Queen Of Needles

Coast Trip #4

2012-01-29T20:49:00.005+11:00

One of many Lizards Squealy found in the scrubby bush land surrounding 'One Walk For All'.

While down the coast we took the 'One Walk For All' on the northern headland reserve at Ulladullah. There are two tracks to take and they are filled with the art works of local artist: Noel Butler.

Beautiful carvings tell the history of Ulladullah from an indigenous perspective. There are some stunning views back towards Ulladullah harbour and town centre on the southern trail. The northern trail has beautiful views of our fave swimming spot Bogey Hole and Mollymook.

Squealy loved looking for lizards along the trails. He also found lots of local birds.

Coast Trip #3

2012-01-28T21:38:00.004+11:00

Left: Squealy getting ready to catch some waves @Wairo Beach, Lake Tabourie. Crampton Island in the background.

Right: Fuzzy running out of the surf. When did this boy start looking like a teenager?

While down the coast we went to see the Lennon Bros Circus. Wow what a fun filled evening. We weren't allowed to photograph anything during the show, so I only have a few pictures of the kids waiting to go into the big top. The kids just loved it. Esp. the part of the show where a monkey was riding a horse around. So funny. The kids got to have a pony ride at half time which they loved...and my stoopid camera decided to crap itself right at that point so the photos are terrible :(

Hanging out with friends: at Ulladullah exercise park at Mollymook beach.

Left: Squealy spent alot of time trying to either catch bugs or lizards :)

Right: Squealy rock climbing at the Mollymook Bogey Hole.

Our Fave spot is the Bogey Hole at Mollymook, which we found accidently during last years coast trip :)

The photo posted is of the Bogey Hole at low tide.
Husband Deluxe, our friends and the kids are splashing around having a ball.

One of Mollymook best natural features is the 'Bogey Hole', a large circular rock pool located on Mollymook Headland.
The Bogey Hole is a tidal pool and is very shallow at low tide. Its protective ring of rocks ensures a safe and fun environment for children and adults of all ages. Hours of entertainment can also be enjoyed whilst exploring its surrounding rock platform.
For those who can swim, and only during high tide, try launching from popular Dive Rock.
The safe shallow waters of the Bogey Hole make it an ideal location for families with young children and for those people who prefer a calm spot for a dip. It also offers safe snorkeling and is a great spot for a picnic day out.
You can easily walk around the headland from the southern end of Mollymook Beach to the Bogey Hole and Collers Beach or drive to its car park via Riversdale Avenue across Mollymook's Beachside Golf Course.
Information from: here.

Coast Trip #2

2012-01-27T16:39:00.009+11:00

While away we caught up with friends for the day at Nowra. Jen and I visited the Jindyandy Mill Scrapbooking shop while the boys and kids played mini golf. We got together for lunch at the Plunkett Street park. We then visited Hanging Rock and walked along the river bank and through the rocks on Ben's Walk.

After the walk the kids were so lucky to be offered a motorcycle ride by this lovely biker. The kids had so much fun zooming around the look out on the back of a Yamaha!

We also went swimming at Wairo Beach at the end of Lake Tabourie and just near Crampton Island. Such a beautiful spot :)

Coast Trip #1

2012-01-26T10:57:00.008+11:00

We've just returned home from a week away at our friends house down the coast. We usually spend a week there during the January school holidays.

String Bean: sitting pretty at Pebbly Beach.

While at Pebbly Beach we were lucky to see a huge goanna walking along, and quite quickly too I might add, straight into a bush. As soon as his head was covered by a big bush, he flopped in the sun. Squealy just about wet himself!

Sooty Oystereaters: rare birds. Spotted two nesting pairs on the rocks at Pebbly Beach.

Photo courtesy of: panoramio.com

New Plants

2012-01-15T16:14:00.003+11:00

My new Claret Ash which will replace our broken Leditsia. Beautiful new rose.

I bought up big at my local Bunnings from the clearance trolley (not sure why these plants were on there). Lots of gorgeous roses and crepe myrtle trees :)

So Unfair!

2012-01-14T13:48:00.007+11:00

We had gale force winds in our suburb earlier in the week. We 'had' one established tree on our block planted by the builder. It hadn't been pruned particularly well over the years by the previous owner and had a funny shape to it. I guess it must have caused it to have a weak point.

Play spot the Amber Cat!

