Renewing my love affair with shoes

This is a SPONSORED post.

For most of my adult life, I've had a love affair with women's fashion shoes. Flats, heels, runners, thongs (oh my goodness, thongs). They were all glitzy and they were all designer (well, just about). Since having kids it was like my love affair was over. Not because I didn't like them all of a sudden. It was more like I had two other pairs of feet I had to take care of and not just my own. I'd usually pick up a pair for myself when the others had holes in them, usually from the local department store or bargain bin. I just didn't have the time to look or be bothered.

Now that both kids are off at school and I've time to actually be interested in shoes for myself, I'm on the hunt for women's fashion shoes again. It was time to bring out the 'big guns' of shopping malls so I went to my local Westfields. They have a large variety of women's fashion shoe  stores including Wittner, Novo and Diana Ferrari to name a few.

I had a budget in mind but upon closer inspection, some stores had super sales on like 50% of boots at one and 30% off all shoes at another. If you want to keep up to date with upcoming sales and promotions or just can't find the time to fuel your footwear fettish, you could buy shoes online and while you're there, sign up for the newsletter delivered straight to your Inbox.

My days of blinged up thongs, stiletto heels and rockin' boots might be over but I'll certainly take the time to find my long lost love, women's fashion shoes. I decided on these blue leather flats. Perfect for the school run and catching up for coffee with other Mums. That's about the extent of my social life now!


For my full disclosure policy, click here. This is a SPONSORED post. All opinions and photos are my own.

Thriving on Thursdays - Linky Party # 68

 

Noosa? Did someone say Noosa? I have a vague recollection of being there last week but its only a distant memory now, or is it? It doesn't take long to get back to the daily grind when you've got children. Oh well. It was good while it lasted. I had a terrific linky party, even while I was away, so thank you to everyone who linked up, both the regulars and the newbies. I was very sad to hear of the destruction in Oklahoma and my thoughts and prayers go out to those of you there or have family there. Things are cooling up here so lots of slow cooked meals are on the agenda. Here's what happened last week. My top 3 food related and non food related posts from last week.

 

FOOD

 

 

Creamy Chicken Korma by Octavia and Vicky

 

 

Lemony Sour Cream Cakelets by Life is Di-Licious

 

 

Pico de Gallo by A Bright and Beautiful Life

 

NON FOOD

 

 

 

Homemade Sewing Supplies by Diane's Vintage Zest

 

 

Quick Layered Necklace by Desperate Houselife

 

Thank you so much to everyone who linked up last week and kept the home fires burning while I was away. I was keeping track of what was being linked up while I was away. Feel free to grab a 'featured' button from the drop down menu above and I look forward to what everyone links up this week.

 



 

 



Gourmet Garden Blogger Cook Off, Noosa - Day 2 + Grand Final

Further to my last post regarding my lovely 3 days away in Noosa last week, on the Thursday we all woke early from either a bad night's sleep or missing our kids or bad mattresses (I've become a real homebody and love my bed at home). I went for a 'little' walk along the beach and watched the sunrise before having a lovely hot cup of chai tea and toast. I then went back to my accommodation to get ready for the day. Breakfast on both days was provided at the nearby Hard Coffee which had excellent coffee and great food.



And here we were, us Queenslanders, gloating about our beautiful autumn weather and what a day we had. It drizzled rain all day, quite heavy at times and it was freezing cold. And what did we get up to today? We went to the SjW Mushroom farm in Woodford and for an outdoor lunch cooked by Sammy and Bella Jakubiak (of My Kitchen Rules fame).

I've never been to a mushroom farm before and I found this really interesting. There's quite a science to it and Steven Willemse, a third generation mushroom farmer, explained the various processes and quantities these rooms of mushrooms produced. Up to 8 tonnes of mushrooms can be harvested from one of these temperature controlled rooms over a 3 week period.

Lunch was soon to be served so we were soon ushered outside to a shelter where we were served Moët champagne, fine wines and other beverages and seated at a beautifully decorated table with bouquets of roses and mushrooms and little Belgian mushroom chocolates.

After a lot of drinking and great conversations about food and family memories, we tucked into a beautiful three course, mushroom inspired lunch cooked by Sammy and Bella. Entree was a Peking Duck Broth with duck and Swiss Brown mushroom stuffed wontons garnished with crispy duck skin. Main course was a Thai egg net  filled with mussel and Asian vegetable salad and topped with steamed pork belly and drizzled with a caramel chilli sauce. The meal was topped off with a beautiful dessert of mushroom shaped meringues, a spicy dark chocolate and orange ganache, ginger cream and a gorgeous tasting 'dirt' which was a biscuit crumb cooked with mushrooms and blitzed to serve and dressed with native violets. Just beautiful.

