped into the water.

Triq is Sirena

2011-09-15T09:35:00.001+02:00

These two pretty spots are both located at the end of my street. How charming are those red shutters!!! It's pretty rare to find such wild plants in front of a house in Malta. Plants are kind of limited, since there isn't much water. I have some on my lanai (balcony) but they take lots of attention and regular watering. So worth it though, especially when you can make your own pesto from home grown Basil!

Gelato

2011-09-12T08:55:00.001+02:00

I could eat Gelato every day! In Malta when it's really hot it's all I want! When my bro and sis were visiting I had a regular excuse to indulge. Some of my favorite flavors are Baci, which is dark chocolate with hazelnuts! Also lemon and yogurt together makes a sort of tangy creamy mix that is SO good. What's your favorite flavor?

Regatta in our town!

2011-09-10T10:51:00.003+02:00

Local fans supporting their team with flags and by wearing their colors!

Andy can't believe his luck, he planned his holiday right during Regatta and "Festa"!!! Well done Andy!

Everyone watching and hoping their team has won!

Teams were often neck and neck with each other, it was hard to tell who had won.

L-Isla is out in front! They ended up winning the entire Regatta 22 years they have won!!! Yay L-Isla, I'm very proud of my adopted town!


Tom wanted me to let everyone know that he would NEVER harm the environment by throwing his Cisk can's in the water. It's more of a Maltese thing, unfortunately :(

Houte Bay

2011-09-01T09:51:00.000+02:00

Your beauty is breathtaking! I think these were taken Christmas Day, at Chapmans Peak Drive on our way down to the Cape of Good Hope. Too bad the water is SO cold because it look so deceptively inviting! We didn't go in the ocean once during our 4 month stay in Cape Town. How cute it my husband standing there enjoying the view!

Ahhhh Scotland

2011-08-29T09:58:00.001+02:00

My parents in law and their doggies enjoying the views of the river Spey.

this is for all you "Outlander" fans! It was really eerie to be at the actual spot of the battle.

There were new lambs every where spring time was in effect in Scotland, and I couldn't resist a picture of this hilarious beer!

This is an original hut on the grounds of the Culloden battle field.

We had a lovely lunch at this hotel, the Scottish salmon is SO fab.

I looked for Nessie at Loch Ness... but didn't see her!!!

Driving through a town there just happened to be a Scottish Piper walking down the street, I asked if we could turn around so I could get a snap of him (I'm such a tourist!)....Rooting around outside our window one morning was this pretty lady peacock, Scotland was full of surprises for me!

Ta' Mena Vineyard visit

2011-08-24T16:28:00.002+02:00

This is Joe, he is the one we were looking for. We had a lovely time asking him about how he got into making wine, ask him if you ever go to Ta' Mena.

This is George, he thinks he is a person.

One of the crazy farm dogs, he kept licking the grapes.

They are very proud of all of the products they make, but special pride is taken in this hand made Strawberry Jam.

When my brother and sister were here last month, we took a day trip up to Gozo. At the Northern tip of Malta is a small little island called Gozo. It's a much slower pace up there and because it's so small you can see much of it in a day. We had been told by a friend of my brothers, that we needed to go to the vineyard in Gozo... We weren't totally sure where to find it so we started asking around... We knew that the owner was named "Joe" and that they had baby goats... It wasn't much to go on but we were hopeful.
We stopped for ice cream as you do in Malta, cause it was SO hot. My brother asked the girl serving us ice cream if she knew of a vineyard with a guy named "Joe" and some baby goats.... I was thinking yah of course she knows someone named Joe, everyone in Malta is named Joe! But sure enough she knew THE Joe we were looking for... and she happily pointed us in the right direction....

When we got to Ta' Mena Estate, Joe's wife greeted us and made us feel right at home. She asked us if we were hungry and thirsty, which we were... she then proceeded to serve us a home made tomato paste on Maltese crackers slathered in their own incredible olive oil!!! It was divine, a small slice of heaven on earth Then we started tasting the wines.... They were awesome, My sis, bro, and I each had a different favorite. We ended up taking home one of each of the ones we liked!

If you ever visit Gozo please say hi to Joe and his wife, and try their wines and all of their other goodies... You won't be disappointed. They are located on the Rabat Road Xaghra – XRA 9010, Isle of Gozo, Malta On your way from Victoria to Marsalforn, on the right side of the road, you can't miss it!

Surfs up Mate

2011-08-06T22:54:00.002+02:00

I am so happy to post this Australia surfing series...
I thought I had lost all of these pictures, and was so bummed... I mean how often do your sister and husband take a surfing lesson together. Umm like NEVER... The conditions weren't exactly perfect, but they totally made the best of it. My sister has been surfing at home in Kona for a while, but it was her desire to take a lesson in Australia. We ended up in Torquay just around the corner from the very famous Bells Beach! They had a really fun few hours being bashed around in the waves. I passed the time watching them from the beach as their designated photographer...