The poor tree: a Gleditsia 'Sunburst tree" was literally blown to pieces in the wind. Admittedly it was planted in a windy spot but wow! So much damage. I have the stump grinding guy coming out out on Tuesday, so that I can replace the tree.

I will be buying something ornamental that can withstand a windy spot ASAP. The front garden looks so empty and stark now :(

This tree with alot of TLC had grown a truck load and I don't have a photo of it in full leaf. Wasn't really expecting this to have happened.

Piano Boy

2012-01-12T11:48:00.006+11:00

Squealy is very musical. He is always singing, humming, tapping. He made himself a piano out of textas and started playing. Inventive and cute too.

New Pergola #2

2012-01-03T21:20:00.007+11:00

Here is a photo of our completed pergola from our neighbours Darren and Sue's place. Have spent more time out on the deck in the last 2 days than I have in over a year!

We also took the kids out for a walk tonight and I just happened to have my camera on me when they decided to jump up on our estates sign. Looks like another electrical storm is blowing in as there was alot of lightening in the clouds behind our place.

New Pergola

2012-01-02T12:46:00.005+11:00

Husband Deluxe embarked on removing our pergola, painting it and it putting it back together on our deck.

Ended up being a huge job as the two walls it is attaching to don't have eves or gutters. Involved adding flushing, silicone and rubber seals. The previous owner used wood screws in a metal pergola, so it meant new screws and the correct spacers!

We are really thrilled with the outcome. The deck is now a space we can use, as before it faced full west and south. Very hot and exposed in summer. It is providing heaps of shade to our bedroom making it more comfortable.

Our next big project will be removing an existing wooden deck and getting a new deck and pergola built off the kitchen/family room area.

NYE

2012-01-01T18:30:00.006+11:00

Wow what a fun night. Pool party at our friends house. 8 kids and 2 big kids splashing around having a ball.

Got to catch up with friends from Melbourne as well.

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T10:56:00.005+11:00

Charlie dog, Squealy String Bean and Fuzzy Wuzzy.

Sending everyone a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for a safe, happy and fun filled 2012.

Christmas Photos

2011-12-23T19:02:00.005+11:00

Here is our family Christmas photo for the year.

The kids enjoyed telling Santa what they'd like delivered. Squealy just started singing!

Santa was really sweet to the kids... although by 3pm he must have been past it!

New Art

2011-12-23T18:14:00.004+11:00

Husband Deluxe's sister in the UK sent him one of her original art works. Oil painting on canvas.

Just gorgeous and just in time for Christmas too. Thank you Chrissy, we L.O.V.E. it!

'Braided Scraps' Quilt #3

2011-12-12T20:08:00.007+11:00

My braided scraps quilt top is finally completed. What a better way to spend a wet and miserable Sunday than by quilting?

All this quilt top needed was the patchwork sashing, which took *alot* of number crunching to get the blocks spaced exactly right.

I ended using every spare bit of fabric I had to get the sashing just right.

This quilt top has ended up being a full QS.

I am also now moving onto making some pillow cases out of all the little scraps left over. There are little triangles, squares and rectangles. I'm stitching them up crazy patchwork style. What a liberating quilting style. I'm really enjoying it :)

Courgette

2011-12-10T11:39:00.003+11:00

Panacotta and berries.

Husband Deluxe had his Christmas party again at Courgette this year. Beautiful setting and the food is really something else!

The restaurant blurb:

Awarded one hat status by the Sydney Morning Herald three years running, Courgette is one of Canberra’s most gorgeous restaurants. Owned by celebrated chef, James Mussillon, Courgette is the ideal choice for an occasion that requires everything to be perfect.

We had lots of laughs, one practical joke and a few boring speeches. I've included a photo of the dessert as it was my favourite part of the meal!

Squealy's Telly Quilt

2011-12-05T21:14:00.009+11:00

Is finally finished. I sent it off to the lovely Fran at Willow Patch Quilting. She has quilted this using a variegated thread which matched the colours of the quilt perfectly.

Quilt top prior to machine quilting.

The quilt pattern includes: mice, lions, giraffes, frogs and elephants. It has really turned out quite well, although it is *very* bright :) Perfect for a little dude!

Birthday cuddles with his Mumma.

Close up of the machine quilting.

Finished quilt. Fran returned it machine quilted and with the binding strip attached. What a star! I hate binding up the quilts A job I am more than happy to pay to have done.

'Braided Scraps' Quilt #2

2011-12-04T21:06:00.007+11:00

An update on my most gorgeous quilt which is using Moda fabric Blush range. This braided quilt is just stunning. I am just so pleased with how it is coming along.

