On Top Of The World!

So It Begins...

Cocktails & club sandwiches by the poolside... not a bad way to begin the holiday. Not bad at all!

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday : New Camera!

I have had a brief absence from the world of blogging lately, although I've been checking in every now and then to read what you had all been up to! Things have been so busy lately, and I've just had a complete lack of motivation to sit down and actually write! But I'm hoping that I'll have a blogging resurgence and will be able to re-enter the World of Blogging with a vengeance.

However before I do that, I'm probably going to disappear for a couple of weeks.  Tomorrow Liam and I are off to the airport and we're heading to Malaysia.  We'll be starting in the East, heading to Kota Kinabalu.  We'll be climbing a mountain, adventuring a rainforest, getting on board a steam train, and heading to an island resort where we will do nothing but eat, sleep, drink tasty cocktails and bask in the sunshine! Then we're off to Kuala Lumpur for more food and drink, but also hopefully an immense amount of shopping to be done!

Rocket's missed the blog, and has told me to say hello to you all! And although I know this is a far from wordless post, he's dying to feature in yet another Wordless Wednesday!

 Ahh, time for bed!



WAIT. What's that? A new camera?!?!

Can I see? Pleeeeeeeease, can I seeeeeeeeeee?!

We got a new camera to take with us on our trip, so hopefully I'll have lots of killer holiday snaps to share once we get back! Hope all has been good with everyone, and I'm off to catch up on some of my favourite blogs! :)


Wordless Wednesday happens here, here, here and here!

Wordless Wednesday : It's Beginning...

 ... to look a lot like Christmas!

Santa won't be able to miss our house this year :)

Wordless Wednesday : Happy Herbs

Rocket is pretty pleased with our haul of parsley from the garden! :-D

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

C is for Cookie

So I've been missing in action from the blog scene recently!  I've had a lot going on, and there's been a number of unexpected family things which have been a little overwhelming, to say the least! 

All that aside, we've settled well into our new home.  There are a few cosmetic things to take care of, and minor renovations that we want to happen, but that will all come in good time!  All of the important stuff is pretty well sorted however, and we are loving life!

One of the best things about being in our new home is the massive kitchen all to myself, and a fully functioning oven with which to work with!  I've been spending many a weekend baking up a frenzy.

A few weeks ago, my trusty red mixer and I decided to action some yummy choc chip cookies!

The recipe was so simple, and with my fan-forced machine of an oven they took no time at all, and the result was just divine!  I used this recipe from Exclusively Food, which produces beautifully chewy cookies with satisfyingly crunchy edges!

This will definitely be a regular in my kitchen! J