.Easter =.

I loooove Easter...extra, extra long-weekend, lots of chocolate, sunny days, everyone home to chill out together.

Our Easter weekend has looked a little like this so far:

Hunting for little eggs left by Easter Bunny (he is rather unpredictable in this family...appearing late in the morning while the kids are getting dressed in their bedroom, after dinner while they are in the bath...always at an appropriate time to deliver his chocolate and non-chocolate gifts ensuring that adequate breakfast has been eaten before devouring the chocolate ;) )


Homemade hot cross buns...oh my, these were insanely delicious. So good that we had to share a few with our neighbours to stop us from gulping them all down. Will definitely be making these all year 'round!


Non-chocolate Easter surprises...new PJs made using my Slumber Party Jammies pattern. Cute, cute, cute! The kids love them and I have decided that I REALLY need a pair in my size ;)





ALMOST finishing the deck! And it is looking great...Jaron has been spending every spare moment on outside jobs around the house for the last 4 months, will be so good when they are all done!


Reading special Easter stories that belonged to me (although Carli will debate that it is HER book!) when I was a little girl. The kids love this one, I wish we had kept more books from when we were little.


As well as lots of house cleaning, too many late nights, watching Ty play his first footy game for the season, a big breakfast to farewell Cade and Paul who are both leaving on their missions this week, boating, sewing, waiting for a new baby boy to make his arrival...and who knows what the rest of the weekend will bring? Jaron doesn't have to go back to work until Wednesday - yippee!!

PJs SUPPLIES:
Oscar's PJs -
David Walker, Robots, Painted Rockets in Ivory
David Walker, Robots, Linework Robots in Red
Lil's PJs -
Lizzy House, Red Letter Day, Ugly Duckling in Feather
Sandi Henderson, Ginger Blossom, Vintage Cherries in Spring

.Good Saturday?.

Word on the street is...it could be a Good Saturday today. (Updated...maybe it will end up being a Good Sunday or Monday!)

I'm pacing with her...wish I was there ;)

.About A Boy WINNER!.

Congratulations to Tanya - you have won yourself a copy of the new "About A Boy" pattern as well as a cap like the one featured on the pattern cover!!

(If you can let me know your details, then I will post your prize out to you ASAP!)

Check out my pattern tester's versions of "About A Boy" also:
Rachel
Yvonne, and
Karen
(although Karen is recovering from surgery at the moment so she hasn't blogged about hers yet, but it is SO cute!)

Thanks ladies once again for your feedback :)

.Recipe Monday.

So the chocolate mousse actually tasted pretty good! Jaron liked the little chocolate chunks through it. It was really rich and very chocolatey, just not smooth. Thanks for the great tips and recipes...next time I get the urge for chocolate mousse I'll be happy to have some "tried and tested" recipes to use!!

I can't believe I have never shared this recipe for Recipe Monday...there is a fluffy dessert that I CAN make without fail - Flummery. Have you ever had it? So good + only uses TWO ingredients! Flummery was a standard dessert in our home growing up - we made it a lot. You can make it any flavour depending on what kind of jelly you use and jazz it up with additions of chocolate, fruit, etc. My only recommendation would be that you don't mix any extras through the flummery as they get a bit wet and soggy after sitting overnight. When we had flummery last night I crushed up a packet of Clinkers and we sprinkled them over the flummery in our own bowls - it worked really well.

Flummery
1 can evaporated milk
2 packets jelly crystals
1 cup boiling water

Place can of evaporated milk in the fridge to chill. The colder you can get the milk, the better. If you remember to put it in the fridge the night before you want to make it then it will be really well chilled. In the past I have been known to put the can in the freezer for a couple of hours. It helps, but never works as well.
Combine jelly crystals and boiling water in a small bowl. Stir until crystals have dissolved. Place in the fridge to cool, but not set. You want the jelly mixture to get to room temperature or so that when you put your finger in to test it, you can't feel the difference in temperature. Do not let the jelly start to set at all or you will end up with lumps in your flummery. If it does start to set, you can pop it in the microwave for 10 second intervals, stirring in between, just make sure that it doesn't get warm.
Place chilled evaporated milk in a big bowl and whip with electric mixer for 5-10 minutes until it gets really thick and triples in size.
With the mixer still running, slowly pour in cool jelly mixture. Continue whipping until well combined. Be careful not to overmix or you may lose some volume.
Place flummery in the fridge to set for a few hours or overnight.

