Book Review - "Spotless" by Shannon Lush & Jennifer Fleming

If you're after ideas on how to deal with household cleaning disasters, this is a fantastic book. Designed as a reference book, it's split into room by room chapters, making it easy to find what you're looking for. It's such a handy resource to have & it solves a lot of the problems associated with a household, including cleaning, smells, scratches, mould, & more.

Here are some examples of what you'll find in the book:

how to clean a smelly dishwasher,
how to keep your cupboards clean,
how to remove pen stains from fabric,
how to remove crayon marks from walls,
how to remove lipstick & make-up stains from your sheets,
how to remove yellow marks on clothes,
how to clean a barbeque,
how to stop squeaky floorboards,
how to remove beetroot stains from laminate,
& so much more.


The beauty of this book is that there's reference to a lot of household items (such as white vinegar, talcum powder, salt, milk, bicarb soda & lemon juice) which most of us have in our homes, & that are quite effective in solving a lot of the domestic challenges that come about in the house.

Of course, you can still buy some of the supermarket products which you find useful & that work for you, but it's good to know that, just in case you run out of those chemical products, there's bound to be something in the pantry that will help keep your home "spotless"!

Great Day for a Walk - Right?

I thought I'd share a funny story today, though it wasn't funny at the time!

After a very rainy night & a showery morning, I decided to go out for a walk this afternoon, as it was a warm day, the sun was out & it hadn't rained in a few hours. I put my tracksuit pants on, a singlet top, my runners, organised the pram with water & snack for Little Miss, grabbed my keys, mobile phone & sunglasses, & off we went.

What a beautiful opportunity. I was planning no more than about half an hour around the neighbourhood. 20 minutes into the walk, there was a brief shower but a few steps later had stopped, so I detoured through a different street so I could keep exercising. Why waste an opportunity, right?

About 2 minutes later, & about a 10 minute walk from home, the showers started again....& then became rain. Well, my Baby Jogger pram was put to good use. My beautifully blow waved hair was getting wet, I was getting wet, my sunglasses were getting wet (what did I bring them for?). Being a 10 minute walk away from home became a very quick 2 minute jog in the rain.

The moral of the story. If you're going to be outdoors & don't have a quick way of getting back home, don't go too far. More importantly, even though there's sunshine, look up at the stormy grey clouds in the sky before going on that well-intentioned walk. Those clouds are the warning sign telling you to stay home & have a cup of coffee & a biscuit instead!!

PS. Toddler in pram was kept wonderfully dry but jogging mummy was wet & sweaty with frizzy hair!

Recipe - Orchard Crumble

This is an Annabel Karmel toddler recipe that is absolutely scrumptuous. It's super easy to make & is delicious to serve for adults as well as kids. Give it a try:

• 2 large sweet apples (such as Pink Lady), peeled, cored & diced
• 2 large pears, peeled, cored & diced
• 85g plain flour
• 45g unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature 
• 45g demerara sugar (I used brown sugar)
• 3/4tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4tsp salt 
• 4tsp granulated sugar (I used raw sugar)

Preheat the oven to 200 (180 fan-forced).
Put the fruit into a small saucepan & cook gently for about 15 minutes until soft.

Put the flour in a bowl & rub in the butter until it looks like crumbs; add the demerara sugar, cinnamon & salt.

Remove the fruit from the heat, stir in the granulated sugar. If you're making this for toddlers or small children, you can use less sugar, or leave it out, as the fruit is sweet & the crumble topping has a bit of sugar in it.

Divide the fruit mixture into 4 ramekins

& sprinkle them with the crumble topping.

Bake for 20-25mins.
Cool to warm before serving with a little vanilla custard, or just on their own.

They were so good, that I made an adult version for hubby & I by adding a bit more sugar & putting a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top. Some double cream would also be perfect on top. Yummmmm!

Tip - Cleaning Stains from a Rug

I was so annoyed with myself today. Little Miss has a new cream coloured rug in her room & I make a point of being careful not to get it dirty when I walk in there. Well, don't ask me how, but I somehow managed to get soil stains on her beautiful rug today, & I was beside myself.

