Monthly Archives: August 2012

We Are Moving

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A few months ago after much debate we decided we were going to leave Australia and move home (home being New Zealand). Its been a really hard decision to make, both countries have their good points, but at the end of the day I needed to get on with it and the time had come to make up my mind. So we set a date 31st August, it was still ages away, but slowly the weeks have fallen off the calendar and now the date is looming over me, and I’m starting to question.. Have I made the right choice? I think I have, we will have to wait and see..

I don’t know why I’m so nervous about moving, maybe because im a bit older and more responsible (boring!) but when I moved to the Gold Coast I didn’t think twice, I just came with my suitcase and no one else to worry bout.

I have absolutely loved the time spent here, its been an awesome 7 years. I love my friends I have made and that’s the hardest part of leaving, but deep down its never felt like home to me, New Zealand is my home, all my family are there and I miss that.

I get comments from people, “Oh no what are you doing!”, “But the weather!”, “The cost of living!”, blah, blah, blah.. It just puts doubt in my mind, as if it’s not stressful enough moving houses, this is moving countries! And to make things worse I hate flying.. Especially with a toddler!

I need this anxiety to leave me alone, I need to start getting excited! When I lived in NZ growing up I never really appreciated it, but when I think about it I was one of the luckiest kids in the world. Its one of the best places to grow up, its safe, the people and culture are beautiful, the scenery is stunning.. I’ve always been proud to call myself a Kiwi and that’s what I want my daughter to have.

Anyway wish us luck with this move, things may be a little quiet on the blog over the next couple of weeks but I will be back as soon as we are settled, and I hope to be able to share with you all our new adventures of our life back in, “The Land Of The Long White Cloud”, Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

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These chocolate fudge brownies are delicious. So easy to make and they turned out perfect, nice and gooey in the middle and crisp on the outside!

Ingredients:

  • 250g butter
  • 430g (2 cups) caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 225g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour
  • 80g (3/4 cup) cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • Cocoa powder, extra, to dust

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line a 20 x 30cm (base measurement) slab pan with non-stick baking paper.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Stir in the sugar. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and stir until mixture is thick and glossy.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder over the egg mixture and stir until well combined. Stir in the vanilla. Spread over the base of the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside in the pan to cool completely. Cut into pieces and dust with cocoa powder.

DIY Bird Feeder

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Lately Miss K has been very interested in birds, usually as soon as she spots one in the garden she runs over trying to get as close as possible as the poor bird makes a quick escape.

I suggested to her that we could make a little house for the birds in the trees so she can watch them when they come to eat. She was very excited about the idea so I had a bit of a search online and found this cute craft over at NaturallyChicMama.

Once the bird house was complete we strung it up in the tree and after waiting patiently (2 days!) we noticed a few birds have finally discovered the feeder. Now I just have to make Miss K realise they will only stay if she doesn’t run around the lawn like a lunatic every time a bird arrives!

Feature Friday- Mr Printables

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What I am loving this week is Mr Printables! Since discovering their website I just can’t stay away, it’s one of the coolest finds for kids packed with tons of free printables!

There is so much to choose from I wouldn’t know where to start explaining it all, so I thought I would share a few of my favourites with you and then pop on over and check out their website for even more goodies! What are some of your favourite freebies from Mr Printables?

Chicken Pies

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Theres nothing better than these homemade chicken pies. One of my favourite recipes from The Foodtown Magazine.

Ingredients:

  • 1 deli roasted chicken
  • 1 grated carrot
  • 30g butter
  • 1 leek finely diced
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 cups hot chicken stock
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 3 sheets ready rolled puff pastry, quartered
  • 2 cups mashed potato
  • 1/2 cup grated cheese

Remove the meat from the roast chicken and cut into bite sized pieces. Heat the butter in a medium size saucepan and saute the leek and carrot for 3-4 mins. Add the flour and cook for 2 mins until the mixture has a sandy texture. Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring until the sauce has thickened. Add the chicken meat and season well. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease a 12 hole large muffin tin. Cover the bases with the pastry sheets, trimming the edges. Make your mashed potato and set aside.

Spoon the cooled chicken mixture into the pastry cases and top with a swirls of mashed potato. Sprinkle over the grated cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 25-35 mins until the pastry is puffed. Leave the pies in tins for at least 10 mins before removing them.

Pinwheels

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Hello everyone! I hope you are feeling creative because this week I decided I would make some pinwheels. I think they are a perfect decoration for a kids themed birthday party.

I got my supplies from Sarbe (if you haven’t heard of them they sell gorgeous papers and invites). I chose to do a dinosaur theme and a mermaid theme. To make these you will need:

  • paper (decorated or colour is best)
  • straws or sticks (trimmed to the length you want)
  • scissors
  • glue
  • fastener pins

For the tutorial I used this one that I found really easy to follow on YouTube. You can watch the video here.

I had so much fun making these, I just LOVE how they turned out! Let me know if you give them a try!

pinwheel

Feature Friday- Lunchbox Labels

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This is one for all the parents out there! I’m sure all of us have had the same problem at some stage, where you send your child off to daycare or school and they return with their drink bottle missing or someone else’s lunchbox in their bag!

Well there is a solution to the problem, Lunchbox Labels is an Auckland based business that creates the most adorable personalised labels for your kids belongings. Whats even better is that you can suggest your own theme and they will do up a design for you!

You can contact Lunchbox Labels through their Facebook page here or via email if you would like to order your own labels. They also do international orders for anyone outside NZ too!

Salt Paintings

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Hi everyone! Here’s an idea to keep the kids busy this weekend. Miss K and I gave these salt paintings a try. Heres how you can create them!

You will need:

  • card
  • craft glue
  • salt
  • watercolours
  • paint brush
  • water
  • a tray

Firstly use the bottle of glue to draw patterns on your card. Next sit the card on your tray and pour the salt onto the glue. Shake off the excess salt and then let the glue dry for about 20-30mins.

Wet the paintbrush in water and dip in the watercolour. Lightly let the brush touch the salt and like magic the watercolour will start to spread through the salt crystals! This part is lots of fun watching all the different colours meet up! We also noticed the more water on the brush the better so the salt soaks it up.

Miss K had so much fun trying this out and it kept her busy for ages. We created quite a few different patterns, they turned out so pretty and the salt sparkles in the light. Keep in mind the salt will eventually crumble off the paper but it’s definitely an entertaining activity that will impress any toddler.

Feature Friday- MOMables

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Do you have a fussy eater or are you always running out of ideas for healthy lunches the kids will actually eat? Well look no further MOMables has come to the rescue! MOMables works with parents, kids and nutritionists to create a variety of meals that children love to eat. By using MOMables menu plans parents can pack their kids a healthy lunch that is still quick and easy to make. Their website has some great recipes to try out plus you can also sign up and get access to a free week of MOMables menus!