.And once again she fails at making chocolate mousse.

Failures in the kitchen disappoint me. A lot.

About 2 years ago I tried making chocolate mousse and it was a total and utter disaster. It has taken me this long to try again and tonight it was once again a total failure.

Chocolate mousse...WHAT AM I DOING WRONG???!

It is flat. And small. And has little chocolate chunks through it. This is NOT how chocolate mousse should turn out.

I used this recipe with 58 reviews and most of them giving it a 5-star rating!!! What the heck am I doing wrong? Any experienced chocolate moussers out there have any advice (or better recipes) to share?

.ABOUT A BOY - new pattern!.

Introducing the latest Make It Perfect pattern to join the growing collection (this is number 22...who would have thought?!!)

ABOUT A BOY

"About A Boy" is a hip cap and satchel bag set to keep active, energetic boys happy.

This is the cap your boy will always reach for first. With adjustable velcro tabs at the back, it won't fly off his head when a sudden gust of wind blows and will protect him from the heat of the sun.

The satisfying satchel bag is made especially with boys in mind. The patchwork detail on the flap gives it a bit of funk without going overboard.

This macho-style set is a must-have for every boy!

This version of About A Boy was made using 100% organic fabric, "Circa 50" by Monaluna for Birch Fabrics. I absolutely love the funky boy-friendly prints...the cars are my favourites by far!
Head over to the Make It Perfect website to see more photos and check out the fabric requirements for About A Boy.
If you have a store and want to stock this or any other Make It Perfect patterns, contact Creative Abundance to place an order.
If you would like to purchase a copy of About A Boy for yourself, they should be popping up in retail stores very soon. Ask your favourite store to get one in for you!


My wonderful friend, Fiona Harding is responsible for the outstanding photography for this pattern - thanks Fiona...you are the best!!

And how cool is our little model, Harri? I have never met a kid who likes having his photograph taken so much!

I love giveaways a lot...I love the feedback and I love reading all of your comments.

I am so excited to be giving away a copy of About A Boy PLUS a cap (size small) like the one seen on the cover of the pattern! Simply leave a comment on this post and let me know which Make It Perfect pattern is your favourite! For a bonus entry, post about this giveaway on your blog, then come back and leave another comment letting me know that you have blogged about it!
(Giveaway will close Wednesday 31st March and winner will be drawn via a random number generator.)

.bunny ears and stealing work?.

Nana in New Zealand told us on Sunday that she posted a special easter parcel to the children and they would be receiving it sometime this week. They always look forward to Nana's parcels filled with fun little toys, games and treats.

This morning Oscar announced that the parcel would arrive today and that when it did we had to take some photos to show Nana. I gently reminded him that the parcel would arrive soon, but probably not today.

Haha - you should have seen my surprise when we arrived home from playgroup at lunch time only to find the parcel sitting on the doorstep!

And look at Nana's awesome creations...polar fleece bunny ear beanies for easter!!! SO CUTE! Lil loves hers so much that she wore it to bed and woke up with it still on (and a very sweaty head!) Thankyou Nana for the hats and other fun goodies in the parcel!

And on another note...thankyou for the Oishii compliments :) I would LOVE to write up a tutorial to show you how I did it but I'm a bit worried if I go ahead and give instructions about how to make the whole thing that I might be ripping off the Etsyan whose work I was inspired by.

What do you reckon?

For myself, I am totally fine with people trying to reproduce my patterns using their own heads to come up with the design. I don't expect someone to purchase a pattern if they are capable of working it out themselves. I would, however, find myself a bit ticked off if I came across a tutorial (or pattern to purchase) that someone had put together based on my work.

So, how about this friendly compromise...if there is enough interest, I will put together a tutorial showing how to make a lined, zipper pencil case but won't give instructions showing how to do the patchworky bit on the front. I'm sure you are more than capable of working that part out yourself, and the good thing about these pencil cases is that they don't have to be perfect!

Let me know if you are interested and I'll start putting it together...

.Etsy Love.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Etsy and have made some GREAT Etsy discoveries of late. Here are some of my favourites...

These hair pins are high on my wish-list...so beautiful and delicate


And this necklace - WOW! If only I had discovered it before it sold. I think it is stunning.


