There’ll be Parties for Hosting, Marshmallows for Roasting

December 22, 2015December 22, 20157 Comments

19th December, 2015. The 9th annual Girl’s Christmas.
(Although Lucy and I only came along 5 or 6 years ago – and vastly improved the day, I must say).

MY FAVOURITE DAY! Especially this, year because I got to host. It was great fun putting the table together for my special ladies, and luckily we all bring a plate of food every year, so catering was easy peasy!

I absolutely love these gatherings because the food is always delicious, the banter hilarious, the mood super chilled out, the presents well thought out, but most of all; it’s the best company.

I have the best friends. I know everyone thinks they do, but you are wrong. Mine are the very best. Ha! I kid, but they are the best for me. As we are growing up (a little) we are becoming very different people. Somehow it works though, and we mesh into this loud, crazy girl tribe.

They have my back, always, and I have theirs. Which is why it’s so beautiful to come together every year and enjoy each other’s company.

Plus, FOOD.

My little watermelon, mint and feta skewers

My home gurl Anh making us a Pimms bowl, like a rockstar

The essence of Christmas; TurkeyYep, I straight up forgot to photograph the rest of the food (too hungry) so here we have it all on one plate. Rachel’s roast pork and crispy crackling was to die for, as always.“Let’s take a group photo”I love you guys, like a ridiculous amount

Lucy, the fricken gem, on top of making a divine berry cheesecake, pulled out a box with homemade gifts for us all. Completely unexpected, but very warmly received. She made us all rocky road, cookie dough truffles and our own personalised mugs!!

Try and pick mine, it may or may not be caffeine related..

p.s. Thanks Rach for the pic!

I hope you all have memorable Christmas meals, like this one. Full of love, laughter, full bellies and warm hearts (too corny? I’m rolling with it).

Lots and lots and lots and lots of love to my special ladies, you make being friends very easy.

Hanbel.
x

You’ll Never Catch Me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!

December 15, 20151 Comment

After a wild Saturday night watching the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and eating eggplant pizzas (which you need to try, so easy and absolutely delightful), I naturally woke up at 6:30am on a Sunday morning.

Andrew and I hopped on our bikes, rolled down to Finlay and Sons and enjoyed a beautiful breakfast in the sunshine. We were also home by 8:30am and at a loss for what to do next. [This is why people sleep in!]

IT’S CHRISTMAS BAKING TIME. I had all the ingredients for gingerbread men, and having never made them before I was super keen to try them out. On went the Christmas tunes, out came the ingredients and I set to work.

In one of the many Christmas magazines I bought last year, there was a mini cookbook which I’ve grabbed the recipe from, adapted from this one. Thank you Australian Women’s Weekly!

125g of room temp butter (your life will be much easier if you let it warm up a little) and 1/4 cup of brown sugar are beaten in a bowl. I use a hand mixer throughout. Add in 1/3 cup treacle (I used Molasses) and 1 whole egg.

2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tbsp ground ginger, 1 tsp mixed spice and 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda are combined and then added to the wet mixture. It should begin to resemble a dough by now, so get those kneading hands working on a floured surface and then wrap the dough in glad wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180° and line two trays with baking paper. Here’s the fun part! Roll your dough between two sheets of baking paper until it’s around 7mm thick, or your preference. Now you get to use your fun Christmas cutters that you save all year and make these cute little shapes!

Place them onto the trays and bake for around 12 minutes… mine were more like 16, but our oven ain’t the best! Let these babies cool on a wire rack before you begin icing…

Disclaimer: I avoided royal icing for a long time because I thought it was too hard, and to be honest didn’t even know how to make it. But it’s actually insanely simple and sooooo cool to make. You beat one egg white until it become gloriously bubbly, then add in 1 1/4 cups of pure icing sugar and finally 1 tsp of lemon juice. It should be wonderfully smooth and holding it’s own shape.

The most difficult part is actually icing these suckers. Using a piping bag with a small nozzle just go to town! I would lay one down on baking paper and hope for the best. Andrew was lucky enough to have my tester cookie, which basically a tree just completely covered in icing. Gotta start somewhere!

It took me a while to get the hang of it, like anything – practice makes perfect. Ugh – I know, I want to punch myself in the face too.

HOWEVER, I do love trying out new recipes and adding something different to my repertoire. Plus, the brownie points from people at work can’t hurt. Note: always give cookies to the IT guys, they will be the ones you need favours from.

