Monday, December 26, 2011

Spoiled for Christmas!


 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

I over-indulged in lots of delicious food, including fresh fruit, croissants and prawns for breakfast (prawns have become a Christmas morning tradition at our house), and Mum's roasted goodies for lunch, for which we were joined by my Nanna & Poppa.

Pictured below are just a few of the gorgeous gifts I was spoiled with! - A beautiful scarf and a cute button necklace, handmade by my Nanna, and the beautiful book Food Fashion Friends by designer Fleur Wood from my mum, which I have been hanging out for!

 

Boxing day we headed to Hindmarsh Island to see my Nanny & Pop for Christmas. Above are a couple photo's taken in the salt scrub. In the photo on the right, you can just see the back of the shack in the background.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Pretty Christmas Baubles




These are a sample of some of the pretty baubles I collected for this years Christmas, after deciding on a white, silver and cream colour scheme.
The wooden box, found at home, originally held bottles of wine, but has worked out perfectly for storing delicate decorations.

Tip: The more beautiful Christmas decorations tend to be sold as separates and can often get a little expensive, however, if you purchase your decorations just before, or just after Christmas, you may able be able to score your self some baubles on special. Currently Target has 40% off some Christmas decorations and Myer has 35% off all Christmas decorations. 

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Romance Inspired Afternoon Tea


 
 
   
 
 

Yesterday I attended the most gorgeous afternoon tea, hosted by a dear friend, held in leu of a bridal shower.
The above images are just a few of the shots I managed to capture of the afternoon. Featuring fresh blooms, delicious cupcakes, tarts, and other homemade goodies, and of course, the beautiful bride to be!
I can't take much credit for these photos - The romantic styling and decadent buffet pretty much sells it self!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Countryside Snap


Wednesday I spent the day travelling from one side of Adelaide to another, taking photos on work sites for a company I'm currently freelancing for. While down South, stopped on the side of the road, I took a few snaps of the countryside. Overall it was a successful day - I think we got some good shots!
I've been super busy of late: Christmas is just over a week away, and everything else seems to need to be done at the same time - That's the way it always seems to go.
I've been working on Christmas decorations and am hoping to get some photos taken and posted on here before Christmas is over! Fingers crossed I fit it all in!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

How to germinate fruit seeds

My mums seedlings

My mum has been growing her own seedlings in Jiffy pots of late, which are going quite well. So I have decided to have a go at growing my own seedlings.
I have been collecting the seeds from the fruit I eat (actually, more like I've been eating fruit purely to get the seeds - Seems gardening is good for both your soul and your health) and have looked up on the web how to germinate them (I found the website Mostly Maths to be quite helpful - A step by step guide of how they germinated their own seeds).
I remember being told that Maple seeds need to be frozen first in order germinate, recreating their natural icy habitat in Japan, and not surprisingly it's the same when it comes to other seeds - Basically you just need to recreate the plants natural habitat and germinating season. Rather quite logical when you think about it.
After soaking all the seeds for 24 hours (to help soften the outer shells and remove natural germinating-inhibitor enzymes), I wrapped each set of seeds in moist paper towel, which I then put in zip lock bags. And that's pretty much it!
The only other thing to do, is to figure out if the seeds need a warm or cold germinating process, and how long for.
Citrus generally needs a warm germinating process (lemon, orange, mandarin), and should spend generally 10 days to 3 weeks outside in the baggie, before planting.
Apples and strawberries favour a cooler climate and should be put in the fridge for 2 weeks before planting.
Stone fruit needer a cooler climate again. Apricot kernels need to be refrigerated for a month to 6 weeks and cherry seeds should be refrigerated for 3 if not 4 months to achieve germination. They would probably prefer a climate slightly cooler than the fridge, but it will suffice as the freezer may be a little too cold.

Fun Fact:  It's documented that apricot kernels contain the vitamin B17, which is said to both prevent and destroy cancer cells. In Mexico, they have cancer treatment centres dedicated to B17 treatments, and are said to have the highest success rate in the world for treating cancer, although these stats, nor even the treatment of cancer through B17, has never been acknowledged by most doctors or scientists in the Western world. Apricot kernels also contain a natural form of cyanide, which in small doses, has no effect on the human body, except to destroy cancer cells, but it is said for this reason, that apricot kernels are illegal in Australia (America and UK too I believe). Australian business 'Happy High Herbs' was actually raided and charged with possession and intent to sell apricot kernels. What would ever possess someone to perform such a criminal act? Shame on them! Everyone knows the only way to treat cancer is through pumping dangerous, all cell and immune system killing drugs, or radiation through your body ...Eating seeds... tsk tsk. In fact, Australians, all let us rejoice - Australia is leading the way in the criminalisation of alternative treatments, banning more plants and plant matter than any other country in the world. Hoorah! Another win for the drug companies! However did the human race survive before drugs?! Using natural herbs and plants for medicinal and health purposes... Pffft!

The only problem is, according to the information I found, even if you do successfully germinate the fruit seeds and grow seedling, you can't guarantee the plant will produce the same fruit in which the seed came from. You can't you even be sure the plant will produce fruit at all! And if it does, it could take years. Apparently a lot of trees that produce fruit, citrus and stone fruit especially, involve cross pollination processes and/or grafting the plant to another already mature plant of another species of fruit - Processes I'm not even going to pretend to understand.
But it's fun to try growing the seeds, and the plants should make lovely ornamental pieces none the less.

I will update my blog as the germinating process progresses.

Note: Please see disclaimer

Monday, December 5, 2011

Summer Gardening Love


 
 

I've been a bit slack on the blog posts of late - I've found with all the beautiful weather we've been having, I'm reluctant to sit in side and work on art, instead finding myself out in the garden.
I took the above photos in our garden this morning. My intent was to take some pictures of how our garden is looking overall, and show off the hard work both my mum and I have put into gardening of late (mum more so), but I'm a sucker for the close up photos (evident above). I'm happy with results none the less.
Beside gardening, I have also been working on a new project - I was recently nominated, and accepted the position of Publicity Officer, on the committee for The Gawler Community Gallery - which I am extremely excited about. I'm already enjoying the new challenge.

Flowers above: Agapanthas, Rose & Hibiscus.


Thursday, December 1, 2011

New Updated Blog Design


I've been wanting to update my blog design for a while, so last week I decided to take the leap.
I spent a long time looking at blog templates, but after literally looking at thousands, and still not finding one I was happy with, I decided to create my own design. Having little knowledge of html, I found a very simple standard blogger template work with, and played around and worked to create my own background and theme.

I have to say, I'm quite happy with the end result - I think it's much more me now!

The only problem was, after changing the template, all the images were the wrong size! So I had to go back through all my past posts and resize everything. With that finally out the way, the only thing left not quite finished is the blog header, but I'll save that for another day.

I've made it so it's more user friendly: The page bar above allows blog posts to be easily navigated by category and I've also added an 'about' page for new visitors. I also think it's much more professional looking now and theme ties in well.

Now that I've finally finished, I can get back to spending my time working on the actual content!

Enjoy!