My Other Breakfast

OK, so my morning routine does vary occasionally. There is another option; toast.



This is how I like my toast, with vegemite and walnuts. An unusual but delicious and nutritious combination that my Grandpa taught me. You aren't allowed to turn your nose up until you try it!

I am off to visit my wonderful grandparents this week. Eddie and I are off on a bus, plane and a train for a little adventure to the Blue Mountains. Along the way we are catching up with Ingrid and her gorgeous two little ones.

I am most excited about it all!

Enjoy your week.

Sunday Craft

The girls and I have been enjoying these wet Sundays with a bit of crafting in the afternoons. Eddie goes down for a nap and out comes the craft.

We have particularly been enjoying some papercraft. Like Jo, scrapbooking has never taken my fancy but we are discovering the plethora of other paper projects out there. Hey, if you love fabric, you have to love the beautiful papers around.




Last week, we covered some plain clipboards with gorgeous paper, ribbon and mod podge (which I now know is available from Riot Art & Craft, not Spotlight or Lincraft!) This is a fun and simple activity that we saw over at A Spoonfull of Sugar. The boards will be most handy for clipping up the girl's schedules and morning reminders.

We've enjoyed making cards for birthday's, neighbours and really, whoever pops into our mind at the time. My children, like most, love making deliveries of handmade messages to whomever they can think of. And there is usually a sweet posy of flowers (and weeds) attached.

Sunday Craft, hopefully we will meet again. You are most welcome in our home...especially on rainy days!

Simple Things - Tree of Happiness

Ingrid tagged me, for a meme I am happy to be tagged for. You see, gratefulness, as I have mentioned before, is a very important attribute in my books. I believe that it is only with a grateful heart that you can really achieve happiness. To be grateful is to see the glass half full, rather than half empty.


Everyday I feel grateful for these things. I will warn you, they are very basic but I think that without them happiness would be a search.



These things make me grateful;
1. Love in my life; from my man, my family and my friends.
2. A healthy family, nothing to be taken for granted.
3. Being able to feed my family enough food and healthy food and to cook each night what our hearts and stomachs desire.
4. Being able to keep my children and my house clean. OK,maybe this sounds a little obsessive. And don't think that I do always keep my house clean (you should see the floors right now!) but at least it is only my laziness stopping me; not illness or poor living conditions.
5. Time to do the things I love and spend it with the people I love. I would like a bit more of this though, pretty please.
6. Living in Australia because I truly believe this is the best country in the world and one of the reasons I have all of the above.



There are other little daily delights like these flowers, kisses and cuddles and cups of tea and chats with friends. They certainly put a smile on my dial, but the six points above can sometimes be taken for granted and for which I am very grateful.

Organised - Part Two

Procrastinating....

This Sunday night's task was to organise our photos in to photo albums. Hmmm, the type of task I have been meaning to do for about three years, the type of task I don't actually enjoy doing and the type of task that I know will feel soooo good when it is finally complete.

I actually feel pretty chuffed that I have managed to sort the photos for printing, print them AND purchase three photos albums.

But instead, I am sitting here checking my growing list of bloglines and writing this post. I am such a wonderful procrastinator.

As another addition to my posts on organising, here is a little brainwave I came up with. The Bits and Pieces Box.



It's for all of the bits and pieces you find lying around that belong to games once played, jigsaws once put together or polly pockets once dressed. All those annoying bits you find after the tidying up has been done. Rather than digging out the box they belong to and putting them away, which takes too much effort for me, these pieces go into this box. Safe and sound for next time. And I particularly love using this Huggies box for this purpose because of it's little opening. It's sort of a one way hole.

So, there you have it. A little attempt to make life simpler and sweeter. Now, on to those photos.

This Is My Art

How I would love to be able to draw. My creative abilities just do not extend to paper. This, is a close as I will ever get to my art gracing our walls.



I have been meaning to put up this little collection for a very, very long time. Almost all of these plates have a tale and are very special to me. Mostly gifts, collected from around the world by people I love and who know my love of blue and white china.


I will simply never tire of my blue and white china, I am sure.

As Promised

I am so glad you all enjoyed the Lemon Cake so much. Here is the Chocolate Cake recipe, as promised. I would like to point out that both of these recipes are just your everyday, fill-the-lunch boxes type recipes. I have other Lemon and Chocolate Cake recipes for more special occasions. What makes these recipes noteworthy is the ease with which they are made.



This chocolate cake had been handed around my sewing circle and it originated with Nikki. It is such a classic, basic chocolate cake recipe. Another melted butter/oil recipe aka throw it all in together and mix.

Nikki's Chocolate Cake (at least that's what I call it because Nikki gave it to us)

200g melted butter or 3/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cup self-raising flour
1 1/2cup sugar
3 dessertspoons cocoa
vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk

Sift flour and cocoa and add all other ingredients. Beat. Pour into greased tin. Bake 180’ for 45-50 mins. You can ice it with chocolate icing when it is cooled but I usually just serve it dusted with icing sugar.

Get the kids to cook it, it is that easy!