rainbowtatt

I’ve had a can of condensed milk in my cupboard for about 2 years, waiting to make this particular Lemon Meringue Pie recipe.

But I think it had gone off by the time I got around to making it on the weekend, so I had to go out and buy another can of condensed milk.

This is my Aunty Carmella’s recipe, and I think I have to make this a few more times to break the 30-minute limit. I took about 50 minutes to get this baby in the oven…

Aunty Carmella’s 30-minute Lemon Meringue Pie (serves 8)

1. In a medium bowl, combine 180g plain crushed biscuits (I used Arnott’s Milk Coffee) and 90g melted unsalted butter
2. Press into 23cm pie dish and chill
3. In another medium bowl, add 410g can skim condensed milk, ½ cup fresh lemon juice, rind of one lemon and 3 lightly-beaten egg yolks (save the whites!). Beat until combined
4. Spoon evenly into the chilled crumb crust and set aside
5. Beat the egg whites until stiff, gradually adding ½ cup castor sugar
6. Spoon or pipe the meringue on top of the filling
7. Bake in a moderate (180°c/350°f) oven for 15 minutes or until golden

postscript: my (lovely, new Maxwell and Williams) pie dish is actually 28cm, so I plan to increase the crust and meringue to suit. And maybe more lemon so I have enough to lick from the bowl when I should be washing up.

Mmm, crummy buttery goodness!

See, if I’d made a bigger batch for my bigger dish, then the crumbs would have gone all the way up the sides

Lemons smell SO DIVINE when grated, don’t you agree?

Waiting patiently for the meringue to be made

My Kenwood Chef makes the best meringue. I honestly weep with happiness every time. Please don’t laugh at me!

July tried hard to suck. So so hard. While much of it did, we managed to turn it around in our favour :)

1. 182/365: in wedding lingerie!, 2. 183/365: taking pics for this week’s Noice-ities post, 3. 184/365: looking thrilled to have jarod and liz over for dinner, huh?, 4. 185/365: now available in gift form, 5. 186/365: the face of a worn out bridezilla, 6. 187/365: me, first thing in the morning, 7. 188/365: crocheting in my new scarf and new soft fluffy socks!, 8. 189/365: hiding out in the staff bathroom, 9. 190/365: watching Glee with Kitty, 10. 191/365: blowin’ my cobwebs away, 11. 192/365: WHATEVER post-it notes are fun, 12. 193/365: taken just as elvis head-butted my shoulder, 13. 194/365: a quiet night on the couch, 14. 195/365: Elvis wants it to be bedtime, 15. 196/365: someone bought me a blue garter, 16. 197/365: I found a Jarod at Metro! Poor thing, 17. 198/365: on the wharf at Balmoral Beach, 18. 200/365: ready for bedtimes with mah kitteh, 19. 199/365: my chest is in the shot, so is allowable ;), 20.201/365: just having a rest on the floor, mmmkay?, 21. 202/365: fake! talons! that i’ve wanted since i was 14!, 22. 203/365: not sure why lying down is a theme for this week’s photos…, 23. 204/365: clearly i love removing eye makeup, 24. 205/365: nighttime ritual, 25. 206/365: sunday night on the couch, 26. 207/365: unflattering angle, 27. 208/365: sharing YouTube finds on the phone, 28. 209/365: trying on my new MK lippy, 29. 210/365: another makeup test (sans lipgloss), 30. 211/365: dan took this while i was sleeping

We’re officially going on our first ever cruise. Squee!!

It’ll be our first overseas trip together (recent health risks = no flights), and I’m just so excited to be getting away from it all (quite literally, there’s hardly any interwebs in the middle of the ocean!).

We originally snubbed cruising as a holiday option because of the cost, but we’ve discovered that leaving from a port that isn’t Sydney is MUCH cheaper. Also, given the crap we’ve been through in recent months (read: we had to cancel our “proper” wedding, #stillprettycrankyabouthatthankyouverymuch and I had my mother moved into a nursing home). So, South Pacific honeymoon, here we come!