Hubby asked me if we have a carpet cleaning spray (we don't), but I just kept staring at the black stains on the rug. There would have been about 6 or 8 blotches staring up at me.

It took several minutes before I gathered my thoughts & remembered I had seen Sharon Lush on A Current Affair, talking about stain removal around the home. She kept mentioning bicarb soda, white vinegar & water, so I decided to experiment, as I needed to act quickly.

Here are the details:

Put half a teaspoon of bicarb soda on each stain &, with a brush, lightly start to brush on the stain in one direction, then in another direction, so as to displace the soil embedded in the pile. You can brush a bit harder as you go.

If it's a light stain, it should disappear.
If it's persistent, put another half a teaspoon of bicarb soda & repeat the process.
This removed most of my blotches, but unfortunately I had 2 tough ones that didn't want to go.

That's when I used the vinegar & water solution.
Mix 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water in a spray bottle & spray the stains lightly. Grab the brush & brush lightly (as before) in different directions but without being too harsh so you don't damage the rug, until the stain finally disappears.
It's a bit of trial & error, but it did seem to work for me.

Once it's dry, give it a good vacuum (I'll be doing that tomorrow), & it should look as good as new.

Just wanted to share. Do you have any great cleaning tips you'd like to share? Any triumphs that came about after a moment of panic? Feel free to leave me a comment.

My new George Clooney coffee machine

I love a good cup of coffee (cappucinos & cafe lattes are my favourites), but a good home-made cup of coffee is rare. I haven't had a good one in quite some time....until now.

Hubby was generous on the weekend (he had some rewards points he wanted to use up!) so while we were all out on a shopping trip, he decided to also purchase a DeLonghi Nespresso Latissima+ coffee machine, which I lovingly refer to as the George Clooney coffee machine.

This coffee machine is wonderful. You pop in a coffee pod, press a button or 2 (depending on what coffee you're making) & your latte, cappucino or short black is ready so quickly that there's no time for multi-tasking.

Cleaning the frother is ultra-easy, as all you need to do is press a button & it's done for you. Any milk left in the frother can go straight in the fridge, to be used within 2 days.

I am yet to work out how to make a hot chocolate, but I've been told it can be done. I'm sure you could even make a cup of tea, but I'll have to experiment a bit. My first task is to learn how to make a baby-cino for my Little Miss, so she can join me when I have my "mummy-cino".

Thanks to one of my gorgeous girlfriends, who happened to visit last week, & who recommended her Nespresso machine. A week later, after quite a bit of research, I'm finally enjoying cappucinos at home.

A special thank you to George....oops, I mean hubby! And the red colour makes it extra special.

Has anyone else bought or received anything lately that has made life easier or sweeter? Feel free to share. I'd love to hear about it.

A Family Outing - Mt Dandenong

Hubby & I took our Little Miss to the Dandenongs for the first time on the weekend. It was a perfect sunny day, & the area was abuzz with people: young families, elderly couples, young couples, tourists, cyclists, locals, & the odd motorbike rider or 2. We stopped at Sassafras & Olinda. Here are some of the highlights from our day:

Tea Leaves - a store full of tea, coffee, teapots, infusers, mugs, chocolate-coated coffee beans & more. If you enjoy your tea, or know someone who does, it's definitely worth a visit. It's at 380 Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd, Sassafras, next to Miss Marples Tearoom (another fabulous place which we didn't visit this time around, as our pram was very likely going to be in everyone's way on a busy Sunday afternoon).

