Crepes on Rue Tatin
....(two ways)
This cooking post was a fun collaboration with my  lovely blog friend Catherine, from 'Farmhouse Home'.

I recently read the book  'On Rue Tatin: Living and Cooking in a French Town' by
Susan Herrmann Loomis
and thought Catherine might enjoy the book so mailed it off to her.
After a few emails we thought it would be fun to do a little tribute post to author Susan's French adventure by cooking something from her website.
We decided on French Crepes - two ways...I chose sweet Crepes whilst Catherine made savory ones.
I had never made Crepes before- pancakes & pikelets many times but Crepes? ...nope - this was a first for me...I mean Ive eaten them many times especially during a week in Paris where they turned out to be the most perfect street snack on offer!!

I tried to get them as thin as possible but there's lots of fast hand movements during the process and I must admit the first two crepes (ok three...) were pretty bad - I binned them!
For the topping I made Peaches with burnt toffee cream - very satisfying!

Crepes - Recipe via
Susan Herrmann Loomis
Sweet Topping:
2 Peaches - cut into wedges
60g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup thick cream
Melt butter and add sugar -  stir until sugar dissolves.   Keep stiring until caramel turns dark.  Add peaches and cook until they are a little softer, coated and warm.  Take off heat and stir in thick cream. Serve over Crepes.
To see Catherine's savory take, head on over to her beautiful food blog.

All the Pretty Dresses

Did you enjoy the Academy Awards the other night?  The event itself always drags on
 - I always find the Red Carpet parade a lot more interesting.

So many beautiful dresses this year - the stylists are getting really good at getting it 'perfect' for their star clients ...although there's always one or two shockers coming through..too bad for the fashion designers, the media, blogs and twitter are all out with their opinions - good or bad, dont you just love the internet?
I was suprised to see lots of White frocks this year - its quite stark against the Red Carpet, some gowns looked very 'bridal'...lots of safe looks, lots of messy looks (Helena Bonham Carter, Im looking at you!) and lots of sparkle too -  Naomi Watts in glitzy silver gray  - Amazing!!! I loved it!

* images
top - Elie Saab runway- beautiful fabrics and detail.  Bottom - photo by Judy Pak

Brunch for One 
I have a Pinterest board titled ‘Way too pretty to eat’ and currently I have 460 pins of delicious looking recipes & food ideas – beautiful photography helps seal the deal (those clever food bloggers!!) but the ratio is leaning to sweet, sugary pins compared to the healthy options…

I don’t know if Id ever get a chance to try out all these recipes, since I’m pinning faster than I’m cooking but it’s been a great ‘Go to’ tool for food inspiration.
Last week on my day off I decided to go all out and make myself something special for brunch - brunch for one!
So I dropped my boys off at school, and then when I felt ready I headed into my kitchen...
Now if you are watching your waistline & calories look away because this is extremely indulgent (and very satisfying)
Ricotta Stuffed French Toast
In a small bowl mix some fresh drained Ricotta, a Tablespoon of sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Add a splash of cream or milk to make it smoother (optional).
Cut a 'Panini Di Casa' bread roll in half but not completely - enough to form a pocket.   You could use any type of bread roll, I just had this one at home.
Slather the bread roll pocket with Ricotta filling

In another bowl mix an egg with a little sugar, cinnamon and milk - beat until combined.
Add your bread roll to the mixture and let it soak - flip over and let it soak some more.
Melt a little butter in a small fry pan and then gently fry your bread roll until golden brown on both sides - sprinkle with honey and pecans.
Eat and enjoy!!!...(ps this is so filling and delicious you wont want anything else until dinner time - promise!)

ABCD Sydney Meet Up
at LifeInstyle

Last night I went along to the
'ABCD Meet up' organised by
 Steph and Lisa.
I couldn't attend the last two gatherings due to other commitments and sometimes after a long day at work I really need to force myself to go out and socialise.

It was a great chance to catch up with Sally, Melinda and Suzanne too as I hadn't seen them in a while.

The event was extra special because it was held at 'LifeInstyle' Trade show - big thanks to Jaclyn who organised our 'Media' passes!!
The stalls, displays and products were just beautiful and very exciting!
I'm sure if I had a brick & mortar shop Id want to stock SO much of what I saw last night - what fun it must be to be a buyer!
Inspiring!!

