2/52 Project

I've linked up wit Jodi at Practising Simplicity to do a portrait of my kids once a week,  every week in 2014
Here's this weeks portraits...

William's attempt at being Woody

Jewels in the bath are essential

Testing out daddy's new remote control car 

Mel xx

Organisation Station

Many families will be returning to work & day care this week.

We are still a few years away from having kids at school but Angus will be joining William at day care this year as I return to the workforce. 

With this in mind, I needed to create an area where everything was in one place, making it easier to get ready & out the door on time. So I created our Organisation Station

Unfortunately, our closest IKEA is 6 hours away so I get all of my shelving units from Crazy Clarks who have a pretty good selection & the quality is quite good.

The good thing about these units is that you can arrange them however you like to create a space that completely suits you. 

Let's take a closer look at ours

On the top I have my diary, to-do list, some pens & a coin jar. If your husband is anything like mine, they are constantly emptying their pockets of coins all over the place. This way it is all collected in one jar & then can be used as we need. It's always handy to have some spare change on hand when you're heading out. My husband's wallet sits here too because he is always misplacing it!

I also have a basket that holds sun cream & areoguard, ready to be put on as we head out the door or into the pool.

In these shelves we have a documents tray for all our mail, junk mail & catalogues. 

These folders are from Kmart ($5ea) & have been great. We have four that are used for Home, Money, Food & Family. It's so much easier to pull out one of these folders when we are looking for any paperwork as it's all in the one spot. And they look good too :)

The basket top right holds any extra pairs of sunglasses & the kids sunnies. Underneath that is my handbag for work & my lunch bag.The basket next to them holds wipes, nappies & nappy bags ready for a quick change when needed. And next to that is our local phonebook, a few catalogues, books & tissues. The drawers & cupboard hold all of our extra supplies- spare packets of tissues, wipes etc...

These shelves hold swimmers in the top basket. We are in the pool nearly every day in this weather so having them all in the one place makes it easy to grab when we want to head outside for a swim. Our towels hang on a hook just outside the back door so we grab them as we go passed. 

The other baskets hold all the kids shoes & a few pairs if shoes that my husband & I are in a lot like thongs & joggers.

My camera sits here, ready to head out with us on an adventure & the kids backpacks also live here.

Tomorrow will be the first test of this new system. I'll let you know how it's going at the end of the month :)

Til next time,

Mel xx

A Fresh Start

It's 2014! A new year, a new beginning, a fresh start.

I have started the new year with a blog revamp & am loving it! Big thanks to Sharnee at Suck My Lolly for making it look fab.

I've never been big on resolutions, mainly because I can't stick to them, but this year for me is about focusing on my Home & Family.

We have so many plans for the house this year, some of which are already coming together with our backyard revamp underway. This year is about making our house a home and I can't wait to show you all of our projects.

We have our first family holiday planned this year (just a couple of months away) and we are heading to Fiji! I can't wait to make lots of wonderul memories as a family on this trip. 

Having returned to work 3 days a week, I plan to make the most of the time I have with my boys. I see lots of adventures ahead! 

2014 for me is also about positivity & happiness. I'm really going to make the effort to be more positive about everything this year & eliminate all the negative people around me. Life really is too short to be worrying about what other people think or trying to make people happy.  Happiness is your own creation. 

Lastly, I would like to thank you, lovely readers for taking the time to follow this little blog. I look forward to sharing my journey in 2014 with you all.

How's 2014 looking for you?

Got any big plans?

Have you been to Fiji? Got any tips for us? 

Til next time,

Mel xx

Our Big Boy Turns Three

It was really quite hard to believe that William was turning three already!! How the time flies! He is such a fun-loving, outgoing, sweet boy who is loved by so many. 

Here's how we celebrated...

He insists on pulling these crazy faces when getting his photo taken!

The weather was perfect & we celebrated well into the late afternoon with friends & family.

Details on how I created our Cars themed party in the next blog post.

Til then,

Mel xx

Making a Guest Room

With three out of the four of us celebrating our Birthdays in the next couple of weeks, we needed to get a space sorted for my parents who will be coming to visit at different times, starting with my dad arriving at the end of is week.

We have a small area near our main bathroom that we decided to transform into a guest room. It will also be a place for Ben to sleep when he is on midnight shift & needs to sleep during the day as it is away from the main living/dining area.

So, this is our guest room...



Most of the items in here were things that I already had around the house.

The bed had been sitting in storage & I purchased the quilt cover & sheet set from Target for around $50. The throw rug & cushion were items I pulled from elsewhere in the house.



I got this folding table from the local thrift shop, as well as the lamp, which I had sitting in a spare room out on the farm. The basket with goodies (hand cream, body lotion etc) was on sale at Target. The green jar & fake roses came from a local hardware store that also sell home decor.



I love this bag! I picked it up on my last trip to Sydney. The button heart wall art also came from the local thrift shop(on sale!)



I bought a couple of blank canvases, also from the local thrift shop (love that place!) & covered them in some fabric I had lying around from previous sewing projects.

I think the room has come up well & I only spent around $70 for the all the decor.

Can't wait for our visitors to arrive now!

What do you think of our guest room?

Til next time,

Mel xx

Moving On

A little over two months ago, we made the move from farming life to suburbia.

While we are still waiting for the farm to sell, we have happily settled into town life. We love all the conveniences (take-away, ducking down the street for milk, dining out) & it's so nice to spend the weekends catching up with friends, playing golf or heading to the park.

So, let me introduce you to our little home in the burbs.

While it's no palace & needs a little work, we love our little space...

 

Can't wait to use that pool!! 

Hope you enjoyed this little tour of our home.

Have you moved recently?

Do you dream of a tree change or a sea change?

Til next time,

Mel xx

Mother's Day 2013

So I know Mother's Day was over a week ago but, better late then never right?

Mother's Day this year was a really enjoyable one for me. It was my third one but it was the first year that Ben didn't have to work & we could actually celebrate.

While I didn't get the sleep in that I really wanted, the boys spoilt me with lots of love & some lovely presents. We hit the golf club for breakfast & it was a gorgeous day.

It was so nice to just hang out as a family & enjoy the day. Unfortunately I don't get to see my mum on Mother's Day as the distance doesn't allow it but it's nothing a phone call can't fix :)

Presents :)

Ready to head off for breakfast

My mum (on our wedding day) 

Hope your Mother's Day was just as wonderful.

Til next time,

Mel xx