{Forrest Gump Party}

Each year for our birthdays we do a joint themed fancy dress birthday. Since we are 2 years and 2 days apart, it's easier to celebrate together and we have been doing so for many years now.
This year was a movie theme and we chose Forrest Gump.

 

We were in awe at some of the costumes! The film gave so much scope for imagination and our guests definitely took advantage of the many ideas! We had people dressed up as peas & carrots, a shrimp, hippies, a box of chocolates, the feather, waitress Jenny, the bus driver Dorothy, we even had (an almost) naked Jenny! 

{Extra Special Twinkle Lights}

So, December is in full swing and I hope your enjoying adding touches of festivity to your house. I have been a bit busy over here working on a special project that I can reveal soon, but can share a simple craft that added something special to our staircase this Christmas. 

Materials:
- 1 length of Christmas lights. 
- 3m of stiff tulle in your choice of colours (I chose red and white). I got mine for about $2 per meter.
- Craft scissors. 

{The Lorax Birthday Party}

My (then) 5 year old son took me on a movie date a few months ago during his first ever school holidays in Kindy. We watched the Lorax and we both LOVED it. The environmental message is so well explained and interspersed with much humor, colour and catchy songs.
So here are the photos of my interpretation of Dr Seuss' delightful world. I apologize if there are a few ;)

{The Final Christmas Touches}

Well, this will be probably be my last post for Christmas and maybe for 2011. It is very busy around here as we prepare the trimmings for a great Christmas. There is a lot of carols playing, gifts being wrapped decorations and crafts being made and recipes being baked. I LOVE Christmas!

Here are a few of the things we have done to help bring the festive season to life in our house.

1. The Advent Calendar:
Ever hear of 'Real Estate Speak'? Terms like renovators delight or fixer-upper??? Well in 'Craft Speak' a labor of love means something that took much more work than I anticipated, was GLAD to finish but happy I did! This advent calendar was one of those type projects. I know I winged it and made it up as I went, but there was something that I had to contemplate or re-do at several stages along the way. I am very happy with how it turned out though.




2. Snow Dough Ornaments I made salt dough using this recipe from taste.com.au and we cut out mini circles using a lid in the kitchen. The boys pressed a thumb print into half of the circles each and then we painted them white and strung them on a ribbon to make a garland for the tree. 3. Gingerbread Houses: With two little boys 2 & 5 years old, making a full blown ginger house mansion complete with kilo's of sugar seemed a feat that would have me cleaning the kitchen for days and adding an extra coffee or 10 to my day. So, because I still wanted to do this activity WITH my boys, I decided to make it a little different and go 2D instead. This was a BIG hit!!!! (gingerbread recipe here) (pattern for house copied from here) (royal icing recipe here) There are a few other crafts like a hand print wreath and some other ornaments along the way.

So, from my house to yours, I wish you a VERY special Christmas and may your 2012 be blessed and fruitful!

Lauren x

{Christmas 4 month countdown}

My favourite time of year is quickly approaching. Sorry if I scare you by mentioning the "Christmas" word too early. I am not a quickly shop on midnight Christmas eve kinda gal.

I like organisation.
I like order.
I like planing.
I am a list queeen!

So i have lists going on ages before the 25th of December. Lists of gifts, menus, shopping lists, time line to-do lists, lists for anything! So, yesterday as the 4 month mark arrived, I found some pretties online and swooned for a while.

In my 12 days of Christmas countdown last year I dedicated a post to the beautiful advent calendar.
I have been re-inspired from Pinterest and with 4 months to go until Christmas I have plenty of time to plan ahead and make one for us this year. Now to decide on the design. I want to do it in fabric so that it is something that will last and I can pass on. This is just the tip of the iceberg though....there are so many homemade Christmas decorations I want to do this year, better get planning ;)

Linaloo

Inchmark


Green Jello


Frugal Home Designs



Ucreate (guest post by wippleberry)



The House of Smiths

There were so many other pictures and eye candy I could post.....so if you want some inspiration for this (or anything) get onto pinterest!