I can’t stop looking at photos of our destinations, which includes the Isle of Pines:

Can’t wait to get the sand between my toes and sniff some New Caledonian fresh air!

I actually have favourite shoes in varying categories:

• casual summer = Haviana thongs
• work = my brown leather Duo Boots from the UK
• casual winter = hand-me-down boyshoes from Dan

But my overall favourite? Ugg boots!

Join the meme over at Hello Owl, and you can even email Danielle nominate themes for future episodes!

Having an addiction to energy drinks isn’t exactly socially acceptable. I get told often about the negative effects of drinking V is having on my body. Negative effects, which, much like a smoker, I’m totally aware of.

So I get embarrassed when someone finds out that I drink THAT STUFF. Cause more often than not, I get a firm talking-to at the same time.

Someone who’s not afraid to show her love of energy drinks, though is the gorgeous Suze. Though she drinks Mother instead of V. Check out what she tweeted* this morning:

Alas, the 7-11 $1 sale didn’t include V, so I couldn’t join in with the taurine, guarana and caffeine overload. Sadface.

While I’m totes jealous (check me keeping up with the young’uns), it’s probably better for my insides that I wasn’t able to buy 3 cases of V, no?

* I feel like tweeted should be a proper verb. As in, Tweeted. I think this is a sign of over-Tweeting.

Remember when I tried to use malted milk to make a choc cheesecake? But it tasted all gross?

I found the stuff I should have used, near the honey and whatnot in the supermarket. Try not to notice the price:

In the last few months  I’ve been going through the boxes of photos I have at home. And found some fabulous photos of myself.

Perhaps I’ll regret this, but I’ve been wondering if I have enough to turn it into my own personal meme, a-la Noice-ities:

This is me, circa 1989, crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge for an anniversary of some kind. I remember thinking I was so cool with that canvas backpack and the hoodie underneath my jumper and THE HAIR. Oh my god, the hair. I appear to be sporting a fetching camel toe, too.

Perhaps I should call it “Friday Fashion Faux Pas by Rah”? I have no doubt I have an infinite supply of pics to fit that category!

A few weeks ago, Bear and Elvis were given an expensive sheepskin rug to trial.

Here’s what Bear thinks:

At first, Bear would only fight the rug; then he ignored our attempts to sweeten the deal by putting it next to the heater (and masking it with polar fleece and even his beloved $10 pet rug).

And Elvis? Oh, he won’t even acknowledge the rug. He stays as far away as possible.

So, um, sorry guys, the sheepskin rug is full of fail! Cats really do have a sixth sense when it comes to ignoring all the expensive shit you buy them.

My fridge is a bit of a hodge-podge, really.

Right-hand side: drawings from nieces and nephews, some family photos, recycling calendar and lots of novelty magnets.

Front: more of the same, but movie quote magnets up the top and a variety of religious-themed magnets.

And the left-hand side a.k.a my view while washing up: featuring “Keep calm and yell assbutt”, a nod to my love of Supernatural and Misha Collins :))

There are LOTS more joining in with this week’s My Place & Yours – the last time I joined in there were only 8 brave souls! But I suppose exposing the way you dress you fridge is less frightening than showing the world how you look first thing in the morning ;)

Thank you thank you thank you for the loveliness I received after my last post. A lot of friends and family found that post from my Facebook feed and a lot of those people hadn’t been to my blog before.

So for some people, that post was twice as surprising as it was intended. And I think caused people to worry moreso than necessary.

But I got so many lovely emails, messages, comments, texts, DMs on Twitter… so many that I haven’t even finished replying to them all. It meant so much to get so many words of encouragement, love and support the last week or so. I needed it.

I’m doing better than a week ago. And this afternoon I’ve been in the best mood of the last two weeks. We’ve been in a limbo of unmade decisions, anger and whatnot.

But this afternoon we got some new perspectives on it all. And we sat in the sun eating burgers and wedges in one of our favourite places and agreed that we’re making some awesome decisions here.

Nothing like a bit of perspective to…. get things into perspective, I guess ;)