Fun Friday Links

There are two big sports finals happening this weekend and I honestly could not care less. I ususally spend AFL Grand Final day shopping because come 2pm there is NO ONE at the shops. It's fantastic. The weather is supposed to be crappy tomorrow, so I might start a new tradition and watch DVDs on the couch with a blanket. Sounds divine.

But for now, enjoy these links!

- Imagine if Eric Stoltz had played Marty McFly. Or if Tom Selleck was Indiana Jones. That's crazy talk! But that's almost what happened. Check out this list of ten famous movies roles that were recast at the last minute.

- I am an avid scarf wearer in Winter. But I mostly just hang them around my neck and leave it at that. This clip, though, will no doubt change the way you wear scarves. Watch this cute girl demonstrate 25 ways to wear a scarf in 4.5 minutes. It's really cool (found via The Mustard Jumper).

- What would it sound like if Don Draper pitched the new Facebook timeline? Well, have a listen! I hate the Facebook changes. But I have an inkling if Don Draper pitched it I would like it a tad more than my current levels of extreme indignance towards the THREE SEPARATE idiotic newsfeeds. It's the SAME INFORMATION. THREE TIMES. WHAT IS THE POINT? Don't even get me started on the "Top Stories" thing that seems to be compiled in a completely random way that has no relation to my actual close friends and family /end rant.

- Want to see an example of absolutely appalling customer service? Seriously, the person from GASP who responded to this complaint is obviously a twenty two year old fashion graduate with no corporate experience, or a manager with their head so far up their own ass they have no idea how shitty the clothes at GASP really are. Read the original complaint and the response from the company here. Just because your company has a shop on Chapel Street in Melbourne doesn't mean it's God's gift to the fashion industry, FYI.

- Finally, I have read pretty much all the Stephanie Plum books, with the exeption of the last three or four. To be honest, I think Janet Evanovich is basically just writing the exact same story over and over and over again, so I gave up. But, they've made a film adaptation of One For The Money starring Katherine Heigl. I was SO against the Heigl when I found out she was playing Stephanie, but upon seeing the preview, I actually don't hate it. I might even really want to see it.

Although does anyone else think Debbie Reynolds is completely wrong for Grandma Mazur? She's supposed to be a mix of Estelle Getty and Grandma Yetta from The Nanny. Oh well, you can't win them all, I guess.

- Finally, become a fan of the Boredom Abounds By Julia Facebook fan page to get all the latest updates in your newsfeed! Pin It

Spring Wardrobe Number Three

Spring Wardrobe Number Three by boredomaboundsbyjulia

I had a lot of fun putting this together. I was imagining a Spring afternoon tea or garden party when jeans just won't do, but you don't want to be the most dressed up gal in the room either.

I actually came really close to buying this dress from Dorothy Perkins a couple of months ago, but ended up with something else. However, I'm just so drawn to the cotton candy colour and the simple white stripes. Paired with a cardi and some simple ballet flats and this outfit will make you look chic and cheerful, with the pink of the sundress popping out.

I kept the make up simple, because the colour of the dress is the show stopper in this ensemble, and a nice neutral bag with sunglasses with tinted frames complete the look. And as always, a girl can never go wrong with a pair of pearl earrings.

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Adventures in Cooking - Italian Lemon Biscuits

Remember this book from your mum's cookbook shelf? It was our staple sweet cookbook growing up, and the recipes are easy enough for kids over about twelve to do on their own. The chocolate chip cookies, chocolate coconut slice, the lemon coconut squares and the Lebkuchen from this book are things I've been baking for years and years. And they never fail to a) be totally delicious, b) super easy to make and c) a crowd pleaser. When I moved out of home, I found a copy on ebay for six dollars and out of all the cookbooks I own, it gets the most airplay.

But today I wanted to try something different. I've had my eye on the Italian Lemon Biscuit recipe for a while now, and what do you know, we had another afternoon tea at work this week, so I spent a relaxing Sunday afternoon making a few batches of them for work and home.

I didn't take step-by-step photos this time, because it's a very easy recipe and also because I forgot to grab the camera and set everything up nicely. By the time I was wrist deep in mixture it was too late!

The gorgeous serving plate was bought from Bed, Bath and Table this past weekend (they also had it in a different colour - I want to say either a dusty red or white). I cannot go into that shop without buying some sort of home decor item. It was $14.95.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

60 grams butter at room temperature (the original recipe called for LARD. Can you believe it?)