I was unfortunately too chicken to take a lesson, the combo of wet suits, cold water, and sharks put me totally off... I know I suck!!! My sister and Hubby are SO brave...

One year ago.....

2011-07-27T12:01:00.000+02:00

Hard to believe that Jon and I got married one year ago. This year just flew by! I guess it's probably gone so quickly because we have spent it in so many different places. Right after our wedding we went to Ireland...
We had our honeymoon at the majestic Ashford Castle.


Ashford Castle Hotel in County Cong, Western Ireland

We lived in Dublin for a few months, I can not say enough good stuff about living there. I really enjoyed spending our first few months of married life there. We made some great friends, had a few visitors got to see a few sights, drank loads of really fresh Guinness!!! YUMMY


Guinness from the source.


Our most AWESOME home group on a walk up Killiney Hill.

Got to witness some love, and the changing of seasons!

Then just when it was getting kind of chilly in the Northern hemisphere we zipped on down to sunny Cape Town for a few months!

Lion's head in the distance, and the 12 apostle's on the right.

More to come.......

But in the mean time:

Check out this adorable blog Love & Lavender that did a fab post on my wedding pictures!!!

Also check out my dearest friend Annie's blog post on our wedding decor! She so beautifully put my bright vision into action.....

Great Ocean Road Trip

2011-06-29T14:14:00.002+02:00

During out stay in Melbourne Australia we did an over night trip down to Lorne on the Great Ocean Road. I thought for sure we wouldn't get a chance to see Koalas in the wild, I had just been reading how rare it was to see them in their natural habitat. We went searching for them, and at first it seemed we had missed them... but he who seeks shall find! To say we had an amazing time watching these Koalas and parrots is an understatement. It was so exciting to see them just chilling in the gum trees...
My sister even got a video of one of the Koalas waving to her!

A slice of my Malta life...

2011-06-25T23:59:00.003+02:00

The produce in Malta is incredible, it's fresh and so tasty. This little lamp came from the second hand store, it was brown. I spray painted it red and added the shade, Annie calls it my pepper mill lamp.

The view out the front of our flat, beautiful Valletta all lit up.

This was taken by my husband on one of his recces... Most things in Malta are built out of limestone.

Another one taken by my husband of the dinner I made, it was a chicken pie, my first ever... it was delish. Most things covered in pastry are.

Purdy

2011-06-16T13:10:00.001+02:00

It was a gorgeous sunset taken from the top of Camps Bay just past the Kloof Neck. The clouds looked like waves, that were rolling in. Cape Town is such a visually stunning place

Prosciutto Wrapped Figs

2011-06-10T15:27:00.000+02:00

My sister in Law Jeni introduced me to the most heavenly starter when she visited us in Cape Town this past January,
I have been eagerly awaiting fig season since then. Strange because growing up we had fig trees in the yard and my parents
both loved eating them fresh off the trees. I thought they were disgusting, I fondly remember how thoroughly my dad would savor them.
Truth be told I think the birds always ended up eating most of them, but not anymore....

Jeni used this recipe from Tanya Ramsay...

I used one from food network because I only had blue cheese. It is the easiest thing to make and everyone LOVES it! I promise, I'm a new convert to the deliciousness of figs. I hope you try it for yourself.

Prosciutto Wrapped Figs And Blue Cheese Recipe
courtesy Michael Chiarello

Ingredients

8 Black Mission figs
1/2 cup blue cheese, cut into cubes
8 prosciutto (thinly sliced, cut in half lengthwise)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions

Preheat grill. You will need medium to high heat for grilling. The key is to crisp the prosciutto quickly and leave the blue cheese just melted with the inner part of the fig cool in temperature.

Cut the figs in half and place a piece of blue cheese on each fig half. Wrap the prosciutto around each fig half, covering the cheese. The ends of the prosciutto should overlap.

Grill each piece until the prosciutto begins to color and crisp, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from grill, lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Serve warm.

It's a yellow kind of day

2011-05-30T10:08:00.000+02:00

How adorable are these yellow pom pom mums, my sister bought them for me back in Dublin, during their stay! The rings are mine I adore them, made for me by the amazing Sarah Perlis. I am quickly coming up on my one year wedding anniversary, where has the year gone?! I am debating what we should do to celebrate. Either a trip to Gozo or a trip to Sicily, both are really close....

Oldies but goodies!

2011-05-28T08:47:00.002+02:00

I came across old pictures (they aren't that old) from our time in Dublin. These were taken back in September, when my sister and brother were visiting. We had such a good time hanging out together in Ireland, we did lots of sight seeing and walking, tons of walking! This was our Sunday Killiney Beach walk, as you can see from the pictures it was a very atmospheric day.

The Dublin power station old and new.

Blossomwood Sign

2011-05-23T15:23:00.004+02:00

The house from across the road with a digital version of the sign.

