Well there you go, I never got around to posting the final pictures of our new shiny bathroom. And it was finished over a year ago. So my bad.
Anywho hereās the before as a reminder for you all
Stunning wood panel hey! And now it looks like this ā¦ā¦.
So much better. Warmer in winter. No nasty breezes. Glorious white tiles on the walls. So much easier to clean. Less storage but less clutter. Mind you it doesnāt look this tidy at the moment LOL
Disclaimer: The following post is brought to you by Nuffnang and Spotlight
If you know me well, you know Iām a bit of a Spotlight junkie and I love the wide variety of crafty goodies they have. When I was given the opportunity to have a play with some crafty products from Spotlight I jumped at the chance.
I received a package containing some of the American Crafts DIY Shop goodies – the pennant banner in black & kraft, the kraft scallop banner, kraft treat bag, and some kraft cards.
As soon as I saw the black pennant banners I had an idea for what I wanted to do – a banner for the girls bedroom. Weāre about to redo the girls bedroom in an Asian theme so the black pennants fit perfectly with the black, red and gold.
The kraft pennant banner is going to become a decoration for Christmas. No photos as yet but I will be sharing them once they are done.
The kraft scallop banner I wasnāt sure about but after surfing Pinterest for awhile I formulated a few ideas. I mini banner for our bedroom. Iām also thinking it could be used to make a super cute mini album as the shape makes it pretty versatile for things other than banners.
The treat bags Iām not sure what Iāll do with as yet. And the cards, hereās a few I whipped up.
The banners are so versatile and I look forward to creating more with them. Blank cards are always handy to have on hand and kraft is such a great neutral base and something different from the usual white/cream. If you are interested to see what else I create with the DIY Shop range (& to see the complete Asian themed and Christmas banners), jump on over to Nightwolf Scraps.
So if you are after some DIY cards or pennants for your next do, head into Spotlight and check out the American Crafts DIY Shop range.
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.
Dad reading to the girls when we went out there for a visit. Love that my girls love books as much as I do.
02 What are five things that you do every day without fail?
Email, cuddles, hot chocolate, eat, social media
03 Would you prefer to live by the ocean or up in the mountains? Why?
Ocean. Total mermaid in a past life. Love swimming. Love the beach.
04 What games did you play with your siblings when you were growing up?
Lots of board games – Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit. Card games
05 When was the last time you and your partner went on a date? Write about it.
Um before Miss K was born. From memory to see Star Wars
06 Do you have any fond memories of camping with your family?
Don’t ever remember camping but do remember bush walking lots
07 If you had an empty room, what are the ten things you would add to it?
I’d turn it into my craft room and I’d add…
1. BIG craft desk; 2. lots of storage; 3. a space for my laptop & printer; 4.a couple of inspirational quotes; 5.pretty vases for fresh flowers; 6.LOTs of family photos; 7. space for my tools so they were out (& I might actually use them); 8. a stereo for some tunes; 9.a small area for kids crafting cause I know the girls would have to join me; 10. books & a big comfy chair for when I just want to get away and read
08 Whereās your favourite place to write?
Either at the kitchen table, in bed or lying in a hammock
09 Do you prefer going to cafes by yourself or with other people?
Depends on my mood, some days it’s by myself, other days with friends
10 What are your ten favourite movies, and why?
In no particular order and for no reason other than I enjoy watching them – Natural Born Killers, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Highlander, Grease, Gleaming the Cube, Pulp Fiction, Star Wars (prefer 4, 5, & 6), Dead Poets Society, Erik the Viking and any Bond movie with Sean Connery
11 How do you cope with stress and anxiety?
Not well. I usually get sick when I’m stressed and my thyroid plays up.
12 What do you usually have with toast?
Butter. nutella. Cheese. mayo & tomato
13 Write about one of your childhood friends.
She lived round the corner. We walked to school together every day. We spent most weekends at each others houses.
14 What are some of the things you tend to do when you procrastinate?
Facebook. Instagram. Mobile games
15 Describe a typical Thursday.
Drop Miss K at school. Do housework or go to town. Occasionally get to sit down and do something I want. Pick up Miss K. After school routine. Tea. Kids to bed. Quiet evening either online or watching TV
16 What are three things you are thankful for right now?
A few minor monetary wins that helped pay some bills. Itās slowly warming up. That I have an awesome family.
