Ruth(playworkeatrepeat), Author at PLAYWORKEATREPEAT

Hump Week

Hi friends, it’s week five this week at preschool. So it’s officially ‘Hump Week’ for us and that means that it’s only five more weeks before the end of term and then it’s Spring break! I can not wait!! We have had a taste of some gorgeous warm weather this week. Some days I have even been able to get by without wearing my big warm jacket in the playground. Warm weather makes me so happy! It’s been a funny sort of week and I guess some weeks are just like that. I had a couple of challenging days but thankfully I also had some really great days. As usual, I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s Friday Favourites post. Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me share with you a few things that have been going on in my corner of the world. The favourites and the not-so favourites! The Not So Favourite An Ocular Migraine I can hardly remember what happened on Monday as it’s a bit of a blur. But Tuesday definitely stands out! I was feeling a bit out of it and tired all morning and then just as I was going on my lunch break. My vision went weird! Everything looked blurry and then I felt like I was looking through a kaleidoscope. Turns out that I had an ocular migraine which didn’t last very long before my vision went back to normal. I didn’t feel great so I left work early and went home. When I got home I went straight to bed and I slept for about five hours. Even after all that sleep, I was still feeling a bit bleh. Blog Technical Issues In the evening my lovely friend messaged me to say she couldn’t access my blog. I jumped on the computer to have a look and was met with this Technical issues sometimes come up with blogging and they are definitely NOT a favourite!!! I had a mini panic and then calmed down. I even referred back to my blog post about Ways To Feel Instantly Happier for some help Haha! Everything got resolved in the end and so that was a huge relief!! The Favourites Steves Birthday We celebrated Steve’s birthday on Wednesday! I mentioned before that I am always a bit stumped when it comes to getting him a birthday present. So I usually just get him some things that he needs and he likes that a lot! This year I got him some slippers because his other ones (which are exactly the same as the new ones I got him) were all worn out. Then I just filled them with some things that he always uses. Working in hospitality means that he is on his feet all the time. So he loves using a product called Zen for joint and muscle pain relief. I also added some essentials like a new toothbrush, nail clippers, gum, and socks. He was super happy with all his goodies! Birthday Dinner In the evening we all went out for dinner to one of our favourite Italian restaurants. There were six of us in total and it was so lucky that everyone had the night off from work or school commitments. Luke our oldest son and his lovely fiancee met us at the restaurant. Sam and his sweet girlfriend came in the car with us. We had such a lovely time and enjoyed the most amazing meals! I forgot to take a photo of the birthday boy at the restaurant but I did get a pic of my big boys. After dinner, we came back to our place for cake! This year I bought a baked chocolate cheesecake and served it with some strawberries to balance out the sweetness. I had a chuckle remembering the cake that I ordered for Steve’s birthday last year. This time last year we were in complete lockdown. I ordered him a birthday cake along with my usual online grocery shop. But I forgot to check the size and I ended up accidentally ordering this tiny cake for one!! Hump Week Chocolate Our very kind and thoughtful preschool director got us some chocolates to celebrate Hump week. Puffy Stickers! My lovely bestie surprised me with some puffy stickers. I just love puffy stickers, they remind me of when I was little and my mum would buy me one for 30 cents. I could never have dreamt that as an adult I would be the proud owner of two whole entire packets of puffy stickers! Bubbles Today at preschool we enjoyed making some bubbles! The weather couldn’t decide if it was going to rain or not. But these bubbles kept some of the kids super entertained and happy for about an hour! I guess that wraps up my hump week! Bring on the weekend! I really hope that you all have the best Friday!

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Fun Things To Do At Home Alone

