Bread Baking and Thrifting...

I made an attempt at baking some bread this afternoon. It's ready and waiting to be cut at dinner tonight. It doesn't look too bad, so we'll see how it tastes.

I have to confess, it's a pretty easy recipe that I have a feeling will probably be more like damper than bread. But if it tastes good, then the recipe will definitely be a 'Keeper' in this house. And if it is good, I think it would be delicious in winter with a pot of soup.

Our kids are on school holidays at the moment and they've been pretty good most days, EXCEPT TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!! They've spent all day testing my patience!!! So when my mum rang this afternoon to ask if she could have the kids tomorrow to do some cooking with them and go for a swim in their pool, I couldn't say 'Yes' fast enough!!! Sooooooooo, first on my list tomorrow is to go and buy a coffee plunger at the sales (been wanting to buy one for ages) and also I'm on the look out for a muddler to make Lime Caprioscas. When we were away last week, each night my cousin made Lime Caprioscas for us and they are the best!!! If you haven't tried them, YOU MUST!!! In order to make them, you need a muddler for the limes. And lastly, I'm going to have a scrounge at a few Thrift Stores. I took the kids to our local one today for a quick look and decided I won't be going back there again. The prices are ridiculously expensive!!! Seriously, they were charging $28.99 for a scrappy looking doona cover that had stitching coming undone all over it. And $12.99 for a casserole dish....with the lid missing!!!! So I'm off to check out a few others and will hopefully have more luck.

Learning Something New...

We've just come home from a week down south staying at a beach house and had a beautiful time. We were so relaxed we could easily have stayed another week. While walking along the beach on the first morning, I decided to collect some shells to put into a frame. Here is the result...not too bad for a quick and simple decorating idea.

And yes, I'm back to the crocheting (beginner style)!!! I'm loving this yarn...it's so soft and the colour is a beautiful blueish-grey. I'll keep going with this for a while until I'm confident enough to try something a little more adventurous ie. large blanket or perhaps a scarf.

PJ's...

I finally got around to making Will's summer pajamas. I used some Alexander Henry fabric that I bought a while ago. I used the same pattern as their winter pj's, just altered the length. And I made them in such a rush last night, the fabric is upside down...so far Will hasn't noticed!!!

And a good ol' Bonds singlet with an applique on the front for the top. Will loves them so I'm happy!!!

We're off down south to the beach for a week so hopefully I'll have some photos to show when we return...

Randomness...

My Handyman Hubby fitted this shelf for me today in our living room above the coffee table.

I love it!!!

He also fitted three shelves in the playroom, above Will's Lego storage unit. Will makes so many Lego creations that we desperately needed somewhere to display all of them.

We bought the kids a trampoline for Christmas which they LOVE.
And now our backyard resembles a children's playground, with the swing set they already have!!!

Hope the start to your New Year has been happy and healthy!!!

The Table is Set...

I decided to set the Christmas Table today ready for lunch tomorrow...after all, it is the best part, right!!! Yesterday afternoon I made some paper ornaments to hang from the candelabra...I found the tutorial on How About Orange...they're so quick and easy and very effective. Who knew how handy that candelabra was going to be!!!

I bought some beautiful fabric from Ikea a couple of months ago to make a table cloth for Christmas Day. I love the subtle yet distinct design on it.

At each place setting I've put little boxes with an individual chocolate inside. These are just match boxes covered with pretty paper and tied up with a ribbon. Next year I'd like to make an Advent Calendar using the bigger style match boxes. They're a fun, cheap way of dressing up the table.

And a closer pic of the paper ornaments. I also had some strands of red ribbon laying around in my sewing room so I've draped those over the middle of the candelabra (how many times can one use the word 'candelabra' in a single blog post???).

Now I really do think this will be my last post before Christmas, so enjoy your day, embrace your loved ones at this special time and celebrate with family and friends!!!

Special Treasures...

I know I wasn't going to post again but I forgot to show you a few special things. I picked these ornaments up on sale last year for less than $1 each and found them hiding in the back of the linen cupboard last night. I now have them sitting on the dining table in this beautiful bowl that used to belong to my great aunty.

Glenn and I planted a couple of hydrangeas on the weekend and this morning I discovered that our lovely little pup, Lola had obviously jumped up onto the plant and broken this little beauty off...so it now lives in a glass on the dining table too!!!

I've been wanting some sort of chandelier/candelabra to go above our dining table for a while now and found this one about a month ago at our local Bed, Bath and Table store. The price was heavily reduced...so much so that I had to ask if it was broken!!! Lucky for me, it wasn't so I bought it and Glenn hung it on the weekend. Now I just need some candles for it and it will be all ready for Christmas Lunch!!!

Oh Christmas Tree...

Our Christmas tree has been up since the 1st of December so I thought some photos were in order.

I was at Ikea last month and they had some beautiful Christmas wrapping and decorations. I decided to go with a red, blue and white colour scheme for wrapping this year. And the Christmas table will be decorated in red and white.

Our poor old Christmas tree is looking rather wonky. I would have loved a real tree but Glenn isn't too keen on the idea. I'm thinking next year I'll pot some sort of conifer and bring that inside.

Since this will probably be my last post before Christmas, enjoy your Christmas Day and have a safe and Happy New Year !!!

Dough Ornaments...

I was inspired when blog surfing the other day to make some dough ornaments with the kids. We painted them yesterday after school and the kids have given some to their school friends for Christmas. We're also going to put one at each place setting on Christmas day for our guests to take home and hang on their tree. Simple and sweet!!!

Dinner Party...

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. I've had an afternoon of baking/cooking today...some banana muffins for the freezer using my favourite recipe.



