CRAFTY | THE END OF THE VOMIT

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gnomeangel_scrapvomit_16 It’s just over half way through May and I’ve completed the Scrap Vomit Quilt top.  I’m so excited to have this quilt completed.  Working on it has made me so happy.  I’ve loved seeing all the weird, the beautiful and the laugh out loud funny fabric that I’ve been able to collect from stores, friends and swap partners.gnomeangel_scrapvomit_177…there’s a gnome and an angel in this block…

This quilt has been a major work of chain piecing.  The entire quilt is made up of 2.5″ squares and I pieced them all – all 1,715 of them.

gnomeangel_scrapvomit_11…there’s a frog playing the bass in this one…

I was really surprised at how fast it came together in the end.  I started working on it on Friday night and I had 6 A Block’s to make and 12 B Blocks.

gnomeangel_scrapvomit_12…I call this one the birds and the bees block…

I had all the blocks done by Saturday night and I was able to get some of the rows constructed before having to retire for the night because my back was killing me from leaning over the sewing machine.gnomeangel_scrapvomit_180…I call this one the pelvis block…

On Sunday I was able to finish putting it all together in a couple of hours and still managed to have dinner on the table at a reasonable hour.

gnomeangel_scrapvomit_18…there’s a kangaroo pouch and sushi in this one…

I was hoping to get all unique pieces of fabric in this quilt with no repeats, but I found a double up of one particular fabric; a bear eating out of a tin can.

gnomeangel_scrapvomit_19…strangely this has the year of my birth (minus 100 years) on the block…

I was so bummed when I found the repeat, but by the time I did it was too late to do anything about it.  It’s just one of those things I guess.

gnomeangel_scrapvomit_10…the chain piecing production line…

In my head I have this whole thing worked out where this will be the quilt Little Man and I spend hours playing eye spy with.  The quilt that he has on his bed when he’s not feeling well because it will keep him occupied and hopefully make him feel better.

gnomeangel_scrapvomit_14…ready to assemble…

The whole time I was constructing it I was thinking about him and how I hope this is a quilt that he will come to cherish.  It’s funny how items can take on this sort of mythical quality to them.  That they can come to contain our hopes and dreams.

gnomeangel_scrapvomit_1…retiring on Saturday night – so close, yet so far…

If for some reason he doesn’t like this quilt, that’s ok because I love it and I will happily have it on our bed.  It makes me smile when I see those decapitated animals and weird arse prints.

gnomeangel_scrapvomit_122…the final push…

While I sewed this quilt I listened to the podcasts for Richard Fidler’s Conversations (on the ABC).  I became some what addicted to hearing other people’s stories and learning new things about the world.  I listened to over 25 podcasts on the weekend – which means that I was sewing for at least 25 hours.  Funny to think it didn’t feel like 25 hours of sewing time…

gnomeangel_scrapvomit_129…the backing fabric…

I purchased the backing fabric a few weeks ago at Spotlight when they were having one of their big sales.  I love it, but it’s the same sort of love I have for the Spice Girls – an in-the-closet kind of love.  I’ll deny loving it to anyone that asks!

I was so bummed to find out that I didn’t have enough of it when the quilt was finally finished, but it gave me a chance to pop some Ikea fabric I’d been holding on to (afraid to cut into it because I loved it so) in to pad out the backing.  On the up side I now have a 2 sided quilt for the price of one!

The minute I finished this quilt I rushed out and made HUBBY hold it up over the side of our deck so I could get a full length photo of it.

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I love it so much.  I love the different colour combinations for the B Block.  I love that it’s a little bit traditional but also a little bit modern.  I love that it’s totally random and I love that it’s something that I have shared in with people all over the world.

This has to be one of my favourite quilts so far.  It’s off now with the quilter and I’m hoping she’s going to have fun with it. I’m planning on entering this quilt in the Canberra Quilters Exhibition, so if you’re in Canberra in August you could get up close and personal with my vomit. (Sounds lovely doesn’t it!?!)

