The Belles met at CWA house last Thursday eve for our June meeting – and a lesson in Burlesque! Our favourite Burlesque dancer? Well, that would have to be Sally Rand. Renowned for her fan dance, and her debut performance at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.  The fan act consisted of two giant seven-foot pink ostrich feather fans (and a skin coloured bodysuit). A true trailbrazer  and inspiration – Sally performed until she was 60 years old.

Fifty People, One Question is a simple project that asks people to go to a place, ask fifty people the same question and film their responses. So far they have received over 1,500 responses from 300 cities. Perth filmmaker Liam Underwood recently took up the challenge – asking 50 people ‘What would make your day?’.

Is it just us, or has winter finally hit Perth? In times like these, the only thing to do is make a nice, hearty pot of soup. After much convincing, our nanna allowed us to let you in on her family recipe for Pumpkin Soup. The secret ingredients is cashew - which magically make this soup so  ‘oh-my-goodness-I can’t-believe-there-is-no-actual-cream-in-this-recipe’ creamy.

Creamy Pumpkin and Cashew Soup

Ingredients

1 butternut squash

½  cup cashews, plus more for garnish

5-6 ...

The Perth Upmarket is back this Sunday 7 June!  This quarterly event is for all those who appreciate the handmade – and brings together Perth's talented artists, designers, craftspeople and gourmets all under one roof. And at 1pm (at the upstairs stage) Rio Liley from Blannk will also demonstrate how to make her Boniko Foot Sock Dolls. No bookings required.

What: The Perth Upmarket

When: Sunday 7 June, 10am-4pm

Where: Perth Town Hall (Cnr Barrack and Hay Street)

Another long weekend has come and gone – and we’re back to the ‘ol nine to five. A tenuous link which provides a lead in for this gratuitous Dolly Parton mention, and gives us an excuse to play one of the most catchy  pop songs of all time.

You probably know she wrote the music and lyrics while filming the movie of the same name. You might not know that the amazing typewriter sound you can hear in the opening bars was made by Dolly flicking her acrylic nails across each other. Cup of am...

We know you do it. Don't worry, we won't tell anyone. And in your next secret session, you make like to take inspiration from the amazing Anne Margaret. The ‘pantyhose and pants’ look has been long overlooked, don’t you think?  In the 60’s, Eddie Sedgwick took up the mantle. And more recently Lady Gaga and Lily Allen have been seen sporting the look.

We sense a comeback.

We feel it’s nothing less than our duty to share this.

350g   Oreo Cookies (250g for the cake, 100g for the base)

80g    butter, melted

375g  block Philadelphia Cream Cheese (cubed and softened)

1/2 cup   caster sugar

1 teaspoon  vanilla essence

1 cup   thickened cream

3 teaspoons powdered gelatin (dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water)

200g    white chocolate (melted and cooled slightly)

Place 250g Oreos in a food processor and process into fine crumbs. Add the butter and ...

Launched yesterday – 1 Million Women is a  campaign to inspire women interested in preventing climate change to make a commitment to reduce their CO2 emissions by one tonne over 12 months (which would reduce Australia’s emissions by 1 million tonnes).

Small changes make a huge difference and the site is all about practical action. Its free to register and once you do, the site provides personalised tips to help you reduce emissions via home, food, shopping, transport, travel and m...

The Bindaring Clothing Sale has been a Red Cross institution since 1963 – and it's on this Saturday from 9am at the Claremont Showgrounds. Check our the Jumble Sale at the Ellie Eaton Pavilion, the Boutique Sale in the Webster Pavilion…or if your tastes are of the more expensive variety – bid for designer goodies at the 11am Auction.

Last year, the sale raised over $90,000 with all funds going towards vital Red Cross community services in Western Australia (including the Soup Patrol...

The CWA Perth Belles kicked off 2009 on Sunday with a late afternoon Stitch & Bitch session at Greco’s. In a whirlwind knitting session, and fuelled by delish cake and coffee, we learnt the basics from the very best.  Among the many tales, Margaret revealed she first learnt to knit on the school bus when she was 10 years old, knitting socks for soldiers during WWII (using wheat bag skewers as knitting needles).

Huge thanks to Pam, Viv and Margaret – our amazing (and very patient) kni...