the what i wore project - week 19

this week, i am confused.  and i am confused about the weather.  i want to pack all my summer stuff away, but it just isn't getting cold enough yet.  I head off to fiji for fiji fashion week on friday. I have a week there before the shows, and then following that, i have another week, where i hope i will be able to have some much needed r&r and go to the beach, do some snokelling, drink some cocktails and just do NOTHING!

leading up to my departure this friday, i have had so much to do, that this week has been all about work and i didn't really think too much about what i would wear, as it wasn't top of mind. apart from my new western boots - i really just wanted wear one of each every day though, cause i love them so much. but that might have been a bit too weird.

what was great this week, was reading a blog from sugercoatit about the little moments app review and the photo a day challenges.

back in 2010, when i started blogging, i decided to take a photo of myself everyday for a year and it kind of grew from a little challenge i set myself to something where i began to write about things happening in my life that were personally challenging or fun, while sharing fashion, food and stories over the year. here i am on the first day and the last day of my year of taking a photo.

 

doing a photo challenge is a really great way of exploring creativity and feeling like you may be going beyond your day to day routine. the reason i say this is because when i reflect on all the great things in my life, i have pursued the things i love or thought i might like to try and that has given me contentment.  this is one way that i discovered a lot about myself and began to explore other creative parts of me that i never knew existed. instead of saying i wish i could do something, i actually did it and now it brings me a great deal of personal satisfaction, regardless of what may be going on around me. if you are looking for a simple way to start to explore other aspects of your life, then a photo challenge is an easy way to start.  what are you waiting for.

so onto the week that was.

monday - well it wasn't cold that's for sure.

i wore a chevron a-line skirt and seersucker top made by me.  belt from the $2 shop, shoes from jo mercer and heart earrings.

tuesday i had the day off work as i had some personal appointments and i hitched up my wagon and headed out.

i wore white dress from tree of life, boots that i got at the wrangler store at dfo and hoop earrings.  so, i had wandered into the wrangler store many times on trips to dfo and to me it was just a bit daggy. last sunday however, there were boots, boots and more boots and i ended up buying 2 pairs for much much cheaper then one full price pair would ever be. so if you are looking out for some western gear, then it's worth a trip and they go up to larger sizes as well, which was a bonus.

wednesday i just grabbed a couple of things from the cupboard and threw them on, making sure i matched the carpet with the curtains so to speak - animal print top and animal print shoes.

i wore satin pants made by me, leopard top from new york that my sister gave me, shoes from novo and peacock earrings that i picked up at target a few years back.

thursday at work we were doing a bit of a team building exercise, so i dressed for a potential physical activity.  glad i did, cause we ended up outside on the wet grass and all got covered in dirt.  brilliant.

i wore orange pants from sportscraft dfo, top from tree of life, shoes from jo mercer and earrings from fiji.

friday was the outing of my second pair of boots and a very bejewelled belt.  these boots are super comfy and as it was a little chilly, decided to bring out the long sleeves.

i wore skinny jeans and top dolman top from target, boots and belt from wrangler at airport dfo.

saturday i underestimated the chill in the air and threw on this outfit for my weekly market trip.  i was bloody freezing, but thankfully, the gates to the volleyball court were open and i snuck through and put my feet on the warm sand and imagined i was in fiji.  not long to go now.

i wore jeans from target, havaianas from byron bay, spotted raglan top made by me, scarf knitted by my mum and borrowed sunnies, as i left mine at home.

sunday i wasn't taking any chances on the weather front and i dressed for the cold and by 10am, i was freaking boiling.  hat, jumper, vest, closed in shoes - it was tooooooo much.

i wore boyfriend jeans from target, jumper from coles, fur zip up vest from suzanne grae that i got about 4 years ago and pink converse. the cap came from some random shop in the city.

a few weeks ago i got my son to give me a haircut. he had no choice really, as i insisted. it was good, i worked on a bit more after the initial scissor hands, but this weekend i decided to check in with my hairdresser sunny from FGdolls at west end and i alerted him to my own hair cutting adventures. it wasn't the first time. i think i gave myself my first hair cut around age 6 and have been happy to chop when needed ever since.  he said that my "accident" wasn't too bad and gave me a tidy up that is runway ready.

today was also mothers day and i got to catch up with my son, his girlfriend and her parent's last night for tea.  we went to the loving hut in mt gravatt - mummas choice and enjoyed a buffet of vegan delights.   we had a swell time and i got a card with glitter.  awesome.