Now, on to the next project…

TUTORIAL | HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN PUFF PAINT DOILY

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Through a happy accident I happened to order puff paint for Shop Creative instead of fabric paint. I hadn’t used puff paint since I was in primary school so I was kind of apprehensive about just how puff paint could be used these days without looking like I’d been attacked by a colour blind primary school kid.

I hit up the trusty internet to see what the crafty people of the world were doing with puff paint and I came across this awesome tutorial by Doodle Craft; DIY Puff Paint Doilies.

It looked like heaps of fun so I decided to give it a go and what do you know – it worked!  So today I’m going to share with you just how I did it.

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What you need:

Puff paint in your choice of colour – I used copper and black

Baking paper

Doily pattern

Washi Tape (optional)

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How to do it:

1. Google images of doilies.  Seriously, it’s this simple.  Just put “doilie pattern” into google and browse the images it returns.

Keep in mind that the more delicate and intricate the pattern the harder it will be to get a crisp finish.  I found with the crochet pattern I had places where the paint flattened out (which it does naturally) and joined to the line beside it causing the detail to be lost.  It’s not a big deal, I actually like the fact that each one is different (like a snowflake) but it’s something to keep in mind when choosing a pattern.

2. Find a pattern you like and print out the picture/pattern.  I used this one (crochet pattern) and this one (drawing).

3. Once you’ve printed it out find a place to work where you won’t be bumped and where there’s a flat surface. Use the washi tape to secure the printed out pattern to the table top. (You don’t have to do this step if you don’t want to, but I found it easier in the long run as the pattern didn’t move while I worked.)

4. Cut some wax paper to a size that will cover the pattern and have enough over hang that you’ll be able to pick it up and move it without ruining the puff paint. (I cut mine to a4 size.)

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5. Tape the wax paper down over the pattern.  (Again you don’t have to do this, but I found it helped keep everything secure and not moving while I worked.)

6. Now begins the fun part! Take your puff paint (in whatever colour(s) you want to work with) and trace the design – starting from the middle and working outward.  Be careful not to work in such a way that your arm/hand will have to rest on the puff paint pattern.

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7. Once you have covered the design with puff paint you need to let the design dry. (I peeled the washi tape off the table and put my wax paper on to a cake rack and put it up high, out of the way, to let it dry.)  DON’T TOUCH THE PUFF PAINT!

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The puff paint will need a couple of days at least to dry completely.

8. Once the puff paint has dried carefully (I cannot stress this enough – you need to be gentle with this step) peel the puff paint doily away from the wax paper.  (I checked on mine periodically over a 4 day period and it wasn’t until day 3 that I could really begin to peel it away from the wax paper.  I ended up waiting till day 4 to peel it off and I found it much easier to do – but I still had to be really, really, gentle with it!)

9. Step back and enjoy your creation!

I had a heap of fun making these. I did find however that half way through the second one my hand began to cramp up! gnomeangel_puffpaintdoilies_1They’re so versitle – you can use them as coasters, anti-slip mats for trays, they will stick to glass without the need for adhesives (I’m not sure how long they’ll stay there, but I’ve had one stick for a few hours before I removed it – so they’d be great for the kids to play with!) – the uses are endless.

gnomeangel_puffpaintdoilies_2

The one thing I will suggest is to store them flat and don’t store them on top of each other as they have a tendency to bend and stick to each other.

Sound like something you’d like to have a go at? Well for the next week I’m offering 10% off puff paint in Shop Creative – just enter the coupon CREATEPUFF (offer not valid with other offers – ends 30 May 2013).

LOVING | SCANDAL & HOUSE OF CARDS

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house-of-cards-kevin-spacey

I have a long history of loving political dramas and lately I’m getting quite my fill with 2 great shows coming out of the US.  I’m a little behind on getting on the band wagon when it comes to both of these.  The first one is House of Cards.

I find I have a weird reaction when it comes to Kevin Spacey. On one level he creeps me out but on another level I cannot for the life of me stop watching him. In House of Cards he plays Frank Underwood, a Deomcratic Congressman who is also the Majority Whip.

