Happy Things

Things that make me happy...

Fresh flowers in the house...

Finding old fabric that you love...

This bird is precious to me, I have had it for many years...

I love this new glass canister I bought recently. It came filled with hard candy mints but I replaced them with special treats for my toilet training girl... (And maybe us adults when we are well behaved)

I LOVE my two-tier fruit bowl. It was given to me by a lovely friend, before we moved away. It always feels so much better when over flowing with fresh fruit...

Lego. You know I love Lego, right?

My awesome brother gave me these funky salt & pepper shakers years ago...

And you may know I have a thing for Russian dolls too? Maybe this obsession is kept a little more secret but this beautiful pin I just got for Christmas... I love her!

And on days like today, when the heat reaches that level of discomfort, I reach for a little glass spray bottle filled with a deliciously refreshing purple liquid...

It is a lovely lavender spritz my talented mother makes. It is great to have handy for a quick, relaxing cool down and feels even better if it has been kept in the fridge. Another spritz she makes is a mint one which, when cooled is the best thing to have during Summer! They never last long in our house.

Another thing I love is Op shopping, this you must know.

We desperately needed a new dining table and desk so off to Vinnies we went.

We found a lovely glass oval dining table and a perfect desk and Eve had great fun riding around outside on all the little tries, scooters and bikes they had for sale.

I had a quick scoot past the homewares section to see if I could find anything for the kid's upcoming birthday parties.

I am determined to make them extra special but without spending too much money.

You won't believe what I found....

A lovely shell-like platter, perect for Eve's Under The Sea/Little Mermaid party...

So these dishes are quite common, there were two of them there that day.

BUT wait, there is more!

A gorgeous pure white shell plate. I can envision cool mint "pearls" resting in this.

But of course I saved the best until last...

These lovely glass bowls are so beautiful. The shell pattern on them is in such detail. I fell in love and bought four. At a whole $2 each!

I was so happy with these finds, it was a real blessing that all we needed was right there waiting for us.

I couldn't leave without having a little look at the teapots and there I found the most gorgeous pot I have ever seen...

Isn't it cute?

It is tiny, with such gorgeous detailed painting, I absolutely love it.

Of course Eve does too!

She saw it and we both went "oooh" and "aaaah" together, then she ran off to find a cup to make some imaginary tea for me.

As we left with our goodies I had a sudden realization....

I hadn't even looked for anything for Eli's party!

I felt horrible.

As we got home and began to unpack, I looked up into our cupboard and spotted some bowls I had completely forgotten about...

I love these bowls. I bought them at an op shop years and years ago.

The instant I saw them I was relieved.

They will work perfectly for his The Very Hungry Caterpillar themed party!

I know I am getting in quite early with these things, but so much goes into a party I want to get as much done now as possible!

I even made a pretty cool looking triton the other day, heading off to paint it a lovely golden colour now!

Oat, Honey & Date Biscuits {RECIPE}

I haven't baked anything for a while...

It is sad.

I had DUST on my KitchenAid.

DUST!!!

I had a rummage in my pantry and found a packet of dates, almost empty.

My mind ran to sticky date pudding but I knew I could not do it.

My hips would never forgive me!

I jumped on the website taste.com.au

It is awesome and a great place to do quick searches for new recipes with whatever you have lying around at home.

I found a recipe that looked pretty good.

No sugar, just honey and dates to sweeten.

I liked that idea!

So I got to work.

They were so fast to make and of course I changed the recipe a little, when do I not?

So if you want a nice little treat with your cup of tea/coffee that is a little more natural than some others, give these a go.

Oat, Honey & Date Biscuits

180g oats

75g plain (or wholemeal) flour

60g chopped cashew nuts (unsalted)

10 dried dates, chopped

1 egg

100g butter, melted then cooled

1/3 cup honey

Preheat oven to 180*C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

Combine oats, flour, dates and nuts in a bowl.

In a seperate bowl, lightly whisk eggs then add cooled butter and honey.

Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients and mix well.

Drop tablespoonfulls of mixture onto trays 3-4cm apart and flatten slightly.

Bake for 12-15mins or until a lovely golden brown.

Set aside on the trays to cool for 5mins then (taste test now, of course!) transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mmmm.... Yummy!

I Have A Garden

I have a garden now.

Though I must use the term very loosely.

There is no thick green grass as a lawn.

Only cold, hard concrete, that goes from icy to burning in the Summer sunshine.

Dotted with pebbles, cracks and curves.

There are raised garden beds. From the front there are big steps of these coming down to the main area. They were once filled with beautiful flowers, roses and daisies just some.

Now it is dry, wood chip and weeds, with a few over grown or near death flowers scattered around.

In the centre is a huge raised bed, which was once a glorious pond with fountains and water features, levels of water cascading down into a large pool at the bottom.

Now it is overgrown with grass and weeds.

It has cute characters on display, like cheeky gnomes...

And a lovely lady fountain who has seen better days...

I insisted on bringing along all my pots full of vegetables and herbs, and they lie scattered near the front door, waiting to find a permanent place in the garden...

There is a lot of work to do

We used to live here many years ago, in the granny flat out the back of the main house.

I have many memories of hours spent in the burning sun, pulling weeds and being disheartened to see them all back just a week or two later.

I remember pulling out a big weed and the ground erupted with ants, they poured out of the fresh hole and scattered. This was the first of many ant colonies I discovered.

This time I am being lazy.

I will buy some form of weed killer from my beloved Bunnings and spray, spray, spray!

I have been offered some native plants and trees and they will find a place soon enough.

I want to transform this yard.

From unkempt to lush, colourful and somewhere you would WANT to sit and relax.

I have given myself a little deadline.

The kid's birthdays will start in March and we need every last bit of space to fit in our family and friends. I plan on using the large covered area outside our front door for our big table of food and decorations so having a child friendly and nice yard is a must!

Am I being a bit too optimistic?

Will I get it to match the visions I have in my mind?

Hopefully I will soon have some stunning "after" photos to share with you!

Sunday