Irregular frocks

Lately one of my friends posted a cry for fashion help on FB and bewailed the fact that she can't fit into a lot of the clothes at blogshops.  I felt for her. I was a very very large teenager and finding clothes in Singapore was an impossible task (this was before a great many European/American brands set up shop here - hello Mango and Dorothy Perkins!). I hated shopping and lived in jeans and oversized t shirts.

So... this post is just to link people to Frocks and Froufrou, a fabulous and cute fashion blog run by Lilli, an Australian blogger who lives in Melbourne (only my favourite city!). She's beautiful, smart, she can sew (real skirts and things!) and she features a lot of links on her blog to fashion resources for girls who may have trouble finding clothes at regular stores. She also shows you how you can adjust regular store clothes so that they fit better (eg, she has a tutorial on how to prevent blouses from gaping around the bust) and even turned a dress from Gorman into a really gorgeous skirt. I wish I'd had an older sister like her when I was 14 :)

It made me miss Melbourne even more - there are so many people there who love dressing in a really offbeat style and it made people watching at cafes so much fun. I'd regularly see this lady on the tram with a perfect cat-eye and dressed beautifully in retro/vintage fashion and I would just sneak admiring looks at her out of the corner of my eye....

I will also add that while it is true that clothes may not occupy a terribly important place in the grand scheme of things, it is important for everyone (girls or boys) to learn to dress smartly, modestly and appropriately. It is part of mindful living, part of being a Christian.

Yes, modesty. I actually said that people should dress modestly. It's really a topic for a whole other blogpost  (or book) so I won't go into it here. I will just say that yes, I know it sounds old fashioned, prudish and over-conservative. But I would like to just put it out there that clothes do make a statement and what you wear reflects the state of your heart.

I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness--with good works.--1 Timothy 2:8-10'

Better and hungry (recipe list included)

Dear world,

 I've been frantically busy and then frantically ill so writing wasn't really possible. Neither was cooking. I've been eating crackers and chinese rice porridge for awhile now. And soup.

 I'm still blowing my nose and coughing a little but I'm definitely better enough to be terribly terribly hungry. I met the Jester for lunch yesterday and demolished a whole plate of roast chicken and salad - I know it doesn't sound like a lot but I normally eat a very small lunch. The roast chicken food coma wasn't fun though.

I've also got an enormous craving for pasta - Mr Grey and I haven't made pasta in ages and I really want some cacio e pepe with maybe sausages on the side. Ok and some cherry tomatoes. Just so the meal is... um... complete and nutritious?

Today is looking so nice and friendly (please don't let me jinx it). So I thought I'd write down another list of recipes I want to try. Yes, another list. I can't help it. When I was sick I surfed food blogs and now there are so many more things I want to try :)

1. Mark Bittman's Easy chicken and rice. This is a one pot dish - therefore it must go on the list.

2. Nigel Slater's pork meatballs.

3. Lentil soup with sausage. (It's supposed to be sausage and chard... but I think I'll skip the chard. I mean, lentils are healthy right?)

4. Japanese strawberry shortcake.

I think the shortcake recipe is probably the most complicated of the lot but I watched the instructional video while sniffling and sneezing and it looked do-able..... plus I love strawberry shortcake so I've got to give it a go.

I'll be back with a news report of how the cooking goes! I've got a ramen dinner tonight with ex colleagues and ooh, I can't wait!

toodles!

Di

P.S. Yes. I did more or less write this post so that I could have the links to all the recipes I wanted to try all in one place :) Saves me having to hunt them up on other blogs. Besides, I'd be a cruel and selfish friend if I didn't share that Mark Bittman one pot recipe. One pot recipes are meant to be shared and sung from the roof tops.