Wishing you lots of laughter and coffee for 2015!

"For I will exult in the gift of coffee, it wakens each human sense with joy. Its aroma is deep, with palpable comfort, its percolation speaks promise. It warms the hands of even those unloved. Without the state of heightened awareness it provides, I might forget to be thankful of a morning."

Here's wishing you lots of laughter and coffee in 2015 and may your new year be filled with LOVE, JOY and INSPIRATION!

Happy New Year!

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The BEST Spaghetti Bolognaise!

One of my favourite dishes is Spaghetti Bolognaise because of the ease with which it is prepared and also the fact that one can have many variations and come up with something different every time!

Ingredients

• 500g Fresh Beef Mince.
• 400g Dried Spaghetti.
• 4 Rashers of Smoked Streaky Bacon, finely diced.
• 2 Tins of Plum/Chopped Tomatoes.
• 6 Fresh Cherry Tomatoes.
• 2 Medium Onions, peeled and finely diced.
• 2 Sticks of Celery, trimmed and finely diced.
• 2 Carrots, trimmed and finely diced.
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and finely diced.
• 1 Medium Chilli (optional), seeded and finely sliced
• 75g Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, plus extra for grating over.
• 2 tbsp Tomato Puree
• 1 Beef Stock Cube.
• Glass of red wine (optional)
• Herbs:
• 2-3 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary.
• Handful of Fresh Basil, plus extra for Garnish.
• 1 tsp Dried Oregano.
• 1-2 Fresh Bay Leaves.
• Olive oil.
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper.
• Crusty bread, to serve.

Method

1. Get yourself a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, and place it on a medium heat. Add a good lug of olive oil and gently fry your bacon until golden and crisp, then reduce the heat slightly and add your onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Next remove the leaves from the Rosemary sprigs and add them to the pot, discarding the sprigs. Move everything around and fry for around 8-10 minutes until the veg has softened.
2. Next, increase the heat slightly, add the mince and stir until the meat is browned all over.
3. Stir in your tins of plum/chopped tomatoes, (plum tomatoes are best as they contain less water, but either will turn out great!). Add your remaining herbs, tomato puree, stock cube, chilli and if using, the wine. Slice your cherry tomatoes in half and throw them in aswell.
4. Give everything a stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up the plum tomatoes as you go and bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low-medium, put the lid on and leave it blipping away for about an hour and 15 minutes until the flavours develop into a wonderfully rich tomatoey sauce. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn't catch.
5. Just as the sauce is nearly ready, Add the parmesan and season to taste. Meanwhile add salt to a pan of boiling water and cook the spaghetti according the the packet instructions. Once the spaghetti is ready, drain it in a colander and add it to the pan with the sauce. Give it all a good stir, coating the pasta in the lovely tomato sauce. Serve with a little grated parmesan and use the extra basil leaves to make a great little garnish. Beautiful!

This recipe is from Good Food 

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Green Tip #8 - Protect your hands

Look at anyone’s hands and you can usually gauge their true age. So why is it that while you can have some success in holding back the years on your face when it comes to hands it is a much harder task?
‘The skin ages faster on the hands because they are exposed daily to chemicals, smoke and, most importantly, UV radiation,’ explains Nina Goad from the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD).

For women, the changes are exacerbated by the fact that levels of oestrogen, the hormone that stimulates collagen production, so helping to keep skin on hands plump and fleshy, start to drop around the time of the menopause.

 

Develop a good routine and give your hands a helping hand. Good moisturisers can help prevent or treat dry skin on your hands. They hold that needed water in the outer layer of skin, making your hands smoother and softer. They also help your outer skin act as a temporary protective shield.

Always wear garden gloves to protect your nails and hands. I know nothing quite beats the feel of freshly turned earth between your fingers, but wearing gloves out in the garden really makes a lot of sense. Not only can they protect your lovingly-tended nails, but can also prevent unsightly scratches, sore blisters and, as an added bonus, protect your hands from the rays of the sun.

