Puddle Jumper.

I was nineteen when I bought my first pair.

I just could not resist.

They were so shiny, pretty...and pink.

www.pinterest.com

Me and my 'gummies' were inseparable.

Indestructible.

Puddles became my bit*h.

Mud became my home-skillet.

And then they ripped.

Oh woe is me! I should have guessed considering I paid a mere $30 for them from K-Mart. But I was a student! I just did not have the dosh to get the good stuff. I do not even want to get into the denial which surfaced when I pulled my foot out one rainy, afternoon and it was drenched. Surely it has simply rained inside my gum-boot today? It was a pretty bad storm, the chances were...high?

It is never easy to say goodbye. 

Footprints were not only left in the mud, but on my heart. 

A year went past.

Gumboot'less.

Then came Christmas of 2011. 

Once again, wish-lists were written (well actually, Amazon wish-lists were complied and e-mailed. Ew.) and there was me, skimming the Hunter Wellington Boot website, reminiscing on the pair of pink loveliness what once was mine. Could anything replace the hole which had been left in my heart (or in my gumboots for that matter)? I mean, don't get me wrong, I thought about buying a new pair. Maybe jazzing it up with a pattern or two but the timing was just never right. 

When the earthquake of 2011 hit Christchurch and volunteers were called, I even skimmed out and bought myself a pair of $10 black gumboots. Ew.

Anywho, Christmas knocked on the door and a big, black box was wrapped up all nice and pretty for me. Oh boy, I knew what this was...

You guessed it.

A red pair of gumboots.

Red?

Okay, before you start blaming my parents (or 'Santa') for misjudging me so wrongly I should admit something. 

This year I would be turning twenty-one. What sane, 'take me seriously please' twenty-one year old traipsed around in pink gumboots? It was time to bid adieu to the childish antics of my youth and move onto something more serious - red gumboot kind of serious.

Something just was not right though. I didn't even take them out of the box. They just sat in my room for multiple weeks, exposed to flinches and all as I glanced at them every so often. 

'You need to have the right colour, Christine' says Mumma J

'Yeah, I know. I think I prefer the Cranberry over the Poppy Red' says Christine

Who was she kidding?

She didn't want the Cranberry. She wanted the PINK.

Of course she wanted the pink! 

Why wouldn't she want the pink?!

So she bought the pink.

'What do you think?' she asks the family.

'Well, they are very you!' they reply.

(I am going to stop talking about myself in third-person now, it's weird)

And the moral of this story?

Fu*k growing up.

When it rains, go jump in a bloody puddle.

Cooking With Friends.

Guilty Pleasure Confession : 

Safe to say that it is only the best show to have been created! 

Obsessed is an understatement. 

You know you have an attachment issue when you start referencing quotes to fit the situations of your everyday life. 

Yes, we do own the box-set.

Yes, I have watched every single episode...five times. 

Should I be ashamed? Never! 

Anyone who says they don't like Friends is a silly human being. What is there not to love? 

I will even go as far to admit that I did in fact purchase Season One of 'Joey,' hoping to hold onto what was left of the Friends era. Success or not, I love me some Friends!

Here comes to embarrassing part...

My devotion does not stop at the box set and Joey spin-off. Oh no, it doesn't stop there my friends!

Introducing:

Cooking With Friends.

Now, before you judge me - think about it.

It's a clever concept don't you think? The book is fantastic. It holds every recipe imaginable - from 'New York Urban Eats' to 'Holiday Cooking.' Who wouldn't want to eat the lasagna that Monica makes repeatedly throughout the series? Or the pizza which is often ordered?

The best one by far though is 'Phoebe's Fabulous Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies.'

Honestly, they are the best Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies that you will ever taste!

Seeing as it is currently Sunday, I decided to dust off the cookbook and crack into these cookies.

Recipe taken from 'Cooking With Friends'

Ingredients: 

12 tablespoons of unsalted butter (1 1/2 Sticks)

3/4 cup of firmly packed brown-sugar

2/3 cup of granulated sugar 

1 large egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/4 cups of flour

3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

3/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 cup of raisins

- Preheat over to 375

Cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth

Stir together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the batter until just combined. Stir in the raisins. 

Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto 2 large baking sheets (no need to grease them), leaving 2 inches between each ball of dough. Bake until cookies are golden brown, 12 - 15 minutes. Cool cookies on sheet for several minutes and then transfer them to a rack to cool further.

(Makes about 24 large cookies)

Do I even need to suggest how you enjoy them?!

Pop some Friends on the telly and eat away!

Burgers Baby!

After a long week, the last thing anybody wants to do is cook some complicated, messy, 'takes hours' kind of meal. 

Friday night dinners in our house have always included nachos and take-away pizza. The sort of meal that you can whip up in no-time and eat in-front of the T.V. Not a great way to enforce a healthy lifestyle but it makes our family happy and that's enough! 

Yesterday was no different. 

Introducing:

Christine's Home-made Hamburgers.

A little bit of gourmet mixed with  a dash of simplicity.

It took all of ten-minutes and made a certain twelve year old brother very happy!