And these BOWLS...they make me so HAPPY!

Button-shaped soaps! Would look so cute in a dish in the bathroom.

Belle & Boo cushions

This awesome Aussie store make amazing FABRIC WALL STICKERS! How fun would these dress-up dolls be?!

Sweet, sweet, sweet crocheted necklace

And this funky re-purposed tie jazzed up with a cool robot applique...how cool would this be for a little boy's tie?

.oishii.

"Oishii"...apparently it means "delicious" in Japanese. Well, I really hope it does, or else this could be kind of embarassing!!

I don't think I have mentioned it on my blog yet but I know Carli has, so if you read her blog then you already know that the baby of our family is going on a mission to Japan.

Cade and a couple of his mates like to refer to anything good as "delicious" - it totally cracks me up...

"that swim at the beach was delicious"
"cricket's on telly tonight - delicious"
"Fiji is going to be delicious"

Get it?!! I love it! Like the time some guy stopped outside Mum and Dad's new house and told my brother Ty that the external cladding looked "Mickey Mouse"!! That was funny too.

I wanted to make Cade a pencil case to take with him as an early birthday gift as he celebrates his 20th birthday a couple of days after he leaves for the MTC. I needed it to be boy-friendly but also wanted something a bit different to plain fabric front and back. So I started hunting around and was totally inspired by this Etsy store. Check it out...such funky style!

The back of the pencil case is made from an old pair of cords that I don't wear anymore - talk about sentimental value!!! Haha!

So fun to make, I can see myself going on a sewing spree with these...awesome way to use up some of the ever-growing scrap box!!

He hasn't seen it yet but I know he will think it rocks :)

.The new house - KITCHEN!.

Voilla! Here is the hub of our home and I am in love!

Loving the BIG drawers, roomy pantry, cupboard space that I haven't even filled! My FAN-FORCED oven (we have lived with horrid old ovens for the last 8 years and fan-forced is seriously the key to a decent chocolate chip cookie!) and DISHWASHER. Oh, the dishwasher. I don't dread that after dinner time any more when everyone is tired and I want to tidy the house, clean the kitchen and enjoy some family time with Jaron and the kids before they have to go to bed. Everything seems to run a little smoother now.

See the red glass pendant lights? They compliment the new dining chairs...

Another close-up of the green tiles...they actually run over the top of the windowsill also. It looks really neat and means that the windowsill can also be a "wet area."

Here is Oscar flying his Duplo car/plane/forklift - we all wear full green outfits these days...
;)

.Ribbons Galore.

Have you been to Ribbons Galore? Oh my, I fell in LOVE!! Never before have I been to a store with so many amazing ribbons - Fiona obviously has great taste! The store is beautifully presented and easy to navigate around (VERY important for online shopping).

So last week when my package of ribbons arrived in the mail I was just a tad excited :) These ribbons are brilliant for adding trim to clothing and bags, fantastic for scrapbooking or other crafts and adorable to tie around a present.

Oh, did I mention Ribbons Galore is an Australian store? YAY! Means that you don't have to wait ages for your order to arrive!!

So many ribbons, so little time...

.Recipe Monday.

This recipe was found on Tarisota blog. A few weeks ago I was grocery shopping and jars of cheapo Nutella were being cleared for $2 (usually about $6) so I grabbed a few but they aren't as nice as Nutella to eat on their own ;)

This recipe was perfect to use some up though. Super quick too and covered with Freckles - one of my favourite chocolates!

Chocolate Freckle Slice
185g butter
220g chocolate hazelnut spread
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cup plain flour
1 bag Freckles

Beat butter, sugar and chocolate hazelnut spread with electric mixer.
Stir in flour.
Spread mixture into a lined slice tray.
Bake in moderate (180 degree Celsius) oven for about 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and press Freckles into the top of the hot slice.
Cut into slices when cool.

.THREE CHEERS FOR TOMMY!.

We thought this boy would never get moving.

Tommy is 9 months old and his weight and length are both measuring UNDERNEATH the bottom line on the average measurements graph! He is still wearing the same clothes he has been wearing since he was 3 months old - very economical!

He can roll but he can't sit or crawl.

Until this morning.