The English have this lovely tradition of naming their homes. When my sister in law bought a house in Australia my husband started calling it Blossomwood. Blossom or "Blossy" is Jeni's nickname, and when we were visiting them Jon suggested I make a house sign for them.

I tried lots of combos, as you can see from the few I posted above, but we all decided on the gray sign with a yellow flower for the front of the house. As fun as the turquoise signs were I do think the gray fits in well with the surrounds and matches the house the best (the photo is a bad representation of the colors, you will just have to use your imagination a bit, in actuality the grays are very similar, promise). I will try to post a picture of it when the actual sign is installed.

This kitchen is a JOY to work in! I made my first batch of quince paste and jelly in it!!! I will do a post on that soon.

Comfy bed I slept on it for almost a month!

These last 4 photos were not taken by me.... But as you can see the place is super modern and fun inside, I wanted to make a sign that reflected that.

Melbourne day trip

2011-05-06T16:09:00.003+02:00

During our month long "working holiday" in Australia we enjoyed a day out in Melbourne, Jon, Jenni and I checked out the NGV which had some lovely paintings in it, and Melbourne's Royal Botanical Gardens. We had the most perfectly lovely sunny day to inspect all of these places. Jon and I enjoyed watching the Dusky Moorhen feeding her chicks, and how gorgeous is that black swan, does this mean we are birdwatchers now??!!! Maybe we should become members of this. I'm kidding... sort of!

Mornington Boardwalk

2011-05-01T21:19:00.002+02:00

flat white.....

2011-04-27T13:11:00.000+02:00

How I long to be able to enjoy you again!

Walking in the country

2011-04-26T19:16:00.001+02:00

Trip to Broadstairs

2011-04-11T13:31:00.001+02:00

Tess and Pols (The Lovely little Girls) in the back of our trusty Peugeot estate!

Broadstairs is such a quintessential English seaside town, we of course had fish and chips for lunch.

It's been too long I know!!! The last month has been a whirlwind of traveling. From Cape Town we went back to my Husbands homeland, the UK. We spent three weeks there and then we flew down to Melbourne Australia for a little working holiday. I still haven't posted all of the pictures from South Africa.... There just aren't enough hours in the day I tell ya! More posts to come, I promise! Watch this space :)

Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens

2011-02-25T10:49:00.002+01:00

Guinea fowl have the most gorgeous spotty feathers, they look like something prehistoric. Half way between dinosaur and bird

Last weekend Jon and I spend an afternoon at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Kirstenbosch is definitely on my top 10 list of things to do in Cape Town. Nestled at the foot of Table Mountain, the gardens wind their way down the valley. The plant and bird life is astounding. It wasn't the nicest day there was some fog on the mountain but it was the perfect time to visit. The fog kept it really cool and provided a nice soft even light for the pictures. All birds were incredible, they were having a feast flying from protea to protea. They have concerts here every weekend, and it's really common to meet up with your friends for an evening pick nick, and sundowner. It was a relaxing way to spend one of our last weekends in South Africa.

The mighty King Protea

2011-02-24T17:19:00.000+01:00

Meerendal Vineyard lunch

2011-02-14T11:12:00.001+01:00

We had a lovely lunch out at the Meerendal Wine Estate yesterday. It was the perfect summer day, gorgeous blue sky, not a cloud in it, and a slight breeze. We shared some steak and salad, and finished with a delish illy coffee.

This was the view of Table Mountain on our drive home.

Taken by my lovely husband, I was driving!

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T09:59:00.000+01:00

Hope everyone has a lovely Valentines Day. I bought these gorgeous Dahlias at the Adderly Street flower market in cape town a few days ago. My husband who is a Valentines baby bought me some gorgeous yellow and red tipped roses, which I haven't yet had a chance to photograph. I asked him this morning if he minded sharing his birthday with me, he said, not at all, that he really enjoyed it, and if he had to share it with anyone I would be his first pick. What a sweetie. For many years I hated Valentines day it only reminded me of how single I was, now it's extra special because it's not just a special day for love, but it was also the day my love was born on!

Breaky

2011-02-12T15:13:00.001+01:00

This is what happens when I finally get my camera back.... I take pictures of the first thing I see that looks pretty! Yep, my breakfast, it was particularly tasty this morning, bran flakes, muesli, fresh raspberries, and a scoop of double fat Greek yogurt, Yum!!! I also realized that the last few posts have all had a lot of blue in them, the next post will be a warm one as well.

Only in Africa

2011-02-10T20:43:00.000+01:00

This dude was just chilling on this bench listening to music on his phone. All dressed up in his hat and leather shoes. I wasn't sure what he was doing up here, if he was waiting for someone or just wanted to enjoy the gorgeous view of Nordhoek beach. You can ride horses on this 8 km long pristine beach.

Gordon's Bay

2011-01-28T18:08:00.001+01:00

Talk about windy, I could barely walk! photo by Jon Brown

Photo by Jon Brown

Christmas Day before the adventures began.

