What's Happening Right Now

Just came back from a walk with Cat - awesome walk but my face is now bright red as a beetroot!

Online Shopping - NZ Teas

Choco Chilli Tea -  On infusion, the chilli combines with the cocoa, apple, chocolate and strawberry pieces to make a satisfying and memorable brew

Lately I've been doing something that has never appealed to me before - online shopping!

I've brought the odd products online here and there but to be honest I have always preferred to just go to the store and purchase the product myself because then I can have it straight away.

I hate the anxious feeling of waiting around wondering if your goods are actually going to arrive and although there seems to be an abundance of courier vans around your neighbourhood the saddening fact is that none are actually there for you.

I've started to warm up to shopping online as I've found out that 1) You can almost order anything your heart desires,  2) Most products I'm after are reaaaally reeaallly cheap online and 3) With all the "Daily Deal" sites these days you can get awesome bargains on things you wouldn't get in stores.

 I love "Daily Deal" sites as it opens my eyes up to stores/sites I never knew existed - for example the company T Leaf T - http://www.tleaft.co.nz.

This place is AMAZZZING!!  They stock a good variety of yummy teas,  I have ordered the following and can not wait for their arrival:

• Japan Matcha
• Kawakawa Fire
• Pina Colada
• Berry Nice
• Cinnamon Spice
• Ginseng Oolong
• Jasmine Silver Tip
• Fortune Flower
• Cinnamon Apple Chamomile
• Fountain of Youth
• Nettle Leaves
• Liquorice Star
• Choco Chilli
• Infuser Ball
• Fabulous Feijoa
• Caribbean Crush
• Anti-Cyclone

Back From The Dentist

So 2 weeks ago I went for a dental examination - including 2 x-rays plus a full cleaning,  scale and polish.

I was so happy when the dentist informed me that all I needed done was to have one cavity filled and that I had perfect teeth.

Fast forward 2 weeks and 4 injections later I have had my cavity filled and don't need any more work done.

All and all the fear of having to go to the dentist is much worse then the actual appointment itself.

I am happy my little teethies are healthy! Today is a great day even if I cant feel the right side of my face and it is completely swollen.

I looked super classy drinking a latte with a straw today when Mat and myself went out for breakfast after :)

See ya

Low Carb: Cauliflower Pizza Base

While catching up on some of my favourite blogs I came across a pizza recipe that uses cauliflower as the base.

The idea sounded intriguing and the fact that it was low carb convinced me to try it out immediately.  Off to the store I went to gather a cauli and a few other ingredients that I wanted to put on my pizza.

I've made this cauliflower pizza base twice now each time I make it it taste better and better.

The picture above is my first attempt in which I used this recipe:  http://glutenfreehappytummy.com/2012/07/21/cauliflower-pizza-party-a-graduation-gf-v-bed-scd/

The base was nice but not too tasty and I didn't like the texture of the almond flour.  The second time I changed a few things around - I upped the cauliflower to 1/2 a head,  removed the almond flour completely and added 1/3c of cheese.

The cheese made the pizza AMAZING! and the over all texture of the pizza was awesome I could hold each slice in my hand and it was crispy on the outside but the inside had a lovely chew to it.  The cheese seemed to hold the entire mixture together nicely along with adding a delicious flavour to the pizza.

Cat Treats

New treats for the Ba'Ba's,  finger's crossed they like them.

Major Fear: Dentist

I'm going to the dentist on Friday and it's fair to say that I am literally shitting myself.

I finally have made the appointment for 8.30 Friday 28th September.  I have such a fear that the dentist will want to rip all my teeth out so they scare they crap out of me.

Fingers crossed I still will have 32 (REAL) teeth on Friday evening and for the rest of my life

Fun At The Market

Today I woke up early and headed off to the farmer's market.  It was a lovely sunny day and I was able to pick up some wonderful treats.

