A Little Giveaway

The lovely Mango Frooty print I shared with you all a few weeks back has since been ordered and framed and is now sitting in our bedroom waiting to be put up, as soon as I decide which wall is going to best showcase this piece. I can't tell you how happy I am with my new watercolour beauty and also with the timber frame I had envisaged for it all along.    

It's been a while since I've held a giveaway, so as a thank you to all you lovely readers who take the time to visit this space of mine and leave such thoughtful comments, I have ordered a second A4 sized print just like the one above for one of you to win. It will be unframed, leaving you free to finish it off as you wish.

To enter, you must be a follower of Homely One and all I ask is that you leave a comment below before 5pm (Perth time) on the 17th May.

Good luck!

Easy Peasy Meals & Giveaway Winners

Lately, we've been tweaking our night time routine a bit in order to get Sophie down earlier, to make bath time quicker and to give Paul and I some quiet adult time before we turn in for the evening.  Our new routine leaves us with two options - we eat at the earlier time of six or wait until around seven thirty.  Whichever way we go means I need either a meal I can prepare earlier in the day and simply heat up or a meal I can whip up in under twenty minutes.

So, I've been flicking through my recipe books, trying to find ideas which fit these categories.  Tonight we're having Fettuccine Carbonara - a recipe which with a tiny bit or preparation can literally be cooked in the time it takes the pasta to boil and for which I usually have most ingredients.  Here is the recipe I use, adapted from several different ones over the years...

Fettuccine Carbonara 

(Serves 2)

  

200g pasta (I never measure this, I just grab the amount of pasta I see fit for two serves)

3 rashers bacon (shortcut bacon)

1 egg yolk (at room temperature)

1 egg (at room temperature)

¼ cup cream (single pouring cream)

⅓ cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp minced garlic (or 1 clove crushed)

125g chopped button mushrooms (optional)

parsley (handful finely chopped)

salt (a generous pinch) and freshly ground pepper

Cook fettuccine in a large pot of boiling salted water.  Meanwhile, fry bacon, garlic and mushrooms with a drop of olive oil.  Whisk egg, egg yolk, cream, ¾ of the parmesan, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  When cooked, drain pasta quickly and return to pot. Over very low heat, add bacon, parsley and egg mixture.  Toss through quickly to heat. Remove as soon as the sauce begins thickening and serve immediately with remaining parmesan and cracked pepper.

  

I'd love to hear which meals you would suggest for either the 'make it earlier' or 'whip up in twenty minutes' category if you'd like to leave a comment and share your ideas below.

Also, I finally got around to drawing my giveaway today.  Thank you to everyone who entered.  The winners are:

A cross-stitch pattern from Sewing Seed... Jane of Planet Baby

The cute mushroom mobile from The Quirky Bird... Michelle of Jarrah Jungle

My patchwork squares of pretty fabric... Bron of Maxabella Loves 

A clothbound version of The Secret Garden...  Megan of Silver Threads Of Happiness  

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend ahead.  I'm off to the '3 in 1 Market' at the Claremont Showgrounds tomorrow morning.  Hopefully I'll have some nice finds to share with you all on Monday...

Giveaway Time!

As promised, it’s giveaway time! Following on from my post last week about Grace’s new ‘big girl bedroom’, today I have a few prizes I’d like to offer you all as a thank you for supporting my blog… to thank loyal readers and commenters, new followers whose faces are always welcome and friends who take the time to read what I write.


#1
My first giveaway is a PDF cross stitch pattern of your choice from Sewing Seed. In Grace’s room, I shared a photo of the owl cross stitch I made her. As a prize, you may choose ANY design you like. To enter, pop on over to Sewing Seed and leave a comment here letting me know which cross stitch pattern is your favourite that you’d like to win.


#2
Second up is a chance to win a mushroom mobile like the red and white one hanging in Grace’s room. This mobile is sewn by Lecia of  The Quirky Bird, a Made It shop I discovered by chance one day and a store I was happy to find out was Perth based. To enter, just leave a comment below telling me where you would put this cute mobile in your own home or who you would give it to should you win.


#3
When I made Grace’s patchwork quilt, I kept aside several squares of some of the fabrics I had collected to be used as a giveaway. The squares are four inch and there are several of each design. While there aren’t enough for a full sized quilt, there are plenty for a smaller project. If you have a use for these and would like a chance to win, just leave a comment below letting me know which project you’d like to use them for.


#4
My final prize is a copy of a Penguin clothbound classics children’s novel – either ‘Anne Of Green Gables’ or ‘The Secret Garden’ - like the ones I bought for Grace which sit on her shelf. While my above giveaways are open to anyone, this particular prize is a special one as it is only open to those who are ALREADY followers of Homely One or who have ALREADY left a comment on my any of my blog posts in the past. I have put a condition on this prize as I wanted to thank someone who is genuinely supportive of my blog. If you would like a chance to win one of these books, just leave a comment to let me know which one you would prefer.


So that’s my little round up of giveaways. You can enter to win as many of these prizes as you’d like, just be sure to leave a separate comment for each giveaway and if you don’t have a blog yourself, leave an email address so that I can contact you. For a bonus entry, mention my giveaway on your blog or link to it in your side bar and leave a comment here letting me know you have done so. I will use a random draw to select the winners of this giveaway on Wednesday 25th April (5pm Perth time) and announce the winners in a post shortly after.

