Fathers Day

Father's Day was celebrated today in Australia. This year it was just Mr red roses, our son and myself, our daughter is overseas. The emphasis was on super casual for lunch so I threw a cloth on the outside table, threw smoked salmon, chicken, Brie cheese and fresh bread on a platter and we then proceeded to wash it all down with cold beer and chilled white wine.
The beloved grandfathers are now in heaven so we raised a glass to them then sat on our deck and listened to birdsong and gazed up into the treetops.

Chocolate dipped strawberries and coffee finished off our fare and now I am dashing off this post before I collapse on the sofa from overindulging in good food and maybe one too many glasses of good wine.

And here is a thought for a wee giggle...hmm yes haven't most women encountered this!

Annie xx

Scrumptious Baked Brie

Here is the recipe for Baked Brie after receiving requests from lovely readers.
Seriously it is so easy it's kind of ridiculous. This appetizer is a crowd pleaser and goes down well with pre-dinner drinks.

I buy a larger size wheel to share amongst six guests. Place the Brie on baking paper on oven tray, place in 180C oven for approximately 15 minutes.
Remove to serving plate.
And that's it! Too easy.

I prefer to serve the Brie with accompaniments of quince paste, cranberry sauce and flaked almonds and thin slices of sourdough bread crisped on a baking tray in the oven while the cheese is cooking.

The first slice of Baked Brie is wonderful to witness as it oozes onto the plate. Divine and best enjoyed while still warm.

Bon Appetit !

A Bon Voyage Soirée

I had the pleasure of hosting a little gathering of blog friends to raise a glass and farewell our friend A-M who is venturing to New York next week to attend a blog conference and take in the sites of this grand city along with a side trip to the Hampton's...swoon.
So...between myself, Faux Fuchsia, The Distressed Mother and A-M of The House that A-M Built (these beautiful ladies are on my blog roll over yonder) we ate for the nation, sipped mellow French bubbles and chatted and laughed until long after the cows came home.

I love to entertain family and friends in my home. Plus it gives me the chance to serve tasty/naughty delectables. A sure fire winner is Baked Brie served with toasted sourdough bread, quince paste, cranberry sauce and flaked almonds. To die for!

I dashed off a few quick photos on my phone during festivities and here they are. Even my precious little pooch likes to participate and glam up.

A truly lovely evening....

Annie xx

Easter and Change

The other day I popped into a home wares store and these little bunnies jumped into my handbag. The perfect spot was waiting for them on the entry table. I smile every time I pass by these three cuties.

Easter holds different meaning for many folk these days. Throughout my childhood Easter involved a Good Friday breakfast of hot cross buns (never consumed before Good Friday, in fact the shops only baked them the week of Easter) salmon rissoles or baked fish for lunch then a quite afternoon viewing a biblical film on television with extended family.  Easter Sunday involved waking to chocolate eggs then a roast chicken lunch after attending Mass. Nothing has changed menu wise on Good Friday (being raised a Catholic I dare not consume meat...a lightening bolt will strike me down) but other traditions have changed. 

My children are grown and are enjoying spending the long weekend with their respective friends out of town instead of being glued to home and my dear mother lives in a care facility. Why is this different?

My Mum is no longer well enough to leave her residence to visit my home for celebrations and as previously mentioned, the kids are out living their lives. So in effect my determination to hold onto my idea of Easter with every family member around me has hit a wall this year. What to do? 

Absolutely nothing, except rejoice in the fact Mr red roses is rostered off from work for the whole Easter break which is the first time in living memory, I'll visit Mum tomorrow bearing chocolate and I am thankful my children have the nicest bunch of friends any parent could wish for. 

Sometimes one needs to let go of traditions, be it through choice or circumstances beyond our control.

 The sun is shining through the windows in my favourite room and I rejoice that I am here to enjoy it. So while my lifelong version of Easter is now different I still regard this blessed time of year as one to take stock and give thanks for just...Being.

Our plan today was to partake of a movie but I can't bare to drag myself away from home with it's view of majestic tall trees and bird song to sit in a dark theatre so instead we shall go for a leisurely stroll by the river later this afternoon and maybe a yummy Vietnamese dinner to finish off the day.

Wishing everyone a beautiful and restful Easter be it full of tradition or not.

Annie xx

Dining Out and Celebrating

Our dining out experience the other night for darling daughter's birthday was lovely. The choice of restaurant was a casual Japanese eatery. Here are a few shots of dinner..

My little family can eat their body weight in Japanese delicacies

The only time I drink beer is when the temperature hits 34C here in Australia or I'm staying in Tokyo during summer. I tell you, in those conditions there is nothing so refreshing as an ice cold beer.
Don't pearls and beer make a nice combo?

Pity the pic is blurry, my sheath dress is the most delicious emerald green linen & cotton by Veronika Maine.

I love this photo I snapped from the back seat of the car...our daughter is driving. Our son is riding shotgun. The birthday girl was the only one who chose a non alcoholic beverage instead of two glasses of Hokkaido, so she drew the short straw to chauffeur us safely home.

The irony was not lost on her parents. How the tables have turned!

Home to our fairy lights runway after a truly wonderful evening celebrating another milestone.
I do believe Mr red roses and I are finally starting to relax after 24 years of parenthood. Our children are forging ahead with their careers and so we are breathing easier.

Annie xx

Food Glorious Food

This week seems to be revolving around food and the consumption of same. We have a house guest this week...our son had unexpected surgery and is recuperating at the hacienda (he flew the nest a year ago). He's lapping up his mother's love and home cooked treats. Banana & cranberry muffins, healthy mango smoothies, smoked salmon pasta salad, watermelon, stir fry's and dried cranberries to name a few. My son and I are just a little bit addicted to munching on dried cranberries.