A delicious Creamy Caramel Fudge that is still setting at the moment. Can't wait to chop into it and try some...the mixture was delicious!!!!! It's actually a microwave recipe that a friend gave me and it's so easy. And because it's very sweet and rich, I'll chop it into small cubes so should get quite a bit out of this tray.

And lastly, some minature chocolate meringues. We're having a few friends over for dinner tonight so for dessert I'm making a warm chocolate sauce to dip these little meringues into, as well as some strawberries and marshmallows (for the kids)!!!

We're bbq'ing a butterflied lamb leg and some veal and chicken sausages. And I'm making a warm potato salad with mustard dressing and a rocket, pear and goats cheese salad. Will try to remember to take some photos of the salads.

Little Nooks...

Over the weekend I did a bit of re-arranging of the bits and pieces on our restored meat-safe and this is what I came up with. I wanted a stack of candles so I placed them on my glass cake stand. I'm going to add a few more to it. It looks gorgeous all lit up at night and anyone would think my kids had never seen candles before...they get so excited when I light them.

I've also got a gorgeous photo of my brother and Will in the mirrored mosaic frame, a little succulent and my favourite pear ornament (I collect pear ornaments...weird I know!!!).

Blossom...

Couldn't resist posting some photos of our Plum Tree that's starting to blossom.

You can see from the photo below that we have these plum trees lining our fence in the back yard. We have two different varieties that we've alternated and we're hoping to receive fruit from them this summer.

Secrets about me...

I saw this on Melissa's blog and it looked like something fun to record.

1) LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATRE? Kung Foo Panda with Chloe, Will and Glenn (Glenn loved it and the rest of us fell asleep!!!)

2) WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? The Complete Secrets of Happy Children by Steve Biddulph.

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? I love Rummikub (Glenn and I play at least one or two games together most nights). And we're loving Uno Attack with the kids before bed.

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE? I used to be a magazine junkie, but haven't actually bought one at the shops for ages. My favourite though, is Donna Hay (I have a subscription!!!)

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS? I love my current perfume, 'Still' by Jennifer Lopez.

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS? That's a tough one...probably my kids when they get that real belly laugh going...I can't help but laugh too.

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? Fear!!!

8 ) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE? The first thing I think of and do, is open the blinds to discover what kind of day it is...our bedroom faces east so we get the sun shining straight in if it's going to be a nice day. Otherwise we look out over the park at the dark clouds.

9) FAVOURITE FAST FOOD PLACE? I do love a Toasted Chicken Teriyaki & Salad roll from Subway occassionally.

10) FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? There are definitely no future children on our horizon, but I still love picking children's names...strange hobby I have. Our new little puppy has been named my current favourite...Lola!!! And our kids names are very traditional...Chloe and Will.

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D……definitely buy a holiday house on one or two acres down south near the Wineries. We'd have chooks and a huge vegie garden.

12) DO YOU DRIVE FAST? I'm probably more on the fast side than the slow, but I don't speed!!!

13) DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? Hahaha...no.

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY? I love the loud, crashing thunder but I'm not too keen on the lightning.

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? A white Hyundai Excel.

16) FAVOURITE DRINK? It's hard to choose between a latte and an icy cold glass of champagne.

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…teach myself how to crochet...big things...not just long straight rows to drape around the Christmas tree!!!

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? Yes and I enjoy them.

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? I'd probably like to a go a bit lighter than the darkish blonde that I am now.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN?
a) Perth, Western Australia
b) Roebourne, Pilbra region of Western Australia
c) Kununurra, Kimberley region of Western Australia.

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? I enjoy watching tennis and swimming.

22) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED? Nothing....except Will right before shower time when he ALWAYS hides under there and we have to pretend we don't know where he is!!!

24) WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN? Weird question...yes.

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL? Morning.

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP? Sunny side up.

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX? My current favourite place (because of the cooler weather) is on the kids couch in the playroom...it's so warm and sunny in there. But when the sun is shining outside, the best, best, best place is on the bench seat out the front over-looking the kids playing at the park, usually with the toasty sun shining on you.

28) FAVOURITE PIE? Lemon Meringue Pie

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOUR? Need you ask...Chocolate!!!

Happy Father's Day...

We had THE most beautiful day today at Kings Park for Father's Day. There was a Festival going on across the lake so we set up our picnic over the other side, away from it, then wandered over for a look.

Almost everything was free, including rock climbing, woodworking, snake handling, camel rides, funky junk making, face painting and heaps more. Chloe has been wanting to go rock climbing for a while so this was her perfect opportunity.

And Will had fun making this tiger out of little bits and pieces of junk. They had a stall with lots of tables set up with all sorts of junky bits and lots of hot glue guns for the kids to get creative. Since Will loves creating so much, he had a ball.

And these creatures were wandering around the park all day. They're dressed up as flora and fauna from the park lands. You may or may not be able to tell the guy in red is dressed up as a Kangaroo Paw.

Will was soooooooo proud of himself for doing something his mum would NEVER do!!! Brave little man!!!

We're off to dinner tonight, just the four of us for our little family Father's Day dinner!!! Hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Early Signs of Spring...

Well, spring has certainly begun and the early signs are evident. Our baby cos lettuce is ready for picking and just in time for the warmer weather which means lots of salads and outdoor eating.

One of our first spring flowers on our Dietes...I love the purple and yellow.

And the first spring flower on our Cottonwood Hibiscus.

We're off to Kings Park tomorrow for a Father's Day picnic. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all you wonderful dads...especially mine!!! I love this pic of my dad and Will snuggled up on a trip up the river on our boat.