LOVED the video. You are so clever. Maybe you could give a tutorial on how you did this. It is just fantastic. Have a great day. The sun is shining and summer is calling. Leahx
Hi Sarah! I have never commented here, but have been a loyal follower for a couple of years now! I love reading your blog and have to say may live a little vicariously through you. I wish I had the guts to move to Australia and live in a tatty, old, CHARMING cottage on the beach!!! I live in Massachusetts, USA, and was out shopping at Kohls, which is a department store here, and found the most darling summer dress on sale which made me instantly think of you I snapped one up on the spot of course, but thought that you might want to check it out, seeing as your summer is just beginning as mine is ending. I can attest that it is extremely comfortable and luxuriously soft. The muted lavender/grey color, polk-a-dots, and French-country influenced design made me think that maybe this would be the dress that would inspire you to branch out and wear a dress, I noticed that you recently tried wearing a skirt and seemed to like it;) Check it out and let me know what you think! I absolutely fell in love with it and I am not one to wear dresses all too often!!! I can picture you strolling around a yard sale on a Sunday morning doning your oversized sunnies and this breezey number http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/landingpages/elle/dresses/PRD~902482/ELLE+PolkaDot+Pintuck+Dress.jsp
Oh Sarah. The lovely images with that great music..call me a sop but I had a tear in my eye..and now a new resolution has been born in this here house on this (currently) rugby-mad rugby-obsessed side of the Tasman…to take more family photos of of us doing everyday ‘stuff”. Now where is that camera of mine!
Sarah I have to say that you really did a fantastic job on your video! The end result isn’t as easy as some people may think, so KUDOS! Well done! Marcia in Cali
It’s like a switch has been flicked here in Chicago and its hello fall. Broken out my cable knit pillows which I have added to your link party…thanks for hosting!
SARAH! I am so envious! Learning to surf is #7 on my bucket list! Love that footage!
Thank you so much for being the hostess with the mostest!
Kerry at housetalkn.blogspot.com
makes me think that putting a video together for each season would be easier than sorting through endless photos each month…….
the switch has been flicked up this way too. Glorious… have been on the phone this morning organising latest batch of children to get into Nippers…… Gosh I LOVE summer! xx
Great video Sarah AND great song choice! LOVE Lisztomania!! That song always gets at least a toe tapping or head bobbing. Very cool! Thanks for hosting. I linked up some very tasty scones this week. I put blueberries in mine, they were delicious. Very nice with a cup of tea. Enjoy the beginning of Spring! : )
~ Catie
Funny round world. While I am linking up walks through Autumnal cemeteries, you are getting a Spring fix. Well it warms the heart to see the sun. And you always makes me want to live closer to the sea. But alas, I have no beach, but lovely hills in my backyard. Thanks for the linky, it was fun to link up again (glad you got it sorted out).
xx Marianne
It’s so cold today here back in Blighty, the photo of your beach looks so gorgeous I could cry! Thanks for adding some sunshine to my day (even if I am extremely jealous!)
love love love your video! she should get commission from the Australian tourist board or something, because I bet every one who watches it want to move there!
You have reminded me that I want to put together a video. I want to start making them each year so my son has a fun, visual keepsake of his childhood.
Well done! (although I was starting to get dizzy watching it. tee hee.)
Just curious…how cold does it get in your part of Australia during the winter time? From your photos it appears to be very little difference between winter and spring…scenry wize. I cetainly didn’t see any ice or snow…so I’m guess’n there isn’t any of the white stuff.
Loved your video!
You really are so clever and creative and I envy the fact that you know what it is you are good at and are meant to be doing.
Floundering here trying to work out what it is I am meant to be doing other than mothering.
I have to chuckle though when you say winter in Sydney. Come to Tassie in winter and then you will really know what winter is
lurker here!! Loved the video!! How did you do that? If I attempted something like that I am certain it would take me weeks… actually I’d probably get frustrated and give-up after a few days!!