 This week also sees my daughter celebrating a birthday which of course means birthday cake and dining out.  I baked Morgan's Grandma's Red Velvet cake. This recipe is dead easy to whip up and the result is divine.

Have a great rest of the week everyone. I'll just go squeeze in another slice of cake then paint my toenails before dining out tonight at a Japanese restaurant.
What colour nail varnish you ask? I do believe Rimmel Cranberry Zest will be appropriate.

Annie xx

A Post Christmas and Almost New Year Post about Nothing in Particular

Well I felt it high time I snapped out of my post Christmas stupor to fire up the computer and wish everyone a jolly old New Years Eve!

Firstly though I must tell you how thoroughly delicious I find these little blue bags. Entering a Swarovski store fills me with delight, not least the superb lighting Mr S uses in his businesses because all merchandise glistens and every bauble shines like all get out. This gift was from Mr red roses for my birthday. Having a birthday in December is ridiculous as far as I'm concerned. Waiting all year for pressies is murder.

One of the reasons I love crystal is walking into a vision like this on a sunny morning. The rays bounce off and create gorgeous sparkles around my living room. A fascination with crystal started when I first saw the film  Pollyanna starring a young Hayley Mills. There's a scene where she is tinkling the crystal shards of a delicate lamp and the shimmers bounce all around the room. Mesmerizing.
Any body else out there who remembers the film Pollyanna?

The perfect card for little old me

A post Christmas tradition in my family as I grew up was to totally chill out and specifically...do as little as possible. My father owned his own business and rarely managed a yearly holiday so the break between Christmas and New Year was to recuperate and ponder the year past and the new year rapidly approaching. Old habits die hard so the last week has seen me being something of a lazy cow and consuming my own weight in Pavlova during Christmas festivities and lashings of cranberry sauce. I'm addicted to anything cranberry and let me tell you, avocado brie cheese and a cranberry sauce combo is to die for.

My darling son recently installed Instagram on my phone. Hellooo I'm hooked thank you very much and can now understand why every man and his dog is Instagraming their photos.
Here's Bing and bubbles doing a duet on Chrissy day while my lovely family prepared our feast. It's also tradition for me to swan around singing along with Bing. I'm allowed half an hour for this indulgence before the mob shut me down...

Being semi-comatose also involves watching dodgy old TV shows like the British series the Darling Buds of May. Truly I adore the Larkin family and the shenanigans they get involved in. I especially love how Ma Larkin can conjure up enough food for an army in her country kitchen. Here's Mariette the daughter aka Catherine Zeta Jones rocking a fabbo leopard ensemble in the early nineties. Leopard print is timeless.

So 2012 is fast approaching and will bring more renovations to the red roses hacienda. Recently friends  reminded us of the massive undertaking we embarked on in February '11 (a stinking hot summer it was too) and mostly completed in three months. As time goes by we forget the enormous amount of hard work and sweat we poured into bringing this twenty year old house up to speed.
The latest completed project was to replace the front entrance walkway and pretty yet functional lights were installed. My whimsical interpretation.... a runway for the fairies who live in my garden!

As per usual the Pooch will be around and supervising from a comfortable position as we commence exciting new additions to our humble home.

Wishing everyone a fabulicious start to 2012 and happy days ahead!!!!

Annie xx

Ikea hunting and gathering and Orange

Do you enjoy visiting Ikea?

Have you trekked to Ikea and vowed Not to purchase, only browse? 

I took a girlfriend along once and the willpower she displayed was phenomenal! Didn't purchase a single solitary item. Unlike moi.

So Mr redroses and I hauled ourselves down the motorway on a hunting and gathering expedition to buy a few things, one being a fold-out sofa bed contraption for visitors.

I'm one of those people who is tactile with a capital T. I must touch and visualise and in this case lie on the bed to feel the vibe. And hope any relatives who sleep on this will be comfy. A gentleman and his wife were trying out the bed next to us and he gave us a giggle by saying it pays to not give visiting rellies anything too comfy or they'll never leave.
Slogging it out at Ikea also requires sturdy walking shoes to navigate the maze.

I'm not ashamed to admit to blog land that this place does my head in but I'm learning to deep breathe and hasten with caution when deciphering the catalogue, measurements and Swedish model descriptions. Mistakes happen.

Sustenance is vital to the whole experience and I don't know about you but I must have fish and chips and two large mugs of tea while we recuperate in the cafeteria before hitting the self-serve docks.

All in all I like Ikea but do find you have to work hard to achieve the end result. Especially when it comes to the biggish purchases and flat pack jigsaw puzzles. Good thing Mr redroses enjoys the notion of a challenge. Providing he gets a restorative coffee at half time!

Now onto a bit of fashion...orange is everywhere and many bloggers are writing pieces about it in the fashion world. Recently I bought home another frock and this one is totally orange. I have never been drawn to this colour but have decided to live dangerously and so I couldn't pass up this little cotton number.
I'm also in awe of talented seamstresses who run up creations, like Patricia from Red Cardinal. Pop over and take a peek at the lovely orange shift dress she's produced.
Trouble is I was taught to sew from a young age but have never enjoyed the experience. Nowadays I only do the odd alteration.
Plus I've never meet a sewing machine that tolerates my impatient technique!

Do you belong to that clever camp that can conjure up a fabulicious creation from a bolt of cloth?

Annie