He’s spent his entire political career scheming to get the job of Secretary of State.  He comes within a whisker of getting his dream job but instead he is passed over.  This betrayal sets him on a course of revenge as he schemes, plots and destroys those he sees responsible for him not realizing his dream.

It’s compelling viewing.  It’s got an edge to it and it shows Washington, D.C. in a way I’ve not see before.  It’s gritty and I find it confronting.  Spacey is brilliant and Robin Wright, who plays his wife, is cold and single minded. I love it.

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The other series I’m loving is Scandal.  It’s a political thriller with more twists than a bag of twisties. I love Kerry Washington.  Kerry Washington plays Olivia Pope, a fixer. She makes it her business to know everything about everyone.  She’s the lady you call when you find yourself with blood on your hands.

Each episode has it’s on storyline, but there’s a bigger plot at play. Each episode reveals a little more of the greater puzzle.  It’s got a good ensemble cast, but the show is Washington’s.

I’m enjoying it as light viewing that’s keeping me entertained with the who-dun-nits, but it does make me long for the intellectual banter of The West Wing.

Both shows are great and make me wish someone in Australia would step up and write something intellectual, on-point and meaty about the Australian political system.

What are you watching these days? Loving anything that I should be? Got any thoughts on the plot outcomes of either of these shows?

TIGHT ARSE TUESDAY | IT BEGINS

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LimeLanePhotography_downtobusinessImage from © Lime Lane Photography

So, for the past few months we’ve been living on one wage and it looks like that trend is set to continue as I’m (probably… hopefully… maybe) not returning to work until July 2014. That’s great for us because we really wanted to avoid sending Little Man to daycare before he was 2 and it means that we’ve got a better chance of finding one of those all too illusive spots at daycare when I do return to work.  However, it brings with it a wee challenge; how do we live on one wage?

Ok, so the question is more like “how do we maintain all the hobbies and luxuries we enjoy while only on one wage”.

Now, I’m about to do something that makes me cringe; talk about money.  I hate talking about money, but I realise that if I’m going to make changes and learn I need to talk nuts and bolts.  So brace yourself here it comes.

HUBBY gets paid monthly so I have a bunch of direct deductions setup that come out of the monthly wage to pay our all of our bills – I pay every known bill in advance. For example I know our rates are a fixed yearly amount so I’ve taken that amount divided it by 12 and each month I pay that amount on to that bill.  It’s great because it means that at any given time we’re ahead on our bills and when a bill does arrive it’s usually a credit.

Now some would argue that we’d be better off putting that money each month into a savings account and accruing interest on it until the bills come in, but I know that we need to plan for our weaknesses and our weakness is spending. So to remove temptation I put the money where it has to go – on the bills.

Once all the bills have been paid we have a chunk of money that we’re supposed to use to buy groceries, pay for incidentals and spend on amusing ourselves.

I’ve become really conscious of all the things that we waste our money on.  While I try to do a weekly meal plan and grocery shop we still spend a lot of money on food that we throw out because we don’t use it in time and it bugs the heck out of me.

I don’t know enough about how to preserve food to ensure we minimize wastage as much as possible, but that’s going to change.

I recently read a blog post on Blissful and Domestic on how to cut your grocery bill in half. The post had a lot of great tips in it but the thing that rocked my world was; you can freeze milk! I had never even thought about it, but now it’s all I can think about it.

The blog post gave me a lot to think about… and it helped to fan to life a spark that I’ve had percolating in the back of my mind for awhile now; living frugally… and blogging about it.

In my experience the wonderful people of the internet have a wealth of information that they’ll willingly share if asked, so this is me asking.

Every Tuesday I’m going to be asking you to share your Tight Arse tips, tricks, hints and experiences to living a more frugal life. If you don’t have any tips, tricks, hints or experiences you can link up and share what it is you’ve done, or are going to do, to live more frugally.  It’s all about the sharing, learning and growing.

