we have always lived in the castle

Beer bread

2012-01-27T20:27:00.001-08:00

Putting two of the things I like most (beer and bread) in to one awesome food . I used about half a bottle of stoke dark instead of some water and put a bunch of fresh rosemary in it to.

road trip part 1.

2012-01-10T23:26:00.000-08:00

We spent the first day driving to Danseys Pass via the Moeraki boulders and Naseby. The clouds were looming over us and as soon as we finished dinner (tomato pasta) the rain started.

That night was freezing so we got up super early the next morning and drove to Dunedin for a hot breakfast and a trip to Briscoes to get a duvet to hopefully keep us warmer. We explored all around Dunedin as well as Port Charmers and the southern edge of the peninsular. That afternoon we continued our drive south through The Catlins to a little bay which was sheltered by cliffs and rocks. We set up camp and went for an explore along the rocky coast line quite a way and found a seal. Dinner that night was awesome, we made some chickpea patties and had burgers with fresh avocado and tomatoes.

The next morning we drove to a near by water fall and walked deep in to the forest to check it out. When we got back to the car I cooked up some beans on toast while other tourists watched amused at my road side cooking set up. After brunch we headed for Invercargill and made some little stops along the way to check out the petrified forest (where we saw a penguin) and t have a half pint at the Balclutha pub. The main reason for going to Invercargill was to go to the brewery and meet the guy who makes the beer but they were on holiday to and did not open until the next day. So after a walk around the main street and a coffee stop we got got back in the car and went west. On the unsealed road to Lake Monowi the valve on the tire blew and were pleased to find an inflated spare and jack in the boot, which Jasper used to quickly changed. We continued along the dusty road to the lake. We set up camp and went exploring, there was a track that led to a look out half way up the lake and when we got to the end of the track we walked along the edge all the way back to the tent which was quite the mission. Lake Monowi is used for a hydro scheme so in 1925 it was flooded which killed the trees that lived at the lakes edge, they are still mostly there ( fallen over and rotting ) and made fun but challenging obstacles on our path back. That night I made a massive pot of noodles with lots of carrots for dinner on our wee camp stove.

After battling sand flies to pack up camp we drove to Manapouri to top up with fuel and then to Te Anau to have the tire repaired and eventually to Milford sound. I remember the Homer tunnel being pitch black when I last went through but now it has some lights on the roof, apparently they were installed in 2004 which is crazy since the tunnel has been open since 1954. Miflord Sound was very nice although Jasper had the worst coffee on the planet at the cafe there. We walked around for a bit but it was very touristy so we drove back along the Milford Road to Deer Flat and camped for the night.

Road trip 2012

2011-12-28T23:50:00.001-08:00

So on the first of January we are taking off on an adventure around the south island. We will be camping and stopping at country pubs and some breweries that supply the beer at darkroom. Any cool places you guys think we check out, let me know .

Castle Hill

2011-12-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone has a nice Christmas, all I did was sit around and eat lots of beans and eggplant which was super fun. For boxing day a we went on an adventure to Castle Hill and did some rock climbing. I have only ever been climbing when I was 11 and that was indoors, this type was way more fun.

top 10

2011-12-22T16:31:00.000-08:00

wow the year is almost over and boy has it been a big one. Here are my top 10 events and happenings in 2011 (in no particular order) ...

- The Earthquake

- Renting an industrial warehouse

- Learning how to build a wall

- Camp a low hum.

- Getting a new red bike that actually went fast

- Getting a new (really cute) member of the family

- Opening the bar

- Becoming vegan

- The mid year trip to Adelaide

- Quitting my job to make things all day

I think this year I have had the least sleep out of any year so far but it has been totally worth it to have made such an awesome project successful and fun.

merry christmas.

zine library....

2011-12-19T21:17:00.000-08:00

spent a good part of yesterday painting and decorating this old bathroom cabinet and turning it in to The Archives zine library.

stinkfest 13....

2011-12-16T22:13:00.000-08:00

best cookies ever

2011-12-13T21:50:00.000-08:00

I am not just saying that because I made them, they are actually the best cookies ever.

to make them you will need....

-1/3 cup of oil

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

-1/4 cup white sugar

- 5 TS of water

- 1/2 ts grated fresh ginger

- 1 1/4 cups of plain flour

- 3/4 ts baking soda

- 1/4 ts salt

- 1 cup of dark almond chocolate smashed up in to chunks

how to...

-mix the oil, sugar, ginger and water in a bowl.

-add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix in to a thick dough, it will be a bit crumbly

- add the chocolate and roll in to 11 -12 balls

- flatten the cookie balls on to a greased oven tray leaving at least 4 cm between each one so that they can expand

- bake for 15 min (but check at 10min just in case) at 180*C

- let cool for 5 min before moving them from the tray.

If you wish for a more 'cookie time' style of cookie use plain dark chocolate and instead of ginger add vanilla. Also you can make them massive just like real cookie times.

dresses,

2011-12-12T20:41:00.000-08:00

So in the past two days I have made 7 dresses, gone on 2 massive walks to fetch more fabric to make more dresses and a detour to eat strawberries in a shady park .I guess it was a fairly OCD 2 days but it was a really simple pattern that uses about 2m per dress including lining.

All dresses are size medium and will be for sale at Pearl White (corner Barbados and Armagh Streets in Christchurch)

guitar wolf at dux live....

2011-12-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

2011-12-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

This is the corner of Latimer Square where a backpackers use to stand many months ago, now it is over grown with moss and wild flowers.

Christmas spirit.....

2011-12-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

Check out my awesome christmas tree I got for $1...

so old and cheesy.

note books

2011-12-06T18:47:00.000-08:00

Today I made some little note books to sell in Jess' shop.....

25 in total and they all have different covers ranging from the queen riding a horse to maps of Europe pre WWII.

Roast dinner

2011-12-04T22:11:00.000-08:00

Last night I went all out, making dinner from every vegetable we had. I roasted spuds like the Swedish with thin slices most of the way through and rosemary stuffed inside. Honey carrots with cumin, broccoli, asparagus with garlic, fried eggplant with chili and pepper and a little salad on the side.... WOW it was awesome.

biggest pasting ever.

2011-12-04T19:46:00.000-08:00

About 2 weeks ago I spent pretty much 2 days strait in the lobby of the bar toilets pasting this all over the walls. I cut up 3 readers digest condensed books in to triangles and spent hours and hours arranging them on the walls.

I think it looks pretty neat. The room is about two point something meters long by one meter ish wide and 2.7 meters tall.

Christchurch ZINEFEST

2011-12-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

So yesterday we played host to the first ever ( I think it is the fist one ) Christchurch Zinefest. There were about 10 stalls with multiple people selling a range of zines at each table. I got some pretty amazing ones.....

After reading the VEGAN IS TAN one I made a batch of Spinach Fatayer, which was very tasty. It reminded me of this snack on of my Intermediate class mated use to bring in for his lunch, I use to trade any thing for them. Below is the recipe of you want to give it a go.

