Enjoying the Moments

How often do you stop in the busyness of your day and just enjoy the moment? There are so many lovely moments in our day but unless we take the time to notice them and enjoy them they will pass us by.

Just before deciding to write this post I was cuddling my baby girl and trying to get the internet to work for me. I could have let the internet get me frustrated but instead I decided to stop and enjoy a moment with my baby girl. Enjoying moments is something that I like to do. It is when I stop being busy and draw my attention to one moment and take notice of every detail filing it away in my memory.

One of my strongest memories of doing this was on my honeymoon. The lead up to the wedding had been busy, the day flew by, then we arrived in the Maldives for our honeymoon and I could just stop and enjoy. I remember sitting on a deck overlooking this amazing pale blue ocean and taking in every detail of my surroundings. Now whenever I need to I can go back to that moment. I can feel the warm sun on my skin, I can see the planks of wood that made up the deck, I can see my arm slowly browning in the sun and I can taste the salt in the air. It is like a mini holiday in my mind.

It was even more beautiful then this picture can show.

Tonight, I again decided to be deliberate in enjoying a moment with my baby girl. She is in bed now but I can still feel the warmth of her cheeks on my lips, I can see the tiny lines of her perfect little mouth, I can smell the sweetness of her breath as she breathes in and out close to my face and I can feel her fuzzy hair tickling my nose. It was such a precious moment and it is an experience I will soon never experience again but it is not stored in my memory to dwell on in the future.

Even though this was six months ago I can still remember how she felt.

It is hard to appreciate every moment of our lives and particularly hard to appreciate our time with our kids when we are tired and they are wearing us out. Today, try stopping for a minute or two and enjoying a moment with your kids, with your partner or even enjoy the sights and sounds of creation.  You will be amazed the beauty that surrounds you and you can store it in your mind to play again when you need it most.

Do you stop and enjoy the moment? 

Weekend Cookbook: Macarons with White Chocolate and Raspberry Ganache

This week my photographer friend, Annette Audrey is guest posting for the Weekend Cookbook.She is such a talented lady! Not only does she take amazing photographs (see our Cherry Blossom shoot & Alicia's Newborn shoot and all the pics of me and the kids on my blog) but she is also an amazing cook. I have been lucky enough to sample her delicious creations and after tasting these Macarons I just had to ask her to guest post. 

 French Meringue Macaron
3 aged egg whites (100g weight)

50g caster sugar

200g icing sugar

110g almonds (whole or ground)

1. Make sure your bowl is immaculate and egg whites are at room

temperature. Whip the egg whites to a foam and then gradually add the

caster sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Mixture should sit in

the bowl if you lift it over your head.

2. Combined the almonds and icing sugar in a food processor.

3. Fold them into the meringue. This is the most difficult part! The

mixture needs to become this magma like consistency where if you tip

the bowl to the side, the mixture should slide back. It generally

takes me about 40-50 strokes.

4. Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe into small rounds onto

trays lined with baking paper. (Test a small amount. When piped, It

should hold its shape and the peak formed should fold back into

itself. If the peak doesn't flatten, give the mixture a couple more

folds. If you don't get a peak when piping, then you've probably gone

too far.)

5. Leave the piped shells to dry and form a crust. Time required is

dependent on humidity. I usually leave for an hour.

6. Bake in preheated oven 180 degrees for 6mins (you should see the

feet starting to form at this stage), then reduce the oven temperature

to 150 degrees and bake for a further 6mins. Take out to cool. If the

macarons are stuck to the baking sheet making them difficult to

remove, pop them back into the oven for a couple more minutes.

7. When cool, sandwich with your favourite filling and macarons are good to go!

This is my favourite filling as I find the tartness of the raspberries

compliments the sweetness of the macaron.

White chocolate and raspberry ganache

 50ml pouring cream

100g white chocolate

50g raspberries, chopped (frozen is fine too)

1. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to the boil.

2. Remove from the heat and add white chocolate. Let it stand until

melted (about 5mins ) and stir until smooth

3. Refrigerate until firm and still pliable (about 45mins) and add

chopped raspberries

4  Pipe or spoon onto macaron to make a sandwich

Tips:

* Age your egg whites: This means separating the yolks from the whites

and storing the whites in the fridge for at least 24 hours (up to 5

days). I usually age mine for 3 days. This reduces the elasticity of

the egg whites and contributes to good looking feet. Make sure you

return the egg whites to room temperature before using though.

* For chocolate macarons, add 15g cocoa powder to the almond and icing sugar

Annette, is a wife and mother of two gorgeous children. She is currently living in Canberra however next year she will be moving to the U.S.for three years. She will be greatly missed by us all and so will her photography skills. If you are interested in booking her for a photo shoot or just checking out her beautiful photos head to http://www.annetteaudrey.com/blog/ 

 Weekend Cookbook Guidelines:

1. Link up a recipe that you have posted (it doesn't have to be a new post).
2. Link up by clicking on the link below and pasting your post URL (not your blog's URL)
2. Follow Mummy Undeserved Blessings on facebook
3. Check out the other links and leave a comment. 4.If you make other blogger's recipe take a photo and post it in their facebook page (or yours and tag them).
 

Introducing Alicia Cate

Just six days after our daughter Alicia was born on our bathroom floor, we had some newborn photos taken by our friend Annette. You may remember the gorgeous family photos Anette took for us in the spring. We were so pleased with the family photos and couldn't wait to see the results of the photos of Alicia.

Like any parent, I think my baby is the most gorgeous baby on the planet, but I also know that most newborns are only attractive to their parents and often resemble a combination of Yoda and E.T. I was really amazed to see these photos Annette had taken made Alicia look like a baby from a magazine...so much better than the little happy snaps I try to take of my kids. I am just so pleased with these photos and wanted to show them off to you.

So please enjoy these photos of Alicia Cate...and her family (that's my mum...in case you were wondering)

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my photos. If you are interested in seeing more of Annette's photography please visit http://annetteaudrey.wordpress.com/