Author: Caroline

The Life:Captured Project – October 2015

Read more about Life:Captured here.
Catch up with my previous Life:Captured posts

01 Describe a moment from today that you want to remember always.
The start of Frocktober. Another chance to raise awareness & funds to help find an early detection test for ovarian cancer. (You can donate here)

02 What sort of school lunches did you have when you were little?
Hmm I think I remember sandwiches. I can’t remember anything else

03 Have you kept in touch with your childhood friends?
Some of them. Mostly thanks to Facebook.

04 When was the last time you and your partner talked? What did you talk about?
Last night. Talked about stuff for Christmas and stuff to do with the girls

05 What were some of your favourite books to read when you were young?
Anything! I read Jaws, Shakespeare, Flowers in the Attic, Trixie Beldon, The Famous 5. I’ve always loved reading and had access to a heap of books

06 What does it mean to be strong?
Being able to handle what ever life throws at you

07 What makes you feel confident?
compliments from hubby

08 What are some things that make you feel nervous?
Speaking in public. Hate it with a passion 

09 Recount a recent evening that you wish to remember.
Taking the girls & FIL to see a TCW show.

10 What is your favourite season, and why?
Summer. It’s warm.

11 What do you hope to achieve by the end of the year?
Finished the girls’ bedroom renovation

12 What’s on your heart right now?
How there is so much cruelness in the world  🙁

13 What are some things that you wish to purge from your life?
So much junk that we store. Excess kids stuff.

14 Do you remember what life was like a year ago today? Describe it.
Miss K was at daycare. Miss A was still a sleepy bubba

15 Describe a typical Saturday for you and your family.
Doing some housework or working out in the yard. Visiting friends/family. Hubby having his mates round to play Dungeons & Dragons once the girls are in bed.

16 What happened at 8pm today?
Girls asleep. Hubby out playing D&D. I’m busy planning blog posts.

17 Write about five things that made you smile this week.
Miss K back at school. Visit from my bestie. Mum getting good news from oncologist. Cooking. Soccer picnic.

18 What are you eating these days?
Lots of variety. Lots of stuff from scratch. Less packaged foods, unless it’s chocolate 😉

19 If you were to dress up for a night out this evening, what would you wear?
My favourite little black dress, heels and a nice necklace & earrings.

20 What have you been thriving on lately?
That I can cook great meals & snacks for my family that are healthy & yum.

21 Describe something that is beautiful to you.
My kids.

22 What is your least favourite time of the day, and why?
Morning. I’m not a morning person at all

23 How do you feel about recent events happening around the world?
Sad

24 Why is journaling important to you?
In scrapbooking, it’s important so I can get down the who/what/where of a story that goes with my photos for future generations. In my personal journal, it lets me get down my thoughts down and out of my head.

25 What does happiness look like to you?
My kids playing together, laughing and not fighting

26 Describe something you’ve bought in this last month.
Christmas presents

27 What are three things from this past month that have been eye-opening?
How quick little people learn. How helpful some people can be. That I can not see someone for ages and when we catch up it was like only yesterday we last saw each other.

28 What are three things from this past month that have been antagonising?
The lack of help getting things done. Temper tantrums. My back 🙁 

29 How are you feeling today?
Good. Happy. Miss A slept in her cot all night for the first time in ages.

30 What is your favourite thing about Tuesday afternoons right now?
Spending time with my mum after the girls’ swimming lessons

31 What are you most looking forward to next month?
Pants! As much as I love doing Frocktober, I really want to wear jeans

It’s a Frocking good time

It’s official I suck at remembering to Instagram my frocks but here’s what I wore this month. and for the record I cropped my head out of most cause I have a head cold and look shocking :p Anyways, it’s all about the frocks this month! 30 Frocks (I wore one twice) in all and even a little dress up for Halloween! (& a guest appearance by my cats)

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Did you know one woman dies from Ovarian Cancer every 10 hours! You can still donate and help fund more research into Ovarian Cancer here.

Currently #3

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TIME: 1:15, Saturday 31st October, 2015

LOCATION : Lounge room 

FEELING: Pretty good 

LOVING : it’s a long weekend and we have no plans

READING : You’re Never Weird On the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day and starting The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

DRINKING : Coke or hot chocolate

ANTICIPATING : wearing jeans again

LISTENING TO : MUSIC : my 101 tunes playlist, random tunes from my music folder    PODCAST : The Paperclipping Round Table

WATCHING : a heap of history docos, Supernatural, Ghost Adventures

PLANNING : a craft day with mum & some friends

LOOKING FORWARD TO : warmer weather 

CREATING :  my Christmas planner

NEED TO FINISH : so many things – cleaning the girls’ room is first on the list

WISHING : there was more hours in the day 

MAIN GOAL : to get caught up with Project Life (still)

What are you “CURRENTLY” doing?

