September 2022

First Week Of Spring Break

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well! This first week of spring break has flown by just way too fast. But that’s always the way when you are on holiday right? Anyway, it is so lovely to be off work and not have to worry about schedules and timetables. I did all the usual fun things like staying up super late and sleeping in. I’ve been binge-watching shows and also had a couple of really fun outings. Candles I was in Tk Maxx earlier this week (I think it’s called TJ Maxx in the U.S) and I found an entire stand full of Sand & Fog candles! I was really excited because they haven’t had a great variety of candles lately. It’s been a case of slim pickings. Now usually I love to buy Ecoya candles but they really are on the pricey side. A 400g candle usually costs $44.95 when it is not discounted. And I only ever find them discounted 20% at the most. These 340g Sand & Fog candles were only $12.99 so I grabbed a few. I have been at home a lot this week so it’s been so lovely to have them burning nearly all day. They give off a really nice subtle scent and they have made my home smell amazing! A Lunchtime Catch Up Sam went to the gym on Tuesday and when he finished. Steve and I met him at a cafe in our local Westfields. There’s been a lot going on since he graduated. He’s had celebrations with friends as well as an overnight stay on a friend’s farm to celebrate an 18th birthday. We felt like we hadn’t had a chance to sit down and have a proper chat. So it was really nice to catch up and hear about all the fun things that he had gotten up to in the last few days. He told us all about how he learnt to drive a manual in an old truck. He went dirt bike riding and also rode in the back of a ute (he assured me it was a very slow drive). It was lovely to hear all his stories. Sam was super hungry after a big workout at the gym so he had a chicken schnitzel wrap with chips. Steve and I had already had lunch earlier so we just had some delicious taro lattes. A Beautiful Sunset In the evening we went back again to the St George Motor Boat club for the seafood platter. We love it so much and I think that this is the third or fourth week in a row that we have been! Sam was going to join us but he had to do something online for uni at 6 pm. I took a photo of this beautiful sunset as we were walking toward the club. See the sun through the clouds, it looked so pretty. Krispy Kreme Doughnut Decorating My sweet cousin Jessie invited me to join her and her two kids along to a Krispy Kreme doughnut decorating school holiday event on Thursday afternoon. We had the best time! I used to take my boys to fun school holiday activities like this one when they were younger. It was so great to hang out with my cousin and her kids were so funny. You should have seen how much icing they poured over their doughnuts !! In the end, I think that they had more icing than doughnuts!! We got two doughnuts and some containers with lollies. They had the icing in tubes on the table and we just helped ourselves to the different colours. I also bought four neatly and professionally decorated doughnuts to take home. The Krispy Kreme store we went to is in Mascot which is about a 15-minute drive from my place. They make hundreds of fresh doughnuts there every day. I loved watching the whole process so I took a video! I’m always fascinated by how things are made. Museum Of Contemporary Art I had never been to the Museum Of Contemporary Art before and neither had my lovely friend. So we decided to go for a visit. This museum is right near Circular Quay station so we didn’t have far to walk which was a good thing because it was raining on and off quite heavily. The museum is full of works by contemporary artists from Australia and around the world. I have to admit that I didn’t really love any of the art. Most of it was very strange and some exhibits were downright disturbing! But anyway it was fun to visit with my bestie and we had a great time wandering around. These works of art were ok to look at. But then see what I mean by disturbing! I have no clue what this was all about and there were a few exhibits like this one. In all honesty, I thought that the best part of the museum visit was the gift shop. They had so many cool, original and funny things. Like this “Self Help Book”…….take a look at what was inside bahahahaha!!!!! The Rocks After visiting The Museum Of Contemporary Art we wandered around ‘The Rocks’. We found the shortest street in Sydney called Atherden st. We also visited another gallery called the Billich Gallery. This gallery is inside a three-storied historic building which was once the home of naval sailors. We had a look inside the British Lolly Shop and I bought some peanut brittle. By then it was lunchtime and we were starving so we went to a little Italian restaurant and enjoyed some pizza and pasta. So many things on the menu but I couldn’t resist some good old bolognese. It was delicious and saucy just the way I love it! Just before we left The Rocks we stopped to have a look at a shop called ‘sticky’ where you can watch how they make lollies. We left The Rocks and started making our