We also held the after party where St. Eden, Street Shark and Piha Rescue all played amazing sets....

All up this was a very successful and well organised day thanks to Eamonn, Alice, Jenny and Dan.

Vegan Brownie

2011-11-28T18:09:00.000-08:00

So I was pretty much 100% sure that you can not make a vegan brownie because the recipe I knew required 8 eggs and it is some what hard to replace eggs in cooking especially when half of the ingredients are made up of eggs. But a few weeks ago I was given a slice of vegan brownie from a local coffee shop and it was mind blowing, so realistic to the real thing. So on my quest to replicate it at home I am making a recipe that I read on another blog but have altered a bit because I never believe other peoples recipes. Oh yeah this is gluten free as well.

ok so you will need....

- 1 cup water

- 1.4 cups chana flour (the recipe I followed called for rice flour but I find it very gritty in baking so used chana or more commonly known as chick pea flour)

- 1/2 brown sugar

- 1 cup white sugar (the recipe said 1/2 cup of white but I like my brownie a bit sweeter)

- 3/4 cup coco powder

- 1ts salt

- 1 ts baking powder (the recipe also said 1/2 a ts for this too but I don't believe that so I put in 1 ts )

- 1/2 cup vege oil (this seemed like a lot but what the hell I tried it)

- 1 ts vanilla essence

- 4 ts home made plum jam (the recipe suggested 1 cup of chocolate chips but I like a brownie with a bit of fruity tang so used jam instead)

how to...
- bring the water to a simmer and remove from heat

- dissolve chana flour, sugar and cocoa in the water

- add the oil, salt, baking powder and vanilla and stir well

- pour in to a lined slice pan ( I used a 30cm ish pan but it was spread too thin so maybe use a smaller one)

- drop little bits of the jam on the top of the batter

- cook on 180*C for a little over 1/2 an hour.

- let it cool before cutting

the brownie did not rise very much even thought I added more baking powder, maybe next time I will double the recipe to make it thicker, or use a smaller pan. But it was very tasty and maybe next time I will try rice flour.

more crochet

2011-11-15T19:43:00.000-08:00

two more crochet balls. The bottom one is dip dyed in Merlot.

tasty stuff......

2011-11-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

As far as gifts go food is up there in the top 2 things that could be gifted especially herbs and spices but food with fire works packaging takes the cake of awesome gifts. Thanks Fran/ your friend who makes these awesome spices mixes, all 4 are different and include ingredients such as coffee, paprika, hugs and kisses.......AWESOME!

crochet.

2011-11-12T19:47:00.000-08:00

These are some of the crochet 'jewelry' I have made this week....

this one is a little pouch ...

a collar like Madeline.

a large ball.

massive knitted bow...

I have become fascinated with the texture of crochet ribbon and how uneven it is apposed to when you crochet or knit with wool. The ball one is my favorite and I have made more in smaller and larger sized.

As far as eye can see....

2011-11-12T19:10:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago while at work Briar (she lives next door) came rushing in with a hand written sign asking for a high viz vest or any old work clothes. I started talking to her about what she needed them for and ended up getting roped in to crocheting her a large circle for an art work that she was involved in making for a gap filler project in Sydnham. The circle I made was constructed from the work shirt that I wore day after day for months on end while building the bar, it was covered in paint and gunk. This morning I biked over to see the art work beside the original/ inspiration for the project.

fireworks night

2011-11-08T13:27:00.000-08:00

making things like crazy.

2011-11-05T21:36:00.000-07:00

I have been sewing so many things lately, just pottering away getting things made...

Jess opened her shop "pearl white"on Barbados Street over a month ago and many of my home made items have sold quickly which is very cool. The ones above are some that I dropped in last week but there I have a big pile of new stuff coming soon. In other news I have quit my job so I can put a bunch more energy in to the bar and creative activities.

november poster for darkroom......

2011-11-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

poster revised as one more show has been added.

city mall.

2011-10-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

Today we took a walk around the newly opened city mall, it was strange to see so many people in one place that wasn't an indoor mall with florescent lighting.

The coolest part was seeing pasting that David had made before he went off to Melbourne, still intact...

...and a bunch of salt and pepper shakers still sitting on a bench out side of a bar on Oxford Terrace like nothing had changed...

there is still a lot of buildings around that are marked for demo and many lay in piles of bricks...

Not being able to get passed the massive crowd of people listening to the councils prayer service in Maori and English (this is so wrong to wast city money on religious things) we went down to the river and watched sea gulls and an old man eat lunch...

It is pretty cool what they have done with all of the empty space in town but with Ballantynes all decked out with Christmas goods it really feels like the city has been rushed to re open just in time for them and other high end retail outlets Christmas season. I still hold hope that more organic projects will grow in the city and people will make things happen from love for our city not money.

t-shirt edit.

2011-10-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

First decide how much you want to cut off the front of the t-shirt and pin. Undo the hem if you are keeping the back the same length as it will make it simpler to sew.

Fold the t- shirt in half so that the side seams are on top of one another.

Mark the shape you wish to cut out of the front, I went with a slight curve

Cut along that line through both layers of fabric.

Fold and iron a small hem along that edge and sew it up.

done....

2011-10-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

So many collars this week. I don't know why I feel the need to document this.

2011-10-18T18:28:00.001-07:00

So this is my 1000th post and I thought it would be cool to share some of the things that make me happy and inspired at the moment.

my new ritual of making lemonade every week, the best part is tasting it every so often to make sure it is going to be good....

wooden pegs, very useful...

my d.i.yed scissors organizer (badges and ribbon nailed to the wall next to my desk)....

tidy folded fabric sitting on my shelf waiting to be made in to things....

the chair I recovered with a crochet blanket.....

And having a clean/tidy work space. ...

photo

2011-10-16T23:02:00.000-07:00

the tacks on which things hang never change, only the content.

ginger crunch

2011-10-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

So today I did some catering for a friend and decided to make ginger crunch as one of the sweet options. Usually ginger crunch is full of butter and condensed milk so I was a little skeptical of a vegan version from a brand new vegan cookbook called "icing on the quake" written by the Christchurch Vegetarian Society. The recipe is as follows...

Base

- 7.5 TS margarine

- 1 cup flour

- 1/4 cup of sugar

- 1 ts baking powder

- 1 ts ground ginger

Ginger Icing

-1 TS margarine

- 2 ts ground ginger

- 2 TS golden syrup

- 1 TS water

- 2 cups icing sugar

- 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

I made 1 batch of the base and it did not quite cover the bottom of a slice tin when spread only 2 or 3mm thick, so I made another batch to top it up and baked it for about 10 minuted in a fairly hot oven. Oh I did not use margarine, instead replaced it with 7.5 TS of rice bran oil because margarine is pretty much just oil with other crap in it anyway. And I added cinnamon to make the flavor more interesting.

