Study Nook Yay

I am so happy with how my little study nook is coming along. I love it when what I imagine comes to life. I have made the most of my space and pop a study nook into the back of my living room.

 

My little Vinnies nick-nacks costing all of 50c each and my office products from Kmart.

Ikea Desk I think was $49, it was going to be for my son's room but I think it looks better where it it.

 

Floating shelves $9 @ Kmart

I didnt realise my secondhand computer chair matched so well I was going to try and find something else but I think its perfect, and if you look to the left of the picture you can see a sneak peak of our occasional table ikea knock off coming soon.

M.I.A

I know I know I have been M.I.A lately and things have been a little deserted. But I promise I have been a busy little bee. My calling in Young Women, keeping me on my toes, I have also been called as the Faith in God for girls Activities leader, so its been heads down bums up. I have so much to update. Nathaniel had an O for Awesome birthday party. Here is a sneak peak because I cant seem to find the rest of my photo's hehehe... I am hoping they didnt get deleted.

Here he is dressed and ready for action, with his tank backdrop that daddy painted just for him :)

 He was late to his own birthday, we sent him to Nan's house so he would be surprised when he got here so all his friends were here and then (sounds of crickets churping) No Nathaniel.

More photos to come I promise. 



I also have to update you all on our school packs. It was such a great experience. I only hope the young women I serve got as much out of it as I did. We packed 60 school packs  10 were incomplete but we all done well. 50 was our goal and we did it (yay) I cant wait for the girls to see photos of the kids who will receive the packs. I dont think they will every truly understand the good that have done. (But thats the point, isnt it) Service truly builds testimonies.

Some of the girls happlily packing away

 

 Oh and lets not forget my Vinnies finds, I had to run a few errands today and while I was out I thought I would make the most of it and stop at a Vinnies store here and there. 

just ignore all the other backgrounds stuff thats what I get for asking hubby to take pictures at this time of night

 

So what do you think? I absolutely love them, I am thinking I will re-paint them after doing a quick search online for a DIY and I think I've got it. Pretty cool huh........I spent a whole $7 which once upon a time i would have thought was way too expensive but gone are the days when I could have got the lot for $2. Oh and I found this absolutely beautiful Coral teapot, but it had a chip in the spout so they wouldnt sell it to me. When I asked what they would do with it, they said throw it in the bin. I asked the lovely lady behind the counter if I could follow her to the bin (i know stalker material) but she gracefully declined. I was a little sad and kicking myself for telling her it was chipped (trying to get my price down). But Ces't la vie I live to thrift another day!!!! 

Stay tuned for the reveal of my old but new items.

School Suppies for children of Indonesia

I received this in my inbox over the weekend, and felt really passionate about doing what I could to help. I currently serve as a young women leader for girls aged 12-17yrs old and thought it would be a great opportunity to do something hands on for humanity. 

I feel like this has reignited a fire inside me to help those who are less fortunate and am so glad to be a part of this. I am so so grateful to Felicity for including me in her email list. I have never felt the spirit more then when I am servicing others.

We sent a call out to the ward and to friends and family for donations of school supplies, and we have received some stuff, our goal is to pack 50 school packs and although we are nowhere near that, I have faith that we will do it.

DIY Dog Tags

Thanks to the sister in law for giving me a fab idea for military dog tags for my sons birthday all you need is:

Key Tags

Silver Spray paint

cheap chain (the one they use for roller blinds)

and it turn's these

 

 into standard issue military dog tags

All that is left to do is customize their names during intake when they arrive. I cant wait to see how it all turns out. 

Our House

We have been in our home going on 5 years now,and have tried our hand at decorating with loads of fails. Its been such a blessing living in our home our goals this year to make it the way we have wanted.

After being inspired by shows such as Sarah Richardson from Sarah 101 & Sarahs House  The Block , HomeMADE and I cant forget the show we have watched for years every friday night Better Homes & Gardens. We are trying again 

Its a bit of a work in progress, after lifting the flooring,removing the old down lights, painting and then furnishing I'm loving the result.We have a while to go until we are finished, but I feel like I have started to find my style. 

