My new camera. I think I am in love!

Mr P had the day off on Friday. He took Georgia for a haircut then went shopping…….for a new camera for me!

This is my new Canon 1100D Digital SLR Camera.

I have dreamt of an SLR camera. It has been on my wish list for as long as I can remember. It came with a twin lens kit so twice the fun! We spent the whole weekend taking photo’s.

One thing that has been on my “must take photo wish list” has been to get pics of the kids in front of a graffiti wall. When your kids get older, you need to start thinking of new ways to take pics of them that they are keen on doing too.

After much driving around industrial areas, we found this…….

Kiara ran up to the wall & bounced off it!

{she is pretty cool like that!}

Georgia is always so full of energy so this jump in the air pic was perfect for her!

This is the 2 of them just being cool!

Georgia just “hanging” around!

Sometimes you even have to get Dad t come along for that little extra boost!

{thanks Mr P!}

Nothing was safe this weekend. If it moved, we took a photo.

If it looked awesome, we took a photo.

Even if it didn’t move, we took a photo of it!

I have to say, I think I am in love with my new camera!

P.S. Don't ask me where the graffiti wall is, it's my little secret!

A good karma story. I knew it would come back to me one day!

Good Karma.

It is something that I tell my kids about every single day. I always tell them to do good deeds without recognition because one day they will get it in return.

Today it came back to me.

Have you had one of those moments when you realise that your phone is lost? Not just lost for a little while & you know you will find it again but really lost never to be seen again.

Today, that happened to me.

We had been sightseeing with our new camera (more on that later), we had been to so many places. I had jumped out of the car at random places to quickly take a photo. We had crawled through the sand, the grass, we had been everywhere.

When we got home, my phone was no where to be found, We rang it, no response. I knew then that it was gone. It was not at home, it was not in the car & it was not in my handbag. I knew I had lost it somewhere when we had been taking photo’s. Where? I had no idea.

Mr P could tell that I was having a break down, I was on the verge of tears. My life is on my phone. He had no idea where to go but he jumped in the car to retrace our hours of sightseeing. I called the phone company & suspended the sim card.

I cried.

I jumped on to Facebook to whinge about it because I knew that there was no hope.

I was greeted with this…..

Your phone is here next to fence in the grass.

The person who found my phone, went into my Instagram account & posted this pic of where I had dropped my phone. They posted this pic on my Facebook page & my twitter account. This wonderful person made sure that I would be able to find my phone! They told me where it was!

I screamed, I cried & I quickly rang Mr P who was only one street away from my phone & told him where he could find it. It was 25 minutes drive from our house where I dropped my phone. It was around 4 hours after I had dropped my phone that he found it.

This is where it was!

Can you see that white thing next to the pole?

That is my phone leaning against the fence!

I have no idea what wonderful person did this for me but I will be eternally grateful.

I left this message on the Instagram pic that they went to so much trouble to leave for me.

To the person who found my phone, took this pic of where it was & put it where I could find it, 1 million thank you's. You are an angel & karma will repay you for your wonderful deed. Thank you :)

I have no other way of contacting this person. They did the picture through my accounts. But I want them to know that I will keep passing this good deed on.

What goes around, comes around.

Melted crayon canvas artwork

{Tutorial}

I can not take credit for this fabulous artwork. Kiara did it all by herself!

{I supervised of course!}

She has been wanting to do this for quite sometime. What better time than on the school holidays! I know this artwork has been floating around on the blogosphere, Pinterest & TV for a long time.

Now it will be hanging in our house!

It is super easy & all you need is a blank canvas, a large packet of crayons, hot glue & a hairdryer.

Because you need a hairdryer it goes without saying, ADULT SUPERVISION at all times if your children are going to help you with this.

You need to line up your crayons in colour order of how you want them on the canvas.

Put a little hot glue dot where you want your crayon to be & stick them down. Do this one at a time so the hot glue doesn’t set before you put the crayon on.

Leave it to set for 10 minutes then the fun can start.

We did the next part outside on the grass as it can get a little messy. Always remember that hot crayon wax can burn so ADULT SUPERVISION is needed!

