Blog

Do you live in Tucson? Perhaps you're looking for property in Tucson, after all with the state of the economy and the market at the moment good deals are definitely out there waiting for you.

With a metropolitan area of close to a million people, and located in the south with better inland weather than most northern cities, and Realtors in Tucson will tell you this is driving steady growth in the residential property market.

Tucson is home to the University of Arizona which of course is great news for property investors, but perhaps even more interesting is the growth of new industries in the city. Tucson Realtors who are established and know their market can guide you on the best place to buy or invest, and I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

This weekend we moved house, and we took our 6 week old kittens with us. This was the first time they've been out of their comfort zone, also their first time in a car, and let's not forget the first time in their new home.

We were really worried that they'd not travel well, perhaps struggle to get out of the travel box, but in fact they coped really really well. We used the cardboard box they've been sleeping in, but closed the top flap and held it down with twine.

At first they tried to get out, but as soon as we were in the car they settled down an went to sleep. In fact they didn't even notice when we arrived at the new house and carried them into the living room.

After the box was opened we woke them and let them climb out on their own, and honestly within a couple of minutes they racing all over the house sniffing out new hiding places, discovering where we'd put their toilet box, climbing the armchairs, and getting into mischief.

The next day they seemed to know their way around so well it's as if they were born here. All in all we're delighted, the kittens being happy is a big weight off our minds.

I love it when celebrities, who really aren't very talented, try to get even with each other. This time it's Sophie Monk hamming it up in heels doing a bad impersonation of Paris Hilton.

The rivalry between these two began when Sophie's ex boyfriend Benjo Madden started dating Paris, and now Paris is also producing a new reality show with Ryan Seacrest, another of Sophie's exes.

Who knows where this will end, two blondes competing for men and attention is never going to be a quick fight, I'd put money on this one continuing until Paris gets dumped again, then they both make up and become best buddies.

It has all the makings of another reality TV show, and a lot of money from the tabloids for an exclusive story. Am I being too cynical?

In the meantime, the clips of Sophie pretending to be even ditzier than she is have given me a good laugh.

Sadly I never got the chance to read all of Dr Seuss's books, and these days I doubt I'd want to, but I do know I'll be building a library of Dr Seuss for the future. He passed away on this day in 1991. My favorite story is Fried Eggs and Ham.

Theodor Suess Geisel wrote 46 books, and sold over 200 million copies making him one of the most popular authors, but what is even more amazing is that he wrote and illustrated his books himself.

What I particularly love about his books is the very small number of words in each, which makes it really easy for little people to get into his stories, and gives them the confidence to complete a book, and I think this helps a lot of people with longer books as they get older.

I like to think I'm a very open person, I treat others as they come, and I don't care very much what their sexual preferences are, but I do care when people live a lie which only hurts them more in the long run.

So this morning seeing the news that both Lindsay Lohan and Clay Aiken have finally come out seems like such great news for them. All that angst of covering up their private lives must now be like a weight off their shoulders.

Imagine being so afraid of coming out because your fans, or family might be annoyed and reject you. On the other hand I can totally understand the need of these people to protect their secrets, after all when you're a celebrity the press can be merciless.

So I'd like to wish both Lindsay Lohan and Clay Aiken the very best for their futures. I sincerely hope that Lindsay and her partner do take a stand because they'll be great role models for other young women who are gay.

Clay Aiken having a son through medical intervention with a good friend is obviously going to settle him and allow him to ground his career and private life, and I think is the right decision to come out now. His son and all the people in Clay's life need to know this important detail, and now they can support him properly as he deserves.

I love fashion, I love everything about the industry and how innovative it is. I mostly love how great it is to see the next season's styles. This is what fashion means to me.

Ever since I was young I've wished I could become a designer but finding a great school where you can study with the masters and get your degree isn't easy. Fashion-Schools.org is a website where you can find schools to learn fashion online or by state.

A career in fashion doesn't need to mean designing, a degree in fashion also qualifies you to be in sales, a buyer, store owner, a writer, patternmaker, or even stylist.

Picking the right fashion school is important, you need to make sure the career you want afterward is going to benefit from the degree you choose, although most fashion schools are pretty good I think.

During your degree course you'll learn about the industry and it's vocabulary, trends, how to draw, working with patterns, understanding fabrics, the human form, colors and so much more.

Last night I couldn't make my mind up about what I was going to make for dinner. The weather was overcast and it had rained a little and I really felt like a meal that wasn't overtop but wasn't going to take long to prepare.

As you do you I scouted around in the freezer and fridge waiting for an idea to come to mind. In the freezer I noticed I had one sheet of puffed pastry left and a heap of beef ground beef stock piled.

To me sausage rolls seemed like a great idea, but there was one slight flaw to my plan, I've never made them before. I love making new dishes so it was like always . I Googled for a recipe and started to compare the ingredients lists.

Having decided upon two recipes I wanted to combine certain ingredients to make my own flavoursome dish. The next step was to check the pantry and the fridge to see if I had all the ingredients to make the dish.

Whilst the pastry was thawing I gathered all the ingredients and started to make up the ground beef filling. With the filling prepared and the pastry thawed it was time to make up the sausage rolls.

I cut the pastry in half, long ways and separated out the two pieces. I also halved the ground beef and placed one half on a cutting board to shape into a long like snake. Carefully I picked up the beef mince and placed it on the pastry about a third of the way in.

Stretch the pastry over one half of the ground beef filling so it feels firm. With some milk and a pastry brush, brush along both edges of the folded pastry about 1cm wide. The milk acts like a glue to adhere the pastry together. Grab a fork and gently use the back of it to press the ends together.

The fork does leave lines in the pastry but it doesn't matter as that will become the bottom of your sausage roll. Now that you have made one of the sausage roll lengths go ahead and repeat the steps.

With both lengths prepared it's now time to cut the sausage rolls. I cut them into four which gave me eight sausage rolls about 8 cm in length. If you're planning a party you can cut them a lot smaller which also makes it go a little further.

Once cut prepare your baking tray with paper or foil and place the sausage rolls fold side down. Quickly whisk an egg and baste the tops. Basting the tops with egg will make the pastry turn a nice golden brown.

Turn on your oven and set it to 180 degrees celsius and bake for 20-25 minutes. Once cooked let sit for 2-5 minutes to crisp up and serve with a variety of sauces.

BTW the sausage rolls came out beautifully and I am so glad I added the extra ingredients to the beef. Next time I make sausage rolls I 'll be sure to hunt around for a gourmet sausage roll recipe.