The day finished with a tour of the Gourmet Garden plant and presentation by CEO Nick White. The weather was dark and dreary but the day was informative, delicious and everything was an absolute delight. A quick dinner out to Season on Hastings Street for a White Rock veal cutlet cordon bleu, parsnip mash, pickled beets, green beans and then we were off to bed and a good night's sleep before the cook off grand final tomorrow.

We woke to an absolutely glorious day and headed off to Spicers Tamarind Retreat in Maleny for the cook off grand final. We were broken up into groups of 4 to cook. It all seemed very casual except for Sammy and Bella, the judges, asking us the odd question. I resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't win so I felt quite relaxed and knew that I was amongst friends but very stiff competition. Some absolutely amazing dishes were created so I was well out of my league.

The lovely Amanda from Cooking for Busy Mums cooked really yummy fish tacos and made her own tortillas within the 45 minute time frame. She has some totally amazing recipes for busy mums on her blog.

My dish of a Pear, Thyme and Ginger Cake with Ginger Custard and Walnut Praline worked out really well I thought. Everyone said it looked nice and tasted pretty good, including the judges who said they'd happily pay for it in a restaurant. I was happy with that. (Recipe to come.)

It wasn't long before the competition was over and it was time for a quick bite for lunch and to wait for the judge's decision.

The winning dish was this beautiful brunch consisting of an individual zucchini quiche cooked in pancetta with mushrooms and salsa created by Laney of Crash Test Mummy. A well deserved win. The overall winner between Laney, Filipa (from Gourmet Mum in the UK) and Alberto (Mucha Vida in Spain) was Filipa with a Piri Piri Chicken and Sweet Potato Chip dish. I can't wait for the recipe. 

An absolutely wonderful couple of days spent with like minded people in beautiful surroundings. Something I'll probably never get the chance to do again but one I'll remember for a life time. It was really cute that on my return, the kids asked me if I'd won. That meant more to me than anything that they must've been thinking about me. Thank you to Gourmet Garden for a year long of behind the scenes organising, coordinating, liaising and a very generous event. It was truly appreciated. If you get the chance, you really should enter should the competition be held again.



Disclaimer: I was gifted an all expenses paid trip to Noosa as the prize for winning my heat of the Gourmet Garden Blogger Cook Off at the Good Food & Wine Show. All thoughts, photos and opinions are my own.

Surprise Recipe Swap - Swedish Meatballs in Gravy

I swear, the 20th of the month comes around quicker and quicker each month. No sooner have I picked out my recipe and the day before arrives and I find myself rushing to cook it. This month I was delighted to be paired up with Amber from "Dessert Now, Dinner Later!".

Monday is just crazy for us with Cub Scouts for my daughter and it starts at 6pm which is our usual dinner time. The days are shorter now too so its dark early so I'd like to get dinner done a bit earlier and Amber's Ikea Swedish Meatballs were just the perfect option. I had them done in about 20 minutes flat.

Now, I have to admit, I'm not the biggest fan of Ikea around. I've probably been about 3 times in my life and tried their meatballs once. I am NOT a fan of their prepacked furniture but don't mind the kitchenware or home furnishings. But I don't remember their meatballs tasting this good. This was a great, basic recipe but the gravy was tasty and complemented the meatballs and pasta noodles perfectly. Amber is a Mum and a culinary graduate but the meals aren't overly fancy or difficult. They all sound gorgeous and I can't wait to try more, in particular some of her desserts. Thanks Amber for the recipe and getting to know you. This meatball recipe is definitely a keeper.

If you'd like to see who everyone else got as their Surprise Recipe Swap partner and what they were cooking, head on over to Hungry Little Girl. Or, alternatively, why not join in on the action and sign up to be part of next month's swap. The more the merrier.

Gourmet Garden Blogger Cook Off, Noosa - Day 1

You know when you hear people say they have never won anything? Well, except for a couple giveaways within the last couple of years from people's blogs, I was one of those people. That was up until last November when I happened to win my heat of the Gourmet Garden Blog Off/Cook Off at the Brisbane Good Food & Wine Show. It didn't take long for May to come around this year and us three contestants from Brisbane, plus 3 from New South Wales, 3 from Melbourne, 1 from the UK and 1 (a guy) from Spain all gathered at Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland for 3 days of informative guest speakers, fancy food, fine dining and the ultimate grand final last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

After an early rise, I drove north (via the roadside coffee shop where I met up with fellow contestant, the lovely Amanda from Cooking for Busy Mums) and checked into my accommodation before we were 'whisked' (pardon the pun) away to Freestyle Escape at Dulong in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. An absolutely gorgeous accommodation, cooking and art class venue with views out to the Pacific Ocean.

Martin Duncan, the owner (and also owner of the famous Brisbane "Freestyle Tout" restaurant) gave us a quick tour of the property, showing us various art works and exotic fruit and vegetable species, some of which had been planted by visiting chefs. We headed back down to the beautiful outdoor kitchen and heard the very inspiring Jody Allen from Stay at Home Mum talk about her successful web site. 