Food, Glorious Food

Here we are. Seven days into my 14 day challenge and I hope you are looking forward to checking out the recipes.

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Bonus recipe – Honey soy meatballs. Wasn’t sure how this one would go but everyone loved it. It made enough for 2 adults, a 5yo and a 1yo plus leftovers (& a few sneaky ones snuck while mum was serving tea but shhh)

Day 1 – Honey chicken with rice. If you like Honey chicken from the takeaway you’ll love this one. Takes a bit of time but definitely worth the effort

Day 2 – Creamy bacon & basil bowtie pasta*. This one is a family favourite. Makes heaps.

Day 3 – Honey beef stir fry & noodles. Yummo. Love this one. Really nice with either steamed rice or noodles (we went with noodles)

Day 4 – Beef pies. New recipe for us. Had tried this recipe previously and it was ok, wanted to try something different. Added a couple of teaspoons of YIAH Veggie dip mix. Next time I’d add a little less. I decided to makes some wedges to go with it. You can grab the recipe (& what I’d change next time) here.

Day 5 – Moroccan style chicken roast with this stuffing and roast veggies. Wasn’t sure how this would go the first time I cooked it for one of the ThermoFun cook a longs but I was so pleasantly surprised. This is another family favourite I cook when we want something different from the usual roast chook. Always gives a moist roast, and if you put it in the oven for a bit, you get crispy skin.

Day 6 – Chicken mornay. Leftovers night! This is just a tuna mornay recipe made with leftover roast chicken. Seriously yum if you add a bit of grated cheese (& a little YIAH Herb & Garlic dip mix) Really nice the next day on toast with a little grated cheese on top.

Day 7 – Devil Sausages and mashed potato. Love this recipe. Love we end up with leftovers for lunch or another night. Bonus is we have enough leftover mash for tomorrow night’s meal.

*ThermomFun member recipe. If you have a thermo cooker I can highly recommend joining the ThermoFun site. A new recipe every week delivered to your inbox and access to a whole heap of helpful documents!

Updating our reno to-do list

Back in July 2013 I created a list of all the things I wanted to do around our home. Fast forward a couple of years and I thought I’d update the list.

Kids room

  • new curtains
  • polish floorboards
  • maybe some wall art

Our room

  • paint (gotta pick a colour first)
  • polish floorboards
  • eventually get built ins – the plan is next year (2016)

Hallway

  • skylight – still not sure about this
  • polish floorboards

Bathroom & toilet

  • tiling the toilet floor
  • maybe a new loo

Lounge/Dining

  • polish floorboards

Outside

  • new front fence
  • garden beds for the vegie garden
  • get gazebo up and set up for table etc  – happening this summer!

I’ve also been pinning up a storm of inspiration. Feel free to check out my boards – Bedroom, Laundry, Kitchen, Lounge, Garden.

Things we’ve done

  • replaced our wood heater with a newer model
  • got a reverse cycle air conditioner (& kept the wood fire)
  • new kitchen
  • replaced the plumbing – kitchen, laundry, some under the house and some outside
  • new roof & guttering
  • Family photos up in the lounge & dining room 
  • new bathroom
  • new front door & window
  • linen cupboard
  • landscaped front yard – new grass, new gardens, new paths
  • new curtains in the lounge & dining thanks to my mum
  • roller blinds in the kitchen
  • new couch and chairs
  • painted the lounge/dining room
  • built in cupboard in girls’ room
  • painted the girls’ room

The Life:Captured Project – September 2015

Read more about Life:Captured here.
Catch up with my previous Life:Captured posts

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01 Describe a moment from today that you want to remember always.
Mum & Miss K having some Grandparent/Grandchild time. The two of them love spending time together.

02 What hopes do you hold for the new season that’s upon us?
Spending more time outside and doing stuff

03 What are your favourite flowers and why?
Roses or gerberas. They make me happy

04 Recount the last conversation you had with a stranger.
Um I can’t remember :/

05 What do you always order at your favourite cafe?
Iced chocolate and a toasted ham, cheese & pineapple sandwich

06 What were you doing at 2pm today?
It’s Father’s Day and we’re spending time with my parents at their house

07 How would you describe your personal style?
Me hahahaha I really don’t have a style

08 What’s on your mind today? Write a list.
love swimming. can’t wait for tax return. looking forward to doing up the girls room.