I absolutely love the Isamu Noguchi coffee table but my budget wouldn't allow even a replica.

and so I found this, totally within my budget. I am deciding whether I should paint the timber frame or restore it. Lately I have been wondering if I should use it at all, with a five month old she needs all the floor space she can get.

 

I absolutely love dome lights the one on the left from Bunnings $49.95 and the one on the right $2 on clearance from Kmart. These were an impulse buy for another project but couldnt resist using them at home.

I have yet to decide on colour palette, I still need my jumping off point (hehehe a little too much of Sarah's house). There are just so many colours to choose from having a light grey neutral. I think I will once again let my budget judge what I choose.

Call of Duty Military Party

Lately I have discovered the love I have for planning and organising birthday parties and events. Over the years I have helped organised Birthdays, Weddings, Dances, Festivals, sporting activities, youth activities, school holiday activities and the list goes on and on.........

My latest project is my son's birthday. We dont normally have a big birthday for your 7th, its usually their 1st, 5th, 8th, 12th, 16th. In December last year we had a carnival party for two of my children who turned five and eight and the kids absolutely loved it and still talk about it.  

Nathaniel my 7 year old, cannot recall having a 5th birthday and so I have decided I would throw him a 7th birthday, but what to do,I had to think of a theme. The theme needed to fit the following:

Cheap
Easy to organise
Something he loved
Fit into 3 hours in the afternoon
did I mention Cheap?


My sister in law had a Mexican Fiesta earlier in the year and I was trying a little too hard to be frugal and wanted to reuse her decorations. He loves Tacos and so my plan was to get him excited about having a fiesta, eating Tacos, having a pinata and dressing up. When I suggested it to him I could tell he wasn't really into it but I talked him around, and so I searched the pinterest and the internet to find ideas for his Mexican Fiesta 7th Birthday Party. 

About a week later I was talking with Hubby about the party and both of us not really feeling it, and knowing that our son wasn't interested and then it hit me. He loves playing the XBOX, and his favorite game is Call of Duty. I had a light bulb moment. Yes what seven year old boy wouldn't want a military party.

I searched my other love PINTERST and found lots of cool ideas. Here is the invitation I used for the party 

 I wanted it to sound authentic and pretty happy with the results. stay tuned for the Care Packages, DIY Dog Tags and more..........

German Chocolate Cake to die for!

Happy Birthday to my son Nathaniel who was 7yrs old yesterday. We have a no media rule in our home on sundays I had to wait until today to announce it. He is baby number 4 and very much a mummy's boy, to be honest they all are.He has a wonderful personality very quiet, friendly and loving. He loves to sing and playing XBOX following his 2 elder brothers. He is having a CALL OF DUTY party and which will be on here in the weeks to come.

Daddy baked his famous in our home German Chocolate Cake. He is the best baker and to think he couldnt even boil and egg when we met all those years ago. He may kills me for sharing this but you seriously need to try it. We were given this recipe from someone else so we cant claim it as our own. But here is goes(photos will have to come next time he bakes it). 

Wet mixture

------------------

1 cup warm milk

¾ cups warm water

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

200gs butter [melted]

DRY MIXTURE

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2 cups plain flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup cocoa

1-1/2 CUPS SUGAR

SIFT ALL THESE INGREDIENTS TOGETHER

NOW ADD DRY MIXTURE TO WET MIXTURE .DONT MIX TO MUCH.[mixture should be runny ]

Grease your baking dish ,tip in mixture ,cook.about 20 mins on 160 to 180 fan force.[don’t cook too long it will be dry]

Because the mixture is runny when i check it in the oven i shake the baking dish so if its not wobbly its done.

As soon as you put cake in the oven start making topping.Tip topping on top of cake as soon as you pull cake out off oven

Topping

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Stir over heat gently DONT BOIL.

1OOgs butter

3—eggs[yolk only]

1—1/2 cups dessicated coconut

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1—tin carnation evaporated milk.

ENJOY.