Simple Living

As I have finished all my Christmas shopping except for the fresh food I will need on Christmas day, I am staying well and truly away from all large shopping centres.

Luckily we have a small IGA in our local area which doesn't get too busy for day to day needs but as for going near a Westfield plaza - forget it!

Time to get on with some of the craft projects that have been sitting in the cupboard.

One of the easy and quick things I wanted to do was to dress up some of my plain pillowcases.

I like to buy white pillowcases as they are so easy to napisan back to a lovely fresh white again.

But they are oh, so boring.

I picked up a fat quarter in Big W a few months ago with the intention of adding it as a border to some white pillowcases I already had.

Just a bit on the entry side of the pillowcase.

Makes our bed look nice and fresh. Took me about 30 minutes to do the two pillowcases.

The other thing I've been doing a bit of lately is stockpiling.

Firstly, because I hope to avoid the shops as much as I can for the next month and secondly, because the school holidays are approaching and I know I will be grocery shopping with an irritable 8 year old.

Last week, Woolies had this great special on toilet paper. Sixteen rolls for $4. I grabbed two lots.

I also love to grab shampoo and conditioner when it's on sale.

I have absolutely no brand loyalty. I try to buy organic when I can but sometimes the other brands have such good specials it's hard to say no.

My shampoo collection.

I've also gotten back into op shopping. I had given up on it a bit because I wasn't finding much in the stores lately and when I did, I found they were charging too much for vintage items.

But a girlfriend reminded me to just take my time when I'm looking through the stores, don't go looking for a particular item and don't buy anything unless I love it.

Well today I feel in love.

My Nan used to have one of these bags/baskets. Made of fabric with cane looking handles. Nan used to keep her knitting projects in hers. I was walking past the local cancer op shop and saw this in the window. I quickly walked in and snaffled it up for myself.

It's now right next to my bed ready for some Autumn/Winter knitting projects.

And 2012 is going to be the year I learn to crochet. (No laughing)

Simple Pleasures and Somewhere to Sit.

My husband Bill works very long hours. When you run your own business, you can never clock off. Subsequently, we spent very little quality time together through the week.

We do get the odd cup of coffee together in the morning and maybe an hour together in the evening. But with the kids, dinner, showers etc all competing for our time the quality of our interactions leave a lot to be desired.

About a year ago we decided to create an area that was just for us. A place with two chairs, a place to put our coffee and a light to read by. Of course, it all had to feel a bit retro.

We spend most mornings in this spot reading the papers, chatting and having our first coffee of the day. We put in a footstool to put our feet up on. This also doubles as a place for the kids and the dog to come and say hello.

A little table to put coffee cups, papers etc. I used to use the retro phone until it became impractical. Now it's just an ornament. The table also has the triffid style lights that you can manually angle to suit your reading purposes.

I had a little phase of old blighty love during which time I bought this cushion from Etsy.

And this very British poster from Lark.

While I am detesting this Summer weather, I am loving the fresh fruit that is everywhere at the moment. Such a simple pleasure that can really make your day. I got these massive mangoes yesterday for $1 each at the local greengrocer.

With these short life span fruits you really have to eat as much as you can while they are abundant I think.

And last night I received these beautiful roses directly from my father in law's garden.

Bill had been up to the Central Coast for business and popped in to see him and came home with these beauties from his lovely garden.

I don't know which I enjoyed more, the roses or the fact that they were picked especially for me.

Zen Habits

One of the blogs I like to follow is called Zen Family Habits.

One of their best posts is how to simplify your life. They suggest 43 immediate ways to begin.

Let's see how I go:

1. Turn off your cell phone. (I have an emergency only mobile. It's always off and in the bottom of my handbag :: No brain cancers for me haha!!)

2. Process email only twice a day. (Usually only twice unless I'm waiting for something important to come through)

3. Go to bed early. (yup)

4. Get rid of (or at least reduce) commitments that you do out of obligation. (I'm not doing any volunteer work at the school this year - anything else I do, it's because I want to)

5. Create a weekly meal plan. (Yup)

6. Automate your finances. (Bill in charge of this :: allows me to be very financially Zen)

7. Purge as much unneeded clutter as possible. (You KNOW I do this!)

8. Keep your paper shredder on top of your recycling bin. (This is a great tip - must do this)

9. Add items you want to a wish list as you think of them. (Kinda do this)

10. Get a label maker or write labels out by hand. (Have a million labels - thanks Christina)

11. Set your clothes out for the next day the night before. (I know this is a great idea but I never do it)

12. Make your lunch for the next day the night before. (No need for myself but I try to do this for Rhianna - no good at making lunches when I'm half asleep in the morning)

