Anzac Day

Today in Australia it is Anzac Day; a national day of remembrance to honour the Anzacs, (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps from WW1) and to remember all those who have died in military service for their country.
- Lest we Forget
During WW1 mothers and wives, who were anxious to send their loved ones in the trenches in Gallipoli, long lasting nutritional food supplements, started to bake what came to be called Anzac Biscuits 

below is an old family favourite recipe ...

Anzac Biscuits

1 Cup each; 
Plain Flour, Sugar, Rolled Oats, Coconut
100g butter
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup (or Golden Syrup)
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
2 tbls boiling water

1) Preheat oven to 170°C (about 325°F)
2) Line biscuit tray(s) with baking paper
3) Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl (Flour, Sugar, Oats and Coconut)
4) Melt butter and Syrup (approximately 30 sec in a microwave / or stir in a pan over a low heat)
5) Dissolve bicarbonate soda in boiling water, and add to butter mixture
6) Mix butter mixture well into bowl of dry ingredients 

7) Place walnut sized tablespoons of mixture onto trays - leaving plenty of room for biscuits to spread.

8) Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until golden.
9) Cool biscuits on a wire rack.

ENJOY :)

Pear Harvest - Cabinet Makeover!

Yay!
Today I finished making over my new 'stock' cabinet!!!

Finding this beauty for a bargain price on ebay was the easy part - deciding what fabric to use for the makeover, .... well that's another story!

Weeks of procrastinating later, I finally ordered my Spoonflower design "Pear Harvest" 
I love that even with the doors closed, you get the sense you are peeking inside the cabinet, to see shelves of pretty pears all lined up in rows :)

Before pics below:


To give this cabinet a simpler, more rustic country feel - the first thing I did was remove the fancy 'fret work' from the legs.
Then I lightly sanded, washed and painted the cabinet in one of my all time favourite products: White Paint!


Further adding to the country feel, I attached a new iron handle and French inspired escutcheon (for a key and tassel.)


To attach the fabric to the timber panels, I measured and cut the fabric to size - and simply used double sided tape to fix the fabric to the timber .
(This also makes the fabric quite easy to remove whenever it's time for a change)
Finally the edges of the fabric were topped with ribbon (applied with a hot glue gun.)


And Voila!