{common-sense}

Using a hairdryer, melt the crayons so that the wax drips down the canvas. Hold the canvas up straight while melting.

And there you have it!

One unique masterpiece that would look great in any kids bedroom!

{even teenagers!}

*


*please you all prcautions when working with hot glue guns, hairdryers & melted crayon wax *
*Adult supervision is required at all times*

Slow cooked beef that melts in your mouth.

Ok, so I think that I may have come up with the best slow cooked beef recipe. It was an experiment that worked!

This meat was so tender that it fell apart as I was cutting it!

I know that many of you were listening to me rave on about it on Facebook & someone asked for the recipe…..so here it is!

You will need

1.5kg roast beef, uncooked

2 zucchini’s, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves or garlic, crushed

3 bay leaves

1 stick of cinnamon

1 jar of tomato based sauce (I used Passata)

250 ml of red wine

Place all the vegies on the bottom of a slow cooker & place the beef on top.

Pour in the tomato sauce & the red wine.

I don’t drink wine {I know, I am a little strange} so Mr P went to the local Bottle shop & the guy there suggested this bottle. I have to say, it was perfect for this recipe!

Slow cook the meat for the whole day.

When you are ready to eat, strain the leftover sauce into a saucepan & simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced. This most the most delicious sauce for your meat.

Serve with your choice of vegies.

I am telling you, this will be the beast slow cooked beef you have ever tasted!

Well, it is the best I have ever tasted!

IF & I I doubt it, you have any leftovers this is amazing on a sandwich for lunch the next day!

Strawberry fields forever!

Yes, it is that time of year again. The strawberry farms near us are all open for the public to go picking.

Georgia has been asking every week for the past couple of months if it is time.

Yes, it is time!

Georgia’s favourite food is

Strawberries!

This week I am going to share some of our strawberry recipes with you.

It is fun doing something every year at the same time, you get to see how much your kids have grown by looking at the photo’s.

  

Georgia, 2 years ago

      

Georgia, now.

I love walking around the strawberry fields.

The only problem is that I get so hungry looking at all the big, juicy strawberries!

There is nothing better than farm fresh food.

We are really lucky to live close to the city but also close to so many working farms.

So tell me, what is your favourite fruit?

Tea time

A few weeks ago, we had a birthday to attend & I had no idea what to get as a present. I searched the shops, I searched online & with 24 hours before the party, I figured it out!

I found this beautiful tea chest at our local shopping centre & I filled it with all different flavoured teas.

High teas are in fashion in a big way at the moment & I knew that the birthday lady was a lover of tea so this was the perfect gift.

I also brought a beautiful tea pot to go with it but unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it.

I have often given a beautiful tea cup with flavoured teas as a present.

I do love the idea of a tea chest as it is something that can be used forever.

I also brought one of these for myself as I have a serious addiction to tea! I don’t drink coffee, I drink tea!

I love when people come over & they are able to pick which flavour they want.

I love to set the table as though we are having our very own high tea. I love beautiful tablecloths & gorgeous tea cups.

I collect tea pots, vintage crochet tablecloths & I love to be able to use them.

This picture above is just the “everyday”collection!

Just a quick little note, I have seen that Aldi has similar tea chests in the brochure for next week!

Do you love tea too?

What is your favourite tea?

What I have been up to!

 

If you have been following on the Facebook Page, you will know 3 important things….

 

1. It is school holidays

2. It has rained for this whole first week of the school holidays

3. I have been passing the time trying to learn how to crochet!

 

 

 

Now, the first 2 things are not under my control. I am not a miracle worker even though my family thinks that I am! The 3rd thing is all I have left to conquer. Who knew that i would not be successful at something crafty! I think that is what is stressing me out the most. people expect me to be able to do everything but I can tell you that crocheting is doing my head in!

I know, there is so many of you that can do it & I am just not one of them!

I will not give up though.

Here is some examples of my work. Now keep in mind that I am following a pattern to make a square.

 

 

Yes, I can sort of crochet but it is driving me nuts that my squares are not square!