Afterwards there was a gathering at a local pub and I got to see Amanda and meet some other lovely girls - I think its great we can get to chit chat and share what we've been up to, our ideas and dreams!
Steph and Lisa organised to have a few creative business owners talk to us about their own creative business, their start and how they took it to the next level - it was very generous of them considering they had a busy first day at the Trade show...we broke up into smaller groups and I had Katy of KatyJane Designs talk to us - she was lovely!!
Overall it was an awesome evening and I'm looking forward to the next event!

*instagram images by me 

Noir et Blanc
Its been a while since Ive done an ' Etsy picks of the week' post - looking forward to getting back into the swing of things, blogging and getting inspired plus I never tire of finding gorgeous items at the Etsy site!

Ive been busy watching cooking competitions on TV....highly addictive, reading books (yes, real books) watching DVDs with my hubby (free Quickflix trial) and still trying to get over this respiratory infection...
but here are some 'black and white' pretties to share with you
* top image via Stockholm Streetstyle blog *
Ceramic Bowl in Black and White Hearts by RossLab *
Handwoven Hand Towel by
AllOrganic Textiles  *
Black Butterfly necklace by BeautySpot

Love (on a budget)
Love should be free and I know many hate the consumerism side of Valentine's Day but here are some beautiful downloadable and printable Love Notes to give your loved one.
A Card and a big hug is perfect for VDay!!
...even better a Love Note, steaming coffee and warm doughnuts!
Sweet!

Love & thanks by 'Eat Drink Chic'  (downloadable for personal use only)

'Amour' card by MisterM Studio via 'The Barefoot Bride'  - so pretty non?

Some other downloadable Love goodies around the blogs
* Giant Valentine Posters by 'Oh Happy Day'

* Free Printable Valentines by
 Jones Design Company - i love the Ombre shaded one!

* Valentine's Day Poster by
Gerbera Designs
via Heart Handmade UK

Vintage Love 
Every Love story is a beautiful one.

Love isn't something you find, its something that finds you....
Love is
Intimacy and
Tenderness.
Love is trembling happiness.

Iconic Lovers
Grace Kelly & Rainier III, Prince of Monaco.
Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton
and
Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward

Love-ly
I thought it would be nice to celebrate all things 'LOVE' on my blog this week.
Its become a bit of a yearly tradition but since Valentine's Day is 3 days away I thought, why not?  Love is a beautiful feeling!

I'm home today - I'm feeling a little under the weather so its me, a cup of weak tea and a pile of magazines.  I came across this lovely LOVE spread in
Marie Claire magazine...I enjoy fashion layouts that portray a story, a mood...emotion (with beautiful clothes too...)
Sweet.

*images by
 Corrie Bond for Marie Claire.

Vignettes & Instagram - the challenge continues.. 
Did I tell you how much I'm enjoying Instagram?
I told myself I didn't need another social media tool to take up more time that I dont really have, but Im so glad I joined in on the fun - its totally addictive!
The Instagram filters are so cool...no wonder Mr Zuckerberg and the people at Facebook bought this FAB little App as part of their internet empire! (and for a whopping $1bn dollars...yes $1bn!!!!)
I'm loving it,
I'm super inspired by everyone's images and I've met loads of new creative peeps!
...the Vignettes challenge finishes up today but here are my images taken for
Love -  set up at my desk, the vintage book is by Beverly Cleary, her books are a childhood favourite!

and for 'Cushions', a snapshot of Neo's room in the morning light - the boys are back to school now...back to a routine  (and order!)

Vignettes
I wanted to share my first two instagram Vignettes.
The first challenge was 'Books' - I tried to keep it simple and a little graphic too.  This partridge paper weight is quite heavy and sits on my bookshelf amongst my books anyway.
The Je'Taime print is meant to be on the wall - Im still waiting for my hubby to find time to hang it up... Grrr....

Challenge 2 was 'Texture' - this was a little tricky and I had something different in mind which wasn't working out the way I thought it would - the light was leaving fast
so I ended up with this shot - its a mixture of textures that I wanted to use - handmade paper, cardstock, crochet table runner, fabric pouch (so pretty!)
cardstock and tags with string, glass and some mini wooden pegs.

The ' 7 Vignettes' challenge is back!!!

....and I'm going to give it a go again!  It starts today so if you have instagram and love to style up & decorate your space why don't you join in too?

All the details are here on Jen's blog - The Interior Addict

here are the challenges
1. Books
2. Texture
3. Love
4. Shiny
5. Cushions
6. Old
7. Pattern


*images via Australian Country Style - scanned by me