Holidays Past

From time to time I like to look at our old holiday pictures. I love building this life together with Byron, Maxi cat and Coco. We have our own unique history, one which makes me smile, reminisce, yearn for more adventures and it serves as an important reminder that we've packed so much into such a brief time together.

These pictures were taken on Boxing Day, the day we celebrated Christmas due to work commitments which fell on December 25th.

It was a lazy day spent poolside under the warm sun.

Byron soaked up the morning warmth whilst I dipped my toes in the clear pool, keen to feel weightless in the salt water.

Coco flipped through a magazine with a little help from Byron to turn the pages. I think she gathered some decorating ideas because I later found a tissue turned into confetti on my bed.

I love the familiar, warm feeling I have when I look at these pictures. They make me laugh.

Sometimes I pull faces at my husband, it's rather strange the expressions he captures with the camera. I really should learn not to do 'crazy eyes'. After all, if I don't have the camera in my hands, it's almost always in his...

Do you ever go through your old pictures with your family? Are you amazed at how much you have changed throughout the years? Tiny details are captured in special moments. When I look back, even twelve months ago I see that our hair has grown, or Byron's is shorter. Coco was half her current size and there was that time when Maxi had a small, round cut on his head, like a third eye.

Byron's skin turns golden brown in the warmer months and in the winter time I have pale skin, my freckles more pronounced. Our clothing style changes as do the meals we prepare.

I treasure every time we decided to lug the heavy camera along on a little adventure.

It's fascinating. It's our history. It's uniquely us.

Bella xx

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Our Seaside Christmas

the neighbours real Christmas tree // evening walks with festive nails // orange and pickled beet salad

he watches as I wrap presents // technicolor crab // the scent of summer

lobster, soft shell crab and prawns for lunch // a present arrives // skimming stones at eight p.m.

My Christmas holidays have begun. Every meal is brightly coloured with the freshest ingredients. Leafy greens from our garden, garnishes of coriander, sweet basil, orange slices and purple beets fill our plates. Long days are celebrated with hours at the beach skimming stones across the water with my best friends. Every day more gifts arrive in the mail. Brown paper parcels adorned with postage stamps and fancy handwriting. Oh joy!

Every street is filled with the sweet scents of tropical flowers. Mouths drip with the pink juices of ripe watermelons. Cicadas sing, wine flows, Bing Crosby crackles on the record player as we dine on dolmades, marinated chicken, and tapas in the backyard with friends and family.

How do you celebrate the festive season?

Summer is here and it feels like Christmas.

Bella xx

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49/52 Rainy Days

A portrait of my family once a week, every week in 2013

Maxi: Clip
Byron: Play
Coco: Step
Bella: Rejoice

As dark grey clouds rolled in and the southerly wind picked up, we embraced the wild weather to spend our first days of summer outdoors.

I clipped Maxi's razor sharp nails on the front lawn as he patiently sat on the letter box, watching my every move with cautious eyes. Now and then he looked to the sky, distracted by thunder in the distance.

Later, we travelled to Mutton Bird Island as the storm rolled over the mountains. Rumbling dark clouds warned of heavy rain as we climbed high over the green hills. Byron leaned into the strong, cool winds as they carried the sound of his laughter out to sea.

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On a cloudy summer morning, we walked Coco along a coastal nature reserve. At first she took slow, deliberate show dog steps across the wet grass before giving up and bouncing about happily in puddles. As if on cue, the skies opened and large droplets began to fall. We looked about in wonder as the rain approached in a misty cloak of water from the east.

There is much joy to be found when one finds themselves caught in the refreshing summer rain.


~Joining Jodi and friends~ This week I am drawn to portraits that capture the wonder of children. Alice and Vicente explore cobblestone streets; Advay stares at a paper aeroplane through impossibly long eyelashes; a sweet babe enjoys a post-Santa baby chino; and Patrick and Claudia wonder at the various types of Christmas trees.

You can follow my 52 collection here.

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."
-John Ruskin

Love Bella

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40/52 Relax Max

A portrait of my family once a week, every week in 2013

Max: Relaxing on the cool floor, he watches me intently.

Here Maxi stares at me from the top of our stairs, cool air from the bathroom provides relief for him on a hot day. Our sweet pets, they're irreplaceable. They're a part of our tiny family, important parts that make the whole machine click by day after day.

The air is more dry than I recall from last spring, this season is warming early. The grass is crunchy under our bare feet. Local bush fires lick the air, threatening towns. They are here earlier than I remember too. It seemed like only last week that we were battling the flooding from Cyclone Oswald and the crisp, cool mornings that made beach walks, surfing and venturing outdoors somewhat undesirable. This is our first year living directly next to a national park. The lack of rain, thirsty soil, drooping plants and constant deposits of dead leaves remind us to prepare. This long weekend we have been clearing dead, dry plant matter, leaves, branches and grass. We compost what we can, clear our gutters and back up our photos. We might never have to leave in a hurry, but one day we might...