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9 Comments / Family Life

Hey friends! Thanks so much for dropping by. I’m excited to be joining Sheaffer and Shay for this month’s edition of ‘What’s Up Wednesday’. I’m sure you will all agree with me when I say that September just flew by in a flash right? It’s almost hard to believe that we are just about to hit October in a few days! Anyway, it’s been a pretty great month so let’s jump right in and have a look at….. What We’re Eating This Week One of the great things about the weather getting warmer. Is the variety of nice fruit that is available! I got some really plump, juicy and sweet strawberries and blueberries from Woolworths. As I was washing them I could smell how sweet they were. You know you have a good bunch of berries when you can smell the sweetness! Monday night we had some baked chicken thigh fillets with rice, salad, baked potato and sweet potato. We love carbs!! I added some turmeric to the rice just to jazz it up and give it a bright yellow colour. Other than changing the colour of the rice. Turmeric doesn’t really change the flavour. And I think that yellow rice goes perfectly with bright and sunny spring! Tuesday night we had salmon and veggies. I added some of my new favourite Kewpie Japanese dressing on the side. Have you tried this delicious Kewpie Japanese dressing? Oh my goodness, I have no words to describe how good it is!! My cousin Jessie introduced me to this and now I am A-D-D-I-C-T-E-D!! You can add this dressing to anything. Salad, beef, chicken, vegetables, anything! It is just divine. What I’m Reminiscing About It’s only been a few days since Sam graduated from school. But I’m already reminiscing about how fast the years flew by and it really feels like he was starting school only yesterday. Sigh! Here is Sam when he was on his way to his first day of kindy, then his first day of high school. I took the last pic the other day when we left home to go to graduation. Waaaahhhh What I’m Loving I’m on spring break for the next two weeks so I am loving this!! I want the time to go super slow, please!! I have also been loving the warmer weather and the slightly longer days. It’s so exciting to see the beautiful flowers that are popping up everywhere. I took some pics of some flowers that I spotted in people’s front gardens on my way home from work a few weeks ago. What We’ve Been Up To September has been all about enjoying getting out and about a bit more now that the weather is just so inviting. We have been doing fun things like going out for brunch. My lovely friend and I had a great time at a spring fair in Cronulla a couple of Saturdays ago. I also planted some flowers and a couple of herbs in the front garden. Even though I am probably the world’s worst gardener. I always love planting something in the spring. The good news is that everything is still alive and even growing! What I’m Dreading Well…… I have some dumb thyroid nodules that I have to get rechecked as it has been a couple of years since the last check-up. I am just no good with medical stuff and I put things off all the time. My nodules (ugh) had to be biopsied last time and thankfully it was all good. So fingers, legs and everything crossed nothing has changed. Better than crossing everything I should just ask for prayers. Thanks in advance 😊 What I’m Working On I am back to rearranging and decluttering. My garage/office became a bit of a dumping ground when I was busy painting a couple of months ago. So I got stuck into fixing it up and moved things around to make better use of the space. There is still a whole lot of ‘stuff’ that I am just itching to get rid of. But I’ll wait to do an even bigger declutter in a couple of weeks when we have our next council cleanup. Here’s the before (Oh my, I’m almost too embarrassed to show you!) This is after…not perfect but so much better. What I’m Watching I am loving the last two seasons of Stranger Things. I watched seasons 1 and 2 ages ago and then stopped. A couple of weeks ago I picked it up again and I have been watching it whenever I get the chance. I am not a fan of horror at all!! But Stranger Things is so clever in how it mixes humour, drama, mystery and horror. I also love how it’s set in the ’80s so that’s a huge appeal for me having been an ’80s kid myself. To balance out all the horror and excitement I have also been watching ‘All Creatures Great And Small’. Talk about one extreme to another! This show is just so sweet and cozy to watch. It has a similar vibe to ‘The Durrells” which I absolutely loved watching last year. If you are looking for relaxing, feel-good shows then I really recommend both ‘All Creatures Great And Small’ as well as ‘The Durrells’. What I’m Listening To This coffee and chill Spotify playlist is really mellow and I love having it playing softly in the background. It gives me all the relaxing cafe vibes. What I’m Doing This Weekend It’s time for our monthly family dinner and this time my aunty is hosting. She is the most amazing cook and I am already getting hungry just thinking about it. Haha! I love our monthly ‘cousin connect’ dinners they are always such a fun family time. What I’m Looking Forward To Next Month We have a couple of birthdays next month. Sam turns 18 on the 6th of October and Luke turns 29 on the 16th of October. We usually have family over

