I love making lists.  I have a collection of lists, such as: a grocery shopping list.  a wonderful Zimpad  notebook listing the things I need to do around the house and garden.   a reminder list on my phone for those little tasks which need to be done out and about.   a work notebook with my 'to do' and project lists.   And so it was a revelation for me when I listened to Happier in Hollywood podcast where the hosts, Sarah Fain and Liz Craft debated the merits of bullet journals.  Sarah Instagrammed a photo of her bullet journal and on searching through Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest I found hundreds of examples. What is a bullet journal ?  It's essentially a notebook, used to dump thoughts and organise yourself, in the creative format of your choice. So I tried to blend my lists together into one notebook but  found it really difficult to do.  Also, my creativity extended to little check boxes, and looked n...

My mother-in-law is wonderfully crafty.  She quilts, knits, sews  and creates beautiful art.   She has a stall  at  Craftworld  in West Auckland, a big warehouse-like real life version of Etsy. Auckland is not short of craft markets, from Matakana  market in the North to Clevedon Village markets   in the South.  Alas, I am not crafty in the least but I do like to admire the skill of independent sellers so we went to the General Collective   market at the ASB showgrounds.  The turnout was massive, we spent ages  trying to find a parking space. The variety of stalls and goods was vast, from children's toys to lovely ceramics.  I  also discovered Felt  - an online marketplace for New Zealand made goods, where many of the exhibitors sell their wares. There were lots of food  trucks and stalls too.  We had empanadas from Sabores  and cakes from  Scratch .   It was a lovely day out. ...

Teatime treats on a Sunday?  Scones are perfect.  Here is a delicious recipe that I got from my cousin Jenny, a legend in the kitchen.  Check out her scrumptious scones  on Instagram. Jenny's Scones Ingredients: 225g plain flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 teaspoons baking powder 2 tablespoons caster sugar 55g butter 3/4 cup milk, water and 1 beaten egg mix Method: 1.  Preheat oven to 200'C (180'C for a fan-oven) 2.  Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl and add the sugar. 3.  Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. 4.  Add the milk mix and knead lightly into a soft dough. 5.  Toss with floured hands until smooth, then roll out about 2cm thick & cut into rounds. 6.  Bake for 10-15 mins.  Serve with strawberry jam and cream Sunday scones