Ingredients:

500 - 600 grams of lean steak mince

1/2 of a red onion, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 small carrot, grated

1 Tbs of freshly chopped Oregano

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup of fresh bread-crumbs

1 Tbs of Ketchup

1 Tbs of BBQ Sauce

Dash of Worcestershire Sauce

Season with Salt and Pepper

Buns - Lightly buttered and toasted.

Mix all your ingredients together. Form into patties (makes about 6) and chuck them in the fridge for however long it takes you to clean-up the mess you have made in the process!

Heat a grill and slap those bad-boys on, turning over to perfection when suits.

Now, everyone likes their burgers a certain way. Some dollop on the ketchup, mustard, the works! Some like it plain, some add cheese. Personally, I am a bit of an oddball and like to do a bit of a ketchup/mayo concoction, adding a bit of sliced pickle to give it a bit of a zing!

I am chronic for falling in love with a particular food item at a restaurant and will forever attempt to recreate the magic at home. More times than less, it is a complete failure but you never know what you will come up with in the process! 

A burger for any Friday night craving!

Roses Are Red...

I am in love.

Crazy love.

Butterflies in your stomach kind of love.

The sort of love you wait your whole life for.

The sort of love your parents should worry about.

You can't see yourself without it.

You read about it.

You see it in movies.

Some of us have dreamt about it since we were a young, wee thing.

Some of us look away in disgust when we see such an attachment...

Maybe it is the nearing of Valentines day which just has me all jittery.

The constant exposure of love hearts and glitter which makes you think about all that is silly...

Roses are red.

Violets are blue.

Dear Wednesday...

Today I spent two hours locked away in a storage cupboard, sorting five-thousand charity wristbands into child and adult sized piles. 

Words to the Wise: Happiness can come in the simplest of forms.

Facing Winter.

Winter is by far one of my favorite seasons.

I love the cold, snow and that amazing feeling of being all rugged up when it is blowing a gail outside. 

Having lived near and far, I can safely say that I have experienced the extremes of seasonal change.

One thing I don't love about winter? 

The effect which it has on my skin.

Winter just seems to suck the life out of my skin. If you are anything like me, I am sure that you have read every single article ever written on how to combat the winter facial blues. Although I have not attempted the home-made facial masks yet, I reached a point where I was near bagging my face as I waited for summer to pop around again. 

That was until one blistery afternoon, I stumbled inside a health store and found my saviour. 

Evening Primrose Oil.

This is the brand I use. Fantastic.
www.lovelula.com

It's simple, fragrance free and lovely. It makes your skin feel plump and moisturized without that burning sensation of over-priced, over-advertised makeup products which promise perfect skin. For me, when it comes to skin-care, I have to step outside the consumer bubble. I dabble in the old-school stuff like Cetaphil and Eucerin. Not only is it affordable, but it's gentle and more effective than what you might think. I have spent the dollar bills on products which promise perfection only to be constantly let down. Evening Primrose Oil is just perfect for a sensitive wee soul like myself. 

Chuck it in the bath, throw it on your face or lather it on your body - any way you choose, you will honestly come out the other end with baby-soft skin. After doing a bit of Googling (I love a bit of Googling) I discovered that Primrose Oil is most often purchased in tablet form. If this is the case, why not snap that baby in half and apply it topically? I like to put it on twice a day, once before I apply my make-up and once before I fall into slumber. 

Next time you walk past a health store, why not pop on in and find some other natural beauty goodies? I am committed to this venture, so I shall keep you posted with what other marvelous things I might uncover!

Working Girl.

We have a problem.

Today, I spent four hours traipsing through the mall and came out completely empty-handed.

Normally, this would not be an issue but when you have a plan to follow, actual reasons to run around like a mad-woman only to come nowhere near success - disappointment seems to bitch slap you. 

What was it I was searching for you wonder?

Work Wear.

A blank fashion canvas.

All sense of style has the potential to be fully eliminated when dressing for work. For years I galavanted around in a school uniform. A uniform which not only looked like a sailor suit, but came down to my ankles. Finally, upon graduation I was liberated.

  Free from conformity.

  Free from hours spent in-front of the mirror as I attempted to ooze style from the latest hair-trends. 

Earrings? No.

 Makeup? No.

 Necklace? No.

It reached a point where you would see your class-mates out on the streets and barely recognize them due to their lack of school regulatory dress. 

It was a dark time for me. A black cloud painted over fashion. I can't go back there, please don't let me go back there. I don't want to wear pin-stripe black pants and frilly white blouses. Nobody can trap me in that box! Who cares if my ideas surrounding what is fashionable in the work-place are derived from 'Devil Wears Prada.' A working girls sense of style should act as a statement. Now, nobody is saying that such a statement can not be made on a budget. There are plenty of choices out there. One of my favorites has to be Zara. 

www.zara.com

Zara does a great basics range at affordable costs. I am on the hunt for a simple, black dress or an 'LBD' as the fashionistas like to call it. Dress up, dress down. It's a staple item which every girl should have in the wardrobe. Why don't I? Because I am too bloody fussy, that's why! 

I do have some lingering questions though...

How much colour is too much colour?

How much sparkle is too much sparkle?