17 Is there anywhere in particular you would like to go with your family?
Iād love to take the girls to Disneyland and New Zealand.
18 What currently inspires you?
Pinterest
19 How did your grandparents make a living?
Grandfathers – one was a butcher, the other worked but Iām not sure where. Grandmothers both worked in retail.
20 What is your favourite hour of the day, and why?
When the kids go to bed, because itās peaceful & I get to spend some quiet quality time with hubby without little people wanting our attention
21 How do you comfort your child(ren) when they are sad?
Lots of cuddles
22 Has somebody been kind to you recently?
Friends passing on a tonne of kids clothes
23 What happened at 1pm today?
We were having lunch with mum, dad & my brother (who was up visiting from Hobart)
24 What are some things weighing on your heart right now?
Worrying about my parentsā health. Frustrations about our house
25 Are there any habits that you would like to develop?
Being a bit more tidy and organised
26 What do you like to snack on in the evenings?
Chips, chocolate, biscuits, toast
27 What are three things from this past month that have been challenging?
Colds, colds, colds. Iām sick of everyone having a cold
28 What are three things from this past month that have uplifted you?
Having the money to pay some bills
29 How are you feeling today?
A little tired. Looking forward to spring and all of us getting better.
30 What is your favourite thing about Saturday afternoons right now?
Having quiet time after soccer. Doing things together as a family
31 What are you most looking forward to next month?
Warmer weather! Bring on Spring!!
So I saw this over at Kellieās blog and Iāve been meaning to do it myself for ages. No time like the present right? Not sure if Iāll do this monthly or weekly yet, most likely Iāll do it at the end of each month.
TIME: 8:30, Monday 31st August 2015
LOCATION : Dining room table
FEELING: tired and sick of coughing
LOVING : that spring is almost here.
READING : blogs and a book on keeping backyard chickens
DRINKING : Coke or hot chocolate
ANTICIPATING : Spring!
LISTENING TO : MUSIC : Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, The Fairies (thanks to Miss K) PODCAST : The Paperclipping Round Table
WATCHING : Ramseyās Hotel Hell, AFL
PLANNING : my Week in the Life album
LOOKING FORWARD TO : Summer. Getting better (I hate being sick)
CREATING : a mess. a plan for a bedroom makeover
NEED TO FINISH : Week in the Life album, bedroom plan
WISHING : it would warm up
MAIN GOAL : to make sure everything is planned and ready to go for the bedroom makeover
What are you “CURRENTLY” doing?
Disclaimer: The following post is brought to you by Nuffnang and Disney Junior The Channel
Story time can bring horror to some parents or, if you are like my husband and I, itās something you love doing. Reading to children from a young age is such a great way to introduce a love of books and reading and itās also a wonderful bonding experience.
For both our girls, story time has been an important part of their bedtime ritual. Now Disney Junior is inviting parents and carers to settle down and share a magical moment with their little one every evening on Disney Junior around bedtime with Disney Juniorās The Book of Once Upon A Time.
Series two of this a locally-produced, interactive story-telling series hosted by Australian actor and playwright Kate Mulvany launched during Book Week (seriously one of my favourite weeks ā I mean a WHOLE week. Dedicated to books. Whatās not to love?) on Monday 24th August with āSnow White and the Great Jewel Huntā. Later episodes will include new Disney stories from āWinnie the Poohā, āAladdinā, āSleeping Beautyā and āFrozenā. I know the latter will be a popular inclusion in our household, especially for a young Frozen obsessed 5-year-old. The āLand of Once Upon A Timeā lullaby follows each episode, encouraging children to prepare for bedtime. Children, Parents or carers can tune in for a story every day at 7:10pm on Disney Junior The Channel, or anytime on the website.
Disney Juniorās The Book of Once Upon A Time brings classic storytelling to life, with traditional elements of story time – turning pages, character voices and re-enactment, and classic touches of animation that ignites the imagination. As a parent I aim to seek TV and online content that stimulates our childrenās imagination. Parental expectations around āeducationalā content have broadened from a focus on academic learning to also include social skills, moral values, motor skills, good basic habits and creative thinking. Disney Junior’s animated and live action programming, blends Disney’s unparalleled storytelling and beloved characters with learning components, including early language and maths skills, as well as healthy lifestyles, with an emphasis on social and emotional development.
