Long time between blogs....

Yes I'm back blogging and it has been far too long!!

Being a new mum means I have been flat out, can't believe Siobhan is almost 9 months old tomorrow!!
I love being a mum especially now that Siobhan is more interactive and talks and crawls and tries to stand I am so looking forward to the days she can sit with me and craft! �� What a magnificent time that will be!
This summer has included so many picnics, walks, trips to the park and wildlife park! We have all spared a thought for the brushfire victims this summer, cannot even imagine that type of devastation ��
One of my New Years resolutions of increasing my exercise post baby body has taken off with a real enjoyment walking with Siobhan, not only is it real "us" time but its great to get out and see so many things that you just cannot notice in the car. With a park just down the road from us how could you not take advantage of such a beautiful place.
So many things have taken place since my last post, a recent event being my birthday which included my first birthday as a mummy! What could be more special than that �� I had a real desire to make a Martha Stewart strawberry frosted cake using Siobhans baby food processing machine to stew the fresh strawberries and include them in the cake and frosting, couldn't get more delicious than that!!!
Be back with another post a lot sooner this time
Kate ❤

it's beginning to feel a lot like x-mas.....

I can't believe the christmas season is upon us already, we decided to put our tree up early, lucky enough to find a great deal of decorations thrifted from the local oppie! what a saving! and good to recycle when we can! Lucky at the moment that Siobhan isn't quite old enough to crawl yet and get into the pressies.

What are you all planning to do in preparation for xmas? On the agenda this week is homemade fudge to get loved ones in the xmas spirit. Have almost completed xmas shopping and have sat and done all our xmas cards last night :)

Miss Siobhan in front of our Xmas Tree! daddy bought her the little pink fold out couch.

We have been enjoying the sunshine and took the chance to take Siobhan to the local Burnie Park, we hadnt' been there for a while and were impressed with the upkeep of it. The grounds are so beautiful and it was nice to see people of all ages enjoying it. Siobhan slept through it so we will be back again soon to watch the look onher face when we show her the ducks.

Local Burnie Park.

                              My next blog will be a xmas focus on homemade xmas cooking :)
                                             Happy Xmas preparations
                                                kate and siobhan xxx

food for thought...

 YES Siobhan is now eating solids!!!!! the basic, for now like stewed apple, custard, banana, farex. I just love watching her discover food and how happy she becomes when it touches her mouth sometimes shrieking with joy!! cant wait to soon move onto vegetables for her and steam them and mash them creating the perfect texture for her. soon we will have homegrown apples to be able to stew up.

Spring sure is a time to notice the the blooming flowers and all their beauty. These fresh flowers from my in-laws are a constant reminder of spring and I admire them each time I walk past them.
 The vase happens to be one I thrifted last week with Tom's mum, dont think you can ever have enough vases!

Another thrifty find was this mini typewriter that took my fancy, it also happens to be a pencil sharpener! I would never have guessed that it had another use and didn't discover this until I got it home and had a closer look!

The three of us just before we headed off to my sister in-laws cocktail birthday party we really enjoyed the night and Siobhan was so good sleeping for a lot of it, she was of course the star of the night with lots of cuddles with everyone!

Here Siobhan and I are enjoying the Wynyard Tulips when they were in full bloom, what an amazing job the producers of these do. The photo doesn't do the col ours justice as they were so bright and breathtaking in real life. We could have stared at them for hours, but the cold wind that day did put a stop to that, we jumped back in the car after an admiration! We were very excited for Siobhan as it was her first Tulip sighting and we wondered what must it have looked like to her :)

                  we hope you enjoyed the little blog entry for today! Thought I would leave you with a pic of Siobhan and the tulips! She is now 5 months old today :) today i stood and baked a bananarama cake topped with cream cheese frosting and  sliced walnuts! I will call it Siobhans 5 month celebration cake, why not!!!

