so i can scare the dog and husband with my singing

I always seem to miss the boat on memes about the blogs but when i saw the A to Z meme on Pip's Meet Me at Mikes i figured i could get on board with this one.
The idea being you work your way through the alphabet in your browsers address bar and list all the sites you've been to (and hope there isn't anything embarrassing). As i worked through thi s list i've noticed that sometimes it isn't if a site beings with that letter but which URL has the most incidences of a letter.

A - http://www.google.com/analytics/ this could have been for work and for checking to see if i'd had double-figure visitors on the blog. If you have a website of any sort you just have to have Google Analytics

B - http://brownowls.blogspot.com/ the sweetest craftiest bunch about

C - http://www.careerone.com.au/ yup i've been looking for a new job and accepted an offer last week. More of the same and a then some. Nervous and excited, i start mid July. I'll be back in Surry Hills which is nice to be around the sample sales again...

D - http://picasaweb.google.com/broadcasttech/FindersKeepers curiously this one popped up for D, Mr Blue-eyes pix from finders keepers.

E - http://www.google.com/reader how else to a keep an eye on over 150 different blogs....

F - http://www.fitnessfirst.com.au yep i joined a couple of months ago though refused to take the backpack. I'm trying to stick to at least twice a week and have even been seeing a trainer. Getting much harder in the mornings since it hit single figures in temp...

G - http://www.geekologie.com/2009/04/good_eats_a_whole_chicken_in_a.php ah i'd almost forgotton about this one, soooo disgustingly bad and like a car crash you can't look away. A whole chicken in a can...

H - http://www.hollychalmers.com/ delightful ladies fashion with a twist, spotted at finders keepers

I - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120679/ IMDB listing for Frida, i love her mexican folky blouses and wreathed hair

J - http://www.jetstar.com/au/en/index.aspx we've got a trip to Hong Kong in September pencilled in so was checking flights out...

K - http://kerrianne.com.au/ um it is for work i promise - i never watch daytime telly

M - http://meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com/

N - http://www.smh.com.au/national/ though i must say the SMH is really starting to bug me with ads that autoplay and ads running down the background

O - http://www.bom.gov.au/ i'm an utter weather geek and check the observations and radar everyday

P - http://pastureperfectpork.wordpress.com/ we bought a pork neck from them at the eveliegh growers markets and were looking for ideas on what to do with it. Ravioli and sausage won the day.

R - http://recipefinder.ninemsn.com.au/ felt like baking today and was looking for something to do with the passionfruits i got at the markets yesterday...

S - http://thestonesoup.com/blog one of my fave Sydney food bloggers, Jules has a great way of writing and showing us what she makes and i seem to want to eat all of it

T - http://www.threeoverone.com/ Mr Blue-eyes is always on the look out for sharp menswear that is classic but modern.

U - http://uootsie.wordpress.com/

V - http://www.webjet.com.au/airlines/virgin-atlantic/ more Hong Kong research, my fave airline so far

X - http://www.xbox360cheats.com/ i think 'someone' was getting frustrated with a game...

Y - http://yalla.com.au/ am drooling just remembering the Yalla dips and yogurts. The strawberry/pomegranate is thrilling.

I know things in Sydney don't really get cold as far as the northern hemmesphere goes but when it gets to single figures at night then it counts as cold for me.
Cold enough for me that these wool-blend arm warmers from Country Road seemed like a super idea, especially when on sale for $22 (was $50).
Perfect for keeping the hands warm when blogging...

So after mastering the art of making pizza dough and sausages Mr Blue-eyes has moved onto pasta. As much as we wanted to get the pasta attachments for our Kitchenaid we werent quite willing to spend almost the cost of the mixer for the attachments and a quick trip to Victoria's Basement scored us a basic pasta maker in a matching red enamel even.

A couple of trials ensued and it wasnt long before the right blend of pasta flour and semolina was discovered. Some digging in the utensil drawer unearthed a long lost ravioli wheel and the technique was perfected.

One of the more successful dinners was a Prawn, pinenut & fetta ravioli with a tomato and cream sauce with garden fresh basil.

The filling

The filling laid out on the pasta ready for the top layer

Once the an egg wash is brushed on the bottom layer, the top layer of pasta is laid on top and smoothed down around the filling.

The edges are then trimmed off using the wheel tool.

and then cut into individual pieces.

lots of flour is used to make sure they dont stick together as they're being prepared. Whilst they were in a pot of salted boiling water the sauce was created with cherry tomatoes, garlic, basil and a splash of cream.

We just managed to snap this shot because minutes later there was nothing left in that bowl - a real plate licker...

Inspired by The Crafty Librarian & AmityvilleBoronia I'm going to share what we're having for dinner tonight.
From The Silver Spoon which was a wedding pres from A'dair & Tash comes Pumpkin Tortelli.
Mr Blue-eyes has mastered the art of pasta making and is now on to trying new fillings and non tomato sauces.

