My Place & Yours - Whats in the neighbourhood

This week Deb from My Place and Yours has picked the neighbourhood to share.  Hmmmmmm something you see everyday.  My immediate thought was this.............

It is our neighbours monstrous walnut tree.  I mean really how big does it need to be?????  When I open the boys blinds, I see it.  When I reverse out of the shed, I see it.  As I drive off, I see it (as I am usually sorting out carnage in the back seat).  I also hear it!!!!!!  This thing drops 1000s of nuts every year.

Unfortunately I really don't like walnuts so don't venture out to pick them up.   They usually just get swept up into the wheelie bin.

The odd thing about the tree is when talking to the bloke a few days ago about them he kept huffing and puffing about it - he hates the tree!!!!!   Well isn't the logical solution to chop it down????

Whats interesting, funny, annoying in your neighbourhood??

Giveaway : Win a Gorgeous Foundry Print

Ooo lala I have just entered a giveaway over at Mend & Make New for a fabulous Foundry print.  Check it out

Mend and Make New: Giveaway : Win a Gorgeous Foundry Print: Recently I stumbled upon Foundry and instantly fell in love. They have gorgeous prints at really affordable prices and lovely tote bags to...

Organise My Home - Week 7

Yip its Monday AGAIN!!!  Man the weeks are rolling round super fast.

Hope you have had fun creating meal plans and drooling over new recipes.  I haven't done any before and after photos seeing as I have been doing the Kikki K pad for a while now, so unless you want a photo of my scribbled on page there wont be any.

This week.........

Week 7 - Organise Address/Contact Lists

In this day and age there are a heap of different options for you storing your main contacts and addresses - especially in the technology sector.  Me however, I am all about Old School and like to have it written down on paper.  Technology and I don't often see eye to eye.

1.  Choose how and where to store your information (you may opt for a hard copy of all info but also store some info on your mobile phone.)
2.  Source a suitable book to store information in, or if using an electronic device, download software or a plan.
3.  Collate all your information and enter it into your book/program
4.  Consider keeping an important numbers list in your wallet - hubby, kids, doctor, parents in case of emergency
5.  Create a important numbers list for keeping at home - poison centre, doctor, school, mobile numbers (in case you are out and have a babysitter), insurance company information (car, house/contents and also medical insurance), lawyer

I have decided that for me I am going to take it one step further this week and tidy out the draw where this info is currently stored.  We have a hall table with one draw that seems to collect all those hard to find a spot items.  Will post photos later.

Have fun......   :)

From the mouths of babes

5.05pm

As Mr W and I chatted in the kitchen I overheard this conversation coming from the shed

Crazy 2: I'm gonna stay here forever

Crazy 1: Is that cause you're stuck?

Crazy 2: Yip

See below....................







Organise My Home - Week 6

I probably could have combined last weeks challenge and this weeks seeing as they are linked, however as I didn't complete last weeks one maybe that wouldn't have been such a good idea.

Week 6:  Meal Planning & Grocery Shopping

Well where do I start.  I have actually been doing this for a while so instead of telling you what to do I will write down what I do and some helpful tips - sound good?

I am the type of person who needs reminders ALL the time - am I still able to call that nappy brain when my kids are 4 & 2??  When I was working I HAD to have entered in my Outlook calendar a pop up reminder to go for lunch!!!!  Seriously!

Needless to say now that the Crazys are getting older and have a busier social calendar than myself I need reminders for everything - including housework!

So what do I do?  Usually every Sunday afternoon or evening I come up with a fortnight meal plan (just for dinner).  I also spread my housework chores over the weekdays - lets be honest who wants to do housework on the weekends?!?!

A few months ago a friend introduced me to a weekly planner pad  (purchased from Kikki-K - they have NZ stores which you can phone and email through your credit card details) which I write all my dinner meals and things that I have on.  Each page has the days of the week and time slots, a To Do List and a To Buy List.  So armed with my pad, a pen, and numerous recipe books I sit and plan.

Its surprising how easy it is.  Especially when you have a weekly regular meal/s (lasagne and burritos in our house), throw in there home made takeaway night on a Friday, and a easy Steak/Sausage night there aren't too many more to fill in.

As I write down each meal I then make a list of what ingredients I need for each.  Once I have a two weeks worth of ingredients, I then check the cupboards for lunch/snack requirements and cleaning products.

