Christine Centenera

What is a blog without a post about our home grown fashion star Christine Centenera. She can hardly do no wrong. Some outfits are very outlandish but I still love that she has the confidence to wear it, fashion is all about confidence and she is fashion. Centenera is often on the world stage and photographed in many different countries but most times she in a piece from one of the many amazing Aussie designers including her incredibly talented partner Josh Goot. Since stepping up this year from fashion editor of Harpers Bazaar to senior fashion editor of Vogue Australia the fashion bible to many many girls and guys, she has really hit the limelight. Even though she is possibly Australia's most fashionable identity she seems to be quite modest with it, she has only recently made an Instagram account. 
I find that Centenera wears a lot of black and navy which I can relate to heaps. Anyone can pull it off and wearing it right can always look so chic. 
 Here are some of my favourite outfits Christine has pulled off recently...

2011 but I still love it

The best easiest pie ever!

Lemon Meringue Pie is my all time favourite!! It's up there with my Sticky Date Pudding but around this time of year it takes the cake, well pie. I only started baking it this year and never thought I would actually like it. Well I love it and probably bake it monthly. When I first began to bake it I followed a recipe off the net but now I just make it to what I think works best. I have used 3 different recipes in the past and kind of combined them all a bit to make it the easiest and quickest way. It is really easy to make and will only take about 20 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to bake.
So here it goes, preheat oven to 180 degrees.
For the base of the pie I just use packet mixed biscuit base by white wings, super easy just melt about 4 tablespoons of butter per pack and mix it in. I use two packets to insure I get a good amount and enough to go up the sides of my 20cm tart tin. I just put it all in the tin once its mixed and push it down with CLEAN hands! Then chill it for about 15 minutes.

The filling is the most time consuming, yet it isn't (make sense?). You will need:
-Juice of 2 lemons (makes about 1/2 a cup which is the amount you will want)
-Zest of two lemons
-3 egg yolks (keep whites for the meringue)
-1 395g can of Condensed Milk
Add the lemon and eggs into a saucepan not heated and whisk together, once combined add the condensed milk and turn on a low heat. Continue whisking until all is combined well and add the zest, mix for a little bit longer. Set aside until the base has chilled for 15 minutes and then add to base.

The meringue is very straight forward. You will need 5 egg whites and half a cup of caster sugar. Plus a little bit more to sprinkle over the top. Use the 3 egg whites left over for the filling and an extra 2. You could just use 3 egg whites but I like a high meringue. You will need to beat this on high and gradually add the sugar. The meringue must be stiff and thick. Like it would not even slide off a spoon. Spread out the meringue, adding it by spoonful onto the top of the pie, ensuring to cover all of the filling. I can never make the cool little peaks with a spoon so I just spread it out and leave it, sprinkle a bit of caster sugar over the top to make sure it goes hard. Put it in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the top is nice and golden brown.
You can let it cool down before serving or just eat it straight away. I like it better the next day, after it has been refrigerated over night, but it doesn't really matter.
Enjoy! Leave me with a comment of something you want me to make, love trying to new recipes. Well reading them and then making up my own :)

