Outfit of the week

This weeks model is in a Peggy playsuit and a super cool screen printed and embroidered  bunny skirt by Cherry Stew. Her cool reversable hat is new from Little Betty. Not forgetting her all important Frankie Ray shades.

Got it in black?

Summer Sale!!

We hope you've been lapping up the summer sunshine. We've been busy bees here at Shorties, sipping our ice teas and preparing some very nice surprises for you all. The first of which is our Summer Sale! Officially it starts in store on Monday the 31st of January however we'd like our VIP's to have a head start - so if you mention the sale over the next few days you can receive lots of reductions, including 30% off all Munster and Missy Munster, and 30% off the entire Little Horn range. We're also reducing selected styles from Baobab, Taxi Surf swimwear, Tootlebug, Minti and more!


We're clearing out the old to make room for the new; the latest DUNS styles are in store now, summery dresses, bright florals and sweet nautical onesies oozing that Scandinavian charm we all can't get enough of. Also new in store are Love Police tees for little rockers, sweet cotton playsuits from Peggy (perfect for beach babies) and as always, plenty of one-off handmade pieces from our lovely local makers.

So for our VIP's and readers of our blog are the only ones privy to the secret so pop in and have a good rummage before the word gets around town.

Latest Dun's Arrivals. Yipee!

We always love it when we get a fresh batch of Dun's designs and this latest one doesn't disappoint. This Swedish label is one of our most popular so we are excited to show you some great new summer designs. Super cute dresses and tee's for the chici babes and cute little poppers and all in ones for the babies are in store now. Don't forget Dun's clothing are made from 100% organic cotton.

Spunky little flower dress.





Gorgeous swing style tee.



Coolest boat print ever perhaps?



Funky florals.



This is too cute!

Sour Cherry Chocolate

Ah, chocolate. Most of us love it, some of us might even say we’re having a sort of hedonistic relationship with it. And yes, I am one of these people. So are my kids. Here is the look Ella gave me when I announced we were making chocolate;

Our favourite chocolate is something dark and raw, not loaded with milk and sugar, but bittersweet and rich. If you’ve ever come across Loving Earth chocolate you will know what I’m talking about. Since discovering this Melbourne-made choccie I’ve upped my intake of the sweet stuff tenfold. Which led me to wonder whether I could make my own. Well it turns out I can, and so can you!
 It saves on packaging, it could save you money, and it’s a really easy little treat to whip up with the kids. Plus, I would argue homemade chocolate is better for you. At the very least it’s gotta be good for the soul.

Before I launch into my recipe, I’ll let you know that it’s certainly no gospel. The coolest thing about making chocolate is that you can basically do whatever you like - add more sweetness, less sweetness, add flavourings like vanilla or peppermint, fill it with nuts, fruit, peanut butter, even chilli. So here is what we did:

Ingredients
Roughly equal weights of the following (we used 300g of each and that made ALOT of chocolate)
raw cacao butter - preferably organic and fair trade
raw cacao powder
agave syrup or another liquid sweetener of your choosing, like honey or maple syrup.
OPTIONAL:
1 vanilla bean
1 cup of dried sour cherries and goji berries

Weigh out your ingredients and use a small knife to split open the vanilla bean. Scrape out those delcious seeds and put aside.

We bought all our ingredients from Alfalfa House in Enmore

Set up a bain marie if you have one, or do what I did and makeshift one. I brought a saucepan of water to the boil, then after removing from the heat, placed a glass bowl inside so the water below could provide a gentle heat for our melting purposes.
Now you want pop the cacao butter into the bain marie and mix slowly as it melts.

Mix-Master Cullyn

Once the mixture is gooey and liquid, you can add the agave and vanilla beans and stir until combined. It's a good idea to add the agave gradually to taste...we didn't end up using the entire 300g. Then sift in the cacao powder and stir slowly until it all comes together. This is your chance to add some goodies if you’d like. Tip in the sour cherries or bits and pieces of your choice, and stir through.

