Fresh strawberry and white choc chip muffins! yummy!!

Yesterday I made yummy strawberry and white chocolate chic muffins. They are delicious!!!

Every week I make a fresh batch of muffins using the same recipe but just change the flavours. In the past I have made milk chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, banana, lemon and berry. But this particular mix is my favourite so far.

I picked up the strawberries from the Warwick Farm Trackside Markets www.warwickfarmtracksidemarket.com.au (awesome markets!!!). For once I got a punnet of strawberries that are not deceiving by looking red and fresh on the top and then mushy and yuck on the bottom. All of the strawberries were fresh and yummy.

Here is the great recipe I use for my muffins...

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of self-raising flour, sifted
1 1/4 cups of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cups of flavour (e.g. mashed banana, strawberries and white choc chip, milk choc chips etc)

Method
1. Preheat over to 180 degrees (fan forced);
2. Grease muffin tins;
3. Mix all dry ingredients together and make a well;
4. Mix all wet ingredients together and pour into the well;
5. Add flavourings and mix well until just combined;
6. Place in tins and bake for 20 minutes.

This recipe makes 12 small muffins.

ENJOY!!!

Meet Daisy

Daisy is our 7 month old Pugalier (Pug x Cavalier). Isn't she beautiful?!

When we were looking for a puppy a couple of months ago we found Daisy for sale in Melbourne (about a 10 hour drive south from Sydney). 

We decided on a Pugalier because I had always wanted a Pug but due to the health problems that can come along with pure breeds, we thought a cross would be better suited. 

Pugalier's do not require a lot of exercise which was important to us due to the fact that at the time my Handsome Husband and I were both working full time in the city and would not be able to guarantee a walk every afternoon. They also have short fur which was a necessity for me due to the idea of dog fur everywhere on my cream carpet, white cushions, white tiles etc etc! And they should only reach 30cm x 30cm in size which is the perfect size for our small backyard.

Daisy has brought my Handsome Husband and I much happiness. We have got over her love of chewing, digging holes and eating flowers (which is why you will notice fences around my gardens in my photos). Daisy wins everyone over with her friendly personality as some of her favourite pastimes are playing tug of war with her toys or having a quite cuddle when she runs out of energy.

Not the best guard dog (as She is afraid of loud noises and the vacuum cleaner), but Daisy has become part of the family and you will notice her pop up in background of a lot of my photos. 

Queen Elizabeth Rose

For those of you living in Australia you would know HRM Queen Elizabeth is in the country on a quick tour.  I thought I would take the opportunity to show off one of my rose bushes which is named after HRM.

Queen Elizabeth Rose

'Queen Elizabeth' was bred by Dr. Walter E. Lammerts and was introduced in 1954, receiving many awards, and is still believed to be one of the top 10 roses to grow throughout the world. It is a grandiflora rose which is similar to a hybrid tea rose as the flowers come singly on one stem, which make them look great as a cut flower in a vase. Enjoy....

I cut one of the stems and recycled a
bottle to use in place of a vase, which I think
compliments the rose very nicely :) 

Beautiful!

Unfortunately HRM is not visiting Sydney (which doesn't make sense seeing as her itinerary is allowing her to go pretty much everywhere else!), so I'm not able to see her in the flesh. Not wanting to go into the "should Australia become a Republic", I would have loved to have been able to hand her a 'Queen Elizabeth' rose grown in my own backyard!!!

Hello!

Good morning and welcome to Lou's House and Garden's first blog post.

I decided to start this blog to share my love of garden, homewares and design. For the past couple of months I have been following a few other blogs and they have inspired me to venture in and create my own space where I can post anything and everything I love!

I have been a member of Facebook for many years now and was using that to show photos of my garden and home. I was receiving some feedback but overall I wasn't finding the right audience that shared my love of all things beautiful. I hope that this blog reaches out to those who share and understand this passion.

If you would like to learn a little more about me, please visit my profile next to this post.