I want to live in a house with a pink door.

Image via Pinterest.

Flowers.

At 4am on Friday morning, a friend and I set off to the flower markets to buy flowers for her sister's wedding. I never enjoy the flower markets, but Friday's trip was the actually ok. The bride had asked for Australian natives and flowers that looked like they had been picked from the wild. We ended up with a lovely mix of natives and traditional english flowers. My favourites were the Flannel Flowers and Peony roses.
I spent Friday and part of Saturday putting the flowers together. Being a florist is hard work!

Activated Almonds.

Activated almonds have been a hot topic of conversation this week, after celebrity chef Pete Evans listed them as part of his 'My Day on a Plate' food diary for the Sunday Age magazine on the weekend.
Admittedly, his food choices aren't that of an average person, but I think people did over react.
I found his food diary intriguing, and decided to give activated almonds a go.
I did some research and found a great blog called Easy Peasy Organic, which explained activated almonds and how to make them at home.
In a nut shell (pardon the pun), nuts are full of enzyme inhibitors that prevent them from sprouting in dry conditions. By soaking them you trick them into starting to sprout. The sprouted form has nutrients that are more easily absorbed and digested, which means our bodies get more of the goodness out of the nuts.
Making your own:
I started with a cup of almonds to give it a go, but you can do it with as many as you want.
Soak your almonds (raw – not roasted or salted) in enough water to cover them for 12-24 hours. I soaked mine for about 12 hours. After you have soaked them they will look puffy and may even look like they are starting to sprout.
Rinse the soaked nuts under running water. You can use them as they are (I put some in my morning smoothie), or you can 'roast' them. If you want to flavour them, nows the time to do it. I left mine natural, but you could add sea salt or tamari if making them for a snack.
To 'roast' the almonds without damaging the nutrients you've activated, you can either put them in the oven at the lowest temperature, or use a food dehydrator, which is what I have done. This process can take from 6-24 hours depending on the temperature you're using. The nuts are ready when they feel dry. Try a few to make sure they're done.
You can use the activated almonds as you would normally use almonds. They last well in an airtight container. They can even been ground into almond meal. The possibilities are endless!

Market Day.

I know it's been a week, but I thought I'd share some photos from our market stall at the Wild Ones Art and Design Market. We had a fun day at Hazelhurst, but we were very tired by the end of it! Having a market stall sure is exhausting. We loved seeing what other stall holders were selling. We each bought a polymer clay ring from Me We, and would have loved to have spent all our profits at the other stalls! Another favourite of ours was Hayden Youlley Design. Oh my goodness, that boy is a genius with ceramics! His wares will be on my Christmas list for sure!

Wild Ones.

My sisters and I will be selling our wares at the first ever Wild Ones Market at Hazelhurst Regional Gallery on Sunday! It's our first market in a while, so we are nervous and excited. We are frantically finalising our stock and getting ready for the big day. If you're in the area, come and say hi. I think it will be a good day!

Gone with the Wind.

A while ago Phoebe and I were in the mood for an epic film, the kind that would fill in a lazy afternoon. So we headed to our local video shop to hire Gone with the Wind, only to be disappointed when they didn't have it. We hired something else and forgot all about Gone with the Wind until I bought it for Phoebe for her birthday. I had seen it years ago, but couldn't remember the finer details, so when Phoebe said she had watched it and enjoyed it, I thought I might read the book before I watched the movie again. The book was wonderful. It was long and descriptive, but easy to read.
Once I finished the book I sat down and watched the movie. The book is so much better. The movie is amazing, considering it was made in 1939, but it is a rosy, watered down version of the book that misses crucial elements of the story.
The book is gritty and sad. The story of war, loss and self discovery. It would be interesting to see a modern adaptation. I think people would be shocked.
Oh, and Rhett, I love you.

Home grown.

I love having a vegetable garden. There is nothing more satisfying than cooking and eating something you've grown yourself. We only started growing vegetables/herbs last spring, so we are still amateurs, and doing everything by trial and error. We have had some successes and some disasters. Last summer our cucumbers and basil were amazing, but our tomatoes and zucchinis were terrible. This winter we planted broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. I'm still waiting for the cabbages, but the broccoli and cauliflower have been sensational! It's funny to think of how proud I am of a mere cauliflower plant!
We have planted some seeds in half toilet rolls, and then transferred them to the veggie patches once they have sprouted. This seems to work really well, so I'm looking forward to our summer crop of beans, carrots and corn.

Dyed.

I haven't dyed anything for ages! It's always seemed more trouble than it's worth and I was never sure I liked the end result, but this said, I did a little dying on Sunday. I managed not to dye my hands or clothing, so that's a plus and I'm actually pretty happy with the result. I dyed some cotton to screen print onto, as well as a plaited necklace I've started. I think I might even do some more dying in other colours!