Back to Reality...

So the post holiday blues have definitely kicked in, and I'm left reminscing about our trip and dreaming of the next glorious holiday!

Unfortunately with a wedding to save for now, it looks like this might not be on the cards until the honeymoon which saddens me to end - but you can be sure I'm going to make it one hell of a trip to make up for it! Don't get me wrong though... I'm still basking in my newly engaged glow, and am loving catching up with family and friends to celebrate the good news with them!

Another thing about being home is having my little boy by my side again!

It is cray-cray how much difference a little red dog makes to daily life! I missed him so much the entire trip, and everything we did I couldn't help but think "Rocket would love this" or "How good would this be if Rocket was here?!"

After weeks of eating out and not cooking, I've also been relishing getting back into my kitchen and producing some tasty food!

I had a killer craving for caesar salad the other day, so I whipped up this baby.

It was only after we'd devoured more than half of the dish that I realised I'd completely forgotten to add my cajun spiced chicken and a gloopy poached egg on top! Whoops.

In other news, the minor reno job we did to the front yard was still looking good when we arrived home, and the new grass we'd planted has been coming on strong! I'm dying to add some colours and pretty flowers to spruce things up, and I will have to share the results once this is done.

We're also going full steam ahead with the backyard revamp, and have got our builder friend working away at our new deck extension as we speak! This is the last time it will look like this...

I'm a keen jellybean to get home and see the results! Our chippy and his beautiful wife (good friends of ours) are absolute perfectionists at anything they do, so I know the result will be stellar!

I'll be setting some time aside soon to go through my holiday photos, so hopefully I'll have a few updates coming up where I can share some snaps! Not to mention talk a bit about my wonderful proposal, and how cute my gorgeous man is!

Until next time :) xx

Our Home : The Roof, The Roof...

So I still have been a little slack on the blogging scene but... I'll get there!

I've been meaning to take some photos of the home as it progresses, but I haven't been very good with that either. I'll try to take some shots on a lovely sunny day, so you can see the way that the light streams through the back windows in the morning and the front of the house in the afternoon!

One thing that we have been working on lately is our outdoor area.  We don't have a huge yard, but we do have a lovely little deck which we are determined to make into a lovely area to entertain guests, or just sit and relax on a sunny day.

The picture below is a photo of the deck from the realestate listing, before we moved in. 

As you can see, it was a little bit grubby and the garden was way overgrown!

A few days after we moved in, my parents came to visit and dad took this snap of the back deck.

We had cleaned it up a little, but there was still something missing out there!

Given the Melbourne weather, and the fact that I love being outdoors at any time of the day, we decided that a roof would be essential.  We wanted to be protected from the elements, as well as being able to make full use of our deck all year round!  So with that in mind, we got to work...

When I say "we", I mean Liam and our Chippy friend.  I did have the ever-important role of making pancakes with berries and ice cream to fuel the job though!

Did you know that beer is also an essential tool for building a deck roof?

 With all the essentials taken care of, and lots of beer and pancakes filling their bellies, the boys worked hard and pretty soon our new roof started to take shape!

My dedicated little workers bees did a fantastic job, and by lunch time the roof was complete!

Let me tell you, I could not be happier with the result...

We've still got a bit of work to do with it, but I'm pretty pleased with it for the moment! We've bought some snazzy new outdoor furniture to complement it and I'm looking forward to a summer full of BBQ and drinkies out on the back deck!

Next step is to pull up and replace all the existing timbers, and extend it our slightly.  We're also in talks to create and install a water wall which I've got all sorts of ideas for!  We have gotten a quote for some shade blinds but it's come back at a rather high price.  Does anybody have any ideas for alternatives to keep the rain out and the heat in on colder evenings?

I'm looking forward to doing somemore cosmetic work over the summer, to pretty it up a bit.

Watch this space! xx