Sunday Citar - Hope



Pop over and have a look, I am sure she would love you to join in as well.


Let me share 3 quotes about hope.

Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself ... 'How did I get through all of that?' ... author unknown

When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always be worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they
have to get better. ... author unknown

Hope never abandons you; you abandon it ... George Weingberg


My life philosophy is to see the glass as half full, to be optimistic. To acknowledge that no matter how hard things are in any given moment that there are always others in a worse position than yourself. Oh yes I do occasionally throw my own pity parties ... but I try to limit them for they do me no good at all.

Some people might call me naive but to lose hope, to lose joy, does that not mean you lose the will to live. We all need to grab life, to hang on, to move forward, one day at a time.

For without hope, there is nothing but despair.


Easy Sunday: Scrummy Sausage Rolls

I always do my 'Easy Sunday' post in advance (which helps to keep Sundays nice and easy!) I hope you don't mind. This Sunday you will find me on a picnic rug having afternoon tea at one of my favourite Sydney spots, overlooking Middle Harbour. Here in Maxabellaland, we love, love, love a picnic, but we find afternoon or morning tea picnics easier while The Badoo still needs a lunchtime sleep (hopefully for the term of her natural life). I may or may not be making these delicious sausage rolls to take along - mainly because they are quite substantial and I begin Phase 139 of my 20 Year Diet today. Rest assured, even if I don't make them for today, I will wish that I had made them. For whenever they come out, the party goes 'yay!'

Scrummy Sausage Rolls



1kg chicken mince (can substitute pork or beef for a different flavour)

2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (made from day-old bread, I generally use wholemeal)
1 cup finely grated carrot
1 cup finely grated zucchini
1 chicken stock cube, finely crumbled
1 egg, lightly whisked
2 tbs finely chopped fresh sage
2 tbs finely chopped parsley
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Puff pastry sheets (I just use the packet stuff... of course)
1 egg, lightly whisked, extra
1 tbs sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.


2 Combine the mince, breadcrumbs, carrot, zuchinni, egg, stock cube, parsley and sage in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Cut sheet of puff pastry into two halves. Spoon length of mince along one half about 2/3rds down. Roll to enclose and form a log. Cut it crossways into 4 smaller rolls. Place rolls on the lined tray. Repeat with remaining mince mixture and pastry until no more mince is left. Brush the top of each sausage roll with the extra egg and sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden and the mince is cooked though. Serve immediately (with tomato sauce!)

Note: this recipe is in party quantities and makes about 30 sausage rolls... but I will not judge.

[Image: this batch was made for Maxi-Taxi's Monster Party; recipe my own]

shadow shot


I have missed being apart of the shadow shot community the past few weeks! We had a lovely sunny day here yesterday & I couldn't resist taking this shot of the pair of loved boots at our back door.



Butterfly cupcake toppers

Pink Butterfly cupcake topper
Paper Butterflies
Pink Butterfly cupcake topper
To decorate my peachy white choc cupcakes I made some pretty pastel butterfly cupcake toppers.

Butterfly Cupcake Toppers

You will need:
Pink, blue, yellow, green paper
Butterfly multi-detail craft punch
Cocktail/bamboo sticks
Double sided tape
  1. Punch out ten butterflies of each colour
  2. Cut a 3mm slither of double sided sticky tape.
  3. Stick to top of cocktail stick so there is an equal amount of tape on either side of stick
  4. Remove backing paper
  5. Press one pink butterfly into double sided tape on one side
  6. Press another to the double sided tape on the other side
  7. Gently fan wings out
  8. Repeat until you have five of each colour

I baked my cakes in pastel coloured silicone cupcake cases.

Peachy white choc cupcakes

Have a sweet day!
This one's for the girls...hello kitty!





My gorgeous friend from Sydney held her daughters 4th birthday party today. I opened my inbox and could not believe the cuteness and creativeness of this very fun Hello Kitty party. When we received our invitation in the post: handmade with little red and white fabric bunting as the eye catching feature, i knew it would be creative...and I know how much the girls love to bake and create in the kitchen. My favorite addition to the table setting is the ginger cookies hanging from the twigs. Denise told me she placed little scissors on the tree for the guests to snip the ribbon and nibble the cookies as they wished. I am now feeling totally inspired by this party and so looking forward to putting the finishing touches on my son's 2nd birthday party that we will enjoy with our family next Sunday. Enjoy and a very special Happy Birthday Miss E x
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