Banneton Bakery

I LOVE bakeries. Unfortunately. I'd be a lot slimmer if I loved fruit and vege shops more. A friend told me about this one a while ago and I finally visited their Woolloongabba store. Banneton Bakery on Balaclava Street is a tiny little bakery and coffee shop setup on the side of the road and they have the yummiest selection of breads, pastries and cakes. Their breads are baked in a wood-fired oven and use natural ingredients. Worth a visit if you live in Brisbane.

Hucklebones

How cute are these girls clothes from London brand Hucklebones! Love the simple styling and photography and the girls are very cute as well.

{ via all the mountains }

Where they create

I love this photographic project called Where they create by interior based photographer Paul Barbera. While traveling he documents the environments of artists and creatives. It's interesting to see what inspires certain people and what we need around us to motivate and help us feel at home . The Jewels of New York (shown above) feature on there among many other interesting and talented people.

{ via 16 house }

Chocolate brownies

I'm feeling somewhat guilty posting this while The Biggest Looser is on the TV beside me... but hey, everything in moderation. Today's little food project was the classic chocolate brownie. Really good served warm with a dollop of cream or ice-cream - followed by a glass of water as it's very sweet!

Chocolate brownie

• 200g dark chocolate

•125g unsalted butter

• 30g unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted, plus extra for dusting

• 3 eggs

• 220g raw sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 125g plain flour, sifted

• Thick double cream, or vanilla ice-cream to serve

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper. Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the butter and chocolate are melted and smooth. Remove from heat, add cocoa and combine until smooth. Set aside. Beat eggs, vanilla and sugar until just combined. Pour into chocolate mixture, fold in flour and stir until well combined. Pour mixture into prepared cake tin and bake for 30-35 mintues or until set around the edges. The brownie should be moist in the middle. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Remove from tin and cut into squares. Serve warm with cream or ice-cream.

Ribs with BBQ sauce, sage roasted vegetables and apple tartlets

I thought I'd start Monday off with a food post (been a while I know). Baby back ribs with homemade BBQ sauce, sage roasted vegetables and apple tartlets. I hope everyone has a nice start to the week!

Baby back ribs with BBQ sauce

BBQ sauce

• 1 cup tomato sauce/ketchup

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

• 1 cup brown sugar

• Dash cayenne pepper

• 1 tbsp dry mustard powder

• 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Ribs

• 2 racks baby back ribs

• 5 cloves garlic

• Salt and pepper

BBQ sauce - Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Ribs - Preheat oven to 175˚C. Cut racks into single ribs. Arrange ribs in a roasting pan lined with baking paper - meaty sides up. Add garlic cloves and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake ribs in oven for 1 hour turning over half way through. Turn to meaty part again and brush half the BBQ sauce over the ribs. Cover with foil and reduce oven to 120˚C and bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Serve with roasted vegetables and extra BBQ sauce.

~ Serves 4

Sage roasted vegetables

• 14 baby potatoes, halved

• 3 carrots, peeled, thickly sliced

• 1 bulb garlic, broken into cloves

• Red wine vinegar

• Olive oil

• 50g butter, cubed

• Fresh sage, roughly torn

• 6-8 thin peels of lemon rind

Preheat oven to 190˚C. Rinse potatoes and bring to boil in salted water. Parboil for 6-7 minutes. Drain and spread potatoes in a single layer over a baking tray. Add butter and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and cook in oven for 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and crush slightly with the back of a fork. Add olive oil, sage, garlic, a splash of red wine vinegar and lemon rind. Combine and put back in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden. Serve with ribs.