Addicted

Online Shopping... what more can I say. It is amazing and you can always find the cheapest outfits.
I am a sucker for cheap clothes - that way you can have more! I have a lot of online stores bookmarked, that I check nearly daily to see what new goodies they have.
A few of my favourite are:
Hello Parry - this store is my favourite at the moment. It has a lot of black and white peices, which are my essentials. Loving the wrap skirts and quilted leather shorts at the moment.
Esther Boutique - Esther has a lot of dresses that are very up to trends and at a good price. The average dress is about $60.
Princess Polly - I think about nearly everyone knows about Princess Polly, but I still love it. A lot of the dresses are i.d.s which I love but the only bad thing is that the price is marked up quite a bit. I.d.s is not an expensive brand, if you buy off the Ids website you can get peices a lot cheaper then PP. The ids website just doesn't haven't all the stock. With PP I also recommend going into a store if it is near. For a dress that was online for $70 I got in store for $30.
IDS - Pretty much explained above, really good if you find something you like. I bought a dress off here for $25 and on the Princess Polly website it was and still is $60. Ids also nearly always have some sort of sale on, right now they have 20% off sale items. Be sure to sign up so you get emails of the sales they have on.
Light in the box - Wow, I am so happy I once saw a friend browsing this store because it is the best. I'm not usually one for international sellers due to shipping times and the price but this one is an exception. It isn't just a fashion store it is everything, they even have wedding dresses at amazing prices, that can be made for your measurements. When I do get engaged my whole wedding will be off this site!
ASOS - Good old asos, you really can't go wrong here. Awesome prices and heaps to chose from. Always have good sale stock, just sucks when there is never your size.
Dissh - Dissh is a lot like Esther, sometimes they even have the same stock. Good prices and it's always good to shop around for the best price. They stock a lot of different brands too like by johnny, cameo, samantha wills, maurie & eve just to name a few.
About a girl - About a girl is full of brands in one shop. With MINKPINK, Evil Twin, Mika & Gala, Somedays Lovin, UNIF and heaps more. You will never have to go to another shopping centre again!
eBay - Everyone knows about eBay but some people don't look hard enough. Just type in whatever you are looking for and have patience.
Lookbook Store - This is an eBay store and I love it. Loads of items and at good prices. You can get everything here and finish outfits with accessories and shoes too. Unfortunately because it is an Asian seller a lot of the clothes are one size and shoes are usually a size smaller then what you expect, which can be very annoying sometimes.

If you know of any online stores I should check out comment below!
Happy shopping guys and I apologise for the work out your bank accounts will be getting.

Princess Polly

Light in the box

Esther Boutique

Dissh

About a girl

I.D.S

ASOS

Hello Parry

Look Book Store

eBay - Lets Party Store

My Sancturary

Jewelery box was a 21st gift. Glass jars from target. Mirror is from an Asian shop in Fountain Gate.

Frames from Target and Reject Shop. Candles from Sportsgirl and Sugarbaby.

Photo board from Kmart.

Paris print from Target.

Vintage candle holder. Lamps from Target. Boxes & candle holder from Kmart. Elephant earring holder from Target.

Bed spread from Target.

Most of my frames are from Target or Reject Shop. Storage boxes are from Howards Storage World. Necklace holder is from Target.

I love my room, it isn't quite finished though. I still have to get new curtains and a full length mirror or something big for my back corner. I started to change it all about a year ago now and I just love to wake up in it everyday. I also love a clean room and I can't sleep if I know my room is messy. I wanted to do my room for ages but couldn't afford too, so I took the opportunity of my birthday and Christmas being close to hassle the family for some new furniture. My mum bought me my bed and dad bought the side tables for my birthday and my brother bought me my drawers for Christmas. They are from IKEA and are really easy to put together, I love flat packs! I made everything by myself except for the bed which my brother had to help me put together.
I think having a black, white and grey theme is simple and shades are a lot easier to work with, you can always add a splash of colour with an ornament or bed covers. I tried to go for a shabby chic look and just have it relaxed. I don't like super modern looks, even though crisp lines are very nice. I just seem to find it can look quite heavy and bedrooms need to be the opposite. I'm a sucker for vintage pieces and the look of French provincial but it can become pretty pricey.
The biggest feature in my room is my amazing striped wall and it's my favorite part of my whole room. My walls were once pink (yuck) so my boyfriend and I chose a grey that is a bit lilac as well and painted my whole room. We then chose a darker grey for the stripes. I will make a post on how to do it after this. It is really quite simple and will just take a committed day.
Jewellery is a big thing for me and I have a lot of it. There are pieces everywhere - hanging on my wall, in glass candy jars, jewellery boxes and a few in boxes in my wardrobe. Just everywhere really and I always seem to find more hidden somewhere when I do a big clean. It's good to rediscover things I once thought was lost.
I adore my room and I love to come in here once Malachi is in bed and just relax, watch shows on my laptop and just lie in bed. It is my sanctuary.

