Where has Aunty been you may wonder? Well I have been busy stocktaking, rehashing the website and selling my business to a very lovely lady in Auckland who manages a Gourmet Food business.
Managing Aunty's has been an exciting project for me from the design & baking process to the sales & finance. Running your own business is not for the faint hearted and it tested my mettle many times but was duly rewarded with patience and hard work and created a product that will go far. I think everyone should try stepping out on there own even just to open your eyes and thicken your skin a little. Its a tough world out there at the moment and I admire everyone of my self employed buddies & mentors who are slogging it hard either growing their crops or crafting at home with kids running amok. We work harder than most but make it all seem so easy. Farewell Aunty's and thank you for letting me "Stick It To The Man" & indulge my creative side for 2 years.
Happy New Year to you! I sound like my mother here but 2011 FLEW by & was a whirlwind full of crazy, mad & good things. Especially a great year for new music. I mean a GREAT year for WOMEN in music too. So here are some of my favourite artist releases from 2011 in no particular order.
PJ HARVEY - LET ENGLAND SHAKE
I love the PEEJ and this album has a lot of play this past year. Its kinda an album of protest songs which can come across as terribly earnest but PJ Harvey pulls it off with patriotic power & brilliance.
KATE BUSH - 50 WORDS FOR SNOW
Hello Kate where have you been? I love you and listen to you so much especially when I am alone in the house and tipsy on the wines. My GF and I invented a Metal Kate Bush choreographed dance one night at the Green Room in Melbourne that is how much you are adored in my circle. Only Kate Bush could pull off a concept album about a snowman. Her weird winter wonderland is dedicated to Misty the slowly dissolving snowman. Check it out.....
LYKKE LI - WOUNDED RHYMES
For the fans of girl group garage we have the fabulous Lykke Li with 60s doo wop that thumps! Great to dance to, to drink to, to sit to.
KIMBRA - VOWS
Putting aside that she is a Kiwi (like me) and also had a smash hit with Gotye, Kimbra is sex & sass in a camp Kylie way and I think I have a girl crush on her. And I love those girly girl outfits in the "Cameo Lover" vid.
LADY GAGA - BORN THIS WAY
Lady Gaga is one crazy lady. I love her creativity & madness & (some) of her anthemic prose. Her costumes and contorted make up is the bomb. She poops all over Madonna who was still working at Dunkin Donuts age 25 yrs. I love her Marilyn Zombie ensemble for the 2011 Grammys duetting with country singer Sugarlady and drumming away on a grand piano. Classy!
BJORK - BIOPHILIA
Always pushing the boundaries, the year in music wouldn't be complete without mentioning Bjorks "scientific musical". Most of the tracks are WAY out there with crazy break beats but I do like "Moon" and the Gondry video that goes with it especially as she is playing a harp which doubles as an accessory belt. Coooool.
Everyone in Blogland is blogging Xmas craft so here is Aunty jumping on the band wagon. My house is starting to look very Christmassy thanks to some clever handmade felt Xmas tree decor posted to me from Oz with love from my mate over at Happygas blog and my own additions of Xmas bunting.
Spotlight have some very cool calico with Scandinavian prints on them. I managed to nab the green reindeer print for a mere $3m. I have used bias binding in the past to make bunting but once I calculated i needed about 18m of binding to dress up 6 windows at $2 per metre plus the cost of my fabric I was blowing my Xmas Scrooge miser budget big time! So I bought 3m of the $3 green fabric, cut 3m by 10cm strips and whipped up my own bias binding.
I also made what I call "cheats" bunting flags which are one sided cut with pinking shears but were quick & easy. Double sided bunting would look great from both sides above windows but time & money wouldn't allow. I think it all looks super cute and more homely than tinsel.
I went to the KINA Design store Xmas shopping night, not just for the free champagne but to check out some local craft & art & do some Xmas browsing. Craft stores are few & far between in New Plymouth but KINA & MANU Design stores are both of a high quality and KINA especially supports local artists.
I did spot my sister in laws latest creations in the window display. She operates Maddy's Store via Facebook and specialises in vintage 50s blanket craft making cushions, hot water bottle covers, wheat bags and I spotted some of her Xmas decorations on the KINA Xmas tree. after a couple of glasses of bubbly I bought my sister a Paua shell brooch which KINA even posted to the UK for me and a red Xmas tree stocking with a Tui bird screen print. And here it is on my tree!
I'm currently reading the hilarious chronicles of womanhood by Caitlin Moran. Many reviews claim this book to be the new feminist manifesto but its more a "lets laugh at the madness of womanhood" instead of this angry victim approach ultra feminists seem to take.
Caitlin Moran is a ballsy Brummy lass who has captured the foibles of adolescence and periods, unrequited love, bras, friendships and pubic hair masterfully. I have yet to read chapters "Pregnancy" & "Abortion" and guess this book can only get more gutsy yet funny. I also love Moran's "Cruella Deville" hair and her openly discussed love of her hairy muff also know as Wookie.
Hello Blog I'm still here! I've been super busy with muesli. Muesli mania hits when the sun comes out so that's what I've been doing. Sometimes I find rolled oats in my hair, under my shoes & even down my bra. Ooops how did you get down there. Before this madness kicked off I did squeeze in some sewing. I have been aching to make the Too Cute Tunic in the crafty book Sew La Tea Do created by the fabulous Pip Lincolne over at Meet Me At Mikes. But I converted it into a smock top as I had this super cute fabric but not quite enough for a complete dress. I did have enough for some pockies on the front and tidied up the edges by sewing buttons over my not so neat finishes with bias binding.
Pip's patterns are very simple, easy and great for beginners. I've been sewing (if you call it that) on & off since I was 8 yrs old but the book is quite clear on how to have NEAT finishes which is something I have never REALLY made much effort to do. I ironed, trimmed, used pinking shears & measured twice! So here is my Too Cute Tunic with tidy trim and neat corners.
Hello - I am Aunty Stef the creator & baker behind Aunty's Natural Muesli. Aunty’s Natural Muesli is a handmade wholesome cereal sweetened naturally with Manuka blend honey from the Uruti Valley and tasty nuts from the sunny Oakura Hills. Aunty’s food philosophy is to get back to basics with tasty homemade cereal that is good for you, naturally.
Aunty's Muesli is available from The FRIDGE - Butchery & Deli, Devon St, New Plymouth NZ & the Taranaki Farmers Market every Sunday.