I did not follow the icing recipe at all and instead mixed together 1.5 cups of icing sugar 3 ts of ground ginger and some almond cream to bind it together. This turned out much creamier than normal ginger crunch despite being vegan. Also I topped mine with coconut instead of nuts.

birthday.

2011-10-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

It is really funny to think this day last year I woke up a little hung over from birthday celebrations and biked more than 10km across town to a job that I absolutely hated. I worked for 8 hours doing pretty much nothing, on the bike ride home I received a phone call from the the agency that had given me the job saying not to come in next week. I went back on the benefit and swore I would never work for anyone/ have a boss ever again.

Now I am 22 and own my own super awesome business where I get to make cake, bread and lemonade every day. Living the dream.

(apple soda)

Last night Netta brought me in a cake that I shared with people (and ate a lot myself) .

best cake ever (lemon and poppy seed)...

D-Rad, Glass Vaults and Seth Frightening played last night and it was a very cool show.\

Not really birthday related but I got this awesome mug this week....

yip. Life is awesome.

Coolest thing I have ever made.....

2011-10-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

So I have not even turned on my computer or camera for the past three weeks or so because I have been working 15+ hours a day on opening my new bar/ music venue. It's called darkroom and its pretty awesome (well I think so).

There are lots of things that we have that most bars don't like cake of the day, home made breads (fresh each day) , dips, home made lemonade and ginger ale .....

We found lots of really comfortable chairs and a couch so people can sit and watch bands in a living room like environment...

I made the bar stools out of recycled silk screen frames that I found behind an abandoned building around the corner....

The back bar have I constructed from old coffee tables and a cabinet (very earthquake safe, promise) ...

Out front we have planted grass in a raised garden bed so people can sit on it like a couch on warm summer nights....

In the lobby for the toilets I have painted a 'mural' and we will be changing this room often by getting other artists to curate the room with their own art works......

and I have even learnt to tile a bathroom....

Our stage is fairly small but feels like you are in a living room so it's pretty nice...

And we have an awesome beer selection (all local) that will be changing all of the time ...

(the fridge use to be the milk fridge at the Darfield service station, hence the "MILK" on the front of it)

Auckland

2011-09-19T02:18:00.000-07:00

Last Monday I went to Auckland to play a show and get a bit crazy.. The following day Jos and I explored the new Auckland city gallery which totally blew my mind with its amazing architecture that merged the old library building with the modern part of the gallery. There was sooooooo much art in there and it was nice to see coloured walls apposed to having mostly white ones like at other galleries. One of the coolest things there was a small room with mirrors on the floor and ceiling and vertical stripes on the walls. When you walked in it felt as if you were falling and was pretty freaky.

For the rest of the day we walked around Dominion road, attempted to walk up the sky tower, ate lots of snacks, drank a few coffees and got rained on a fair bit.

banana, coconut cake.

2011-09-10T17:30:00.001-07:00

I just made this awesome cake.....

Its very simple to make just mush up 2 bananas with a cup of sugar, a bit of dedicated coconut, a sprinkle of cinnamon and some vanilla essence. Add 1/2 a cup of earl grey tea, a dash of white vinegar and a little under 2 cups of self raising flour and mix together gently. I baked it in two small cake tins to make it layered but you can jut make one big cake of you wish. For the icing I mashed 1 banana and some vanilla, a squeeze of lemon juice with icing sugar and a little more tea to make a thin icing which I put on and in between the layers the cake while still warm so it soaked in. On the top I sprinkled chunky toasted coconut.

poster / dinner

2011-09-09T01:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being really crap at putting anything on here recently, I have been super busy building and getting stressed out by trying to make stuff happen. We are almost done building the bar at The Archive which we have named 'darkroom'. This week we announced our first shows and opening date which is the 6th of October which is creeping up very soon. I made the following poster for all the shows we have on in October.

Anyway right now I am eating the an epic salad which I like to think I invented. its chickpea and beetroot. Usually it is just chickpea and beetroot along with salt, pepper, parsley and lemon juice, but tonight I made 'super' chickpea and beetroot salad. I added grated carrot, broccoli, leeks and roasted sesame seeds which was very colourful and very tasty. Also I have a side of chips and a really nice organic pilsner (maybe my new favorite beer) ........

.....

YUM!

another day stuck inside.

2011-08-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

It is still snowy and cold outside so I have spent most of the day in my bed/fort searching trademe for useful things and ended up finding an ideal cabinet for the bar.

Other activities that have happened today include re-making my fort with matching sheets, making corn bread and jalapeno cheese knots (my new favorite alternative to garlic knots)

yum.

banoffee pie

2011-08-15T02:50:00.000-07:00

Just made an awesome banoffee pie wit a sweet short crust and orange cream on top.

It was a bit sloppy as I was too inpatient to wait for the caramel to cool before topping it with cream but it still tastes awesome. Pretty good for a first attempt I think.

making bread.

2011-08-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of any thing interesting posts recently, I have been super distracted with other hobbies and working. It's snowing again here in Christchurch and it seems appropriate to stay in bed all day and eat awesome food. Lately I have been making loads of bread and experimenting with fillings, kneading techniques, flavored oils for on top and all types of shapes of bread. I don't remember the last time I purchased a loaf of bread from a supermarket and the other day when I stopped at a sausage sizzle for my old primary school to get 'onions and bread' the store brought loaf that it was served on seemed so uninteresting and taste less I don't know why people even buy the stuff.

On Saturday when the met service informed the country that the snow was coming we went out and stocked up of supplies as we have not been food shopping in almost a month. While other piled high their carts with bread and milk we brought dried beans, vegetables, flour and some pickles for a treat. I just can not imagine wanting to eat white supermarket loaf after discovering the joys of making my own bread.

you will need....

- 1 and 1/3 cups of warm water

- 2 TS of dry active yeast

- a good sprinkle of salt and sugar

- 1/4 cup of oil

- 3 and a bit cups of flour

how to....

- add the yeast, salt and sugar to the warm water in a large mixing bowl

- let that bubble for about 5 or so minutes

- add the oil and mix in well

- add 2.5 cups of flout and mix that in to, it will still be quite sticky

- put 1/2 a cup of flour on a clean bench and place the dough in the middle of that

- knead the dough in to the flour and add a little more if it is still sticky

- of you want flavored bread add that at this point. Dried spiced and herbs work well but you can use stuff like mashed up pumpkin or a spicy Indian pickle (thats what I used for the bread in the photo) If you use a moist flavor you will need to add more flour and some time knead it for longer to get a good texture.

- knead for at least 5 minutes

- let the bread rise for about 10 minutes( I am inpatient so some times only leave it for 5 minutes)

- divide in half and shape each half in to a loaf, round, knot or what ever you want your bread to look like.

- place each of an oiled tray or cake tin and let it rise again this time for a bit longer.

