Staying Healthy Over Winter

Back when I was teaching a class of 30 children, I usually only caught one or two colds a year. Last year was a totally different story and it felt like every fortnight I seemed to have picked up some new cold or cough from Grace during chillier months. This winter, I'm going to try and avoid a repeat by looking after myself a bit more so I don't get run down by...

- starting each morning with a mug of warm water and lemon juice
- taking Vitamin C each day along with my usual multivitamin
- increasing my fruit and vegetable intake
- increasing my water intake

I also want to pamper myself a bit more, especially in the months leading up to October. While I cleanse, tone and moisture religiously morning and night, I forget to do things like exfoliate, put on a face mask or slather on body moisturiser. I'm going to try and make time for small things like these more often as well as for relaxing soaks in the bathtub.

What are your tips for keeping away the winter nasties or pampering yourself a bit more?

Image above via weheartit

My Vision For Grace's Room

Happy Monday! I hope you have all had a lovely weekend. I feel especially good this morning as I finally feel as though I've made a small start on the weekend on the organising projects which have been bothering me. I've almost finished tidying our linen cupboard, I've taken photos of the furniture we need to sell and listed it on Gumtree and Grace's room is slowly coming along as I hunt for / work on various pieces.

On Friday, the Moroccan leather pouffe I ordered from the UK arrived and it is even prettier than I was expecting. To begin with it will have a place next to the bed in Grace's room and then later on go in the living room where it can add a tiny hint of the pale pink I'm after. I stuffed it with rags which I have found to be a good filling and a sturdy weight.

In recent weeks, my ideas for decorating Grace's room have changed slightly. I'm leaning towards slightly more colourful fabrics for the patchwork quilt I'm making with patterns comprising of pink, cornflour blue, white, green, yellow and red. My idea is to provide an eclectic room with different colours as well as modern and older pieces that create a space Grace will enjoy spending time in.



My vision so far includes:

• a pretty patchwork quilt / bed throw made by me in a combination of fabrics
• an older style bed head (either a wrought iron or a cane one)
• a Moroccan leather pouffe to add a pretty touch
• a display shelf of some sort to display trinkets and treasures Grace collects
• a small string of bunting in cute fabrics
• a hanging mobile of either paper cranes or butterflies or a dream catcher
• a magazine rack or wall rack of some sort for book storage
• a play corner for Grace’s ‘teddy tub’ and new wooden kitchen
• a combination of artwork made by Grace and me, including the cross stitch owl above that I have embroidered (remember this sneak peek?)



Any other suggestions for Grace’s room? I have most of the fabrics for Grace’s quilt now and will begin working on it in a fortnight when my friend Kylie is on holidays and able to get me started on the right track. I will give you an update once Grace’s room is looking more complete.

Hope you all have a wonderful start to the week.

Nesting Instincts

Image above found via Kelly McCaleb's Tumblr

I was talking with one of my friends recently about how in recent months, I’ve felt an overwhelming desire to get my house organised and orderly (believe me, I have a fair way to go at present). She labelled my feeling as me trying to make everything as perfect as it can be before baby #2 arrives which I guess in a way it is. It’s like I think that if things don’t get done now, they’ll never get done once our baby arrives and my time is even more limited.

Firstly, I am desperate to get our nursery organised. Once Grace’s room is sorted, I will be able to move onto the new baby’s room and set up furniture, go through all of Grace’s old baby clothes and baby gear and get onto the fun part of the actual decorating. However, before any of this can be done, I need to sell our old ensemble base, the pretty bed frame and our old coffee table which are currently taking up space in the spare room. This weekend's task is to move the unnecessary furniture out of this room and list these items on Gumtree.

Next up, I’d love to have a more organised home. I want to sort through our filing cabinet and remove old and unnecessary paperwork. I want anyone to be able to easily locate a document they’re after without having to hunt through file after file. The 'clutter basket' on my bench is once again overflowing so I need to go through it and put everything in its proper place.

I’d also like our cupboards to be sorted. I don’t want to be hanging onto any items we no longer need or want that are taking up precious space. I am by no means a hoarder at all, but I’d still like to have a good sort through. I’ve already started this by going through my wardrobe and giving away a whole bunch of clothes to my sister and to charity. Today’s task is to sort through the linen cupboard. To help me stay on task, I promise to share a photo of this newly organised space once I’m done although I'm not sure how much I'll achieve today as Grace came down with a cold last night and we're all pretty exhausted today... we'll see.

Which organising project are you eager to accomplish on your ‘to do list?

Cooking Club: Winter Warmers

On Saturday night, my friends and I had our latest Cooking Club dinner. This time, we had a full table of six (seven including six week old baby Lucas). Our theme was 'Winter Warmers' and we all came away with a collection of delicious recipes perfect for the current cold nights. I remembered to take photos although they all have a golden glow to them as I couldn't suss out the lighting and camera settings.



