A Scrapbook Station

One problem area of our house is my craft storage or the lack of it! Hence when I saw that Target had a great sale on a 4x3 cubed units and material cube draws I just had to have one. I jumped on line to purchase as something of this size was going to be far to heavy and difficult for me to pick up in store. So I got on line with the thought of getting it delivered until hubby kindly offered to save us the $50 delivery fee by going and picking it up for me. Great! So I purchased everything I needed, opted for the click and collect option and paid for it all. Once our order was at our local store I received an email notification. I forwarded this to Hubby who then went and picked up my goods with no fuss at all. Wonderful! I was super excited!! Finally I had the tools to tackle the impractical wardrobe full of scrap booking mess.

The very next day I opened up the flat pack, super keen to get stuck in to building our 4x3 cube unit. Hubby had offered to construct it once home that night but the impatient me wanted it done NOW! So it was up to me to do it. Considering I had never even placed a hand on a drill before I had no idea what I was getting my self in for..lol

 

Nevertheless, as much as I am impatient I am very determined also. My goal was to have it done before hubby could come home and takeover. I ensured I read all the instructions before I started including the manual for the drill.. you may laugh but as it was hubby's brand new cordless drill there was no way I wanted to break that! Anyway, I succeeded! Yes it did take me all day but then I do have two lovely children I have to take care of also. I was so proud that I had done it poor hubby was barely in the door when I dragged him into the study to see my accomplishment.

 

 

Once the constructing was complete it was time for the fun part... to decorate it! I first added 3 pink and 3 grey material cube boxes as draws but it needed something more. It needed something to add character to it, so I decided to add a pattern backdrop to some of the open cubes. I fiddled with wall paper, scrap booking paper and gift wrap that I had on hand. A piece of grey scrap booking paper looked great in one cube but I needed something pink for the other 2 cubes I wanted to back. Eventually I decided that I really wanted pink polka dots (yes I'm slightly obsessed with polka dots!) but the only 'paper' that I had that meat this requirement was napkins. So out came the napkins and with a bit of double sided tape they were perfect! (hubby once again thought I was crazy.. an occurrence that is becoming more often)

 

 

I emptied the wardrobe and placed my new scrap booking station inside and I love it!

 

 

Now the big task of putting all my scrap booking supplies into there new homes begins. Stay tuned for an update. Once everything is in its home I'll share it with you.

 

Untill next time take care, smile and be happy

 

^YKylie

 

Shopping For Easter

^{A lot of people complain at how early Easter goods pop up in stores but personally I absolutely love it! Especially as this year I’ll be doing some home Easter decorating.. YAY!!}

^{I love looking at what’s on offer at each of the different shops. Taking mental notes as I think to myself with excitement...Ooh that would be good for so and so, or I could do this and that with that product. Tell me I’m not crazy! You do that to right??  It gets the creative juices flowing and it makes me happy thus excited about the entire festive season that is approaching us. Now I know Easter is still a while away, 36 days away to be exact but I thought I would share some of the little Easter gorgeousness that I have found so far so you too can become organised early. The earlier your organised the more time you have to do all the wonderful activities that you see and want to do. No missing out on great finds and no running around at the last minute... Now doesn’t that sound like fun?}

^{First up let me just point out that the following good are from Woolworths however this by no means a sponsored post by Woolworths. It is purely my own thoughts on what finds I feel are good value in store. So with that out the way let’s start with some finds for the kiddos.}

 

^{Some reading books about Easter – Fair Dinkum Aussie Easter and The Great Big Aussie Easter Hunt. As this is our first Easter that our 2 & ½ year old boy Lachlan would have some understanding of what Easter is I thought this year would be the perfect time for us to read some books to get a better understanding of it all.}

 

 

^{And check out these wonderful colouring books $2 and activity books $3. I just had to grab one of the activity books as they have everything from puzzles to cut outs and more inside. Even though the activities are a bit beyond Lachlan’s age I just know he is going to love the stickers and wearing that bunny mask!}

 

^{I also grabbed these tiny Beanie Kids in eggs for $3 and what a great alternative to chocolate eggs.  I think they will make as a nice surprise from Easter bunny on our Easter breakfast table I plan to do. Shh... I opened them early as I just could not wait to see what they got, lucky as I don’t think hubby would appreciate Lachlan getting a pink bunny! lol}

 

^{Lastly this gorgeous little musical hopping bunny just bounced straight into my basket! The most expensive at $20 but totally worth every cent this little cutie plays a musical tune whilst hopping and moving her ears up and down. I just cannot wait to see the kid’s reaction to this one!}

