Mexican Style Tablecloth DIY

jazziefizzle — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:33:19 +0000

Though I am in love with the little back deck that came along with our new place, the furniture we have outside is old, worn-out and uninviting. I have been on the hunt for something to brighten it up and turn it into a spot that will be a joy to eat breakfast or just relax after a long day.

Bright colours and patterns seem to be the latest in homewares with mexican blankets and turkish rugs plastered over interior design mags and the blog-o-sphere. There is so much to love about this trend, as it can take any area with neutral furniture and transform it into a space that feels fun and full of personality.

After seeing the beautiful mexican blankets from Dos Ombre in person at The Village Markets, I have been lusting over them and picturing one casually draped over the edge of our couch, begging to be dragged down to Burleigh and laid on the grassy hill for an afternoon relaxing in the sunshine.

Unfortunately my current tight budget prohibits any such purchases for the time being (though the rainbow one is at the top of my wish list), but when I spotted a fabric with bright mexican-style colours I knew it would be the perfect solution to spruce up our outdoor space.

This fabric is thick and woven, so perfect for a tablecloth, yet was low-cost so able to be left outside in the sunshine rather than treasured as a precious item.

This DIY is super simple if you find the right fabric that works with your space:

I purchased 2m of the fabric – the selvedge came with pre-frayed edges so I left them as the edges of my table cloth.

On the cut edges, I ran a straight stitch along about 1cm in to limit the fraying, then deliberately frayed the edge up to the stitching.

Done! And now I love our outdoor area – it is perfect for drinking a smoothie in the sunshine and having a little get-away in our own home.

Now to save my pennies for one of those lovely rainbow blankets to brighten up our lounge room!

Photos from: my camera

Fabric – Spotlight, Basket – second hand

Homemade Hummus

jazziefizzle — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 00:47:59 +0000

Some things are just better when they are home made. For me, hummus is at the top of the list. It is super easy and quick to make if you have a decent food processor, and the best part is that you know exactly what is in it without scouring the label and finding things you would prefer not to eat.

Served with carrot sticks or snow peas, hummus is the perfect after work snack for us, bridging that gap of hunger between lunch and dinner time.

Hummus:

2 x tins chickpeas
Juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon tahini (I use unhulled)
Olive oil
Water
Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
optional: a dash of cumin powder

Drain and rinse both tins of chickpeas and get them blitzing in the food processor.

Add the juice of 1 lemon, crushed garlic clove and spoon of tahini and continue blitzing.

At this stage I add some warm water and a couple of big glugs of olive oil (think Jamie Oliver style) without measuring, and keep blitzing and adding more water or olive oil until it is of a perfect consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste and cumin if you wish, blitz again to combine.

I usually make it a little runnier that you would expect as it tends to dry out in the fridge.

Keeps for a couple days in the fridge (longer in the freezer). Serve with veggie sticks or felafel balls.

Photo from: my iPad

Coffee adventures – Blackboard, Varsity Lakes

jazziefizzle — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 04:57:12 +0000

We recently revisited our new local cafe, blackboard, and to be honest I can’t believe we left it so long.

Blackboard is in the heart of varsity lakes, right next to Bond University, in a cute little area full of restaurants and shops.

It is a bit of an odd setting for such a cool little place… But I’m not complaining as it is probably the closest place to our house to get a good coffee (aside from the coffee made in our kitchen of course!).

Since the rain held off for a day, we jumped on our bikes and went for a ride to blackboard. Varsity is such a bike friendly area with so many paths where you don’t have to ride with traffic, perfect for me on my beach cruiser.

We got to blackboard feeling pretty warm so went for an iced coffee rather than our usual hot drinks, and it was tasty and refreshing. The food menu looked appealing too, full of locally sourced whole ingredients, so I think we will be back for a weekend brunch in the near future.

Even if you aren’t a coffee lover you don’t miss out, they make amazing looking fresh cold pressed juices that I am keen to go back and try!

Sidenote… have I mentioned lately how much I adore this man?

A little sign posted looking for staff for their expansion into a grocery store made my heart beat faster with anticipation, not for a job but for a fantastic little grocer opening so close to home. I can’t wait to see what amazing things they will be selling.

Blackboard Specialty Coffee

7/240 Varsity Parade

Varisty Lakes, QLD

Photos by: Kris Blucher