6 Comments / Beauty and Self Care

Fun Things To Do At Home Alone – Isn’t it funny how the seasons of life can sometimes change so unexpectantly? I remember not so long ago wishing for days when I could be at home alone. The house was always full and noisy. someone would be watching TV with the volume turned up so high, talking, asking questions, needing this or that, and gaming very loudly. Now things have changed due to various circumstances and I find myself at home alone A LOT! At first, I had to get my head around my new normal. Then once I did I made a mental plan of some fun things that I could do when I found myself at home alone. The plan soon turned into a list and so here we are today. A list of fun things to do when you do find that you are at home by yourself. I hope that you find this list helpful if you are navigating your way through some changes and now find that you are home alone more often than before like I am at the moment. 1. Set The Mood It’s winter here in Sydney and this means that it starts to get dark quite early. So I make sure that before the sun goes down fully. I go around lighting my favourite candles to make the house feel cozy. I also like to have some soft music playing or the TV on low volume. Being home alone in a dark and quiet house is not much fun. So I make sure to set the mood so that it feels comfortable and inviting. Once the weather starts to get warmer I will be opening the windows to let the fresh air in. I will also cut some flowers from the garden to bring in some cheery colour. 2. Watch Anything You Like On TV One of the upsides that I have found about being home alone. Is that I have full control of the TV ! This means that I can watch whatever I want. I really like watching my favourite movies on repeat as well as watching new movies. Being at home alone also gives me the luxury of flicking over from one movie or show to another without annoying anyone. 3. Go Ahead And Binge Watch There are so many streaming services available with so many amazing shows! You are bound to find a series that you like. I sometimes have three series going at once and I will alternate depending on my mood. If you are stuck for ideas then you can check out some of the shows that I have binge-watched here and here. 4. Enjoy Some Self Care When I know that I am going to be home alone on a Friday night then I like to go ahead and plan an evening of self-care. I will do things like listen to an audiobook while I enjoy a relaxing face mask. Or I might do my nails while watching a movie. 5. Try Some Guided Meditation Or Breathing Exercise I am trying hard to not be a constant shallow breather! So I like to take some time when I am at home alone to practice simple guided breathing exercises or do a guided meditation. 6. Get Some Decluttering Done It can be so much easier to get stuck into some decluttering and organising when I am at home alone. When I first start decluttering I will usually make a huge mess. But during the process of getting rid of “stuff”. Everything gradually starts to look so much neater as I start to put things back. I get such a buzz out of revisiting my drawers, cupboards, or rooms once I have organised them. 7. Listen To A Podcast Sometimes I like to listen to podcasts when I am doing some cooking. It’s such an entertaining way to spend time in the kitchen. I can focus on whatever I am making and my mind doesn’t wander because I am enjoying a great podcast. 8. Do A Jigsaw Puzzle Jigsaw puzzles were all the rage during the pandemic probably because they are so entertaining and relaxing at the same time. I find that when I am doing a puzzle the time just passes by so fast. I don’t even notice the time because I am so immersed in joining my jigsaw pieces together. 9. Start A Blog! If you have been thinking about starting a blog I really encourage you to just jump right in and go for it! I love blogging and it’s really the best creative outlet that I have found. Once you get through the technical side of things and work it all out. Blogging can be such a fun way to make new connections with so many lovely people from around the world. I’ve been blogging for about 15 months and it’s been a great journey so far. I recently did a post about my one year of blogging that might like to read. 10. Treat Yourself To Some Take-Away Why not go ahead and indulge in ordering anything you want for dinner? How fun to not have to worry about cooking and just enjoy a slow relaxed meal of your choice. 11. Read A Great Book One of the best things about being at home alone is all the uninterrupted reading time you can have. Curling up on the lounge with a nice warm drink and getting stuck into a good book makes me so happy. I like to use a Kindle because it’s so easy to download any book that I choose. I know a lot of people prefer to hold real books and I do love that too. But a kindle is just super convenient and I also really like that I don’t end up with a bunch of books that take up space. 12. Cross Stitch Or Knit Another creative outlet that you might like to consider is