All the produce was vibrant and fresh and begging to be brought,  fortunately I gave into temptation much to easily and ended up with a whole bounty of goods :) 

I brought Meyer Lemons, Swiss Chard,  Fennel,  Kale,  Avo's,  Pure Bacon and Monterey Jack Cheese. 

Swiss Chard and Curly Kale

Meyer Lemon and Fennel

Organic Monterey Jack Cheese and Pure Bacon

Lemons Lemons And More Lemons

Can you believe that I picked up all of these organic Meyer Lemons for 2.00 today at the farmers market I *heart* farmers markets they make my heart happy.

Amber Cakes and Maverick

My two babies who I adore more then anything Amber Cakes and Maverick James Gate.

The below pictures are taken at their holiday batch,  yup that's right my cats are soo cool that they travel!

Maverick James Gate

Amber Cakes Gate

Healthy Baking: Ginger Snaps and Blueberry Pancakes

Afternoon,

The other day I had the brilliant idea to attempt to cook two recipes that I've wanted to cook for a while now.

I tried my luck at two healthy recipes - Blueberry Pancakes and Ginger Snaps.  Both recipes are off my two favourite blogs Ittybitsofbalance.com and nourish-and-flourish.net.

My "Lightened Up Wheat-free Ginger Snaps"

Ginger Snaps close up

Brittany's Ginger Snaps ( http://ittybitsofbalance.com/2011/12/20/lightened-up-wheat-free-gingersnaps/ )

To my disappointment both recipes were a complete fail.  The ginger snaps were wheat-free and tasted slightly odd, they tasted pretty much like brown rice flour and water.  I'm sad that these didn't work for me as they looked so cute on Brittany's blog.

Sara's Blueberry Pancakes ( http://nourish-and-flourish.net/2012/06/wiaw-blueberry-cheesecake-pancakes/ )

As for the blueberry pancakes this was an awesome recipe!  The recipe is so healthy and the pancake batter is super tasty the problem is that because they contain almost zero fat you need to cook them in an awesome non-stick frying pan.

I attempted the recipe twice - the first time the whole mixture stuck to my horrible pan and I ended up just throwing the whole thing out.  The second time instead of frying the batter I baked it in a ramekin.  It came out awesome and so pretty.  Because I'm still getting use to taking pictures of everything I cook/bake I don't have a picture for my baked pancakes (sorry) but take it from me it looked sooo tasty and colourful.

Top 10 Plays On My Ipod

2pac - Open Fire

2pac - Staring Through My Rear view

2pac - My Block

2pac - Better Days

2pac - Keep Your Head Up

2pac - Hell For A Hustler

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

George Harrison - As My Guitar Gently Sleeps

Led Zeppelin - Black Dog

Metallica - Until It Sleeps

No guesses as to who my favourite artist is.  I LOVE 2PAC more then anything!! In my opinion he is the most intelligent and amazing character.

Love one to Pac!

Worst Moment In My Life To Date

Four months ago my mum was rushed to hospital due to complications with her thyroids.  While in hospital she almost died because her blood pressure was so low but amazingly she overcome this like nothing had happened and was released a few days later.

Looking back that was one of the scariest moments of my life as I have never had anyone that I love so much and would die for ever be so close to death.  It was such a shock and made me release just how precious family really is.

I spent a few weeks with mum after she came out of hospital and it was great!  My whole family and I were so happy to have my mum alive and well and we thought that was the end of the scare..... until the doctors got hold of mum and told her that she has stomach cancer a week later.

Now my mum is the absolute strongest person I know and as gut wrenching as the news was for my family and myself to digest it was toughest for my mum and it was the first time I have ever seen my mum cry.

My whole family felt helpless and were in shock for a while it was hands down the worst news I have ever experienced.  From the beginning my mum always said she will get through this and was so unbelievably positive since day 1.  She started YouTubeing videos of the operation she would have to go through and all information about stomach cancer.

