Something new

A sneak preview at some new products for Picklebug...

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday!

(and don't forget to enter my giveaway here)

Country Style - a giveaway!

Country Style is one of my favorite magazines and is a constant source of inspiration for the decorating of my home. I was thrilled when this week I received an email from them asking if I would write a post on their latest release! If course!

They always have the best covers!

As per usual these guys have come up with a great magazine, full of interesting people to read about and beautiful country homes to lust over.

I love this advice from William Morris that guides artist Cherie-Christine Curchod in the decorating of the beautiful home:

"have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful"

I'm working on that in my house, slowly decluttering, and getting rid of anything I don't need. It's feeling really good!

ans also a mother's wise words to her young daughter

"do what makes your heart sing"

I really ought to start telling my children that.

Now you may or may not know, but I like being a bit of a handy woman. If I have a great idea for the house I usually want it done yesterday, so I get stuck straight into it, depending on the job of course. I don't want to wait for someone else to do it, and tradies aren't a luxury we can afford. So far since we moved into our house three years ago I have painted (inside & out), tiled and re-plastered. I also built the kids a fort which stands 1.5 metres off the ground! Pretty proud of that one! Most of my furniture has had some sort of work done to it too. 

I think that a few little changes can make a huge difference to a house, especially if it's just really out-dated. In this issue of Country Style, they give you tips on all of this sort of stuff. It really is easy, probably easier than you think!

I could go on and on but I'll let the magazine do all the work! Thanks to the lovely peeps at Country Style, I have 3 copies to give away to you guys! Yay!

To win, just leave a comment here on this post. I will draw the winners on Wednesday 2nd November.

Good luck!

Down That Little Lane

If you're a cool kid you'll already know about the ace new website Down That Little Lane.

Tessa has been working her bum off to bring together the best of the best to create a wonderful place to

shop online.

Guess who is one of the sellers? And might I just mention that sellers were hand picked by Tessa and can join by invitation only? Oh yeah, that's right!

Look at how scrumptious that is!

Whilst setting up shop I have had the opportunity to have a little squizz at all the goodies for sale, and let me tell you, it's pure bliss! I'm going to be so poor soon.

My shop so far...more items to be added soon

It's all systems go now, so you'd better be off for a shop. Just in time for Christmas too!

 I feel privileged to have been invited to be part of this unique idea, and wish Tessa all the best with her new business venture. 

Eat this...apple & cinnamon cake

I had a lovely day in my kitchen yesterday and thought I'd share my recipe for this delicious apple & cinnamon cake. Go on, try it, it's scrumptious, and it's got apples in it so you know it's good for you! Hehe...

Right, first step - get out all your ingredients and make them look all pretty on your table!

So you'd better pre heat your oven to about 180 degrees for this, alright? Ok.

First melt your butter, then mix the sugar in.

Then pop your eggs in and mix well.

To make life easier, I used my lovely apple slinky to peel & chop the apples.

Stir the apples into your mixture.

(I havn't lost you yet have I? It's pretty complicated!)

 Don't forget the cinnamon!

 A close up for those with bad eyes

Next you're gonna gradually add the flour, mix well!

Grease & line your cake tin, then slop it all in.

 I mixed a couple of tablespoons with a pinch of cinnamon and sprinkled it on top.

 Pop it in the oven for around 30 mins.

Do yourself a favour and wait for your cake to cool a little before turning it onto a cooling rack. I didn't do this, I was a little eager and guess what? I made a big fat mess of my beautiful cake. This was the little part that stayed together for me!

So there you have it, my first recipe blog for all you folks.  

My favourite room

There's something about this room that I gravitate towards. On beautiful sunny days, I keep on finding myself standing in here, just hanging out. Cooking, listening to music, hanging with the kids, whatever. Even more so now that my kitchen dresser is finished!

 Isn't she beautiful? I must admit, I'm pretty chuffed with myself at the moment!

(Here she is before)

Tell me kids, what's your favourite room?

Fun on a sofa

Looking at the great photo of Gary and Jenny from yesterday's post got me looking at all those wonderful photos from that same day. It was my parent's wedding renewal/30th wedding anniversary/50th birthdays all combined into one big fat party. It was the best day, with a gorgeous ceremony, a magician, a feast then a live band. People are still talking about it. (And I organized it myself, thankyou very much!)

At the beginning of the day, everyone went and sat on the little orange sofa we had set up in the paddock and had their photo taken. Dad and I even strategically placed hay for the cows in the exact right place so they were in the background of every photo!

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite pics. I think my pal Rohan did a fantastic job of capturing everyone's personalities. 

Darn it! I just realized there's no cows in this shot!

Such an awesome day  xx