Great News! Im super busy

Hi Everyone,

I know, I have been very slack.

But I have a great excuse.

I have been Super Busy! Its Christmas, and Peg & Kate are in high demand.

I couldnt be happier.

Merry Christmas everyone, and happy trading.

In Loving Memory

In loving memory of my Grandmother Lillian Romanis,
who passed away Saturday 17th October 2009.

You will be dearly missed Nana, love you. xxx

Nothing like a bit of Hot Toffee in the Sunshine

What a lovely way to spend Saturday morning. Cup of coffee, sound of kids playing and a good read.

When I logged on this morning, I did the normal scan of the blogs I'm following, and found this lovely little read. I love Nicole and her designs from Hot Toffee, so it was nice to find out a little bit more about her at The Sunshine Studio.

Any one who knows me, knows I have a very long wish list of Hot Toffee designs, so a Hot Toffee giveaway is right up my alley. Check out the Sunshine Studio blog and don't forget to enter the competition for a chance to win your own Hot Toffee earrings.

One more thing I love about The Sunshine Studio, is the sound track that plays. I remember picking my daughter Rose up from Balmain Kids one afternoon, and in the car on the way home, she serenaded me with this lovely tune. She would have been about 3 and its a lovely memory to have.

I'm so excited!

I hinted earlier in the week that I was looking at a new retail outlet for Peg & Kate coming up to Christmas. Well I can finally tell you.

Peg & Kate are now proudly on display at the Woolloongabba Antique Centre, located;

Woolloongabba Antique Centre
22 Wellington Road,
(Cnr Wellington Rd & Nile St)
Woolloongabba Q 4102

I spent today putting together the display, and I feel really good about it. Here are a few images.

I found the Woolloongabba Antique Centre through a good friend who kindly took me on a shopping trip and I fell in love with it. To be honest, I've been waiting for Brisbane to have an Antique Centre like this for ever. And now we have one, and WOW!

Here are a few shots I took today, to give you a little taste of the wonderful antiques for sale.

Something I love about the Woolloongabba Antique Centre is it caters for all tastes and budgets. There is Vintage Clothing, Antique Furniture, Retro Homewares, Bric a Brac, Jewellery and so much more. Oh my goodness it is huge! You just have to check it out for yourself.

A few other things to note, there is a fabulous little cafe on site. You must try the Chicken and Pumpkin Toastedo. Yum! And the girls make a mean coffee.

The staff are helpful and friendly, and the music is groovy. Just my idea of a good day out with friends, your partner or just for a lone browse. You need to give yourself at least an hour to see everything, and don't be surprised if you need to do a couple of laps. There's just soooo much to see.

And here is the great thing, parking is free and there is plenty of it. And it is on site, so it is hassle free, and you wont have to lug your purchases far to get them to the car. Hiding them from your significant other, may be difficult though.

Definitely make some time to check out the Woolloongabba Antique Centre, I promise it will not disappoint. I heard somewhere that Woolloongabba is the new black, well I will certainly be taking all of my friends for lunch and a browse and soon.

See you there.

Strangely calm.....

Things were riding very smoothly this morning getting ready for school. We were so organised that we even managed to step out to school 10min's early.

As I pulled the door closed, I realised our morning was about to change dramatically. Yep, I locked the keys in the house. That's house keys and car keys!

The universe decided to throw me a curve ball, and I was strangely calm. Normally there would be cuss words and a cranky disposition for the rest of the day.

But this morning, I just rolled with it. I instantly decided to swap my gym routine for a brisk walk to school. It was on this strangely calm walk I formulated my action plan. By 9:30am I was back in the house and ready to get on with the my day.

I think today, I learned a valuable lesson, well two lessons.

Always double check for keys before leaving the house. And remain calm, there is no need to over react, just stay calm.

Good help is hard to find!

pictured above, my very cute, but lazy assistant

My assistant is constantly falling asleep on the job, any suggestion's what I should do?

He turns up to work on time, and always stays back late. Hes just not very productive!

Working from home and being my own boss, mean's I can be as politically incorrect as I like. That's why I can tell you I keep him around because he loves to sit on my lap while I work and he is oh so cute to look at. Otherwise he'd be out the door ;)

Busy, Busy, Busy......

(above image, All New Peg & Kate Library Bags)

Super busy, getting ready for Market Day this Sunday at Portside Wharf Hamilton. I'm also getting some stock ready for a retail outlet in Brisbane. But more about that later in the week.

I need to save something to blog about. I'm trying really hard to meet my Blogtoberfest promise. I've already missed a couple of days over the weekend, so I really need to get focussed. If you are interested in Blogtoberfest, and what it is, then just click on the Blogtoberfest Ad to the right. Just over there ------>> no, scroll up a little..... a little more....... Yep there you are.