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Reasons To Love Mondays

15 Comments / Life Hacks

I’m always excited to join the weekly “hello Monday” link-up with Holly and Sarah. It’s such a great way to start the new week and it’s always nice to share all the fun things that have happened during the weekend. But poor old Monday usually gets a bad rap. Sadly it cops all the hatred and bad feelings. Because let’s face it. Who doesn’t just love staying home, being on vacation, or not having to go to school or work? So I thought that for today’s post we could look at a few reasons to love Mondays and hopefully turn the whole negative vibe about Mondays around. (That’s of course assuming that some of you guys are like me and maybe need to give Mondays some extra love). Let’s start with some………. Fun Facts About Mondays Monday is the only day of the week that is an anagram of a single word ‘dynamo’ There are usually 52 Mondays in a year Scientists have found that people weigh more on Mondays. The cartoon character Garfield is well known for strongly disliking Mondays Monday is the day of the week when most people do online shopping. Statistics show that the US stock market tends to rise on Mondays. People will usually call in sick on Mondays. Monday is the best day of the week to buy a new car because it’s not a busy day for salespeople. Therefore you should get a better deal. People are much less productive at work on a Monday. Almost 50% of employees will arrive to work late on a Monday. People feel less attractive on Mondays. Reasons To Love Mondays Mondays Are A Fresh New Start Monday means an opportunity to forget the previous week and start fresh with a positive frame of mind. Just like we get excited about the beginning of a new year or a new month. Maybe we can have the same attitude towards Mondays! Mondays Are Another Day That We Can Be Grateful For When the alarm goes off on Monday morning instead of wishing the alarm would explode. Maybe we could be thankful for waking up to another day of life. All around the world sad things are happening everywhere. Not everyone gets to wake up to the start of a new week. Let’s be thankful for the blessing of another chance to enjoy a beautiful Monday! Mondays Are A Great Day For Online Shopping Deals It’s heading towards that time of the year when the online shopping deals are on. Cyber Monday falls on the 28th of November 2022. It’s a fantastic time to grab a bargain and get onto that Christmas shopping. The Chance To Set A New Tone For The Rest Of The Week This is probably one of the best reasons to love Mondays. Mondays give you the gift of setting the tone for how the rest of your week is going to run. If you look at Mondays with fresh eyes and in a positive light then you can have a healthier, happier and more productive week. You Will Feel Recharged And Ready For A New Week If you make sure to balance your weekend with fun activities as well as rest. Then you should feel refreshed and full of energy on Monday. Mondays Means That You Get Back Into Routine Weekends are wonderful for staying up late and sleeping in. Or taking time off from the usual rush of chores. But it’s always nice to have Monday bring back some order and routine to our lives. Mondays Are A Great Opportunity To Get Up Early This is a big challenge for us night owls. But Monday mornings are the perfect opportunity to get up early. It’s the start of a brand new week and even if you have failed all of the previous week. Then Monday is a good day to wipe the slate clean and try again to get up early and get moving! Try Meatless Monday Eating less meat is a great way to improve health and it’s also good for the planet. Meatless Monday was first introduced during WWI and then revived in 2003. The reason why meatless Monday falls on a Monday is not just because of its cool catchy name. Research says that people are more willing to attempt healthy behaviours at the beginning of the week. How Can You Learn To Love Mondays If You don’t already love Mondays here are some tips for how you can learn to love poor old Mondays. Have Something To Look Forward To Just like we plan our fun Friday nights why not plan something for a Monday night that you can look forward to? It doesn’t have to be a big thing. Maybe just something small like buying some fresh flowers for the week. Or maybe find a really good binge-worthy show that you only watch on a Monday night. If you want to stay in touch with friends. A great way to do this is to schedule a dinner catch-up one night a month. Why not make it a Monday night? Most restaurants, clubs, pubs and bistros are much less busy on a Monday night. So you are guaranteed a table and great service. Get Some Good Rest On The Weekend It’s so fun to stay up late and weekends give us that great freedom. But try not to overdo it and make sure to get enough sleep during the weekend. That way you won’t feel tired and groggy on Monday mornings. It is just too hard to be positive and sunny if you are sleep deprived. Use The Weekend To Get Organised A great way to feel like you can conquer Monday is to take a bit of time to get ready the day before. Maybe get that meal planning done or lay out your clothes the night before. If you get at least one tiny chore out of the way. Then Monday will run a whole lot smoother

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Big Events

12 Comments / Friday Favorites

Hi, friends what a week we just had! It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions and now I’m beat!! It’s Friday afternoon and I am exhausted so I’m going to take the afternoon and evening to process this past week, get a grip and try and regroup. I don’t have a bunch of favourites this week. All I have is two big events that made a huge impact on me. Queen Elizabeth II Funeral Along with most of the world, I watched Her Majesty’s funeral on Monday. It was so beautifully done and I was so amazed at the precision and attention to every detail. It was a sad and solemn occasion and my heart goes out to her family during this very difficult time. Whether you are royalty or not it doesn’t matter when it comes to grief. Last Times This week has been all about the end of things and I’m struggling! Do you ever stop and think about the last time that you ever did something or something significant happened? I know that I have been doing a lot of wondering about this in the past few days. I wonder when was the last time that I had to get up to comfort one of my boys during the night when they were little. When was the last time that they came bounding into our bedroom at some ungodly hour full of beans and jumped all over my sleepy head, When was the last time that I was actually able to lift them and carry them in my arms? When?? I just can’t remember. But this week I do know that Thursday night was the last time that I had to wash Sam’s uniform. I also know that Thursday morning was the last time that I ever had to make him his school lunch. And it was the last time that I ever had to wake him up and maybe nag him just a little to get him out of bed. Last times……I’m not very good when it comes to last times. sigh! Sam’s Graduation The morning just went by so fast and it was all a bit of a blur. I was making sure we were at school on time. And I didn’t even get a photo of Sam with Steve and me. I was just too busy snapping photos of Sam. As soon as his year 12 class filed into the school auditorium for the last time I felt the tears welling up. My heart was just bursting with pride, joy, sadness, excitement, happiness, and more sadness. How did this little boy of mine grow up so fast? Sam We are so thankful for our little Sam as we affectionately call him. Our Sam is such a good egg! (that’s another one of his nicknames ‘the egg’ haha) I love that we have great chats together. He really values good conversations and sometimes we can spend ages talking about anything. He makes me laugh as he has such a wonderful sense of humour. He’s the type of guy that can be pretty quiet sometimes in social gatherings and then he will come out with a funny one-liner. And he has everyone practically everyone on the floor in stitches. Sam is kind and helpful, always willing to lend a hand in any situation. He is also sweet and affectionate. This year has been tough for us and he is always so tuned in to how his loved ones around him are feeling. He can sense when I’m feeling sad because I’m missing my own mum. “Hey, mum” he will say ” Do you need a hug?”. He gives great big warm hugs. The Future We are happy for our little Sam. He is just so excited for his future and is keen and ready to get out there and do life. I on the other hand want to rewind the clock to 2004 when he was born. I remember holding him and cradling his little coconut-sized head in the hospital and wishing for that moment to last forever. Forever just isn’t long enough. Sam still has to do his HSC exam which begins in a couple of weeks. Then the final event will be his school formal. So there are still some more school things to get done but today was the graduation ceremony. Where we all came together to celebrate the end of school life. Thankfully Sam has been offered early entry into university in a couple of courses. Now he just has to decide which one is best for him. Never has this saying felt more true than it did today “The days are long but the years are short” Linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s Friday Favourites post Previous Posts From This Past Week You Might Like To Read A Sunny And Warm Weekend How To Simplify Your Life