I have put all four braids together and trimmed them to the same size.

I've also added the sashing along all the sides and top and bottom.

The next step is to order in some more fabric for the binding and to finish off a extra patch worked sashing. This will make the quilt a full queen size.

It was quite tricky to trim the braids as they kept getting all wonky. I suspect it is something to do with the bias of the fabric. So you can see where I used a chalk pencil, to pencil in the centre line of each braid. Was worried I'd cut them all wrong!

I've also added a photo of my beautiful girl. She has been busy crafting too. She received heaps of crafty things for her birthday recently and she has been slowly working through them all.

Butter Pecan Sweet Potatoes

2011-12-03T17:21:00.005+11:00

Photo & recipe courtesy of the very clever Becky Higgins.

BUTTER-PECAN SWEET POTATOES

8 medium sweet potatoes (5 lbs.)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
coarse salt
2 Tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1/3 c. pecan pieces
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel potatoes and halve lengthwise; slice crosswise 1/2 inch thick. On a baking sheet, toss potatoes with olive oil; season with coarse salt.

2. Transfer half the potatoes to a second baking sheet; cook both sheets until potatoes are tender, tossing occasionally, 25-30 minutes.

(Note: To make ahead (up to 5 hours) prepare recipe through step 2. Cool; cover and refrigerate. About 15 minutes before ready to serve, proceed with recipe.

3. Sprinkle with butter, brown sugar, pecan pieces, and cayenne pepper, dividing evenly. Bake until sugar is caramelized and hard, about 10 minutes. Gently toss; serve immediately.

Cricket Gala Day

2011-12-03T14:04:00.004+11:00

Meeting the team players!

The boys cricket club was invited to gala day down at Manuka ovals.

They got to meet part of the Sheffield Shield Tasmanian team. Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Matt Johnstone and Ashton May. Squealy scored a signed poster :)

The boys were also chuffed to received their Milo cricket kits. Fuzzy loves the fact that he is now a second year player and he now has a real wooden bat and a ball with real stitching. Very important things for a little dude.

Christmas Tree

2011-12-02T14:01:00.006+11:00

L: before and R: after

The kids have been desperate to set up out tree this year and have been asking for around 3 weeks already. So we ended up letting them set up the tree a few days early.

Squealy jumped in afterwards and vacuumed up all the tinsel and bits of tree that was all over floor.

A good team effort all round!

Repitle Centre

2011-11-26T19:11:00.003+11:00

We visited the Canberra Reptile Sanctuary today. String Bean had a real hands on experience as they have a new area where you can pet the lizards enclosed. Being a real critter kid she really enjoyed the experience.

String Bean's 9th Birthday

2011-11-14T19:16:00.004+11:00

String Bean celebrated her 9th birthday yesterday at the CSIRO Discovery Centre. She just loves this place and really wanted her birthday celebrated here again.

Lots of fun had by all. Especially with the stick insects and turtles.

I also made her a tree full of spiders as a birthday cake!

Canvas Art

2011-11-13T20:44:00.004+11:00

Here is my latest completed project. A mixed media collage canvas. Am super happy with how it has worked out. 8x8 using some photos from our holiday to Malua Bay in 09.

Little Athletics

2011-11-12T17:30:00.001+11:00

String Bean has been attending Little Athletics and she just loves it. We know quite a few families with children at athletics, so it's like a big get together for us both.

So far String Bean has given everything a go and her times and distances are increasing.

She has been placed in the under 9 girls and it is a pretty big group of kids. The coach, Jeremy, is just lovely and he really goes out of his way to get the kids going, especially the shy ones.

Today Jeremy ran the 400m with String Bean so that she'd get her pace right. What a champ!

The Great Wynyard Bird Hunter

2011-11-09T21:17:00.006+11:00

Squealy decided on our latest Sydney trip that he wanted to catch a bird. Any old pigeon or ibis would do. He wasn't being particularly picky.

He tried all kinds of tactics. Sneaking, running, stalking, chucking his ball at them and even offering choc chip cookies.

NOTHING worked. He got pretty upset and frustrated.

When asked why he wanted to catch a bird, I was completely surprised by his answer. "I want to eat one for dinner!"

5 year old logic ;)

Fuzzy Wuzzy's Birthday

2011-11-05T20:55:00.006+11:00

Fuzzy celebrated his 7th birthday party today with his friends and family.