In return, I’m going to blog about what I’ve done, whether big or small, to try and live more frugally in our house.  I can guarantee there’s going to be a lot of up’s and down’s and some things will work and some won’t but the key will be that we’re trying – and that’s all you can do.

I’m hoping for big things. I’m hoping that we can help our son to grow up appreciating the finite resources available to us and the value of hard work and that money is to be used wisely and not squandered.  In short, I’m hoping he learns some lessons early on that have taken me my whole life to only begin to start to understand.

So, who’s with me?



IN THE POT | TUNA FUSILLI

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We’re trying to eat dinners that can be easily shared with Little Man and this dish fits the bill perfectly. Not only does it have fish in it (something we need to eat more of in this house!), it has a good mix of vegetables.

The dish goes together really quickly and makes enough for lunch the next day.

I feel like I’ve become a brand representative for Coles, but I swear I’m not it just happens that the Coles Feed Your Family application makes it easy to pick meals, order the groceries online and then make them with Curtis Stone’s help.  I have enough on my plate that I need the help this application offers and for that I’m going to sing it’s praises whenever I get a chance!

So here’s another great recipe from Coles Feed Your Family…

gnomeangel_tunafusilli

Tuna Fusilli

200 g Fresh Green Beans, trimmed, cut crossways into 5cm-long pieces

350 g Fusilli

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1 medium Brown Onion, finely chopped

4 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped

2 medium Tomatoes, cored, cut into small dice

4 large Sprigs of Fresh Thyme leaves removed

1/2 tsp Dried Chilli Flakes

2 x 185 g cans Tuna, drained

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over high heat. Add beans and cook for 4 mins, or until just tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove beans and transfer to a bowl of iced water to cool completely. Drain beans well. Return water to boil.

2. Cook fusilli in boiling water according to packet directions, stirring often. Drain pasta, reserving 2⁄3 cup of the water.

3. Meanwhile, heat half the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan. Add onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt to pan and cook for 1 min, or until tender. Add tomatoes, thyme and chilli flakes and cook for 3 mins, or until tomatoes soften. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.

4. Add reserved pasta water, beans and remaining oil to tomato mixture. Add pasta and tuna and toss to coat, gently breaking up tuna with a spoon into large bite-size pieces. Serve immediately.

Source: Coles Feed Your Family

I’M ADDICTED TO SHIMMERING SALT WATER

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gnomeangel_shimmeringtriangles_3…it’s like the first day of sewing school…

Last weekend I attended the Jenny Bowker Shimmering Triangles class at Addicted to Fabric with Michelle (of Buttontree Lane) and it was brilliant. Seriously – brilliant!

I was so excited to be attending this class. I worked it out (after the event), the class was the longest period of time I have been apart from Little Man since he was born 11 months ago.

I had read the course material and packed my sewing machine, fabric and notions – I’d even made my lunch!

Jenny is a great teacher. She walked us through her quilts, her process and how she makes her fabric selection – then she let us loose.

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After much umming and ahhing I made my cuts and started to pull together my layout.  I knew which fabrics I wanted to make as feature panels and which ones I wanted to use as blender fabrics.

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I wanted to make columns of colours because I couldn’t work out how to mix the fabrics together without having the same colour touching and my OCD just couldn’t comprehend that.

By the end of the day I’d made some blender blocks and started to work out how the fabrics would sit together.

I couldn’t see how it would work until the triangle blocks started to be completed and placed on the design wall.

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It was at this point that I started to get really excited.  I could begin to see how it would come together.  Despite the fact that it was coming together I still wasn’t 100% comfortable with how it looked.

I went home at the end of the day spent. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve had a headache and I think it was from all the thinking I had done trying to get this quilt to “sit right”.

I couldn’t leave it alone.

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So I put it up on the design wall at home.

I took out the 4 patch blocks and replaced them with solid blocks.  I loved it. LOVED IT!

Only one problem the colour separation layout just wasn’t working for me any more I needed to shake it up.

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I spent a good hour or two putting squares up on the wall and trying to work out a layout that felt like it would work.