                          Till next blog
                               Kate xxxx

my favourite CWA cookbook

At a recent Don Market I came across the CWA cookbook that i had been after for ages!! and the lady who was also selling it said that it happened to be cheaper there too! I havent had a chance to cook out of it yet but Tom has and he made the souffles! they were tasty!
I cannot wait to cook so many more recipes from here!

   here is a Chocolate and coconut cake I made, it happens to be everyones favourite at the moment!

            These basic dough biscuits are another recent favourite too, couldn't make them so perfectly without the help of the breville mix master!!

   I am busy making granny squares lately , I got this pattern off the meet me at mikes website and it is the neatest pattern I have come across, pip also shows us how to join the little granny squares so i will be using her version for this too!

    and speaking of all things crafty, nanna Jude made this for Siobhan, how sweet is the book she made up from panels, it is so soft for a baby too, how clever!

and Nanna Jude also made this beautiful Peter Rabbit Quilt which is also made with minky material so it is extremely soft for Siobhan.


                                  Till next blog
                          Kate and siobhan xxx

family time....

I have been cooking a lot lately, have to admit that since the movie "Julie and julia" I have had the urge to cook and try so many different recipes, the latest being the scrummy banana bread! next I think it will be raspberry ripple cheesecake! and gingerbread I will share these when I've made them!

                 Pictured above is a buffet that my granny gave me that she has had many years, I love it and asked her that when she was finished with it could I have it! I love the glass and how I can display my special china in it off my grandma on my mums side of the family ( will have to ask mum if I can have my royal doulton bunnykins bowl to display for Siobhna!)

                      The buffet after!! my favourite photo sits on top! pictured in is the "Royal Albert" special china of my grandmothers that she always cherished and had a massive collection of that mum now has

            Siobhan is now holding and reaching for things!! so I thought I would share her here holding her training handles that tommy bought her!

                   here are my two favourite people!! love them to bits!

                                                       Till next blog folks!
                                                            xxxxxx

Belle & Boo treat............

       I am very pleased with my belle & boo purchase, its such a lovley brand all the english belle & boo sweet things. It is a little mug that I treasure and sit to have a cuppa in, I christened it today!

                The mug has a sweet little girl on it (belle and boo is the rabbit) I just love it and using it makes me smile.

Tom and I sat down to watch this movie based on Julia Child's life, it was such a beautiful movie, I loved her personality so happy and she was so feminine, always wearing her beautiful pearls and lipstick, it was also nice to watch a movie that was so simple and her and her husband were so in love.

      The movie made me want to cook!!

     My other purchase this week which arrived was my Cath Kidston drawers!! they are divine and I am in love with them!!

                 here sits my gmas locket in the new drawers, it will always be beside my bed now, I had a special moment today when Siobhan touched and held onto the locket while I gave her a bottle.

                                                      Kate xxx
             

China doll....

                   Pictured above: China doll that belonged to my grandmother
  On Siobhans desk in her bedroom now sits a china doll that belonged to my granda, she had her many many years and it always sat on the same place on her bed, when my sister and I were young we used to play with it so often when we went to visit them on the weekends, we would often disappear together and play with the dollys putting them in and out of the bed covers so many times!

               Pictured above: Italian glass
  The sweet little perfume bottle here I found at a thrift store in Hobart when I was with my sister, it caught my eye in the window and I went in and grabbed it!!  Didn't realise till I got home that underneath it read "italian glass!" what a find, and very cute don't you think? :)

             Pictured above: wooden bax my dad made me and my stamp collection...
     Dad did a good job on this wooden box he made me, it has nwo found its way onto my desk shelf! my stamp colleciton is also growing as I am scrapbooking on Siobhan so much.

                Pictired above: vintage letter holder with crochet edging
   I keep all my letters/ card making supplies and envelopes here on this corner on my desk

           I am just loving stationery at the moment, I can't get enough of it!!   I find chickenfeed just so cheap the pink wire pen holder was from there .

                              Till next blog, I have a new pritner will come in handy for printing photos of Siobhan and crochet patterns!  when tom is off night shift he is going to set it up for me, I am impatient and want it set up now! but will have to wait.

                                         Kate xxx