2011-01-15T08:52:00.001+01:00

Photo credit Jon Brown

I wanted to post a few more pics from our Christmas holidays. Before we left on our adventures we had a lovely breakfast with some Champs, and of course my husbands favorite, Marmalade. He cooked a lovely Eggs Benedict with Trout. I poured the delicious pink champagne. Cheers!

Flora and Fauna of the Cape

2011-01-08T11:11:00.001+01:00

I was totally overwhelmed by the animal life I spotted during our day trip to the Cape of Good Hope. At first I thought I wouldn't see anything, that all quickly changed when we passed a troop of Baboons on the road! It was so exciting, and a bit nerve wrecking, you see so many signs. Baboons are dangerous, keep your windows up, don't feed them etc etc..... They were pretty chill guys, just hanging out by the roadside hoping for a tasty hand out.
The Ostriches on the other hand were so fascinating! They are such HUGE, awkward birds, we got really close to one till I got too paranoid about going off the path. I kept hoping we would stumble upon a nest of eggs or something cool like that, but no luck. We also saw large antelope called Eland They are the largest species of Antelope, and standing at over 6 ft in height they looked giant even from a long distance, like really big cows with curved horns.
That's just the animals, I haven't even said anything about the gorgeous plant life. The cape has been described as "one of the richest areas for plants in the world" who knew that my current backyard is home to nearly 20% of the continent's flora. Africa is an incredible place the more I see, the more I want to learn about it.

Penguins!!!

2010-12-28T17:56:00.001+01:00

Penguins are the most adorable things ever! I could have watched them and photographed them for hours. I was lucky we made it just in time to see a few of them. They close Boulders Beach around 6:30 pm in the summer, we got there at 6:00. I guess a few years ago there were only two breeding pairs left, but the colony has now grown to about 3,000 although they are still considered a vulnerable species. They used to be called Jackass Penguins because of the braying noise they make, they are now called the 'African Penguin', I think their new name is much sexier.

Christmas day adventures

2010-12-27T17:29:00.001+01:00

Cape point is close to the Southern most tip of Africa (the actual southern most tip is Cape Agulhas), we had a stunning Christmas day exploring the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, This part of the park is home to an array of fynbos, (native plants) over 250 species of birds, antelope, baboons, Cape mountain zebra, and ostriches. The beauty and vastness of this spot is so breathtaking. I kept saying to Jon, can you believe how gorgeous this is! Since we were so far away from family and friends it was good for us to go out and have an adventure instead of sitting at the flat moping.

More posts to come, with some animals in them.

Camps Bay Day

2010-12-05T10:48:00.000+01:00

This black stuff on the left is dried kelp or some kind of seaweed that washes ashore you can see it out in the water as well.

Lianne's Mad unbirthday birthday party invitation

2010-11-26T09:19:00.000+01:00

It's always fun to make an invitation but this one was especially fun, Lianne is one of the best girls in the world!!! Making her invite was such a treat. For pictures of the party, which I was sadly unable to make since I was somewhere between Dublin, Ireland, South West London, and Cape Town, South Africa! They had a blast Annie of Bliss in Bloom did all the decor with loads of help from Ruthie and the unbirthday girl herself Lianne! Check out Ruthie's gorgeous blog for photos of this fab event...

Let me just tell you again how sad I was to have missed it :(

Portobello Engagement Shoot

2010-11-12T15:02:00.001+01:00

This shoot was such fun. We started at the lovely Lennox Cafe, with some coffee and a glass wine for the nerves. Then we meandered around the neighborhood, there are lots of great spots and the leaves were unbelievably gorgeous. The Canal was the perfect backdrop, it provided lots of reflections.

Congrats to Tanya and Shay, wishing you all the best on your exciting journey together! It was such a treat to be your photographer for the day!

Autumn light

2010-11-12T11:10:00.000+01:00

Visible love

2010-10-28T14:18:00.007+02:00

I met Anton and Oksana a few months ago, and as I heard more of their story I was intriqued to know more. I thought they were such a sweet couple, so and I asked them If I could take some engagement photos of them. It had been a while since I'd done pictures for anyone and I was feeling a bit rusty and out of practice, but I really wanted to get back into it, and thought this was a great opportunity.

They were excited when I asked them and then I found out that Anton is also a very good photographer and an amazing digital artist (one of his images was just chosen for a book title)....but hey no pressure! I had to laugh.... it figures!
They had forecasted rain for the weekend and I was so hoping for a sunny day which is possible in Dublin, as it turns out the day was gorgeous, fantastic autumn colors were apparent everywhere in St Stevens Green. Anton and Oksana were perfect, I love it when couples enjoy having their pictures taken, it makes my job so much easier! It was an honor and a pleasure to make their love visible.

La brea ata ann "It's a lovely day" in Gaelic

2010-10-11T15:28:00.004+02:00

These were taken in or around Glendalough Gleann Dá Loch Co Wicklow, a monoastic site which dates back to the 6th century. Talk about old!