This week I'm digging portraits with animals. Farm life, bunny baby-chino. I'm also fascinated by these lovelies: Pumpkin fun, hide-and-seek, morning shadows. I'm reminded of all the important things in our lives. Children, pets, photographs, our farm yard friends...

If you live in a region at risk of bush fires... Please. Prepare.

~Joining Jodi and friends~

Love Bella xx

You can follow my collection of 'The 52 Project' posts here.

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36/52 Cats Eyes

A portrait of my family once a week, every week in 2013

Maxi: He watches the clicking camera with calm curiosity as his golden eyes and glossy black fur shine in the spring sunlight.

Cats eyes. The most intriguing eyes I can imagine. More captivating than the seeing eye globes of a charming snake, with their tiny pupil slits. More breath-taking than the bulging eyes of a cantankerous camel with their horizontal pupils and impossibly long eyelashes.
His pupils are doe-eyed, deep-black round pools at night, dilated to detect movement and improve his sight in the low lit environment. His iris deepens in colour as it relaxes, golden with flecks of amber.

Byron, my sweet darling, you have captured a beautiful picture of Maxi in the late spring morning.

This week is all about the eyes for me. Big blue eyes. Watchful eyes. Determined eyes. Smiley eyes. Perfectly chocolate eyes. Playful eyes. Innocent eyes.

Are you fascinated by eyes?

Bella xx

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20/52 Dreaming

"A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Maxi: Fighting to stay awake, his head began to droop and soon he fell asleep.

Fluffy, calm and cute. This is Maxi during the early mornings and usually for the rest of the day. I think his exhaustion stems from the long hours he bounces around our house during the night, crashing into furniture, leaping onto my windpipe and pouncing on our toes as we dream.

I've heard that it's good practice for when we have a baby... The restless nights, dark circles under my eyes and demanding little one. They say I should sleep when the little one sleeps. Usually I find myself staring at this fur ball in wonder as he dreams and all the night time interruptions are forgiven.

My favourite portrait from Jodi's 52 project this week is of this tiny face, with her deep brown eyes so focused on her mama as she grasps her tiny letter block. I could melt with that gaze.

Oh and a friendly reminder: If you haven't seen my little autumn giveaway, click here to enter. Entry is free and will only take a minute of your time. Have a wonderful Sunday :)

Love Bella xx

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5/52

"A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Maxi: Morning. He waits patiently in the bath tub for some biscuits. The puppy cannot reach him here, in this safe shiny bowl.

Maxi discovered the sanctuary of the bath tub on the first day we brought Coco home. At 5:00 AM every morning (if we're not already up), he gingerly walks along the head of our bed to gently wake us before wandering into the bathroom, where he sits like this in the bath tub, waiting patiently for our clumsy hands to fill his bowl with biscuits. The sound of the biscuits clinking into the dish will often wake Coco and she will bound into the bathroom, squinty-eyed under the bright lights in search of the delicious biscuits that do not make it onto her menu.

It is in this bath tub that Maxi will sit at the small table and crunch away at his biscuits, before silently making his way back to our bed, where he sleeps curled up near our feet until the first light breaks. I can always rely on Maxi for these morning cuddles.

Bella xx

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3/52

"A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Coco: Her footprint in the sand during our late afternoon walk along the beach before the storm rolled in over the sea, dark and ominous.

Maxi: My calm boy, happy to lie next to us as we work in the vegetable garden simply because he enjoys our company.

Byron: That looks he gives me when he pretends to be serious. It is always followed by a huge cheeky smile.


The following picture is of me laughing. Byron took this seconds before fat droplets of cool rain began to fall on us. We could see the curtain of water falling across the beach, it was fun running home in the rain.

I hope the cooler weather has brought relief to those affected by the extremely high temperatures.

Bella xx

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Amaretti by the Sea

A little bit of Italian, blended with the seaside. Amaretti is a story of sweet biscuits, mobiles made from driftwood we collected from the beach, the delightful aroma of almonds and Amaretto baking, and relaxing cloudy days curled up with hot tea, biscuits and a good book. Music credits to the late Signore Renato Carosone for his bubbly, light song Tu Vuò Fà L'Americano.

Amaretti by the Seaside from Bella Mills on Vimeo.

I realise this style of piping is not necessary to make amaretti but for the life of me, I could not find the round piping bag attachment for my piping set, so I improvised with a crescent shape, and had a lot of fun making squiggles!

Recipe for gluten free amaretti biscuits can be found here.