Now for the fun part. If you have some little chocolate moulds or even ice cube trays, you can pour the mixture into those and set in the fridge for a couple of hours. We didn’t have any special moulds on hand so we set our chocolate in a silicone loaf tray. This act of necessity turned out to be genius because we ended up with a small loaf of amazing chocolate that could be sliced as desired. “A loaf of chocolate!?” you say...well I never said I wasn’t a chocoholic.
Because the weather has been mostly sweltering in Sydney this week, we’ve been keeping our beloved chocolate loaf in the fridge to spare it from a melted end. It's lasted us ages, but I’m sure it won’t be long before it’s all been gobbled up and we’ll need to whip up a new batch.
I'm sure Ella won't mind helping out again...

YUM!



Australia Day is on it's way!

Aussie Day 2011

Our hand knitted Aussie friends




 

Outfit of the week

Our little lassy is wearing a Coco and Ginger frock,  paired with a straw Avenel hat and Fair Trade felt bag. Heading out for some Summer holiday fun scooting around Sydney Park.

The summer hols are 'hol lotta fun!

The summer holidays are always such a fun time for those of smaller stature. As a kid, I remember looking forward to those long, sunny days when school became a distant memory (So long scraping chalk on blackboard! See ya later Tupperware container!), and my time was spent scurrying over the hot sand from beach towel to ocean and back, consuming endless paddlepops (licking the wooden stick to near-oblivion to see if I’d won a prize) and listening to the cicadas give their all to form a veritable ‘bush choir’.


Two of my young nephews are now of school age and I love hearing all about their holidays. Thomas (T) is obsessed with fishing, and the lucky little man enjoyed his first foray into deep-sea fishing with daddy and grandpa in Port Stephens. I took him fishing several months ago, and it was so wonderful having him ‘show me the ropes’: the rods, what fish might be ‘out there’, what bait to use, etc. At 9 years of age, he’s been fishing since he was 3. What a veteran!


Harry (Hazzy / The Hazzman), my 7-year-old nephew, is also very keen on the holidays. It’s been quite the year for him, his long-term, 6-month engagement with Holly coming to an end. Luckily, it’s very amicable, with both remaining on good speaking terms. He’s now taken up a friendship with Molly (yes, from Holly to Molly) as they enjoy swapping cards with one another. So civilised!

If only life was this easy for those of the grown-up variety.


But I digress. He and his elder brother love playing cricket in the backyard and follow the Aussie team avidly on TV. The Hazzman has also been spending the summer holidays playing with his ‘Atlantis’ Lego (a major favourite) and splashing around in the pool with the indefatigable, inflatable crocodile he’s named Bob. What more could a young boy possibly want?


As for me, the most funnest, bestest time I’ve spent these last holidays was with my family - big and small alike. And with the cicadas now drowned out by the sound of giggling children, my summer holidays have certainly changed their tune.


And I couldn’t be happier.

'bye for now

Your Courtesy Aunt x

Stylin Scarlett: Too cool for school!!

I'm lovin' the holidays!! This Minti tee and these Mine hot pink denim shorts are perfect for lazing about while school's out. Oh and don't forget your Frankie Ray sunnies to finish the look.

Outfit of the week

This stylen chick is wearing Bao babs latest printed dress. Combined with a littlehorn bag, Frankie Ray shades and wooden necklace and bracelet combo by Ruby Luxe.

Vintage Finds



Meet John. in his beautiful shop at 529 King St Newtown Sydney, yes he is one of our special neighbours.



Johns store has been here longer than any other shops, and its a tribute to his good taste and eye for something unique.

John keeps fewer hours than most of us, as hes always out scouting new products.

Make sure you check out Johns stunning window displays, I look forward to them every week.



In Johns shop, there are many treasures to be found,



Looking for something unusual for your child's room?

All these item's were photographed at Johns stunning Antique shop, 529 King St Newtown,
Sydney.
 John has such a great eye for interesting, eclectic finds, including -industrial , tribal, Arts and crafts, enamel wear,70s and wooden pieces in particular. He always does very stylish windows, and I would definitely say his shop  is one of Newtowns best keep secrets, so don't tell anyone.

Outfit of the week!

I don't think you could get any more summery sweet than this dress by Coco and Ginger.
Accessories include gold necklace by Rare Rabbit, Frankie Ray shades, and cool hat by Diabalo.

Roll up, roll up!!. The Circus has come to Shorties!

The Shorties Crew Christmas Party!!!