Today is the start of a long weekend. The Melbourne Cup is run on Tuesday so Melbourne metropolitan areas will have the day off. Just to make sure that it is a good weekend the schools have timed a curriculum day for the Monday so the kids have 4 days off in a row. A looong weekend, indeed.
This is the weekend of BBQ’s. Wherever you go you will smell a chop on the barbie, sizzling onions or delicious steaks cooking. My family love their spit roasted meats but the kids love the burgers that we make. They especially love them when they don’t know what spices they might find in them. Will it be tandoori burgers or Moroccan specials?
This is a great recipe that we use for making Lamburgers. Lamb adapts so well to different flavours, so we tend to experiment a bit. This one has a middle east touch to it and it is by the people from Sunbeam. This recipe should serve 4 people as a main but it makes a great starter if you roll them as meatballs.
Ingredients:
700g lean lamb mince
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons chilli sauce
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
Method
1. Combine all ingredients in a large glass bowl. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Roll tablespoon quantities into balls and flatten to form patties. Place on a tray lined with plastic wrap. Cover and place in the fridge for 2-4 hours to allow the flavours to develop.
3. Preheat barbecue plate until hot. Spray patties with cooking oil. Cook on flat plate, for 4-5 minutes each side or until brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Serve as desired.
We serve it with hummus, tabbouleh and tzatziki dips and warm bread rolls. Delicious.
Have a great weekend!
The Toy Bug is an online store that specialises in fun and educational toys. It has a huge selection of toys to choose from and covers all age ranges starting from birth.
I love the way kids will try anything. They love colour, movement and action. This selection of toys meets all those requirements with the added benefit of helping your child to learn. Playing with toys is a really important part of helping the child develop balance and co-ordination.
Here are some of my favourites.
This is Welly the Fishing Puppy and he is designed for babies from 0+. He is full of little things of interest. He has a bell, crinkle ears, squeaking fish, embroidered numbers, vibrating fish, rattling removable fish and removable sandwich. Lots of things to chew on or shake.
What about some Jungle Animal Croquet? I love this set! How cool is this for 
developing balance as well as hand and eye co-ordination? It is made of wood so it can be used inside or out. It is all free standing so there is nothing to be hammered into the ground, and it is easy for little hands to pick up.
If you are thinking of buying toys for a special little person this Christmas I can highly recommend that you shop at The Toy Bug.
When we were small we used to play under the kitchen table. We would drape it with a sheet and turn the space into anything from a car to a land at the top of the Faraway Tree. What great imaginations we had.
My son is the same. He had the lower bunk in a room he shared with his older brother. He asked me to make him a curtain that went all the way around the bed. It became his own private space to turn into whatever he wanted it to be.
My Make Believe has taken the hard work out of creating these spaces. There you will find play tents as well as bed tents. I love the Flower tent. It looks like a little pink princess house surrounded by flowers. It has a window at the end as well as windows about to let in the light. For the boys there is a racing car version. What a great way to create a safe yet private space where kids can let their imaginations run free.
While you are at My Make Believe have a look at the costumes they have for children. They are unbelieveably cute. Just try to pick a favourite, because I can’t! What a great site this is.
Beauty Banquet has some gorgoeous new gemstone necklaces in stock. These are all long measuring at least 65cms. The colours are beautiful and feature rose quartz, topaz, black onyx and pink chalcedony.
I can’t decide which is my favourite but I think I am leaning towards the beautiful pinks and reds of the pink chalcedony and topaz. Of course the lovely spring colours of the blue/green chalcedony and topaz is pretty too. Oh, why not have one of each?
For Marilyn
Time to play. Some days just seem designed for fiddling with things, don’t they? Usually they are the kind o days that I end up with scissors, paper offcuts and glue all over the place.
Over the weekend I saw How To Make Pop up Photo over at Wikihow. All you need are scissor, a gluestick and lots of copies of the one photo. Here is a picture of the example used on Wikihow.
Clever, isn’t it?
What about making some really unique Christmas cards this year, using family photos? These would become keepsakes for certain. Use your imagination! Your choice of background image will set the scene for a pop up story.
Well, I have scissors in hand and a sacrificial photo ready to cut. I hope I can make one as good looking as the example here!
Have you ever had one of those weeks where everything was a struggle? This week has been like that. There have been a lot of interruptions and nothing has gone smoothly.
I saw this cartoon and it showed just what my week has been like. Thankfully, we have survived and today is Friday. Yay for the weekend!
Wall Decals are a wonderfully easy way to redecorate a room. As your child grows up you don’t have to pull everything apart to suit their new tastes, just change the decals.
There are so many to choose from these days and Wall Decals has a great collection of them including some for Christmas. How easy is it to add some seasonal decor to your room without having to drop tinsel all over the carpet or spray fake snow on your windows? Just add some magic with decals that look like snowflakes!
Club Zamboo is a shopping club that has opened this week. Organised by myself and Kathie from My New Shiny Shoes the club has arranged with over 30 online stores to offer members guaranteed discounts or bonuses. These are not available to anyone else.
Club Membership is just $19.95 per year and includes a free gift on joining as well as immediate access to some amazing and exclusive specials and deals.
Until October 31, in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness, Club Zamboo membership is just $14.95 with $2 from each membership being donated to the McGrath Foundation.
It is time to start your Christmas shopping so go and see what deals you can find in Club Zamboo.
Tayana is a lifestyle resource site for busy women. It is run by Tayana Nickson who describes the site as
“For busy, stylish, classy and confident women who want the good things in life.”
Tayana is like a magazine site. It has articles written by experts in Image, Fitness and Health, Organisation and even a naturopath.
It also has an online store which carries a great array of gifts for all the family. My favourite product are the ladies Faux Fur Slippers by Britt. Aren’t they lovely? These would be perfect for any aspiring movie star or Ms Piggy out there. They are seriously feminine and deliciously decadent looking.
The great thing about Tayana is that it has all these wonderful products to make you feel feminine and special but it also has all the practical lifestyle information that you need so you can cope. It is the complete package.