The end result was delicious but if you think that we merely nibbled crunchy amaretti with hot tea from this batch, you would be wrong, because we used them in another recipe and as yet, nobody has correctly guessed what that recipe was... Any ideas dear friends?

Bella xx

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1/52

"A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Maxi: His luxuriously soft fur and trademark black goatee are two of my favourite features. Here he waits to see if Byron will open the iron gate so he can make a speedy escape

Coco: Tomorrow marks one month since we first laid our eager eyes upon her quizzical frown after much discussion on whether we should adopt a puppy. Here she waits for Maxi to make his dash out the gate, watching intently with her floppy left ear that she is unable to extend. That gorgeous frown and her floppy left ear, two of my favourite features.

Byron: A momentary glance downwards to decide on the placement of his feet as he made his way carefully along the grassy headland during our morning stroll through the national park.

Bella (and Coco): Byron took this picture of an unsuspecting me as I walked with the puppy along a grassy hill, interspersed with white and orange rocks and overlooking a gorgeous blue jewelled sea.

I'm feeling inspired. Today was a beautiful day and as I gratefully sit here, cross-legged on my bed with a small hand-painted Turkish bowl containing the last of my modest handful of fresh blueberries, I am proud of myself for beginning one of my projects for 2013. I've started sewing my very first patchwork quilt for Byron. It only took me twenty odd years to get around to making the templates and rolling my razor sharp blade through pieces of nautical-themed fabric. Anchors, life buoys, ships with white sails.

Oh how I love the sea...

Bella xx

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Roasted Drumsticks with Soy and Sweet Chilli Marinade

Time for something savoury.
Want a fuss-free dinner, packed with complex flavours and requiring minimal preparation? If you've got a spare half an hour, you can prepare this chicken, then leave it to marinate whilst you go about your day.

Roasted Drumsticks with Soy and Sweet Chilli Marinade:

Serves 2-3

1/3 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup sweet chilli sauce
1/3 cup sweet soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
6 chicken drumsticks, skin removed

In a large, sealable container (For example, Tupperware) pour the soy, sweet chilli and sweet soy sauces. Add the sesame oil sparingly and mix together with the garlic and ginger.
Skin the chicken drumsticks, then place them directly into the marinade. Massage the meat gently, coating each drumstick carefully, then cover and refrigerate for several hours, or overnight. I wouldn't recommend marinating for less than two hours and if you're home whilst the sauce is infusing the drumsticks with those sweet, spicy flavours, then be sure to spoon extra marinade over the meat, or if you're a bit frazzled, shake the hell out of it and return to the fridge.

Roast the drumsticks on a perforated pan or wire rack, over another pan to collect the excess marinade.
I roasted my drumsticks in a ThermoWave bench top oven at 180 degrees Celsius, on a high fan speed (Mum calls this little oven a 'Round-A-Round', due to the shape of the thickened glass cylinder bowl). This cooking method is faster than using my dodgy slow oven and far less expensive.
After 20 mins I turned the drumsticks, covered them with excess spoonfuls of marinade and cooked for another 15 minutes.

Do you know that moment when you can forget that you are cooking (People! If you're anything like me with my goldfish memory, use a timer!!), then you suddenly inhale and your nostrils and mind are filled with the mouth-watering scent of the food you are cooking? At that moment you know the food is just about ready...

Well, that happened to me just as the timer had one minute to go. I leaped out of my chair, hurtled across the room and threw open the lid. Immediately the room filled with the hot aroma of the marinated chicken that wafted up into my face, making me feel dizzy with desire.

Mmmm... Now you can go ahead and serve your drumsticks on rice and salad or with noodles. I served mine with the Black Quinoa and Bean Salad from my last post.

Roast it, devour it, lick your fingers, then for goodness sake have a shower because you will be sticky- I'm warning you.

Look at that little face. He watched me the entire time I prepared the meal. Somebody looooves chicken.

Bella xx

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A Modest, Albeit Quirky Celebration of Chinese New Year

This is the culinary tale of three friends and a cat, named Max, as they celebrated the Chinese New Year

The three friends, Byron, Isaac and Bella embarked on a cross-cultural journey yesterday eve, filled with the finest Chinese cuisine, single-malt scotch and a mixed collection of vinyl gems (with a few rather bizarre songs, apparently a standard on Chinese New Year...some bad music, mixed in with some fine beats).

Byron poached a whole chicken in a traditional stock, containing ginger and bay leaves. Next, he braised Chinese cabbage with a special chicken stock, oyster sauce and soy sauce mixture. The handy chef also prepared the rice with the stock too.

Next, Byron neatly cut and served the chicken pieces with fresh chives and a soy sauce reduction.

We dined on the feast and drank clear soup and scotch, whilst the boys flipped vinyls between Prince, a strange karaoke-sounding Spanish artist, who calls himself Victor Victor (admittedly, not the greatest), Aretha Franklin, and the smooth, cool afro jazz beats of Budos Band.

