isn’t it just gorgeous?! i’ll post photos of the package I sent soon :)

you can see more photos of the swap in the flickr group here

in summary – listen to spoon.

gift tags:

plus some new card designs:

be sure to have a look and let me know what you think!

last weekend was a different story – we spent valentine’s day casually wandering around, having loads of fun. breakfast at a cafe:

chinese new year markets:

and i made this for my valentine, from bakerella’s recipe:

it was just lovely. but that was a whole week ago! next weekend will be the last one of summer. it just goes by so fast.

there’s been three very specific things i’ve wanted to make lately:

1. marshmallows. because i bought some homemade marshmallows at the markets recently and they were divine.

2. vegan chocolate avocado cake. because i saw laura’s post about joy the baker’s recipe and it sounded amazing. and weird, which i like. and i don’t eat eggs outside of cakes so it seems odd that i eat them inside of cakes. {it’s not a moral stance or anything, i’ve just never been able to eat them.}

3. banana bread. because we bought too many bananas last grocery shop and i needed to use them up.

so, first up: marshmallows. the recipe was fairly simple, but having never made anything like this before i had a bit of pre-marshmallow anxiety – “is this thick enough? how do i know what this is supposed to look like?!” – but they turned out perfectly. i’ve already planned to make these as easter gifts.

next up was the chocolate avocado cake. this was really simple; no different to a normal cake, really. i snuck a quick taste of the batter just as i was about to pour it into the pan, and was horrified to taste nothing but baking soda. ack! i forgot to put the sugar in! lesson learnt: ALWAYS TASTE YOUR COOKING. but with some extra stirring i was able to work it in just in time. i haven’t had a proper piece yet, but the bits i’ve sneakily broken off have been amazing. i’ll be taking it to an afternoon tea tomorrow, so i look forward to people trying it without knowing what it is. i was originally planning on making a different icing, but decided to make the avocado one just to see what it’s like. tastes good to me!

and lastly, banana bread. i got this recipe from the australian women’s weekly BAKE book. haven’t got it yet? go now. run. i haven’t tried this yet, but i think it might be a little overdone. i’ll sample some for morning tea tomorrow!

now why can’t i be this productive during the week?!

here’s the month of january, in edible form:

you can see the full size photos in my Edible365 set on flickr.

PS. Now that it’s January 31, I can happily report that I haven’t eaten any more chocolate since that minor sponge cake incident. it really wasn’t that hard at all! I’m thinking of continuing into February, but loosening it a little. I still won’t eat straight up chocolate, but will be forgiven for chocolate flavoured things.

today i had a big clean up. finally threw out the bag of shoes that has been sitting at the back of my wardrobe for the last 5 years. i’ve moved house 4 times since i started that bag, and that bag of shoes – those shoes that one day i’m going to take to be re-heeled and then love them forever – always came with me. not anymore. they’re gone. i got rid of handbags, scarves, jewellery {all donated to vinnies, of course} and it feels good. almost cathartic, even.

i’ve also been busy. my sister & i will have a stall at the hills districts’ australia day celebrations this tuesday. if you’re in the area, be sure to come on by and have a look! we’ll also be selling some of our mum’s handbags. i’ve been working on a few new products for the stall, and my favourites are these create & live signs. i’ll have these {plus a few more} on sale as well as all of my cards and paper goods.

i hope your weekend was as fulfilling as mine! it is a shame about monday, though.

i’ve been watching conan since thecomedychannel started airing late night some time in the late ’90s. i’m genuinely very, very sad that his run on nbc has come to an end, but the most disappointing thing about today isn’t just that it’s conan’s last episode of the tonight show – it’s that this whole entire fiasco is coming to an end. late night tv has never been this good.

if you haven’t been following, i highly recommend you check out the recaps on tv.gawker. they’re amazing.

i ate some chocolate.

in my defense, it was actually a chocolate flavoured sponge cake, and it was a tiny tiny piece, and i was at a small gathering for my partner’s grandmother’s 80th birthday where i literally could not refuse it. and, i don’t particularly like sponge cake, so i didn’t really enjoy it.

am i forgiven?

in any case, i’m not actually counting it because it was an unavoidable “special occasion”, but i just felt i should be honest. so i’m now nearly two-thirds through No Chocolate January. woohoo!

well, not playing the song or anything, but i will be there squeeing my little heart out. the decemberists! first time in australia! so excited!