He chose John Knight Memorial Park and the kids had fun following a trail of clues ending with a treasure chest.

Fuzzy loved his Ben 10 Omnitrix birthday cake.

The kids enjoyed opening all the presents once we were back home.

We were lucky to have fabulous weather and the kids had a ball.

Fete Time

2011-10-31T21:28:00.004+11:00

Spent most of the weekend helping out at the kids school fete. Mum and I worked the craft stall which was heaps of fun.

The kids had a ball running around with their friends. The craft stall made over $1200, so we were really pleased. Not sure how much the cake stall made but they were crazy busy all day long.

'Braided Scraps' Quilt

2011-10-23T21:37:00.003+11:00

Mum bought me the most gorgeous jelly roll last year for my birthday. Not that I could do anything with it at the time. So it stayed tucked away in my stash in the cupboard.

Anyway I totally fell in love with Janet's 'Braided Scraps' quilt on display at my local quilt store.

So I convinced a friend (thanks Jo-Anne) to join me in this class. Janet showed us all the tricks and I was able to very quickly knock up 3 out of the 4 braids needed for the quilt top.

Really pleased with the resulting braids, now just need to put on some sashing and borders and it will be all finished.

Nara Candle Festival

2011-10-22T21:58:00.004+11:00

Seemed like a good idea: Nara Candle Festival. Beautiful setting. Japanese gardens. Candles. Japanese food and crafts.

Pity most of Canberra felt the same way. The lines to get any food were unbelievably long and not going anywhere fast. And the crowds! Couldn't move for people. Lennox Gardens was completely over run with Canberrans :(

Got seriously worried we'd lose one or possibly all three of our children in the huge crowds.

We gave up after about half an hour. What a pity, as it should have been a fabulous night.

Skink Fun

2011-10-22T17:26:00.004+11:00

We found a skink today sunning itself in our garden. String Bean, being a critter kid, couldn't wait to have a hold of the little guy. Had to convince her to let him go again!

Ben 10

2011-10-12T20:29:00.009+11:00

L: Big Chill & R: Ultimate Swamp Fire.

I bought tickets for the boys to go see the Ben 10 Live show but poor Squealy spent the evening vomiting. So I ended up taking String Bean and Fuzzy instead.

Grandpa Max, little Ben 10 and Ben 10 Alien Force!

Was a great show. Excellent costumes and lots of action. The kids were spellbound and didn't move an inch the entire show. I had to ask Fuzzy which characters were in each photo. He also told me I needed to change the photo font colour to green :)

Jibber and Jabber

2011-10-12T08:58:00.004+11:00

Fuzzy discovered one of my all time favourite games in the cupboard yesterday: The Game of Life. He has now played the game about 8 times and just loves it! He's worked out it's best to go to Uni and that buying stocks makes you stacks of money.

Since all the kids enjoy games so much, we are going to try to make Saturday night: game night.

Jibber and Jabber!

Fuzzy ended up having twin boys in one of the games we played. He pipes up "I'll call them Jibber and Jabber!" Hopefully by the time he actually has kids for real, he'll be able to come up with some legit names. Pretty funny though!

Puppy Dog Ears

2011-10-11T13:19:00.005+11:00

Considering he isn't into writing, cutting or craft he is slowly starting to get into it. Clever little guy decided to make puppy dog ears.

He still loves his blankie. Am wondering when he'll give it up!

A 'Scraps' Quilt #2

2011-10-08T17:32:00.006+11:00

Blanket stitch detailing.

This quilt is coming together so quickly and easily. Really enjoying making it. I have even perfected using the blanket stitch feature on the sewing machine, which turned a long, painful process into a 2 hour breeze :)

I also finished cutting all the leftover backing fabric and bits and pieces into 2 1/2 inch strips ready to add the extra borders onto the quilt. Should hopefully be finished in a day or two! Will keep posting updates until it's finished.

A 'Scraps' Quilt

2011-10-07T10:36:00.006+11:00

String Bean has a new bed and needs some new bedding. What a good excuse to make another quilt! Not that I need an excuse.

I spent awhile looking for fabric online and at the last minute decided to check my stash instead. I found the bag of scraps and leftovers from my 'sushi roll' quilt that I made and decided to make up a pattern of my own based on a few that I'd been coveting over at The Moda Bakeshop.

So last night I made the central panel of flowers, which I will blanket stitch today and I have added several borders.