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How To Simplify Your Life

9 Comments / Life Hacks

Today I want to talk about some small changes that you can make to simplify your life. I am not a minimalist but am drawn to the minimal way of life. The thing that appeals to me about minimal living is the goal of making things simple. So you can save time, money, and energy from all the things that are not important. Allowing you to instead focus on the more valuable and fulfilling aspects of life. Tips For How To Simplify Your Life 1. Make Your Bed This will immediately give you a sense of achievement as well as make your bedroom look instantly tidier. 2. Simplify Your Wardrobe Free up wardrobe space and get rid of those clothes that don’t bring you joy or no longer fit you. Because it can be so extraordinarily daunting to have a wardrobe full of clothes yet feel like you have nothing to wear! 3. Take Breaks Taking breaks throughout the day is essential for your physical and mental well-being. We can all get so busy that it can be really easy to forget to take important breaks. A great way to remember is to set a timer. So that way you will still be productive but once that timer goes off then you can have a quick stretch, get some fresh air, or have a drink of water. If you own a smartwatch one of the great features is that it will automatically remind you to stand up and take a break if you are sitting down for too long. A smartwatch can also prompt you to do some breathing exercises and practice mindfulness. So a smartwatch can be a very useful investment. 4. Layout Your Clothes The Night Before Another great tip for how to simplify your life is to lay out the clothes that you want to wear the night before. This means that you will have one less thing to do as part of your usual morning routine. 5. Declutter Your Bag Edit the contents of your bag so that you only carry essentials for the day. Having a bag full of ‘stuff’ can cause so much frustration when you can’t actually find the things that you need. Furthermore carrying around a bag full of unnecessary contents can be really bad for your back and neck. 6. Minimise Visual Clutter Having too much visual clutter around you can be very distracting and make it so much harder to focus. If your workspace is clean and tidy then it will be so much easier to be productive and feel more relaxed. 7. Organise And Minimise Your Wardrobe A fantastic way to save time getting ready in the morning is to create a simple capsule wardrobe. If you start with some essentials then it’s so easy to mix and match them to create totally new looks every day. 8. Edit The Photos On Your Phone Try and get into the habit of deleting unnecessary photos on your phone. Keep the ones that you really love and get rid of the rest. This frees up the storage space on your phone. And it also means that you will spend less time scrolling through trying to find a particular photo that you really want. 9. Carry A Water Bottle Wherever You Go It is so important for your health to stay hydrated. So it’s a good idea to get into the habit of carrying a water bottle whenever you are out and about. Furthermore carrying a water bottle is a great sustainable practice. As well as being cost-effective too! 10. Focus On One Thing At A Time If you try to focus on too many things at once you will end up exhausted. Try and finish one task before you move on to the next. You will feel a real sense of achievement when you start and finish a task that you focus on well. 11. Breathe Take a moment to stop and take deep breaths throughout the day. We all live busy lives and are on the go constantly. Before you even realise it, you might just be shallow breathing and that’s no good. We must breathe in oxygen so that we can think clearly and effectively. 12. Unsubscribe From Email Lists That You No Longer Need Get rid of those spammy space consuming emails and unsubscribe asap! 13. Go For A Walk Nothing clears your head better than a walk. Going for a daily walk will also give your body some exercise and can reset your mood. 14. Use Routines To Simplify Your Life Create routines and habits to make your life simpler. You will feel more in control if you stick to routines that will help you complete daily tasks. An example of a simple routine to make your days easier is to make sure the kitchen is clean and tidy before you go to bed. You will thank yourself the next day when you walk into a fresh clean kitchen in the morning! 15. Write A To-Do List For The Next Day Write down all the tasks that you want to complete the next day. It’s a great way to prioritise important jobs that need to be taken care of. Then as you cross off your to-do list you will feel like a champ seeing all that you have accomplished! 16. Plan Your Meals Try and create a meal plan and stick to it! Life is just so much simpler when you meal plan. You will save money and time if you spend a few minutes deciding what nutritious meals you are going to serve your family the following week. Even if you are single, it’s still a good idea to plan your meals and avoid going down the expensive takeaway route. 17. Say No You don’t need to say ‘yes’ to everything. Set important boundaries so that you don’t stress yourself out by over-committing your time and energy. 18. Eat Slowly If you eat slowly and mindfully