^{I also want to share with you some items that I’m going to use to decorate our home this Easter.}

 

^{First I could not walk past these cute little metal pail’s (they also had green however our colour theme will be yellow, pink and blue). I had to get a staff member to grab them down from the top shelf because at $3 each I had to have them! And for some reason I just fell in love with this sweet little figurine so I grabbed him to!}

 

^{I couldn’t pass up a pack of 8 pink Easter bunny straws and they also stock cute paper plates and napkins perfect for anyone hosting Easter.}

 

^{And after getting all of the above I finally grabbed what I originally went into the store for... these wonderful bunny candy jars (green option also available).}

 

^{So I hope you enjoyed all the eye candy on this shopping trip with me. Don't forget to grab the wonderful FREE Woolworths fresh mag if you do happen to hop into a store. This month has great recipes and great Easter ideas. Hope I have not endangered your bank balances to much ha ha ha. Next I’ll post about my finds at spotlight and Bed Bath n Table so be warned now if you don’t want to be in danger of hurting the hip pocket... don’t look!}

^{Until next time stay safe, smile and be happy}

 

^YKylie

Pink Picnic In The Park

It was with much planning, thought and love that we created a day for close family and friends to help us welcome our precious little girl into the family by holding a ceremony to officiate her name. Planning was all a bit last minute due to our celebrant becoming short of time very quickly so it was a now or never event. I grabbed some cards, dusty pink ink and a set of stamps from spotlight and got to making invites right away.

 

Not bad for one nights work over a glass of bubbles I think!

We wanted to keep the day relaxed with a family atmosphere and hence we based the event on the idea of a pink picnic in the park for our princess. I gathered all the pink party goods that I already had in the party cupboard and purchased some cream wire baskets from Typo. I also found some pink home style lemonade in Aldi - bonus!!

I then did a quick sew up to make some pink gingham picnic blankets and pink cushion covers. At this point hubby thought I had lost my mind but what’s a relaxing picnic without the comfort of cushions right?!? lol



This set up was for our special girl - her toys
were stored her pink picnic basket for the day.

 

Then on to the cooking - yes I was running around like a mad woman getting all this done within a week! ha ha ha. So cooking, as time was not on my side we decided to go with some scrumptious Subway rolls for lunch. Everyone loved them! This left me just enough time to do a white chocolate/strawberry cake and some cute cupcakes in jars.

 

 

 

As our guests arrived they were met by a trail of pink polka dot balloons leading them to our secluded picnic area by a lake. (Sorry I forgot to take a wide shot pic so you just have to imagine). Pink gingham picnic blankets with scattered pink cushions spread across the lawn..We propped our cardboard table under the central tree for shade as it held our cold refreshing pink lemonade in cute glass bottles alongside subway rolls, cupcakes in jars and the cake. Our relaxed pink picnic theme had worked perfectly... (If only I had taken that pivotal pic of the entire picnic area.. darn it!!)

 

 

We were surrounded by love, had superb weather and perfect company. Chatter along with kid’s laughter filled the air as we ate scrumptious food and cake...yum!

 

 

The formalities so to speak went wonderful also. We as parents made a promise to our little girl in front of those that support us.

We welcome our daughter into our family

and promise her daily support;

we will fulfil and respect Charlotte's needs.

We will comfort and care for her,

protect and respect her, love and hug her 

and raise her to the best of our ability.

We asked our sisters to do us the honour of being godparents. Thus to stand up and pledge there support to us and freely offer Charlotte, protection and guidance whenever these may be needed. It was with great happiness (and some tears of joy) that they both accepted this request.

 

 

 

To conclude the formalities I read this to our sweet girl:
 

As I held you in my arms that very first day,
I knew I would never let any harm come your way.
With your tiny little hands and tiny little feet,
Every time I look at you my heart skips a beat.

As I watch you sleep in the middle of the night,
I hope and pray I will do everything right.
I know I may make some mistakes along the way,
But I promise to do my best every single day.

Words cannot express what you have brought to your dad, Lachlan and me
We often wonder what you will grow up to be,
But whatever you become will be fine with me.

Charlotte Grace is the name we chose for you
Wear it with pride with all that you do,
We love you with all of our heart,
Nothing will change that no matter what you do,
Be all that you can and always be you.

