Stuck inside these four walls, sent inside forever

As of Thursday, Metropolitan Melbourne has been in lockdown again as the number of coronavirus cases has drastically increased. At this point, I'm feeling okay about it. I've adjusted to isolation and keeping myself amused. In the place of face-to-face catch ups with friends, video calls are my new normal. Plus, there's always the fun of taking outfit photos in the garden!

 These photos were taken before lockdown when I wanted to capture the gorgeous orange tree before we eat/drink all the oranges. I love this blue velvet skirt. It suits my snake print boots and new-to-me belt. Although this skirt is cheeky and likes to play games with me! Sometimes it's static-y and when I recently wore it to work with a slip underneath, it seemed to create more static. My students' parents must have thought I was flashing them at home time when my skirt kept riding up with every step I took! Embarrassing!

Outfit details:

Beret: I made it myself!

Velvet skirt: Secondhand market.

Retro belt: @_sunflowervintage instagram giveaway.

Turtleneck and snake print boots: Retail.

 Thank goodness my dedo's (grandad's) birthday was last week before the restrictions began. He turned 91! We are so blessed to have him in our lives. The day before his birthday, I went to the shops to buy him a whole bunch of goodies to make into a food hamper including olives, marinated capsicums, pasta, sauerkraut and lots of other food.

I made him an apple cake, which he likes because it's not too sweet. I also made maznik! It's a Macedonian cheese pastry that is very special to my family. My baba (grandma) used to make it all the time! I miss her so much and think about her often and of course miss her food too. I remember watching her make maznik when I was younger. She'd make it in her shed kitchen on a big round table. She'd roll the dough out until it was very large and thin. Then she'd sprinkle in some fetta, roll up the dough into a long snake shape and then twirl it around in a circular dish.

            

Here's my first attempt at ever making it myself:

Although it was a good first attempt, the pastry came out a bit too thick and hard - baba made it best! I will try this recipe again and get better at rolling out the dough into much thinner layers - practise makes perfect! We took the food over to my dedo's house. We sat around eating cake and maznik, chatting and watching TV. It was lovely.

While I cooked, I watched Marilyn Monroe's 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'.

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I love this purple look. I've got a similar pair of earrings and would love to recreate this look one day!

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 I love cooking whilst watching TV. I'm not one to sit still watching TV for any length of time. I prefer doing something at the same time, such as crocheting, embroidering or cooking! I think it's multitasking at its finest!

As the rainy weather was ruining my plans for a picnic, I decided to have a pink themed indoor picnic. I assembled lots of food on pale pink plates, including:

 Brie cheese

 Bocconcini

Garden grown fennel and orange salad, 

Homemade pâté (which I forgot to include in the photo)

 Pickles

Homemade chilli and apple chutney

Crackers and some freshly squeezed orange juice. 

I should have great arms after all the orange juicing! 

My sister, mum and I so enjoyed our little picnic feast. Never let a rainy day get in the way of your fun, I say!

I have more to post about but that'll have to wait til next week. I'll finally share all of my embroidery creations. See you then. X


Title: Band on the Run by Paul McCartney.
(Was Paul singing about lockdown in 1973 when he sang: 'Stuck inside these four walls, sent inside forever, never seeing no one nice again...'? I jest! It's not that bad, I'm remaining positive!).