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A Sunny And Warm Weekend

13 Comments / Hello Monday

Hi friends, it’s good to be back again for this week’s Hello Monday link-up with Holly and Sarah. I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I had such a busy and exhausting week, so I was glad that I hadn’t planned anything for this weekend. In the end, it was the perfect combination of resting, getting a few things done, and spending time at home. And best of all we had a sunny and warm weekend. I find sunny days like the ones we just had are such a great mood booster. A Sunny And Warm Saturday A Delicious Brunch I had a much-needed sleep-in on Saturday. Then because it was such a beautiful day Steve and I decided to try a local outdoor cafe for brunch. We found this cute little cafe on a residential street and it was bustling with people. I think that it must be quite popular with the locals. Thankfully the cafe wasn’t too crowded and we found an empty table right away. They had some relaxing music playing in the background and there was a nice mix of couples, families with young kids, and larger groups of people at tables as well. I polished off this big plate of avocado, halloumi cheese, poached eggs, and salmon. It looked like spring on a plate and it was so delicious. Steve actually commented on how hungry I must have been because I ate so fast. Normally I’m a bit slow. Steve had a steak sandwich and fries which he enjoyed very much. Although, he did say that next time he would like to try what I ordered. In the afternoon Steve went to work and I enjoyed a nice cup of tea and a shortbread biscuit. The biscuit was in the shape of a cute little dog. Haha as I’m typing this I just realised that you could say I had some dog biscuits!! But no trust me, they are human biscuits. A Relaxing Mask I treated myself to a collagen mask and I think that this one is a winner. My skin felt so much better. But I have to admit that sometimes I am a bit skeptical when it comes to beauty products. I’m just never sure that they are going to do what they promise. Maybe this comes from my mum always saying “Ruth once you get to a certain age not even Jesus can get rid of the wrinkles” She was so funny! Anyway, this mask turned out to be great and I will definitely be using it again. I also made a big effort to drink more water this weekend. Drinking water is such a simple thing I can do to improve my skin and make me feel more energised. I also know that it’s just great for my overall health. But unless I put my mind to it and make a conscious decision to drink more, then I forget so easily. Catching Up On Laundry Look at this giant pile and I even took a photo after I had already folded one basket. I am usually pretty good at keeping on top of the folding. But not this week!! Like I said on Friday, I have run out of energy and I have been playing catch-up all week long. While I folded the clothes I watched a documentary about the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Sunday I heard a lovely true story about the Queen at the start of the sermon on Sunday at church. Our Pastor was telling us about a guy he knew who was randomly selected to meet Queen Elizabeth II when she was visiting Australia in 2006. When the time came for this young man to meet The Queen. He found himself standing next to some very important people with titles. He was nearly overlooked when it was his turn to meet Her Majesty. She was quickly ushered along the lineup to meet the ‘important’ people and he was missed. But The Queen soon noticed and she made sure that she acknowledged him by greeting him and shaking his hand. Isn’t that a lovely story that just speaks volumes about what a wonderful person she was? The point of this story during the sermon was to illustrate how we too are just ordinary people yet God cares so much for us. God knows what we need and he provides for us. Here is a photo that we were shown of the young man meeting The Queen. A Trip To Bunnings After church, I did a quick dash to Bunnings. All this warm weather inspired me to start checking a couple of things off my spring bucket list. Things like doing some planting and decorating the house with fresh flowers. I bought some flowers, as well as coriander and basil. Then I spent the afternoon planting some in the front garden and some in big pots. Then I cut some lavender from my garden and put it in a vase for the entryway table. In the late afternoon, I made a lasagna for dinner. Then later on Sam went to the 6.30 pm youth church service. Sunday Evening I settled into my comfy lounge to watch more episodes of Stranger Things. I’m up to season 4 now and it is so scary! I’m still enjoying it even though I am watching it either from behind a cushion, with my eyes closed, or peeking in between my fingers as I cover my face. It was so lovely to have a proper warm and sunny weekend. I hope that you guys had a great weekend and are all refreshed and ready for a new week. Somebody posted on Facebook that there are only 14 Saturdays until Christmas and it made me pull this face. The days and weeks are going by so crazy fast! Anyway, that’s about it for today’s recap of my sunny and warm weekend. Thank you so much for stopping by and I