Cherry Pie

So it probably wasn't the smartest idea to make a cherry pie on the hottest day ever, seeing as the oven makes the kitchen heaps hotter. We have our own cherry tree so whenever they are ready we pick them all and make a pie. Which is awesome because cherries are about $13 for a kilo, it is very pricey especially when you need a kilo of cherries for the pie. I made this pie once and every since I've made up my own recipe which I do a lot, I kind of just wing it. I hate making pastry, when I make my own it is never right so I always use Pampas Shortcrust pastry but I really couldn't be bothered going to the shops to buy some and I have everything I needed in my pantry to make my own.

So if you want to make this yourself this is what you will need and need to do;
Preheat oven 220 degrees and butter a pie tin.  
For the filling:

• 1kg of destoned cherries. Like I said luckily we have our own tree but if you don't want to spend the money on fresh cherries you can buy them in a can and the even better part of that is they are already destoned.
• 3/4 cup of caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of mixed spice
• 2 tbsp of cornflour
• 2 tbsp of water

For the pastry I would highly suggest just using Pampas Shortcrust pastry but if you're feeling it, I'll give you a good pastry recipe I just used because I had no shortcrust pastry.
Pastry:

• 1 cup of plain flour
• 1/4tsp baking powder
• 1/2tsp mixed spice
• a bit of salt
• 1/4 caster sugar
• 50 grams of unsalted butter, make sure its at room temp and even slightly melted, but do not melt it in a microwave! Cut it up into squares.
• 1 egg beaten

 Sift flour, baking poweder and mixed spice. Stir in salt and sugar.  Rub butter in with fingers until it is all blended and kind of looks like breadcrumbs. Then make a well and add beaten egg. Stir with wooden spoon, shaped into ball and half it. Roll each half into balls and cover with glad wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins. After 30 mins roll out both balls and use one to cover the pie tin and the other cut into long strips to lattice the top.
For pampas just cover tin with pastry and slice another sheet into long strips for the top.

Before cooked

Destone cherries by cutting an 'x' into the tops of each cherry and push out stone. Try to keep the shape of the cherry. Be aware that it is very messy and may stain clothes. Half the cherries and put half into a saucepan with the sugar. Slowly heat it and stir until sugar dissolves. In a small bowl combine cornflour and water and add to cherries and sugar and stir until it boils and thickens. Once thickened take off heat and add the rest of cherries. Put filling into pie. Use the cut strips to lattice the top of pie. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes and take off foil and cook for another 15.
I didn't make enough pastry and had to use puff pastry I found in the freezer for the lattice so the final product won't look as good as it should, but it will still taste as good.





 

 Tastes AMAZING!

So this is it...

I have started a blog. Now that I'm here I'm not really sure of what to do or what to write about. I'll just talk about myself, I'm Editha. I am 21 and I have a soon to be 3 year old. Yes that means I had him at 18 and I am a teenage mum. I don't consider myself any less of a mother because I had him so young and I wouldn't change it for the world. My son made me grow up fast and I needed it! I am very lucky to have amazing support around me, from my parents and siblings, partner and my amazing friends. My parents help me a lot and I am so blessed. I still live at home which is awesome because I have support near me whenever I need it. Another thing is that my boyfriend/sons Dad is actually my next door neighbour. A lot of people know this if they know me well. It's how we met and it is perfect. Yes I am the 'girl next door' and the sometimes awkward part is I can see his whole house from my bedroom window. No hiding from me ;) 
Anyway this blog is going to be about so many different things and if you ever want to know anything or want me to blog a how to, just let me know. I bake a lot so there will be lots of food, mostly fattening haha.
Actually my first actual post will be making a Cherry Pie, so keep an eye out!
Enjoy guys.