I even decided to freestyle & somehow I came up with a thimble.

 

 

Funny thing is that I was not trying to make a thimble!

But, I will not give up.

 

Lego + O.C.D can be a problem but I found the solution!

My girls are no longer little kids. They are now a tween & a teenager. The one toy that has stood the test of time is Lego. They no longer have many toys, they have packed them up or given them away. It was their choice. They have made room for all the gadgets & gizmos in their lives but 1 thing has stayed.

Lego!

I did find that it was getting forgotten about. It had been in a basket for quite some time & had not been touched.

Then it occurred to me. Georgia has OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) & finds Lego overwhelming. A big basket of it makes her nervous & she would just rather not touch it. Some people may not understand this. When she sees the colours all mixed together, she just walks away. It becomes all to hard.

How did I get her to overcome this?

I brought her a little storage system (ok, maybe not so little) so that she can have the colours organised, see it all & know that she can easily sort it all out when she is finished playing.

(That one red piece that is permanently stuck on the grey piece drives her insane!)

There is spare containers on top for when she doesn’t want to break up a special project.

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Even when she makes something, it has to be in “colours”.

I am finding ways to deal with her OCD that make life a little less stressful for her. Some people would just say that she needs to “overcome” it but it is what makes her, her. I love that she has her own little ways. It is what makes her unique.

Some times I will catch her saying that she is weird.

She will ask why she does things differently.

She will ask why do I have to do certain things.

I always tell her that I love who she is & I just try & make things less stressful for her.

When I see that she is counting her steps in her head, I do not interrupt.

When I see that she is struggling with something unfamiliar, I will ask what I can do to make it easier.

I want her to be able to come up with ways to embrace her uniqueness before she becomes an adult.

Storage ideas have been making a big difference for her. If everything has a place, then she is happy. If is doesn’t have a particular place, then it becomes a burden.

It is also helping me to become more organised.

 She is also helping the rest of the household to become organised.

If someone puts a bowl away in the wrong spot in the kitchen, she makes sure to let them know & will show them just where it should go. 

I believe that OCD can be a bonus if you know how to manage it.

Yes, I too have OCD & I wish that I had learnt the tools to living with it when I was young.

It has made me suffer from anxiety & people often mistake it for being a “control freak”.

Yes, my shoes are organised into colours, my wardrobe looks like it should be a shop & I have to wake up to a clean house or the rest of the day will be filled with panic.

I am also like her when it comes to not having a place for something. I often pile things up out of sight if there is no where to put it. Then the pile grows out of control. That then causes me to go on mad cleaning benders. It is such a vicious cycle.

But I am learning ways to cope & it is because I am helping Georgia to cope. We are helping each other.

OCD doesn’t have to be a bad thing…I mean what Mother wouldn’t want a child how organises Lego?

A vintage stationary suitcase

Ok, I have said it many times before, we live in a very little house. So small in fact that we do not have an area for a desk. It suits me though, because if I had to sit at a normal desk, I wouldn’t. I would never get anything done. So I have to come up with ideas that are completely portable so I can work where I am happy. One thing that I have come up with is a vintage suitcase that has become home to all of my stationary.

It holds all of my envelopes, writing paper, notebooks, tapes, cards, etc.

It is perfect because it is only 35cm x 35cm & 20cm high. It is very portable so I can take it outside on a sunny day to write letters or I can even take it into my bedroom to get things done before bed.

This suitcase started off it’s life as a grey, plain suitcase. But with a couple of coats of “Creation Blue” spray paint, some fabric & ribbon for the lining…. it now has a new lease on life.

Now I have somewhere to keep all of my special stationary!

I keep it under a small side table that I have behind my lounge. I also keep our picnic baskets there too. The draws are full of all of those annoying cords & chargers for the gazillion gadgets that we have.

I have another smaller vintage suitcase that I am going to turn into a sewing centre with all of my scissors, needles, pins, tapes, etc.

I really love vintage suitcases & I think that they have an endless amount of uses,

Do you have a quirky way of storing your stationary?