Oh Dear...

I know I have mentioned our backyard a few times in the past but I thought it was time I shared a few photos to show you exactly how much work there is to do out there. Brace yourself...

This raised bed is full of overgrown weeds and is quite a while away from producing vegetables, as you can clearly see! Unfortunately the exterior of our home and the landscaping is sadly neglected at the moment. There is a LOT of work to do outside and our focus has really been on the inside.

Yes, it is a frightful mess and there will be many hours (more like months or even years!)  ahead of us to get this tidied up. I have lots of ideas for this area including building large retaining walls, levelling out the yard to create a flat grassed area (did I mention a daybed by the pool?) and building new fences.

 These are not realistic ideas given our budget (or lack thereof) so it seems far more likely that a tidy up will be on the agenda once we finish working inside. (Side note: Yes, I am highly embarrased by these photos but I'm putting them out there anyway...maybe the shame will motivate me! lol). :-)

Get Ready for Some Christmas Goodness!

Yes, I know, I know...it is only mid November but I have been Christmas planning for several weeks now!

Aren't these felt word decorations super cute!

I have decided that this year I really want to make more of an effort to decorate our home for Christmas and create some holiday traditions with our two littlies.



I picked up these for a bargain $1.50 each from K-Mart

To this end, I have decided to dedicate next week's blog posts to Christmas goodness. I will be sharing some of the little things I have gathered and made to try and add a personal touch to our Christmas decorating this year.

My week of Christmas posts will start on Monday! :-)

Harry's Preschool Photos

A while ago I posted here about Harry having some professional photos taken at preschool...

and now they have arrived!

My little man is now almost 4 years old and I am grateful that these little snapshots in time have been recorded.

Isn't he delicious? :)

Karen's Birthday Weekend: Part Two

Part Two of Karen's birthday weekend!

A post about the party just wouldn't be complete without special mention of these gorgeous matching outfits for the girls. Our very talented Nana Alison whipped up these black and white music themed twirly skirts and white layered tops and the girls were so chuffed with their themed outfits.

As you can see, she didn't stop there. Oscar also had a matching bandana! What a stunning trio. Thanks Nana for all your effort, we really appreciated it. :)

One of the highlights of the party was of course, the fireworks. You cannot have a party around Guy Fawkes time without them. :)

Rose was initially terrified but after some coaxing from Nana and Carol, she was soon clapping away with Eden and enjoying all the action outside.

This weekend we were also very fortunate to be able to stay at B's house. It is right by the beach and totally amazing. I was amazed at how bright the stars are out there at night. They really were like diamonds and I don't think I have seen anything like it before.

This was the view from our bedroom. You would be hard pressed to top that anywhere! Taff was able to enjoy this view from the lounge while he relaxed with a book. B, thanks so much for your kindness and generosity in allowing us to stay. It was the icing on the cake of a great weekend and so nice to find someone with the same taste in books! :)

Karen, I hope your birthday was a special one for you, I know it was for us. You are a woman of many talents and you truly are a motivation and inspiraton to me. Your enthusiasm, drive and love of life is an example to all who are blessed to be counted as your friends and family. Happy birthday! :)

Karen's Birthday Weekend: Part One

We have had an amazingly busy, but fantastic weekend.

It was Karen's 50th birthday and we travelled down to Gisborne to celebrate it with her closest family and friends. It was a fantastic party and so wonderful to see old friends again!

The party had a black and white theme and a friend of Camille's made this absolutely stunning birthday cake to match the theme. It was a chocolate caramel marble cake and was every bit as delicious as it looked. :-)

The party was held at B's incredibly beautiful home by the beach, which is designed perfectly for entertaining and events such as these. I really, really want an oversized kitchen island now! :-)

Rosie and Eden were the only children at the party and we were very impressed with how well they did. This was Rosie's first grown up party!

It was such a wonderful night and tomorrow I will be sharing more about our great weekend. :-)

Birthday Preparation

 

Happy Birthday Karen! A busy day of fantastic birthday preparation. :-)

Our Gizzy Road Trip

We have made it! We are having a special weekend in Gisborne and after many hours of driving in horrid weather, we finally arrived.

It was raining the entire way, until we drove out of the Waioeka Gorge and were greeted by beautiful sunshine. This really surprised us!

We headed to the beach when we got there and snapped these pictures. I love Gizzy beaches!

We also popped up to Gaddums Hill (I have horrible memories of school cross country training up there!) and fell in love with this amazing section. It is truly stunning and the stuff of holiday home dreams. :-)

We also celebrated my beautiful neice Eden's 8th birthday.

Looking forward to the rest of our special family weekend!

My Favourite Magazine

There are a few magazines that I absolutely love to read but Home Beautiful is my current favourite. It is an Australian magazine and I just love the simple ideas contained within it's pages.

I really love that their interiors aren't overdone and I particularly love some of the homewares they feature, such as these ones from Dandi.

My December issue has just arrived at my local supermarket and I look forward to devouring some ideas when I have a spare moment to enjoy it. :-)

Happy 2nd Birthday Hunter!

Two years ago today, my gorgeous little nephew Hunter was born.

Rosie and Harry were particularly excited to have a new cousin and were at the hospital the next morning to meet the newest addition. 

Hunter was a very easy going baby...

and grew rapidly into a happy little chap...

He loves to play...

especially with his cousins...

and I can't believe how fast the past two years have flown by.

Happy Birthday little guy! :-)

Rosie's Disco Party

A few days ago I posted here about Rosie's new pink dress which I made for her to wear to a friend's disco party.

The party was on Saturday and the dress had it's first outing! :-)

Although she was nervous when she first arrived, she had a great time and they had turned a playroom into a disco room complete with flashing lights, music and dark curtains. Rosie is a dancer from way back so she was in her element.

She later told me that her dress sparkled in the flashing lights. :-)

She had a lovely time at the party and was full of chat about her day when we picked her up. :-)

Special Events Folder

After sourcing a few ideas for Halloween and having a few things left over, it seemed a waste to just throw everything out.

I decided to place everything in a zip lock bag and create a 'Special Events' folder so that I could have a place to store all these little extras for next time.

I have also been working on a few little Christmas projects in the last couple of weeks so this will be a great place to store all my magazine tear outs and ideas. :)