Bring Your Own Weather To The Picnic

On Mother’s Day, I’m thinking about my own mum. Here’s she is in her spry late 80s, stepping out at a beautiful barn dance wedding. She’s never too old to give things a whirl.

She enjoys JOY.

Wherever she goes, she brings her own weather to the picnic.

There’s probably not a greater compliment we can pay anyone.

When I think about all the people I am crazy in love with and admire — the friends I choose, the family I love, the family I’m raising — they always share that quality. They decide how the day will be.

Wherever they go, they bring their own good weather.

It’s so important to remember.

Sending you love as you celebrate your own mothers today.

Catherine x

PS.

• Exciting new is coming…please stay tuned!

• Remember these? Want the recipe? Let me know!

Back To Basics

Friends, if you’re not an egg person, look away now.

But if you are, do you remember these little gems that graced buffet tables in the 1960s and 70s when I was a kid? If you’re looking for a protein-packed snack for you or your family during lockdown — which feels a lot like “Snackdown” in our house — maybe it’s time to get back to basics.

Devilled eggs are super easy to make. I’m also aware that many families are watching their spending just now, so I hope this simple recipe helps you. You’re on my mind…and in my heart, too.

• Boil eggs.

• Cool, then peel.

• Slice in half. Put yolks in a bowl.

• Use a hand blender to mix yolks with mayonnaise and mustard, salt and pepper.

• I add finely chopped red onion and top with a sprig of coriander.

There are so many fancy recipes on the internet, and I’m not claiming mine is the best. I don’t measure anything but just kind of guesstimate the ingredients.

But here’s the best tip for filling.

Use a ziplock bag to pipe filling into the eggs. It’s disposable, easy to use, and gives a perfectly fine result. In fact, I think mine look better than those frilly piped eggs. More appetising and fresh, somehow, and less like they were made seven hours prior.

Just scoop all the filling into a ziplock, clip a wide corner from the bag and fill up those eggs. Don’t bother with a pastry bag and piping ends. Too hard to clean.

Imperfection is okay! Today I’m inviting you to just give it a whirl…whatever that “it” is.

Happy Friday, everyone.

The weekend is on the way! Hope you and yours are doing okay. I’m thinking of you.

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• Can’t wait to see you again on Sunday with some news I’ve wanted to share! I blog twice a week at Love Our Age. You are welcome to come see what I’ve been up to.

This One Is Personal...

It’s my birthday weekend.

As an aside, this is what 54 looks like on me. No make-up on yet, and early in the morning! I don’t pole dance like Jennifer Lopez and you wouldn’t want to watch me perform at the Super Bowl halftime show (ha!). I do some basic weights and lots of walking. I appreciate and love all the variations and choices of other women for them. Personally, I choose not to colour my hair or use botox. I like to be on Team Natural and my favourite add-ons are perfume and fun rings.

(You do you! Love it! I’ll do me! Love it!) I find all women’s choices inspiring and intriguing.

But the real point of my photo is this: I am at a cross roads. This is my year to make a simple decision.

Do I go all in and back myself, or not?

Advance with what I love, or retreat?

Can you relate to this? It would be so easy — so natural — to slow down now and live in my world of what has always been.

• To stay settled into the same career and same routines.

• To drift into next year.

• To believe it’s too hard to create something new.

• To stop learning.

But we have so much life left. We do! Look back at the last five years, from 2015 until now, and think about all you’ve done in those 1,825 days.

In the next five years, we will get 43,800 hours.

Is it time for all of us to get a whole lot louder, and take up more space?

Yes, I have a million voices arguing in my head about my lack of expertise, my imperfect work, my faults (many), my blind spots (also many). Do you have those voices, too?

But I have new things I want to do.

Next weekend I’m going to share a surprise — something new I’ve been working on. I’m really hoping for your support.

I wish you were here to chat about it, and we could all encourage each other to step out into our Great Unknowns.

So there you have it: happy birthday to me.

This year, I’m giving myself the gift of backing myself and being my own best friend. I hope you will, too.

Let’s love our age (together),

Catherine x

PS.

• Beautiful flowers from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law! Pearl necklace from my dear friend and blog reader, Jen. Lovely cake from my stylish friend, Jules. Thank you all for spoiling me rotten this year. I loved every second.

• A reader asked for my gluten free, no bake brownie recipe. These are so delicious. Cut into tiny squares and enjoy a small sweet treat!

Happy Easter!

Yay, holidays!

