Simple. Minimalist. Routine. Organised.

 

We have all heard these words in regards to LIVING and the kind of ideal life we would like to live. Many would aspire to create a life that any or all of these words could describe.

I know I do.

 

Every day I wake up and live and work in a house that is not organised the way I want it. Since moving into this place back in February, I have managed to clean and tidy many things and areas, only to have it trashed again. Then I am back to the beginning. I am finding it hard to get this house to a place of full functionality, the way I want it.

So I can truly call it HOME!

 

I have learnt that I get things done better with a goal, a list and ACCOUNTABILITY!

Generally, if I write on my blog here that I want or I AM going to do something, I feel more 'pressured' (for want of a better word) to do it! And most of the time, I get it done. If I don't, then I feel like I've let my readers down in a way. So...all you lovely readers out there - YOU help me. YOU keep me accountable.

 

So...

When I read a post on the lovely Tamar's blog, that she was embarking on a SEPTEMBER SORT IT endeavour, I jumped right in!!!

She, and many others who are joining in, have created a list of 30 things to do in September with the idea of getting ourselves SORTED! Soooo what I need right now.

And the fact that it involves a GOAL, a LIST, and a group of people to keep me ACCOUNTABLE, I am figuring this could be the perfect solution for me in getting this house the way I want it.

I'm hoping!

 

So here is MY list of 30 things to get sorted!



1. Clean out pantry cupboard.
2. Sort Tupperware container shelf in cupboard.
3. Sort through recipe drawer. Place recipes in a folder in a more organised fashion.
4. Read up on Clean Eating & Paleo some more. Purchase books.
5. Tidy Linen cupboard.
6. Go through medicine box - store more safely and organise better.
7. Clean & Organise the bathroom cabinet and shelves.
8. Empty boxes on girls shelves in their room & display toys on expedit shelves.
9. Purchase spice racks from IKEA for kids bedroom book display and also bathroom storage.
10. Sort through mess on my bedside table and make it tidy.
11. Clean up office desk.
12. Sort through clothes - keep, donate, re-purpose, pass-on...
13. Sort out jewellery and display on jewellery hangers.
14. Scrub laundry sink. Wipe down and tidy laundry shelves.
15. Give the caravan a spring clean.
16. Design our vegetable garden (need to discuss with Mr Awesome).
17. Plant herb garden.
18. Frame and hang up artwork/prints/photos.
19. Write out Christmas Gift List. Try and purchase/make at least one thing on the list.
20. Finances - create a monthly budget system.
21. Research (and purchase) diary for the New Year.
22. Develop a planner folder for my blog.
23. Create and launch new Facebook page for a new little endeavour of mine (Wait & see - it's a surprise!!)
24. Go through magazines - donate what I don't want OR use in craft/journals OR just chuck. Rip out and file pages of interest.
25. Complete old journal.
26. Set up Project Life for 2013. (I have albums and pages - work out what other pages and stuff I want/need and purchase.)
27. Create spaces on studio shelves for my Blythe dolls.
28. Make curtains for shelf unit in my studio.
29. Purchase spools for cotton storage.
30. Sort out yarn and do some more crochet!

My list looks pretty intense but it is all stuff I need to get done. Realistic timeline? I am hoping so. I am determined to get it all done. And if not, I will plug away into October until it's all completed!!

You can find Tamar's list and the links to other people's lists who are joining in HERE.

And in the spirit of 'Keeping It Real', I will show you some photos of my 'messes' just to demonstrate the need for a good Sort Out!
{ My Bedside }
{ Linen Cupboard / Recipe Drawer / Pantry }
{ Tupperware Shelf / Girls Bedroom / Medicine Box }

Here's to September Sort It!
WooHoo!!

It's always great to escape from the daily grind and just get away!

I am sure we all agree.

Mr Awesome and I decided that he would take a day off and we would make a good weekend trip away.

 So last Friday lunch time, we packed the caravan, hooked it up, popped the kids in the car with their DVD screens...and off we went to Albany.

We arrived there at 6pm and checked in at the Big4 Middleton Beach Holiday Park.

 We have stayed here many times before and keep going back because it is a lovely, neat, family-friendly place to stay. Nice amenities which is very important. We obtained access to the Family Bathroom so it was easier to get the kids bathed. There is a toilet, shower and HUGE corner bath in there which the kids LOVED!! And in the ladies, you can see in the pic above that there is always some fresh posies of flowers on the sink benchtops. Very pretty and just a nice touch I think :-)

And...

It's right on the beach!! BONUS!