Spent today, cutting fabric. And should get started sewing very soon. In fact, I'm going to get cracking right now. Blog to you soon, hopefully tomorrow. So come back and visit tomorrow afternoon. I will try not to disappoint ;)

Well deserved weekend away...

(Shiny and Ruby the resident chooks.)

Its been a while, I think 12 months since my husband and I have both enjoyed a weekend down at my parents farm. I was so happy to spend some fun time with Nat, Rose and my family.

On the way down we stopped for lunch in Bangalow - fish and chips from a cafe is a guilty Friday afternoon pleasure.

Saturday morning we all took the puppies for a walk on Patches' beach - I can't believe that a 4 year old Chihuahua can out run a 34 year old man (they're both pretty fit - but I think the Chihuahua was holding back a little bit).

Then breakfast at the Eltham Pantry on Boat Harbour Rd, Eltham. I can't help but order Eggs Benedict with Atlantic Salmon, one of my all time favourite breakfast's when eating out.

Saturday afternoon, hanging around on the verandah with the family, then Chinese takeaway for dinner with Mum, Dad, my sisters family and mine was great. A long time over due. Hope to see a lot more of them soon.

What would we do without our families? The kookier the better!

My Mum, the best Mum and Grandma ever!

What inspires you?

When I need to get enthused to sew, I pop on my favourite tunes and before you know it I'm singing aloud, and sewing up a storm.

Ive been listening to this CD for such a long time now, it never fails to make me feel good. I come up with all sorts of business and product ideas when listening to it. Now I just need to put them into practice.




My trusty Brother, my Nana's old machine, and isn't she a beauty!


A few tools of the trade, I love this work case. It takes me from my sewing table to the markets with everything I need to create.

Lets see if we can turn this fabric into something useful.

Ahh! Lunch Bags, nothing like the feeling you get when you finish a job. I still love to look at them.

What helps you clear your mind?

When ever I have something playing on my mind, I like to re-arrange the furniture in my house.

My poor husband never knows what to expect when he comes home from work. I must say it definitely works. It takes my mind off what ever is bugging me, and gives the house a fresh look.

What do you do to clear your mind?

The way to a man's heart is .............

Crackle Cookies, Sweet Food by Murdoch Books

How does that phrase go?

"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

I don't know about that but, my man is certainly a lot happier when greeted with "Chocolate Crackle Cookies", or as he likes to call them "Chocolate Earthquake Cookies".

Again this recipe comes from my all time favourite cook book, Sweet Food from Murdoch Books. They do need to be refrigerated for a couple of hours prior to baking, or even over night. So you may need to plan ahead for these ones.

You will need;
125g butter
370g soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 eggs
60g dark chocolate, melted
80ml milk
340g plain flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
85g chopped pecan nuts
icing sugar

Line two baking trays with baking paper, Beat the butter and sugar and vanilla until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the melted chocolate and milk.

Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, allspice and a pinch of salt into the batter and beat.
Stir through the Pecans, I didn't have any left, so I used Walnuts.

Refrigerate the mix for 3 hours or over night.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and then roll them in a bowl of icing sugar to coat.

Bake in an oven for 20 -25 Min's or until lightly brown. Careful not to over cook or they will lose the great white crackle coating.

Try not to eat too many in one sitting, or just eat them all, what ever takes your fancy.....Oh do remember to save some for the man of your dreams.


Thanks to everyone that has posted a comment about my Retro Toes, if you havent already checked out the blog, please do.

Retro Toes have their own space

hi everyone,

Just thought I would let you know that I have started a
Retro Toes blog.

Poor little things where getting all upset because
they are not pencils, and the other pencil rolls wouldn't let them
join in their fun.

Anyway, I'd love you to pop over to the new Retro Toes blog and
add yourself as a follower. It's looking very lonely over there, and the Retro Toes
are feeling all left out.

Yes, I'm a little nuts.... but that's half the fun!

Super Easy Melting Moments

Try these super easy Lemon Melting Moments,
I whipped them up this morning to give to one of my
best girl friends for her birthday.

You will need;

250g butter
40g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
185g self raising flour
60g custard powder

filling;
60g butter
60g icing sugar
zest of 1 lemon

Here goes........preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius,
line baking trays with baking paper.

Beat the butter and the icing sugar in a bowl till creamy,
then add the vanilla essence. Beat till combined, then add flour and
custard powder. Mix into a soft dough.
Spoon level tablespoons of the mixture onto a tray
and then flatten with a floured fork.

Bake for 15 to 20 Min's until golden. Remove and let cool.