Why didn't we think of it before? LEGO! Lego is still the favourite thing at our house. Both Oscar and Lil love playing with it. I had finished feeding Tommy and put him down on the floor with some toys to have a play while I went to hang the washing on the line. Came back 10 minutes later to see him COMMANDO CRAWLING across the loungeroom to get to a pile of little lego pieces. We all rejoiced, then sat and watched him pick up tiny lego blocks and shove them in his mouth.

Oh boy, this is going to be fun!!! *wink*

.Change.

To nap or not to nap...that is the big question of the day around here...

Miss Lil has reached that awkward stage where she can go without a day nap most of the time, but often ends up in a foul mood by the day or sometimes accidentally falls asleep on the couch like this.

Most days she will still have a sleep but means that she won't go straight to sleep at night time. Oh, what to do?

(and YAY! I finally figured out how to make my photos BIG in blogger. Thanks Chels for the advice...now I've just got to work out how to get my little grey birdies back next to the header! Anyone know how to do it??)

Now I really want to go through my blog and make my old pictures bigger too! Haha - now that would just be a waste of time...or would it?

.The new house - BATHROOM!.

So my plans yesterday to clean the whole house and take some decent pics didn't work. I think children are programmed to make mess faster than a mother can clean!

Not to worry, I think I need to focus on a one-room-at-a-time goal!! I did get some pics of the bathroom though. My indoor photos are DODGY. I don't really know what I am doing with my camera indoors, the bathroom is especially tricky for me. To flash or not to flash? (I'm talking about my camera here, people!)

Whatever, these will have to do! I played around with colours and exposure and am not sure I did them much good!

The tiled floor areas throughout the whole house are tiled using big 600mm x 600mm polished porcelain tiles. Out of the whole house the tiles were the hardest thing for me to get my head around. We spent 5 Saturdays in a row tile shopping! I am very happy with our choices though. The polished porcelain tiles are pretty swish-looking and I love the light-reflection they give off.

Due to budget constraints we had to choose between one bathroom and a studio or two bathrooms and no studio. The studio won! Another bathroom would be handy, but not really necessary with such a young family. Plus it means less for me to clean! And we are all REALLY loving the combined sewing/playroom.

These mosaic tiles are the same as in the kitchen splash back - really glad we decided to use them because they are bright and funky and give the house a bit of a modern-retro feel!

.Dining chairs re-vamped.

This project happened about a month ago and I forgot to post about it!

Our dining chairs were covered with a navy blue velvet-y fabric. They actually weren't too bad except navy blue isn't my colour. And kids + fabric-covered dining chairs = food mushed into the fabric and too hard to keep clean.

Solution? OILCLOTH!!

Having had no previous experience with oilcloth, I didn't really have a clue what I was buying but hoped that it would work!

Here is one of the chairs before:
We decided at 10pm one Saturday evening to cover the chairs, hence no time for a decent photo!

And the finished chair:

Thee oilcloth was really easy to work with. It was a lot thinner than I had expected. I bought a cheapo staple gun at the hardware store and it worked fine. The only problem was that the oilcloth has no stretch so it was tricky to get the corners perfectly smooth and we had to resort to a bit of folding and tucking instead.

Its sad, but I get a little excited when the kids drop messy food onto the chairs now because they are SO easy to wipe clean!

We decided to go with the red oilcloth to match some features in the new kitchen. Oh yeah, I still haven't blogged indoor photos of the house yet! I'm about to go on a cleaning spree now and hopefully it will stay clean enough to take some pics!!

SUPPLIES:
Paradise Lace Oilcloth in Red purchased from here.

.Recipe Monday.

Nothing better than a quick melt-and-mix cake recipe. No beaters, no noise and not as much mess! These cakes are super moist, melt in your mouth, delectable little bites of joy :)

Coconut Ice Cupcakes
80g butter, melted
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
2/3 cup milk

Coconut ice topping
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 cups icing sugar mixture
1 teaspoon butter, softened
red food colouring
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line muffin pan with paper cases.
Place butter, sugar, vanilla, egg, coconut, flour and milk in a bowl. Mix well to combine. Spoon batter into cases.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until a skewer inserted into 1 cake comes out clean. Stand cakes in pan for 1 minute. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Make coconut ice topping: Combine coconut, icing sugar and butter in a bowl. Gradually stir in 1/4 cup hot water until mixture is a spreadable consistency. Stir in 2 to 3 drops red food colouring. Spread topping over cakes. Stand at room temperature until set. Serve.