 

On Saturday, we hit the shops! I raided TWO op shops and found many things I liked and bought. I also found something I LOVED and TOTALLY WANTED but sadly didn't buy.

A drop-down front desk!

I have been on the look-out for one of these for a couple of years now. It would be a perfect little compact office area where I can write and blog and other administrative things. But...

Mr Awesome simply stated something not-so-awesome to my ears -

"Where would you put it Anna?"

Which pretty much means NO. But he did do it gently and kindly which made it easier. I think he would have agreed if I could have come up with the space solution and justifiable reasoning for its use! But - there is the issue of space,

Soooo...it stayed there.

Aaaanyway, we kept shopping. Clothes we needed, storage boxes for some home organising (I will share at a later date), some new towels/handtowels, some toys for the kids, YARN - ya know everything we NEEDED ;-)

It was tiring but enjoyable AND I got everything I had on my list to get!

We headed back to the caravan park about 2:30 and decided to take a stroll down to the beach.

 

Which is still a lovely place to go. The kids had a BLAST!!!

 

 

We headed back and freshened up before heading off to our dinner reservation.

 

As a birthday treat for Mr Awesome, we had pre-booked a table at Rustlers Steakhouse and Grill. It's expensive but since it was a continuation of the birthday celebration, we splashed out!

 

Here is the Entree's and Sprout's grilled fish and chips, which she didn't eat...so little Sparkle downed it! Little foodie she is :-)

I had garlic mushrooms sauteed in speck bacon and red wine. It came served in a cute little red pot. So adorable. And the mushrooms were yummy!

Mr Awesome had the Oysters Kilpatrick. To which he remarked, "This is livin', Barry!" LOL!

 

Then there were the MAINS!!

 

 It was the local fish market but there was other food and fresh produce stalls as well. There was also a few stands which sold handmade goods and crafty, knick-knacky things. My favourite stall was the candle stall called GLOW. I bought a set of rainbow candles for Sprout's upcoming birthday party. And a beautiful lime-scented candle. I was smiling. So was Sprout. And she got to smile even more when a lady gave her a cute little crocheted flower hair clip.

 And Sprout thoroughly enjoyed the live band. She would have stayed there watching and listening all day I reckon.

But we did have to leave, but as we were heading out, we could not go past a particular bakery stall who were cooking quiches, croissants and other pastry and baked goods in a wood fired stove. We bought and devoured a vegetarian quiche (me), a croissant (Mr Awesome & Sparkle), and some brownie (ALL of us)!! So totally tasty and delicious :-)

 

We then all buckled up in the car again and headed off to Mount Barker which is a little country town just out of Albany. And we visited Mr Awesome's Pop and Nan.

I always enjoy taking in the crocheted goodness at their house. Nan has a different crocheted rug on EVERY chair and a few crocheted cushions spattered here and there too. Delightful!

Mr Awesome was particularly delighted with this visit as Pop gave him some of his old tools and woodworking implements. Pop used to work alot with wood and tinker around in his shed making lots of different things. Our wedding present from them six and a half years ago was a pair of candle holders he had made himself.

It was a very humbling and sentimental experience for my husband and I could see he was very touched by this gift. He will treasure it forever!

 

It was then time to make the trek home. So we all piled into the car again and made the journey back to our humble abode.

 

It was a very lovely weekend. On our way home, both Mr Awesome and I stated that is had been a pleasant experience filled with good times and family fun.

A nice little break to catch your breath and refresh and collect a few memories along the way.

Happy Times :-)

 

What is your ideal getaway? Where is the best place where you feel the most relaxed and able to breathe away from the pressures and busyness of everyday life?

 

 

With Sprinkles of Sunshine...

 

Anna

This last week has been rather eventful.

And the most major event would have to be last Thursday...

 

Mr Awesome turned 32!!

 

I always try to make birthday days just that little more special. If I didn't, it would just end up being a 'normal' day as he still had to go to work and do all the 'normal' things that everyday living entails. So it is only right that we make a little fuss when it is a special day!

 

To start off the day...

I made him a special cooked breakfast.

And, yes, sadly this is out-of-the-norm. I am not usually up in time to get him breakfast when he goes off to work SO to get breakfast from me - and a nice hot cooked one at that - was a real hit for him!

 

The rest of the celebrations happened at tea time and after. The girls and I had gone into town in the afternoon and we brought our Mr Awesome back a pizza for tea. And I had made a chocolate cake earlier in the day, so I got that out and whipped up a special dessert!

 Yes. A Nerf Gun!

He loved it!

BOYS and their TOYS!

:-)

 

With Sprinkles of Sunshine...

