Our Simple Advent Calendar

This year I wanted to keep our advent calendar really simple and cheap. So I decided to use some pretty Christmas card stock that I won in a giveaway a couple of years back to make little pouches.



So to make my advent calendar I used washi tape, pretty Christmas card stock and number stickers. I simply folded each piece of card stock in half then taped up the two edges to make a small pouch. Then add a number to the front of the pouch - and voila! Easiest advent calendar ever! I will stick the pouches up on the wall ready for the girls to see on the morning of December 1st. Until then, it shall remain hidden in the cupboard.



I'm filling these pouches with little things I found in the $2 shop (stickers, small toy animals, textas and chocolates) and with some Christmas activity ideas too - decorating the Christmas tree, visiting the Magic Cave, writing letters to Santa and going for a drive to see Christmas lights. Can't wait for December to start - so much Christmas fun to be had!

Confetti Biscuits

I love to bring a home made treat when I take the girls on a play date - and these Confetti biscuits are incredibly easy, cute and delicious too. Definitely give them a try if you are looking for a quick and easy biccy to make.

Confetti Biscuits
175g unsalted butter, chilled and chopped
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 cups plain flour
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
180g white chocolate, melted
190g 100's and 1000's, to decorate

1. Process the butter, sugar and flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg and extract. Process until mixture comes together. 
2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently. Divide mixture into 2 halves. Shape into 2 discs. Wrap both portions in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 170 C. Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
4. Roll dough between 2 sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Then cut shapes, re-roll and cut scraps. Place the shapes 2cm apart on the trays and cook for 8 - 10 minutes, or until biscuits are golden and firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5. Spread the tops of the biscuits with chocolate, then sprinkle with 100's and 1000's and set aside for 1 hour to cool.

Week in Photos

Beautiful sparkly sea water.


Miss had a lovely strawberry ice-cream on our trip to the beach.


Miss G puts on her concentrating face when using textas.


And Miss Z drew me this beautiful rainbow.


I bought these cute little deers on a trip to the cake decorating shop.


Miss Z fell asleep with her light on - absolutely dead to the world.


I had a lovely night with my BFF reading tarot cards, contemplating life and drinking tea.


Miss G having a ride on a horsie - she was unsure at first, but loved it by the end.


And Miss Z thought that her bread face was hilarious, I think it just looks scary.

The mega huge quilt

So I may be officially insane. I have started a new project - a massive quilt for my bed that will be done using the English paper piecing technique. The really insane part? Each hexagon has a side length of 1", and that my friends means that I will be sewing up 2,936 hexagons for this quilt. Yep I am crazy.


I have chosen the colours based on the painting "Incarnation" by one of my favourite artists - Mark Ryden. If you enjoy a bit of pop surrealism and you haven't seen Mark Ryden's work then you really need to check it out - he is completely amazing.

Isn't it beautiful? Maybe this is where Lady Gaga got her inspiration for her meat dress from?


If you haven't heard from me in a while it may be because I have drowned in hexagons - please send help.

Week In Photos

The joy of blue skies on a beautiful spring day.


A trip to the park to make Miss Z and Miss G ecstatically happy.


A quick visit by a cute little ladybuy.


Miss G getting into drawing.


Games night with my peeps - hats were worn, virgin pina coladas were drunk, pizza was had, chips were destroyed and zombies were decimated.


Miss Z did this special drawing just for me, she is such a talent.


Future foot models.


Miss Z's drawing of Princess Twilight Sparkle as a person - the tail is kind of unfortunately placed (oh dear).


Who would of thought that the promise of washing the car tomorrow would get two little girls to sleep so quickly. Mummy spoils them.

Mars Bar Bubble Slice

The girls and I have a play date tomorrow and I always like to bring something as a treat for the girls (and the mummies too), but I was feeling a little bit lazy today so wanted something quick and easy to make. Enter the Mars Bar Bubble Slice. Anything with only 4 ingredients and no baking required gets a tick in the lazy department - so this one is a winner.



Mars Bar Bubble Slice

You will need...


250g Rice Bubbles
2 x 53g Mars Bars
250g Milk Chocolate
170g Unsalted Butter
Sprinkles, to decorate (optional)

To start simply chop up your Mars Bars, chocolate and butter and put in a microwave safe bowl. Zap it in 30 second intervals, giving it a stir after each go, until the mixture is completely melted and smooth. Then in a massive bowl combine your melted mix with Rice Bubbles and stir until well combined.