Sometimes words escape me, especially when writing blog posts. Since a picture is worth a thousand words here are 8, feel free to add your own words. One small word of advice, if you ever make it to Ireland do try the Salmon. It is heavenly here and will never let you down!

Journey through the Wicklow Mountains... ahem...hills

2010-09-27T10:54:00.003+02:00


As you can see it was a gorgeous day for a trip through the Wicklow Mountains. Hard to believe that all this amazing beauty is only 15 minute drive outside of Dublin. This is where all the water for Guinness comes from!

Taking pictures of the heather. Had to make a special stop for it, very important to get photos of this.

Stunning, the views are unbelievable. It's a gorgeous drive, and if anyone other than my adorable husband is driving I can imagine it would be relaxing.... To me the Wicklow Mountains seem more like hills, I know that this is mainly because of my Swiss heritage, It makes me a little teeny bit biased as to what is a mountain opposed to a hill... (hope I haven't offended too many Dubliners with my opinions) Regardless it's one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen and would recommend everyone to come and see it for themselves. You know when you hear words like bog, peat, bracken, grouse, heather....for years, and you read about them in lots of stories like Sherlock Holmes for example... but having grown up in Hawaii I just didn't have any point of reference for all of that, seeing it for yourself is fantastic!

My hood

2010-09-22T19:02:00.004+02:00

Portobello is an adorable suburb in the south of Dublin, with pubs, flower shops, and parks right on my doorstep. The Lennox Cafe, only a stones throw away, does an amazing brunch. I have so enjoyed living here and thought I would share a few pictures of my new hood.

Kissing summer goodbye?

2010-09-15T10:19:00.001+02:00

Is the summer really over? I think Ireland experienced a good three weeks of warm sunny weather, I was loving it. lately I see adverts for fall all over the place. I want to hold on to the summer for just a bit longer... We put the heating on this morning, I feel like a bit of a wimp, but it's 10 degrees in the morning here. Brrrrr..... That's cold for my spoiled Hawaiian skin.

Here is a lovely picture I took a few weeks ago when I was experimenting with mocktails as I like to call them (Fizzy yummy drinks sans alcohol.) This one is made with sparking water, lemon, some basil leaves, and a splash of Lorina French Berry. Delish!

If it's sunny where you live enjoy it for me okay!!!

I asked some locals tonight if I was a wimp for putting the heating on and they said, no they had also put their heating on!

The great cookie debate

2010-09-02T13:22:00.002+02:00

Cakey or crunchy.......
Everyone seems to have a preference on how they like their chocolate chip cookies. For years I was so boring and only made the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag... Raise your hands if you're with me. I didn't really realize that you can make your cookie any way you want it. I just kind of figured mine were always going to be flat and kinda crispy. Holy moly was I seriously wrong, to my fantastic delight I found this recipe for cakey chocolate chip cookies from this great blog called Every last cookie. This girl is baking her way through the Martha Stewart Cookies cook book! Here is the fab recipe that I tried, and true to form, I got delicious cakey chocolate chip cookies!

Cakey Chocolate Chip CookiesMakes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake until cookies are golden around the edges and set in the center, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Back on the farm

2010-08-27T12:35:00.004+02:00

Better know as the Yorke Family Residence. Jon's Uncle A, and his family were so kind to let us stay at their house for a week while they were away. It's a good thing too because we were able to keep an eye on those adorable chippies (chipmunks) and entertaining ducks. I now understand what it means to have your ducks in a row, because these ducks always walked in a row!!! I kid you not, did you know that ducks when herded actually walk one if front of the other.... It was so much fun to let them out in the garden for the day and then herd them back into their pen in the afternoon.

I was the official duck feeder, and garden waterer, and I loved every minute of it. Jon and I both had duck eggs for the first time. They are delicious so creamy and have a wonderful flavor. I highly recommend having duck eggs if you ever get the chance. Of course they probably won't be as fresh as the ones we had, some mornings they were still warm when I pulled the eggs out of their little nest in the corner. Kinda gross I know.... but fresher than that you can't get~

Maybe someday Jon and I will live on a farm.... for now we have to content ourselves with the occasional house sitting.

Isle of Wight holidays Freshwater Bay & Compton Bay

2010-08-20T20:39:00.005+02:00

Freshwater bay is a beautiful pebbly beach. I collected a bunch of the prettiest and most original pebbles. I even found one in the shape of a heart, well it kind of looks like a heart.

Compton Bay is a gorgeous long sandy stretch of beach. Would be great if we had more beaches like that on the Big Island. Sand is such a rare commodity on my island. I think the chalk cliffs in the background are incredible. They are a typical South English coast sight, I find them so dramatic, you can actually write with the chalk pebbles that you find. We collected a few of those as well. Maybe I'll write some letter with the chalk pebbles.