To decorate the table, I used a piece of grey and white striped fabric as a runner (I had actually bought this fabric for our nursery). I didn't use any fresh flowers this time but instead placed a pot of parsley in the centre of the table and made some origami flowers using some pretty double sided gift wrap I bought from Kikki K. One roll provided plenty of paper for five of these flowers as well as enough to wrap my 'spot prize'. I actually had fun putting these together one night in front of the television. You can find the tutorial for making these cute flowers here. I followed the instructions exactly only I didn't use glue but instead tried double sided tape which I think is definitely a better option. It's funny because this week after my dinner party, I was flicking through the latest Real Living magazine and actually spotted these exact origami flowers which had been made into a ball.



To break away from my usual white and silver edged Maxwell and Williams crockery, I borrowed my friend's pretty Marie Claire side plates which fit in perfectly. I also made some labels for each dish using a printable Martha Stewart template you can find here (there are also other colour options you can choose from).



My traditional spot prize for one of my guests this time was the parsley plant, a handy measuring glass from Wheel and Barrow and a jar of vanilla bean paste.

As for the yummy dishes we shared, our menu consisted of:

- Zucchini and Prosciutto Soup
- Spiced Pumpkin and Coconut Soup
- Chicken and Mushroom Pie
- Sweet Potato and Pancetta Risotto
- Crumbed Scotch Fillet
- Moroccan Beef
- Chocolate Orange Croissant Bread and Butter Pudding



I've shared the two soup recipes below, but if anyone is interested in the other recipes, let me know and I'll do another post.

For our next theme in August, we are going to break away from dinner recipes and have an afternoon tea instead with 'Teatime Treats' of cakes, biscuits and slices. I'm looking forward to decorating the table prettily and have already got a few ideas floating around in my head.

Here's those soup recipes for anyone who would like to try them out...


Spiced Pumpkin and Coconut Soup

1 tbsp red curry paste
1kg pumpkin, peeled and chopped
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1½ cups coconut milk
1 large red chilli, seeded and finely sliced

Place a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the curry paste and cook for one minute. Add the pumpkin and stock, cover and cook until the pumpkin is tender. Place the pumpkin mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan. Add the coconut milk and heat through. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the chilli to serve.



Zucchini and Prosciutto Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
100g prosciutto, chopped
1 tsp thyme leaves
3 zucchini, grated
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
feta cheese, crumbled (to serve)

Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the oil, onion, garlic, prosciutto and thyme and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the onion is softened. Add the zucchini, stock, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10-15minutes or until the zucchini is cooked. Use a hand held blender to partially blend the soup, leaving some texture. Ladle soup into bowls and top with crumbled feta.

A Happy Week

Although Grace and I did nothing overly exciting, last week was a really good week and my happy mood has extended into this one too. Here’s an assortment of things that have been making me smile and some things I'm looking forward to…



… the two bunches of flowers Grace and I bought this morning from the Beaufort Street flower sellers. We went for a drive north of the river to buy a cushion from Domayne and made a detour to buy a cheap bunch on the way home. They add a touch of colour around the house and make me smile when I walk past them.


… our Rinnai flame effect gas heater (in the background of the above photo). Last year, we spent the majority of winter without a heater when our very old one died. Getting a new one wasn’t all that straightforward but thankfully this year, ours has been working a treat. It’s so lovely having the 'flames' glowing away at night.



... our beautiful bright pink camellia which is flowering in our backyard (although most of the pretty blooms fell to the ground in last week’s heavy rain). The photo above is the view I see from our kitchen windows each time I look out (if only those hideous palm trees weren't in the yard next door!) It’s so nice to have colour in the garden. Even the fallen petals on the ground are pretty.


…having a hair appointment on Wednesday. I’m looking forward to a bit of 'me' time, relaxing at the hair dressers with some magazines and a cup of tea and coming out feeling great. I love my wavy hair but I always get my hair straightened for something different when I go to the hair dressers.



… finally finding the perfect fabrics for the quilt I’m making Grace. I've decided not to go with pastel colours after all, but am using more vibrant, pretty prints. After much hunting, I stumbled across some great material at a few local quilting stores and Spotlight, along with some gorgeous pieces I’ve ordered from Etsy. Can’t wait for those packages to arrive and can’t wait to get stuck into sewing!


… being given a huge box of hand me down clothes for Grace from Paul’s cousin whose little girls had outgrown them. Grace thought it was Christmas and has been ‘playing dress ups’ all week as I slowly sort through what fits and what doesn’t. I used to be so excited as a little girl when my cousin passed her old clothes down to me.



…my growing baby bump. The picture above is the blurriest shot ever but at least it shows you my belly (it’s very hard to take a photo of yourself I’ve discovered!!). At 23 weeks, I’m getting lots of prods these days and I love lying in bed at night feeling our baby kicking away. The fact that we’ve only got 17 weeks left is a bit scary though!!


... curling up on the couch tonight with my cuppa in hand and a piece or two of the chocolate fudge I made purely as an indulgent treat for myself. I'm looking forward to watching Katrina on The Block and then flicking through the latest Real Living magazine.


I hope you all have a happy week ahead too. What are you looking forward to?