Jackie Passmore, cookbook author and food stylist gave us all a quick lesson on food photography and styling, something I need a lot of help in. I hope to put her tips to good use.

Effervescent and bubbly Kim McCosker, leading recipe creator and cookbook author of 4 Ingredients fame, led us into cooking lunch for the hungry crowd. Her selection of recipes included dips, marinated chicken wings, salads, prawn and chorizo skewers and a vegan chocolate mousse dessert which I helped put together with Amanda from Cooking for Busy Mums.

After a gorgeous lunch, we heard Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella speak about her experience launching her new book. It was lovely to meet Lorraine and you can check out the review on her short visit to Queensland on her blog here. Next up was Edmund Pelgen from Traffika who gave us a lot of information on search engine optimisation which was all a bit technical for me but very interesting. I'd love to find out more and will study Edmund's notes thoroughly when I get the chance.

By the time we got back to our accommodation, had a quick shower and a cuppa, it was time to go out for dinner. We had a lovely dinner at Gaston and it felt so nice to go out for a meal where you didn't have to worry about ensuring the restaurant served hot chips for the 'fussy one' and making sure there was a kid's play room.

Crispy skinned barramundi served in a Thai red curry broth and a mint and green papaw pickle

The food was great, the company awesome and the night late before we all decided to call it a night and prepare for the next day's activities. We were all ready to hit the hay. Stay tuned for Day 2 of the Gourmet Garden Blogger Cook Off this week on the blog. (Oh, and if you see a couple of gorgeous looking guys in the background of all my photos, that'd be the lovely Sam and his offsider from Wild Bunch Media who were on hand to catch every moment on film. I'll share any footage with you once its produced.)

Disclaimer: I was gifted an all expenses paid trip to Noosa as the prize for winning my heat of the Gourmet Garden Blogger Cook Off at the Good Food & Wine Show. All thoughts, photos and opinions are my own.

Thriving on Thursdays - Linky Party # 67

 

As this post goes to air, I'll probably be slowly waking in my resort style accommodation in Noosa, Queenland.

 

 

 

I'll open the blinds and let the warm autumn morning sun shine in before I head for breakfast and the second day of my 3 day jaunt at the Gourmet Garden Blogger's Cook Off. I know, it's a hard life but Thriving on Thursday waits for no one. The show must go on and I'll need some inspiration when I land back with a thud on Friday evening. In the meantime, here are my top 3 food and non food related posts from last week's party. I'm cooking tomorrow so I'll let you know how I get on.

 

FOOD

 

 

Giving the gift of herbs by Stone Cottage Adventures

 

 

Italian Skillet Eggs by My Turn For Us

 

 

Blueberry Frozen Yoghurt by What's Cooking in the Burbs

 

NON FOOD

 



 

Old Tea Cart Makeover by Hickory Trail

 

 

Organizing & Folding Fabric by Diane's Vintage Zest

 

 

Crochet Bottle Vases by E Strea Chikitu

 

And the most viewed link was:

 

 

10+ Places to Earn Money Blogging by Moms Make Money

 

Thanks again everyone for linking up each week. Just wonderful stuff. Feel free to grab a 'featured' button if you like. Looking forward to seeing what you all link up on my return.

 



 



Whole Mandarin Cakes

Its not like I get time to read the junk mail or one that has a recipe in it, although all the supermarkets seem to be doing it these days. I stumbled across a recipe for a whole orange cake in one of them recently but I didn't have oranges. I had a few mandarins that needed using up so I thought I'd adapt the recipe. I swapped 4 small mandarins for the 2 oranges in the recipe.

Mandarins (or clementines as they are called in some parts of the world) are in season at the moment and are very juicy and sweet. I like the idea of using the whole mandarin over an orange because there's less pith in a mandarin.

This was the first time using my Kambrook Chop & Store I received as a gift at the Kid's Business Blogger's Brunch I went to the week before. It made mince meat, literally, of the whole mandarins in no time at all. What a great little appliance and one that I can see being used all the time.

I'm not going to say this was my most favourite cake recipe. When I saw there were 4 eggs, 1.1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup almond meal and 200gm of butter in the recipe, I shuddered a little. I very rarely use any eggs or butter in my cake recipes only because I'm stingey but I thought I'd try it. I found the cakes to be a little 'sticky'. Like a syrup cake but the syrup was already in the cake. The actual cake itself was dense, soft and moist. I'll happily try mandarins whole in a cake again. Maybe they might make their way into my old faithful recipe. Omit the cocoa and use 1 cup of the mandarin liquid in place of the 1 cup of water.

Disclaimer:  This isn't a sponsored post. I was gifted a Kambrook Chop & Store and all thoughts, opinions and photos are my own.