 

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Green tip #7 - Glowing skin

Tip for glowing and healthy skin :

Almond can do wonders to your skin, hair and general health.
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This nut is antioxidant rich, high in vitamin E, fat and protein content along with containing many essential nutrients. The daily usage of this wonderful home ingredient can treat many ailments and treats various beauty and hair issues.
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Applying almond oil to skin helps in removing itching and moisturises your face. It is an excellent emollient (softening and soothing to the skin) and also helps the skin to balance water loss and absorption of moisture and is suitable for all skin types. If you are looking for a natural solution to get rid of dark under eye circles, almond oil is most suitable. Simply apply the oil before going to bed and allow it to work while you sleep. For optimum results do so regularly for a couple of weeks at least. The treatment will help you get rid of dark circles as well as reduce dark eyelids and crow’s feet.

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Almond oil can be applied neat to the skin, as it acts as a carrier medium when using essential oils. It is an excellent oil to use for both body and facial massage and helps to increase the health and vitality of the skin.
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Almond oil is rich in vitamin A, B and E, which are great for skin health. In fact, most skin care products have these vitamins loaded in them. The oil helps maintaining moisture levels of the skin and gets absorbed in a jiffy without blocking the pores. 

Almonds are one of my favourite nuts. Almonds are packed with vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre, and are associated with a number of health benefits. Just a handful of almonds, approximately one ounce, contains one-eighth of our necessary daily protein. The health benefits of almonds have been documented for centuries and modern research is backing up many of the claims - there any many goods reasons why you might want to consider including them in your diet.

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Vintages - A touch of lace

The depths of most people's understanding of lace is of the nosy, suburban housewife tweaking the lace curtains aside to see what the neighbours are up to.

Those dust, net horrors are but the sad, machine-made remnants of what, for 300 years, was an extraordinary fashion in the decoration of clothes and household goods. A fashion that saw the creation of some of the most exquisite treasures in the history of textiles. Treasures that, in their time, were prized above jewels or silks. Men were robbed and killed for a lace handkerchief and thieves were as ingenious as any in Gauteng today. They slunk up on coaches, slit open the leather backs and snatched the wigs from women's heads as these were festooned with costly lace. (Women were instructed to sit with their backs to the driver in order to foil criminals.)

Four layers of rouched fabrics were added to cutwork lace panels to make these exquisite window draperies.

The labour that went into making a few centimeters of lace is almost incomprehensible to us in an age of mass-production and rampant consumerism. How could anyone spend a year making a mere 600mm of lace? Yet thousands did, by the light of candles in uncomfortable places such as cow byres, where the moist warmth from the cows below kept the fine flax thread supple and prevented the hands of the lace makers from becoming stiff with cold.

 

A vanity table dressed in lace with antique dresser accessories arranged around a collector plate and a vintage red-velvet jewelry box.

The glorious era of lace ended with the French Revolution of 17809. Gowns were suddenly simple and untrimmed. Lace was used only for state occasions and people became puritanical about its expense and frivolity. Large collections were cast out by families to their waiting-maids. Fear of death may also have played some part in this destruction, lace being associated with aristocrats - and aristocrats with the guillotine.

 

A glimpse of vintage ladies' fashions ads its old-fashioned charm. Between the dresses is an antique hair-ribbon holder.

Most cast-off lace was wasted by deterioration or by cutting up and wearing out. Old pieces were worn again during the 19th century, when it became fashionable and people began to assemble collections, but the lace soon wore out and there was nothing new, or of equivalent quality, to replace it.

Serious collectors will, of course, keep their lace packed safely away, kept flat between acid-free tissue paper, mostly unseen, but there are many people who buy old lace to decorate their clothes and furnishings, knowing that they will be wearing something old and rare and quite unique.

A bouquet of dried hydrangeas and cockscomb, accented by silk flowers sits high on a wicker plant stand covered with a pink damask throw. Rich drapes of vintage lace adorns the vanity and footstool. The Oriental rug delicately complements the softly muted tones of the room.

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Today is such a day

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On a day when the wind is perfect,

the sail just needs to open

and the world is full of beauty.

