Sneak Peek: Rosie's Big Girl Bedroom

Here is a sneak peek of Rosie's "new" old bedroom. A few weeks ago she moved back into her previous room which we have been using as a guest bedroom. We have made a few changes in here so that it is not only Rosie's room, but also doubles as a guest room when we have visitors.

She feels very grown up in her new space and in a few days time (when I get a spare moment!) I will share the rest of the room with you. :)

Project Life Tuesday: Kids Art

Last week Harry came home with this little beauty...for me!

He knows that his Mum loves cupcakes so he lovingly made this one for me at preschool. It is made from a milk bottle top, fluff, paint and glitter. It is so sweet and he was very proud of himself. :)

It is very hard to keep and store all the art your children make for you so taking a photo of it is a great way to capture the memory and still keep your home from becoming overtaken with creations.

Challenge for Project Lifers: Take a photo of a special piece of art your child has made especially for you. :)

10 Can't Miss Photos to Take Each Month

My Project Life album is plodding along and at the moment, I am actually up to date! This isn't always the case but I try and run at a maximum of two weeks behind. Anything more than that and it can easily become overwhelming.

The hardest part for me isn't the journaling, but keeping up with the printing of photos. It takes time to upload them, categorise them and transfer them to a USB stick for printing. Then I have to set aside some time on a Saturday to pop out and print them. 

Another challenge is thinking of ideas for my POTD, so coming across this great list at http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/ was really helpful. You can also find a printable checklist so you can plan your photos each month. It is my goal to start planning my photos in this way so that I can ensure I get the snapshots I want over the course of the year. Of course, this doesn't mean there isn't room for spontaneous photo opportunities! You can find both lists here.

Harry's Big Boy Bedroom

Harry's room has had a few small changes made to it in recent weeks to turn it into a haven suitable for a big boy. :)

For the last few months it has been a shared bedroom for Rosie and Harry so everything was very unisex. No pink for Rosie and no boy motifs for Harry. We really didn't want to change too much and more importantly, spend much, so with the addition of a few small items we have made it into a more boyish space.

I will start by saying that if Harry had his own way, his room would be bright blue and red with black spiderwebs painted on the wall and matching Spiderman bedding. Unfortunately for him, he has a mother who believes that all the rooms in the house should link in some way and for us that is with white paint. :)

The hardest part about having bunks is finding matching bedding so I turned to the world wide web to help with this. There are fantastic options available in NZ but the nicest ones are still very costly. The first place I tried was Ebay Australia and I found these boat duvet sets from this seller. The service was great and the quality was excellent so I was very happy. International postage is always costly but it is still a lot less than buying here in NZ.

We kept the red wooden alphabet wall letters as I still love them as much as I did the day they went up. You can make your own by buying the letters from Spotlight and painting them any colour you like. :)

I switched around a few cushions I already had (from Wallace Cotton and Bed, Bath and Beyond) and the duvet sets came with cushion covers as well. I also switched around the bedside table as their last one needs repairing and we had this star one just sitting in our garage from our previous house.

To finish it off I found a great Treehouse nautical theme striped rug on Trademe for $3.00. Perfect! To furnish and finish this room was a lot of fun and despite it not being Spiderman, Harry absolutely loves it and is very proud of his new space. :)

Table Tonic Blog

Today I am sharing another blog I love. Louise from Table Tonic is very talented and I love the way she uses colour. She has a great eye and I love the way she pairs things together. She has been working on renovating her Federation style house in Sydney, Australia and you can check our her progress here.

She also runs an online store where she sells the most beautiful cushions and Moroccan pouffes ever. If you like an eclectic look then you will LOVE her style. Check it out when you have a spare moment.

Project Life Tuesday: Hiding Under Beds!

Project Life Tuesday today is hiding under beds...yes, you heard right, hiding under beds! The days when I could fit under a bed have long since gone but having a little person around sure comes in handy.

Harry was helping me clean under our bed (how do so many loose bits of paper and magazines end up under there?) and he decided that it would make a great hiding place. I was lucky enough to snap this shot on his way under the bed. :)

Challenge for Project Lifers: Take a photo of your child's favourite hiding place.

Happy Sunday and Blog Update

I am heading into the last few weeks of term and as you can imagine, I have a lot on at the moment. I have decided to reduce my posts a little for the next three weeks so that I can keep up with all my commitments. This means I will probably be posting every second or third day instead of every day. :) I will aim to continue with my Project Life Tuesdays! It is hard for me to take a step back as I love writing my blog but at the moment I need to prioritise my time carefully so that I can get everything done. :)

Hope you have a great Sunday!

Sneak Peek: Harry's Big Boy Bedroom

We have recently made some changes to Rosie and Harry's sleeping situation. They have loved sharing a room and have had hours of fun keeping each other awake in the evenings, talking and laughing together. Taff and I would often stand outside the door and just listen to the fun going on in there, it was lovely.

Sneek Peek at Harry's Big Boy Room

Just recently Rosie has started to mention that she would like to move back to her old bedroom (now the guest room) again. She really enjoys playing with her dollhouse at the moment and builds elaborate set ups which she is very protective of. Harry was not so careful around these and there was the occasional melt down as her well planned sets were pulled to pieces.

Room in it's original state

We decided that we would separate them back into their own rooms again and there was much excitement from both of them!

Varnished woodwork and peach mottled effect wallpaper

Harry stayed in the original room with the bunks and Rosie has moved down the hall to her old room.