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Nine Favourites For This Week

8 Comments / Friday Favorites

Nine Favourites for this week- Hi friends, I am so happy to welcome Friday again. This week I have felt like I have just been playing catch up! It’s been busy at work and at home. We have one more week left before the spring school holiday break. Which is a good thing because I feel like I really need to press the reset button. My meal planning has gone out the window and I am starting to feel inundated with ‘all the things.’ I think that it’s probably because I am running out of steam. Which is what usually happens toward the end of the school term. But it’s ok only one week to go and then it’s the holidays. Amen!! Anyway, enough moaning and groaning, thanks so much for being here today and letting me share with you a few of my favourites for this week. Number One I found some American cereal at our local petrol station just in time for the school holidays. I like keeping our tradition of choosing a sugary cereal for the holidays. My boys used to pick which one they wanted when they were younger. But I think that it’s my turn now haha! Number Two I made a super easy guacamole the other day to go with our nachos. So delicious, tangy, and healthy. Yum! Number Four Last week’s seafood dinner at our local motor boat club was so good that we went back for more this Wednesday. This time we were treated to a beautiful sunset just as we were arriving. We managed to get a table by the window. So we enjoyed the view as we sipped our bubbly wine and had dinner. Number Five I’ve got a few preschool favourites too this week. On Wednesday we had a visit from the toy truck. We haven’t seen the toy truck in years because of covid. So we were all extra excited because who doesn’t love a truck full of fun toys? All the staff took turns coming out to the truck to have a look and pick out a few things. Number Six We bought a new set of furniture for the doll’s house from the toy truck. So the kids had fun unwrapping the boxes and setting up the house with some nice new furniture. Number Seven We had some new dress-up costumes for the kids in the home corner this week. One of the little preschoolers was having the best time wearing a wizard costume and granting wishes. When he came over to grant me a wish, I jokingly wished for a million dollars. About fifteen minutes later he came back and surprised me with all this ‘money’. Haha!! How cute!! Number Eight We’ve been trying hard to set up a fairy garden for the kids to play with. We are gradually adding bits and pieces to make it look fun and inviting. I think it looks lovely and if I was little I would really love to play with all the tiny things. We have to remind the children to keep all the fairies and props in the garden. Instead, of wandering around the preschool playground with them. Where they can easily get lost or buried in the sandpit. Another thing that we are constantly trying to do is to remind the children to be careful and gentle with the fairies and small pieces. These two fairies look like they had a rough day! And this one just didn’t make it. Number Nine I was really excited when my google home hub gave me this weather forecast on Friday morning. It was fantastic to finish off the working week with a gloriously warm day. I am so excited to get started on my spring bucket list during the school holidays. That’s A Wrap That’s it – nine favourites for this week. I am only working three days next week, Monday to Wednesday. The Government announced that next Thursday will be a one-off public holiday to mourn the death of our lovely Queen Elizabeth II. And I had already planned to take next Friday off from work because it’s Sam’s graduation….gulp! Yes, my Sam is nearly 18 and he finishes high school next Friday. HOW??? I know we all say that time goes by so quickly. But I’m saying it again……TIME GOES BY SO QUICKLY!!!! I think that I am in denial that he is just all grown up and I’m happy and sad all at the same time. I feel excited for him but nervous too. My mama heart is just all over the place at the moment. So I’ll be sure to take an extra packet of tissues to the graduation ceremony. Anyway, I’ll let you know how it all goes next week. I really hope that you have a most wonderful weekend! Happy Friday! Linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s post.