- brush the top with oil (some times I use the stuff from the sun-dried tomato jar, or for this one the oil from the Indian garlic pickles)

- put the bread in to the oven and turn it up to 180*C and let it cook until when you tap the top of the bread it sounds hollow.

this recipe is also awesome for pizza bases and makes 3 or more large pizzas.

woops

2011-08-08T02:02:00.000-07:00

Today I was building stools and smashed my left hand with a hammer and it swelled up and went a shade of green/black/purple with a minute. It really hurt but it was pretty funny at the time because my whole hand was numb and would not move. How did I manage to hit the side of my hand is still a mystery....

The stools turned out awesome in the end so the bruised hand was worth it in a way.

time waster

2011-08-08T01:28:00.000-07:00

I made an instagram account and have gone nuts updating it with only one theme. Packaging.

my account name is tnealle if you wish to follow it and be amused at how I waste my time.

its been sew long.

2011-08-02T01:31:00.000-07:00

My work mate Jess is opening up a store which will be full of handmade and second hand gems. To help her out with stock I have been busy making a bunch of dresses from recycled fabrics and notions.

I drafted the patterns myself and there are more, lots more.This weekend was used more productively than last weeks Harry Potter marathon as I was sewing up a storm and trying to get good at making stuff again, sort of getting better I guess. There will also be some jackets, skirts and bags.

ghost mouse/mice

2011-07-26T23:05:00.000-07:00

Today I spent a large amount of time digging out a gully trap and getting really muddy. In the process of digging out the garden that covered the drain I found this mouse skeleton fully intact. Pretty cool.

If you go to this on you tube the comments are priceless.

slice twice is nice.

2011-07-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

I have made slice twice this week, both of which were really simple. The first was a coconut choc chip square and the second was a pear and dark chocolate crumble.

Choc chip coconut square is just a basic cookie dough with coconut and chocolate on top.

Pear and chocolate crumble is an ANZAC biscuit base with pear/orange sauce on top and a few anzac biscuit crumbs and chocolate chips on top.

snow day.....

2011-07-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

At about 9am Jasper and I decided to go down to the supermarket and get some soy milk for hot chocolates. I dressed up really warm with woolen tights, socks, scarf, fury hat, 2 jumpers, thermal, waterproof jacket, socks and mittens on my hands. The snow was so deep and looked like fields in the country side in the abandoned lots where buildings use to be.

Icicles were forming on every thing, even the outdoor tables at Switch had some hanging underneath.

This machine was on the CPIT lawn and looked like it belonged in a scene from a Russian film ...

on the walk back we stopped in a snow covered car park and chucked snow balls at the tall concrete wall for a bit ...

at home I melted some dark chocolate buttons in a pot and added soy milk and some cocoa powder and we drank awesome hot chocolate...

The internet stopped working soon after that as the dish was full of snow. Jasper got up (safely) on the roof and scooped it out...

The snow was super thick up there...

what an adventurous day and its only 11am.

snow day

2011-07-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

I just woke up after having a bad dream, it's 5.30am. After laying in bed for ages trying to sleep I gave up and looked out side to see if there was snow like the weather man had predicted, and there was. Hopefully it stays until the morning.

warm jumpers for winter.

2011-07-18T21:13:00.000-07:00

The other week at work some one took my cardigan and I was pretty bummed. It was most likely an honest mistake and it was just a normal sort of one any way. In the past two days I have gained three more cardigans and an awesome jumper for the grand total of $4,not so bummed any more.

i found a blue one that has pockets and fancy silver buttons....

.. hand made heavy woolen cream cardigan....

...hand made golfer jumper....wow

..and a purple one with pockets and one missing button (just realized looking at the photo) .

other bargains I found yesterday were 14 pizza and slice pans(needed for a pizza party) , two glass platters and a 35 mm camera for only $5. Thats like 30c an item.

awesome.

tips and tricks (for Fran)

2011-07-18T00:47:00.000-07:00

So from what I can gather Fran has moved in to a new flat and is looking for awesome/ clever storage and furniture solutions. I thought I would share some of my ways of keeping a tidy room and making storage from what I could find around the place.

When I moved in to this flat we did paper scissors rock to determine who got the room with the kitchen in it, I lost and decided to make the room awesome rather that sulk about how the dishes were in my room. The first thing I did was to relocate the giant bookshelf from down stairs by taking it apart and re assembling it with some help from mum, dad and Jasper. Pretty lucky that there just happened to be a bookshelf that blocks off most of the room from the kitchen. For ages I had no door but fixed that by making a curtain with a pole, brackets, shower curtain rings and a stolen airline blanket.

The shelf added lots of storage to an empty room but I still have a lot of junk that I rarely use (like stuff I take to craft markets) so yesterday We made some stilts for the bed and I turned it in to a fort......

... I like using things for a purpose that it is not intended for, like my waste paper bin come step stool( $2 from the super shed). Also having the draws (hand me down from mum)under the foot of the bed clears a lot more floor space and holds up the bed very well. I also use a picnic basket(free shop) to hold my linen, fish tank($4 trade me bargain) for painting things, six pack beer case (the first 6 pack I ever purchased) for spray paint (six cans fit perfectly don't you know), laundry powder box for zines/ bookends ,tripod ($15TM bargain -and it works) for hanging things on, giant baking soda tin (from the recycling at my old work) for bathroomy stuff and an old broken bike basket(hand me down from Netta) for scraps of fabric . So many things you can use in a clever way. Also we made an old clothes drying rack in to a suspended one so we can make use of the tall ceilings and dry our clothes out of the way, all it took was some clever knots and lashing.

Also making things from cardboard boxes, milk/beer crates, bread trays, old draws that have no cabinet or anything free you find around ... It's really easy.

sweet fort.

2011-07-17T00:12:00.000-07:00

I love building forts, I have had one (or more) in every flat I have lived in (example here and here ) this one is from my last flat....

. By the age of 21 and 3/4 you would think one would be able to build a pretty sweet fort....Today I have achieved greatness in fort engineering....

I (with Jasper's help) have raised my bed 40cm by adding 2 legs under the middle , put a head board (old door) on to stop pillows falling down the back and rested the foot of the bed on a set of draws that were 40cm tall. From the sloped roof I have hung rope to attached 2 sheets from one side and nailed the sheets at the same height on the lower part of the slope. On the side closest to the wall I have tacked the sheet to the wall at sitting up in bed height and the other sheet is safety pinned to the bed base on the other side.

And inside I hung fairy lights...

Best fort ever.

The perfect Saturday lunch....

2011-07-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

home made onion jam, home made pretzel, home made kumara chips and pickles.

HOW TO MAKE: garlic knots

2011-07-11T23:34:00.001-07:00

A few years ago while in Texas We went to T.G.I Friday's for a $6.99 lunch that included all you can eat garlic knots. I defiantly ate more than I should have (and took some back to the hotel to keep eating for the next day and a half) but what ever they were freaking yum. I forgot about them until the other day when while making garlic, cheese, paprika scrolls a vivid memory came rushing back of these amazing garlic snacks. The next day I decided to make some, the recipe is as follows....

you will need

- yeast

- warm water

- salt

- flour

- garlic

- parsley

- cheese

- oil

- salt and pepper

how to...

