Supremely Good

Hardhat Design's rebrand for Coffee Supreme makes me want some of their delicious coffee, in one of these goodlooking cups.

Coffee Supreme's inhouse design team have applied Hardhat's rebrand to shop materials including packaging, cups and these stools which have a punched out logo silhouette. Pretty clever.

Chai Time

A few years ago I went to an Indian cooking class taught by my friend's Mum. We made paneer from scratch, saag paneer curry, raita, ghee, dhal, chappatis, pulao rice, halwa (semolina pudding), and chai tea. It was all so delicious and amazing and actually easier than I'd thought. I got so excited about how great cooking classes were and vowed to take more. Of course, I haven't taken any since! But I have been getting right back into making chai - which would have to be one of the easiest things we learnt.

This chai is so spicy and peppery, it's perfect for drinking on cold Winter evenings. And once you have the spices the only fresh ingredients you need are ginger and milk (which can be substituted for soy, btw). Cheers!

Treats from Swedenland

I have a huge crush on all things Swedish, so of course I loooove Ikea! But I didn't discover Ikea's Swedish Food Store until my good Swedish pal Carin introduced me to it's delights. Salmon roe paste may not be to everyone's tastes, but I am quite into it. Apparently the Swedes eat it for breakfast on these huge rye crackers, or knäckebröd, sometimes with cucumber slices, as per below, or with slices of cold potato - those crazy Swedes! I prefer mine later in the day with a nice cool glass of pear or cloudberry cider.

Cocktail Hour

One day I'd like to have a fancy home bar like one of these beauties…

{From Design*Sponge}

{Design*Sponge again!}

{from Old Brand New - my favourite blog for inspirational interiors!}

Small things #1

1. I've taken up knitting again! It's been a few years since I was last in the knitting saddle and it's good to be back. Knitting makes me feel productive while slobbing round watching telly (for instance). I'm planning on getting a lot of knitting done tonight while I watch the Oscars coverage!

2. I have been struggling with takeaway coffees while riding my bike in the mornings - which is pretty ridiculous and now my bag is covered in spilled coffee stains. This has been going on for months until a few weeks ago when Mr Meet-Cute bought me a cup holder to attach to my bike, and now I have this re-usable coffee cup, with a handy sealable lid. My morning coffee problems are now solved. Honestly, I don't know why it took me so long but this has been life changing. In a small way :)

Raro Foods

I Love seeing pictures of peoples food, so I thought I'd share some of my own. Below is a selection of Island foods eaten while in Rarotonga.

1 // "Mayonnaise", or Raro potato salad. Traditionally made with relish and canned beetroot to turn the salad bright pink, topped with grated hard boiled eggs.
2 // Jam jar pina colada! Not unique to Rarotonga, of course, but a traditional Island drink nevertheless!
3 // Whitebait fritters, actually not island food at all, my Dad bought the whitebait over from New Zealand. I just couldn't resist posting the pic because they were so damn delish!
4 // Umu food. An umu is the Raro version of a Maori hangi, where food is cooked in an oven made in the earth. This one had pork, eke (curried octopus), taro, and creamed rukau (taro leaves cooked with coconut cream). Most people who haven't grown up eating taro can't stand it, but my Dad has an ace way of cooking it where he boils it, and then grills it in slices to go crispy. Is bloody good, especially when served with creamed rukau.
5 // Banana wine. Unfortunately this was as bad as it sounds. A relative of ours makes it so we decided to try some out. I think I managed to force down one glass before I gave up on it.
6 // Bananas! This massive bunch were cut from a tree in our backyard. So good that now when I eat store bought bananas I am like "Pah! Where is the FLAVOUR?!"

All these photos were taken by my sister, who has a super cool fashion-y blog, you should totally check it out here!

Christmas Toast

I love these dreamy rose martini photos by Jacinta Moore, seen along with the recipe here on designsponge (again!). Christmas holidays start in a few days and I can think of nothing better than lounging around drinking these - oh yeah!

Jacinta Moore has a blog too, where you can check out more of her beautiful photography, including some pretty cute dog pics.