Enjoy your baking masterpieces or disasters, and remember if it has butter and sugar in it, it will taste good.

Hanbel.
x

They Call it the Season of Giving

December 11, 2015December 11, 2015Leave a comment

This is it. IT. You guys!
We are officially two weeks out from the be all and end all of holidays.

Office Christmas parties are in full swing, family gatherings become much more frequent and those hasty “we need to catch up” texts are flying around to friends young and old.

I may or may not have every decoration up and almost all of my presents wrapped and sitting patiently under the tree, but as previously discussed, I am freakishly organised.

I do, however, have some last minute gifts to buy and if you haven’t followed my brilliant advice and started your shopping in September, I thought you might find this interesting.

A few of my delightful family are receiving vouchers this year, and I save these for the last few weeks of December. I want to make sure they have the maximum amount of time to use the voucher, and I don’t want to stinge them out of a couple of weeks because I was too organised. Enter my latest list…

Last Minute Present Gift Guide (including vouchers for maximum usage time):

Movie Vouchers
If you have to go shopping in the two weeks before Christmas, you want to make sure it’s not at a busy and stressful shopping centre. For grandparents in particular, I find movie vouchers super handy. It forces them to go on a mini date, enjoy a great movie and each other’s company. I’ll pair this with a little bag of gourmet popcorn for something to unwrap on the big day.

Food Packs
I love putting together a little basket or box of food, because who doesn’t love food?! Especially around Christmastime. Pop into the Re Store, Charlie’s or the Herdsman, and build your own masterpiece. I tend to include a bottle of wine, or a boutique beer, some special chocolate, a jar of jam/chutney/infused olive oil, and something personal – my step-granddad loves his mushy peas, whereas my Mum is such a sucker for marzipan.

Restaurant Vouchers
My darling besties got me a voucher for Mary’s for my birthday, a restaurant I had actually been dying to go to but hadn’t gotten around to it and couldn’t justify for a random night out. It was so sweet to receive, and seeing how well they know me meant so much.
Pick a place that you love, but that the receiver probably wouldn’t chose for themselves. My recommendations for Perth include El Publico, The Standard and Kitsch.

High Tea
For a special lady in your life (girlfriend, wife, mum, cat), high tea is always a winner. It’s the kind of present that the gal wouldn’t normally buy herself, but will absolutely LOVE to receive. Hit up The George, Peninsula Tea Gardens (for the scones) or Chapels on Whatley (for the tea!). Rochelle Adonis is notable, but be prepared to splurge and walk away still peckish.

2015-12-11 14_27_00-Myer - Christmas Giftorium.png
Nutella
If you handle going into Myer this week, a fantastic last minute present is Nutella. Not just any old jar though, Myer are printing personalised jars with that special someone’s first name. They also stock Nutella cookbooks full of deliciously wicked treats to make over the holidays. Go on, you know you want one… for yourself!

Happy shopping my little elves!
Hanbel.
x

The World of Hanbel’s iPhone

December 8, 2015December 8, 2015Leave a comment

1. Beach walks with my gal LB. 2. 100 cupcakes, tied up with string. 3. The BEST birthday treat – Topdup Donut. 4. The Boy does well. 5. A terrible, hurried snap of the Echidna we found (I was far too excited!). 6. Jacaranda season is the prettiest. 7. Christmas crafts! 8. Coffee pit stop in Freo. 9. The prettiest wrapping paper.

Happy Tuesday All.
Hanbel.
x

Decorations of Red, on a Green Christmas Tree

December 2, 2015December 2, 2015Leave a comment

HAPPY DECEMBER!

My favourite month is upon us, bringing holiday cheer, warm nights, fruity drinks, fresh prawns, CHERRY SEASON and so many happy smiles.

We started putting up our tree on the 30th of November (much to my dismay, I like doing things the proper way) because Andrew had to fly out the next morning. God, I love this tree. I love pulling all the decorations out, getting excited about the ones I have forgotten since last year and watching Andrew roll his eyes at me as I dance around to Christmas Carols.

It’s fun creating new traditions, now that we live together. Andrew’s in charge of the lights for the tree, and I’ll do the wrapping of the presents. He puts the star on top of the tree and I get to put the wreath on our front door.

This year, much concentrationLast year, much beard