I don't really measure things while making a bread dough so this is a very rough guide...

- In a 2L container sprinkle about a TS of yeast and salt

- add about 1 cup of warm water and 2 cups of flour

- mix this in to a paste and leave to rise over night

- put a few hand fulls of flour on a clean bench and drop the paste in to it

- gently kneed the flour in to the paste for about 10 minutes and add more when it is too sticky

- cut the ball of dough in half and roll one of those halfs into a long snake of dough about 1" thick

- cut the dough snake in to lengths of about 15cm

- tie these in to a basic knot and place in to a greased pan with about 1cm between them

- when they are all in the pan let them rise again until for about 1 hour

- while they are rising mix together a bit of oil, some grated cheese, chopped parsley, crushed garlic, salt and some pepper

- when the the knots have had time to rise put a wee blob of the garlic, cheese mix on each one

- put them in an oven and turn it up full, they will rise more and should be ready when they are golden brown on top.

-eat when warm straight out of the oven.

use the other half of the dough for another batch or some pizza.

ps. you may want to look up a proper bread recipe as mine is very random and un-measured, but always works out for me.

building.

2011-07-09T03:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took delivery of over 200 meters of Douglas-fur timber. It was pretty cool unloading it from the trailer all pre cut and ready to be used for construction. Our first job was to paint over the inside of windows at the front of the building as we are building a wall over it and so it looks tidy. We did one coat and it was a bit patchy so waited for it to dry and did another one which turned out well.

...next we started on the wall to cover them which is over 5 meters long. It was a challenge to lift the half made wall over our 'tool table' and to hold it up only to realize the studs were too long. Down it came and we cut off 20mm off each stud and back up it went with a bit of bashing.

While Jasper was hammering the wall to the ceiling (I am way too weak to do this job and end up bending the nails) I started on the next wall which is the one laying down on the floor in the photo above. This is the third longest wall and makes the side of the accessible toilet. I built it on the floor then we lifted it in to place this afternoon, this was a much simpler task compared to the 5 meter one. We took a break and went to the RDUnit launch thing around the corner at C4. After some awesome coffee and music we headed back to The Archive and built 3 more walls.

So now we have the whole frame work up for the accessible toilet and one wall up in the actual bar area. It is so awesome to have done so much in only 24 hours and it is starting to seem very real and I can picture how awesome it is going to be. Also I really love building this and have learnt so much cool stuff and I just want to D.I.Y all the time.

epic PJ's

2011-07-03T01:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was given the single best thing ever to be made of thermal fabric.....

It does not get any better than coming home after a 13 hour day at work and putting on brand new matching thermals and curling up in bed listening to This Is My fist, trust me. Oh yeah and I had free pizza left over from work, so it kind of does get better.

Zach wanted the top but I sort of stole it because it wouldn't fit him* and there were matching pants and I think he got more gown up looking ones any way, everyone wins.

*Maybe it would fit him

D.I.Y

2011-06-29T05:02:00.000-07:00

This week I have done so much D.I.Y. Like every day from when I get up till work time in the evening and some times after work until 4 am. The other day when it was wet and cold and pretty much a day that calls for movies in bed I built a wall while still in my PJ's.

Yesterday we had to move a really heavy table top that we could barely lift let alone move in to another room and around door ways. I came up with the idea that we needed to build a trolley so we built one form random things laying around and the table top was a breeze to move.

Today we started to take down a wall to make way for a door way and found the most awesome tongue and groove wooden wall under the gib. We have decided to keep the out side of the wall like it is and insert the door frame as planed and once it is all sanded and stained / painted it will look so nice

yip. d.i.y is fun.

The ash cloud...

2011-06-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

animals getting up in my grill.....

2011-06-23T04:44:00.000-07:00

today was pretty rad but I can't be bothered uploading a bunch of photos from the other things I did. It was the last day in Adelaide and we spent it in the hills, bike riding and hanging out with kangaroos.

photos maybe later.

old family slides..

2011-06-21T06:32:00.000-07:00

uncle Bob, Dean and mum as kids...

This one is of my grandma, grandpa, mum and uncle....

I made another 'film scanning' set up to photographed the slides.

stomping ground

2011-06-21T05:42:00.000-07:00

Photos from around my grand parents house, they are great collectors of everything. There was always loads of bikes in piles that I use to dig around in to find good parts to make a bike to ride around on in the summer time when we visited. The one I remember most was a pink 1960's cruiser style bike with bad tires that I would ride around of for about an hour before having to refill with air (it was still parked behind the caravan).

There has always been a pile of junk/ future projects near the fence. We would climb and look in it for hours and pull out the most random stuff.

They have the best fruit trees too, oranges, nectarines, apples, apricots and lemons. They use to grow passion fruit and we would eat them until our mouths were purple but now they grow grapes.

I also found a bee hive that I don't remember seeing before...

and the windmill across the road... Very Australian...

Down the river there was a house boat with the best name...

and a creepy tree....

the old Hensel truck....

2011-06-21T05:12:00.000-07:00

My great uncle was given a truck to restore a few weeks ago. The truck use to be owned by a traveling salesman in The Riverland but one day (in the mid 50's) he got ill and parked the truck in his garage and never went out on the road again. When the truck was towed out of the garage and opened up a treasure trove of clothing and textiles was found untouched by mold or moths. We got to have a look at the truck at a local fundraiser, it was pretty cool .

I love all of the old labels and packaging. The childrens socks were 'gollywog' brand which is defiantly a sign of the times. They gave some to Audrey but the labels seem to precious to take off of the socks.

lots of spiders....

2011-06-21T04:51:00.000-07:00

In the bathroom I found a big spider and put it in a glass... it was still sitting on the kitchen table in the morning.

Went for a drive with my grandma to pick up my uncle Dean and his wife Annie from the airport in Mildura which is near the boarder of Victoria and New South Wales. I officially went to 3 stated in one day. On the way back to Home we stopped at a lake and had sandwiches and fruit for lunch.

This spider was out side while we were having dinner.....

Sooooo many nature photos. Will try and find other things that are interesting tomorrow.

Driving to The Riverland

2011-06-21T04:28:00.000-07:00

You can't take fruit and veggies in to the Riverland because there maybe fruit flies in them and if the fruit flies ever got in to the vineyards or orchards it would ruin the eco-system so we stopped and dumped the fruit we had in the car...

When I was young I remember driving with mum to visit my grand parents in The Riverland. On the way we stopped for orange juice at the Waikeri garage and she told me she use to live in the big orange on the roof and I believed her. A few years later I thought about this statement and realized there was no way a bed could balance in the hollow sphere and figured I just imagined the conversation .

These kangaroos are in a large pen between Lake Bonney and my Nan's old house. As children my brother and I use to walk around the fence watching them for hours.....