 

and also today, i made scones.  how can i say no to such tasty little floury, jammy, creamy bundles of joy.  i can't. scones are the best and i have a confirmed appointment to give my son's girlfriend a lesson on my return from fiji.  i will probably also make some when i get to fiji, as i didn't spend mothers day's with my mum and i know that i, i mean she will love to eat them.

and also today, my lovely friend aileen dropped around and bought me a gift to take away. i actually went to officeworks today to find a book to take with me so i can make notes about stuff and i didn't see anything i fancied and voila - she dropped by with the perfect one.  how great is she. thoughts and ideas are coming my way.

well, next post is from fiji, and i can't wait. glad i didn't pack away my summer digs, cause i think the weather will still be totally tropical. it better be!

have a great week and get ready to go on vacay with me.  fiji here we come. it's fashion week time and there will be plenty of glamour to blog about.

dinner for one

well tonight is my second night of being home alone.  it's strange, cause many things that had become my married routines are no longer there and it feels very odd, so i decided tonight that rather then spend my time here, i would go out for dinner - for one!

i decided to head off to the loving hut in mt gravatt, cause not only do they do great food but the majority of it is vegan.  i was ready to chuck on a pair of jeans and my thongs and head out the door and i stopped and went...no jan-maree, you can do better than that, get your razzle dazzle on.

i opened my wardrobe and as if by an unconscious choice, i put my hand on this cute kaftan that i got in sri lanka many years ago.  it was the outfit for dinner for one.  the detail on this is just beautiful and timeless.  i did put my havaianas on, looked in the mirror and went...no jan-maree, you can do better than that.  so i strapped on my silver sandals and headed out the door.

   

the loving hut is a funny place - it attracts all types and they all come for the great food - it's alcohol free and no byo.  (how does that work, cause i guess no byo means booze, not cakes).  the guy with the bald head, long plait and his head, face and body covered in tattoos was there, the three girls who rode in on their motorbikes were there, the couples, the families and the dinner for ones.  i ordered, sat down, relaxed and started reading my book that my son gave me.  i am only a few chapters in, but where i am up to talks about being in the now, and what we now call mindfullness or self-awareness, which really ties into my blogging about not sweating the small stuff.

dinner arrived and it was the naughty/healthy.  first up was deep fried nuggets with tomato sauce (i love tomato sauce) and then raw zucchini pasta.  the amount of zucchini pasta was over the top.  it was too much to eat, but i did my best.

 

following tea, i figured that i might as well get out my selfie stick/tripod and take some snaps.  i took my top off and posed away, then i decided to get in on the pics (wasn't that just like a carry on film). 

i have a pretty hot looking car, even if it's not the original volvo.  i still love getting behind the wheel and taking it for a spin and having the freedom of a convertible is so much fun.

  

after all that fun, i dropped in to see my son (who is sick) and his girlfriend.  i had a quick hello took a cute picture of one of their birds

then cruised home....with my top off of course.  dinner for one was a great success, and not as scary as i thought.

what i wore:

kaftan from sri lanka

shoes from jo mercer

and the car was a volvo 

summer holidays

how lucky were we to jag a spot at fingal for 7 days on a powered site.
tent - check
beer & wine - check
cossies - check
food - check
broken wing mirror - check. this did happen before we even left home and i did cry cause i thought our trip was going to be over before it even began.  the heat did a great job of melting any tape we put on it, even the borrowed flashtak which melts like rubber and has to be removed with kerro.

 

each day at fingal was better then the last apart from the night it rained (and dave thought i would probably want to go home) and the arvo we had the massive storm brewing (which turned out to be a total fizzer).
we had quite the get up and i kid you not that tent was like a freaken tardis. i did get an overall camping rating of 9.5, why i didn't get a 10 i don't know, but maybe it was cause i didn't do any blowing - of the bed - when it would go down a bit in the night.

we would wake up to days as beautiful as this, except they were in colour

today's blog though, is all about the camp food and with a cast iron pot and pan, and a few easy ingredients you can also be eating like a camping queen. in our case the coffee machine was an essential, as we couldn't drive anywhere to get one, due to wing mirror being held up by tape and a wooden spatula and melting at any opportunity.

 

meal one

this one was a left over from our friday night dinner party - but dahl and paneer travels well and reheats really easy.  cook some rice, crack open a pack of mini pappadams and voila.  delish.

brekky
pancakes - SR flour, milk and an egg or egg replacer in my case - none of this whiz bang got to add a zillion ingredients type of thing.  a bit of maple and a banana and you are off.

mmmm another brekky
vege sausage and some fried tomato and onion with chilli sauce on toast cooked directly on the flame.  it's not really toast but brown bread, but still it was yummy.

and the treat of treats, pimentos from markets around brissy and also can be purchased online through their website.
fry in olive oil, with salt and pepper, serve with some fried haloumi and cherry tomatoes and snow peas if you could be bothered going to that much trouble. watch out for the hot peppers though, they are a hoot.