Filling; Beat the butter, icing sugar and lemon zest until creamy,
spoon onto a cooled biscuit and then stick your second
biscuit to the other side.

Refrigerate until the icing has set and then serve.
Yum, I'm going to have one right now with a coffee.

Happy Baking!

Fabulously Fabricated!

We all know how busy Deb from Fabricated has been lately.
It is always difficult to balance family time with work,
especially when they are emotional times, and Deb has had
her fair share this last month.

So when she called me to say that Rose's special birthday bag was
ready, I was blown away at her commitment.
She is such a treasured soul.

We had arranged with Deb from Fabricated to take one of Rose's favourite pair of jeans
that no longer fit, and turn them into a beautiful keepsake.
A very functional keepsake.

And it is perfect, Rose opened it at her party with all of her
girlfriends present. And it was a huge hit.
Rose loves it, and her girlfriends will most likely be wanting
their very own Fabricated handbag.

Thank you Deb, your a dear friend, and I love your work.

Mini Eclair Birthday Cake

With Rose's birthday upon us, it was time to get baking.

We always talk about baking a birthday cake, but honestly
when was the last time you only had to bake one birthday cake.

For our family, there is the cake for the classroom friends,
the birthday cake for family served on the actual day of the
birthday. And then the piece de resistance for the birthday
party. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

So instead of cupcakes for the classroom friends, I decided
to make some mini eclairs and pile them together to make a
lusciously spectacular chocolate tower.


I had "needie" my little white dog helping in the kitchen. He was keeping
an eye on the temperature, as my oven has a tendency to go
all "furnace" on me without warning.
Anyway that's my story and I'm sticking to it.



I suppose I should give the recipe, so it goes like this;

Mini Eclairs
60g unsalted butter, chopped
125g plain flour, sifted
4 eggs beaten
300mls whipping cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
50g dark chocolate, melted

(recipe found in my favourite cake cookbook,
Sweet Food by Murdock Books .
I found it in Freedom although I have seen it
in most good kitchen stores.)

Oven preheated to 200 degrees Celsius.
Line baking trays with baking paper, I found Alfoil was just
as good with some flour dusted to stop sticking.

Bring butter and water to boil over stove top, remove from heat
and beat in flour with a wooden spoon till smooth. I used a metal
spoon, so sue me.... they still turned out fine.

Return to heat and beat for 2 mins until the mixture forms a ball.
Remove from the heat and transfer to your mixing bowl.
Leave to cool for 5 mins.

Add the eggs a little at a time. Make sure you beat well. I used
the electric beaters for this part.

Spoon into a piping bag, or a zip lock sandwich bag and cut a
little hole in the corner of the bag. Works just fine for this job.

Pipe the mixture onto your trays, the recipe calls for 6cms long,
although you could make them shorter or longer.

Cook for 10 mins on 200 degrees Celsius, then reduce to
180 degrees Celsius and cook for 10mins or until golden.

Remove from the oven, and poke a whole in the side of each
eclair. You need to take the fluffy stuff from inside the
eclair out. Can get a little tricky here.

Return the eclairs to the oven for another 2 -3 mins. Remove and then cool on
a rack.



Whip Cream, Icing Sugar and Vanilla until thick. Pipe into the eclairs
through the whole you made when baking them.
Once each eclair is filled with cream, dip into your melted
chocolate and leave to set.


I placed mine into a pile whilst they were still sticky so
they would set together.

Ive been asked if I used the packet mix to make the eclair batter,
I can't see any point. They are pretty straight forward,
Butter, Water, Flour & Eggs.

I like to know that my flour is organic, australian
grown etc..... so its nice to make from scratch.
Also you get bragging rights...... Happy Baking.

Val Haala Fashion Parade

What were you doing on Saturday evening?

If you weren't at the Metropole Hotel for Val Haala's 1st Gala Fashion Parade,
then I'm assuming you were out of town.

Erin the owner and designer behind Val Haala in Ipswich's Top of Town
precinct put on a production to rival many of Brisbane's fashion week shows.

The who's, who of Ipswich were out in force, and supporting one of
their own. Here are a few shots from the night.

Kimberley Jedrzejczyk and Rebecca Neilsen

Natalie Patch and Nicole Richards

Jess Denman from Bella Boutique on Glebe, back stage with models

Naomi George of Province

Ellen Armstong, Kate Johnston, Christa Kuczmenda from the Makeup Room on Glebe Rd

Claire Gardner, Vanessa Cobbin and Matthew Cobbin of Gallery Newtown

Model Danielle Svensson

Tiffany Skye Spurrier and Erin Jonker owner/designer from Val Haala

Kim, Naomi George, Christine Foote and Cathy Dearinger enjoying the fashion parade.