Sorry I wasn’t motivated enough to make this blog happen properly and have decided to pack my bags and make a fresh start. You can now catch me at http://rubyrouletteunravels.blogspot.com/ where I plan to be a lot more consistant with my entries.
See you there
xx
So while half the world is covered in a thick blanket of snow way down here in New Zealand we are sweating in places I’m sure many of us didn’t know we could! Auckland has had the most insane humidity, the kind that leaves your hair looking like a fluffed up poodle. Here is one of my favourite, and easiest homemade lemonade recipes to help cool off…
Lemonade
1 cup Sugar (I try to use less sugar than this but it’s just a personal taste thing)
1/4 boiling water
5-6 lemons
A whole lot of ice
Dissolve the sugar with the boiling water
Squeeze lemons into jug
Add sugar water
Add a generous handful of ice cubes
Top up with water
Use your judgement. You could also add some fresh mint, sliced lemons or sliced orange.
Lucky for us our hair is all we really have to worry about but my heart really goes out to the folk in Melbourne who it seems are loosing the battle to keep raging bush fires at bay. Countless lives have been lost in the most unimaginable way and I hope to god they find those who are responsible for lighting them. If nothing else it makes you realise how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken away.
Anyway I’ve just finished moving house, it’s hot, i’m tired so I’ll leave it at that for tonight. Will try to start adding photos asap.
xx
Whilst I am hoplessly in love with the decades gone by I am also ashamed to say that I am terribly lazy. I have so much admiration for those ladies that choose to embrace their favourite era with so much dedication. I wish I wore only seamed stockings, vintage dresses, and high heels everyday. I wish I put my hair into pin curls every night, wore red lipstick religiously and never left the house without a hat and gloves but I don’t. In fact my standard uniform seems to be an old pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt (with rolled sleeves) or a ribbed singlet, and my trusty Chuck Taylors… not very glamorous at all! On the other hand I am hardly ever without red painted finger nails, I pin my hair up daily, and always always carry red lipstick with me incase I unexpectantly go out in the evening. I collect beautiful vintage clothes and hang them in my cupboard so they can be admired, I follow the blogs and websites of others who do manage to pull the look off 24/7, and I dream of one day having the time and energy to do it myself.
Sorry I will continue this tomorrow. It’s a beautiful afternoon, the sun is shinning and I need to take this opportunity to go for a swim!
x
A while back I wrote about the return of the submissive wife, women resorting back to a time when gals were gals, and guys and were guys. It was shocking to read about to begin with but after some thought it did make some sort of sense for men and women to have distinct roles in a relationship. Having said that, despite women claiming that their lives had never been better it is still not something I could imagine following through with myself.
So you’ve met the submissive wife, now let me introduce you to the Time warp wife. A time warp wife not only sees her place as being the homemaker, priding herself on baking, cooking, cleaning, and making herself look pretty for when her husband comes home from work but does it all with the illusion of being in a past decade. A time warp wife dresses in the era of the 1930′s, 40′s, 50′s, decorates her home in the style of the era, and usually, like any proper lady would have, never leaves the house without her hat and gloves and a fresh coat of lipstick. Much like the submissive housewives these women say that they are extremely happy with their lifestyles and much of it again is to do with the clear roles in their relationship. The woman keeps house, the man brings home the bacon, no arguments!
I suppose I am personally always so fascinated with this topic because deep down somewhere I wish life could be a little more simple again. I’m not saying I want to be one of these housewives because I do find that a little bit extreme but to be honest I actually like keeping house, I enjoy the satisfaction of having a clean, cosy home, I like baking (even if it is a bit of a hit and miss situation sometimes!), and I have no interest in having some sort of high flying career. What really gets to me sometimes is that women who do choose these things are so looked down on these days. Does not wanting to wear a grey suit and go to work in an office everyday striving to reach that 6 figure corporate pay check make someone less worthy in society? Maybe everybody doesn’t have to be doing everything, and maybe that should be alright.
If you want more information about Time Warp Wives you can check them out here;
- http://timewarpwives.blogspot.com/
- www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1042702/Time-Warp-Wives-Meet- women-really-live-past.html
- http://www.superkawaiimama.blogspot.com/
P.S. Despite what I’ve said I have absolutely nothing against women who do choose to have high flying careers and admire their ability to juggle everything. I am also aware that in today’s day and age it is very much necessary for many households to have 2 steady incomes.
x
Crayfish fritter, Kaikora
Anybody who knows me (which I’m going to assume you probably don’t) will also know that I love food. So aside from being a failing vegetarian, yes I eat seafood these days and yes I feel like a fraud every time, I have developed a small obsession with the history of New Zealand cooking. It probably has partly to do with the fact that most pakeha (white people) here originated from the UK, and partly to do with the whole ‘make do with what you’ve got’ attitude past down from the pioneering days bur the kiwi kitchen is kind of simple, and at times even a little gross. Now I can probably thank a slightly irritating but never the less interesting bloke by the name of Richard Till for my new found fascination. I was sitting on the couch watching mind numbing day time television last winter (What?! I don’t make a habit of it! But it was cold and miserable outside so what else was I going to do?) when suddenly this cooking show comes on and it’s not your usual designer kitchen, pre-prepared, talk for the sake of talking kind of programme. This guy was travelling up and down the country to some of the most remote little places (of which New Zealand has many!) and getting the locals to cook up their specialties. Being that I am a first generation New Zealander (if that, I wasn’t even born here) I hadn’t ever been properly exposed to how most people live here, and have probably lived for generations. Here are some recipes for authentic Kiwi cuisine that I’ve discovered along the way…
Whitebait Fritters (Whitebait in case you’re wondering are baby fish that are only caught at a certain time of year when they head from the rivers out to sea. They are cooked and eaten whole… heads and all!)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Whitebait rinsed and dried off
1 Egg
Milk (roughly 2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup Plain White Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
Directions:
Whisk egg and a little milk together.
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the middle and add egg mixture. Mix quickly until a smooth batter forms, with a fork but don’t over mix or fritters will be rubbery.
Heat frypan pan with plenty of oil to shallow fry.
Add the whitebait to the batter mixture.
Fry heaped spoonfuls at a time, flip when golden brown.
Drain on paper towel and then serve with a sprinkle of salt and a slice of lemon (or between two pieces of white buttered bread).
Enjoy! x
