On a whim!

Do you believe that we create our own reality?
  You may have read "The Secret" or be a long term devotee of the idea of the self fulfilling prophecy.  Well the other day I was feeling a little lost in my daily routine - you know the one - get up, feed kids, wash clothes, clean house, feed kids, clean house, feed kids, go to bed .... we all have those moments.
  You feel like you are just going through the motions, getting through each day and each moment losing your connection with the "bigger picture".


So on a whim I scrawled a note on my trusty whiteboard
 ( the one that gives me my daily reminders like "milk" or "sport day Thursday")that said:


"I need to see more of the sky!"


Well I have been looking at that note everyday as I go about my business, and guess what? today as I passed by that little reminder I had a secret smile to myself as I realised that I had created my reality this week.
  Everyday I have been outside enjoying the autumn sunshine, at the park, on a picnic, at the park again - "unintentionally" I had given myself what I needed - some grounding, surrounded by mother nature, just enjoying the moment.  And guess what?  I feel much more centred and calm, my house is more organised, I don't have a to-do-list as long as my arm and I have finally found the time to sit down to catch up with my favourite Blogs and to update my own!


My message - give yourself permission to be "in the moment" and the rest will just fall into place.


Have a Happy Easter...



Luna Park Sydney

 As promised, here are a few snap-shots from our trip to Luna Park Sydney.  It is an iconic Sydney fun park, located on the harbour just next to the northern end of the equally iconic harbour bridge.  The big face is the entrance and to get inside, you walk through the mouth.

Luna Park has just celebrated it's 75th birthday.  There is another Luna Park in Melbourne - but I think ours is much prettier!!!

The view from inside Luna Park, looking back towards the bridge.

A Sydney ferry heads to Luna Park from Circular Quay , which is a main port right next to the Sydney Opera House (in the back ground)

My Boys and I.

Mark & I

Ooops .....

Awesome fun !!!!!  Sydney put on some beautiful weather for us and it is always a beautiful day by the harbour.

Kelli xx

True Aussie Mates!

As you may or may not know, we are having some pretty devastating floods in Australia at the moment.  Someone on facebook had taken this photo of two natural enemies helping each other out in their time of need (see the link above to the cause).  I thought that this was pretty amazing and that it epitomises the true Aussie spirit of "helping a mate in need".  Please join me in sending Prayers for those who have lost their lives, loved ones and homes.

PS: Please check out the button I have added above for the Queensland flood appeal auction, to support the victims of the floods.

Christmas Cheer!

Here is our little bit of Christmas Cheer,
for it has been a while since I was here,

The joy of the season has come and gone,
it did not last ~ all that long,

Long school holidays are now here,
Sunny Sydney it's skies are clear,

The sand and surf are now the way,
to spend a long, hot summers day.

So do drop by now and again
to have a look at where we've been!

So Sorry!

Hello dear friends,
stay tuned ..... I'm still here .... just a little preoccupied....sorry I will catch up soon

produce

    A while ago we planted a little plot of veggies on our back garden, we have snow peas, tomatoes, baby spinach, spring onions and baby capsicum (peppers) as well as a few pots of herbs, strawberries and jalapenos.  After lots of rain and lots of fertiliser ~ we are now eating these:

Unfortunately, not many have made it to the table ~ because the boys keep eating them from the vine!!!

Just loving the fresh produce ... can't wait for the cucumbers and the strawberries!

Happy Friday!!!

You Capture - Spring

As you may have guessed, it is spring down here in the southern hemisphere (finally!!!).  The assignment this week over at Beth's was for Autumn (or spring if that applied).

This week I tried to get a different perspective, so I was laying on my back under my rose bush, trying to get some sun-flare happening.  Unfortunately the sun would not cooperate!

This was the result!

I also took a photo of the whole bush, so that you could see just how many flowers it has at the moment.  It has gone crazy this spring (we've had a fair bit of rain in Sydney).  It is actually a standard (or topiary~that is a ball on top of a tall stem) but it has so many flowers ~ and is so heavy that it is touching the ground.

Head over to see more photography at Beth's:

Thanks for visiting, I love comments, so let me know you stopped by!

Chocolate Log

I thought I would share a little secret recipe that my sister gave me a while ago.  It is SO easy, and a real hit for dessert, so here goes!

You will need:

Large thickened cream

double choc chip cookies (preferably soft not crunchy)

Jam

1} Whip cream with a hand-mixer



2} smooth a layer of cream along your tray

3} Now the fun bit (the kids love it - it's messy). On one side of cookie spread whipped cream, on the other side spread jam. Then stand it up on layer of cream on tray.

4} Continue layering until all cookies are used, (save one or two to crumble over top for decoration) Then cover whole log with whipped cream. Crumble crushed cookies over top.

Now for the final step {This is the most important step}. 

 Cover log and refrigerate

OVER NIGHT.

Yes, it really does need to be overnight, because the cookies will soak up the moisture from the cream and jam, and what you will then have is a gooey, yummy dessert that is like cake on the inside. {Mmmm}

You can do two rows of cookies together if you like, and I like to cut mine diagonally to show the layers.  You won't believe how yummy this is!!!!