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Spring Bucket List

6 Comments / Discovering NSW Australia

I have decided to put together a spring bucket list because I am just so excited that it is finally spring!! I am so overjoyed that I can hardly contain my excitement. It is so lovely to feel the weather just starting to feel warmer. Of course, because it’s early days and we are only just coming out of winter. There have been some days when the temperature has really plummeted. And it has thrown us back into those cold wintry days. But here in Australia it is officially Spring from the 1st of September to the 30th of November. This just makes me super happy! What I Love About Spring Well, I guess the first thing I love about spring is that it means it’s not winter anymore. I did try extra hard to embrace winter this year. And I even put together a list of winter essentials. Because after all there are some really nice things about winter that I do enjoy. Things like being all wrapped up in a nice cozy blanket, drinking delicious hot drinks like chai tea or hot chocolate, and of course eating all that delicious comfort food. But I’m one of those people who feel the cold very easily. A friend of mine sent me this funny meme one day and it sums me up perfectly! Another thing that I love so much about spring is that the flowers start to bloom everywhere. It’s like they have been waiting for that burst of warmth too so that they can come out and show off their gorgeous colours. Even the birds are chirpier in the mornings. And the days slowly start to feel longer because the sun starts to set later in the evening. Yes, there is just so much to love about spring. It is also such a great feeling to put away all the chunky clothing and come out of winter hideaways. Spring inspires me and so that’s why I have put together this spring bucket list. Here are some fun ideas and suggestions that you might like to try when you hit spring. 1. Enjoy A fun Picnic There is nothing more invigorating than feeling the sun on your face! So why not go ahead and find a sunny picnic spot and put together a delicious picnic basket to enjoy with some friends or family? You can go to a local park or make a day of it and go for a drive to discover a new place that would be perfect for a picnic. It is just the best feeling to see the lovely flowers blooming, feel the warm sun, and enjoy the fresh air. 2. Find A Local Spring Fair As soon as spring arrives you will easily find a variety of fairs in your local area. I visited a local spring fair last weekend and I had such a fun time exploring the different variety of stalls. As well as sampling some of the food that they had on offer. It’s great to get out and enjoy the fun atmosphere that you find at a spring fair. 3. Spring Clean Your Home With the excitement and buzz, that spring brings to your mood. Why not go ahead and take this perfect opportunity when you are feeling motivated to get stuck into some spring cleaning? I like to declutter regularly but I have to admit that I feel much more inspired to do this in the spring. 4. Visit A Farmers Market Warmer weather means a bigger variety of fresh produce. So it’s a great time to visit a local farmer’s market and stock up on some delicious fruit, and vegetables as well as farm-fresh dairy and eggs. 5. Go For A Walk Along The Beach As I have mentioned before I am not much of a beach person. But I have added a walk along the beach to my spring bucket list. I find that I really do enjoy the scenery and the sound of the waves as well as the fresh air. 6. Visit The Zoo Spring is probably the best time to visit the zoo because of the weather. It’s warm but not too hot like it is in the summer months. So you won’t feel all hot and sweaty after a big walk around the zoo. 7. Plant Some Flowers Or Herbs I have to admit that I am not really much of a gardener. But every year I do like to take a trip to Bunnings and buy some flowers to plant in my courtyard or front garden. I also seem to have more success with herbs than I do with vegetables. So planting flowers and herbs is definitely on my spring bucket list. 8. Put Away Your Winter Clothes Spring means that it’s time to put away those heavy coats and thick jumpers. Do a wardrobe changeover and take out the lighter clothes that you haven’t seen in months! I still like to make sure I keep a jacket handy for those cooler spring days and nights. 9. Decorate Your Home With Flowers Welcome spring inside your home with some lovely colourful fresh flowers. You can cut some from your own garden or buy some from a supermarket or florist. Spread them around your home in a variety of fun vases or jars. 10. Enjoy A Pedicure Now that it’s spring you will probably be reaching for those cute sandals. Make sure your feet are ready and treat yourself to a relaxing pedicure. I think that soft pastel colours just scream spring. So I’m pretty sure that I will be choosing a pastel pink when I go for my next pedicure. 11. Go Shopping For Spring Clothes Spring is also a fantastic time to go through your wardrobe and donate anything that is still in good condition. Then you can enjoy a fun day shopping for some new spring clothes as a reward. This might just be one of my favourite things

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Organise Your Closet

9 Comments / Cleaning and Organising

Hi everyone thanks so much for stopping by today. I’m excited to join Shay and Erika for this month’s edition of “Let’s Look” where the topic is organise your closet. Closet, Walk-In Wardrobe, Built-in Wardrobe, or Wardrobe? It’s so funny how different English words can have different meanings depending on what part of the English-speaking world you come from. Here in Australia, we have different names for a closet. We call them wardrobes. A lot of the older-style homes are typically quite small. So if you are lucky enough to have a place to store your clothes that you can actually walk into. Then we call you a millionaire and we call this place a walk-in wardrobe. I think that most homes have either built-in wardrobes or free-standing wardrobes. A built-in wardrobe is a wardrobe that is built into the wall cavity and can’t be moved. A free-standing wardrobe has different compartments and clothes railings as well as internal shelves. One more thing, we spell the word organize with an s. Haha! So now the Aussie English lesson is out of the way let’s jump in and talk about closet organisation! How Do I Organise My Closet? I have a built-in wardrobe. Our house is small so I have spread some of my clothes into other parts of the house. We have a free-standing wardrobe in the converted garage which is now a storage and home office space. I keep my winter coats in there as well as some handbags. We also have a chest of drawers where I keep my underwear and work clothes. I love clothes and I have a real weakness for shoes and handbags. But I am pretty strict when it comes to buying clothes. My rule is that I have to love whatever I try on. If I don’t absolutely, can’t live without it, or love it then I won’t buy it. Keeping Clothes To A Minimum I am not a minimalist but I am drawn to the minimal way of life. I don’t like a lot of stuff or clutter so I try to stick to the one-in, one-out rule. If I buy an article of clothing then I will try to make sure that I donate a piece of clothing that I don’t need or want anymore. I like to organise my wardrobe or closet by colour and it just makes sense to me. Because I don’t have a large collection of clothes it’s easy for me to remember what I do have. And if I am deciding what outfit I want to put together then I know where my pieces are kept based on their colour. I find it much easier to find things this way. As you can see I love black and neutral coloured clothes. They’re so much easier to mix and match! Occasionally I will be daring and buy a piece of clothing from the current colour trend but not very often. Shoes I like to keep my shoes in their original boxes. The other day I was looking at some of those nice plastic shoe storage boxes in K-mart. But they are quite big and bulky. So I think that I will stick to the old original cardboard boxes. Especially since my built-in wardrobe is not huge. Bags And Accessories I store my bags and accessories in the drawers. Again I am not a big fan of too many accessories. So they mostly fit nicely into the drawers. I have some more bags but they are in the free-standing wardrobe that we keep in the garage/office. Oh yes, I have to mention that these cedar balls are fantastic and I scatter them in my drawers that have any wool clothing. I bought them from Amazon and they have been great for keeping the moths from eating my jumpers. My friend and I joke that the only jumpers which tend to be eaten are the jumpers from Uniqlo. We have a theory that they are either super delicious to moths or they already come with moth eggs. Because without a doubt only my Uniqlo jumpers have ever been attacked by moths. The same applies to my friend’s jumpers. That’s about it when it comes to how I organise my closet. I like to keep things simple and minimal. 😊 I hope you are all having a great Wednesday and I look forward to hearing about how everyone else organises their closets.