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Welcome Back Monday

10 Comments / Hello Monday

Hi friends! Wow, didn’t the weekend just go by in a flash! It’s like I blinked and the weekend was over and here we are again to welcome back Monday. As usual, I am linking up with Holly and Sarah for today’s Hello Monday post. If you read my Friday post I was telling you guys that I had nothing planned for this weekend. And I honestly thought that I would just be pottering around the house and watching some TV shows. I also believed the weather forecast which said that it was going to be cloudy and rainy. Nope, I ended up having an unexpectedly busy weekend. Fun but busy, oh yes and the sky was a brilliant blue and there wasn’t a single raindrop. Haha!! Friday night I just love Friday nights!! While I was cooking dinner my friend rang to ask me if I was free on Saturday to go shopping at Ikea with her and another couple of friends. I said yes straightaway! I sure love going to Ikea whenever I get the chance and so I was super excited to go! One of the things that I love the most about Friday nights. Is that I know that I can stay up super late and not worry about having to get up early the next day. So I did just that and I waited till Steve got home from work after midnight. We watched some TV and ate sweet and salty popcorn which was really good! Along with some other yummy snacks. It certainly was such a nice way to end the working week. Saturday We all enjoyed a lazy and very slow morning. For breakfast, I had some sourdough toast with avocado and feta cheese along with a nice steamy cup of tea. Then we started watching the final season of Line Of Duty. In the afternoon Steve went to work and later on my friends came to pick me up for our trip to Ikea. We got there at around 2.30 pm and didn’t leave until around 6.30 pm. We did stop for coffee and muffins along the way. Shopping with friends is so fun and we chatted until we almost lost track of the time! After coffee, we kept on browsing as we made our way around Ikea. I picked up a few things from the marketplace. I needed new squeegees for the showers. I picked up this cooling pad for Sam. Even though I get super excited about warm weather he’s not a real fan of summer. He gets too warm when he’s in bed even during winter sometimes. So I thought that this might help to keep him cooler. A new toilet brush! Then afterward instead of going home, we all agreed that we wanted to keep hanging out. So we stopped off for some dinner at St George Motor Boat club. We shared some sweet potato fries, pasta, and pizza. In the end, I got home at around 10.30 pm. It really was such an unexpectedly fun way to spend Saturday. Sunday Oh my goodness! Will our car troubles ever end??? Poor Steve had to Uber it home because my little Suzuki that he has been driving wouldn’t start after he finished work at 1 am on Sunday morning. We just had the battery changed after he got stranded a couple of weeks ago. The car was serviced only last Wednesday! Ugh, so annoying!! Anyway, we called the mechanic and he installed another battery. Fingers crossed this doesn’t happen again. We have decided to just stick with one car until November. Hopefully, the car market will improve by then. Shopping For A Birthday Present Sunday afternoon Steve went to work and I walked to the shops. We live in a suburb that is super close to a small Westfield which is so convenient. It took me about twenty minutes to walk there and I felt good about getting in some steps too. It’s Steve’s birthday this Wednesday so I went to get him some presents. I was going to order online but time just slipped away. I found some things that I know he likes and I am going to put them together in a hamper. Birthday shopping for him is a bit tricky. He’s a real minimalist and doesn’t ever really ‘want’ anything. So what I tend to do is just get him a few things that I know he needs and he’s always happy with that! I left the shops at around 5 pm and I was so excited that it was still very much daylight especially since I was walking back home. Spring is on its way and the evenings are getting darker just a little bit later than they were only a few weeks ago. Yay!! Sunday Evening For Sunday night dinner I marinated and baked some chicken thigh fillets and we had them for dinner with rice and roast carrots. In the evening I did some blogging and then watched Doc Martin. I have been dying to watch season 9! I totally recommend this British comedy-drama about a surgeon who develops a fear of blood. So he leaves London and moves to a small sleepy village called Portwenn to start his own practice. It is hilarious!! The show is full of lovable characters and the scenery and music are just perfect. I love this show and I can’t believe that I forgot to include it in my list of shows that I binge-watch. Anyway, we signed up for a 7-day free trial of Britbox so we could watch the final season of Line of Duty. Seasons one to six are on Stan which we subscribe to but the final season isn’t. But now I’ve discovered that Britbox has so many great shows like the latest season of Doc Martin as well as so many others. So now I’m not sure that I really want to stop my subscription after the free trial. If