The plan is to make as many borders as I can out of the scraps remaining. Hopefully it will end up big enough for String Beans bed. She is super happy to be getting a quilt using the Hushabye fabric range, from Moda, as it is just gorgeous.

Happy 5th Birthday Squealy.

2011-10-06T22:53:00.004+11:00

Fuzzy, birthday boy and String Bean.

He's been waiting and not necessarily patiently, for his birthday this year. He had a fun filled day with lunch at the club with his great grandparents and gifts galore. He is going through a Scooby Do stage, so many of his gifts featured Scooby related items.

Strike #2

2011-09-27T21:51:00.005+10:00

Public school teachers across the ACT have once again had to go on strike to send the clear message that a real investment needs to be made in real terms for the ACT's public schools.

1500 teachers chanting and singing. Was noisy and huge.

A real pity that we had to resort, once again, to industrial action.

I'm hopeful Andrew Barr got the message today!

Canberra Times write up is here.

Photos courtesy of The Canberra Times.

Cool Dude!

2011-09-26T19:46:00.003+10:00

Here is Squealy, the cool dude. Crusing around the house wearing two tails and sunnies. He even has cool moves. What a little cutie. I think we are going to be in trouble when this boy is a teenager!

A Catch Up

2011-09-25T17:24:00.004+10:00

String Bean and Freya.

We had a lovely catch up today at Adore Tea with friends who recently moved up to Brisbane. We haven't seen Freya or Kay since January. They moved up to QLD just before the big flood hit. In fact they just missed the wall of water at Toowoomba by 2 hours!

Pity the weather turned yucky yesterday as it was bitterly cold. We sat outside and thankfully Adore Tea provide blankets. Once we were all wrapped up and chugging tea we were quite warm :)

Master Chef in the Making?

2011-09-24T12:06:00.005+10:00

Squealy informed me the other night that dinner needed milk, concrete and grass to make it tasty. bahahaha will have to keep that in mind next time I make stir fry and noodles.

Father Daughter Camp

2011-09-19T20:45:00.007+10:00

Mr Bump and Little Miss Sunshine.

Our lucky little girl was able to attend a fabulous district camp for Guides. So being a district camp just girls from our Guide hall attended, which meant an age range of 5 - 18 years old!

L: Little Miss Splendid challenged the Dad's to dress up in different themes: Husband Deluxe scored 'Fairy tales'.
R: Oliver and Fuzzy doing the Mr Bump challenge.

The theme was Little Men and Little Miss, as it is the 40th year anniversary of the books. The other unique part of this camp was that it was a Father Daughter camp. So special because Dad's usually would attend camp. There were so many excellent activities and many of the fathers were so grateful for the bonding time with their daughters. The wide game included: making birthday cakes for dessert, making sock puppets, making mini Mr Tickle and Mr Giggles, wrapping each other in bandages etc.

The Mr Fussy challenge had the girls pick 3 random cards. String Bean ended up with a baked potato, fingers and custard. I scored fruit cake, chop sticks and gravy. mmmm tasty!

Was easily the BEST camp String Bean and I have been involved with and we've been to a few over the years. Even the campfire was brilliant fun with one of our senior Guides teaching the younger Guides a new song.

Transforming our 'Garden' #1

2011-09-18T12:45:00.006+10:00

Before and after: front garden.

Since our move, we have been busy transforming what the house's previous owner thought was a nice garden. His idea of gardening was to cover everything in pavers and pebbles. He also enjoyed planting succulents and Japanese box, what a contradiction!

So far we have blitzed the front yard, as it is much smaller than the backyard. We had to start by lifting pavers and moving pebbles.

Before and after: front garden.

We had to demolish a wonky mailbox that had been run over and rebuilt twice. We replaced it. The top garden bed is now pebble and paver free and mulched. We've planted a Nandina hedge along the front and have continued the box hedge around the retaining wall. The living mulch is spreading nicely and hiding the creative retaining walls :0

This will be the first in a LONG series of posts (you should see the backyard!)

Minecraft Craze

2011-09-11T18:25:00.008+10:00

Squealy and his beloved Minecraft!

Has hit our house. Squealy wandered into the lounge room with a deflated red beach ball as a helmet and a wooden axe we brought back from Fiji.

When I asked him what he was up to. He replied he was playing minecraft. He thought he was the bees knees. I thought he looked adorable and struggled to keep a straight face :)

Georgia's Birthday

2011-09-03T20:04:00.003+10:00

The kids were invited to their friend's Birthday party today. Georgia and the kids all had a great time. Was loud and crazy but fun :)

Can just see the birthday girl: front left.