I would love to know if you created an advent calendar idea at your place and what kind of design you have, please link it up in the comments or on the facebook page if you have ;)

Lauren x

{Valentines Day Celebrations} My turn to organise it this year :)

Well, this year it was my turn to organise the surprise for "love day" as we call it in our house. Usually my husband organises a grand gesture, but I absolutley wanted a turn and loved spending the day (and then some) getting surprises ready for him! So here is what I came up with:

1. I decorated the house with handmade paper heart garlands - Love it!


2. This made the 'resturant area' just divine looking. Deceptive enough to make us forget we were home with kids asleep upstairs!


3. A Menu of Individual Garlic and Rosemary Lamb Racks with Rost Vegetables with a Chocolate Mousse and Shared Fruit Platter.

{Chocolate Mousse}

300g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
3 eggs
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
1 tbs good-quality cocoa powder, sifted
400ml thickened cream, plus extra whipped cream to serve

Method:
1. Place the chocolate in a double boiler and stir until melted. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool slightly. Don't leave it for too long as it will harden and you will have hardened chocolate bits into your mousse. If you want to add a flavour to choc (coffee, liqueurs, essences etc...). I added a touch of brandy syrup I had in the pantry
2. Place eggs and sugar in a large bowl and beat with electric beaters for 5 minutes, or until mixture is pale, thick and doubled in volume. Fold in cooled chocolate and cocoa powder until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whip cream until thickened (don't over-beat). It is quite a rich recipe, if you want to tame it down a little, just whip 600ml of cream instead. Use a large spoon to carefully fold the cream into the chocolate mixture, trying to keep the mixture as light as possible.
4. Spoon intoserving glasses and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour. Remove from fridge 15 minutes before serving, then top with either extra whipped cream, grated chocolate and/ or fresh berries.

4. The Gift : Handwritten Book "All the Ways I Love You".
For a few weeks I compiled a list of the top reasons why I love my man. The top 20 quickly became the top 50, which quickly became the top 100. By the time I finished writing them all in the book, it was 102 handwritten reasons why I love him presented in a fabric envelope with a message on the front.

This experience should be a MUST do for married couples. To many times I hear people nag, complain and 'plateau' in the way they feel about their spouse. Showing the one you love that you love all the many things that make them, them is a very valuable thing. So I would love to hear if you attempt this for next years love day, your anniversary or just because.

Some examples of what I wrote (will only share a select few)

9. You show a work ethic that is God honouring and is a great example for our boys.
11. You love me having 'me' time.
18. YOU show our boys how to traet a woman with respect and dignity each day by how you treat their mother
31. You are an incredible steward of everything God hads given you.
46. I love how you can explain very complex concepts to people like me lol
50. I love your entrapreneurial spirit
54. I love how you have always planned for our future together
63. I love how you arrange 'acts of kindness' for people in our world when they need a hand
70. I love how you are always a voice of reason
81. I love how you genuinely marvel in the wonders of God's universe
98. I love how you just look at me sometimes - with no words.

Enjoy;
Lauren x

Adorable Bunting

I know things have been a little quiet in bliogland lately.....I have had some big things on and am back for sure. Tonights post is dedicated to BUNTING! I am a little smitten with this stuff latley, whether its miniture paper bunting on a scrapbooking layout or fabric bunting to decorate a room/ event. Here are some pictures of this lovliness that just take my breath away for a second ;)

Daniels 1st Birthday "Twinkle Twinkle" Party - Part Two

One of the decorations I had my heart set on for Daniels birthday party was some pale blue/ yellow bunting. I wanted to make it but didn't have a sewing machine (at that point). I ended uip ordering it from a favourite website of mine - madeit.com.au. This is an Australian website with a whole bunch of people seeling things that they made. I bought it from a store called Mockingbird Designs which I was very impressed with. THe product was just perfect and they were a pleasuere to deal with and patient with all the delays for payment due to problems with our paypal accounts.
I definitley recommend popping around to have a look at their store....just delicious!!!!