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A Few Random Favourites

6 Comments / Friday Favourites

Hey friends I have a few random favourites for today’s Friday Favourites post. I really hope that you have had a great week! And are looking forward to a great weekend. We don’t have any plans so I’m more than happy to just hang out at home and stay warm. #1 I was chatting to the admin lady at preschool during my lunch break on Thursday. We both agreed that we are so ready for warmer weather and can hardly wait for Spring! I think it’s going to rain again this weekend so it will be great to stay home, be cozy and catch up on some more great binge-worthy TV shows. On Monday I blogged about some favourite TV shows that I have watched. You can read all about it here. I also have a list of recommended shows that I want to start, so this will be the perfect weekend for it. #2 Last weekend my lovely cousin hosted our monthly family dinner. The theme for the night was Mexican food and it was so delicious!! It was such a fun night and like usual we just laughed so hard!! Someone in the family will always have us in stitches over a funny life story. And my cousin Ben has the best contagious laugh so we often end up laughing even more!! I really am so lucky to have a very close family. There are 15 of us in total when we all get together and I love them so much! Haha! yes, that’s a table full of tortilla chips!! There was so much delicious food but believe me we smashed through it pretty fast!! #3 I picked up this surface Organic Choice spray for the kitchen from Costco. It’s made with Lemongrass and Australian Myrtle and it smells so good! It also cleans great too. #4 Look at this cute guy! On Monday this kookaburra was just sitting on our preschool fence. I saw him when I was about to leave work for the day. I crept up slowly so as not to spook him and grabbed a quick pic. It’s funny that I refer to the kookaburra as him as it could have been a female kookaburra. I just always think of them as being male. And it’s probably because of that Australian children’s song about a kookaburra who is the king of the bush. #5 I tried this Maggi Butter Chicken Recipe Base for the first time and it was so easy to make and tasted delicious! It had just the right amount of spice for me which is not much because I can’t handle spicy food. If I accidentally eat anything too spicy I start to cough, my eyes water, and then I panic that I’m never going to get rid of the burning sensation. Weird I know! Anyway, my family loved it too so I’m excited to make it again soon. #6 One of my favourite things about working in a preschool is listening to the hilarious things that children say. Our home corner was set up as a doctor’s surgery again this week and the kids have really been enjoying it. The other day I overheard one of the little girls in our class pretending to be the secretary in the surgery. She asked her friend who was playing with her ” Are you here today for a fake appointment?” hahaha!!! So cute! Then I spotted this in the sandpit! Not quite sure what was happening here but it made me laugh! I asked the kids why the animals were buried head first like that ” Just because that’s how we like them Ruth” was their response. Ok, that makes sense I guess! #7 I picked up this bag of sweet and salty popcorn based on the recommendation from one of my little preschool students. We were having our morning snack and he was telling me all about how delicious the popcorn was. He literally had my mouth watering as he was describing the taste! So I added it to my online order and I will be having some tonight as a Friday night treat! I guess that wraps up this week’s Friday favourites! Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me share with you a few random favourites of mine. I really hope that you have a most wonderful weekend and I look forward to being back here on Monday! Happy Friday!!