easy peasy nice and not so cheesy nachos
fry some onion and add a tin of canelloni beans and diced tomatoes.  add some mexican chilli powder and serve over corn chips with or without grated cheese and some optional yoghurt and cucumber

 

and now for the drinks - gin and tonics, wine and beer were the order of the week, apart from lunch time when a really icy lemon squash was the beverage of choice.
as the campsite was really close to beach we did do a bit of back and forth for beer and wine and in the end, it was necessary to look at an alternate means of getting our drinks even though it was only a hop skip and a jump to the esky.  and i present you the sandy treasure.
get a plastic bag, fill it with drinks of choice - with lids on of course - and bury in the sand to be retrieved as needed.

 

rest assured and i am not drinking what would normally come out after drinking to many of the things i had buried in the first place.

 cheers!

let the packing begin

after a whirlwind final shopping frenzy this arvo, it is time pack.

1 big plastic bag of fabrics (in case of any airline leakages)  - check
1 big plastic bag of runway clothes (in case of any airline leakages) - check
1 bag of stuff - sewing feet, bias binding, zippers - check
20 cartons of soy milk - check
accessories for fashion show - check
sequins and beads - check
sweatbands - which i was told were for tennis, but are probably for the home sweat shop - check
swimmers for post fashion show relax - check
anything else? check, check check!
1 glass of wine to assist with this gruelling task - check
1 pair of pj's for nephew one - check

 1 pair of pjs (complete with cape) and i mean a real cape on the back for nephew 2 - check

 1 tropical truckers hat for moi - check

so it's about 23 days till the runway show and i am proud to raise my hand and say i am FREAKIN OUT!
this is quite an amazing thing to be doing, given that we don't have all our clothes ready yet and oh well, in true evans style, we will just wing it if need be.

we haven't given to much away about our label name, but i can tell you that my sister came up with it and it was one of those "why didn't i think of that" moments, but i am soooo glad that she did, cause it's a name that is meaningful to both of us from when we were kids.

and if packing isn't enough i am making time to make something yummy for my husband to keep his tummy happy while i am away - dahl for my darl!

guess whose mum...

yesterday, i had a call from ben to see if we wanted to catch up for brekky at the gun shop.  the saturday routine had already kicked in and we were en route to coffee with our selection from Ykillamoocow, so i declined, but did wander round to see him.

in i go, jeans, check shirt and i saw him look up at me, then return to talking to his GF.  next second, i was sat beside him.

geez ma, i thought you were a trucker when i saw you walk in he said.  HAAAAAAAAAAAAA.  i understand how my outfit was probably out of my usual style, but a trucker.  so be it. 

small talk done and off i went to the indian grocer, where unfortunately there had been an accident out the front, but nothing that looked too serious, and timing is everything cause trucker mum struck a pose....in front of a big beast!

now to redeem myself with a very girly recipe share
vegan or non vegan carrot cake
2 cups grated carrot
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vege oil
1/2 cup slutanas (deliberate spelling mistake)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
3 eggs either real, or in my case egg replacer eggs (lightly beaten)
1 tsp cinnamon

turn the oven to 180 and then grease and line a 22cm round pan with baking paper.  the old fashioned butter and flour would also work fine
mix all ingredients together in a mixing bow, seriously could it be any more simple.....like, NO YO!
bake that little treat for 50 - 55 mins and test with a skewar to see if it's cooked.  not sure if there's a more modern method to do this, apart from maybe taking the cake out, cooling then cutting it and finding it's still smooshy.  stick with the skewar.
leave in the tin for about 10 mins then turn it out to cool.

non vegan or vegan cream cheese icing
i didn't go the vegan option today, but easy to do
250g of cream cheese or tofutti (for the hidden vegan in you)
4 tablespoons of icing sugar
2 tsp lemon rind
and i used some lemon juice just to cut down the sweetness a bit.

let the cheese come to room temperature, then beat that mo fo till it's soft, mix in that sugar, grate in that rind, squeeze in that lemon, taste it (yum), taste it again (oh yum) add a bit more lemon juice, sans seeds, have a big spoonful (oh yeah) and then if there is any left, put in on the god damn cake.

see redeemed, just like a lady should act, until in true trucker fashion, i couldn't help but cut out a big slab to taste before i'd even finished icing it.

mock it

i never knew how awesome panko crusted anything was, till i discovered panko mock duck which we had at my sister's place....and all of this offering is vegan. no anythings were harmed for this treat

rice with fake ham, veges, thai basil and tamari
brocolli with sesame and ginger sauce
panko mock duck with chilli bbq sauce
topped with small chop cucumber
trust me, small kids and grown carnivore men just love it.