Every mouthful was bursting with new flavours!

With our glow stick bracelet powers combined, we celebrated Chinese New Year with Maxi cat, fine Chinese food, finer company and the realisation (with satisfying relief) that our almost-abandoned January 1st New Years resolutions could begin anew as the Chinese herald the New Year, the Year of the Dragon.

My New Years resolutions include the following:

- Regular blog updates, with the aim of three posts per week (Yay for my four 'Followers' he he!)

- More home cooking

- Moving house at the end of the year (Did someone mention, 'Sea change'?! Oh Yeahhh!)

- More study of the French language

- More photos, including a photographic story of Sydney, and another of the small seaside township of my youth (perhaps next blog post!)

- More 'me' time... Which, let's face it, means more time to focus on the first two resolutions

I have many more ideas but the rest can wait, it's bed time.

Ahhh time to relax into the Year of the Dragon. May you find wealth, fortune and love with food.

So Gung Hei Fat Choy 恭喜发财 !!!

Bella xx

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Counting Sheep in Sydney in the Spring Time

Where to begin? Sometime ago we reset our mechanical clocks one hour forwards. The hour of sleep I struggled with losing was strangely difficult for my body clock to adjust to but is a small price to pay for the extra hour of sunlight I have gained with each new day- And it is a personal gain as I feel wonderful when I wake up now.
I’ve spent a great deal of time travelling to see friends in various locations over the past five months since moving to this busy metropolis and the long days have certainly played havoc on my sleep bank account. Debit, debit, oops you’ve overdrawn… Those closest to me may have noticed I have become a little grouchy when tired but a note to you dear people: I am aware of it now and have taken measures to ensure Bubbly Bella is back and is here to stay. Earlier to bed, swimming and walking to work to ensure I am actually tired when my active mind hits my pillow- Oh and I’ve brought my bed back from sleepy Armidale… I can almost see my sleep account growing, by one jumping woolly sheep* at a time.
* I could easily substitute woolly sheep for Maximilian, my nocturnal cat who tends to perform running laps of my bedroom until I evict him around 2am. Maxi made the arduous journey with me in the car to Sydney last weekend with my good friend Mitch, to whom I owe a very big ‘Thank You’ for assisting with the move. Thank you, Mitch :o).
In other Bella news I thought I would update with a few pictures.
Remember when I mentioned I was going to visit the photo booth? Well here are some of the pictures from that day…

My beautiful friends Tim and Michael..

It was seriously cramped in that tiny photo booth, and YES, we are having as much fun as it looks like we're having...

These are some highlights from last weekend in Armidale when we visited the gorgeous Blue Hole…



Here are Tshiamo and Erin enjoying the picnic we brought down the hill with us...



The boulders at Blue Hole..I'm standing in the middle...



…And these pictures follow on from our harbour side visit to my sunny hometown. Ahh the memories- both from that weekend and my happy childhood.



Here I am captured in time by my good friend Stewart Hayes, looking at fossilised shells near Lake Tabourie..we were later stranded on this island when the tide came in.


We collected driftwood sticks for a fire...


Here I have captured Stew and Tim discussing some of life's mysteries on our tiny island around the blazing fire...




The next day at the harbour side market with some second-hand tools Tim purchased.



A BIG thank you to Stewart and Jade for their photos, mixed in amongst those from the photo booth and my own. I hope you have enjoyed the different photographic styles.

Right now I am going to stretch (never underestimate the value of a long stretch when you get out of your massive pillow-top bed- Bliss!) and I am going to make crepes for my French girlfriend Audrey (Read: adopted sister), whom I collected from a 21 hour flight from Paris, via Seoul yesterday morning (seriously, where does she get her energy from?).

Oh heck: I forgot to update the food portion of my blog!
Yesterday I made Greek green lentil soup and we enjoyed it after taking a long sun-drenched stroll around the Sydney Harbour foreshore. I also made Minestrone Primavera for lunch today and pizza dough ala Uncle Rudi Valentino’s Italian recipe for pizzas. I will make one pizza bianco and another with Spanish chorizo, tomato and chilli**.

This afternoon we will venture over to the annual Glebe Street Fair. Stay tuned for more exciting stories and a picture or two..

** Sadly in this blog post there are no food pictures as my new camera has a corrupted memory disk and I am too poor to replace it just yet ha ha! Sad but true and who wants to look at green lentil soup anyway? It tastes like a Greek dream but looks like green mush... To appease your interest in the Italian recipes, feel free to look up Franco Leoni’s Italian cookbook. The recipes are simple, yet mouth-wateringly delicious and you will not be disappointed.

Buon Appetito…or with my French company in mind, Bon Appétit!

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