So what does our 5 year old think?
āI love it and itās the best story ever.ā Then asked if we could watch more and if we could download the Disney Story Central app so Iāll take that as itās pretty good.
Disney Junior The Channel is where magical storytelling comes to life! Available in all Foxtel subscribing homes; channel 709. If you donāt have Foxtel, you can access Disney Juniorās The Book of Once Upon A Time online on your laptop, PC, tablet or mobile at any time.
The Book of Once Upon A Time features Disney stories that are available as eBooks from the Disney Story Central app, available to download from iTunes
You can now find previous In the Den Kitchen posts here or on Pinterest. Clicking Recipes in the menu above will also take you to my In the Den Kitchen Pinterest board. Iām slowly reworking some older posts so they will show up there too.
Links to any Your Inspiration at Home (YIAH) products will take you to my YIAH page. You can shop in Australia, New Zealand, USA & Canada from my page. If you are interested in learning about YIAH jump over to my Facebook page.
Last week I mentioned I made chocolate cake. This is a recipe Iāve made for years and came from an Australian kids cookbook called Clarryās Kitchen Capers (I think, it was in a blue plastic folder, designed for kids.) The recipe was called Motherās Day Chocolate Cake. Anywho here is my Thermomix conversion
[yumprint-recipe id=’22’]To make it without a thermomix, chuck all the cake ingredients into a bowl, mix then pour into your cake tin š
You can now find previous In the Den Kitchen posts here or on Pinterest. Clicking Recipes in the menu above will also take you to my In the Den Kitchen Pinterest board. Iām slowly reworking some older posts so they will show up there too.
Links to any Your Inspiration at Home (YIAH) products will take you to my YIAH page. You can shop in Australia, New Zealand, USA & Canada from my page. If you are interested in learning about YIAH jump over to my Facebook page.
Miss A turned one (!!) last weekend so this week I thought Iād share some of the food I made for her party. We themed it around the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar so food choices were pretty easy (You can read more about the party over at From the Wolfās Den)
Starting with the egg on the leaf I made Devilled Eggs using YIAH Bay of Bengal Curry dip mix
Then apples, pears, strawberries, grapes (instead of plums), oranges and watermelon on a fruit platter
And the Saturday foodsā¦.
chocolate cake and cupcakes (orange and banana) ā Iāll be sharing the chocolate cake recipe next week. You can find the orange cake recipe here, I iced them using some YIAH Choc Orange chocolate powder and my banana cake recipe here
Ice cream cones. Thereās a bit of a story hereā¦ we started off thinking weād use ice cream lollies, then I found a recipe that was choc filled cones with a marshmallow on top but we couldnāt find mini ice cream cones, so, I trawled Pinterest and saw marshmallow cones. Perfect. Found a recipe for sherbet and a recipe for marshmallow. The sherbet tastes like Wizz Fizz and the marshmallow was soft and fluffy. I did learn a lesson from this adventure ā make it on the day you want to serve it otherwise things go soft and the 100s and 1000s loose their colour.
Swiss cheese and salami, a glass full of lolly pops, mini savs for the sausage and mini cherry pies (which were made in paper gelato cups with a square of puff pastry filled with tinned cherry pie filling).
The green leaf was represented by a green salad. Cocoons were made by cutting puff pastry in half then cutting those haves into 2 triangles. Spoon a blob of nutella on the long end then roll up towards the point (like a croissant). Bake for 30 mins in a 180C oven. Butterflies were a last minute decision ā fairy bread cut into butterfly shapes.
So there you have it. Food fit for a Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Like that our baby is one!
We had an awesome day and Miss A was totally spoiled.
Mum & Dad decorated their house
and there was loads of food
and cake
and of course our gorgeous little caterpillar
who was spoiled and got lots of new goodies including this
Now onto planning the next birthday (which is February for Miss Kās 6th!)
You can see my previous Life:Captured Project posts here.