Just l o v e d the video Sarah. That music is the icing on the cake, fantastic. (Thanks Catie, I now know it’s Lisztomania.)
Thank you for showing our overseas readers how we toughed it out this winter. It certainly made me smile at the end of the work day. Can we have more…not all the time…every now and then…just to keep it special?
G'day! I'm Sarah, I live in a tatty old cottage, near the sea in Australia with a battered old deck & a big old fig tree out the back...stripped wooden floors, old sash windows & a jumble of vintage furniture. [Read More …]
Beach Cottage ladies, we have some vintage linen and some wood/twig washed up on the beach today here in Beach Cottage Land….don’t say I don’t keep you entertained now will you . Come on in. So, yep I have posted about colanders on this blog, about things sourced from the side of the road, about [...]
G'day ladies, let's have a Too Easy Beach Cottage recipe yeah? The original place for Too Easy Recipes on the web ;-)
So, after my last salad went down a storm in my inbox, that's here if you missed it, I had to do this one seeing as I make it most weeks.
There is a problem with this salad and kiddos though...it looks, well, it looks, kinda yucky...but once they try it, they'll ask if and when they are next having it....at least that's what happens in this ratty old cottage...but I must interject here that my kiddos are 'good eaters'? ...they didn't get a choice in that ;-)
Now, stop, don't start running and hitting that next on your blog reading list, pulses are your best friend in the Too Easy Dump & Go kitchen for the busy mum, or busy anyone for that matter...that reminds me I must blog the garlic canneloni Go To for when you forgot to do dinner, feel like a bath but have three ravenous young Beach Cottage Kiddos on your hands...another day.
I am almost embarrassed to tell you how easy this is, we have it so much that I always have a couple, make that six, cans of lentils around and a jar of goat's cheese in the fridge...the great thing about this is that it's all too easy to get ready in just a few minutes, but it looks, tastes and seems like you did oh so very much more than that.
You can obviously too change it up a bit depending on what you have to hand in your kitchen, and I must say that is how I settled on this version...because one day when I made it I didn't have enough Parsley in the garden and so I chucked in some basil too, and liked the Summer feel it added.
I think of this as being a rather posh salad, not sure why, because it couldn't really be further from the truth...the great thing is that it works so well for an average run of the mill day, (when I did this for this blog post, it was a hot Sydney Sunday and I did it just simply to go with Rosemary & Garlic stuffed pork, you can see that pork here),
...but just as easily it works on a regular old Wednesday night when you have lost all enthusiasm for rustling up yet another meal, or indeed on Saturday night, when your friends are on their way over for dinner and you my friend, are in your new vintage inspired clawfoot bathtub (that's me in a few weeks time, k?) without any clothes on, a tipple and no idea what to cook for dinner...
I have a complicated and ever-changing relationship with goat's cheese...it never fails me in its performance and it never fails to impress me (you can find out a bit more on what I like in food here if you like) and I kinda collect it...because it's very easy to collect and has a fairly long fridge-life, I love trying out different ones and there's not many things I love more than goat's cheese on sourdough...but I think the best thing about it is not thinking about it exclusively in the toast/salad department...I've stuffed it in chicken and all sorts of things as a last minute and it's been fab.
But let's get down to the nitty gritty of this super salad that makes you look like an angel who has been on her knees all day scrubbing the front step when really you are in the digital world and spent most of ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, howdy, howdy howdy today for a Beach Cottage Too Easy recipe.
If you like cake, cream, sugar and chocolate, make this.
This is, rather than a recipe, a putting it together...as you know I am no dessert maker, but, I do make quite a few sweet things, because, somehow I have ended up with kiddos, who in their roles as offspring, believe that part of the deal, is that not only do I feed them a home-cooked meal with a few homegrown ingredients in there, yes, they also believe that dessert and not the kind that comes out of a packet is included too in this All-Inclusive Deal they call Parenthood.
So, this, for sure, is no culinary masterpiece, but if you are looking for something that is so very easy, dump-able, uses everyday ingredients and at the same time makes you look like you spent hours pulling things together plus tastes good....well, then this is for you.