Olinda Cafe - a spacious cafe which also has a produce store where you can sample jams, relishes & other yummy local produce. The cafe menu was quite good & the staff were courteous, fast & helpful. Easy access for a pram. 17-19 Olinda-Monbulk Rd, Olinda

Westminster Gifts - my favourite store in the Dandenongs. It has such beautiful gifts, you could spend quite some time in there, as I usually do. They had some lovely French music playing (so I bought a cd), lots of French inspired gifts (I bought one of their canvas prints of the Eiffel Tower), bridal & baby gifts, Venetian masks, ceramics, lace, & so much more. It's a very pretty store. Hubby stayed outside with Little Miss, so she couldn't grab or break anything. It also gave me some valuable time alone to shop. 381 Mount Dandenong Tourist Rd, Sassafras

The Dandenongs are a great day out (or half a day in our case). It's a relaxing day, whether you choose to do some shopping in one of the many little shops, have a picnic, hike on one of the many tracks, have breakfast or lunch, or just take a leisurely stroll. It's beautiful any time of year.

x  Kathy  x

Book Review - "What To Wear, Where" by Hillary Kerr & Katherine Power

For all the women out there who wear the same tired, uninspired clothes every day (especially mums who live in jeans & sneakers all the time), here is a book that will help you re-think your style choices. This book has tips & ideas on how to put clothes together to make your look seem effortless but fashionable & relevant.

Designed as a reference book, it alphabetically lists various occasions & has photos of the authors dressed in clothing that they recommend for each occasion. The authors also include tips on what not to wear, which is very handy. There's also a section at the back about their must-have wardrobe essentials.

Pick up this book & it'll show you what to wear for a number of different occasions, including: a job interview, a wedding, a concert, a kids' event, a family reunion, a first date, a barbeque, & even your daily errands.

You don't have to refer to it every day but, at those times when you're stuck for ideas, or when you know that the jeans & sneakers look has reached it's use-by date, you can flip through this book & get some great ideas. All the hard work is done for you. It might even help you find inspiration from the items in your wardrobe that haven't been worn in a while.

x Kathy x

Christmas Recipe - Vanilla Shortbread

This delicious recipe is one I found on the packaging of some Bakers Secret cookie cutters I bought several years ago. I tried it for the first time a few days ago. It's so simple & the shortbread is mouth-watering. Try it, just in time for Christmas....

• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 210g plain flour (sifted)
• pinch of salt

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar & vanilla until light & fluffy. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour until smooth & well combined. Form a ball (I use my hands here) & refrigerate, covered, for a 1/2 hour.

Preheat oven to 150C


On lightly sugared surface, roll out dough, one part at a time, approximately 1cm thick. Use any biscuit cutters to cut out cookies. Place 2cm apart on non stick baking tray (I also use baking paper on the tray).

Bake for about 20mins, depending on your oven, or until light golden brown around the edges (I have an old oven with no fan, so it takes about a 1/2 hour for them to cook). Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

For an extra treat, sprinkle with vanilla flavoured sugar whilst still warm.

Makes approximately 18.


Enjoy!!

x Kathy x

Tip - How to get all the cream out of your hand cream tube

You've squeezed as much as you can, & you know there's still more cream in there but you just can't get it out.

Solution: cut the tube in half (pictured) & scoop out the remaining cream.

You'll be surprised how much is still in there, & it usually gets thrown out with the packaging.

You can do the same for your toothpaste too.

x Kathy x

Christmas Craft - Orange & Clove Pomanders

Here's a popular craft idea for Christmas, & so easy to make. There are many variations of ingredients, but these are the ones I like. Of course, you can use Ginger, Star Anise or other powdered spices you like, & instead of oranges, you can use lemons or even apples.
These aromatic pomanders send a fabulous fragrance through the house. Why not give them a try? Here's how: 

• 100g ground cinnamon
• 50g ground cloves
• 15g ground allspice
• 15g ground nutmeg
• large ceramic bowl
• 6 oranges
• 100g whole cloves
• thick needle
• plastic cling wrap

Mix all the powdered spices in the bowl.
Pierce holes in the oranges with the needle & stud with the whole cloves. You can cover the whole surface of the oranges with cloves, or create a simple pattern, as I have.

Place oranges in the bowl with the mixed spices, tossing gently until
their whole surface is covered with spice.
Cover bowl gently with the cling wrap.
Turn pomanders daily for 2-3 weeks, after which time they’re ready for
displaying in a pretty crystal or glass bowl.


Just in time for Christmas!
x Kathy x