For your enjoyment, a new family favourite – Blondies. A relative of brownies, they’re simple to make, tasty & easy to customize.

Choc chips are always a popular addition, but this time I used pistachios. I guarantee they won’t last long!

Blondies

230 grams butter, melted
1 & 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 to 1 cup pistachios (or select additions from list below)

1. Prepare a slice pan & heat oven to 350°F (or 150°C fan forced)
2. Mix melted butter with brown sugar – beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
3. Stir in flour. Mix in roughly chopped pistachios or any other additions (below).
4. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until set in the middle. I always err on the side of caution with baking times — nobody ever complained about a gooey-middled cookie. Cool on rack before cutting them.

Further additions, use one or a combination of:

• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
• 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
• 1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
• 2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
• Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries, into the prepared batter
• Top with a vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting

(adapted from http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2006/11/blondies-for-a-blondie/)

A few days ago, I wanted to find a new recipe for rice bubbles, so I looked on Pinterest for inspiration, typed “rice bubbles” into the pinterest search box and found several great options.  I ended up making a modified version of Retro mummy’s easiest muesli bar slice. The quick oats gave the slice great texture & the splash of maple syrup was delicious! I think they’d be even better with dried fruit or choc bits!

Easy Muesli Slice

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups quick oats
• 1.5 sups rice bubbles (or combination of rice bubbles & coco pops)
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 can condensed milk
• splash of maple syrup 

preheat oven to 150 degrees C. combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl then add the condensed milk & maple syrup. mix well then press into lined slice tin. bake for 30-40 mins or until golden brown. my oven tends to be a bit hot, so they only took 30 mins. cool, slice & enjoy!

i tried a new recipe today and it was a hit with everyone, so you might like to try it too!

you can find the original coconut cupcake recipe at simply recipes (http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/coconut_cupcakes_with_coconut_cream_cheese_frosting/)

my slightly modified version is below. the original recipe had a cream cheese frosting, but i didn’t have any cream cheese, so i used white chocolate instead & my kids loved the icing!

pinterest has become of my favourite places online

its a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love

if you enjoy pulling pages out of magazines & creating scrapbooks & inspiration boards – you’ll love pinterest!

mandy lynne is one of the talented photographers i’ve discovered there

her etsy store is filled with beautiful vintage inspired images – this is one of my favourites!

Target (USA) has even licensed some of her images & made wall art collections

last year she did a polaroid project 52 … a year of saturdays

52 photos seems more doable than 365 – so i’ve decided to give it a try!

here the 1st week in the series: a family of emus who wandered up the road to our house

i rediscovered this photo today when i was organising my files
it was captured back in January & its so him
i love …
his sweet smile
the tiny scar on his bottom lip
his sparkly blue/green eyes
he’s even wearing his favourite hat – a Honda one his cousins gave him for xmas

so many portraits are shot in portrait (vertical) format
but i love framing them horizontally like this
with the subject off-center or using the rule of thirds
what about you – how do you like to frame your portraits?

my sweet girl is growing up so fast

as she approaches the tween years, emotions often run high

i think that’s why i love this photo so much

she looks like a little girl again

so happy and relaxed and carefree

& she’s smiling – not a cheesy camera smile, but one of pure joy

we’re home after a lovely holiday at the not so sunny sunshine coast

M & B had their 1st surfing lesson & we all went 10 pin bowling

keeping up with my 365 grateful project wasn’t easy & i missed several days … c’est la vie!

there are times when a compact camera (or an iphone) would have been very handy

on the home front, all the grass is seeding & everything looks so green & lush – but the days are SO humid & HOT

its beginning to look a lot like xmas … M & B have decorated the tree, made gingerbread houses & melted snowman cookies, watched Santa Claus is coming to Town, there are lots of gifts under the tree & more fun in store when Bernard (Santa’s elf) hides his next letter!

i’d love to hear about the fun things you’ve been doing this holiday season!

random thoughts about the project:

committing to take a photo a day isn’t easy – there are still some days when i don’t feel like it – but the golden hour usually lifts my mood

we’re madly working on M & B’s last units for school of the air + doing stockwork – so life has been pretty hectic!

the golden hour has become my favourite time of day – once dinner is organised, i slip outside, savour the cool air & explore

i love outback sunsets – almost every day, i’m inspired to photograph them & they’ve been spectacular!

i discovered this ebook at craft & vision & can’t wait to read it & a several more from craft & vision – when we finish school it’s my reward!

if you’ve been doing this or another 365 project, feel free to let me know how its going & put a link in the comments. i’d love to hear your thoughts

& still enjoying the challenge!