 It usually looks a bit nicer than this, but isn't that always the way?

Hope you enjoy this, don't forget ~ it's supposed to be a secret!

Have a great day.

You Capture ~ Orange

The subject for this weeks You Capture assignment is orange,

this little bit of orange was found in my little guy's

marble jar.

Next we had a little tea party

OK, possibly a little more red than orange? But fun.

I have a funny story to share about the word "Orange" ~ In our family we play a rhyming game {made up by the five year old},

someone says a word then everyone shouts out words that rhyme.

 (Loud and over the top of each other!!!)

So one day we were playing and my brother says to him "ok what rhymes with orange" {knowing that this is a non-rhyming word and thinking he had beaten him at his own game}. So, quick as a wink Mr 5 shouts back "porridge",

 the funny part being that he says it like orange "Porrange".

Very funny, and still gets a giggle at our place!

Head over to Beth's for more orange inspiration

Thanks for visiting, have a great day!



Virtual Coffee...{ thanks for coming! }

Welcome .... this is the first time I have met you for coffee, thanks for coming.

If we were really meeting for coffee today we probably would have to meet "out"

because my lovely~shift~working~hubby is sleeping.  So I might have asked

you to meet me at the new Cafe just near my place "the Chocolate room",

Mmm Mmm ~ they sell yummy handmade chocolates and the best coffee

(skim Latte for me please).

The Chocolate Room

I would have to tell you that my big boy is two nights into a five night camp and

although I didn't think I would miss him {too much} ~ I do!

In this time when we are used to instant communication,

 I feel a little lost because I can't call him and ask how he is,

are you ok? are you sleeping? are you homesick? .....

I do have to confess though,

 that I did send him a message on facebook {OOPS],

 in the hope that one of his friends did smuggle a phone to camp {contraband}.

 Although, the activities look like too much fun,

and I'm pretty sure he is not missing us at all!

 He is at his happiest outdoors.

I would tell you that the boys started Softball last week

 { although last season they played Baseball }

 and they have a little bit of adjusting to do,

 learning new rules and different methods.

Their first games were last Saturday, when we had unseasonal wind {for spring!}

 and it snowed two hours south of us ...

 it was freezing and the ball kept blowing off the tee for the tee-ballers!

I might tell you that I need to go home to do housework ... what a mess

and that I have a mountain of ironing waiting for me,

that will still be there tomorrow!
{there is NO magic fairy my friends!}

So it probably was a good idea for us to meet out this week.

So if we were really meeting for coffee today,

 my little guy is probably getting a little restless by now

and I will need to head off.

{via the grocery store ~ because we are out of stuff again!}

Thanks for meeting me today, I'll look forward to our next coffee.

p.s: Head over to Amy's to join in. xx

On the fridge

Does your fridge gather JUNK? Mine does!
Sometimes I fear that it will topple right over with all of the stuff that collects on the doors.  As you can see from the little sample here .... {this is only half of it! ~ truly} Mine has a serious clutter issue ~ which directly reflects how busy our week is.
School notes, awards, reminder messages scrawled onto the magnetic whiteboard, the calendar, little artworks {self-hung at 5 year old height}, the weeks dinner menu....... etc etc.
Sometimes the notes become three deep, and the poor magnets can't cope ~ which results in the whole pile sliding down the door every time the door is opened or flying across the room if a breeze blows through!  Some days I wish for a bare fridge, one without notes and reminders, without little grimy hand prints or thousands of magnets ~ but then I remember that time is fleeting and one day  I will miss the clutter.



Enjoy the moment!!!

You Capture ~ Animals

{..Henry..}

This week the You Capture challenge was Animals, which was great for me - because I have Henry.  He is our five year old Labrador X golden retriever. He is a pretty excitable boy, who loves the kids, water and table scraps.  When he was a puppy, Jack {who was 3} used to call him "my brother dog" and head-lock him {& usually plant a big kiss on his nose too!}.

He actually posed for this photo {only because Jack told him to stay & smile.. }.  He is a beautiful boy, and only a little bit naughty now that he is five!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy some more animal shots over at Beth's .....



Owl softie

So, another lovely friend of mine recently gave birth to a beautiful baby ~ this time a boy.
He is of course GORGEOUS!

I decided to make him a little softie as a birth gift, so first stop was my local fabric shop where I could not walk past the fluffy chenille {what textile lover could!} ~I added some lovely green quilters fabrics and some delicious wool felt.

Next stop ~ google image search for inspiration ~ giraffes, monkeys, elephants ... but I could only get excited about the OWLS!!!. Hundreds of beautiful softies, tall ones, short ones, fat ones.....skinny ones.  Some with wings, some with feet, some with large eyes some with no eyes!

I took a little bit of inspiration from the hundreds that I looked at, decided on some elements that I liked - big eyes, little wings, no feet and then began to create a pattern.

I decided to use a little of this vintage ric~rac {that I inherited and has a price tag of 16c ....hehehe} . It's so lovely!

So then I pieced together the details to the front panel

And then joined the front to the back

Ta Da!!!!!

And here is his back

I love softies! 

Here is the link to the story of my sewing machine for those who have been loving it!