A White Rose......

Hey there!! How's the day been treating you?? I've having a bit of a start. stop. start. stop. kind of one. I'm in a stop stage at the minute. So....fancy some roses? White roses? White climbing out of control roses???

                                                                                 

So this is what the front area of our house is looking like at the moment. Very white. Very 'rosey'....

                                                                                 

                                                                                 

And I'm kind of liking it like that.

                                                                                   

And in amongst it all.....my fave bench seat. This area always catches the morning sun and it is really lovely to sit here on a Summer's morning, catching a few rays, cuppa in hand, of course.

                                                                             

The dappled shade it creates is perfect.

                                                                                 

Now we just need a little more sun so I can enjoy the 'dapple'!!!

                                                                                   

I'm off to wait........

and wait......

Have a fab day wherever you are..........



                                               Janelle  xx                                                                                                                                                                

Did someone say.....Christmas...???.........

And it's Hello Tuesday!! Not quite sure what happened to Monday?? Or the past year for that matter. Today I have finally succumbed to the...wait for it....yes....Xmas fever. I KNOW!!!!! I haven't really felt any twitches or twinges so far, regardless of walking past the red and white decorations with my shopping trolley since about September? Hhhmmmm.....
Anyway, the first ounce of excitement for me always starts with the good old Mags. Once they start bringing out those gorgeous creative covers around this time of year I just get sucked right in. Every time.
As yet I have resisted actually bringing any of these beauties home. I'm sure that will read differently by oh...next week probably. In the meantime I have pulled down the old mags from the past few years, just to get the ball, or should that be sparkly bauble?, rolling.......

                                                                                     

                                                                                       
I love everything in these pics, particularly the rustic and raw against a backdrop of clean white and of course the Christmas red.

And just check out this wreath will you......

                                                                               

A crafty Christmas?? Well yes please!!! I can already feel that I am going to HAVE to give this painted pinecone wreath a whirl. What do you think though.....red or.....white?????

And speaking of white..... I think this pic may have just sealed the colour theme for the tree this year. White and shiny silver. Classic.

                                                                                   

Love love love these little trees on the mantle. And that star?.....my fingers are already twitching to get making a few of those!!......

                                                                                 

And last but of course not least is the wrapping. I am not ashamed to admit I am possibly the worst gift wrapper in the world but I will never let that stop me from enjoying the whole ritual and, more importantly, standing back on Christmas Eve to admire the colour co-ordinated papers and ribbons sitting in all their slightly wonky glory.....

                                                                               

All these pics are from past issues of Real Living and Australian Home Beautiful. And if you are looking for heaps more Christmas inspiration pop over to visit Sarah who I will gladly credit with firing the first Christmas spark for me this year.....now it's fired it may quickly get out of control. Next step for me is to start gathering a pile, the larger the better, of delicious Christmassy recipes. Will get sharing some with you ASAP!!

In the meantime.....

Enjoy your day...............


                                                        Janelle  xx

                                                                            

Monday wishes......

Happy Monday guys!!!

                                                                                 

Have a fab and fun week ok??!!!

See you soon.............



                                           Janelle  xx                                                                                  

Magic headlice potion!!!!

Hello out there!!
So I thought I'd do my bit for the community today and pass on a little health tip. Yep....I'm a conscientious kind of citizen like that. Actually I want to share with you guys my little concoction I mix up to prevent the dreaded nits from entering our house. Yes that's right...today we are talking headlice. In the smallest and quietest  font we can so that we don't disturb or attract them....                                                                              

I was given this 'recipe' back when my eldest started school. Maybe even kinder? Let's say about 5 or 6 years ago.  And in all that time we have only ever had the dreaded nits twice. Both times were in the school holidays when I wasn't bothering to squirt this magic potion in the kids' hair. I now squirt this in the kids' hair e.v.e.r.y  d.a.y.
So would you like my magic recipe?? Super super easy and cheaper (and I believe a lot more effective) than using the shop bought ones.

Let's roll........

                                                                                 

                                                             Magic Headlice Potion

Tea tree oil
Baby oil
Water
Spray bottle

Into the spray bottle tip about 1/4 of the tea tree bottle.

                                                                                 

Add a little  baby oil  (and do make it little or the kid's will end up with greasy hair....not a cool look for school)

                                                                                 

Then tip in your water. I usually go about half way up the spray bottle but it depends on how big the bottle is.

                                                                                 

Pop the lid on your spray bottle and give it a good shake....it should look a little cloudy like this.......

                                                                                   

           

And you are right to go and start squirting your children. Always remember to give it a shake before using. If you find their hair is getting too greasy just add more water to dilute it. And you really don't have to saturate their heads either, I just give a light squirt over the whole area and they are good to go. To be honest I don't even particularly like the smell of tea tree but the fact that I really do believe this helps does make me happily tolerate it. Plus the smell doesn't really linger on the kids for a long time.

                                                                                     

Right, my work here is done for today......

Hope this may come in handy to someone....somewhere....at some stage......

See you soon!!!