Charlotte you are the greatest gift of all,
Thank you for choosing us to be your parents,
We wouldn’t have it any other way,
We love you and hope you enjoy your day.

We are so thankful to those that shared in this special day with us.

Overall it was a perfect day and we couldn't ask for anything more!

^YKylie

 

Creamy Penne Sundried Tomato Pasta

This Creamy Penne Sun dried Tomato Pasta has got to be one of the best home cooked pastas that I have ever made! Now I realise that I'm putting it on a bit of a pedestal by saying it is awesome but it truly is! I'm a big fan of pasta and this recipe went straight to the top of my favourites list.. go on give it a try and let me know what you think!

You will need:

2 cups Penne
1 can of evaporated milk
2 cups shredded cheese
1/3 cup sun dried tomato
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp grounded black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion flakes
*some cornflour may be added to thicken sauce if you wish to do so

What to do:

1. Cook pasta according to packet instructions.

2. In a medium saucepan combined the milk, cheese, basil, garlic, pepper, salt and onion.
   Cook over a medium heat stirring occasionally until all the cheese is melted. *add cornflour now if you prefer a thicker sauce.

3. Add pasta and chopped up sun dried tomato to sauce.

4. Stir to combine and serve.

Simple as that!

Enjoy

^YKylie

Kitchen Overhaul

Our new years resolution for this year is to be financially better by the end of 2013. So in order to achieve this I have decided to go through our home with a fine tooth comb so to speak and organise every single room. Big task whilst looking after a 5month old and a 2 1/2 year old. Hence to make it more achievable I plan to break it down into weekly assignments. Last weeks aim was the kitchen.

So here is what I achieved in our kitchen in week 1:

- I started by organising our pantry. What better way to save money than to know what food we already have. I now love that we can open the pantry and see exactly what we have.
1st shelf: Containers holding (1) chips/biscuits (2) snacks/lollies (3) confectionery for baking
2nd shelf: Baking goods (I bake a lot so have everything imaginable for baking scrumptious treats)
3rd shelf: Packet goods,Sauces, oils, tins salt and pepper.
4th shelf: Cereals, bread, spreads, tea, coffee etc...
5th shelf: Potatoes, Pasta and Rice
6th Shelf: Stock shelf - Spare drinks, sauce etc.. (Also have cling wrap & foil until I buy something that can hang up on our pantry door)

 

- I then convinced hubby for us to purchase a new fridge. (I had been wearing him down with my constant complaining for quite some time now and finally won my battle he he) And so as soon as our new (second hand) fridge arrived this was the next task I completed in the kitchen. I sprayed it all clean with vanilla spray and quickly got to filling it all up. I now store all Tupperware containers in there relevant spots (eg: freezer containers empty in the freezer). I find it easier this way as I can now place items straight into pre chilled containers and place the container straight back where it came from. Hence no more finding the container in the cupboard to then find room in the fridge/freezer for an item to go in. Much easier and more time efficient.



 

- I then got started on the cupboards. I unpacked our wine glasses and reorganised our glasses/mugs cupboard with the help of some wire racks I already had.

- Our trays/chopping boards cupboard just needed a bit of a tidy up

- I did a complete overhaul when it came to our pots/pans and small electrical goods cupboard. Out went any electricals that we no longer used, any relay old pots got thrown to. Now there is so much less cluttered and we can see exactly what we have. Every item is easily accessible - no having to dig to the back to get an item out anymore... yay!

- I emptied every kitchen draw, gave it a lovely clean with vanilla spray and then reorganised each.
Our bottom draw is where we keep our tea towels and dish cloths.

3rd draw houses our zip lock bags, sml plastic bags and cooking utensils.
2nd draw consists of all our small item kitchen utensils
1st draw eating utensils

- I didn't need to relay organise out bowls/plates however I still gave everything a good wipe over and added a new stack of bowls for our little miss now that she is eating.

- Our Tupperware cupboard was reduced by 1/2 due to the new fridge/freezer hence I decided to combine Tupperware with drink bottles/therms flasks.

 

 - I really enjoyed reorganising our spice cupboard and decided that colouring, essence and baking accessories would be good on the top shelf.

 - And lastly I organised our entertainment cupboard that stores all the salad bowls, dishes and platters.

So there you have it, my organised kitchen! And to celebrate all my hard work I finally opened my Christmas present..

 

 a Kenwood patisserie mixer!... now where do I put it??

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I have achieved. I absolutely LOVE having a completely organised kitchen. Have you organised your Kitchen lately?

^YKylie