13. Make time to catch up with an old friend. (Always do this)

14. Just say no. (I'm good at saying no on the phone, not much good at saying no face to face)

15. Ask for experiences not things for your birthday and Christmas this year. (Well, I did ask for New York for my birthday this year)

16. Tell the truth. (Try to - unless of course it doesn't suit me - LOL)

17. Keep your list of addresses and phone numbers up to date. (Yup)

18. Consolidate debt. (Not much debt apart from small mortgage)

19. Create an organizing system that works for you. (Could do better)

20. Keep a bag for garbage in your car. (Another good tip I will implement)

21. Cary a notebook and pen with you where ever you go. (Ditto )

22. Unsubscribe from emails, newsletters or RSS feeds that don’t provide value anymore. (Try to do this once a week)

23. Apologize immediately when you realize you’ve done wrong. (Could do better)

24. Enjoy the present moment as much as you can. (Absolutely do this)

25. Take time to really see the little things in life.(Ditto )

26. Reduce the amount of TV you watch. (Not a big TV watcher - love to read)

27. Get outside. (When Autumn starts I'll think about it)

28. Create morning, daytime, and evening routines. (Yup)

29. Ask for help. (Don't do this very much but then I don't have much need to either.)

30. Do things at home as much as possible (eat, date nights, entertain etc.). (Yup but could do better)

31. Don’t get caught up in other people’s drama. (Good at this)

32. Let go of the self-imposed need to be perfect. (Trying hard but its not easy to let go of decades of negative self talk)

33. Focus on a simple, but healthy, eating plan. (umm, next question)

34. Share responsibilities. (With who? )

35. Reduce your wardrobe to a few versatile items. ( I only have a few items but I'm not sure how "versatile" they are)

36. Be positive. (Yup)

37. Start a gratitude journal. (This is a bit naff for me)

38. Finish old tasks before taking on new ones. (Yup this makes sense but it's so boring)

39. For every new item that enters your home set two free. (Yes, I am doing the one in, one out rule)

40. Want what you have not what you don’t. (Yup, I'm pretty good at this)

41. Revisit what you carry with you in your purse or wallet. (Wallet could do with a clean out)

42. Focus on one thing at a time. (Not good at this)

43. Store new garbage bags at the bottom of your garbage can. (Good idea except what happens if one bag springs a leak?)

Overall I thing I'm doing pretty well. A couple of good ideas to implement. I'll let you know if I get around to any.

Simple Childhood Memories

We headed up to my Mum and Dad's on the weekend. They live on the Central coast of NSW.

Rhianna has recently become the proud owner of a new pink fishing rod and we thought we'd trot off up to the coast to try it out.

Going up to Mum's makes me think about a few different things.

Firstly, I always think about when we used to drive to my Nan's place as a kid. The anticipation of seeing her, the morning teas she used to do, completed with homemade cakes, slices and biscuits. Sitting on my Nan's lap sipping tea from her cup and smelling her sweet crinkly neck when I used to hug her.

Sometimes I wonder what memories my kids will have of their Nan and Pop.

But mostly I think about how wonderful it is that I still have both my parents with me and still in good health and that we have the opportunity to spend time with them.

Anyway, we spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning out at Wyee Point doing some fishing. We tried to warn Rhianna that she may not actually catch any fish.

But guess what - she caught one. Actually more than one - she caught lots.

Unfortunately they were too small and had to go back in but she didn't care - it was the catching that was the highlight. Bill was the designated dehooker and thrower back inner.

Back at Mum's we pottered around the garden in the afternoon sunshine and did some gardening. Mum has a lovely garden - sorry forgot to take a picture. Rhianna spent ages picking out these flowers to make a bouquet to bring home with us.

We had a gorgeous dinner of lamb chops and vegetables and then some TV watching. I was amazed whn Rhianna asked my Mum if she could sit on her lap and then promptly fell asleep - I hope that's one memory she does keep. I know I will.

On Sunday we headed home after breakfast and a quick stop at the flea markets. The weather was glorious and we spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool.

Sometimes life really is all about the simple pleasures.

Higgelty Piggelty Weekend

After quite a busy week for our family we decided to spend the start of this weekend just hanging around the house. Rhianna got off to an early morning start.....

We needed a few art and craft supplies so we showered and dressed to head out. Miss R decided to wear her dad's trilby to the shops - oh, she's a fashion leader this one.....(Ahem)

I was quite pleased with this first skirt I've ever managed to make. I only had a printed out pattern and it actually fits my daughter and it cost me nothing as the material is a scrap. Can you tell how proud I am? I'll be knocking up a sequined wedding dress next.....or not.