2011-06-21T03:10:00.000-07:00

Thursday was the last day we spent in Adelaide before heading to The Riverland for the weekend. I spent the day walking around the botanic gardens and city. I have fond memories of the gardens from my childhood and we use to call the green house 'the glass pasty' as it looked like a Cornish pasty.

For lunch I found a bakery and got the biggest sprinkle bun ever. (very nutritiousness)

I also taught Audrey that is is funny to poke your tongue out at people and she now does it every time we play.

Awesome breakfast.....

2011-06-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

Cassie and I went for breakfast today at this really nice cafe on Queen Street. She got the scrambled eggs with mushrooms, spinach and avocado which looked really good. I had avocado and lime on toast and it was so tasty. I also had the best coffee yet in Adelaide, I ordered a long black and actually got it in a tulip cup (without asking) AND it came with a dark chocolate button on the side which I promptly put in the coffee to make a Belgian (that is my favorite type of coffee).

After that we explored the rest of the street. The best shop was the bakery that had amazing looking danishes with rhubarb in them and chocolate tarts. mmmmmmmmmmmm

We then went to some op-shops around the city and found bargains. For the rest of the day I just wandered around taking photos of random stuff and drawing for my zine.

note- I always seem to take photos of buildings looking up.

Wet Wings.

2011-06-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

Wet Wings - Feeeel It from Wet Wings on Vimeo.

This is my favorite Wet Wings song and now they have a really nice video for it. YAY!

(I just watched this 3 times in a row)

bike ride adventure.

2011-06-14T03:40:00.000-07:00

Today I went on an epic bike ride adventure around the city. My path was the purple line on the map going anti clock wise and it took almost all day with lots of stops and looking around. The best part of the bike ride was between west beach and the city because it follows the River Torrens and there are lots of birds. The bikes here are free to hire but are very heavy and slow which is good for cruising around town but not really for a 6 or so hour bike ride. Now I am so sore and tired.

2011-06-13T02:07:00.000-07:00

Slow and cold start to the day, it is queens birthday and everything was shut down. I went for a walk around the Parklands and saw some birds and nice gardens.

For breakfast I found a Bread Top shop that was open and got a garlic twist, a green bean sesame ball and an iced-coffee which I ate while walking around the very dead city.

After that I headed back to the hotel to get a hat and scarf because it was getting colder. With a few minutes to kill I flicked on the T.V (very out of character for me ) and there was an interview with a very frantic woman in Christchurch but I didn't catch what it was about, turned it off and thought nothing of it. I was then off to meet Cassie but at the arranged time Mum and Dad drove past in the car and told me about the earthquake in Christchurch that had just happened...

The place Cassie was going to take me to was closed so we postponed and I tagged along with mum and dad to the port market. It was very massive and busy...

I caught the train part way back to the city and found myself in a very abandoned and freaky quiet part of town...

Then I found my way to a main road with a tram and hopped on that. I got off about 10 blocks from the hotel and walked down lots of side streets on the way back and saw some pasting. At the market I got a giant grid note pad which I want to make a zine from but this made me think that pasting would be a good idea to.

When I got home I roasted some pumpkin and potatoes and had them on salad with lots of like juice. We have no salt of pepper but it still tasted very good.

random pictures form todays trip to the beach.

2011-06-12T17:04:00.000-07:00

day II

2011-06-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

After average coffee at the place this morning I went for a walk around town to see the sights. First stop was Rundle Mall's massive silver balls, Kale said you can see them from space but I don't quite believe him.

Next stop was the museum which from memory had a giant whale skeleton in the foyer. A lot of things that I thought were massive when I was a kid turned out not to be so big and impressive, but this thing was really really huge. (woops no photo, may have to go back) I did how ever get a photo of a stuffed tiger.

I grew up in Port Adelaide so we went and spent the afternoon exploring that part of town. I remember the light house being massive but now it seems no to be as big.

This sign was pretty cool and very noticeable...

Mum and I found a legit bakery that had all sorts of sweet pies and pastries for under $3 each so we got one of every ones favorite thing. Kale had a vanilla square, dad a custard tart, Bronwyn a lemon meringue pie, mine was a banana caramel one and mums was a bun which I have forgotten the name off but it was like a doughnut filled with cream and jam.

A bit a long the coast is Semaphore beach which holds great memories for me as it was the place where I saw my first film in a cinema by my self (The Wind In The Willows) and where many a birthday were had.There is also a creepy carousel and a fun park which still operates in winter even though no one goes there. After that we stopped off at Regency park to see 'the longest slide in the world' that I remember as a kid kind of being scared to go down because it was so long. When we got there the slide had been taken away and my claims were unfounded ( I still don't think Bronwyn believes me)

I got dropped off in the North part of town while every one else went back to the hotel. Near the Government house there was an army parade going on and I stopped to watch for a while. I think they looked like a row of ducks from far away.

This sign made me think of WOW for some reason ....

I walked around for ages and found a cool zine shop and got some zines....

and a button shop...

Then found some nice street art....

In the red cross store (which was way fancy compared to Christchurch op-shops) I found a pair of lace bloomers for only $2. I think that is a good deal.

Adelaide....

2011-06-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

We got in to Adelaide yesterday morning and went right to Glenelg Beach 8/10. The flight was ok except for my movie choice of (well the movie was good, it was a Japanese movie about making pastries 7/10) but the it had subtitles and mixed with a bumpy ride made me feel really sick (3/10)

We tried to check in to the hotel at 2 but it was not ready so I went for a walk around the Central Market and got some limes and a snack....

The limes were actually 99c per kg in the end and it was only $1.30 for the whole bag. What a deal 10/10. The water is tastes a lot worse than in Christchurch so I have been adding lime to every glass 8/10. W also watched so t.v which seemed not to have changed since the early 90's with re runs of Mc Giver and the Flinstones 1/10.

I am writing this from a (hippy-ish) cafe down the street that has free WIFI and asked if I had to make a purchase to use said WIFI and he said no but I felt like a coffee so got a long black. After about 10 minutes this arrived ( I am the only one here) in a very big mug, but it is not too bad tasting but for $4.20 it was not that good of a deal. (5/10)

going away.

2011-06-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

Going to Australia tomorrow at about 6 am for two weeks. It's going to be cool to explore Adelaide and the places I grew up in. I have been doing some research for things to do and found the city council hire out bikes for the day for zero dollars which is pretty rad. Unsure of how much internet access there will be in the places we are going but I will surly update this as much as I can.

video I made for Dove

2011-06-08T03:56:00.000-07:00

I felt like I was being super creative and stuff today and was really excited about how this turned out but then Fionn called me a weirdo and said I have too much spare time.Maybe this is true but I think the video is still cool and the song too. You can get more of Dove / Futur Nari music via band camp HERE

photos from this mornings walk....

2011-06-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

Queens birthday....