Best though, you don't make this for yourself, if you have spent the most part of your week sitting on your derriere reading blogs...this my friend ain't low in the calories department...if, however, you are treating yourself to a delight in a mason jar, this is so for you.
I first had a version of this when at dinner back in Old Blighty with a girl, I once, in another life, caught the train up from our village to London with...she was a funny thing really...I am not quite sure how we got on...she was kinda prissy and a bit bothered by too much...I would run to the train flustered, having got up late, and she would have a spreadsheet on the train times, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, a few years later when we both had bambinos, I bumped into her again and we met up for playdates and dinner sometimes....this particular night, after a lovely meal she served up little bowls of creamy, cakey fruity stuff topped off with chocolate flake...it was delicious!
She didn't serve hers in little jars like this, hers were in a champagne glass and not quite so layered as these ones, plus she used tinned fruit not fresh or frozen.
Years later when said offspring kept requesting dessert, one day I wangled together somehow these from what was around in the fridge and they've been with us ever since.
Most likely, if you ever come here for dinner, and shock horror, you dont' bring the dessert with you, this, if you are lucky, will be what you will get.
Throw it all together, sprinkle a lil bit of chocolate on the top and the blog reading past-time you so rudely left in order to make this, is my friend, your oyster.
Beach Cottage Too Easy Layered Raspberry, Cream & Sponge Dessert
1 small maderia or butter cake or a pack of cupcakes (or of course make your own)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
8 tbsp fruit
1 x chocolate Flake or chocolate bar for grating
1. beat the cream cheese until it is soft
2. whip the cream until soft peaks form
3. combine & add the sugar through
4. cut your cake into portions
& layer into the bottom of your jar
5. add a tablespoon of fruit
6. layer on top the cream combo
7. repeat
8. grate chocolate or Flake on top
*Beach Cottage Recipe Notes : this is just a guide really, you can use any cream that you have on hand...I have made this with clotted cream (don't even go there unless you want to seriously get these babies on your thighs), with double cream and I have even, in desperate times squirted in that, ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, well I thought it was time for some blogging tips here today, alongside a few nice flowers and shells ;-)
I was recently part of a blogger discussion group over at Kidspot and a couple of hours later had a few questions from girls who couldn't make it to the live chat, one was on my Facebook page and one via email, the Facebook one I will deal with in another Real Girl Blogging Tips post...the email one asked me what essentials do I think every blog needs?
Well I have been around here for a while now doing the blogging thing, so I should know this, yeah and I mused this on my walk by the sea this morning I thought well what do you only need?
...I think it is really very easy when blogging, whether or not you are blogging up there in the lofty heights of the Super Bloggers or you are just dipping your toe in the water, to get side-tracked by 101 million different things that are 'essential' to your blog and if you are someone like me who actually gets a thrill from reading blogging tips then you are in an even worse place because you will find yourself literally buzzing with these essential things to add/do/implement on your blog.
However, walking along, gulping down that brisk sea air today (no sunshine & clouds) I thought you actually don't need any of that professional blogging stuff to be successful...but there are a few things that are pretty much crucial ...and once I started to think about it I got it down to about 5 - these are the only things that you need to concentrate on...once you have read through take a look at some of the big girl's blogs...you'll see that actually they don't have bundles of stuff on their blogs...but they do have all of these...
So here are my top things that your blog must have
1. About Page
There are all sorts of About Pages out there, and if you search on it there are many different tips and ideas for what to have on yours
Whatever blogging platform you use, adding an About Me Page is easy, quick and simple and will do everything to grow your blog.
I like a long-ish About Page, I am inherently nosy and I like to know a bit more about the person but at the least you should have on it your name and where you are located. I also think a photo is good too...over the last year or so I think this has become more important in blogging - if you are hesitant about that as I was, you can try using sunglasses or a behind shot until you get comfortable.
There is nothing worse than stumbling upon a new blog and going to find out more to only be faced with a piddly little one liner About Me Page...well there is something worse, not having one at all!