In the end I settled on the layout above and went to bed.  I slept so soundly – no dreams, no nothing just sleep. (Until Little Man woke up at 6am for cuddles!)

On Sunday I went back to class energized and ready to get some serious work done on this sucker.  I cut squares, sewed triangles and then in one big hit I put them all up on the design wall…

gnomeangel_shimmeringtriangles_1…all the single ladies (Michelle shows off her new block invention)…

BAM! There it was… shimmering triangles.

gnomeangel_shimmeringtriangles_2Image source: Michelle (of Buttontree Lane)

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this quilt – and it’s not even finished yet!

I really struggled with only using one line of fabric, but as it’s coming together I’m loving the effect. With the exception of 2, the entire class was using the big, bold, botanical Kaffe Fassett fabrics and I was uncertain that mine would have the same impact.  And it doesn’t… it’s better. (Well, in my opinion anyway!)

These are colours I would never (never!) choose on my own and it’s killing the OCD in me to have same prints (in different colours) sitting beside each other.

This quilt is addictive.  It’s like completing a puzzle.  The big feature blocks go up and then you have to make them work and fill the gaps. I think this is the first quilt I have spent time agonizing over layout.  It is a delicious puzzle…

I came straight home from the class and the minute I could I put it all back up on the design wall and added more squares to it.  I have all the fabrics cut and ready to make my filling triangles – but first I need to finish my scrap vomit.

CRAFTY | ANZAC POPPY FROG XSTITCH

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IMG_2628…it’s not an ANZAC with a poppy…

At the last Canberra Quilters Exhibition I hit the trade hall and dropped a little coin on some needlework kits. One of the kits that caught my attention was the Tree Frog Trio from Dimensions.

IMG_2923…see, would an ANZAC wear purple?…

You see my Mother is a collector of the Evil Trio – you know see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.  Over the years she’s amassed quite the collection and so whenever I see anything to do with the Evil’s I either call her to see if she wants to buy it or I buy it for her.  (Gotta love having a collector in the family it makes buying presents so much easier!)

IMG_3127…ta da it’s a frog…

So when I found these Evil Frogs I decided it would be the perfect project for her upcoming birthday.  I had grand delusions of sitting while my new baby slept and stitching to pass the time in some relaxed zen like state. It totally didn’t happen.

IMG_3703…two down, one to go…

I managed to get some stitching done, but her birthday came and went, and then so did Christmas, and  I still didn’t have it finished.  Well I was determined not to let Mother’s Day go by without finishing this project and getting it to her.

IMG_3704…mother’s little helper…

I stole moments whenever I could to stitch the final touches on these evil little frogs.

IMG_3705…babies are great resting tables…

I managed to finish them the weekend before Mother’s Day and miracle of all miracles I was able to get them in to be framed and then in the post on the Wednesday prior to Mother’s Day.  Talk about last minute.

IMG_3773…stitching and snoozing…

I knew all along that I’d frame them. (My mother and I share a love of all things framed!)  Lucky for me HUBBY was able to drop it at the framer’s on his lunch break, and even luckier for me because of the advances in technology we were able to use sms photo’s to pick out the frame and mat together.

IMG_3833…the outline makes it come alive…

After much deliberation and many different colour variations we decided to go with a green mat to tie in with the frogs and the colour scheme my Mum has going on in her house.  I think it really works and I’m so happy with how it all came out in the end.  I’m just bummed it took me forever to finish it.

IMG_5808…so close to being done…

This project also taught me that I much prefer working on a rectangle frame than a hoop.  I hate how the fabric gets all scrunched up in the hoop and then the ring marks that get left.

IMG_5950…finally finished…

The only thing I kind of wish I had done was sign it some how.  Maybe with little initials on the bottom or something I don’t know… something to work on for next time!

IMG_5980…wrapped and ready to go to it’s new home…

I really hope my Mum loves it and she enjoys seeing it in her house. For some reason it makes me smile to think that even now, 36 years later, I’m still making her gifts.  Maybe next year I’ll make her another macaroni necklace….