New EBA's...

2011-09-01T21:00:00.005+10:00

... are never smooth sailing.

I spent 4 hours today fighting the good fight for better conditions for students and teachers.

Over 2000 teachers from across the ACT public education sector held a stop work meeting this morning at the AIS.

There are further rolling stoppages planned over the coming weeks.

For a write up click here.

Photos courtesy of The Canberra Times website.

Book Week

2011-08-26T16:29:00.003+10:00

Older 2 dressed for Daffodil Day and Squealy for book week.

Here are our book week dress up photos for the year. String Bean went as biker chick Princess Smartypants and Fuzzy Wuzzy went as the kangaroo in Possum Magic. Squealy went as a 'transformia' he can't say Transformers properly yet!

Suzyboo's Fabulous Soup

2011-08-21T19:48:00.003+10:00

From somewhere online lol.

For my friend Sam in the hopes she doesn't have to eat another carrot soup disaster :)

Suzyboo's Fabulous Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

1 large brown onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil

3 large carrots
1 medium sized sweet potato
1/4 pumpkin (Jap is nice)
chicken or vegetable stock to cover the veg (will depend on how much veg you chuck in)

Method:

1. Saute the garlic and diced onion in olive oil until lightly browned.

2. Chuck in the carrots, sweet potato and pumpkin and saute till lightly browned.

3. Add chicken stock to cover the veg and boil till tender.

4. Puree with a stick blender and serve with toasted bread.

The browning of the veg really adds to the flavour of this soup! This soup would serve 4. So it is quite a small soup but it works equally well with larger quantities of veg and stock. One of my all time favourite soups. I tend to make it when we have unexpected guests over for lunch. Always a winner :)

Paddington Bear Visits

2011-08-20T10:25:00.006+10:00

Squealy at Kings with Paddington Bear.

Squealy is having a visit for the weekend from the class pet: Paddington Bear. He has to take him places and report back in the journal provided.

So far he's visited Kings, where Squealy in his endless enthusiasm, slid off the platypus and face planted. The tears dried up very quickly though and there were no lasting injuries :)

mmm lush #3

2011-08-13T16:22:00.002+10:00

$10 on Ebay and it's brand new. Score!

Un Regalo...

2011-08-10T21:29:00.002+10:00

... para mi prima Macarena. No tengo una foto completa con el marco.

Salsabor Zumba Party

2011-08-08T17:02:00.002+10:00

The birthday kids at Salsabor.

Fuzzy Wuzzy was shaking it yesterday at his friends Zumba birthday party at Salsabor Dance Studio.

The kids all had an absolute blast and I can highly recommend this party venue :) Attentive hosts and active kids. Win win!

Love My Boy

2011-08-02T20:08:00.003+10:00

My gorgeous boy just whipped this up. I thought he was drawing 'angry birds'... again! But no, it's just little old me :)

Coconut Caramel Swirl Cheesecake

2011-07-30T19:56:00.004+10:00

Image and recipe courtesy of Super Food Ideas.

Coconut Caramel Swirl Cheesecake

250g plain sweet biscuits, crushed
125g butter, melted
2x 250g packets cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
270ml coconut milk, do not shake tin or stir milk
380g can caramel 'Top n Fill'

1. Preheat oven to 150c or 130c fan forced. Grease a 20 x 30cm lamington pan. Line base and sides with baking paper.

2. Mix biscuit crumbs and butter together. Press mixture over base of prepared pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

3. Using an electric mixer beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add 1 egg at a time beating until combined. Spoon the tick top layer of coconut milk from can and add to the cheese mixture. Beat until combined. Reserve the remaining milk. Pour mixture into the prepared pan.

4. Place caramel in a bowl. Whisk in reserved coconut milk until just combined (mixture will still be lumpy). Place spoonfuls of caramel onto the cheese mixture and swirl with a butter knife. Bake for 50 minutes or until just set (cheesecake will wobble slightly in the centre). Stand for 15 minutes in the oven to cool with the door ajar and refrigerate overnight.

Tips: this cheesecake is soft. So wipe the knife with a wet, damp cloth between cuts.

Mum and I made this tonight for my cousin Macarena, who is visiting us, from Spain. She is going to give this recipe a go when she returns home with the help of her Mumma and my namesake: Susana :)