Ingredients:
4 cups pumpkin, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus extra to serve
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2-2 cups bread crumbs
200gr Fresh Pasta Dough
1/4 cup butter
8 fresh sage leaves
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 220c. Put the pumpkin in a roasting pan, drizzle with the oil, cover with foil and bake for about 1 hour. Pass the pumpkin through a food mill into a bowl, add the Parmesan and eggs and season with salt and pepper. Stir in enough bread crumbs to make a fairly firm mixture. Roll out the pasta dough into a sheet and stamp out 7.5cm rounds with a cookie cutter. Spoon a little of the pumpkin filling into the center of each round, fold in half and crimp the edges. Cook the tortelli in a large pan of salted, boiling water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frypan, add the sage and cook for a few minutes. Drain the tortelli, place in a warm serving dish and sprinkle with the sage butter and extra Parmesan.

We ended up making ravioli shapes as we didn't have a nice round cutter and Mr Blue-eyes has the ravioli technique down pat. We also forgot to add the parmesan into the pumpkin mixture but it was still pretty damn yummy (if a bit naughty with the butter sauce).

I'll blame Mr Blue-eyes who suffered last week as i'm afflicted with one of those delightful viruses that clogs the head up with goop and turns you into a pathetic shambling creature.
I know I'm really unwell when I'm not hungry and I've been surviving on bags of these Eucalyptus and Honey balls.
Proper blogging to resume when i can type properly without going crosseyed.

So here are a few more pix from The Finders Keepers Markets this weekend just gone (part 1 here).

Some of the rolls of wallpaper at Publisher Textiles. They also had very cool tops & dresses in prints with circuits and other motifs.

Screenprinted posters and tees in sharp lines from Cultural Urge.

Waist cinching belts and bits from Cherry Morris

Cards and threads and assorted stationary from Lox + Savvy

Fellow Brown Owl, Shelbyville. Jeweller, crafter, 'ziner and bookbinder to boot.

I've been a long time lurker at Auntie Cookies blog so it was sweet to see her craftiness in person.

I've been lusting after Zaishu stools for sometime and i was driven to gibbering at Mr Blue-eyes about these stools and ooo-that-one-ooo-want-this-one.

And my new favourite local store Made590, including me sizing up a frock and Miss Cath & I trawling the rails. I think i will be relieving the deer of its lovely red coat one day soon.

Frankie Magazine was also there with a neat stand that had back issues, knitting needles, fabric bundles, aprons and a rather decent assortment of vintage/2nd hand clothes. You can see the turquoise blue cardie i scored being folded at top left.

And now for random people watching pix, with thanks to Sam from Turramurra with her fab haircut and Grace with her cool toy horse.

After not making it to the Summer season last year i was determined not to miss The Finders Keepers Markets this time, especially when it is only 300m down the road from my house.

I made up for it this time by making 2 visits, Friday night after work (along with hundreds of others) and on Saturday afternoon with more of a pram brigade and a hungover Miss Cath.

There was a Brown Owls rendezvous' at Badskirt's Friday and Shelbyville's stand Saturday but i didn't quite make to either although i did spot a few Brown Owls about.
Here are some of the highlights that Mr Blue-eyes captured. I'll try to link to as many stands as i can match up...

In need of some basic white tees i managed to nab a Finders Keepers tee before the sold out, $35 seemed reasonable for a nicely cut white tee with a pretty print.

Back side of the Made by White stand featuring their wall stickers. Loving the deer with the forest in its antlers. Made by White also have the only instance i've seen of a sloth as a pendant.

Pretty sure these are by Sally Mac, assorted lovely japanese silk decor and baby bits.

Fresh citrusy colours and natural sillouettes from Redberry Designs

Sweet kidlet clothes in fun designs with no pink and blue to be seen - yay from Honeyants

Rebound Books have all your old favourites including Golden Books repurposed as notebooks, diaries and journals.

Delightful birdcage with gift tags and other stationery by Mulberry Muse

Assorted brooches, canvases and other charming objects by Prado-Marin

And fellow Brown Owl sewer/crafter/blogger extrordinaire, BADSKIRT. I saw a number of folks wandering about with hippos and other critters in bags, including my colleague Besty who is debating keeping her hippo instead of gifting it on.

Dashing and dapper bicycle wear from the happy Rocket Fuel

Berlinski with her handbags and clutches from tasty vintage materials

Edit: This is Allison of Six and a half stitches who was sharing a stall with Kristan Doran
I've been reading Kristan blog for months and had to grab a panel of her squirrel print

I liked the clothes at Sunday Morning so much i had to come back and get a 2nd top. I bought a black long sleeve top with a flattering boat neck that had been trimmed in a vintage pink/green/blue print and a soft blue tee with a silver owl print (as worn below. They also do nice textiles and jewllery too.

