Stuff

The Princess does stuff. Everyday. At school. All she does is stuff. Since she was 5. Stuff. I used to threaten to call her school and tell them they needed to upgrade their curriculum.

Apparently, my own students tell their parents they do stuff. Everyday. In my classroom. Sometimes, mostly on a Friday, when updating our programme on the whiteboard, I write stuff. They love stuff'. Maybe I should look at my own curriculum!

This week I have been doing stuff.  Not much really because you know, I AM on holiday.  The stuff I have been doing is:

POTTERING with pots (see what I did there). I hauled the teenage Princess from her cave (bedroom) and went plant shopping. Hers, chosen and planted, are the purples and mine are the reds. Now if only the wind would die down so we could sit out there!

Plants are a good deal at Mitre 10

LUNCHING with the Cowboy who suggested a mid-week lunch date, nice! And the following day with a friend and work colleague here at my current favourite place to eat, because I'm all about the florals, not the food, even though the food is good.

Hello Friends and Allies

WATCHING this cute little series on Lightbox. The episodes don't hurt my brain, as in I don't have to concentrate too hard,  it does become a little predictable but the characters are pretty and I like the decor of Kate's house and Baze's bar apartment.

Life Unexpected

READING Jack Reacher. I love a good Reacher story even though I can't reconcile myself to Tom Cruise playing Jack Reacher in the movies! This one is about the 3rd Reacher I have read these holidays.

COOKING platters for the Princess like the ones I used to make her when she was little with lots of fruit, cheeses, breads and other stuff. Does that count as cooking?

EATING Hubbards muesli, vanilla bean yoghurt and a banana chopped into it. Not exactly sugar-free but hey, at least I'm eating breakfast. Actually, it's usually brunch by the time I get around to it.

DRINKING way too much of this stuff and enjoying trying these tea flavours. My fave this week is Licorice Legs, the name alone gets me!

Nespresso Coffee

Dream Catchers T2

WEARING black on black...

HAIR DO of the week, braids, braids and more braids. It's hot, my hair annoys me, the braids get it off my face and neck and it's such a good look for a 50ish woman.

THINKING about school and all the stuff I need to get read to start the year off and trying not to feel stressed or depressed about how fast it is looming.

LOVING a clean house and up to date laundry; washed, dried, folded and put away and figuring out how to maintain the cleanliness and laundry when school starts.

NOT LOVING a ginger cat who wants to be picked up and cuddled every half hour, day and night and who is moulting badly. Not a good look with black on black. But he sure is cute and so is she!

I hope you have had a good week doing stuff.

Thanks for reading.

xo Rachael

New Year's Day Dessert

The Cowboy gave me the newest Chelsea Winter 'Scrumptious' cookbook for Christmas. Clever him. Double clever him as he benefits from me using of the cookbook!

Since we didn't have a proper dinner on New Year's Eve I thought I had better up my game on New Year's Day.

What better than a celebratory dessert such as Chelsea's take on good old fashioned...

Chocolate Chippie Pudding!

It was truly decadent. Laced with Sherry. Smothered in Cream. Covered in dark Chocolate. YUM.

You can get the recipe here.

Thanks for reading.

xo Rachael

New Year Movie Marathon

We didn't go out on New Year's Eve, which is the first time ever for the Cowboy and me. It was also the first time in a very long time I didn't wake up on New Year's Day without some kind of hangover. It was good. Very good.

Instead, we stayed in with the Princess and ate crappy food such as good old Chips and Dip, Chocolate, Jaffas and Ice Cream with Jaffas and Chocolate. We drank Fizzy Drinks and watched Movies. Lots of Movies.

If you haven't seen The Shallows and like a movie that has you on the edge of your seat (think Jaws), then this is the movie for you. All I can say is thank goodness we didn't watch it in 3D - lets just say I screamed a few times and hid behind my pillow a few more times!

Sisters followed which provided the light-heated relief that was much needed on my part after The Shallows!. I really enjoy Tina Fey and the combination of her and Amy Poehler is hilarious. I may or may not have cried with laughter and I most certainly did not snort at any time. That would have been the Princess. Or the Cowboy.

I love a good fast paced, action packed Western style movie with lots of 'Shoot em Up' and humor which The Magnificent Seven certainly provided. It finished at 11.55pm, just in time to wish each other Happy New Year!

No bed for us though. We carried on with a movie recommended by the Princess. Nerve is about an online dare game with scary consequences. The story line was quite good with messages relative to today's teens.

The marathon continued on New Year's day with The Legend of Tarzan and Jane. It was an easy watching movie with enough action to add interest. Perfect for a lazy Sunday.

Our  marathon finished with The Hateful Eight. You need to be a die hard Quinton Tarantino fan (we are) to watch this, let alone enjoy it. The story is quite slow paced to start with. Tarantino sets the scene and acquaints you with the characters. The dialogue is typical Tarantino, lots of black humor. Just when I was lulled into a false sense of security, almost feeling bored, it opened up - literally! Lots of violence. Lots of gore. An interesting ending. Tarantino.

Right now, my little family are at the actual movies, watching the Assassin's Creed movie. I'm home alone. Love it!

Thanks for reading.

xo Rachael

Happy NEW YEAR!

from my home to your home xo