Cuisine | Stylish Little Me

Sssshhhh here’s a few stylish shortcuts in the kitchen for a darling dinner party hosted by you!

Busy mums still need to be fabulous hostesses, entertaining clients, friends and family. We have a some stylish ideas and links to help you make it all look a breeze!

1. Store Bought {Pre made}

For tasty dishes you can pull together in a flash try your local butcher or fish monger. It’s surprising what they have already trimmed, marinated, wrapped, pounded or carved. Stuffed quail breast, fillet mignon, stock soups, pinned and boned fish cutlets to pop in the oven with a dill sprig…David Jones Food Hall or similar gourmet deli’s always have something special saving you any prepping time.

Pastabilities ~ Perfect Pasta found in most gourmet food stores. Extravagantly stuffed Ravioli’s to toss in melted butter with fresh herbs and voila a tasty appetiser or main. Their range is vast, from bottled sauces to fresh pasta or a great Duck or Beef Ragu {ssshhhhh no one would know you didn’t make it yourself!} If you’re in Sydney city, they deliver free for orders over $50.

2. Catered

If you are truly time poor and have a little extra grocery money to spend, then home catering makes entertaining too easy. Gourmet Dinner Service has an online menu to pick and choose each course, they also provide children’s meals should you be needing mini meals for small guests. They deliver to Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane and surrounds.

3. Personal Chef

Bring luxury dining to your home. Peruse the Chef’s CV’s on ‘At Your Table‘ and choose someone experienced and well known to come to your house and WOW your guests! No need to clean up or serve drinks, have it ALL done for you.

See our Pinterest Board ‘Stylish Cuisine‘ for more ideas and links to recipe’s

NO MORE OF THIS….

MORE OF THIS… see last week’s blog on home beauty services

Beating the first day back blues…

Stylish mum’s still miss their babies no matter how big or small! We understand it can be somewhat saddening to send your little one off for the first time or to return to the new year routine of child care, day care, preschool or kindy.

After some special Christmas fun and a good stretch of time together, the separation anxiety can understandably produce a teary day for both mum and bub.

We give you a few ‘pick me up’ ideas to make you everyone feel better about the inevitable good bye!

Totally about mum

Retail therapy, massage or trip to the beautician always puts a skip in my step while I wonder why I don’t do it more often. Mummy needs to stay happy, healthy and sexy for daddy too!

Lunch or coffee with your besties {to regroup and discuss the family strategies for 2012 of course} will make the time fly by until pick up.

You can either rejoice with the other mums that you have that window of ME time back during the week or console each other and think up fab ways to soothe your guilt for leaving your child…yes we all have mother guilt, buying new shoes {or a new Stroller Bag} usually works a treat!

Totally about bub

Take along a special ‘pick up’ snack to make your bub smile! Pop in a few of their favourite things in a sectioned lunch box (find one on our Pinterest board ‘Stylish Lunch Boxes‘). There are plenty of options for special sandwich’s such as these at Funky Lunch, the cute caterpillar is sure to put a sweet smile on any hungry lips!

Try planning a fun activity after first day back pick up that’s out of your ordinary. Perhaps a trip to your local museum, library, play centre, exhibition, mini sports centre or a new beach or playground? Your local council or city’s ‘What’s On’ should have some inspiration for you.

You could always try a new crafty activity. My boys still think making play dough is a huge treat. Try this No Cook Play Dough Recipe. The texture is better than store bought and it last for what seems like forever! It’s also a nice way to be together, measuring, mixing and then moulding. Add a few coloured toothpicks and goggle eyes to your play and you can make funny faces, monsters and cute animals.

Here are some nifty craft sites…