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How To Keep A Clean House

3 Comments / Cleaning and Organising

Hi friends, It’s so great to be back for this month’s edition of Let’s Look. I love this linkup with Erika and Shay. It’s such a fun way to grab some amazing ideas and take a peek into how we do ‘life’. Today we are talking about how we do every day cleaning and I’m excited to share with you some simple tips that I use. How to keep a house clean every day? That is one of the big questions, isn’t it? It can be so daunting! But I have found that if you break up the chores into simple manageable daily tasks. Then life is just so much easier. I work full time and like everyone else does I really treasure my weekends! So the last thing I want to do is spend the weekends tackling a mountain of housework. These simple every day cleaning tips help me to keep my house clean and tidy. And best of all it means that my weekends are mostly free from housework. How To Keep A House Clean Every Day 1. Make Your Bed Every Day I know that it can be so tempting to just get out of bed and leave the bed unmade. But it really only takes a minute to get it done. And once my bed is made then the whole bedroom looks instantly tidier. Making my bed every morning also makes me feel much more productive for the rest of the day. Because I know that once I have knocked down that task like a champ then I can move on to the next! 2. Have A Place For Everything I try really hard to make sure that I have a designated place for everything. It just makes finding things so much easier. One example is. We have a round wooden tray in our entryway for our keys, wallets, and sunglasses. As soon as we get home we plonk all those essentials in there. And then we just grab them as we run out the next morning. There’s nothing more frustrating than looking for keys etc when you’re in a hurry to get out the door. 3. Do Laundry Every Day The laundry is never ending!!! I get so excited when I see the bottom of the clothes hamper. But sure enough, that excitement is so short-lived. To stay on top of the laundry I just make sure that I do a load or quite often more than one load every day. Then to make the task of folding more bearable. I will do it while I am watching/listening to a favourite show or movie. I have to admit that I also get a real kick out of seeing my piles of laundry all neatly folded and smelling fresh. Oh yes and another thing I do is that I make sure to put all the folded laundry away asap. 4. Keep A Squeegee In The Shower A friend of mine told me about this trick ages ago and I used to wonder how she got her family on board with it. I gave it a go and bought a couple of squeegees for our showers and now we are all in the habit of squeegeeing after every shower too! This is really one of the best ways to keep the shower from getting all mouldy and gross. Makes the bathroom cleaning chore so much easier! 5. Clean Up As You Cook I clean up as I cook so that I don’t have a huge pile of mess to deal with after dinner. I also wipe the countertops and make sure that they are clutter-free. 6. Turn The Dishwasher On Every Night Before bed, I will make sure to put the dishwasher on, and then the next morning one of us will unpack it and put everything away. 7. Deal With Mess And Spills Straightaway If I spill something I clean it up straight away and if I notice dust or something that needs a quick clean then I’ll try to do it as soon as I spot it. 8. Hang Up Clothes And Put Shoes Away I never leave clothes lying around they either get hung up straight away or they go in the dirty clothes hampers. The same goes for shoes, as soon as they come off they go away where they belong. 9. Give The Bathrooms A Quick Clean Everyday I like to give my main bathroom and ensuite a quick clean every day. All it takes is a quick spritz of my favourite Earth Choice Bathroom spray over all the bathroom surfaces as well as the bath and shower. Then I disinfect the toilet and squirt some Harpic toilet cleaner into the bowl and give it a good swoosh with the brush. I use the disinfectant floor wipes to clean the bathroom floors and that’s it! Done in a flash! 9. Sort The Mail Straightaway As soon as I get home I check the mailbox and then go through the mail. I recycle anything that we don’t need and then file what we do need. It’s a great way to keep that paper clutter under control. 10. Do A Quick Tidy Up Before Bed Before I go to bed I do a super quick tidy-up of the lounge room. I do things like make sure that the coffee table is neat and tidy and the cushions on the sofa are all puffed up. I just love getting up in the morning and starting the day off with a tidy space. Our house is not very big so I can do this really fast. 11. Stick To A Routine I’m pretty strict and consistent with my cleaning routine which you can read all about here. This means that my ‘every day’ cleaning has now just become a habit. I do my household chores each day of the working week and then I give myself the weekend off as a reward. Except for laundry because

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Binge Watching TV Shows

13 Comments / My Favourite Movies and TV shows

I just love binge-watching TV shows! It’s so fun for me to know that I have a great show waiting for me at the end of a busy day. Remember the days when you had to wait A WHOLE WEEK before it was time for the next exciting episode? How did we ever survive those days hahaha? And here we are now. So spoiled for choice without enough hours in the day to watch the endless variety of fantastic shows with just one or two clicks of the remote control. So I’m joining up with this month’s fun edition of “Not Just A Mom” link- up where we are talking about binge-watching TV shows. I’m excited to read about what everyone else is watching! And I have put together a list of some shows that I am currently binge-watching or have already watched. TV Shows That I Have Loved Binge Watching The Gilmore Girls Such a fun show that I can watch over and over! Sometimes I just like to have it playing in the background while I am doing chores. The fast-talking witty dialogue is just amazing and so is Lorelai’s wardrobe. Oh, how I wish I could live in a town like Stars Hollow. Money Heist This Spanish drama has you on the edge of your seat all the time!! Only watch it if you have a strong healthy heart. I had to pause it a few times just so I could recover from the intensity. If you can, then watch it with subtitles because it’s so much better than the voice-over version. Cobra Kai Such a great trip down memory lane! I love how they have brought most of the original characters back who are now slightly a whole lot older. The storyline is quite clever and the fight scenes are fantastic. It’s a big winner in my opinion!! The Durrells If you are looking for a show that leaves you feeling so good. Then this is the show for you. I fell in love with all the characters and when I finished binge-watching this beautiful show I felt such a loss. My bestie watched it around the same time as I did and we both had the post-show blues when it ended. In The Club Another great British show that only went for two seasons. It’s about a group of six couples who meet at a pre-natal class and soon become firm friends. There’s drama, tears, laughs, and lots of joy. I kind of stumbled across this show and I’m so glad that I did. Cold Feet I watched all of the original series and I loved it. I’m well into the reboot and I’m really enjoying it too. It’s very funny, dramatic, and sometimes downright sad. Inventing Anna I’m not sure if it was the show that I totally loved or how Anna Delphy was so cleverly portrayed by Julia Garner. It was probably both as it was a very enthralling account of the life of Anna Delphy, the fake heiress who stole millions. This show was anything but ‘basic’!! Line Of Duty I’m right in the thick of this show and it’s fantastic. It is so good that I really want to Google the ending because I can’t stand the suspense!!! Wallander Sexy Swedish detective Kurt Wallander is played by Kenneth Branagh. That’s all I need to say. Downton Abbey This show is just such a must-see! If you haven’t watched it then drop everything and go watch it. The best part without giving any spoilers is that the finale is so satisfying. The series finished with everything wrapped up beautifully and I didn’t have to invent my own endings. Which is something that I sometimes do if I’m disappointed with how a show ends. The Crown Who isn’t fascinated with The British Royals? Well to tell you the truth I wasn’t until I watched this series. I know that there was a lot of artistic license but I really like how they have stuck to many historical accuracies. I learned so much (I did a Google fact check as I went along) and I am really looking forward to season 6 which comes out in 2023. The Split I found the first couple of episodes a bit slow going but I stuck to it and I am so glad that I did. It’s a fantastic British drama about the lives of the Defoe family. They all work in the family firm as divorce lawyers. You see them deal with the dramas that go on with their high-profile clients. As well as how they deal with their own relationship dramas. I just love talking about binge-watching TV shows it’s such a fun topic. A while ago I did a post about Amazon Prime Shows that I was watching. You might like to check it out. Linking up with Holly and Sarah Sharing on