Mum went through 9weeks of Chemotherapy and an 11 hour operation (it was supposed to only be 6 hours) and although the past four months have been tough on mum she has done so amazing and keep 100% positive.  The oddest thing is you would never ever know she has cancer we keep forgetting as she has been so wonderful.  She looks better then she ever has and even mums personality has changed for the better she no longer stresses about the small things in life and apreicates everything.  Her outlook on life has become so positive.

We have had many complications on this journey with mum almost dying multiple times,  the Chemo leaking on the outside of mums body and other things like mum being discharged from hospital only to be admitted back in the next day.  All of this stuff has happened and my mum has gone through so much pain but always maintained to smile and keep positive.  The surgery was a success and all the cancer was taken from her stomach.  This was the best news ever all mum has is 9 more weeks of chemo and we can put this whole journey behind us.....

Except we can't.  Just as we start celebrating life without cancer mum goes back to the hospital today for a routine check-up and they have informed her that everything is great with her stomach cancer and she is healing wonderful and it no longer exists in the stomach but she now has cancer in her Lymph Nodes - cancer is in 6 out of the 9 Lymph Nodes.

Just when things start to look up they come crashing down.

Turbo Jamming / A Sign

While I was back home for the madres operation I found a Turbo Jam DVD amonugst a bunch of books on my mums cabinet.

I was excited because I wanted to buy it when I first saw the informational way back in 2006.

Back in my younger days 2006/07 I use to spend anywhere from 2-4 hrs in the gym most days as I was a student studying and had nothing better to do with my time.

I'd finish course at 1pm then spend the rest of the day in the gym until my mum finished work at 5pm where we would then go home together.  I use to do a lot of boxing back then and it's fair to say I was in SOOO MUCH better shape.

When I first saw Turbo Jam advertised it appealed to me as it incorporated boxing and kick-boxing moves the only thing I was always to screw-gee to pay the ridiculous price of 200.00 for the box set.

Fast-forward 6years and too many delicious burgers and desserts later I was ecstatic to find the disk on the cabinet,  it was like a sign!

I tried out the "Learn and Burn" workout and it definitely makes you sweat! I feel like I'm getting in a good amount of cardio and personally find it more entertaining then Zumba.  Zumba I find boring and end up quitting half way through so this is good though I must admit the first time I tried this I ended it only 4mins in as I was exhausted but it was 1am in the morning :)

I'm going to try do Turbo Jam at least 3 times a week and see how we go.  I want to get back into boxing and start UFC (Ultimate Fighter) and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) so this is a good place to start to get my fitness up.  I get through all the punches and kicks imagining that I'm an awesome UFC fighter haha

Along with my "Learn and Burn" workout today I have also dusted off the cobwebs of my "Ab Circle Pro" as I never really did complete the "Lose 10pounds in 10 days Challenge",  a killer Body Rock workout and a Blogilates "Glad You Came Calve Challenge" - http://blogilates.com/challenges

Mum

Flowers from Dutchbydesign.com

My mum is amazing...That's all :)

What I'm Currently Doing

Baking the above Banana Bread from Sara'a blog - http://nourish-and-flourish.net/my-favorite-banana-bread/.

It's close to midnight and I have to wake up at 4am for the journey back home to see my madre before her operation.  I still have to wash the clothes that I plan on taking with me and then pack those same clothes.

Instead of packing and making sure I have everything I need I'm baking yummy Banana Bread and G/F Pumpkin Muffins....typical of who I am really.  I take such a relaxed not fazed approach while everyone stresses out panicking that I wont be ready on time I make it with minutes to spare,  much to their amazement.

Fingers crossed my bread tastes good as my kitchen currently smells amazing!  The beautiful aromas of cinnamon,  vanilla and sweet bananas are filling every nook and cranny of my house.

I changed Sara's recipe slightly by replacing the butter with olive oil and using splenda instead of real sugar.  I also added cinnamon by mistake as I was baking my g/f pumpkin muffins at the same time and cinnamon went in the banana bread instead of the muffins (oops).


Banana Bread

2 cups oat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar (Splenda granular and Truvia work well too)

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (2% or 0%)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed
until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating
after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until
blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon
batter into a bread loaf pan (or muffin pan) coated with cooking spray.

