Upcycles and a Refashion

Kia Ora!

Today I have a selection of things that I've saved by giving them a second life. 

The first is a leather bag of just the right size, shape and colour - and it was only $5! Unfortunately it was a bit grubby looking, but for $5 I thought it was worth the risk to see if it would clean up.
I used a little detergent in warm water (as googled), which made a good improvement. Once it was dry I applied a beeswax shoe conditioner that I already had. The colour changed immediately - as it stated on the jar that it might - but I love it. It is now usable. 😊

Fabulous op shop find of the year

The next save was Katie's broken umbrella. The cover was unsalvageable, being a clear plastic that came off in pieces - but the frame.....

Airing our (clean) washing

Sadly I bumped my favourite mug and the handle broke off 😞. It was one that Derek had bought me when away in Australia. You know how some cups are just right to drink out of and nothing else feels right?
Well I came up with this solution and I love it - it feels so right - lovingly repaired.

Hand sewn felt sleeve for the broken cup - and it's replacement

Before I did this Derek secretly ordered me two replacements online for my birthday (they are pretty special - IIttala brand), so now I have this repaired one to travel with me and not worry about it and I'm so happy to have the others.

My final piece is a refashioned linen/rayon dress, New Zealand designed and made, a $5 op shop find. The material is buttery soft and I love the colour .Some imagination was required - see the original! But all it took was shortening of the length and the sleeves. 

I just love saving money, saving things from the landfill, not using up more of Earth's resources. Don't you?

Eating Local - Marinated Fish

While I was in town today, Derek popped over the road and caught a Kahawai for dinner. Kahawai is also known as Sea Trout - to give you an idea of the type of fish, and the flesh is dense, good for smoking, but it makes a superb Marinated Fish.
This is a well known Pacific Island dish, but it is also a much loved dish in New Zealand. I've had this since I was a youngster.

We realized that the only ingredient that came from further than 300m away was the coconut cream. The rest came out of the garden.
Here's the recipe. Just add as much or little of the ingredients as you wish.

Marinated Fish

1 firm fleshed fish - filleted and cut into small cubes
lemon or lime juice to cover the fish
coconut cream - approx 1 cup
spring onion
capsicum
cucumber, diced small
tomato, diced or quartered cherry tomatoes
optional -mild chilli cut very small

Place the fish and lemon juice into a glass or ceramic dish, cover and place in the fridge for a few hours, turning the fish once or twice during this time.

The fish will be "cooked" after this, and the lemon juice can be drained off. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir to mix and serve.