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.a little box of sunshine.

My baby sister is having her first baby any day now.  I know how icky that last week or two of pregnancy can be – you feel big and tired and uncomfortable and just want to get the baby out, but at the same time are not quite sure that you are actually ready for a baby just yet!  
So as a little “pick-me-up” to send my happy, positive labour vibes, I posted her a Little Box of Sunshine in the mail…

The idea behind it came from some pins on Pinterest (of course).  There is a heap of awesome inspiration for gifts “in a box” – some of them on my Gifts board.

Here’s what I included:

Some yellow art prints from Leanne
Herbal tea, gum and lip gloss
Flake and Chomp bars, yellow nail polish, lolly pop
Yellow m&ms, lollies
Post-it notes, sunny earrings
Lolly bananas
Sunshine framed print
And here it is, all packaged up – ready for express posting:

A box fully of sunny goodness to brighten up her day and give her something to munch while the waiting game begins- and I reckon she should paint her toe nails bright yellow ready for the big day 🙂

So excited to meet my beautiful little niece!  I know she will be a perfect little ray of sunshine in Fil and Chris’ family.

 
 
P.S. Got other “gift in a box” ideas?  Share them here – I love the concept!
June 22, 2012
Other

.Lil’s Earflap Beanie.

When I started knitting Lil’s dress, I was hunting through my knitting supplies for some needles and found a few balls of yarn I’ve had for ages that I thought I should use up (in an effort to make sure that my yarn stash doesn’t end up as big as my fabric stash!)

A quick hunt on Ravelry brought me to this Earflap Hat for Kids pattern and I proceeded to get crocheting.  With very unfortunate results…

No matter what I did, the beanie looked like a volcano instead of having a nice flat, rounded top!  Lucky a helping hand was nearby and Tayla popped in for a quick lesson – I’m still not sure what I was doing wrong because I swear I did the same as she did, but obviously not because hers worked and mine didn’t!!

Anyway, the beanie was completed in a couple of evenings and is now fit for wearing!

It is far from perfect – I didn’t follow the pattern exactly and just kind of eyeballed the size and how much to increase/decrease my rounds.  And it ended up a little looong…

But whatever, it still looks cute and I’ll be guaranteed it will still fits when she is 25!
The yarn is nothing special, just some basic from Spotlight and isn’t really lovely at all, but will work fine for an everyday beanie that I don’t really care what happens to!  It was a fun, quick project anyway that put a small dent into my craft supply stash, so that makes me happy 🙂

 
P.S. Pop over to Syzy Hausfrau’s blog to read an interview I took with her for World Wide Knit in Public day – did you even know there was such a day?  I didn’t!!
 
June 16, 2012
Other

.Book Shelf: Books to cook from.

I’ve recently acquired a few new cookbooks.  It’s been awhile since I’ve bought a cookbook – with so much online inspiration avaliable I haven’t felt the need to, but these cookbooks really sung out to me and I just had to have them!

 
 
This new cookbook from Women’s Weekly – “At My Mother’s Knee: A Celebrity Cookbook” is awesome.  It has a whole range of beautiful, favourite recipes from Australian celebrities as well as lovely photographs and tales of Australian celebrities with their Mothers.  It is just as much a coffee table book good enough to sit down and have a flick and read through as it is a cook book.  The styling is beautiful too – with an old-world, collage-look there is so much to study and admire.  A big tick of approval and positive recommendation from me!
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

The next book I bought, I am not as happy with.  It is lovely and well-presented but just doesn’t provide me with much inspiration.

 
Although Ree Drummond has a very, very popular online presence over at her website (she is VERY funny and witty!), I didn’t really enjoy her book “Pioneer Woman Cooks” much at all.  I’m not sure why?  It might be the Australian way of cooking that is in-ground in me, as she does cook a lot of American dishes.  Most of the book is savoury dishes, but I had a bit of an issue with the amount of butter, oil, fat and cheese that many of the dishes seem to be doused in (although I’m sure they would be extremely delicious, I can’t bring myself to cook them for our weekday family dinners!)  It could just be me though, because the book hit #1 New York Times Bestseller and she has a second cookbook out now so people obviously like it (or her).  On the up-side, the desserts look yummy and there are a few I would probably have a go at.  She also shares lovely photographs and thoughts about her life on the ranch which is fun to read.

 

 

The third cookbook is, just as it’s name states…Delicous!  From the ABC magazine, “Delicious: Simply The Best”.

I went through and started bookmarking meals to make in this book and gave up when I realised that I was marking more pages than not!  This book covers all bases with great entrees and mains from many different cultures as well as a smashing selection of desserts, bakes and other sweets.  Another highly recommended book for the shelf 🙂

Mmm…I’m hungry now, not good to be looking at these pictures just before bed time!!!

June 7, 2012
Other

.Instagram: May Photo A Day #1.

 
I’ve been playing along with the Instagram May Photo A Day Challenge (via Fat Mum Slim).  It’s been a fun way to take random photos of things around here.  I’m loving taking photos on my phone – it’s a convenient way to capture memories that I wouldn’t be able to if I don’t have my camera handy.  I thought you might like to see the photos I’ve taken for the first half of the challenge…
1. Peace – this is my one child-free weekly work day…sometimes stuck at the computer and sometimes in front of the sewing machine.  Trackies and slippers make it comfy!
2. Skyline.  Driving home from the shops.  I love where I live.
 
3. Something you wore today.  My new pink jumper.
4. Fun!  This is where it all happens – the playroom/sewing room.
5. Bird.  My logo.
6. You.  After a refreshing Sunday afternoon nap!
7. Someone that inspires you. My dear cousin – I love this reminder on my fridge to live life to the fullest.
8. A smell you adore.  Anything baking!
9. Something you do everyday.  I’m obsessed with checking the weather forecast multiple times a day!
10. A favourite word. Pray.
11. Kitchen.  My kitchen at a random moment through the day.
12. Something that makes you happy.  When the kids play (or cook!) with Dad.
13. Mum.  My Mum with Lil and Nancy.
14. Grass. My toes were freezing!
15. Love. With my love.

(a note about my Instagram account…I’m mindful of social media taking up way too much of my time, so my Instagram account has been set to private and I’m not following many people or allowing many followers on my account – mostly because I know I’ll get addicted and spend too much time on it if I do!!  So please don’t be offended if I don’t allow you to follow me.  I’ll share pics on my blog from time to time though.)

May 20, 2012
Other

.Suzy Hausfrau giveaway winner.

Are you ready to find out who the winner of the $100 gift voucher to Suzy Hausfrau is?

Congratulations to thingsforboys!  I’ve sent you an email with your voucher attached and want to know what you buy/make with your goodies!!

Thanks so much to Suzy Hausfrau for your generous offer.  If you weren’t lucky enough to win this time, remember Suzy Hausfrau offers free postage within Australia as well as an awesome 10% off all orders over $60 – you can’t beat that!

My little dress is taking off beautifully, I’ll get some photos of it and show you soon!

May 17, 2012