Then onto the business end of the day - craft, craft and more craft. First a swim in the pool as it's 35 degrees out there today and then onto Rhianna's choice of crafts - paper boxes. Here's how it looked in the book.....

And here is our efforts. Not too shabby.

A close up. This is how the box is supposed to look. It doesn't have a "lid" as such. We are thinking we might get some double sided Xmas paper and make some goody boxes for our Christmas party this year as we have quite a few kids coming (Lord help me) and it's nice to give them something a little personal when they go home.

And finally Rhianna did a bit of craft on her (mostly) own. She set up a vet store in the loungeroom complete with a cage where the patients wait their turn for medical treatment.

We even had a latch so the little furries couldn't get away while they were waiting. Kept her occupied for 2 hours and didn't cost a cent.

Well today might have been the frugal day but I'm thinking tomorrow is going to be the all expenses day as we head out to the city for some culture - pics and story tomorrow.
Stay Happy.

Christmas Folder

I would love to take credit for this fabulous idea but I have to admit that I stole it from Libby at Life is a Journey not a Destination. I loved it so much I made myself one straight away.

Here is the front cover - made from recycled brown paper and some old Christmas ribbon I had. I was going to buy a folder and then I found a perfectly good one in the cupboard.

First couple of pages in the folder have the next three months in calendar form so I can plan activities, shopping assaults and social activities.

I popped January 2011 in here as well so I can start to plan some holiday activities for Rhianna and hopefully some holidays too.

One of the sections I have tabbed is a home made gift section. I had this stuff floating all over the house so its good to collate it all in the one place. This is also where I am compiling the Xmas gift list for my family and friends.

Next section is the Christmas craft section. Now as I am a teacher I have oodles of this stuff so I just put in a few things that Rhianna and I might actually get to. And we'll be using up all the craft stuff we already have.

More craft

Next section is the Christmas food and menus section. We are having Christmas with Bill's family this year and I am bringing a salad, ham and a dessert so plenty of scope to be creative there.

Then we are having Boxing day at home (Hoorah :: our first year at home in this house) so we will be doing plenty of seafood as we'll do a BBQ by the pool.

I've included a section of low to no cost holiday activities for January. I'll be going up to Mum and Dad's on the coast for a couple of weeks to have a bit of a beach holiday with Rhianna but the rest of the time I'll be looking for cheap activities to keep boredom at bay.

And that's it. A lot of organisation for a grand total of $0. Hopefully the folder will keep my head screwed on the right way this Christmas crazy season. Thanks Libby.

10 Things I Don't Own.

Because I've been decluttering a lot lately, I've thought that maybe I should become a minimalist. That is, somebody with very few possessions. A true minimalist tries to keep the items they own below 100.

So I checked out some minimalist blogs. And no, I won't be becoming a minimalist anytime soon - it's just too boring and where would all my vintage and retro lovelies go. No, no, no...it was just too awful to contemplate.

One of the minimalist bloggers did have a list of all the common day items she lives without.

So I thought I'd dedicate this post to some of the items you may have in your home that I don't miss having in mine.

1. If you've been reading this blog before you'll know that I got rid of my microwave about 4 months ago. Do I miss it? Nup.

2. An answering machine. Pictured below is my one and only telephone and it has no provision for an answering machine. And boy does it send some people batty when they can't leave a message. (Hi Natalie)


3. Further to the hating new technology theme is the fact that I don't own an MP3 or Ipod or any other fancy named item. I just find all that stuff so boring. And I still have my walkman. (truly)

4. High heels. Hate them. Used to wear them when I was younger and more convinced I had to have them to be fashionable. But these days it's all about comfort.

5. Pixie Photos. Apologies to anybody who has these photos from K-Mart but I think they are the naffest thing people in Australia decorate their walls with.

6. I used to have a cupboard full of cosmetics and lotions and potions. During the "organic" phase I culled the lot. This is my cosmetic cupboard now. Notice the lovely empty top shelf.

7. A garden bed. We ripped them out and laid the areas with grass. Life's too short for weeds.

8. A noticeboard. I was using the fridge for important notices but now I put everything into my family folder and got rid of the clutter.

9. Electric blankets. I love them and think they are essential items living in the Blue Mountains but unfortunately Bill hates them and as you all know marriage is about compromise.

10. A desk. I had a beautiful old antique desk in my main living area but it was basically just holding the computer and some envelopes so we moved it into my son's room as he wanted a bigger desk and now I do my computer work on a laptop on the lounge. Much comfier and more room in the house for other antiquey things.

My new office

I'd love to hear what common household things you've given up or never invited home in the first place.

Hello again.....

Sorry about the long absence. I've been a bit of a flibbitygibbitt. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I tend to flit from one idea to another fairly quickly. I get bored with projects in a nanosecond and am onto the next thing before you know it.