01 Describe a moment from today that you want to remember always.
Having lots of cuddles with Miss A. She’s had a rotten head cold and all she wants to do is cuddle into me.
02 What do you love the most about little children?
Snuggles. Watching them grow and learn.
03 When was the last time you chatted with a neighbour? What did you talk about?
About a month ago, when our neighbour moved out. We talked about our other crappy neighbours and travelling
04 If you could grow anything you wanted, what would you grow?
Mangoes
05 When itās really cold, how do you like to warm up?
Snuggly jumpers, hot chocolate, wood fire
06 What happens on a Wednesday?
Usually Miss K is at school. Every other week is payday so on those weeks – paying bills, grocery shopping, trip to town. If not, just pottering round home or working.
07 What do you usually have for breakfast?
Hot chocolate & toast or cereal. In summer, fresh fruit.
08 What can you see outside your bedroom window?
Our driveway, the road and the side fence
09 Write about three things that you are thankful for right now.
Having a roof over our head, having wood for our fire and lots of good food to eat.
10 What does unconditional love look like?
The love of a parent for a child.
11 What do you think is the hardest thing about being a parent?
Watching your children grown up and become independent
12 When was the last time you cried, and why?
The other night cause my little one wasnāt well and I was just feeling very stressed.
13 Do you find it easy or hard to make new friends?
Sometimes hard. Other times it just clicks and you know youāll be friends.
14 Who are the people you always go to when you need someone to talk to?
My mum
15 What are some of your familyās favourite dishes?
Chicken, pretty much anything chicken. Chinese BBQ pork. Toblerone Cheesecake
16 What would you say to someone who was grieving?
Iām hear if you need someone to talk to or just want someone to listen
17 Describe your ideal holiday.
Somewhere warm, somewhere we can relax but still go do stuff if we want. Location doesnāt really matter.
18 How do you feel about traveling alone?
Iād love it but I would really miss my family (but some alone time would be nice)
19 What are you feeling stressed or worried about right now?
Not really stressed, just worried I wonāt have everything done in time for our daughterās first birthday
20 What is the first thing that you usually do when you wake up?
Check my phone and turn off the alarm
21 If you could only keep twenty-five things, what would they be?
OMG how hard is this? My laptop, my camera, my phone, my scrapbooks, my thermomix, my pink teddy bear, my favourite jeans, my favourite black boots, my willow tree collection, our D&D collection, my scrapbookng supplies, a printer, my planner, my ipad, ā¦.. i canāt really think of anything else right now
22 When you are gone, what do you want your child(ren) to remember about you?
I was kind and loving
23 What do you like to have with pasta?
Usually spaghetti bolognaise or a chicken/bacon pasta bake
24 Whereabouts in the world do you want to grow old?
Traveling around the world. Would love to be a grey nomad and travel when we retire
25 Write a letter to your parents, and tell them the things youāve always wanted to say.
Oh Iām not sharing this one on the blog. Sorry world but thereās a few things Iād say that I donāt want to share.
26 Write down your love story.
The short version :p We met. Became good friends (even though both secretly wanting to be more than friends). I ended relationship I was in. We went on holiday together. We moved in together. Started a business together. Got married. Bought a house. Had a child. Decided no more kids. Had another childā¦ TBC š Celebrating 10 years of marriage next year!!
27 What are three things from this past month that have made you think twice?
Silly arguments. Rereading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Listening to other people.
28 What are three things from this past month that have enriched your life?
Renewing old friendships. Having new friends. Big deep and meaningful discussions
29 How are you feeling today?
A little tired but glad Miss A is on the mend. Overwhelmed by how feral our house has become while she has been sick but motivated to get stuck in & clean it up. Looking forward to next weekend.
30 What is your favourite thing about Thursday evenings right now?
Itās almost the weekend š
31 What are you most looking forward to next month?
Miss Aās first birthday. And hopefully getting our tax return back
Yes more party planning. This will be the last post about it before the actual party.
Weāre keeping it pretty simple, some balloons, some streamers, a paper lantern caterpillar and a photo caterpillar.
Yet again Pinterest has heaps of ideasā¦
That’s just some of my favourites. Iāll be sharing my decorating efforts after the party š