 

Anna 

A few things...

Fresh blooms.

Giving a little inkling that Spring is nearly here!

 

 

Happy Mail :-)

Especially handmade goodies like this mug cozy from the lovely Sheree of Poppy Tree Lane which makes my coffee break just that little bit more pretty!

 

 

The Genie App.

I loaded this little bit of groovy technology onto my iphone while browsing through the latest Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Whenever you see the little logo shown in  the photo above, you can open up the Genie app and hover your phone over the picture that the arrow is pointing to and HeyPresto! - it takes you to the video of how to make or do that particular thing. Very nifty :-)

 

I am rather addicted to this game app on my phone at the moment!

Want to join in the fun?

Come and play!

I'm annamayde :-)

 

Just a few different things that are making me happy at the moment!

 

What's tickling your fancy right now?

 

With Sprinkles of Sunshine...

 

Anna



Over the last few weekends, Mr Awesome has been working hard outdoors making our backyard look just that little bit more presentable!

So I thought I would blog a couple of piccies to showcase his awesome efforts!

Firstly, we have some tree trimming and garden bed laying.

As you can see, he fairly hacked the tree with the chain saw. LOL. He's good at that!

But there is still some of the tree left to provide some shade.

The timber sleepers were perfect as the edging for our garden bed. This piccie is a 'work-in-progress' shot. I haven't had a chance to do the finished product shot yet and probably won't until we establish the garden in it! This is still on the 'TO-DO' list.

And secondly...

 A GRAVEL PATH!

Mr Awesome had mentioned to me that he was getting gravel to make a path but it hadn't really sunk in to my brain exactly where - I just trusted him and let him go!

NO NEED TO WORRY!

When he had finished, I was impressed. It looks so much neater then the dirt and tufty grass look that was there! Bonus points to Mr Awesome ;-)

Things are starting to come together. He has been persisting with our lawn - reseeding areas and watering it to get it lush green. And he is doing a really good job. Keeps it mown nicely.

Smiles all round!

And that is the recent works of my awesome man.

There will be more at some stage, I am sure.

If only I had some more progress reports on my homemaking and studio organisation!

I'll get there :-)

Take care.

With Sprinkles of Sunshine...

Anna



Bubble BUBBLE BUBBLE

Apart from the last couple of days, we have been getting some lovely weather.

So when Sprout asked to blow some bubbles I was quite willing to comply!

So much fun was had!

It was little Sparkle's first real interaction with these interesting floaty things!







I am always looking for new recipes that are easy and quick to do for meals.

I am not a lover of being in the kitchen for hours on end, which I know I have mentioned before.

Well, the other day, I was reading my Mumma's blog (check it out HERE), and she had the very quick and easy recipe for some slow-cooked potatoes. See it HERE.

Well, it is quick in the sense that it does not need much preparation but you do need to make sure you put them on in the morning ready for dinner :-)

I thought this was the perfect solution for our dinner plans. I had some chicken breasts out thawing as I had planned to make my Chicken Parmigiana for tea. But on finding the potato recipe, I decided to make my Country Chicken recipe, which I normally serve on rice, and have that on top of the potatoes.

WELL!!!

I'll definitely be doing it again!

Absolutely Scrummy it was :-)

For serving, I just cut a round bit off the top and 'forked' the inside of the potato and then spooned the chicken on top.

Want the chicken recipe? Well, here it is...

Anna's Country Chicken

What you need

2 x chicken breasts

1 x packet of Cream of Chicken soup

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

2/3 cup of peas (I use frozen)

2/3 cup of corn kernels (I use frozen)

1/4 cup (approx.) of cream (you can add less or more to your liking of how creamy you want it)

1 tsp tarragon

What to do

1. Cut up chicken breasts into about 2.5-3cm cubes. Place in medium sized pot with a dash of oil. On medium heat cook chicken well.

2. Add peas and corn and stir through chicken until thawed (won't take long). Add the tarragon.

3. Sprinkle contents of soup packet over chicken. Pour over the stock and stir, ensuring no soupy-powdery lumps, until starts to thicken.

4. Add cream and stir through. Allow to simmer and thicken on low heat for about 5-10mins, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. (You can add more stock if you prefer a more runny, soupy consistency.)

5. Serve on rice or potatoes. Serves 3-4 people depending on the size of serving you want per person.

*NOTE: I have added mushrooms and other vegies (carrots, broccoli) to this before which works nicely as well.

Enjoy :-)

It really was totally Scrummy!

Do try it :-)

What is your most favourite quick and easy recipe? Do share!

With Sprinkles of Sunshine...

Anna