Getting Figgy

Another reason to love Autumn: Figs are in season!

1. Figs with blue cheese and prosciutto / 2. Grilled soft cheese with thyme honey and figs

3. Fig, mascarpone, and pistachio tarts / 4. Fresh fig and stilton flatbreads

5. Flavours figs with ricotta, hazelnuts and sweet vinegar syrup / 6. Brown sugar pavlova with dark rum syrup and fresh figs

William's Crystal Corner

Love this video!! When I was at my parents place last month I found an old amethyst rock that I used to carry round. I bought it back with me, then saw this video a few days ago, like some sort of cosmic coincidence.

Golden Plains Sixxx

Good times at Golden Plains

Young Alvy

Seth Green played the young Alvy Singer in Annie Hall. I never knew this and I just re-watched Annie Hall a few weeks ago! Mind = Blown.

Image seen here and over here.

Update: This is actually incorrect - not Seth Green at all! Seth Green appears as a youngster in a different Woody Allen film (Radio Days). I guess I shouldn't believe everything I see on tumblr. The internets fooled me good!

Summer Eats

The first picnic of the season, way back at the start of summer

Two different haloumi and beetroot salads. I ate many variations on this throughout summer.

Bipimbap, from a Korean place near my work.

Canelés, from Dench. I used to get these all the time from Le Moulin Bakery when I lived in Wellington.

On New Years Eve we had this barbequed haloumi in a salad with watermelon and mint. Amazingly simple and delish!

Muesli and yoghurt snack. I made the muesli using Trotsky & Ash's recipe.

Amazing breakfasts from the Collingwood Childrens Farm Cafe.

This was another easy meal typical of my summer eatin' - salad, potatoes and salmon.

Pork scratchings from a new bar near our house. They were pretty gross, and really salty. I remember saying that they tasted like how our old dog's blanket used to smell. The beer was good though.

Golden Plains Festival food from a week or so ago. Calamari, gözleme, and dumplings with salad. I was almost as excited about the food line up as I was about the music line up.

Autumn Style

I'm so pleased that Autumn is here. Although I had a pretty fun summer (mostly due to lots of river swimming and newfound tubing hobby!) But I am over the heat, and have never gotten the hang of dressing for 30+ degree weather. Bring on the cooler weather I say. I'm ready to layer it up!

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Jan-Feb Books

At the start of the year I was so inspired by this post by Mallory I decided to try and read at least two books every month this year. Maybe this seems like I'm aiming low but I'm not a fast reader, so this has been enough of a challenge for me! I've managed to stay on track so far though. Here's what I've been reading this year.

The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides

Because they are both set in American colleges I was hoping this would be similar to The Secret History (which is my fave book ever and everyone should read it). It wasn't all that similar, but still an enjoyable read, although I didn't really love any of the characters.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer

I loved Everything Is Illuminated, and I loved this too. I wanted to read it before the film came out, but I then I saw the trailer for the film and found it so off putting that I will be steering well clear of it!

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë 

Another one I wanted to read before seeing the film, though last year's Jane Eyre film adaptation looks wonderful. And I loved reading this… until I had about a quarter of a way to go and it seemed like it was taking me forever, "WRAP IT UP BRONTE, I'M ON A SCHEDULE"!

A Visit From the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan

After finally finishing Jane Eyre I managed to squeeze in A Visit From the Goon Squad in record time! It helped that I had almost 10 hours in planes and airports during my recent travels, so I got a lot of reading done then. Looking back I think I'm the most excited about this book. Though I was pretty into all these books while I was reading them, so it's possible I only feel that way because it's the one I most recently finished. Anyway, it's a good start to my new 2012 reading regime. I'd like to share what I've read every couple of months, as a way to keep myself motivated. And if I don't, well, lets just never mention this again :-D

Pantone noms

Food as pantone swatches, yum. { via here }

NZ Part II

More NZ! These photos are from a day trip to Queenstown.

I know, a photo of ducks, how exciting! But how clear is that water? I can't get over it.

These are from a lakeside market. I didn't buy anything though.

Breakfast at Joe's Garage. I'm trying to overcome my feelings of awkwardness when taking photos in public. Being somewhere away from home seems to help, but when I was taking this I heard the guy at the next table say "Better hurry up before it gets cold"! I know he was trying to be funny, but I felt so self conscious that I pretended I didn't hear him!

Vesta is one of my favourite shops in the world. If you ever find yourself in Queenstown you have to pay them a visit.

And on the way home we stopped here, 'The Vege Shed' which is in the tiny town of Athol.