Meat Safe Tranformation

I purchased this Meat Safe a few years ago on a day trip to a gorgeous country town about an hour car drive away called Daylesford.  I love visiting Daylesford as it has an Hippie Vibe about it. I love wandering the main street, peeking into the shops filled with knick knacks, clothes and rustic home wares. On the trip I purchased this beauty we had ventured out of the main street and went hunting for antiques and second hand furniture stores.

I had always intended on painting it to suit our decor.. so I pulled out the trusty chalk paint to get it into our style.

I used my trusty Annie Sloan Chalk paint in off white.

So now I just need to wax it with the new black wax for a gorgeous distressed finish!

Mulled Wine

Its that time of year in Australia, well Melbourne more so as it is very cold.  I have been trying to shake an annoying Sinus Lurgy for over a month.  I got the hankering for Mulled wine today.  Which is Red wine infused with Spices and fruits and drunk warm.

Here is the Recipe for those of you who may want to try it or want a really good well balanced Recipe.  All I can say is YUM YUM YUM!

 

Mel's Mulled Wine

 

750ml Red Wine
150g Castor Sugar
1/2 Cup Orange Juice
Peel of one Lemon
Peel of one Orange
1 Star Anise
1 Cinnamon Stick
5 Cloves
1 tsp fresh Nutmeg
Pinch of Ginger

 

1. Place all ingredients EXCEPT the wine into a large saucepan and place on a medium heat. Add just a slosh of the red wine to the pan to ensure the sugar is covered and let it cook for 4-5 mins until it becomes thick and syrupy.  All the spices and feel will infuse in this time.

 

 

2. Once the liquid has thickened add the rest of the wine and turn down the head. DONT let it bowl or you will lose the ALCOHOL.. lol   Simmer for about 5 mins and serve hot with slices of fresh Orange.

ENJOY!!

Red Hat Finished

So I realised last night that I'd used the wrong stitches on the Slouchy Red Beanie. The photos of the difference are in last nights post. I remade and I am very happy with the results.

Sits as the pattern picture shows. Pattern purchased from Etsy,

Red Hat

I've been crocheting over my past few night shifts.  I am teaching myself as I only learnt the basics a few years ago. I spent 4 hours the first night only to realise tonight that I had been using the wrong stitch, not the bl dc (back loop double crochet) the pattern required, pretty sure i use using a half double  crochet.. BUGGER!. So I started it again to see what it would look like with the right stitch.. Wow a big difference.
I tried on the first attempt to see how it felt.. you can see by how tired I am that I am extremely tired only having 4 hours sleep last night and this 12 hour shift, nearly done!

Wrong stitch used!

Correct Stitch bl dc used!

Check out the blood shot eyes :(

Looking a little too tired to smile.. lol

Baby Boy Quilt

I've been working on a baby boy quilt for a gorgeous friend from work. She is expecting her first and it's a boy!

Pondering Life

Feeling very frustrated and needing some exercise.

When I feel like this, the best thing to do is to get my ipod and go for a walk.  Today is was a little cold, but the sun was out.  I cleared out the frustration in my mind and walked/jogged 4km