UPDATE | 11 MONTHS & COUNTING

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I find it so hard to believe that our little man is 10 months old; in less than 2 months he’s going to be 1! It blows my mind. I struggle to remember what it was like when he was born at times.  I see pictures of newborns and I can’t remember that he was ever that size.

He’s now crawling like a fiend.  He cruises the furniture.  He’s taken a few independent steps using his push trolley for support.  He’s a moving beast now…

In the first week of April he sprouted his first tooth, and shortly after he sprung a second.

It’s all happening too fast!

I want time to just slow down for a moment so we can really blaze these moments to our memories.  He’s becoming a real little dude.  He has his own opinion and he’s becoming a lot more vocal about it. It’s great.

He laughs so much and every time I hear it it makes my heart swell.  He gives hugs now and it’s amazing. Because he’s crawling he’ll come to you when he wants you and leave you when he doesn’t.  It seems to mean more now that I know that he’s coming to you because he wants to.

I started this post back when the Little Man was celebrating his 10 month milestone and some how life managed to get in the way and now I’ve completely missed out on posting about 10 months and I’m now having to write about him being 11 months!

11 MONTHS!!!

The boy is nearly 1! I never in a million years thought I would be in this position.  I had hoped and prayed and done everything I could to try and make this happen, but I don’t think I ever truly let myself believe that we would be blessed with a child. But here he is in our lives making each day better and I’m so thankful.

In the past 2 months he seems to have well and truly left his babyhood behind him and he’s powering into toddler-ville.  In fact, I would wager he’ll take his first steps before he turns 1. He’s cruising the furniture, making the leap (figuratively speaking) from one piece of furniture to another and walking himself around using the walls as balance.

He’s had a couple of moments of just free standing and we have encouraged him to walk to us, which he’ll do if he can hold our hands. He wants to walk a lot more now, but it has a limited amusement window before he’s back on all fours.

We race each other down the hallway and it’s hilarious. He giggles so freely and with such abandon. It’s one of my (many) favourite things that he does.

He’s using his 2 teeth to gnaw on everything – his cot is his favourite chew toy. Despite looking like he’ll get more teeth he seems to be content with just 2. Which is fine by me as he tends to use those teeth to chew on me (his second favourite chew toy!).

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He babbles all the time.  He’s come really close to saying ‘duck’.  He and HUBBY play “ducks on a boat” when he has bath time and I think that’s why he’s trying to say ‘duck’. At least I hope it’s duck…

He eats a wide variety of food, which is wonderful. I’m so worried we’ll pass our bad eating habits on to him but it looks like he’s going to be more adventurous then I am. We feed him whatever we’re having for dinner and he seems to be enjoying the new foods and textures.

He had Vegemite for the first time last week; such a big milestone.  He faltered a little at the start but now he’s loving it. He seems to like a wide variety of things, but I’m still concerned that I’m not giving him enough variety or excitement when it comes to food.

We’re starting to try and make him transition from his bottle to a cup and it’s slow going. I’m sure it will be one of those things that he just gets eventually, but at the moment I’m worried that I’m not doing it right or fast enough.

We’re starting to have to set boundaries with him and it’s been really weird. I feel like a fraud when I try to put parameters up for him, but I know it will be the foundation of everything.  He needs to know that he can trust me and that I know what’s best for him (at this stage anyway!). He likes to push when he’s told no, and I understand that – he’s learning.

It seems so weird… I look at him some times and just think to myself “there’s another person living in our house”. He’s going to grow up and be a person, a real person. It freaks me out at times to think that he’s going to be a teenager, and then an adult.  That he’s going to have a voice and opinions and he’ll be making his own decisions.

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But that’s a long way off, right now I’m just enjoying the fact that he’s a happy little Vegemite. He plays, he laughs, he gives out hugs freely and he is our little man.

I love that he freely comes to me when he wants me.  I love when I’m standing in one place and he crawls over and then uses my legs to stand up and he looks up at me with those big brown eyes and I fall a little more in love with him.