2. Contact Page
The chances are someone, somewhere will want to contact you and you will be surprised what lands in your inbox once you put yourself out there on the world wide web with a blog.
Many bloggers also use this page to include details for PR's/brands that may want to contact them and some bloggers put their stats on there too.
A short, to the point and simple Contact Page works really well...whenever I have wanted to contact another blogger I am often very busy and have limited time so I don't want to hang around sifting through information looking for an email address, so concise and clear ...
G'day lovely Beach Cottage lovelies.
So, yeah, so on a roll people, so on a roll.
I feel kinda home accessory wired right now.
I am always telling people, if anyone ever listens, that blogging is all about passion, not that sort of passion, but about passion that makes one tick.
Things like this make me tick tick boom.
I love finding things that suit my budget and let me treat my home but look amazing too.
So without further adieu I introduce you, ladies of the beach, to the blue vintage glasses that I have been stroking for about a week or two now...
These glasses are from a little boutique I sometimes happen upon, this boutique sells also pet accessories, carpet cleaner, bras and compost...it's quite unique though.
And, thanks to my friend Marnie (she blogs over here, go take a look at her praying position, interesting), who just so happens to be one day having me over for a lil' Greek dinner, has let me in on the fact that we call Kmart....The KMart...with an accent ....as in 'I love The KMart'...just like her MIL does. Oh yeah. Love that.
So I have had my eye on reproduction vintage glass blue wine glasses and being trying to find real true vintage blue glasses for like ever.
Oh yes I have spied them in Frenchy boutiques, I have lusted after them in stores that I shouldn't even enter and I have put them back pretty quickly in those shops with the hand-written price tags. C'mon, you know the ones.
And, though all of the above have tempted me, muchly, really, even with my wardrobe stashing skills I just thought that, actually, I'd rather be saving that casherooni for our next trip overseas..
Hello The KMart.
Tick Tick Boom
Vintage style blue wine glasses.
Do not come to my old place and think you might pick up one of these and smile with pleasure at their handblown quality, their weight, and be secretly jealous that my wine glasses cost more than your car...friend, that would not happen...these do not feel like that...indeed these in a funny way reminded me of my baby girl, she was a tiny little thing, with stick legs, the tinsssssssiest ankles and wrists you ever did see, she slept sideways in her cot wedged in between rolled up blankets and would only settle attached to Mr Beach Cottage or I or a (dirty) pj top of mine scrunched up under her nose...the first few times I picked her up to cuddle, being used to Honeymoon Baby who weighed in at 9lbs at birth and has never really stopped growing, I nearly threw her little bird-cum-rat down covered body over my shoulder.
These glasses are like that...be careful or you might lose your wine down the front of your shirt.
But oh baby, we are not talking picking up here, we are not talking quality, we are not talking house accessory snobbery.
Beach Cottage ladies, we are talking aesthetics.
And this is what I need in my cottage.
Blue vintage style glass, paired with coastal / nautical / beach stuff on my deck.
It's The KMart.
Tune in tomorrow, tomorrow, I have more budget foofing for your home, or maybe it will be the dress that wraps me up in supermarket-chic and makes me feel like me again.
Good Day to you my friends, wanna come hang out on my deck, talk house accessories, The KMart and drink some wine from blue glasses?
Sarah
G'day! I'm Sarah, I live in a tatty old cottage, near the sea in Australia with a battered old deck & a big old fig tree out the back...stripped wooden floors, old sash windows & a jumble of vintage furniture.
LOVE the colors in the first picture.
Is the linky thing on here???
Great video! Who cut and put the film together?
P.S. Sarah, the title says “Linky Party” but the usual “Add your link” gadget is not here……
Hi Zosia
I put it together…a one woman show round here lol!
xo
I loved the ballet flats part and the surfing and the driving and the music….and all the other bits too
.
thanks!
We are saying goodbye to summer and experiencing our first day of fall weather today. Enjoy that wonderful spring weather.