But what have I been up to lately?

Well.......at the moment I am into decluttering in a big way. I have hauled bag after bag to the op shop. My criteria has been any thing I have not used since Winter last year. That's a lot of stuff surprisingly. I take no heed of how expensive the item was originally or how sentimental I am about it. If its not beautiful or useful then look out. (Must warn Bill and the children to either start looking very attractive at all times or learn to put the damn garbage out when it's full.)

I have even decluttered the fridge. Love the new sparse look. Admittedly I never know what birthday parties are on when or what date the electricity bill is due to be paid but when have I ever let practicalities bother me? - never, that's when!

I've also just had a birthday to turn 42 and my Mum who has never really "got" me, surprised me this year by buying something I really, truly love and is just "me". Thanks for getting it right this year Mum.

I'm into all things retro and vintage and Mum found this little old recipe box in an antique store in Perth and carried it all the way home for me. Isn't it darling and it even has some old recipe cards in it with some recipes written on it in an old ladies spidery handwriting. However, I don't think I'll be trying Tripe in White sauce any time soon.

It's good to be back. Hope you haven't all deserted me.

Op Shop Opportunities

Some days I am in the mood to op shop and other days I just can't be asked to poke my head in. And similarly, sometimes my visits are rewarded and sometimes they are a complete waste of time - like a lot of other things in my life (crochet anybody?)

In the last few weeks I've found these couple of bargains:

I've been hunting and stalking Ebay for some vintage tapestries and I really wanted some vintage rose tapestries. Well, what did I spy in my local cancer support Oppy. These 2 beauties - just sitting on the wall waiting for me to grab them. $10 each. Bill later remarked he wouldn't have paid 10 cents for the two of them. But that's a different matter. He kindly put them on the bedroom wall for me. And ohhhh I do love them.

In the next op shop along the way, I found this gem of a book - full of everything a young girl needs to know - if she was living in 1972 which I very happily was thank you. What a trip down memory lane.

And in the same oppy, this vintage eiderdown. It had a few suspicious looking stains but I took a gamble and parted with a whole $5 to own it. Napisaned it overnight and there you go. More vintage loveliness for the little persons room.

And finally I have worked out the cause of my almost constant headaches. At the age of almost 42 my eyes are failing me. Although goodness knows how many books these poor eyes have had to read over the years. I guess it was high time that they had a little help. And the up side is that Bill thinks I look like a librarian and he's very attracted to librarians. So my glasses are a success in more ways than one.

Have a great week.

Dinner Parties versus Discos

One of my favourite things to do as grown up is to attend dinner parties. I quite happily made the change from spending Saturday nights on a noisy dancefloor to sitting sedately round a dinner table many years ago. I especially like to attend other people's dinner parties because you get all the fun with none of the work (until it's your turn of course).

My friend Natalie has the best dinner parties. We cancel almost any other event to attend a "do" at her place. Natalie aways has lashings of great food, the most divine wine and desserts that would make you cry with happiness. An added bonus is that most people attending chose to have their children at the same time we did and therefore the party also supplies endless entertainment for our 6 year old.

Autumn and Winter are prime dinner party seasons as it's just so nice to spend the evening around the table chatting with friends while the kids run amok in their jammies around the house. I'm almost inspired to host one myself soon.

I also love a dinner party where you're invited to stay for the night. So do the kids, who never seem to tire of each others company no matter how many hours they've been together.

These 2 girls (and their mothers) have known each other for many years now. Natalie and I even have the same taste in childrens clothes we discovered the next morning when the our girls went to get dressed.

If you have some good friends living nearby I highly recommend having a dinner party over the Winter months. It's a very nice way to pass a Saturday evening. (Thanks Natalie and Russell).

A Homemade Gift

We have had one of the first little girl parties of the year yesterday. And a perfect opportunity to get started on my homemade gifts.

I've been dying to make this brownie jar. It contains all the dry ingredients needed to make a quick mix brownie. The dry ingredients are layered up the jar to create a sand jar effect.

All that needs to be added are eggs and butter. In order from the bottom are flour and baking powder, cocoa, sugar, choc bits and coloured mini marshmallows. So easy and (I think) so cute.

I've added the recipe to the front of the jar and prettied up the top a little with some scrappy bits and pieces.

Yesterday was a bit of a day out for me. I had both my hubby and son home sick so I wasn't about to hang around all day playing nurse maid. I did that on Sunday when it should have been Mother's Day.

I'm loving my stationery at the moment and picked up these bits and pieces. What I'm going to use them for, I have no idea but that's not really the point with pretty stationery is it? For me just looking at them and ohhing and ahhing over them is almost enough.

Hope you are enjoying your week.