BULA!!

Last weekend we took off on our very first family holiday to none other than FIJI!

All I can say is WOW! 

What a beautiful place. And we all had such a fabulous time.

The kids travelled brilliantly, the weather was perfect (albeit a little warm at 94% humidity), the people were wonderfully warm & friendly & we just had a great time, relaxing, swimming & seeing all that Fiji had to offer.

We spent five nights at Outrigger on the Lagoon & it was perfect. Very family friendly, great food & entertainment & plenty of activities for the whole family to enjoy.

We really did have the very best of times, just hanging out together as a family & having some great experiences.

We can't wait to do it again! 

Til next time,

Mel xx

House Makeover - The Playroom

If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll have worked out that I like to rearrange things in the house on a regular basis. 

I'm not really a 'sitter' so when I find my self without much to do I think about what I can do in the house to make it more functional for us as a family.

It's also nice to have some 'toy-free' areas! 

So last weekend, I can up with a grand plan.

A total home makeover.

When we moved in almost a year ago our bedroom was a room just off the end of the lounge room at the back of the house & the boy's rooms were at the front.

Then we decided to put the boys in one room which has worked great & Angus' room became the playroom. I hate having toys all over the house, especially in the living areas so a playroom is essential for me. 

We have quite a big living area so the kids have had their own tv area up one end which has also worked well but it did feel a little cramped & I was longing for a more streamlined space.

So the plan was to swap our bedroom & the playroom around, giving us a more private adult space & the kids a more central area of play.

So, the playroom is where we'll start on our reveal of our home makeover. 

I am absolutely loving this new space & now we can watch the kids as they play.

Angus is loving books at the moment so this reading corner is for him 

Baskets with labels are my favourite thing! Everything in it's place.... 

We love Peppa Pig! This house gets played with every day. On top of the cupboard is our painting supplies & a charging station for the iPads

We took the door off as it wasn't needed & this was the best spot for the tv 

Can't wait to show you the rest of the house!

Til next time,

Mel xx

A little bit of DIY

Did you know that Woolworths now stock mason jars? I've been eyeing them off for a while, waiting for an excuse to get some & this weekend the opportunity came!

While flicking through the latest Inside Out Magazine I can across this pic & thought 'I could do that' 

I like easy DIY projects & after consulting with the husband, we decided it was definately do-able.

So off to woolworths I went. They have a few different sizes of jars, in packs of 12. I went for the middle size which was about $30. 

I then trotted off to the local hardware store to get some hose clamps (be sure to take a jar with you for sizing) & herb plants. 

Armed with all the supplies, we headed out to the the shed & got to work. We had an old piece of wood laying around from another project so used that to mount the hose clamps on to. 

We then put the jars in & mounted it to the wall. All that was left to do was put the plants in & we were done! 

I didn't realise until after posting a pic on Instagram that Rosemary probably won't work as it grows so bushy so I will probably have to swap that for something else. I'm thinking mint. 

I still had 6 jars left over so I decided to make some lighting for our outdoor table. Decor for this table is my next project but it's taking me a little while to find just the right thing. 

I think these are a good start 

Again, these were super easy. I just punched some holes in the lids with a hammer & screw driver, dropped a tea light in (48 pack from Woolies $8.50) & they were done! 

So there you have it. Two easy DIY projects for the weekend!

Til next time,

Mel xx

Sunday Project

Now that I have created a new playroom for the boys, I have been wanting to declutter our living area of 'kids stuff'.

This was our previous set up

All of these toys, plus the heap they got for christmas could now be transferred to the playroom so I grabbed this old tv unit & gave it a lick of paint

I put all of the other shelves & toys in the playroom & have just kept a minimal amount of toys in the living area

I'm much happier with this look. It's amazing what a bit if paint can do to an old item isn't it?

Here's a few sneak peeks of our playroom...

I still have some work to do in here & look forward to showing you the finished product soon!

Have you done any DIY projects this weekend?

How do you keep clutter to a minimum in your house?

Til next time,

Mel xx

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