                                                    Janelle  xx

What we had for dinner - Sausage Rice

Hey there!! Today I am posing that age old question that I personally will never tire of....."so what are you having for dinner tonight???"
I think I've said here before that I am definitely more of a 'baker' than a 'meal-cooker' type person and can often find myself in a bit of a rut, hence cooking the same meals over and over because they are quick, easy and...quick and easy really.
For this reason I love hearing what other 'normal' (we use that term very loosely around here)  mum's-on-the-run are whipping up for their families with 'normal' grab-from-the-supermarket or, better yet, grab-from-the-pantry ingredients.
So I figured I could share another what-we-had-for-dinner-last-night type recipe (again, let's use this term very very loosely please!!) with you guys and if it helps anyone gain ideas for what to throw to their children for dinner then I will feel happy!!?!

                                                                                   

                                                                                     

This meal came about after an old magazine came flying out of a drawer (as they do....) and landed at my feet. I bent to pick it up (no doubt with the intention of shoving it straight back into said drawer) caught a glance at the cover and thought "oooohh that looks good" or some such intelligent thing.............

                                                                                   

It's original name in the mag was "One-pot Italian sausage rice" however, after changing up a few things ie..the one-pot. And the Italian sausage....we best think of another name.
Hows about.....

                                                                 Sausage Rice

Oh the originality!!!!!

Ok.....so here we go..............

Ingredients I threw in for this batch were...........

1 onion, chopped
1 zuchini, chopped
1 packet Mr Beak's Smoky Chorizo sausages (6 in a pack)
garlic, fresh or jar
dried Italian herbs
1 can diced tomatoes (I used Macro organic brand)
splosh of red wine
1 cup rice

Method ..kind of......

Get your rice cooking

Heat a little olive oil in a large-ish pan and squish out little meat ball sized pieces of the sausage. Or if you're sensible you will probs do it all before hand in which case throw in all your little balls of sausage into the pan. Throw away the casings...

                                                                                   

Once these are browned add your onion, garlic and zuchini. I like to brown these off a bit too then throw in your tomatoes, herbs and wine. Season with salt and pepper, cover and let simmer away until your rice is cooked.
When the rice is cooked throw it in with the meat (I like to rinse the rice first) give it all a stir and serve it up.
I then grate a fair quantity of cheddar cheese onto the kids' serves but often just use parmesan on mine. Mr WF takes care of his own!!?!

                                                                                     

How easy is that??? Honestly though, just treat this as a rough guide...feel free to add whatever you think will work for you and your's. I have thrown in broccoli before, a little pesto works well too, as will the fresh basil I have growing out in our herb garden, sprinkled on top with the cheese will work a treat!!

                                                                                   

Capsicum, peas, pumpkin, other types of snags....the list is endless really but I love this for the ridiculously simple base it offers with the rice, meat and tomatoes....

                                                                                   

And hopefully you will be left with plates like this.....

                                                                                   

I'm now off to enjoy a little lunch in the sunshine....

Have a fab day folks...............


                                                                  Janelle  xx                                                                                

Birthday show and tell................

Good morning!!! Ready for a self-indulgent look-what-I-got-for-my-birthday post??!?? Actually I love having a snoop at what other people buy or are lucky enough to be gifted so I figured there may be a few other nosey people out there? Plus I get to stretch the birthday fun out for a little longer too!!!
Ok....first up is this gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous orchid I was given by a yes, that's right, gorgeous gorgeous friend. I love the white and gentle pinks and it is of course housed in a lovely white pot. She kind of knows me well......

                                                                                 

Next up we have these quite fabulous books. Ok....the Jamie O one MAY be a present the kids gave to Mr WF, who celebrated his big day a few days before mine, but you know how it is....what's mine is mine and what's his is ours, right?? And I cannot wait to delve into the Plate to Pixel and get playing with my camera!!!

                                                                             

Right, now we have the accessories covered....yummy stripey scarf in my fave colours of the moment and a just as yummy leather and silver bracelet....mmmmmm......

                                                                                 

Speaking of all things scrummy and delicious get a look at this fudge my beautiful niece whipped up for me! I think we may need to chase her up for the recipe, yes?!? And don't you love a cute card. Or two.....

                                                                                 

                                                                 

Finally there is this bag I have been eyeing off for awhile now and was lucky enough to receive......it's big, beautiful and spotty.....my kind of bag!

                                                                                   

There may also have been a sewing machine involved along with a few other goodies including a.l.o.t of chocolate. Which has already been consumed. No point letting it lay around going off I say......

Show and tell is over.....you may go and enjoy the rest of your day!!!......

See you soon..........



                                                   Janelle  xx                                                                                                                                    

Friday love.......

Hello there!! Spreading the Friday love here today...............

                                                                                 

So what's the weekend holding for you?? We are celebrating a birthday, running around with the usual kiddo activities and maybe just a little chilling out.............

                                                                                   

That last bit is probably a bit of wishful thinking but it's always good to aim high is it not??

                                                                                 

I'm now off to school pick-up which of course hails the official start of the weekend.....

                                                                                   

                                                                                 

So let's enjoy!!!


                                           Janelle  xx