I’m so very blessed. So very, very blessed.

SNAIL MAIL REVOLUTION

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I love sending (and receiving – but mostly sending) snail mail. Love it! Seriously, there’s nothing better then sending something through the post to another person to let them know you’re thinking of them, that you love them and to share a bit of your life with them.

When (the wonderfully fabulous) Tamara (of One Craftee Mumma) linked me up to a photo on Instagram looking for people to join in a Snail Mail Revolution I jumped at the chance.

You see, Magdalena (of The Craft Revival) is like me – a lover of snail mail – and she’s had this fabulous idea to be a snail mail cupid.  She put the call out for people to register to be pen pals, so I signed up.

I’m so excited to once again have an excuse to send mail to someone and to meet someone new via an old school medium.  I can’t wait.

I think everyone should be sending snail mail and so to encourage you all to do so I’m offering a 10% discount on all purchases at Shop Creative (excluding sale items and postage) until May 24 2013.  All you have to do is enter the coupon code: CREATEPENPAL when you checkout. Simple.

And to whet your appetite here’s some of the snail mail awesome that we currently have in stock:

Shop Creative Snail Mail

1. Damn it, Maggie! Notepad and Folding Cards 2. Washi Tape 3. Die Cut Shapes 4. Stickers

Am I alone in loving snail mail, or do you love it to? If you love sending snail mail I’d love to hear (and see) some of the things you like to use to make your snail mail special.  Hit me up in the comments and leave links to your favourite items. You never know, I might just send you something in the mail!

IN THE POT | BAKED RIGATONI WITH TOMATO & SOPRESSA SALAMI

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Sometimes I don’t cook the dinner (I know. Shocked, right?) HUBBY does and it’s great.  I don’t know what it is about eating a meal that you didn’t prepare that always makes it taste nicer.

I like to do a (loose) meal plan for our week so when I’m procrastinating on what to make I can just go to the list.  It also helps when I do our grocery shop.

When HUBBY volunteered to cook the only thing left on the list was this baked rigatoni. Now, according to HUBBY it was really easy to make (even easier if you don’t over cook the pasta).

All I know is it tasted awesome and it gave Little Man his first taste of salami. I don’t have any images of the end meal but I do have this one of Little Man tasting salami for the first time… enjoy!gnomeangel_salamiforthefirsttime

Baked Rigatoni with Tomato & Sopressa Salami

2 tsp Olive Oil

150 g Sopressa Salami, thinly sliced from the deli, cut in 6 pieces

1/2 small Brown Onion, finely chopped

2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped

2 sprigs Fresh Thyme

1 Bay Leaf

1 small Carrot, peeled and grated

8 medium Vine Ripened Tomatoes, roughly chopped

350 g Rigatoni Pasta

1 tbsp Basil, roughly chopped

100 g Delre Mozzarella (from the deli), torn into large pieces

1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano Parmesan Cheese, finely grated

extra Basil, garnish to serve

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.

2. Place a large heavy based saucepan over medium-high heat and add olive oil.

3. Add salami and cook stirring occasionally for 3 minutes or until browned. Remove salami from pan and set aside. Drain half the oil from pan and return to heat.

4. Add onions and cook stirring often for 2 minutes or until onions are soft. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

5. Add garlic, thyme, bay leaf and carrots and cook for a further 2 minutes.

6. Add tomatoes and cook covered, over medium heat for about 10 minutes until tomatoes have broken down slightly and sauce has started to thicken. Add salami back to sauce and cook a further 5 minutes.

7. While sauce is cooking, place the pasta into the boiling water and cook according to packet directions. Drain pasta in a colander and add to the pan of tomato sauce along with the basil and stir well to coat.

8. Season pasta with salt and pepper to taste and pour into a 20x20cm baking dish. Sprinkle the mozzarella and parmesan evenly over the top.

9. Place pasta in oven on top rack and cook for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown on top.

10. Remove pasta from the oven and allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.
Optional: Garnish with extra basil to serve.

Source: Coles Feed Your Family