For a long time I’ve been reading blogs and dreaming about the day that I’ll live in a huge house that is always clean, and my work is always all done, and I have children of my own to inspire. Before then, I’ve always thought, there’s no point trying to create provocations. My stepchildren are too … Continue reading
Category Archives: Life
{Real Living} 2015: The Year of De-Clutter!
Late last year my husband volunteered our house for a New Year’s Eve party with our friends. Theoretically I was fine with the idea of hosting, but practically it was another story. Our house looked like a bomb site. And I’m not using hyperbole here, the house hadn’t had a proper clean in longer than … Continue reading
{Op Shop Bargains} Entertaining Small Kids on a Plane
On Tuesday I found myself stranded in Ringwood for two hours (turns out a shop that I thought opened at 9am didn’t open until 11am…) so I decided to hit some opshops. I was looking mainly for coasters and placemats to re-cover (more on that later) and for some things to keep Miss T occupied … Continue reading
Blogging Awards
I’ve read a host of international blogs – particularly those based in the US – that will talk about “blogging awards”. I’ve often thought it a tad disappointing that blogging here doesn’t seem to have the same prestige (or is it interest?) as it does overseas. I’ve been especially disappointed at my ability to see/vote … Continue reading
Setting up a Budget
I’ve been toying with setting up a budget of some sort for quite a while now. Our house is mostly single income, with Nick working in an administration role for his family’s business. I work from home (when work comes in) as a lawyer, but it can be tricky trying to juggle this with life … Continue reading
Organising Recipes
For some reason, despite the fact that I own eleventy billion cookbooks, my first port of call for a new recipe is almost always online. When I do happen to find something that looks nifty I end up printing it out (or sometimes copying by hand, when we’re out of ink…which happens far more often … Continue reading
Resisting the Urge…to Buy Books
I’m a bit of a bibliophile. Always have been. Some of my earliest memories involve me writing stories, or sneaking a torch into my room so I could indulge in a midnight read. This is only really a problem because it means that I own books. Far, far too may books. I buy books that … Continue reading
A Sense of Community
A few months ago I posted saying that I was frustrated with my inability to find an online community of like minded people: gardeners, homesteaders, farmers, DIYers…I wasn’t fussy, the only requirement I was looking for was that they be based in Australia. But it looks like Australian blogs have done something to anger the … Continue reading
Seedling Purchases
On the way to Canberra Nick & I drive past a roadside stall with an honesty box system. I really wanted to stop, but we had no cash between us so I kept driving. But I spent the whole trip thinking about it, wondering what marvels it would contain (I had no doubt that marvels would be … Continue reading
Stopping to Smell the Roses
Almost exactly two months ago I drove to Sydney and back for a wedding. This week I have taken almost exactly the same route that we took on the way back, and on both occasions we ended up stopping in Cann River. Cann River is a smallish tourist-ish town along the Eastern coast of Victoria. … Continue reading