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So Glad To See Friday Again

5 Comments / Friday Favourites

Hey, friends hope you are all well and have had a really great week. I’m so glad to see Friday again as I’m sure you all are too. It’s been a really busy week and so now I am just so excited for the weekend! We have a couple of fun things planned and I am really looking forward to having a bit of a sleep-in. I’m so bad at going to bed early, I just love staying up late. So I think I need to catch up on some sleep! Anyway, as usual, I am so happy that you have stopped by and I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s Friday Favourites post so let’s jump right in with the first Favourite for this week. It’s Been So Sunny! The weather has been so gloriously warm and sunny. I can almost smell Spring in the air and I can not wait!! But in saying that I am fully prepared and expecting that we will see more cold days before we settle into the warmer weather. But that’s ok, not long now and we will be hitting spring soon. Amen!! My pot plants in the courtyard have been happy to see the sun too! Loving My Walks I have been walking to and from work every day this week. So that’s about 6.5km each day from Monday to Friday! I have even closed all my rings every day so far. I know people do this all the time but I was never one of them! The Birds Every morning I walk past a particular house that always has a line of birds perched above on the electricity wires. Reminds me of that Alfred Hitchcock movie called “The Birds” haha!! I’m not worried that they’ll attack me as I know that they are just waiting to be fed. One morning I was walking along and some bread pieces came flying over the fence of the house. I waited till whoever was flinging all the bread stopped and then I kept walking. Every time I walk past this spot I’m half expecting to either get showered with bread or get poop on my head! A Favourite Cleaning Hack I have always used window and glass cleaning products to clean my mirrors and shower screens. And I have always ended up with annoying streaks!! I recently read an article by a hotel maid who shared secrets that some big five-star hotels use to clean their mirrors and shower screens fast and effectively. Apparently, they use a damp microfiber cloth and then wipe the glass over with a used pillowcase! I’m not sure if this happens at all hotels but anyway I went ahead and tried it. I didn’t use a used pillowcase because that just grosses me out. But I did use an old cotton tea towel and it worked a treat!! There were no streaks left behind at all. Making Leftovers Interesting I made a chicken casserole on Tuesday night and we had some leftovers. I like leftovers and so does my family but I thought that I would jazz things up a bit. Instead of just reheating the casserole I turned it into a pie! I had some frozen puff pastry and then all I did was mix together the chicken casserole, and leftover rice added some grated tasty cheese, and used this mixture as the filling. It was a big winner!! I also do this sometimes when we have leftover beef stew or even beef stroganoff. Next time you want to change your leftovers up a bit to make them more interesting turn them into a pie! Stovetop Potpourri We had fish for dinner earlier this week and the house smelled so fishy. so I threw some leftover lemon, a cinnamon stick, a good dash of vanilla essence, and a slice of pineapple into a pot with some water. I made some stovetop potpourri to make the house smell much fresher and nicer. Thankfully it got rid of that cooking smell. I did a post on stovetop potpourri recipes that you might like to try. It works a treat and it really leaves a lovely long-lasting scent! That wraps up this week’s Friday favourites. Yes, indeed I am so excited that it’s Friday again! Wishing you all the best weekend.