Thanks for supporting Homely One and good luck!

On the topic of giveaways, be sure to pay a visit to the lovely Nellie of McCarthy Designs who is also hosting a giveaway for a chance to win a $100 voucher for her newly opened online store, McCarthy Designs & Occasions...

Giveaway Winner

Firstly, I must apologise for taking so long to draw the winner of my giveaway. Between our stay in hospital and the busy Christmas / New Year period, it wasn’t at the top of my priority list. But I’ve finally added all your names to the bowl and had my little helper above pick out a name.

The winner of my giveaway is Kate of Mamma Musing. Congratulations! Please send me an email to the address on my sidebar to let me know your postal details and I’ll get your goodies in the mail to you as soon as possible.

Thank you all for entering.

Giveaway Time!

Back in October, amidst my days of playing the ‘waiting game’ in anticipation of Sophie's arrival, I missed the little blogging milestone of Homely One’s two year anniversary. Quite a few years ago now, the first blog I ever discovered was sfgirlbybay. I visited a link to it which I’d found in a Real Living magazine and through it, discovered decor8 which in turn led to blog after blog after blog. It became a new hobby and I soon had quite a list I visited regularly for inspiration and ideas. I can still remember sitting in our study, rocking Grace who was only a few months old to sleep in my arms as I read through posts.

One day I decided to bite the bullet and start my own blog in order to create a space where I could share house projects and renovations we did as well as decorating ideas I came across online. Over time, my blog has evolved and changed direction a bit and these days, Homely One has become a bit more personalised and focused on all the happenings in our little household. While I still do read lots of ‘big name’ blogs, it is the smaller ones I prefer these days, bloggers who I have connected with and formed friendships with. I never could have imagined how much I would gain through blogging – I have ‘met’ so many lovely fellow bloggers whose kindness, compassion and thoughtfulness never cease to amaze me.

So, as a thank you to all those who stop by and leave comments and make my blogging all the more enjoyable and to give back a little of the joy I receive through this hobby of mine, I have put together a little pre-Christmas giveaway. It is a package of things I use or have bought recently myself and contains a set of cute herb markers, a butterfly cookie cutter, a CD I often play as background music around our home or when entertaining called ‘Paris Café’, some blue and white cupcake cases, two Cath Kidston guest soaps and a set of Cath Kidston paper napkins.

To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of Homely One and leave me a comment so I know you’d like to be entered into my draw. If you do not have a blog yourself, please leave your email address with your comment so I can contact you should you be the lucky winner. My giveaway will be open until 5.00pm (Perth time) on Monday 12th December.

Good luck and have a wonderful weekend!

A Little Giveaway...

As promised in my Pink Ribbon Day Party post, today I have a little giveaway up for offer. I have decided to give away the string of bunting I made to a reader/follower of Homely One who has a use for it. I realise that its colours and patterns may not be everyone's cup of tea but if there is anyone who has a place to hang it up or would like to put it aside for a party of their own, please leave a comment below and I will draw the winner next Friday afternoon (Perth time). My only conditions are that anyone who enters must already be a follower.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend...

Giveaway Winner

Sorry this post is a bit late but thank you to everyone who entered my 'first year of blogging' giveaway. Using an online random number generator (sorry I wasn't sure how to insert the image for this on my blog), the lucky number selected was comment #32 which was left by Deb of Let's Go Moerkabout. Congratulations!! I will get your goodies in the post to you as soon as possible.

Image from Celebrations At Home found via Polkadot Prints

Giveaway Time!

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. This morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at a local café and then let Grace go for a little ‘swim’ in the shallows at the river.

Today, I’ve finally gotten around to sorting out a little giveaway in celebration of my first year of blogging and all the support my wonderful readers have given me during that time. I have put together a package of cute things that I love and use myself which I would like one of my lovely followers to also be able to enjoy. Included are two Cath Kidston guest soaps, a cute little hanging bird (I have a yellow one in Grace’s room), a lingerie wash bag, some Kikki-K adhesive notes (I love using these when flicking through magazines) and two pretty thank you cards from Xing-Design.

To enter, you must be a follower of Homely One and all you have to do is leave a comment below on this post. This giveaway will be open until 5pm (Australian Western Standard Time) on Saturday 30th October and I will announce the winner shortly after that.

Good luck!!

100th Post Giveaway!!

Today's post is my 100th post!! It is hard to believe that I have been part of this blogging community for that long now as my blog still feels relatively new to me. I am so happy that back in October, I decided to finally start Homely One (thanks to some encouragement from my lovely blogging friend Catherine of Little Glowing Lights). My blog has been a wonderful creative outlet and led me to ‘meet’ many like-minded 'kindred spirits'.

To celebrate my 100th post and to say thank you to all of you who read my blog and leave me such positive and supportive comments, I’m giving away the book below which I spotted at Crabtree and Evelyn a few weeks ago called ‘Recipe For A Happy Life’ by Cheryl Saban. This book contains some words of wisdom as well as lots of gorgeous homely images.

To enter my giveaway, all you have to do is be a follower of Homely One and leave a comment on this post. The competition will run all week and end at 5pm on the 1st of May (Western Standard Time). The winner will be drawn on Saturday evening.

Good luck!