On hot summer nights, we love to eat BBQ's outdoors and enjoy the cool summer breeze. Fortunately we live near the ocean so mosquitoes aren't a problem. To make our outdoor area more inviting, we set up lanterns around our alfresco area. We love the … [Read more...]
Christmas Mantle
Our Christmas decorating is nearly finished and then we will start to plan our Christmas menu and Christmas baking. A few decorations and items from around our home made our mantlepiece more festive.Scrabble tiles spelling Joyeux … [Read more...]
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Nothing beats a rich, dense, fudgey chocolate dessert. Sarah baked a Flourless Chocolate Cake for a treat this weekend, and it tastes every bit as delicious as it looks. It has a slightly crunchy outer crust, with a dense rich filling. Unlike other … [Read more...]
How to Sew a Pillowcase
One of the many things we love about Christmas is having family from interstate come to stay with us. We love to create a welcoming guest room. This year we freshened up the guest bed with some pretty new pillowcases. They are so easy to run up and … [Read more...]
Candy Cane Milkshake
Today was Sarah's last day of school for the year and it was a hot 38 deg C day. To cool down after school and to celebrate the start of the summer holidays, Sarah made a Candy Cane Milkshake. It was the perfect opportunity to put our new Cuisinart … [Read more...]
French Vignette
We love using items from around our home to make Christmas decorations. We put together a little French inspired Vignette on a cake stand. It reminds us of a snow globe.We placed some white feathers on the base of the cake stand, and then … [Read more...]
Christmas Cushions
When decorating our living room for the holidays we like to mix it up a bit. As well as putting up the Christmas tree and decorations, we change many of our ornaments, cushions, and wall art, to make the room more festive.Our living room … [Read more...]
Our Christmas Table
Sponsored by TargetWe will be hosting Christmas lunch for our extended family of 15 people this year. We are starting to plan our Christmas Menu (Sarah is going to be in charge of the Dessert Buffet this year) and our Christmas Table to fit with … [Read more...]
Drink Labels
Keeping track of your drinks at parties can be tricky sometimes. You put your glass down to talk to someone and then it can be hard to remember which one is yours. With Christmas approaching and lots of festive gatherings planned, we have come up … [Read more...]
Strawberry Jam
Nothings beats homemade jam when it comes to taste. You can preserve the fruit when it is at its peak, to really capture the flavours of the season. Don't be put off by the process of jam making – simmering the fruit and waiting for it to reach the … [Read more...]
Easy Chocolate Chip and Vanilla Cake
There hasn't been much baking going on around Chez Sugar lately. Sarah is in exam mode so hasn't had much time to potter in the kitchen. Fortunately she only has one exam left and will soon be on holidays. It will be great having her home over the … [Read more...]
A Pressing Matter
We are often asked for sewing tips and advice on how we achieve a professional finish on our sewing, quilting and dressmaking projects. One of the most important things, in our opinion, is regularly pressing and ironing the fabric at every stage of … [Read more...]