Isle of Wight Holidays-The Needles Old Battery Park

2010-08-19T11:41:00.003+02:00

The day after our UK reception we headed out for a 6 day holiday on the Isle of Wight.... What a gorgeous little island. I feel so at home here, must be because it's an island and I am an island girl!

Heading out toward the Needles old battery. The walk is just gorgeous and we had such a dramatic sky that day. The light was gorgeous, plus I was using a 5D mark 2, my next birthday present, (I wish)! I kind of think the Needles look like camels. They are these amazing chalk formations that jut out of the sea, like the backbone of some prehistoric animal. They actually have lots of dinosaur prints and fossils on the Isle of Wight.

More Isle of Wight pictures to follow....

English Party

2010-08-13T11:59:00.000+02:00

Jon and I both decided that we needed to have a wedding reception in the UK for all of his family and friends that couldn't make it to Hawaii for our wedding. We picked a lovely little country pub called the Cart and Horses.
It was the perfect location for a good old hog roast. Jon's sister had the great idea of making the dessert ourselves, one, it keeps down the cost and two, you have total control over it! We barely had control over it, the night before was a baking extravaganza. I have NEVER seen that much cake batter, we tripled the recipe, it was from last months BBC Good Food. the batter was incredible, there was SO much of it! Total team effort. It fully needed three of us to make it. For the Icing or as we say in America frosting I used a really old school butter cream recipe from my lovely cake maker in Hawaii, Dani! It turned out very yummy. Not the prettiest cake, although I tried to hide all the imperfections with some ribbon and jazz it up with some flowers. We also had 4 or 5 different kind of cupcakes, they were so delicious. I'll include the butter cream recipe in this post so you can try it yourself!

This decorator’s staple remains an old reliable when all else fails. It even performs well in warm weather.

Ingredients:
2 cups (454 gr) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (230 gr) vegetable shortening or hi-ratio shortening
1 1/2 tsp , vanilla extract
1.36 kg 10X confectioner’s sugar( 3 boxes)
1/2 + 1 Tbsp ( 135 ml) water,
3 Tbsp meringue powder ( tehy have it at Walmart)
1 tsp salt

Method:
1. Cream shortening & butter with mixer. Add flavouring and salt. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time. Add meringue powder. ( The mixture will appear dry)
2. Add liquid of choice and beat until light and fluffy ( approximately 5 to 8 minutes). Keep teh bowl covered with damp cloth or plastic wrap.

Additional Info:
Storage: Store the icing in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Wedding invitations DIY

2010-08-11T15:44:00.004+02:00

I have been meaning to do a post on my wedding invites for a while now but just finally got all my ducks in a row. I wanted them to be happy and bright not your typical white and silver invites. The colors for my wedding were yellow, apple green, orange, and gray. I had an address stamp made with the same fonts I used on the invite. Birds were a theme at the wedding so I used them in the invite as well.
I printed them all on my moms printer, I used a Bazzil cardstock for the underlay on the invites, for the white paper that I printed the invitations on I found some linen heavy weight at our local office supply store. The gray large envelopes were from paper source but bought from an on-line vendor, and the green envelopes were A2 Euro flap from the Wausau astro brights line, in gemini green, I almost went with Gama green and am so glad I didn't it was a little darker. It is really hard to find nice colored envelopes with the euro flap in the US that don't cost an arm and a leg. I spent many hours researching online to find the cheapest envelope supplier. I ended up going with paper-papers.com They were great. I got my envelopes quickly, plus I got a shipping incentive discount! Gotta love that!

I had a ton of help putting my invitations together, it took me a good week to get them all assembled and posted. My mom was the paper cutter operator, and general doer of little things, Nance and Lianne were stampers extraordinaire and I was like a zombie. I wouldn't have done it any other way it was So much fun to create and put together these invitations, special thanks goes out to Noe, who drove me around for weeks in LA to all different paper shops to find just the right shade of yellow.

Bazzill Basics yellow 12x12 cardstock with a burlap texture

for more pictures go to......http://blog.brookelynphotography.com/?p=423

My very own English Man

2010-08-10T14:48:00.001+02:00

Since moving to Ireland I've had a bit of time on my hands, believe me when I say I've actually kept very busy. One of my on-going projects is going through my photos. I came across this one and just had to post it. Flat cap and all I have my very own English man, and this picture proves it.

We were on a walk last year down at the English coast, near Ramsgate where my husbands parents live. It was a gorgeous cool Christmas day. With enough sun to make the walk really beautiful.

Sweet

2010-08-06T14:28:00.002+02:00

Couldn't resist posting these pictures. Ben and Emily have almost the exact same color eyes. No, they aren't related.