~ Serves 4

Apple tartlets

• 1 sheet pre-rolled puff pastry

• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced into thin semi circles

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 1 tsp caster sugar

• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

• 2 tbsp apricot jam

• Squeeze of lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Combine caster sugar and ground cinnamon and set aside. Toss apples through lemon juice to stop from discolouring and set aside. Cut 4 rounds in the pastry sheet using a 7" plate. Flip the plate over and gently push into each pastry circle using the base of the plate to form an indent (approx. 4 inches). Lay apple slices in a circle pattern within indent on each circle of pastry and brush edges with egg-wash. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake in oven for 15-20 minutes or until pastry is golden. Heat apricot jam in a small saucepan over low heat until simmering and brush over pastries. Serve with ice-cream.

~ Makes 4

VDC - Le Vestiaire de clé

I came across VDC a while back and was drawn to the simplistic cuts to their clothing and the quality fabrics used in their production. They also look really comfortable. And if you're looking for something for the home then they also have a home collection called VDJ home with some really nice linen pieces on there.

Back to the future

This was forwarded to me the other day and I thought it was a pretty interesting and quite a quirky photo series. Photographer Irena Werning from Buenos Aires has an ongoing project called 'Back to the future' which invites people to reenact their childhood photos. Pretty cool and fun to participate in I would imagine.

Beach wedding

Jonas Peterson is a very talented wedding photographer who's photographs feature regularly in bridal magazines. And it's no wonder why. He captures the details and emotions of weddings perfectly. I fell in love with this wedding for Sammy and Mandy located in Bali. I love the relaxed feel and intimacy of it and beautiful candlelit table setting. The reception celebrations looked like a bit of fun also! More photos from the wedding can be viewed here.

Settling in

I have had a very busy and tiring week. Not only has work been fairly busy but this little one has kept me running around after him all week. We have had our moments of frustration that's for sure but he is finally settling in and going the whole night without a peep. I must admit it is nice having the little guy around, especially when he rests his head between my feet while I'm working.

Before and after

As mentioned last week I picked up an old crockery hutch from an antique dealer. This was my first DIY furniture project so a little nervous but pretty happy with the outcome. I used Porter's Milk Paint which I thoroughly recommend. It comes in a powder form which you mix with water to form a pancake like consistency and then you paint it on. It doesn't have a strong smell like most paints and it is really nice to work with. So after quite a bit of elbow grease sanding it back, undercoating, painting and sealing it with beeswax this is the result.

Introducing Dexter

I'd like you to meet Dexter - the little addition to our family. We picked him up yesterday and boy was it a tiring day. The poor thing was pretty stressed and kept us busy cleaning up all of yesterday and last night. With minimal sleep all 3 of us were dead to the world on the couch this afternoon. Luckily he has settled today and happily spent a lot of the time chasing after things with his big ears plopping around. Hopefully that means a peaceful night sleep tonight!

Polaroid day

This looks like a book you could sit with for hours mesmerised by the images. A few polaroid photos by the very talented Amanda from Mocking Bird feature in the book called 'Polaroid day' along with those by a selection of other great photographers. More images from the book can be viewed here.

And on a very happy note today I found a crockery hutch! It took some climbing through cobwebs downstairs of an antique store and will need a bit of love but I think I will be very happy with the outcome. At least I hope so, it's my first DIY attempt!

The neverending search

Ever since we moved into our new place I have been on the search for the perfect crockery hutch/cupboard. Currently all my food styling bits and pieces and special crockery sit in a large cardboard box on the floor and I'm very eager to give them a home, but boy am I struggling to find the right one. Admittedly I'm pretty picky and very particular with what I'm looking for which doesn't help the situation. Hopefully soon the search will be over. On a positive it's helping me save money by not buying new crockery!

Hello!

Sorry for the lack of posts, the past week has been a busy one. It's that time of year when work picks up so my head has been buried in my computer. I also sent my folio off to print (finally) on Friday so I'm hoping on bringing in a few more clients over the coming months.

I took a break just now to have a look at Daily Imprint and discovered the fashion brand Scout & Catalogue. Created by Breanna Musgrove the label is influenced by the bohemian beach culture of Mexico. Not only are the pieces really unique but I also love the photography and styling of them.