Winter School Holidays

Hey friends! It’s great to be back here today linking up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday. I only took a week off from the blog world, but it feels like I was gone forever. I missed you!! Well, just like I expected, the winter school holidays have come and gone in a flash, and today was my first day back at work (sigh). But I’m super happy to say that they were nothing short of fabulous, so that’s a good thing! Today, I thought I’d share a roundup of the things that made my break so special. Let’s go!

11 Favourite Things I Got Up to Over The Winter School Holidays

Catching Up With Friends

It was so fun to catch up with friends for shopping and lunch dates! I felt like a real grown-up carefree person and it was fantastic!

A Quick Getaway

Steve and I managed to get away for two nights in Gosford. It was a perfect mix of fun and relaxation. I’ll share more details in a later post, but this mini-escape was definitely a highlight of the winter school holidays!

Closet Overhaul

I gave my small walk-in closet a complete makeover. Decluttering and organising everything, plus giving all the walls and shelves a much-needed coat of white paint, was incredibly satisfying—hello, more space! We now have so much empty shelf space that the cats think we’ve created a new high-rise apartment just for them. I’ve had to shoo them away a few times, but it looks like they’ve finally gotten the memo that I’m not their cat property developer!

DIY Home Projects

I painted the doors and doorways white, and wow, what a difference! Although they were already white, they had become a bit dull and dingy, so they definitely needed a fresh coat. I love everything white—it’s like having a clean slate, and it’s so much easier than choosing wall colours, which always feels overwhelming to me.

When we first moved in, I was young, inspired, and brave, so I went with a colour called “Grand Piano,” a safe neutral stone shade (that’s as brave as I could get). The living room still features that colour because, no, I didn’t get around to painting it white during these winter school holidays. Aaargh! The thought of moving the lounge and TV really puts me off— I know my big boys would help with that, so it probably won’t be as bad as what I’m building up in my head. Maybe I’ll tackle it in the next school holidays!

Anyway, I’m really happy with the switch to all white for the other spaces (except Sam’s room, which is grey). It suits my love for the minimalist Scandi look perfectly!

Creating Art

Inspired by Bauhaus, I recreated one of its classic designs on Canva (I love Canva) and used that as a springboard to create an original print of my own. Then I had them printed at Officeworks and bought two frames to display them in. It was a fun and inexpensive way to juju up our home.

More Art

I finally hung up a print from the Matisse exhibition we saw two years ago. I took down the poster featuring Penelope Cruz in Volver—Penelope needed a break. I’m really enjoying the new white frame and Matisse print; it’s a beautiful reminder of that day and looks perfect on our wall.

Relaxation and Self-Care

I focused on relaxing my neck and face muscles. Face masks helped, and so did lying on the yoga mat to stretch out my neck. Self-care for the win!

TV Show Binge

I watched some favourite TV shows and steered clear of stressful ones like Baby Reindeer. After two episodes, it was a hard no for me. Trying to keep things light and enjoyable over here!

Ikea Adventures

I had two fun trips to Ikea. The first was a solo to pick up some storage items, and the second was with my cousin and her kids. We went last Friday for the half-price lunch offer, and on top of that, we got a $25 discount voucher that could only be used if we spent over $100 that day. So, I picked up a few knick-knacks as well as a rug for the living room—since the cats had made a mess of the old one (bleh). My little (not so little cousin, he’s 14) joked, “Come for the meatballs, leave with a trolley full!” Hehe.

Walks With Steve

Oh my goodness! You cannot believe how happy I am with Steve’s progress since his knee replacement; we both are! He has really turned a corner (so to speak) and is walking so much better now! Over the break, we went on regular walks around the neighbourhood and we did a lot of walking while we were away in Gosford. He also has two physiotherapists coming to the house. One to do regular exercises and the other to retrain him to walk without limping. Poor guy has walked with a limp for over ten years, and now his brain is slowly adjusting to a new way of moving.

Christmas In July

We had a late Cousin Connect gathering on Saturday since some of the cousins were away over the school holidays. This time, it was all about Christmas in July, and we kicked things off with an amazing charcuterie board.

One of our cousins is definitely a Charcuterie board master!

We had delicious turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, roast carrots and pumpkin. Followed by the usual banter, jokes, board game and an all-around fantastic time!

To top it all off, my youngest cousin even put the tree up with some twinkly lights. It was a brilliant night, and we have all decided that Christmas in July is now a permanent yearly tradition. Yay!

That wraps up my 11 favourite things I got up to over the winter school holidays. Winter is not my favourite season, but I loved these school holidays a whole bunch! Thanks so much for being here today and I hope you have an amazing Monday. I look forward to being back here on Wednesday.

See ya!