My edible garden

This week I have been digging for victory and creating an edible garden. I find winter a little depressing so the thought of having some gorgeous fruit and veggies in the summer cheers me up somewhat.

I planted strawberries and raspberries as I love my summer berries but they're a little expensive. I also put in one tomato plant which should be enough for the hubby and I to use for pasta sauces and a whole range of different herbs.

Next to the herb garden you can just see my lime tree which hopefully will give me gorgeous limes for summer cocktails.

Weekly Buys - 30th July 2011

This week I have been shopping for vintage style lingerie at What Katie Did.

I got this gorgeous Maitresse bullet bra in both black and white:

This fab peach Harlow bullet bra:

and these cute little french knickers:

What Emma Did - 24th July 2011

This week I have been:

♥ Trying to get over bronchitis

♥ Planning a new haircut for after my pin up shoot

♥ Organising myself with a new Filofax Metropol in Cherry

♥ Planting a new herb garden

♥ Shopping for new undies from What Katie Did (a shopping post will follow)

A Little Bit of Sunshine on a Winters Day

We acquired these cups from a bar on my hens night and I have had them around the unit as a memento of the night since but didn't know what to do with them. I wanted something to brighten up out little unit as all this winter grey was making me gloomy so I got these gorgeous little blooms and planted them up. Just looking at them reminds me spring is not far away.

Emma aime in the Kitchen: Lemon Curd

I was given these organic lemons by a guy that comes into the bakery to pick up bread for his cows. They may not look pretty but they taste delicious so I decided to make some lemon curd with them.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
• 1/3 cup (80g) chilled unsalted butter
• Zest and juice of 2 lemons

Method

Whisk whole eggs, yolks and sugar in a saucepan until smooth, then place pan over a low heat. Add the butter, juice and zest and whisk continuously until thickened. Strain through a sieve into a sterilised jar. Lemon curdkeeps, covered, in the fridge for 2 weeks.

And it really is as simple as that!

Weekly Buys - The Kitchen Edition

This week I have been getting lots of goodies to make my kitchen more retro inspired. Its hard to really put your own stamp on a property when you are just renting but here are the bits and bobs I got to try to do just that:

I got these super cute Tea, Coffee and Sugar canisters:

This tea bag holder as I'm a little messy when it comes to transporting my used tea bags to the bin:

These fab oven gloves:

This recipe card box that I'm actually going to use to store my tablets and other odds and ends that are currently in my tablet box on my kitchen side:

I also got a tea bag box as I like to drink a lot of different varieties of tea and they're currently messily shoved into a tupperware so this should tidy them up a bit!

As you can probably tell I like my red polka dots! As soon as all the items arrived i'll get some snaps of my kitchen.

Weekly Buys - 19th July 2011

Its been a while since I've posted a weekly buys post so without further ado here are a few items that I have snapped up recently:

I've been looking for a pair of denim sailor trousers for a while so when I spotted these on Retro Vixens I just had to snap them up. I also snapped up this cute sailor t shirt to go with them.

What Emma Did - 17th July 2011

This week I have been:

♥ Buying some plants to brighten up our winter

♥ Ordering some items of retro style kitchenware

♥ Going out for brunch by the sea with the hubby

♥ Enjoying a night in with a pizza, a bottle of wine and a good movie

♥ Spending my birthday money on some new clothes

♥ Putting together ideas for my fifties fair outfit

So generally its been a quiet week!

The Life Overhaul - Update 17th July 2011

Hello again dear readers. Firstly an apology that the blog has been a bit thin on content over the last few weeks. I'm fighting off a nasty chest infection on top of working more hours so any free time I have is spent curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea feeling sorry for myself. I figured while I have a whole morning to myself I'll get some posts done and dusted then I can just upload them throughout the week!

Firstly I realised I haven't posted an update on 'The Life Overhaul' for a while so I'll bring you that (for anyone whose interested!). I mentioned before that I had booked my pin up shoot with the lovely Bex of Bexterity well the date is set for 8th August. I'll post a copy of my pics as soon as I receive the after that.

I have re-booked the 'Learn to Love Your Sewing Machine' course for September as I unwisely booked myself onto the course the day after I got back from Fiji and I woke up with a disgusting migraine that day so the lovely people at Sutherland and St George Community College were nice enough to transfer me onto the September Course.

I have also spotted a bike seller just down the road from me whole sells these fabulous retro inspired bikes so as soon as the weather warms up I will bag myself one!

Birthday Pressies

Thursday was my birthday. I got this gorgeous coral necklace from my Mum and Step-dad. I think its from the 50's but i'm not really sure.

My Nan sent me money so I got this fab sewing machine trolley to help me haul my machine when I take the sewing machine course I booked for September.

I showed you the gorgeous flowers the hubby got me but he also got the tickets to go and see Hairspray an Iphone 4 and he's getting me a Kindle but its yet to arrive.

Most of the family sent money which is going towards my driving lessons.

What Emma Did - 10th July 2011

This week I have been:

♥ Celebrating my 27th birthday

♥ Having a nice quiet lunch with the UN girlies as we were all a bit under the weather in one way or another

♥ Eating lots of choccy after buying a Ritter showbag at the good food show (damn my weak will)

♥ Going to see Hairspray with the hubby (I blogged about it here) if you're in Sydney you must see it, its fabulous!

♥ Laying on the couch nursing my cold and watching Dead Like Me with the hubby

♥ Getting lots of gorgeous birthday pressies (I'll blog about them later)

My 27th Birthday

Yesterday was my 27th birthday! The hubby surprised me in the morning with these gorgeous flowers. I had to work at the bakery in the afternoon but afterwards we headed into the city to catch Hairspray the musical which after the initial hiccup of the bed being stuck in the first number and having to wait 20 minutes for the stage crew to correct it was just amazing.

In Hairspray, it's 1962, the '50s are out and change is in the air. Baltimore's Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion - to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance programme, 'The Corny Collins Show' and, overnight, is transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can a trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the programme's reigning princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her 'do? Only in Hairspray! Welcome to the '60s!

The musical features an original score by Marc Shaiman (who co-wrote the music and lyrics for the acclaimed animated musical, 'South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut') and Scott Wittman. Their songs take Tracy from the soundstage of a '60s-style dance show to the streets of Baltimore to a downtown rhythm and blues record shop.

Hairspray is showing at the Lyric Theatre, Star City, Sydney until 4th September. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

What Emma Did - 3rd July 2011

This week I have been:

♥ Watching back to back episodes of Dead Like Me, the hubby and I's new favorite series

♥ Feeding our appetite at the Good Food Show

♥ Finding out our favorite fish and chip shop in Darling Harbor is being turned into a pizza shop. Who wants to sit on the wharf and eat pizza?!

♥ Going out for a gorgeous lunch with the hubby my sis in law and my nephew at Amici di Kogarah

♥ Ordering a new and bigger Filofax to organize my life

♥ Planning a BBQ in the park for my birthday next week