We were enchanted with Holly Chalmers frilled with a twist, tailored pieces, am kicking myself for not grabbing something from her as i don't think she is stocked in Sydney yet.

Part 2 of Finder Keepers to come shortly...

I caught up with a girlfriend last night for a lovely dinner of nibbles and fabulous mussels at Fix St James
As a little belated b'day gift she gave me this gorgeous Mor Marshmallow Lip BalmInside is a lovely sweet soft pink lip balm with a yummy marshmallow flavour. Thank you Nicky, I have to have it on my desk and am constantly playing with it as the tin is most delightful.

So when i heard that i could earn a Brown Owl Badge for knitting i dug out my knitting needles and unraveled a long abandoned few rows and set to knitting this tea cosy
However i hadnt really taken into account how much wool i had on hand. I was also a bit rusty when it came to my tension being too tight. So combined with many rows spent trying to remember what purl stitch was i ended up with a 2/3 sized tea cosy that was too wide for my small tea pots but too short for a full size tea pot.

So it just wasnt going to work as a tea cosy and i unraveled it all to start again for the 2nd time.
I started quite well and after a few rows of purl i realised it was curling under and remembered the need for knit1/purl1 to create ribbing. However i was a bit distracted and the time and couldn't always recall if i'd knitted one or purled one so there were a few rows of half-arsed ribbing. I then realised that i had been a bit carried away with casting on and after a few rows i could see that it was going to be too wide for a tea-cosy.

With a bit of help from my Meet Me At Mikes Crafy Projects book i casted off a few stiches and ended up with those interesting curly bits. Then the more i knitted the more i thought that it just isnt going to be a good tea-cosy but it will make a fun scarf.
So i've got enough wool to make purple/red/chartreuse scarf that will have a few curly bits as i cast off but i'm making decent progress to be able to wear it this winter.

I have been in love with Rob Ryan's papercuts for sometime.
I was especially thrilled when Frankie featured his work last year with a pullout poster. He does amazing commissions that appear in magazines all over the work and installations and packaging for Fortnum & Mason.
He has a small store in London and a smaller store in NY but one can always get find him on Etsy where he sells screenprints and ceramic tiles of his papercuts.


His work always has amazing heartfelt, sweet passages that are filled with ooey gooey love in the best way.
I think i'll have to be content with the poster from Frankie at this point but i can dream of having one of his pieces full size.

It has been a busy month, an Easter trip to Canberra to visit my special chic yoga teaching aunt and her daughter Pearl - with side trips to Braidwood & Bungendore.

3 Birthdays at work with lots of cakes and pressies, Sussie the Swede got a voucher for Tessutis as she is quite the sewer of free-from clothes that i can only aspire to make. DC the designer scored a neat pack of felty goodies from Kikki-K.
And last but least was my birthday on Sunday the work gang bought me a subscription to Frankie which i was very excited about. I have weened myself off my magazine addiction but i think i can make an exception for Frankie in all its warm, crafty, quirky, cool goodness. All my desktops now have Frankie Wallpapers on rotation.

I made sure i the whole weekend to celebrate, with a delicious ducky lunch at Glebe Point Diner. I've been trying to get here for a long time and could never coordinate a booking and dare i say it was worth waiting for.
We shared a fragrant, meaty duck sausage and a silky smooth duck pate for entrees and both were wonderfully done. I dithered for a moment on the duck with pears and brussell sprouts as a main but when the helpful waiter confirmed it was a medium rare breast there was no question. I shall have to return to explore the solid balanced wine list further and to sample the rosemary and honey panacotta.

Miss Cath bought me the Meet Me At Mikes book of 25 Fun & Crafty things to Make, I don't know what i was more excited about Frankie or this. I've already cracked into it to help me earn my first Brown Owls Merit Badge for knitting. My tea cosy is nearly finished (pix to come soon), it is a bit wonky but considering it is the first knitting project i have come close to finishing i think it is a pretty good effort. I just need to sew it up and add a lil pom-pom on top.

not my choice and it was everything i dreaded and worse, Patricia Fields costumes hindered any credibility it never had

cringe and groan

lurid slapstick dull

a muddy moral

I blame the boar head - on the door of the most delicious smelling deli just off the campo in Siena.
Filled with rustic wild boar salami, truffled pecorino, pickled artichokes and all manner of delights in between.
After doing our best to sample everything we settle on some slices of proscuittos, salamis, cheeses, bread and a bottle of chianti to wash it down with.
45euro later we found a step in the campo and started piling up tasty morsals on the crusty bread. We did manage to make it last for lunch the next day at least.