Dreaming of summer

2010-08-06T11:26:00.002+02:00

These are a few oldies but goodies. The "summer" if you can call it that in Dublin, is rather cold. I think I am dreaming of the heat and warmth of sunny places. Probably missing home a bit as well... Enjoy the sun in these photos. These were taken in Tulum Mexico we spent one night at this amazing place Cabana la Luna right on the beach. It was off the grid and powered by wind. Our hut was called the
Christopher Columbus Cabana, try saying that three times fast.....
We had a gorgeous nights stay there, listening to the rustle of palm fronds and the crash of waves on sand.

looking forward to the slow days ahead

2010-08-05T12:34:00.000+02:00

I was looking at my calendar today and noticed that it's a LOT emptier now than it was a few months ago.
Check out the differences, I'm pretty free these days so if you fancy a trip to Dublin City, where the girls are pretty! Now is the time to do it!

I guess it gives me lots more time to create things, and work on projects.

Annies' birthday invitation

2010-08-03T14:55:00.000+02:00

Even though I am so far away, the internet helps me feel connected to friends and family that are at home in Hawaii. For example a few weeks ago it was my friend Annie's 30th, I was So bummed to miss it. 3O is kind of a big deal! I wanted to be involved in some way, and since I couldn't actually be there I wanted to help with the schedule and planning of the event, I also created some invitations.
I heard it was a really fun day, I can't wait to see some pictures, ladies... hint, hint!

they're here!

2010-07-15T10:14:00.001+02:00

My wedding pics are all done! Thanks to the super speedy Brooke of Brookelyn Photography.
Why am I such a goof in so many of these pictures... See photos below for proof!

I guess I was super excited to get married in this one or, maybe belting out a song! The hills are alive with the sound of music........ la la la la!

good thing I am not the only one in this relationship that makes goofy faces! Guess that means we are SO meant to be....

Below is a shot of me and one of my bestest besties! Shots like these make me SO happy, this one's going up in the apartment in Dublin to remind me of home and of my amazing wedding.

Cong village County Mayo, Ireland

2010-07-13T23:51:00.000+02:00

One word describes it all, Gorgeous!!!

More Ashford Castle Hotel

2010-07-13T23:48:00.000+02:00

Ashford Castle

2010-07-13T17:41:00.000+02:00

It's not every day one gets to stay in a castle, especially one that happens to be a 5 star hotel. What can I say I am one lucky girl. I left the honeymoon planning up to my hubby, and boy did he do an awesome job. We spent four relaxing days at the Ashford Castle Hotel, it is in County Mayo on the gorgeous west coast of Ireland. We even got to try our hand at fishing in the Loch, not much luck but I did see the hugest salmon jump out of the water, it was very exciting. The sun came out a few times too, which was such a treat. Enjoy the pics...

Wedding pictures sneak peek...

2010-07-11T12:52:00.000+02:00

I was SO excited to get a sneak peek of my wedding photos taken by the amazing Brooke that I wanted to share them with you....

Check here to see the them on Brooke's blog

They look amazing so far, I can't wait to see them all!

married, and moving to Dublin!

2010-07-04T07:37:00.000+02:00

The wedding madness is over, hard to believe the last three months of planning led to last Saturday. Now it's over.... It's mostly a relief I'm a little bit sad too. I had to not only plan a wedding with my fiancee far away at work in Dublin but also pack up my little house. Then when it was all said and done we had survived the wedding, the week after the wedding both of us came down with the stomach flu, we had to postpone our trip for a few days because I could not imagine flying let alone standing in the state I was in. Good thing it was only a 24 hour bug.
Here are a few of the photo booth pics I will post more as I get them.

The wedding was AWESOME! I loved every minute of it and was wishing it would go on and on. But all good things come to an end, roll on the next chapter of my life!

Here are a few of the smile booth photos that Brooke of Brookelyn photography set up for me they are AWESOME!

LOVE orange

2010-05-28T05:43:00.000+02:00

Soccer days

2010-05-23T13:01:00.000+02:00

This is what a stacked bench looks like

I used to play a LOT of soccer.
Now I do more watching than actual playing.
I was able to watch some of my nearest and
dearest play soccer last Saturday,
it was so much fun. Here are a few of the
pics from that day.

Bliss in bloom flowers

2010-05-23T11:18:00.000+02:00

Annie of Bliss in Bloom has given me the privilege of taking some pics of her latest wedding flowers. These bouquets were my favorites.

The latest earrings

2010-05-18T23:18:00.000+02:00

These are my latest creations at Peaberry and Galette, my very
favorite coffee shop in Keahou. Stop by buy some earrings and a lovely coffee.

Birthday invite

2010-05-13T10:18:00.000+02:00

It was a fun time! I must be in a turquoise mood these days....

Massage flyer for Lori

2010-05-13T10:09:00.000+02:00

I made this little flyer for my good friend Lori she recently moved to Cali and was wanting to take make her business mobile for a few months. If your interested she has a massage table and will travel!

Paintings by Stephanie Bolton

2010-05-03T10:46:00.001+02:00

A while back I did some pictures for a local artist and friend of mine Stephanie Bolton. Shes a super cool girl and a really great artist. She used a bunch of my photos as inspiration for these paintings. I love the way they turned out, her vibrant use of color and bold lines make you feel like your walking through a beautiful garden.