1 1/2 tablespoons of milk

1/3 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

1. Sift the flour into a bowl. With your fingers, rub and gently knead the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. My butter wasn't quite a room temperature, so I zapped it in the microwave for about fifteen seconds and it softened up nicely. Don't worry if it melts a bit, it will still rub in nicely. You just don't want the majority of the butter melted - it needs to be quite solid still.

2. Put the milk and sugar into a saucepan over a low heat. Stir constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved (this takes less than five minutes).

3. Add the vanilla essence to the milk and sugar mix and stir through. Turn off the stove and let the mix cool slightly.

4. Beat the egg and add it to the flour and butter.

5. Add the milk/sugar mix to the flour and butter. Stir through until the mixture becomes a soft dough. You may want to sprinkle a tiny bit more flour on the top of it if it still seems a bit wet.

6. Grab teaspoons full of the mixture and roll into ball shapes. I say ball shapes because I like mine to not be perfectly spherical. When they cook the tops sort of break up and open a bit, and I like the imperfect look. You can make them perfectly round if that's the sort of aesthetic you prefer when baking. 

7. Pop them on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and bake in a moderate oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. In my fan forced oven I kept the temperature at about 140° celsius and baked them for about fifteen minutes.

8. Take the biscuits out when they just start to become golden on top and let them cool down.

Icing ingredients
2 - 3 cups of icing sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
lemon rind (optional)

Method
1. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. 

2. Pour in one tablespoon of lemon juice and stir it through. If it's too stiff, add more lemon juice a bit at a time. The icing should be runny, but not completely liquified.

3. Using a spoon, drizzle streams of icing back and forth over all the biscuits at once a few times until you have the amount of icing you want on each one.
4. Let the icing dry completely.

And that's it! It's so easy, and the biscuits really do have that Italian biscuit taste, but with a nice zing of lemon in the icing.

Notes
- I didn't use lemon rind on top of the icing because I think the icing is lemon-y enough. But it would look nice and add that extra bit of flavour.
- You could also add a tiny splash of lemon juice to the biscuit mixture as you add the egg and the milk/sugar to the flour and butter so that the lemon flavour carries through the biscuits.

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Monday Morning Melody - Avalanche City

I heard this song the other day and found the video on youtube - it's so adorable! You have to watch it, just for the animation alone.





See? Adorable! And the tune is so catchy. Such a Spring time happy song! I dare you not to like it. Pin It

Fun Friday Links

What a crazy week - Emmys, Glee, real life work. Whew. So, without further ado, here are your Friday Links!

- So, Eddie Murphy is hosting the Oscars next year. Steve Martin, who I love, has some advice for him. My advice to Eddie would be to bust out the red leather suit and get all Raw on Hollywood, but somehow I don't think they'd allow that many F-bombs during the telecast.

- Here's what happens when Sesame Street does Glee. Mr Goo. Hee. Listen to what the Rachel muppet is saying at the very start as everyone else talks. So funny.

- One of the greatest things about Smart Phones and Twitter is that celebrities take them to award shows and post photos online during the event. Check out this quick slideshow of photos from Emmy night this week from various TV stars.

- Don't forget to head over to the Boredom Abounds By Julia facebook page and hit the Like button to get all the latest updates direct in your (horribly changed) Facebook newsfeed! Pin It

Glee Highlights: Season Three, Episode One - The Purple Piano Project

Finally, there's something on free-to-air TV again! Although Glee now clashes with Spicks and Specks and The Gruen Transfer, but whatever. First of all, I must say two things. HOW could they get rid of Sam and THANK GOODNESS Lauren Zizes has gotten the boot. 

Okay, the highlights.

First of all, Jacob Ben Israel's 'news' about everyone's Summer holidays may be the greatest thing ever.

I mean, describing Finn as the New Directions' "mediocre" lead singer to his face was hilarious.

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2011 Emmy Award Fashion Hits and Misses

Woo, the Emmy Awards! I always think of it as the start of award season, although it's kind of all on its own in September, and it feels like ages until the SAGs, Golden Globes and Oscars. Maybe it's because it means the year is on its way to coming to a close, so before you know it we'll be anticipating the February/March awards.

Anyway, let's get stuck into it.

It gets better than this, I promise. Mostly.
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