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Easy Stovetop Potpourri Recipes

8 Comments / Recipes

Following on from my post on How To Make Your Home Smell Amazing. I thought that I would share some super easy stovetop potpourri recipes. I love making my home smell good using stovetop potpourri for many of the following reasons. It’s easy! It takes hardly any effort at all to throw some simple ingredients into a pot to simmer and make your home smell so good! It’s very economical. You will find that you probably already have most of the ingredients that you need in your pantry. I love candles, diffusers, and essential oils. But they don’t come cheap so I think you’ll definitely find that making your home smell great using stovetop potpourri is a much cheaper alternative. Your home will smell lovely all day! Even after you have finished simmering your ingredients on the stove. You will find that the gorgeous aroma will be long-lasting. Having a nicely scented home can lift your mood and make you feel relaxed. Here Are A Few Easy Stovetop Potpourri Recipes That You Might Like To Try Ingredients 3 slices of lemon slice 1/2 an apple 4 cinnamon sticks 1 tsp of vanilla extract 2 tbsp cloves Instructions Put all ingredients in a pot full of water. Simmer on very low heat. Ingredients A handful of fresh or dried cranberries 4 slices of oranges 1 tablespoon of whole cloves 3 bay leaves 4 cinnamon sticks 3-star anise 2 cardamom pods Instructions Put all ingredients in a pot full of water. Simmer on low heat. Ingredients 2 slices of lemon 1 tbsp vanilla extract A small bunch of rosemary Instructions Put all ingredients in a pot of water simmer on low heat Ingredients Juice of 2 lemons 1 tbsp of coconut extract 4 strawberries sliced Instructions Put all ingredients in a pot full of water simmer on low heat A Few Things To Consider It’s important to remember to top up the pot with water every now and again. I usually like to set a timer so that I don’t forget. You could also make simmering potpourri in a slow cooker and have it on low heat for many hours. You can get creative and combine any number of ingredients to come up with your own signature home scent!

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A Nice Weekend

7 Comments / Hello Monday

Hi friends I hope that you are all well and have had a nice weekend. I’m happy to be back here today for the usual ‘Hello Monday’ link-up with Holly and Sarah. Also sharing today’s post with ‘Monday Morning Blog Club’ on Sticky Mud And Belly Laughs. Like I always say…the weekend sure went by super fast!!! Friday Night My Aunty messaged me on Friday afternoon and asked me over to her house for dinner. Impromptu dinner invitations are always so fun!! Especially when I was going to be home alone Friday night. Steve was at work and Sam went to his first real concert to see Tyler The Creator. I had never heard of Tyler The Creator before so I googled him and apparently he is a famous American rapper and Sam is a big fan. I don’t mind spending Friday evenings alone anymore. It felt a bit strange at first but now if I know that I will be at home alone then I will make sure to plan relaxing things to do. I think that I might do a post soon about fun things you can do when you are home alone on a Friday night! Anyway, I had a wonderful time at my Aunty’s and she cooked THE most delicious dinner!! I really wished that I had two stomachs so I could have kept eating!! It was amazing!! Then we spent the rest of the evening chatting. My lovely cousins were there so it was really nice to catch up with them too. Saturday I had a nice sleep-in on Saturday and a lazy morning. Later in the afternoon I still had a few household chores that I needed to do. I have this fantasy that if I do my housework and washing all during the week then I will have weekends free. Ummmm…….nope. But I’m sure that if I didn’t have a Monday to Friday cleaning schedule then my weekends would be a total nightmare. After dinner, I sat in front of the TV with some yummy chocolate-coated peanuts and my weekend ginger beer. I watched a couple of episodes of ‘Stranger Things’. I’m up to season 3 and I am really loving it! Oh yes, I also sold my Mum’s orthopedic chair on Facebook Marketplace on Saturday. I bought her the chair after she had a horrible fall way back in February. She only sat in it for about 2-3 days before she went back into hospital and then very sadly passed away. I always want my blog to be a happy place but I also want it to be authentic and honest. So I have to tell you that selling her chair was very hard. Lots of tears hard. Grief is such a weird journey. Some days I find that one minute I’m ok and then the next I’m really not. I miss my Mumma. Sunday On a brighter note, we had a lovely Sunday! My friend celebrated her birthday at St George Motor Boat Club with a big party and we had a fun time! Here I am with Steve, the poor guy only stayed for a short while, and then he had to go to work. That’s the hard part about working in hospitality. We had such a delicious lunch! There were platters of antipasto with pita bread to start with. Then for entrees, we had chicken skewers with tzatziki or tortellini with pesto. The mains were juicy steaks and creamy mash with a red wine jus and corn on the cob. Or tender juicy chicken with potatoes and broccolini. I had to make sure that I ate my corn in a delicate lady-like manner. No fingers!! I was also very conscious of being extremely careful when I was cutting the kernels off the cob with my knife. I didn’t want the whole corn to slip and go flying off my plate. Yes, this has happened to me before in public and it was a very traumatic experience! 😂 Steve and I shared all our dishes. For dessert, I had the pannacotta and Steve had gone to work by then so he missed out on his sticky date pudding. Sadly I was way too full to eat his dessert too. My weekend was a mixture of finishing off some housework and doing a bit of reminiscing. It was also sprinkled with some fun moments too. So I have to say that overall it was a very nice weekend indeed! Anyway, I really hope that you are all well and that you have a great week. Thanks so much for stopping by to have a read. Happy Monday dear friends!