2011-06-06T01:25:00.000-07:00

Today it was pretty quiet in the shop even though the whole day was a giant tea party with crumpets, scones and tea for the queens fake birthday. Oh well, more scones for me (maybe I ate about 6??)

Aleisha brought in some home made feijo jam which we are yet to try but the packaging she made was the bast....

and the back...

soon after the shop closed we raced to the vege shop to get some supplies for making dinner ....

I ended up making snack plates full of random things like fried leek with sesame, quince pate, homos from a can (yeah we found it and it's awesome) gherkins, sun dried toms, celery sticks, home baked bread, hot pumpkin chips, crackers, eggplant dip and stuffed vine leaves. SOoooooo goood.

At the end of the week I am off to Australia and I am pretty excited because they celebrated Queens birthday next Monday so that means tea and scones all over again.

gig photos / post gig emoness about earthquakes and how every thing use to be ....

2011-06-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

doctors were awesome and so were The undercurrents. The Green horn Co. put on a sweet show in what seemed to be their storage warehouse near the railway tracks in Addington which gave the show a cool vibe especially when the trains went past.

The emo part.....

I remember a year a go today I spent a lot of time walking around the city climbing random stair cases and car parks to take photos of thing. Today it hit me that it has been a year since I have seen Christchurch as a city un-damaged by earthquakes and it seems kind of strange. I use to live in the city and have a nice flat with my brother and Bronwyn. Most of my time was spent walking/exploring/ taking photos and making street art around the city and now I feel like it has only just set in that I have been missing out on that for an entire year.

Today the street opened up near my old flat. I am proud that it is the only sound boulding on the street but to be honest in the boxing day quake I was freaking out when all the blocks around us were pitch black and our house shook like a rocket taking off....

This is where my old work use to stand. It was called The Cake Tin and was (in my opinion) the best bakery in town, now it is just dirt...

On a more up beat note this next photo is of a pasting I made many months ago in the early hours of the morning on the way home from a gig.. I was sort of a bit tipsy and thought it was a good place and time to go out and past a massive thing on the back fence of cafe metro (my neighbor ) I was pretty proud every time it was still there when I walked past. Funny how he cafe is gone but the pasting still remains.... mostly

gig photos.

2011-06-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

The pop up shop

2011-05-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

It has been all go around here today. A bunch of people brought in their creations and unwanted goods for us to sell in the pop up shop and I have been busy tagging and pricing them. The shop will have its grand opening this Wednesday evening at 5 pm with some awesome live music from Teke and James and will be open for the following 6 days from 12 noon- 4pm. Pop in if you are in the area and get your self a bargain find the address is 336 St. Asaph Street (between Fitzgerald and Barbadoes ) Christchurch (look for The Archive bicycle parked out front)

Home grown sprouts and home made pizza

2011-05-25T01:38:00.000-07:00

I have started growing sprouts in a jar (well 4 days ago) and today they are ready to eat.

It is a very simple process really......

Just put the seeds (alfalfa, radish or any other sprouting seed) in a jar with a bunch of holes in the lid.

Fill the jar half up with water, give a good shake and then drain. Keep them in a cool place out of direct sunlight for 4 days and each day fill and drain the jar.

On the 4th day place the jar in a sunny place and the sprouts will turn green because of this awesome thing called photosynthesis.

Green food is good for you and this is a super easy way of growing indoors in winter. A packet of sprouting seeds is about $4 and you only need a large table spoon full to half fill quite a large jar because they need some room to grow.

Also for dinner was home made pizza (my second for the day) Made from a sourdough base that I have been keeping for bread and lots of salsa and red onions on top. YUM

a new stop motion

2011-05-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

A stop motion movie I just made

2011-05-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

It's a bit jumpy but still pretty cool for a first attempt since I was 9 or so.

30c Indian snacks rule.

2011-05-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

SHEEP,DOG&WOLF

2011-05-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

I saw a link to the band camp of Daniel McBride's solo project on facebook this morning and after listening to the first song I decided to spend the last $3 in my bank account on downloading it.

It is so freaking awesome and I think you should download it from HERE.

cat party

2011-05-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

Went to a flat warming tonight and the first beer I opened shattered the top and sliced my thumb open with out me realizing until I was just about to have a sip and there was blood all over my hand. Thats what you get for buying a 500ml bottle of Nahere Gold for $3.50 I guess. Any ways the rest of the night was spent playing with cats and eating lots of cake while avoiding the dubstep coming from the living room.

New home

2011-05-14T01:24:00.001-07:00

I moved house last week and it is by far the best flat I have ever had. It is super homely because I pretty much got to build my own room with a roof top garden. I have been working less lately as well and using my time to make fun stuff happen like gigs and my next project which is a pop-up shop.

This is the poster I made for it ....

If you are in Christchurch next month come and check it out.

Opening night...

2011-05-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

Last night we held our first ever show at The Archive with fellow local bands Valdera and the Transistors. I was a bit worried that people either wouldn't come or would be a bit of a hassle to deal with but every one was on their best behavior which was really good. Christchurch is an awesome town and it sucks that most of our decent venues have gone but I am really excited to make something awesome out of this and last night proved that it can totally happen.

Special thanks to Joe and James for sorting out gear and sound.

Our facebook page is HERE if you wish to follow us.

nelson- ideas mission

2011-05-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

Went on an overnight trip to Nelson to pick up some heaters for The Archive (thats the name of our building) We took a trip to the dump shop and found some awesome speakers, a lamp, clock and a zoom lens for a camcorder(thats what some of the photos are taken with). Also got a good deal on curtains and had some really good food/beer. I find the colours at this time of the year are pretty cool and inspiring and I kept blurting out decorating ideas on the drive up there about how the bar is going to look and what materials we will use.

Autumn fritata ....

2011-04-27T23:54:00.000-07:00

you will need....

- 1 small onion sliced

- 1/2 a carrot grated

- 1 small potato grated

- 1 cup grated carrot

- 1/2 capsicum sliced

- a few Brussels sprouts quartered

- spices(chili, curry, salt and pepper)

- 2 TS flour

- 1 ts baking powder

- 3 beaten eggs

- 3 TS of milk or cream

- seeds (sunflower, sesame and flax seed)

- cheese

how to...

- fry up all of the veges in a pan until tender

- add in the spices and keep cooking

- take off the heat, add the flour and baking powder

- then mix in the eggs and milk

- spoon into a greased baking dish and top with seeds

- bake in the oven on 180*C for 20 minutes

- top with cheese and bake for a further 5 minutes

- leave to cool for 5 minutes before cutting

- serve with a nice cous cous salad or something else Autumnal

Serves 2 hungry people.

sweet pepper relish...

2011-04-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

Just got the best deal on capsicums it was only $5 for 2kg (On the other side of the store they were $1.99 each).

Of course when you buy this many veges you have to make relish .. a lot of relish.

2 L of relish and 1 L of tomato sauce.

and a wee bit of hot sauce from the leftovers that didn't fit in the jar.

Feijoa fizz + peanut toffee

2011-04-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

you will need...