4. Bake at 350° for 1 hour (for bread), or 20 minutes (for muffins), or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes
out clean.

Serves 14.

Nutrition per serving: Calories: 187; Fat: 4.3 grams; Protein: 3.9 grams;

Nutrition with Splenda: Calories: 136; Fat: 4.3 grams; Protein: 3.9 grams

Latest Obsessions

Multitude Hair Ties - from Anthropologie

Multitude Hair Ties - from Anthropologie

I'm currently beyond obsessed with the above hair ties.


Multitude Hair Ties from Anthropologies.  These are the cutest hair ties ever! They come in a range of colours that are too cute for words.  I'm in the process of ordering some these babies and can not wait until they arrive.

I'm been daydreaming about these hair ties for quite awhile now and will be soo happy once I get my hands on these.

Apparently you can make your own version of the hair ties at home using a head band - http://thatsinfluence.blogspot.com.  Wouldn't mind giving this a try some time.

Essie Nail Polish - Muchi Muchi

Essie Nail Polish - Mint Candy Apple

What can I say I love all things Essie!

O.P.I is HUGE and seems to be all the rage amongst most girls but I'm yet to get on that bandwagon.  I've always been a massive fan of Essie and personally prefer it to O.P.I as I believe it stays on longer without chipping and glides on the nails much smoother resulting  in the same professional finish that you get in salons.

My two favourite Essie colours are - Mint Candy Apple and Muchi Muchi.

Three Things Making Me Happy

Healtheries BedTime Tea

I Love the above tea.  It's delicious and really does what it claims.  Every night I will have a cup before bed and it calms me down while allowing me to happily drift off to sleep.

This tea is caffeine free and has a delicate refreshing flavour.  It is soothing,  comforting and calms your mind and body for a good night's sleep.

The coolest thing about the Healtheries brand is that each tea bag come with a cute little saying which makes drinking tea even more fun :)

Christmas Coffee Mug

Love Love Love this mug!  This is my go to mug when I'm at my aunts house because it's super cute and has an adorable Christmas tree on it.

Christmas is my FAVOURITE holiday so using this cup makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Also I believe pretty cups makes your drink taste nicer.  Makes sense in my mind so I'm going with it.

Rodney,  my dad's new cat

Rod is my dad's newest cat.  He was a little baby kitten and had no home so my dad took him in.  Goes without saying he is toooooo cute for words.

What makes him even more special is he looks like a little rat and wiggles his nose like Samantha from Bewitched.

Love Of My Life

My lovely cat Amber Cakes.

She is the most adorable cat in the world and I love her to bits.  These pictures are taken of Amber at her  holiday batch.

Ambie is 14years old :)

Deliciousness In A Basket

My yummy and uber cool gift from Mat my amazing boyfriend.

My delicious treat was filled to the brim with a variety of apples,  pears,  plums,  peaches,  berries,  nectarines and delicious chocolate and special cookies which I ate by the bucket load when we lived in Sydney.

Needless to say I was one happy girl when Mat presented the above to me :)

First Post, First Blog Ever

Yesterday evening I finally made the decision to start a blog of my very own.

I've been a long silent reader of many blogs over the years and always dreamt of starting my own the only problem is that although I work in the Information Technology industry I'm extremely technically challenged not to mention quite lazy when it comes to this sort of stuff.

A very special person close to my heart has many blogs and she has convinced me that I should stop being lazy and start one up.  I've finally taken her advice and now my very own blog exists :)

I've been through hell and back trying to create my site and it seems that every idea I have Blogger wont allow me to see it through.  There appears to be a few limitations - either that or I just suck at working this "Blog" thing out.

Another problem I've had is that Google wont accept my real name as my name is against their "Name Policy" which is crazy! My name doesn't seem inappropriate to me but then again it is my name so maybe it's just because I'm use to it.

If I'm lucky enough to have any readers (other then you Cat) then WELCOME :)