Peanut Butter Pillows

Yesterday, we went on a little hunt around Melbourne to find the book Vegan Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar. I already have Vegan Cupcakes take over the World. It is definitely my faveeee vegan baking book. The cupcake varieties are delish and the recipes are fool-proof, so of course i was pretty keen to find its cookie-counterpart! Sadly, we were unsuccessful, so I ordered it online. Hopefully it comes soooooon! While I wait, I decided to make these Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows! Me oh my, they are so good! i tried them once before, but accidentally burnt them a little. This batch was perfect! Crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside!




They are by no means healthy, and are rather fiddly to make, but they are such a yummy treat!



You can find the recipe over here!

Winter Loves

Most seasons, I spend winter wishing it was summer, summer wishing it was winter, etc. This year, however, I made a little pact to myself to just enjoy each and every season as it comes. And so far, so good! I am loving winter! These are my faves:

Raindrops on everything

Cinnamon porridge for breakfast

Collecting firewood

My snazzy winter coat

Nutmeg's snazzy winter coat! haha so cute

Jonquills

Gumbies!

Hardenburgia

Winter woolies

The first bulbs popping up

Everything is greeeeen!

Etsy Loves

I just love etsy! When I used to do a boring old admin job, I used to waste way too much time looking through all the pretty listings. These are a few of my favourites at the moment:

If only these boots were two sizes bigger!

I love stackable rings! And these ones are my favourite colours!

This handmade peter pan collar dress!

 

This vintage peter pan collar dress!

And this super lovely embroidered top from here, which I just bought! I can’t wait for it to arrive!

sew darn sweet

For my birthday a few months ago, my darlin’ little sister put together the sweetest present for me! She collected all kinds of sewing necessities and made me a little sewing kit!



She got this old second-hand basket and lined it with doilies! Then she sewed a little piece of embroidery to the top! So pretty.



She filled it with all kinds of sewing things. But my favourites are the little salt and pepper pin cushions!



This is such a great idea! All you need is the prettiest salt and pepper shakers you can find, and some cotton wool or stuffing. Take the bottoms off the shakers and stuff as much wool as possible through the holes. Squish it in nice and tight so the pins will stand up.



The shakers can hold quite a lot of pins and are a great way to put something old to use again, especially as no one uses salt and pepper shakers anymore!

Dresses!

Over the past few weeks I have been busy sew sew sewing. I am planning on opening my own little etsy shop sometime soon. I plan on using mainly recycled fabrics, with a focus on the environment and sustainability. There will be floral fabric, lace and peter pan collars a-plenty! Yay! Hopefully it will be up and running in the next few weeks!

live exports

While there has been no solution to the live exports debate, media coverage seems to have died down a bit recently. Articles which are being published seem to mainly focus on the situation for farmers and people who work in the industry.

If anything, I’ve been kind of surprised by the public outcry over the Four Corners footage. 90% of Australians eat meat. I’ve always kind of imagined that people just don’t really think animals have feelings, or if they do, they just don’t care. The public response was amazing. I think it’s a really great sign and it gives me hope for animal rights in the future. I didn’t actually see the program. I knew it was on, but I chose not to watch it. I guess I didn’t really see the point – it’s a subject I already feel strongly about and would only get upset by.

Personally, I think the immediate suspension of live exports was the right step to take. Sure it’s not particularly rational or well thought out, but it sends such a clear and direct message that unnecessary animal cruelty is not okay. I just hope it’s a serious sign of a commitment to end the cruelty to Australian exported animals, not just a way to quieten down an issue until it’s forgotten by the general public.

I think, if anything, it’s the response to the suspension that has upset me most. Immediately, media started focusing on the conditions for cattle being held in pens, at the docks, with nowhere to go. It was depicted as being some kind of act of cruelty that cows were being kept in terrible conditions, without adequate water, feed or room to move. Of course it is cruel and horrible, but to suggest that such a situation is worse than being kept in similar conditions while being exported, and then tortured to death, is ridiculous.

We soon started hearing about the farmers and their families who would be affected by a ban on live exports. Of course some people will suffer financially from such a ban and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. But, I do think that when you breed and raise animals, you have a kind of duty of care for their wellbeing. The general response seems to have been, “we didn’t know this was happening”. I’m sure they didn’t know, but surely it wouldn’t have been too hard to find out that Indonesia just doesn’t have laws regarding animal cruelty. I feel like it should have been their responsibility to find out what happened to their animals after they were loaded onto boats. As far as I’m aware, the majority of animals go to markets, where they can be bought either privately, or by an abattoir. In a country without laws to protect animal rights, this in itself is irresponsible.

I know live exports is a huge industry. It’s worth about $1.8 billion to the Australian economy. But I think that this issue is much more important than that. If Australia believes that the economy is more important than ending unnecessary, repeated pain and suffering, I think it’s time we reassessed our priorities.

Peter Pan!

Recently, I have been trying to be a more ethical shopper! I've been buying handmade presents and all my clothes second hand. But oh my allll these Topshop peter pan collars are a little hard to resist!