- juice of 11 feijoas

- juice of two lemons

- 1 cup of water

- 1.5 cups of sugar

how to..

- boil the fruit juice and water in a small pan

- add the sugar and wait until dissolved

- boil for a 15 minutes

- strain in to a sterilized bottle and keep in the fridge

(makes 500ml)

to serve mix about 30ml in a glass of ice and top up with water or soda and a slice of lemon if you wish.

to make fejoa toffee peanuts...

- place the lumpy bits back in the pan with the juice of 1/2 a lemon and 1 TS of sugar

- boil down until it forms a thick jam

- add 1 more TS of sugar and 2 cups of peanuts

- mix well and grill on a lined oven tray until crispy and brown.

- leave to cool in the oven

perfect summer drink and Autumn snack.

House party

2011-04-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

Not many good house parties with awesome bands have happened lately and on the way to 'the lovenest' last night Jasper and I reminisced about a one a few years a go when he was an annoyed neighbor and we had the cops called on us for playing "to loud. " Last night how ever was the perfect mix of annoyed neighbors, awesome bands and lack of riot squads. Quitters played their last show with Will in Christchurch (their second actual show) and it was pretty incredible, I wish they would play more shows. At camp the Mammal Airlines renegade set was by far my high light and last night they played equally as well (I really like how they swap they swap between playing guitar and drums) . Other awesome things that happened last night were... eating home made hot cross buns in a dark car, having to walk 3 blocks to find a port-a-loo, seeing Wellington friends, 'Snowy's' missing cat poster ( in hindsight maybe its not that funny), talking to army guys about the new fire house, making tasty nachos from every thing in the fridge, count down to Jono's birthday and falling asleep on the couch. This morning I have a burnt finger and I don't know how it happened.

New things....

2011-04-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

So things have been a bit quiet on the Internet for the past two weeks mostly because I have been working hard out and going away last weekend but there are some very exciting things happening in real life. Since the quake I have been thinking a lot about how Christchurch is never going to be the same and trying to decide if staying was the right or wrong thing to do was hard. Staying won out because I am now an aunt (which is pretty cool) and it is the perfect time to start some thing new and fun. In the past week my flat mate Jasper and I have found a space to rent and started making plans to turn it in to a bar/ art space/ pop up shop/ anything space. It is about 5 minutes walk from the south end of High street so when 'town' opens up again it is still not too far out of the way. So many ideas for shows and exhibitions whizzing around in my head it is hard to sleep at night but Christchurch is a rad town that needs some help at the moment and something great can come of recent events. If you have an idea or need some space to make your idea happen email me (tnealleisawesome@gmail.com) and we can sort something out because rent will be cheap and the space is large.

PS. happy Easter weekend, the photo above is of the giant jar of giant jaffas mum gave to me because we believe in chocolate not Jesus. YUM.

Cake stall

2011-04-08T22:42:00.000-07:00

Today Netta and I had a wee stall at the Gap Filler fun fair in Addington. We made loads of delicious baking and sold some other things. The baking went down a treat and we almost sold out. Most of the baking was vegan and some gluten free which people seemed to enjoy trying. We also met a dog friend named Daisy ....

accidental ginger beer...

2011-04-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Just opened a bottle of ginger + orange syrup that I had made over a week ago and it was fizzy. It had been sealed the whole time and some how had carbonated it self. I tried some out of interest and it tasted a lot like strong ginger beer I topped it up with soda and it was delicious. Hopefully wont feel ill latter.

2011-04-03T22:59:00.000-07:00

New blog header for the winter months. The old one was just making me jealous of the Summer sunshine, long light filled days and not wearing pants ... all of which have most likely ended.

Fun fair.

2011-04-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

Poster making seems to have become my new hobby this is one I made for the Gap Filler fun fair on Saturday. Netta and I are going to be selling cakes, crafts and clothing. I have been making lots of posters recently and think this one is the best.

If any one needs posters made for any thing I will be happy to make some for free if you wish, just email me the details.

80 ISO, F8.0, 2"-3.2"

2011-04-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

Have been playing around with using two flashes, one from the camera and one of which has the lenses from 3D glasses covering it. The one with the lenses I trigger as soon after the camera flash I can and use a shutter speed of 2 seconds or more. I like the ghostliness of it.

Tequila Sunset

2011-04-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

This is a cocktail I invented the other night because we had tequila and a lack of orange juice.

you will need...

- 1/2 oz tequila

- 1/4 oz Stone's ginger wine

- 1/4 oz Campari

- 1/4 oz sugar syrup

- a large slice of juicy orange

- dry ginger ale

- ice

how to...

- mix the tequila, Stones, Campari and syrup together in a short glass filled with ice until the ice melts a little

- top up with ice and squeeze all of the juice from the orange over the mix

- slowly pour the ginger ale over the ice so the bottom of the drink has a red tinge and the the top is darker from the ginger ale.

- serve with a straw if you wish

drawing stuff.

2011-03-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

I have been drawing on paper a fair bit lately, its really nice to not be gazing at a computer screen squinting and trying to draw stuff on my laptop. This is the card I drew for my brothers birthday...

And a picture of the old art deco State Theater (Crn. Gloucester and Colombo.. Now some silly souvineir store... or is it???) that I made for a poster...(rotate it in your mind please)

Speaking of my brothers birthday .....

.. the cake I made him which was banana in side and Lego themed.

Roast pumpkin sushi

2011-03-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Made some roast pumpkin the other night and have been using it in every thing since. Today I had sushi for lunch with the pumpkin, carrots, pickled ginger, spring onions, aioli and roasted seeds. The bento box if from $3 Japan in Auckland and has two layers and a compartment for chopsticks, packets of miso, extra ginger, soy or other yummy things. So awesome.

Wellington...

2011-03-26T22:24:00.001-07:00

Had the best time in Wellington, the show was awesome, had an amazing sandwich and got to see 47 diamantes play. The only downer of the day away was Zach's jacket with all of his stuff in it being stolen from the stage while we played. We flew back in to Christchurch in over the city and it was strange and when I got home there was a car on its side across the road from my flat.

Grilled cheese

2011-03-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

When I get gherkins I always seem to eat the whole jar with in a week. Yesterday I brought some and already the jar is looking pretty empty but thats because I used some to make a really nice aioli with mustard and a bunch of fresh garlic.

For lunch I made a toasted sandwich with extreme baked beans (my way of making a can of baked beans last longer by frying them up with spinach, carrots, pumpkin, onions, red peppers and chilli) and cheese served with yummy gherkins and aioli.

pumpkin and spinach bread

2011-03-23T02:43:00.000-07:00

Today I made some pumpkin and spinach bread which was based on Netta's "Bananana Loaf"... I replaced the seconed banana in the recipe for a bunch of grated pumpkin, fried spinach and some spices (cumin, salt, pepper and chilli) It turned out a nice soft bread which we ate with some roast pumpkin and aioli mixed tohether.