The stripping in progress

There wasn't a lot to do in Harry's room but we decided together (both my kids like looking at interiors and talking about them!) that we could create a more boyish space for him.

Ably assisted by Harry!

So here is a sneak peek, and just to show you how far we have come, here are some 'before' photos of the room when we moved in. :)

Cool Art Idea

Isn't this cool?

I found this cool gallery wall over at Young House Love after they house crashed a NYC pad and I love the idea. I would love a gallery wall at our place and I thought this one was particularly funky.

This idea is totally 'DIYable' too! I love the colours, the cushions and the Eames chair in this lounge. Some great interior eye candy for this Friday. :)

Organising Instruction Booklets and Warranties

This organising project has come about by neccessity. :)

After our flooding downstairs we were left with instruction booklets and warranty forms scattered all around the place. I had previously kept them all in various baskets and boxes and it was a real nuisance not having them in one central space.

I found this $3 solution at the Clearance Shed! These clear file folders are fantastic as they are divided into sections whch can be labelled in any way you want.

I have sorted mine into categories that suit our family and gathered in all our important warranty documentation and instruction books into one central file.

This system has been working very well for us as we no longer need to go rifling through boxes to find what we are looking for. It is also great if you are selling any larger items as you also seem to get a greater return on your money if you include the original documentation with the goods...a little Trademe tip for you! lol.

Swimming Lesson Update

Just a little swimming update today. :)

Rosie and Harry are continuing with their weekly lessons and are making so much progress.

They are completely confident in submerging and can swim some overarm and breaststroke all by themselves!

Progress was so slow for many months but it all seems to be coming together now and they can barely wait to get outside the door and off to their swimming lessons on Tuesday nights. :)

Project Life Tuesday: Favourite Toys

My Project Life POTD for today is Harry and Rosie's favourite toys. The Brio train set remains very popular and at the moment it is a permanent fixture in our living room. Harry got this Ikea transport rug for his birthday in December and they weave the tracks and bridges all around it. It amuse them for many hours so it definitely deserves a photo of it's own. :)

Challenge for Project Lifers: Take a photo of your child's favourite toy at the moment!

Rangitoto Island

A few days ago we headed to Rangitoto Island for a school trip so today I thought I would share some snaps from our day. The weather was perfect and I marvelled, as I always do, at how beautiful our country is. :)

The boat approaching the wharf



The water was so calm, a perfect day!



Pause for a photo at the half way point

The crater

View from the summit

Views across to the city

A speedy trip home after a great day

I highly recommend a trip to Rangitoto for any that haven't been before. It is a must see for every Auckland visitor!

Banana Bread Recipe

One of my best friends in high school gave me this recipe and I have made it countless times ever since. It is perfect for using up those bananas in the fruit bowl that are nearing their use by date!

Esther's Banana Bread

Ingredients:

100 grams butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 ripe bananas, mashed

2 cups self raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons skim milk

1/4 cup chopped pecan nuts (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon, mixed with 1 teaspoon sugar (topping)

Method:

1. Grease and cover base of loaf tin.
2. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in bananas.
3. Fold in sifted dry ingredients alternatively with skim milk. Stir in nuts (optional), pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
4. Cook in a moderate oven, 180 degrees for 55 minutes until cooked.
5. Let the loaf stand for 5 minutes before putting on a wire rack to cool.

Hope you enjoy it! :)

Movies in the Park

Last week we had our first family outing to Movies in Parks. These run from February to March and are put on for free by the Auckland Council.

The movie was Toy Story 3 so you can just imagine the excitement in our house at the prospect of watching it outdoors on the big screen!

We trecked through the bush down to Little Shoal Bay and set up our picnic blanket and Rosie and Harry's camping chairs.

We managed to stay for about half of the movie before the kids got tired and we had to come home and put them to bed.

I must say that we did pay the price the next day with tired and slightly grumpy kids but it was worth it for the joy they had in trying something new!

Multi Purpose Rooms

I love multi purpose rooms and I think this one is particularly beautiful. It is an office, sewing room, music room and spare room, all rolled into one!

 

I love the efficient use of space and think it is very cleverly designed. It goes to show that you can do amazing things with a small space. :)

The Most Belated Birthday Party Ever!

Yep, I must win the worst mum award for this one. Harry turned 4 in December 2010 and I have finally organised his birthday party...in April 2011!

In the meantime, if you are looking for cute invitations like these ones, check out Poppy Seed. I highly recommend them for great friendly service and beautiful products. :)

Organising Duplo

Harry and I have been working on a new way to organise his Duplo. He LOVES building with Duplo and we needed an easier way for him to be able to do the clean up himself. :)

Virtually all the Duplo has been purchased second hand and came in a variety of these plastic containers. While these were great for storage, they were tricky for Harry to use as the lids would often pop up and he could never fit all the pieces back in each one.

Cue the Sterilite Baskets! These things are great and I use them all over the house for a variety of uses. They are readily available from places like Briscoes and The Warehouse and are much sturdier and better quality than baskets from the dollar chain stores.

Harry tipped all the Duplo into his two new baskets and together we found a new home for them underneath his bed. It is great having such a child friendly solution as now he can pull out the Duplo when he wants...and also easily clean it all up again!

It was also nice to have some Mummy and son bonding time. I hope he is just as enthusiastic about cleaning when he gets older! I'm not sure about that one. :)