Thelifeofclare Bracelets

I've started making and selling some plastic chain link bracelets.  I'm loving them.  And I've had such a positive reaction over instagram that I'm going to start an Etsy shop and take them to the local market.

If you are interested in buying one of these ones, please let me know.  I'm running low on some of the colours at the moment but have a heap more on the way.  They make such great statements, as they're wonderful bright colours.

How much do you love a great accessory?  And fantastic bright colours in the middle of our Australian winter?

Scrabble Letter Ring

I was feeling not very creative and wanted to get back in the groove of DIYing so I thought I'd do this super simple one.

Mum had found this box of scrabble letters and gave them to me knowing that I would find something to do with them.  It was a simple as picking the letter that I wanted, using a ring base and a hot glue gun.  Now I have a fun personalised ring!

Do you love quick and easy DIYs?  Love showing off your new pieces?  What is something you've made recently?

The Perfect Hair Cut

I'm struggling to find my perfect haircut, I've always had a lot of hair.

At only 13 days old I had this crazy thick black hair.

I tried the bob and straight fringe, the long hair with fringe, short with everything the same length type thing.  I have had red hair, blond hair, black hair.

 And then in my first year of university I did the shave for a cure.  I loved it but the growing back was just horrid.

 There was the growing-back-do (top two shots), even tried dreadlocks once (they washed out that very same day), and the braids with extensions in Thailand.

 This is how long it got before...

I chopped it all off in February 2011, just 12 months before my wedding, my hairdresser was horrified.

I've had the same hair dresser for my whole life, well since I was about 12.  She understands that I am a low maintenance kind of girl and that I like to mix it up.

Now this is what my hair is like right now, not too bad but not really good either.  I had a kid at school this week, tell me I looked like Daphne from Scooby Do.  I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but sometime soon it's going to get the chop.

I'm loving these two options which I found on a pair and a spare, and loved this post about how to get a good haircut. So hopefully soon, I will have found my perfect haircut.

Have you found your perfect haircut?  Are you in love with your hair style or wish it to be slightly different?

GF Chocolate Crack-Ups

I'm not gluten intolerant but so many of my friends have various dietary requirements.  One of my best friends is gluten and lactose intolerant, her partner is unable to eat fructose.  Another wonderful friend doesn't eat sugar and her fiancée can't eat yeast.  I love making delicious things that they can eat and after my quinoa cookies post, I received a comment from Daffodil from A Little Piece of Green, saying how much she loves using various flours I thought I'd post this recipe.

Now I bought this coconut flour from a wholefoods shop in Bundaberg ages ago and have only used it to make these cookies, so if you have any other suggestions, please do let me know.  I was told when I bought this flour that, as it is gluten free with no variation of that you cannot use it alone to bake with.  It wont hold things together.  If you've tried I would love to know.

CHOCOLATE CRACK-UPS

125g butter
6 tablespoons of cocoa
1 2/3 cups of sugar
2/3 cups of coconut flour
1 1/3 cups of gluten free plain flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1 teaspoon of baking powder
icing sugar

Melt the butter and stir in the cocoa, take off the stove and let cool slightly.  Add all the other ingredients and combine well.  Roll into small balls and then roll in icing sugar.  Place on baking tray, in 180 degree Celsius for about 10 minutes.

You can replace the coconut and GF flour with plain flour.

How do you go with catering for allergies, dietary requirements etc?

Fun Things To Read.

I was a hopeless blogger last week, with my blog planning totally out the window, I didn’t even look on bloglovin’, so now I’m about 200-something posts behind.  However, during my catch up today I found some great things that you should check out:

• I loving this hanging garden, I think it would make an awesome herb garden.
• I always love reading Delightfully Tacky, as I feel like she’s reading my mind when she posts.
• Love a good teacher present, so if any of my students or the parents are reading this... well feel free, I mean I know I'm only a relief teacher but I should get thanks too... RIGHT?!?!?!
• Love baking so these Lemon Poppy Seed cookies and these Funfetti Cupcakes sound just to die for.

There's just a few great blog posts of the week.  Let me know what you think.

Quinoa Choc Chip Cookies

I love using things that are a little out of the ordinary to bake sweet things with, so when I came across this Quinoa Choc Chip Cookie recipe I was so excite to give it a go.

½ cup rolled oats

¾ cup of quinoa

1 cup plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bi-carb soda

125gm butter

½ demerara sugar

½ cup brown sugar

¾ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180 Put oats and quinoa in food processor and blend until texture of ground almonds.  I tried this but during the processing my stick blender decided it no longer wanted to work so, it’s now broken, and I got chunky cookies.

Put this into a bowl and then add the flour, soda and baking powder.

Mix butter and both sugars until thick and pale.  Stir in cry ingredients to make a thick dough, then stir in chocolate chips.

Put table spoons of mixture onto trays and then into the oven for 10-12 mins.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I wasn't too sure how they were going to go but when I tried my first it was so good that I don't remember finishing it and going on to the second.

How do you feel about using unusual baking ingredients?

#LovelyLetters

I have received my #LovelyLetters partner.  However this week has been so busy, I haven't had a chance to write yet.  That's my plan for this weekend.

Mail in the letter box is such a lovely thing, it's so nice to discover an actual real letter amongst the bills and junk mail.  Handwriting letters is such a release for the soul, writing to someone you know but have never met is such a lovely thing.

So I look forward to both the writing and the receiving of these letters and there will be updates.