LOVED the video. You are so clever. Maybe you could give a tutorial on how you did this. It is just fantastic. Have a great day. The sun is shining and summer is calling. Leahx
thanks Leah…it’s just lots of photos put together with a soundtrack added…we are doing family ones and I thought one for my blog might be nice too!
xo
Hello Sarah
Gosh you are a wonder aren’t you – it is true – there is nothing a woman can’t do.
But YOU do it so well!
must be a cyber glitch going on today and I know it will be fixed – so I check back later.
have a wonderful day
x
Loulou
Super cool video!
Hi Sarah! I have never commented here, but have been a loyal follower for a couple of years now! I love reading your blog and have to say may live a little vicariously through you. I wish I had the guts to move to Australia and live in a tatty, old, CHARMING cottage on the beach!!! I live in Massachusetts, USA, and was out shopping at Kohls, which is a department store here, and found the most darling summer dress on sale which made me instantly think of you
I snapped one up on the spot of course, but thought that you might want to check it out, seeing as your summer is just beginning as mine is ending. I can attest that it is extremely comfortable and luxuriously soft. The muted lavender/grey color, polk-a-dots, and French-country influenced design made me think that maybe this would be the dress that would inspire you to branch out and wear a dress, I noticed that you recently tried wearing a skirt and seemed to like it;) Check it out and let me know what you think! I absolutely fell in love with it and I am not one to wear dresses all too often!!! I can picture you strolling around a yard sale on a Sunday morning doning your oversized sunnies and this breezey number 
http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/landingpages/elle/dresses/PRD~902482/ELLE+PolkaDot+Pintuck+Dress.jsp
thanks for the blog love!
loved the dress…ahem the model helps alot!!!
xo
Just writing to say that I made your 40 garlic chicken last night and it was a huge hit, I don’t think I will cook a chicken any other way again!
so jealous! summer here is over:-( time to move somewhere where it’s always warm;-)
The quintessential Aussie vid. Love it! Australia is such a beautiful, beautiful place. Well done. x
omg omg, sarah. teach me to make a vid like this for my blog!!!
brilliant, and you had me totally grooving and feeling your beachtastic aussie vibe and wowwwwwww. loved it! make more! and teach me those mad skillz.
you are amazing.
michele
g’day michelle
it’s really easy…I just put it together on the computer movie maker…just lots of photos together and music
xo
Oh Sarah. The lovely images with that great music..call me a sop but I had a tear in my eye..and now a new resolution has been born in this here house on this (currently) rugby-mad rugby-obsessed side of the Tasman…to take more family photos of of us doing everyday ‘stuff”. Now where is that camera of mine!
Awesome, Phoenix would be lucky to have you direct their next music video! Can’t wait to get a real camera and do the same x
Mmmm winter video is great!!
Susie
Loving the video and the ocean as always !
Sarah I have to say that you really did a fantastic job on your video! The end result isn’t as easy as some people may think, so KUDOS! Well done! Marcia in Cali
It’s like a switch has been flicked here in Chicago and its hello fall. Broken out my cable knit pillows which I have added to your link party…thanks for hosting!
SARAH! I am so envious! Learning to surf is #7 on my bucket list! Love that footage!
Thank you so much for being the hostess with the mostest!
Kerry at housetalkn.blogspot.com
It’s my first visit here and I love what I’m seeing! Thanks for hosting the party, I’ve just joined it! Going to check out some more of your blog now!
Loved the video Sarah. That looks like the kind of winter I could enjoy!
Jeannie
oh Sarah that was great. I loved the dancing bit in your ballet flats lol. Both my little boy and daughter enjoyed it too. loved it!
How cool is that!! You are a woman with many talents!!
Cool music!! What soundtrack is it from?
Great Video Sarah…… loved it all……. FUN
makes me think that putting a video together for each season would be easier than sorting through endless photos each month…….
the switch has been flicked up this way too. Glorious… have been on the phone this morning organising latest batch of children to get into Nippers…… Gosh I LOVE summer! xx
love it xxx
So cute!!!