Today is such a day.
- Rumi

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Trust the process

When everything seems as if it is hopeless and going nowhere... trust the process. If you trust the process of life, your dreams and the life that you want and deserve is within your reach. Dreaming is great. But take your cue from nature and slow down, calm down, don't worry, don't hurry - just trust the process. As surely as Spring follows Winter, so surely will your dreams come true. Sometimes it’s as simple as saying and believing, “I’ve just got to trust the process. I’ve just got to trust the process. I either believe in what I am asking for or I don’t.” 

It really is that simple.

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Vintages - What every Guest room needs

Treat your weekend and holiday guests to bedside tables equipped with beautiful, thoughtful accessories, like a carafe of water to quench late-night thirsts; a shallow wicker basket brimming with notepads, pencils, pens, stationery and stamps; and a small vase for flowers - always fragrant, invariably out of season.

Remember to stock your spare room with good books and magazines (biographies, histories, novels, and gardening tomes are always welcomes); a reading lamp with a 40-watt or brighter bulb; an alarm clock with an easy-to-read face and easy-to-set controls; an extra blanket or throw within reach in the middle of the night; plenty of close space, not to mention a dozen empty hangers for guests' clothing.

A perfectly cosy guest room - A mosquito net for peaceful summer sleep, books, cosy scatter cushions, some flowers and a comfortable armchair to while away the hours with an interesting book.

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Yummy ideas for omelettes

Everybody loves an omelette, and it's so easy to make. Cheese and ham remain favourite fillings, but there's so much more you can do to lift this humble egg dish to new egglicious heights.

AMAZING FILLINGS FOR OMELETTES 

Tomato, sweet basil and tzatziki wrapped in prosciutto.
Caramelised onion, brie and spinach
Roast chicken and avocado
Smoked salmon and asparagus
Bacon, mushrooms, onion and cheddar
Smoked ham, cream cheese and rocket
Spinach, ricotta and roasted peppers
Smoked haddock and crême fraïche
Mushrooms and leeks
Chilli, cheese and bacon
Baby spinach and Chavroux

Tips for the perfect omelette:
Always add a few drops of water to the beaten eggs as this will create steam, making the omelette lighter.

Use a non-stick pan and, as the egg cooks, lift up the edges and tilt the pan so that the egg pours underneath and cooks. Beat the eggs moderately and add a dash of milk or cream - about half an eggshell for every two eggs.

Make sure your pan is hot, and don't smother the eggs with too much butter or oil in the pan.

EGGSTRA SPECIAL QUAIL'S EGG OMELETTE

Melt 1 T of butter in a non-stick omelette pan. Remove from heat.
Carefully break 12 - 14 quail eggs into the pan without breaking the yolks.
Place back on heat and cook for two to five minutes.
Carefully slide onto a plate.

SPICY POTATO OMELETTE

Category : Vegetarian / Quick / Breakfast
Prep time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 15 minutes

Ingredients:
Oil, for frying
3 free-range eggs
1 small tomato, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
6 mushrooms, chopped
1 potato, boiled, diced and lightly fried
1/2 t ground turmeric
1 t masala
1 small chilli, thinly sliced into rings
1 spring onion, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

Cooking instructions:
Heat the oil in a pan. Mix all the remaining ingredients, then pour into the hot pan.
Stir gently, then cook until set.

Cook’s note: For added flavour and texture, add small blocks of Indian paneer, feta cheese or chopped bacon bits. Serve with chopped coriander or chives and chapatis. 

Recipes from Woolworths TasteMag

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I love...

I love unmade beds.

I love when people are drunk and crying and cannot be anything but honest in that moment.

I love the look in people’s eyes when they realize they’re in love.

I love the way people look when they first wake up and they’ve forgotten their surroundings.

I love the gasp people take when their favorite character dies.

I love when people close their eyes and drift to somewhere in the clouds.

I fall in love with people and their honest moments all the time.

I fall in love with their breakdowns and their smeared makeup and their daydreams. Honesty is just too beautiful to ever put into words.
— Unknown author

*•.¸♥♥¸.•*

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