Just in case you needed reminding...

Trays...

...should NOT be eaten!

Enjoy your weekend!

It's a love - hate kinda thing...

Green smoothie. You are my friend.

Those are the words I mumble to myself when I stare into the green depths of my glass when I am about to down a green smoothie concoction and I have NO IDEA what it will taste like (this time).

For such is the nature of the beast: the taste is different EVERY TIME.

Since I usually eat a rather large amount of salad, vegetables, fruit and nuts on a daily basis, I tend to only drink green smoothies when I am feeling "rough around the edges" from too much indulgence in things like cream (oh home made ice-cream, you delicious fiend...) or dark chocolate (an ongoing frenemy indeed).

When Simeon sees a glass of green heading towards him, he tends to silently sigh, take a sip and say something like:

"Hmmm...earthy."

And this from a man who can eat an ENTIRE family size green salad with NO dressing OR carbs OR little tasty bits of things that MOST humans require to make a GIANT green salad palatable (he uses salt....yes, JUST salt).

But moving on (since that doesn't really HELP my point), THIS PARTICULAR GREEN SMOOTHIE turned out REALLY well. Like I could drink this on a daily basis if I WANTED (or, like, HAD) to.

Why a green smoothie recipe in this season of blessed indulgence and yummy things like Christmas mince pies?

Because (if I am anything to go by) it is often the season of OVER indulgence and EXCESSIVE EATage of yummy things, hey.

Green smoothie. YOU - ARE - MY - FRIEND!

Ingredients:

• 1 green apple
• 2 handfuls of kale or baby spinach
• 1 third of a large cucumber (with the peel on)
• 1 ripe banana (tweak the sweetness with more bananas if you wish)
• 1 teaspoon of protein powder (I use raw rice protein powder)
• 1 good pinch of cinnamon powder

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Fill to about half way of the height of the ingredients with cold filtered water.
3. Zhoesh well till smooth and creamy.
4. This makes about 6 cups of smoothie.

I went to a craft store and...

Craft stores that sell rubber stamps are to me what catnip is to a kitteh!

Plus, they are way cheaper than buying wooden stamps!

• Picked me up a lighthouse and some mistletoe for my stamp collection.

• The cheap and cheerful boxes are for storing pretty bitties like postage stamps and stampy stamps.

• Gold stars are fun and Christmasy for decorating brown paper wrapped gifts...

• ...As is white satin ribbon (R20 for 20 metres from Osmans fabrics).

•  The pretty pre-made Christmas postage tags are from Spar.

Need insipration for decoration and creation?

 *Heart* this UK Mag!

Sim made me a cuppa, and I indulged in one of my favourite old-fashioned(ish) activities...writing snail mail.

This time of year, it can only be one thing - Christmas cards for geographically scattered family members!

I highly recommend finding someone's latitude and longitude, and brightening their post box!

Even if it's a veritable stranger in the form of a long-lost friend or an out-of-touch family member, I like to think that the holidays give you a reprieve which allows you to say:

'Thinking of you. Happy 2013!'

Epic Pigeon Holes

Don't you just love a good bargain?

There was a silent auction recently at Simeon's workplace where we managed to nab an AWESOME piece of (2nd-/3rd-/4th-/?-hand) solid wood furniture for a REALLY EXCELLENT price which has been PURRRFECT for organising my craft room (or our so-called "pottering room") into its neat 50-pigeon-holed glory!

Here are the BEFORE and AFTER shots:

I just *HEART* functional spaces so much (and being able to find little fiddly things quickly too!)

As the AFRIKAANS saying goes:
'n Plek vir alles en alles op sy plek!
(A place for everything and everything on its place!)