The world may be a little scary right now, but I’m trying to pause and practise gratitude.

Holidays give me — a compulsive, committed baker — a chance to whip up delicious treats. This year for Easter I decided to make cinnamon buns with cream cheese frosting.

So decadent!

Later we’ll walk the dog and share a meal together. The sun is out here in Sydney, and my eldest son has planned to do most of the cooking. My youngest cleaned up the garage without being asked.

Every one of these things — sunshine, a dog we love, a meal together, family, a safe home with no one unwell, a garage to clean — go on my gratitude list. As a family, we also have the capacity to help out with COVID care for others, and I’m grateful for that.

Wishing you and yours a beautiful weekend, with lots of small things to be thankful for…

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Want the recipe for these Cinnabon copy-cat cinnamon buns with frosting? Let me know!

• My favourite reader comments from Friday’s post about creating a ‘secret zone’ in your home: on Vancouver Island, Elizabeth and her husband have turned their living room into a temporary gym. Near New York, Colleen is having nightly ‘private’ dance parties with DJ Questlove on YouTube. So many other great ideas, too: kitchen table turned mask-sewing studio, starting a new podcast in a closet-studio :), growing herbs in a cut-open bag of soil on a balcony. Love your ingenuity!! Read about my secret zone here.

Delicious (Healthy-ish) Raw Brownies

Craving sweets?

I hear you! This has been a crazy time for trying to keep healthy, so I thought I’d share my favourite no bake brownies.

Welcome to my kitchen! If you’re new, you need to know that I’m an author and a baker. My comfort zone is standing at this bench top creating delicious treats for family and friends. I’ve had to stop myself from baking every day during this pandemic.

Yesterday, I caved and made these to share with you. They’re delicious, easy and a little bit healthy (no sugar, but one cup of dates).

Raw Brownie Bites

• 1 1/2 cups walnuts

• 1 cup pitted dates

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• pinch of salt

Chop the nuts finely in a food processor. Remove. Chop the dates roughly with a knife — you may want to warm them a little in the microwave to make this easier — and then whiz in a food processor. (I’m not gonna lie…this can be a pain in the backside! Persevere. It’s worth it.)

Combine cocoa, dates, nuts, salt and vanilla together. Mix by hand or in a food processor. You’ll get a sticky ball of delicious mixture.

Wrap in baking paper and refrigerate. Slice. Serve.

These brownies will be PERFECT when things are back to normal and you invite that gluten-free, dairy-free vegan friend over for lunch.

Also PERFECT during a global pandemic when you want to be a little bit healthy while having a tiny sweet treat.

Easy. You might have everything in your pantry now…

Enjoy your Sunday. Together, we’ll get through this to the other side.

Catherine x

PS. Hello, new friends. Thanks for joining us! Read more fun posts here!

Mauve, violet, grey...celebrate!

Today I’m showing you something pretty…just because we can.

I believe with my whole heart that it’s always a good idea to have a ‘celebration dress’ in my closet.

A stylist friend of mine showed me this mauve-violet-grey dress and urged me to get it. Today, it’s on sale in Australia for a ridiculously low price. If I loved Math, I would say it’s something like 75% off full price.

And it is just so pretty: fully lined, crafted from heavy, lovely fabric.

Want to take a look?

Here it is on a model. (Currently I’m drinking coffee in my pjs and writing, so not as easy to photograph it on myself - ha!) But trust me, it looks equally pretty even in a larger size than she’s wearing.

The colour is beautiful, the neckline isn’t too plunge-y, the fabric is thick enough that it smooths and holds everything together. In short, if you need a fancy, beautifully made dress (no regrets!) this one is it.

You’re welcome!

If you’re ready to celebrate at a moment’s notice, that event will often come along.

Enjoy today…let’s love our age.

Catherine x

Love Our Age: a Manifesto!

Oh, I could write a book about this!

When I was dreaming up LOVE OUR AGE, I spent nearly 18 months thinking about what it meant to enjoy the last half of my life.

I started with 15 life lessons, and narrowed it down to these — the way I am and the way I want to be.

Let’s Love Our Age ~ a manifesto

1. Choose happiness.

2. Be a beginner.

3. Start today.

4. Have some fun — and be fun to live with.

5. Believe in love.

6. Make honest things (not perfect things).

7. Live beautifully.

8. Love our age.

Thank you for following along on this journey…and please let me know if there’s anything you’d add to the list!

Love Catherine x