23.12.11

When in doubt, bake!

Yeh, So instead of spending my night packing to leave Darwin, my German housemate talked me into (not that it took much persuasion) baking Christmas cakes. Well biscuits to be exact. A great idea, and bluddy great biscuits…but slightly badly planned as it meant me cramming my cases at 2am the next day for my flight at 5am. But hey its possible when you've got a plate of these to keep the sugar levels up!

I attempted the 'melted snowman' as seen on http://www.crazydomestic.com/ blog. Unfortunately mine lived up to their name and literally were melting (as you can see in the pictures) in Darwin's 35 degree heat. They may look slightly disgusting, but don't let looks deceive you, these (and I don't mean to blow my own trumpet here) are some of the best biscuits I have ever, EVER eaten. I think thats due to the fact that I added in extra sugar to the mixture.




And so so simple to make - 1 egg yolk, 250grams butter, 250g plain flour, 150g sugar (I used 190) and vanilla essence. Simple! Go and make your own. GO! and hopefully they won't melt quite so much on you. The icing is just icing sugar and water, and the marshmallow has to be slightly warmed in the microwave and squashed on. as you can see from the pictures, mine didn't need a microwave…

The other biscuits are made by my housemate with a similar (less sweeter) mixture.

Emily x

17.12.11

Is this the worlds most attractive television studio?

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Blue skies, green grass, warm sun, palm trees...yes its the Channel Nine studio! Ive spent the last 8 weeks here on placement, and I've loved it. Had a crack at reporting, followed the President, and can now class myself as queen of the autocue.

Sadly its my last day today as I'm off to Byron Bay to bask in more blue skies (fingers crossed!) and cold ciders on the beach over Christmas.


So for one last time, Darwin, thank you and goodnight.

Emily Duffield, Nine News.




13.12.11

A Pomme in Tennant


What better way to encapsulate an experience then to write about it. Not having a blog at the time I opted for the Tennant and District Times instead! Here are a couple of my articles….

Emily x

Tennant Times






Pictures were taken by James McVeigh and the landscapes are completely untouched.

Think one street in the middle of the desert, hours from any other town. And that's where I was living for a few months on my arrival to Australia. The sunsets were magnificent, the locals were not.


The population being only 2000 we had one foodshop and one clothes shop. Pubs were aplenty. The towns one saving grace, and escape was the beautiful Mary Ann Dam, pictures of which are above.

Tennant you were unforgettable.

Emily x

9.12.11

All that glitters…


Shoes : Topshop, Shorts : Asos

LOVE. GLITTER. SO. MUCH.

Got these sparkly numbers through the post recently. The shoes are not exactly the most practical for Darwin's sweaty feet weather, but they are beautiful so who cares! The sequin pants are yet to be worn…I'm all for a bit of leg showing, but these show ass. And a lot of it. I don't think Channel Nine is quite ready for the ass yet, so these will have to be saved aside for the New Year Festivals instead!

Topshop has an immense amount of glittery stuff on its website at the moment…I'm rather sad to not be in the UK and have the bank balance to allow me to buy it all...
 

Photography is a hobby of mine, and something I'm slowly getting better at! Photographs were taken by myself on a Canon 550D on a 18-55 stock lens.

Emily x

8.12.11

Christmas is coming...



REINDEER CUPCAKES

INGREDIENTS
125g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
4 spoons of cocoa powder
1 ½ cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup (185mL) milk
Put remaining Jaffa's in mixture 
ICING 
50g butter
 2 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1pkt Jaffas for nose
  Smarties for eyes
Chocolate as eye dot
1 pkt pretzels

HOW TO…
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Place cupcake papers in tray. Cream butter and sugar together before adding all the other ingredients.
2. Fill cupcake papers ¾ full. Bake cupcakes for 15-25 minutes and small cupcakes (until a skewer inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean).
3. Allow to cool before icing

4. Cream butter until pale and smooth. Add the milk and half the sifted icing sugar. Beat until well combined. Add the remaining icing sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. The mixture should be a spreadable paste; if it is too dry add some more milk, if too wet add more icing sugar.
5. Decorate
6. EAT AND ENJOY!!!



The sunshine and hot weather makes it easy to forget that its actually the run-up to Christmas. So nothing like a bit of baking to get you in the Christmassy spirit!
 

Slaved away over these last night...don't want to blow my own trumpet, but they are bladdy delicious! Feeling rather sick this morning however as half of the batter didn't make it into the oven, somehow ending up in my stomach instead!

Hope everyone is starting to feel festive! 

Emily x

5.12.11

G'day to y'all from oz!



Top: American Aparal dress, Trousers: Garage sale, Boots: Liverpool market

And welcome to my blog! Its been a long time coming, but as I am uselessly computer illiterate i have been able to get my mind (and fingers) around the world of blogging! Its still a work in progress…so were see if this post even makes it on the blog! 

Im writing this from Darwin - the very top tip of Australia. Its a sunny day, and I'm sitting here in 35degree heat. I don't mean to make those at home jealous, but I'm very aware that my friends back in the UK will be shivering around a fire round about this time of year! Heres a couple of pictures from the last few months in the Northern Territorys hot hot sun...

Emily x