Then the cherry on top, I visit the supermarket at Countdown Online!  Oh if you haven't looked into it then do.  On days like today (freezing and pouring with rain) it gives me a little heart flutter knowing that someone else has to walk around the supermarket and put it into bags, and then a lovely man delivers it to my door.  All the while I am at home with woolly (not for public viewing) socks on, drinking hot coffee.  AND my 2 year old is playing SO quietly with his toys and not demanding I buy every second thing on the shelf.

Yes you do have to pay for freight but because I do a fortnight shop I exceed the $250 mark which brings the freight down to $8.  Some of you might think eeecckkkk can I justify that, I can.  We live 15min drive from the nearest supermarket so when you consider the petrol to get there, the time wandering around, the possibility of a screaming child and the fact you don't have to venture out on a cold winters day, that's money well spent in my book.

The other benefit of shopping online is you don't impulse buy.  99.9% of the time I only buy what is on my list.  You remove the temptation to buy 10 bottles of hand soap because it is $1 each (really do you need that much hand soap???)

But if you don't think you can justify paying the freight charge and you enjoy a supermarket trip then still do the above but STICK TO YOUR LIST.

The beauty of having a meal plan is that there isn't a panic at 4pm about what to have for tea and you can have some variety.

If you don't want to have a notepad or book you can get creative and make all sorts of solutions for your meal plan.  Just have a look at Pinterest and you will be bombarded with creative ways.

Hope this helps - would love to hear what you decide to do.

MPAY - The Kitchen

This weeks My Place and Yours is looking into the working hub of the house - the kitchen.  I LOVE my kitchen, though it does have a few small faults.

Our kitchen/dining/family room is a huge open plan area, so its great when you have visitors you can keep chatting and are not shut off from conversation.

Our benchtop is fantastic at hiding scratches and
marks

One thing I don't like about this large room
is the flooring.  It is a pig of thing to keep clean

Off the this room and the joining lounge are large bi-fold doors
which make the rooms feel even bigger.

My grandmother has started a fascination of
vintage tins.  The Edmonds two are filled with her
old buttons - LOVE

My favourite ornament (Black Boy) hence why he is so
high up - away from small sticky fingers

My faux Gerberas from my wedding
bouquet nearly 12 years ago

A reminder of my roots

We get virtually all day sun in here as we have humongous floor to ceiling windows (and when I say humongous I mean HUMONGOUS - I can only just reach the top on my tippy toes).

Love love love my kitchen.

Organise My Home - Week 5 Update

O.k so I found this one a challenge.  Seriously how are you supposed to part with recipes that you just might use one day.  I have no photos as this is a work in progress. 

I am trying to write out one recipe a day into my little recipe box but I think that is half the problem - my recipe box is quite small and all the ones I want to keep are really long.

Oh well will keep at it and hopefully have some photos soon.

Bathtime for the Pirates

Pirate Steve and Pirate Arrrrrgghhh were in dire need of a bath.  They stink, were dirty and needed a general spruce up.

Both boys have been unwell for the past two weeks and have been sweating up a storm at night so decided now was a really good time to explain to the Crazys that they needed to take a bath.

Cue bubble bath in the bath tub...............and the Crazys got scrubbing.  It was great

And as I type this they are now 'cleaning' the bath (and the basin, but mainly the FLOOR!)

MPAY - The Laundry

Hmmmmm this weeks My Place & Yours segment is the laundry.  It is possibly the one housework area that I don't mind being busy in.  Not because it is beautifully decorated or well laid out, but you can accomplish a lot with little effort!!!!!!!

Anyway our pokey laundry is a little cubicle in our garage.  Our garage is my hubbys man cave (of sorts) so there are no pretties in there.

The soccer boot collection!  He shocked me by throwing
some out this week!!!!  Love you Mr W :)

Told you its not exciting.  As you can see
I'm a buy in bulk kind of person and have
fallen in LOVE with white vinegar.  Thats our
survival kit in the white tub

And if you can't beat em - join him.  Weights rack turned
clean clothes hanger.

My iron and board are stored in a hallway cupboard as I DON'T iron.  As you can see Mr W wears business shirts for work - so he wears them, he irons them!  Unless I am in the mood to iron (like never).  Otherwise I just fold my washing straight from the washing line and put it away.  And when I am shopping for clothes I refuse to buy anything that looks like it needs the slightest iron.

Just out the back door is a fabulous washing line Mr W made for me (yes made!)  It is made from the legs off our old BBQ and some washing line string/rope/line (whatever you call it).  Genius that hubby of mine.  It is so good that you can fit 5 loads of washing on it at once!!!!