09 Describe (and/or sketch) your dream bag.
This (and I may be getting it for Christmas lol)

10 How are you going with the goals that you made at the beginning of the year?
Pretty good. You can see my half year list here

11 Write about a song and why it holds a special place in your heart.
Fade to Black by Metallica. Reminds me of an interesting time in my life

12 What changes have you made around the home recently?
LOTS! Check out my reno posts.

13 What (or who) has been of inspiration to you lately?
Pinterest. Looking for so many ideas to do up the girls room

14 What condiments can you not cook without?
Used to be salt and pepper now it’s my YIAH collection

15 Write down three of your earliest memories.
Visiting one set of grandparents at the beach. My parent’s black cat watching me when I was little. LOVING to read and devouring any book I could.

16 Who do you turn to when you need to talk?
My mum

17 What have been your go-to meals during the winter/summer just past?
Casseroles, soups, baked spuds, pasta dishes

18 What are three things you are thankful for right now?
warmer weather, getting a bit more back on our tax return allowing us to do some more renos.

19 What normally happens on a Friday?
During the day, stuff with the kids. Hubby usually heads out to a mates place to play D&D after the kids are in bed. I catch up on podcasts, sometimes scrapbook, sometimes cook, sometimes blog. watch TV. surf the net.

20 Write about all the projects you currently have on the go.
Project life. Renovation of the girl’s bedroom. Decluttering – it’s an ongoing project

21 Find out five new facts about your grandparents and write them down.
I’ll have to sit down with mum & dad for this one and get back to you all 🙂

22 What are five (or ten) things you would want your grandchildren to know about you?
I loved to cook. I was kind. I was a crazy cat lady lol. I loved their grandad and their mum. I am lots of fun

23 What is the most romantic thing someone has ever done for you?
Bought me flowers and looked after me when I was sick

24 When was the last time your family got together? What did you do and talk about?
Father’s Day (minus my brother) We had lunch and then had a quiet afternoon.

25 Describe something you’ve made in this last month.
A banner for the girl’s bedroom. You can see a preview here

26 What are three things from this past month that have been difficult to process?
Gun control (or lack thereof) in the US. Online trolls – seriously how hard is it to be nice, use your energy for positive. Sickness – I seriously can not wait for it to warm up

27 What are three things from this past month that have been amusing?
Miss A learning to walk. The girls playing together. silly videos on YouTube

28 How are you feeling today?
Excited. My footy team is in the grand final this Saturday

29 What is your favourite thing about Monday evenings right now?
That Miss K goes to sleep quickly cause she’s tired from school 😉

30 What are you most looking forward to next month?
The AFL Grand Final & doing the girls room

Official last day in jeans til November 1st 2015

Yup, it’s that time of year again. Time for me to Frock up for a great cause!

So here’s the obligatory last day of jeans wearing til November 1st selfie

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For those who have no idea what Frocktober is all about…..

Held throughout the whole month of October, Frocktober is a fundraising initiative to raise
funds and awareness for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF). The classic
Frocktober challenge asks participants to wear a frock every a day during the month. It’s
all about increasing public awareness of ovarian cancer and raising money to support the
development of an early detection test. Since its inception, Frocktober has raised over $1
million for the OCRF.
One woman dies every ten hours from ovarian cancer. As there is currently no early
detection test and a lack of symptoms in the early stages of disease, women are usually
diagnosed in the late stages of the disease – when the cancer has spread to other organs
in the body. If the cancer is diagnosed and treated early, between 80-100% of patients
will survive for more than five years. But only approximately 30% of women diagnosed at
advanced stages will survive for more than five years.

As I’ve done every year for the last 4 years I’m going to frock it up every day in October. This year I’m aiming to wear a different dress every day.
You can donate here and keep up to date by following me on Instagram

And if you think you’d be stuck wearing a dress a day, check out this post by The mummy & the minx.

Currently #2

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TIME: 7:30, Wednesday 30th September, 2015

LOCATION : Dining room table

FEELING: Good. Excited that we’ll be doing the girls room this weekend.

LOVING : spring flowers. That Hawthorn is in the AFL Grand Final

READING : course notes. expanding my knowledge

DRINKING : Coke or hot chocolate

ANTICIPATING : the AFL Grand Final. Frocktober!

LISTENING TO : MUSIC : Jewel, Iron Maiden, my 101 tunes playlist    PODCAST : The Paperclipping Round Table, Talk is Jericho

WATCHING : AFL, course videos

PLANNING : a big Project Life catch up and getting ready for my 2015 JYC album 

LOOKING FORWARD TO : Doing the girls room. Christmas shopping.

CREATING : a plan to clean up

NEED TO FINISH : Week in the Life album

WISHING : there was more hours in the day 

MAIN GOAL : to get caught up with Project Life

What are you “CURRENTLY” doing?