A True Love of Mine – Page 20 – Sweets and Cakes of all Shapes and Sizes!

Friday Favourites: Back to School Edition

I always feel ambivalent about the last few days of holidays. On the one hand, i’m dreading going back to work and all the last minute prep that I should have done earlier but didn’t. On the other, I know i’ll be reinvigorated by the students that I teach and seeing my creative and passionate colleagues again. But, there is one thing about the beginning of the new school year that always cheers me up (and I know, it is a little bit lame). I love organising my back to school kit. Being all prepared with my shiny new pens and notebooks makes me feel more capable of tackling the year ahead. So my Friday Favourites today focuses on a few things i’ve bought in the sales to prepare me to go back to school/work next week. Also, everything I bought I snapped up during the sales so i’m feeling pretty thrifty! In the aftermath of The Wedding, thrifty is the name of the game.

A few little stationary items from Kikki K

The sales at Kikki K are always pretty good and now that they’re expanded into home wares it’s taken all my strength to stick with just stationary. Of course, I bought all the pink note books as well as the cute little phone case which is super smooth and pretty. Hubs bought me the little leather pencil case for my birthday last year and, while I wont use it for work I will definitely use it for uni as I don’t want to lug my huge work pencil case full of stamps and whiteboard markers all the way to uni and back a few nights a week.

Chiosco by Ormeggio and The Dessert of 2015

This is a nutella bombolone.
Look at that ooze, that soft, yielding donut.
If you don’t want to go and get one of these babies right now, there is legitimately something wrong with you.

I know that this is an ambitious blog title, especially considering it is on January. Still, I stand by my call. At this little kiosk by the sea I had what i’m calling the dessert of 2015. I love a fancy dessert as much as the next girl but i’m a little bit over the finicky, frippery and mountain of elements that comes with many desserts at the moment. Sometimes less is more and being able to serve up an unquestionably delicious, simple dessert is the best skill in the universe. That’s what happened when hubs and I went to Chiosco by Ormeggio early in the new year.

We had been to Ormeggio for hubs’ birthday the month before and spied the casual dining kiosk across the jetty. We absolutely loved the dinner at Ormeggio (the dishes and cocktails were so damn tasty I didn’t even have the presence of mind to take photos to share with you) especially for celebrating a special occasion and so we thought that the casual nature of Chiosco would be perfect for a normal date night dinner. Damn straight it was.

fritto misto ($16) and daily fish crudo ($18)

Friday Favourites: The Wedding

As part of my new found commitment to blogging in 2015, I thought I would try to do a regular weekly post that called me out if I reverted to my slack ways and missed it. So today i’m bringing you the inaugural ‘Friday Favourites’ post where I have a chat about something i’m loving each week. This first one is a little bit exciting and close to my heart so I hope you enjoy it! P.S. all the photos on this post were taken by the wonderful Len from I Love Wednesdays. If you need a photographer, she is definitely the one to go with!

I remember meeting up with a friend after going on one of my first dates with my (now) hubs and saying to them “i’m going to marry that man”. I remember my friend looked incredulous and replied “now???” Well, maybe almost ten years later. I knew very early on in our relationship that this was the man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. He was unlike any other man in my life. He was gentle and thoughtful, fun to talk with and our conversations were often characterised by long discussions about the merits of different methods of bacon preparation. We often spoke long into the night about our dream house with a full time bacon chef and enough garages to house all the vintage cars he wanted to own. Fast forward nine years and, while there was not a ten car garage or bacon chef in sight, all was well with the world when he proposed at sunrise on a quiet little beach that had a special significance to us both.

Salted Caramel Popcorn Cruffin @ Brewtown Newtown

This is a public service announcement – anyone with who featured the words ‘diet’ or ‘health’ in their 2015 new years resolutions should close this window now. You have been warned.

Told you so.

I love the way that sweets are like fashion. There are staples that we rely on year in and year out. Those desserts that you know are delicious and will never let you down. Your little black dresses and chocolate cakes. Then you have your pretty young things which aren’t quite as chic and timeless but seem to stay popular amongst those who are young at heart. A little like ballerina skirts and desserts in cocktail glasses. And then you have your trends. Split into two categories, the first are those that are definitely fun while they last but often don’t suit the general population and tend to elicit a ‘what was I thinking?’ grimace upon reflection. Think hair mascara, bucket hats, most of the fashion of the 90s, neon and netting. Then there are some trends which, when done properly are possibly the best thing to have ever happened – ombre hair, high waisted shorts and the return of the peplum.

Remember the hit trends in sweets over the past decade? Ridiculously cute and well decorated cupcakes then light and much easier to eat macarons. These delicate desserts gave way to the oily but decadent frankensweet, the cronut (love child of the croissant and the donut. Where would this craziness end?