Anyway thats my laundry space - so exciting I KNOW! :)

Organise My Home - Week 5

Week 5:  This might be dangerous................Organise your recipes and cookbooks.

1.  Pull ALL of your cookbooks, recipes, scraps of paper out and sort.  As outlined on the original source of this idea sort them into the following categories:

• Practical: Remembering how to cook the dishes you know your family loves
• Sentimental: Preserving family history with old recipes cards and family favorites passed down through the generations
• Aspirational: Wanting to try new things, to improve or expand your cooking skills, find an even better recipe for something you already make, etc.
• Fantasy: Fun dreaming about cool things you'll never try, but that looks completely awesome

2.  Sort through each of the piles according to the categories above.  Practical should be easy as these are the recipes you use frequently and know your family enjoy (you will no doubt keep most of these).  Sentimental could possibly be moved from the kitchen cupboard/drawers and into your library or glory box for safe keeping.  Aspirational - getting a bit harder.  Do you really need to keep the recipe for a flasher looking lasagne if you already have one that you know your family loves - don't keep it for the sake of keeping it.  Fantasy - Really???  Are you really going to cook that sumptuous looking turkey with 5 accompaniments?  Or do you have a spare 2 hours to cook that devine looking roast.  Be real with these recipes if you really have a desire to cook it then perhaps type it out on your computer and save it there. 

3.  Look at how you store your recipes.  Have all your frequently used cookbooks stored in the kitchen and move all the others to your bookcase.  Purchase a recipe box where you can write out your favourite recipes or those you really want to try and store them in the box.  You may have a large cookbook but only use 2-3 recipes from it.  Write them out and donate/gift someone else the book.

Hope this helps and doesn't become a chore or a break that diet moment (after looking through all those yum recipes!!!!!)

As a side note, perhaps as you are looking through them you could create a weekly meal plan!  Now that is organised!

Home @ 67

5.45pm - Why sleep on the mattress when you can sleep under it!

Organise My Home - Week 4 photos

Wowzers its only Tuesday and I have completed this weeks task mission!  Does that mean I am organised or just bored!

Anyway the photos........

Who knows whats on the bottom!

Better

Yes my kids need 5 drink bottles each
and yes they all must be filled and stored in the fridge.

For some reason the before fridge photo isn't loading, but to be honest it looked much the same as this.  See I cheated and have done it today before my grocerys are delivered hence why it looks empty and tidy! :)

Organise My Home - Week 4

Week 4:  Organise fridge and freezer

Yikes!  I hate to think what is lurking in the back of my fridge and the bottom of the chest freezer!

1.  Start with the outside.  I hate to say it, but do you really need that many masterpieces on the door?  If you can't throw them out then grab a large scrapbook and stick them in there.
2.  Give the outside a good scrub and wipe down
3. Remove everything!  As you go check expiry dates and decide if you will use the rest of that opened jar - otherwise throw it out!
4.  Give the insides a good, but quick scrub.  You don't want to leave your cool items sitting on the bench for too long.
5.  Put everything back

If you aren't aware, freezers work best when fill.  We have a small chest freezer in the shed and a side by side fridge/freezer unit in the kitchen.  We have too much food for the kitchen unit but not enough to fill both.  So, I have started to store water filled milk containers in the bottom of the chest freezer to, 1) fill it up, 2) raise the food to a reachable height, and 3) store water for civil defence emergencies.

Hope you have fun and don't get too many shocks! :)

Looking forward to photos

MPAY - Where You Sleep

Linking in again with Deb at Work In Progress

This weeks snippet into our lives - where do I sleep........ (sorry its a bit boring and empty looking - our house is on the market so trying to keep things quite neutral)

Our bedroom is huge - so big in fact you can play soccer in it!
At least thats what Mr W and I did when it was being built

My favourite artwork and possibly first artwork I bought -
from a local artist

Slowly but surely the vintage/antique look is spreading through
the house!

What I am reading - very GOOD!  Macks ear plugs - I have a
snorer (make that 2) in the house

Genius thinking here - I can lie in bed and read
while watching (well semi) the kids play in the
sandpit

Organise My Home - Week 3 photos

KNICKERS!!!!!!  Sorry I forgot to do prior photos!

Anyway here are my after photos - so stoked with my second hand old school Tupperware.  Sure makes it easy at grocery list time.

Still looks messy!!!!!!!

This spice draw was a shocker!  Some expired in 2010!

Hard to photograph this one

Now I feel like I need to do a huge grocery shop and fill up all the space again!!!!!

Check back tomorrow for week 4 - this one could be embarrassing re before photos!!!!!