Saturday 26 December 2009

Christmas Day 2009......

Decorating



A table ready to share......




Christmas Dinner........



With Family.......



And some fun afterwards........



Hoping all my friends who visit here have had a most wonderful and Happy Christmas Day.

Thursday 24 December 2009

Christmas Eve.........

Christmas Eve has arrived here and I think I might finally be organised.  I have to go into work for just three hours this morning and then our office is closed until the 4th January.  I am so looking forward to the time off.  We are headed to the beach, so long walks on the beach will definately be part of my day as from Sunday.



Christmas decorating began over a month ago now. With Cameron going away, we put the tree up when we had a little family get together for him.  My beautiful boy is well and truly on my mind this morning.  He is headed to New York for Christmas.  With the horrendous weather they have been having and the normal Christmas mayhem, I hope he has arrived safely. 



Christmas decorating has been very much more simple this year.  I really couldn't bear the thought of putting it all away either on Boxing Day before we go away or having it all still waiting for me when we return from the beach.  One tree, instead of five and just some simple bits and pieces around.  I hope next year will be a little different though as we adjust to our new life.



It was still lovely though to unpack my beautiful Christmas pieces that I have made over the years.  Sometimes it feels like it was in another lifetime that I made some of these things.




I finally made some of these very yummy little treats.  A packet of Chocolate Royales with their fluffy marshmallow middles, some melted white chocolate, Red mini M & M's and Green snakes cut into little leaves. Tah Dah - little Christmas Puddings!  My work collegues and the people next door thought these were great!

A roast dinner is planned for tomorrow,  all the shopping is done (I think!), so when I get home today I will start preparing the table decorations, crockery etc.   I am doing main course and my sister-in-law is doing dessert. 

I hope everyone's preparations are coming along well without too much stress.  A very Happy Christmas Eve to everyone..... that is when my friends in the northern hemisphere catch up to us!!


Sunday 20 December 2009

Boys Toys..........

Yesterday was huge.  We travelled to the Gold Coast to pick up BJ's new toy, well, boat at least!!  I had no idea that he ordered anything near this big - so surprised is probably an understatement!! 



Mitchell was at work all day, so missed out on the outing. 

The best bit of the day for me was a walk on the beach, although windy and cloudy, it was lovely to walk on the sand and get my feet wet in the ocean.  One more week today and we will head to the beach for a lovely week of rest.






The boys are dreaming big fish and Alexandra is hoping Daddy can pull one of those big water tyres behind the boat and have fun in the water!!

And as for me - I feel sea sick just thinking about it!

Monday 14 December 2009

Lovely Outings.........

Do you feel the excitement?

I am blogging regularly AND I've been to two lovely places on the weekend!!



We went for a nice little outing yesterday afternoon, another beautiful shop called The Complete Garden and another little drive out to Highfields - just to show BJ "Christmas Ideas".......
 Hint, Hint - I hope he caught on!!!!  

The beautiful treat above was shared for afternoon tea.   Delightful......
 I could get used to weekends like this.

Sunday 13 December 2009

Simple Things Small Joys.........

Yesterday Alexandra and I ventured out into the madness that is pre-Christmas shopping to try to achieve some gift shopping.  First stop was the hardware store to take care of some of the male variety of our family.  After this was achieved we made our way to Highfields, a lovely little village on the edge of the mountain range near our city.  Two lovely ladies have opened a delightful shop there.......
Can you guess who?




Of course, the lovely Cathy Penton of Simple Things Small Joys and the equally delightful Angela Osment of Chelsea Blue Whispers.  What a wonderful way to Christmas shop.  The shop is as I thought it would be - stunning!  When I find and visit truly beautiful places like this my head spins and I find it hard to concentrate - what to choose, what to look at first!!  I am taking BJ back this afternoon to have a coffee at this lovely little centre and of course visit Simple Things Small Joys again!!

Even down to the most beautiful packaging and a beautiful little surprise in my bag when I got home - a beautifully presented postcard.



So really, my shopping wasn't at all stressful.  I chose some lovely gifts from some lovely people and only had to face the chaos of the large shopping centre for such a short time.

Thank you Angela and Cathy for providing such a beautiful shop!  I hope your venture is both successful and enjoyable for you.  Blessings to you both.

Saturday 12 December 2009

Cameron's Day......

Look who Cameron found in Vancouver today.......




A very cool Santa in a little house in the snow.......



He even had reindeer outside the door.

Now that's a visit to Santa!

December so far......

The month is just flying by.  The extreme heat and dry weather we are experiencing here is making it very hard to feel like preparing for Christmas at all.  I have made a little start though.  I made Christmas cakes last weekend and have finally started shopping for some gift.  Alexandra and I are going today, so hopefully we can fight our way through the crowds and find something nice for our family.
Yesterday my day started like this........



Drive-Through coffee on the way to work......

And ended like this.........



Mitchell has been working full time at Woolworths, but had yesterday off,  my beautiful boy cooked dinner for us.  What a lovely surprise on a Friday night.  Thanks Mitchell.

Cameron is having a wonderful adventure on his trip.  So far he has seen LA, Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle and is now in Vancouver.  He has been uploading to his Facebook page, so it is lovely to see him as goes along.  Skype is also a wonderful way we've been staying in touch.



Some bunnies have been made and also a little other stitching which will be gifts for family, so won't share it here.  One is an order and the others will probably be for sale. 

The weekend is stretching out before me, and I am so looking forward to it.  I just pray that we are sent some rain soon and a respite from the awful heat we have been experiencing.