Ag May ...

Sometimes I feel like the most organised, super efficient, cover-all-bases, thinking-10-steps-ahead type of person...  like when we came home after a long weekend away. After a fun-filled albeit tiring last day, plus a long drive home, we had the kids fed-ed and bedded, everything unpacked and put away, and set up for the new school term by 8pm. We had made sure the girls had enough snacks, filled with enough fruits and popcorn to make a long car ride home pleasant. We had washed all of our clothes the night before so were unpacking and putting away clean clothes (I loved this!!!) and had plenty of clothes to choose from for the following day. And everything had been checked off everyones list of holiday expectations, so they were happy to come home. All steps covered.  Organised.  Efficient.  Give the girl a pat on the back, John.  (Wait!  Who's John?) And sometimes, I feel like the laziest, biggest time-waster to have ever lived... like the ti...

Bunk beds, loft beds… they’re pretty cool.   Awesome cubby houses; magical castles; huge hideaway spots; in-house cinema.   Just an awesome place to be.   Why wouldn’t you have a bunk bed or a loft bed?   Especially with three kids!   Especially in a small apartment. Well, here’s a couple of reasons why not… If you’re the wrong height and you can’t reach the top bunk from the ground, do you know how difficult it is to change those bed sheets? Or what about when you want to air out the mattress?   If I can’t put on the bedsheets from down there, how do you think I’m going to lift the mattress high enough to go over the railing and then down to the floor?   WATCH OUT BELOW! And what about when your kid falls asleep in the car?   Yep – you can maneuver them out of the car.   Yep – you can carry them up the stairs.   Yep – you can turn this way and that so that you don’t bump them into the furniture...

I asked Little Miss M - Do you want to have your birthday at a play centre and you can invite lots of friends, or do you want me to plan an at-home party with just a few friends? After all the fun that she had been having at her friends parties being held at a play centre, I was very surprised when Little Miss M opted for an at-home party.  Apparently, I'm loved because I plan the birthdays. And so a birthday party was planned... A FURBY PARTY!!  Dah-Noh-Lah!  Party party!! We had games... A photo booth with props... (and we printed out the photos for the guests to take home) We had cake... And we sent the party guests home with a furby key chain, a photo from the photo booth and some homemade love... Yes, I had to take a few days off from work to get everything done. Yes, the Furby cake was filled with smarties and m&m's (not sure why we don't have a picture of it).  And I really don't want to think of how much butter was used to ma...

Hello there world and all of its lovely people.  I've indulged my laziness and procrastination tendencies enough and I'm ready to face the world.  What have you been up to in the past 6 months? I think I've found a pattern... I think it takes me about half a year to get going; to get my mojo on; to get off my arse.  After a quiet six months, all of a sudden, I have inspiration boards and I have time planners and I have goals..  and it's already July. Anyways, here are a few handmade goodies that have graced my craft table in the past six months.  Either I've been really non-productive or I've been really lazy with the camera.  Probably both... never mind.  Let's work with what we've got... Origami (Christmas) Baubles - it helps if you have a circle cutter Origami Baubles paired with white chocolate stuffed Snickerdoodle cookies - white chocolate stuffed anything *swoon* Hairclip/Headband holder My gorgeous niece asked for a box for ...

I love to travel.   I travel to experience different cultures.   I travel to see new sights.   I travel to meet new people.   I travel to catch up with my friends and family.   And I travel for the food.   Actually, I really travel for the food and everything else is a bonus.   But, you know… don’t tell anyone, especially my relatives. One of the foods that I discovered while overseas in the U.S of A was the soft pretzel.   And the soft pretzel, still warm, lightly salted, served with a luscious caramel dipping sauce.   Thank you Auntie Anne’s. Ok – so I would travel to the States just for Auntie Anne’s and In-an-out Burger and for the “biscuits with gravy” and for the pastrami sandwiches.   And for the ribs.   And for the chicken wings with buffalo sauce.   And to be able to eat raw broccoli dipped in ranch without anyone pulling faces!!! And yes, I would travel to Hong Kong just for the mango with sago in coconut...

We've had a small spate of birthday parties for Little Miss M to attend in this past month.  And it's always a bit of a guessing game to figure out what her friends might want for their birthday.  What Little Miss M would like to give to her friends. So far Little Miss M is still quite happy to give her friends something homemade.  And so far, these have been a hit with both Little Miss M and her friends (well, according to their mommas anyway).  And I think these little ones still get a kick out of seeing their names on things.  What do you think? And the best thing... I've heard how Little Miss M's friends show how they treasure their presents - favourite doll's sleeping bag; magic cape; a bag for treasured things.  And how they don't want to sully it by getting it dirty on their bed if they use it as a pillow!!!! Little Miss M has been helping with the designs.  I'm hoping to start her on sewing them up herself with a bit of practise :) ...

DIY – Gingham Shirt Oh - and please excuse the less than flattering photos... Another foray into "sewing for me" – a pink gingham structured shirt. This is another pattern from Vogue.   What can I say – I like familiarity . The pattern offers multiple variations, which was appealing as well as it being the style that I was looking for. And here is the finished product (*sigh* back to setting up the camera for selfies).   Ok, it’s not my favourite pair of pants but I’m working on that. Onto the shirt.   I like it.   It’s not perfect, but it has potential. On the finished product... I like contrast cuffs and collar.   I like the shape.   I like the fit in the front.   I like the circumference of the sleeves. I don’t like the slight tightness in the bust.   I don’t like the length of the sleeve.  To get to this point, these are the alterations that I had to do to the pattern - Shorten to cor...

As in a Winter Wrap Up – thanks to MyLittle Pony. I am currently obsessed with the Frozen soundtrack and My Little Pony soundtrack.   The songs from My Little Pony, the creation of which is headed up by Danial Ingram are so good; so appealing; and dare I say sophisticated enough to be enjoyed by appreciative adults.   Just call me a Brony! Seriously, give it a go.   You might be pleasantly surprised.   Anyways, there’s this song about a Winter Wrap Up.   Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up – cos tomorrow Spring is here.   So we’re doing a Winter Wrap Up Par-tay! Any excuse to get the cousins together and the adults joining in, really. And so, with some Winter decorations, and an extensive menu, we celebrated the coming of Spring. And part of the menu was this scrumptious Blueberry Custard Pie . For some reason, we don’t seem to have a lot of pie down in these parts.   Café offerings seem to trend towards cupcakes, cakes, c...