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The Last Friday Of July

4 Comments / Friday Favourites

Hey everyone, hope you are all feeling great on this fine Friday. It’s the last Friday of July, can you believe it? I’m really happy to be linking up again with Andrea and Erika for today’s Friday favourites. Thanks so much for stopping by to have a read of a few of this week’s favourites. A Funny Favourite Earlier in the week, I was busy in the kitchen and I noticed that Sam was looking for something. He’d been going back and forth between his bedroom and the laundry quite a few times. So I asked him if he needed something. He said he was looking for his favourite blue tracksuit pants. Just after he said this he burst out laughing. He realised that he had been wearing them the whole time!! Hahahaha!!! We both had such a good laugh. It also made me feel a whole lot better about all the times when I have been searching high and low for my glasses. Only to realise that they have either been sitting on top of my head or I had been actually wearing them the whole time! A Yummy Favourite I received a delicious box of chocolates from one of my gorgeous little preschoolers last week. I saved them up and we had them as a weekend treat. Believe me, they didn’t last very long. They were so delicious and it was such a lovely kind gift. I was super touched! A Sunny Day After so many rainy days it was just so good to wake up to the glorious sun shining so brightly! I walked into the kitchen on Monday morning and the lovely sun was peeking in. Hello, sunshine!! Flowers Monday just kept getting better and better! One of my Sweet little preschoolers gave me some pretty flowers. I took them home and put them in this cute vase. So special!! I Posted More Than Usual This Week I’m really excited that including today’s post I will have posted four times this week on my blog. It’s a goal that I had set for myself this week and heading into the future. Monday I wrote about my One Year Of Blogging on Hello Monday. On Wednesday I joined the monthly What’s Up Wednesday link-up. Thursday my post was all about How To Make Your Home Smell Amazing on Encouraging Hearts And Home Blog Hop. And I’m back here today for this week’s Friday Favourites. Yay!! Preschool Favourites We had a pretend Doctors surgery in the home corner this week. So the kids were very busy writing up important medical reports. They also worked on puzzles. Built train tracks that went all around the playroom. Drew pretty rainbows Enjoyed fun sensory play with shaving cream Friday we cooked pizzas!! The kids had so much fun rolling out their own dough. They sliced up the vegetables. This poor capsicum was a bit smooshed. It’s hard for little hands to cut tricky vegetables! Don’t worry they used safe kids’ knives The mushrooms were much easier to cut. The children got to choose three healthy toppings. We’ve been discussing healthy choices at preschool this week. Then it was time to eat! Cooking is a super fun activity and the kids always love it. It sure made the morning go fast and both the classroom teacher and I were so busy making sure everyone had a turn and that no one cut themselves. We also kept reminding the children to please not sneeze all over the ingredients! Haha. So that wraps up the last week of July! And it sure went by so fast. I really hope that you have the best weekend and I’ll see you back here on Monday! Happy Friday!

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