Volcano trip highlights

2010-05-03T09:12:00.000+02:00

If you click on the picture you can view it large, it's much better large. You can see all the details that way.

Purdy Pansys

2010-04-25T11:02:00.000+02:00

Catering decisions

2010-04-22T22:11:00.000+02:00

Mediteranian hummous salad

Boneless spare ribs with a pineapple coleslaw and a teriyaki glaze

Ahi with a pomegranate sauce, some sort of fruit relish and a side of purple sweet potato mash, Auntie Sharon's favorite

My favorite, the Ono with a liliquoi glaze and steamed rice with furikake and a side of veggies.

This lovely tasting menu was put together for me by the amazing Chef Muzzy at Jackie Rays. It's one of our favorite local restaurants. I am considering having them cater my wedding. Makes you want to come doesn't it! Broke da mouth ono!

Reupholster love!

2010-04-20T08:11:00.000+02:00

It's amazing what a little paint and some fabric can do....
These chairs used to be mint green, bad choice of color on my part, although it was about 6 years ago. I was going for a "tropical vibe" It's a good thing my mom decided to paint them black. I had this fabric from IKEA and donated it to her. I think they turned out okay, what do you think?

cupcake tasting

2010-04-11T11:10:00.000+02:00

I am SO excited about my wedding cupcakes. I went for a tasting today. Liliquoi was my favorite with vanilla being a close second. They are amazingly tasty little guys. Kristen Klassert of Food for thought is going to be making my most cutest mini cupcakes ever I can hardly wait!!!!

Wedding on the brain!!!

2010-04-11T08:43:00.001+02:00

This blog post is for my fiancee. I have wedding on the brain like no bodys business, that is no excuse for neglecting my blog. More to come soon!!! I promise :) These are our wedding colors...

Spring has sprung

2010-03-02T13:16:00.000+01:00

The front yard is full of Snow bells and Crocuses all pushing up through the damp earth. Yesterday we had lots of sun, it was such a gorgeous day! Here are a few of the pics I took.

Ahhhh warm feet

2010-03-02T13:10:00.001+01:00

This little sheep hot water bottle has been my happy foot warmer the past few months! Such a great birthday gift from my mom. Who would have thought my favorite pressie could be a hot water bottle.

Snowy days

2010-01-06T22:27:00.000+01:00

Snow is amazing stuff.... It just flys out of the sky and lands on everything. It snowed for hours today covering the back yard in lovely white fluff.

You have to put on your mittens if your going to go outside and make snowmen!

We started with one and quickly decided to make a few more snowmen, so he wouldn't be lonely all by himself in the back garden.

We ended up with a family of snowmen

Snowy nights

2010-01-06T21:24:00.001+01:00

Looks like a snow globe.

The ring!

2009-12-22T13:08:00.001+01:00

I LOVE it, and am trying to get used to such a sparkely thing on my finger! It's perfect.
Made for me by the amazing Sarah Perlis. Thanks Sarah I adore it!

Missing my family

2009-12-21T17:26:00.001+01:00

The little red lantern

2009-12-15T23:01:00.000+01:00

Finally a few pictures of the cutest ever red lantern. It makes me happy just looking at it!

The first frost

2009-12-02T23:50:00.000+01:00

We actually had to scrape ice off the windshield today. Brrrrr It got down below 0 degrees Celsius in the middle of the night. When I woke up the ground was covered in frost, it's so beautiful! Jon and I actually made it out of the house early enough to get a few pics before it melted.

Engagement party....

2009-11-29T23:32:00.000+01:00

Ahhh Switzerland

2009-11-29T23:22:00.001+01:00

Chur, Switzerland

2009-11-25T20:28:00.000+01:00

more pics of my Swiss trip coming soon....

Swimming in Totland bay

2009-11-11T12:49:00.000+01:00

This is Hardy.... He is a lovely chocolate lab. He belongs to Jon's Uncle. Hardy loves swimming in the bay, long walks through the fields and sleeping by the fire.

Black berries were in season when we were on the Island, it makes for a really yummy treat, as your walking along the road. Naturally one only wants to sample the up high berries!

Totland Bay Isle of Wight at low tide.

English Bathing beauties!
This is my bathing beauty! Poor Jon he is so not impressed with the fact that he is ending up in every one of my recent blog posts! Of course Hardy is also a bathing beauty!

He absolutely loves the water you could hardly keep him out of it! If you look really hard you can see Jon's Uncle Andy swimming away behind Hardy in this last picture.

Holidays on the Isle of Wight

2009-11-11T11:11:00.001+01:00

The Needles

Freshwater bay

The Isle of Wight is situated off the south coast of England. It's about an hours ferry ride away. It's a gorgeous little island with a lots of neat towns and spectacular white cliffs. It's well known for it's summer music festivals. Jon's Uncle and family live on the Island so we had a few days visit with them.