Now grab a baking tray (mine was 25x30cm) and line it with baking paper. Then tip in your mixture and flatten it down as much as possible, so that the Rice Bubbles all stick together. At this stage I thought it needed a bit of prettying up, since it pretty much resembled hundreds of tiny poops, so we decorated with some sprinkles.


Now stick it in the fridge for at least one hour to set, then remove and carefully cut into squares or rectangles. Ta da. Finished. Kaput. Done.

I told you it was easy.

Time to get creative

I think I have always been a pretty creative person. From a young age I would spend hours with my crayons doing drawing after drawing, I loved my colouring-in books, and I used to make sculptures out of polymer clay. Once I got to high school my mum spoilt me nearly every birthday with art supplies and I continued to create art works, and my favourite classes were Art and Design and I really excelled in them too. Throughout my university lectures I was constantly drawing on my notes and at night while I waitressed my order pads would be filled with sketches and my breaks were spent drawing the people around me.

It wasn't until I started seeing my ex-husband that the creativity started to slow - and even ceased for a while. I guess it picked up again when I started blogging - my creative outlet was the baking I was doing and the photos I was taking. But looking back it felt like a chunk of me was missing. So now I am on a mission. A mission to set my creative self free again. Slowly it is starting and I have had a few creative projects during my time away from the blog.

Like my Monster High doll repaint (yes I am a crazy doll lady)...


There have been a whole heap of decorated cakes - including my entry into the 2011 Threadcakes competition.


I got my watercolours out a few times. Like this time when I painted a little Adventure Time piece for a good friend of mine.


I did this mammoth cross stitch for my mum, I still haven't got a good photo of the finished product (since I am waiting for her to get it framed) - but the finished piece has over 50,000 crosses!


And I have been doing a bit of sketching, including this little piece that may become a bit of body art at some point in the future.


But now I want to up the ante and live a more creative life again. I don't exactly know what I am going to get up to, but I do know that having a creative outlet is an essential part of my life. So bring it on.

I'm back...

I never thought I would come back to this blog, but it hit me today while I was cooking dinner for me and the girls - I miss my blog. I miss blogging and the way it seems to make me want to make the best out of my life. I miss the online community and I miss looking at all the prettiness going on in blog land. So I think I am back. I'm not sure what kind of blog this will become - but for now it will just be a place for me to record what is happening in my life - my family, my friends, maybe some art/craft/cooking and who knows what else. I guess whatever I feel like at the time.

Now I guess I should give a quick recap of my life over the last two and a half years.


Zoe turned three back in 2011 and started going to child care, which she thoroughly enjoyed - and it also really helped her come out of her shell.


Gracie turned one in 2011 and was a very contented baby/toddler - she would love plonking down in the sandpit and getting filthy, and she really took to her food - so lovely to have a child that is not a picky eater!


In July 2012 we moved house - we had been living next door to my mother, which was incredibly helpful, but now we live a few suburbs over and are our own little independent family. It was sad to move away from mum, but the new house is fantastic and such a great place for the girls to be brought up in.


Zoe turned four in 2012 and started going to kindergarten. She was a little shy to start with, but now she absolutely loves it and has her little gang of friends - so stinking cute!


Gracie turned two in 2012 and started child care, she is a bit upset when I drop her off - but as soon as I am out of the building she starts having a blast.


Zoe turned five last month and that means she is off to school next year!!! I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She is getting to be so independent now and even starting to learn to read. God - she will be in high school before I know it.


And last month Gracie turned three. Little miss three year old is finally toilet trained and is such a chatterbox! Now if only we can get the tantrums and whinging under control, well I guess they don't call it the trying threes for nothing.

What else? I stopped studying because I just wasn't feeling it and the stress was really getting to me. I met someone and had a relationship on and off for just over a year. Obviously that is over now and I am single again. I also had surgery - abdominoplasty, that was 8 weeks ago so I still have a pretty major looking scar across my tummy, but I am on the mend.

Now I am feeling optimistic and ready to attack life. I'm getting ready to put myself out into the world, to be the healthiest I have ever been and lead the most fun and creative life I have every led. Good times are definitely ahead.

I'll be back soon.