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A Sunny Weekend

15 Comments / Hello Monday

Hi friends it’s good to be back for today’s Hello Monday link-up with Holly and Sarah. We have two more weeks and then it’s Spring break. Yay!! I’m so happy to report that we enjoyed a very sunny weekend and I am looking forward to many more. A Fun Spring Fair On A Sunny Weekend I had a great Saturday with my lovely fun bestie. We went to the Spring Fair at Cronulla which is now called Cronullafest. Cronulla is a suburb in Sydney which has many surf beaches and enclosed pools. And it is only about 25 minutes by car or 50 minutes by train from my house. I rarely go to Cronulla as I am not a beach person. But it is a lovely suburb and popular not only with Sydneysiders but with tourists as well. We enjoyed looking at all the stalls at the fair and even though it was early we tried a tiny bit of Rosé. Then we walked further along until we got to the beach. It was such a gorgeous sunny day. After Saturday’s visit, I am actually looking forward to going back and walking on the beach. I may even take my shoes off and go in the water. (But only up to my ankles hehe). After our walk, we went to a place called ‘Emu’s Burger Joint’ for lunch. Yes, they do have emu on the menu! But I just ordered the beef brisket burger which was really delicious and a nice change from the usual beef patties. After lunch, we made our way back to Cronulla station but stopped at a few shops along the way. There were lots of books and clothes shops. But I like the homeware and fine food shops the best. In the evening I watched the proclamation of King Charles III. It seemed so surreal to be watching such a significant moment in history. For Saturday night dinner we had enough leftover spinach pie I had made on Friday night but I had a real craving for two-minute noodles. I know that they are not the healthiest option but hey it was the weekend! I threw an egg in it and it was so yummy. Stranger Things Season 3 My cousin Ben has been encouraging me to watch Stranger Things. He is around the same age as my oldest son and every time I see him he asks me” Have you watched Stranger Things yet Ruthie” (My family and many of my friends call me Ruthie). Sam and I had watched seasons 1 and 2 but only a couple of episodes of season 3. Then he got busy with school etc and we stopped watching. I picked it up again on Saturday night. Oh my goodness I can see why Ben had wanted me to get back into it. It is so good and now I’m binge-watching it! I was gasping and making noises and covering my face at the scary exciting bits. Sam came out of his room where he was studying and laughed. Now he’s keen to watch it after he finishes his exams. Sunday I went to church in the morning while Steve slept as he got home in the early hours of the morning after a very long shift. Sam has started going to the evening service which I am very happy about. Covid messed up our church-going routine. Anyway, the evening service is mainly for the youth and I hope he gets back into the habit of going along. He did say it was good and that he enjoyed it. I got home from church around midday and Steve’s best friend Scott (who is more like a brother to him) came over for lunch. My lovely cousin came over too and so did Sam’s girlfriend. I threw together a simple lunch and we had a really nice time. Poor Steve misses out on a lot of family dinners and get-togethers because of work. That’s the real downside of working in hospitality. In the afternoon I hit the shops for a little while with my cousin. She needed a couple of things for her new place so we went to TK Maxx, Big W, and K-mart. I picked up some keratin deep conditioner, I’m still using my egg remedy conditioner. But I thought that I would give this a try too. I have been changing my wire hangers and using these flocked hangers instead. They are much kinder on my clothes. Then in the evening, Steve surprised me by coming home early from work. We have started watching ‘All Creatures Great And Small’. It’s a really sweet show set in the late 1930s about a Yorkshire vet. We watched one episode and then called it a night. It really was a very nice sunny weekend that went by way too fast. What did you guys get up to? I hope it was a good weekend for you all. Happy Monday! Sharing on

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