Great video Sarah AND great song choice! LOVE Lisztomania!! That song always gets at least a toe tapping or head bobbing. Very cool! Thanks for hosting. I linked up some very tasty scones this week. I put blueberries in mine, they were delicious. Very nice with a cup of tea. Enjoy the beginning of Spring! : )
~ Catie
Great video. Thanks for hosting Sarah.
x Marnie
Such a great little video! Looks like you had a great winter! You have me coveting stripey shirts, I need more of them in my life!
I love your video! So much fun, and love… i like it,- and I like the song … I like all of it !
Have a nice day!
Enjoyed the video.
that was awesome! thankyou so much! loved, loved, loved it!
great vid! really great!
Funny round world. While I am linking up walks through Autumnal cemeteries, you are getting a Spring fix. Well it warms the heart to see the sun. And you always makes me want to live closer to the sea. But alas, I have no beach, but lovely hills in my backyard. Thanks for the linky, it was fun to link up again (glad you got it sorted out).
xx Marianne
sarah…
i LOVED that movie…seriously watched it twice…
you will look back on that in years to come & smile & smile & smile!!!
who is the band & what is the name of that fab song- it worked perfectly with your images & set a real tone of happy reflection on your past winter…
which by the way- is not at all winter- as we both know!!
we’ve just hit autumn here yesterday- blustery & leaves literally throwing themselves off the trees!
melissa….LOVED it!!
x
wow I loved that, capture Aus for me, so much to see!
Oh yeah!!!!
Loved the video so much.
I loved seeing the flowers with the sea and the blue sky
Just awesome really
It’s so cold today here back in Blighty, the photo of your beach looks so gorgeous I could cry! Thanks for adding some sunshine to my day (even if I am extremely jealous!)
Can’t wait to see what everyone came up with.
Great video, Sarah. It really showcased your lovely country and your sweet Beach Life. Great job. Thanks for hosting this fun party.
~Lynn
love love love your video! she should get commission from the Australian tourist board or something, because I bet every one who watches it want to move there!
That is a great video! Thanks for hosting today!
-Shelley
You have reminded me that I want to put together a video. I want to start making them each year so my son has a fun, visual keepsake of his childhood.
Well done! (although I was starting to get dizzy watching it. tee hee.)
Just curious…how cold does it get in your part of Australia during the winter time? From your photos it appears to be very little difference between winter and spring…scenry wize. I cetainly didn’t see any ice or snow…so I’m guess’n there isn’t any of the white stuff.
Oh Sarah you are wasted – you should be a film producer for bands! I laughed out loud at your speeded up video – ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!
Loved, loved, loved the video!!!! Thank you so much for posting it. That had to take some time to put together???!?!
Loved your video!
You really are so clever and creative and I envy the fact that you know what it is you are good at and are meant to be doing.
Floundering here trying to work out what it is I am meant to be doing other than mothering.
I have to chuckle though when you say winter in Sydney. Come to Tassie in winter and then you will really know what winter is
haha I have had enough Winter’s in good old Kent to last me a lifetime thanks!!! Sydney Winter’s are just fine for me now…so hard hahahahhahahhahahhah
xxoox
Oh yeah I forgot for a minute you were an english gal
I will ease up on you in that case. Ha ha.
lurker here!! Loved the video!! How did you do that? If I attempted something like that I am certain it would take me weeks… actually I’d probably get frustrated and give-up after a few days!!
hey lurker kathy
it’s actually really really simple…you just put together still pictures in movie maker or similar and add music…
I just worked on it bit by bit here and there and had fun with it
x
Just l o v e d the video Sarah. That music is the icing on the cake, fantastic. (Thanks Catie, I now know it’s Lisztomania.)
Thank you for showing our overseas readers how we toughed it out this winter. It certainly made me smile at the end of the work day. Can we have more…not all the time…every now and then…just to keep it special?
alison
so many links, looks like i am going to sound the night playing catch up.