Treasures Galore!

I was super lucky to be gifted some amazing treasures recently.

Elvis' parents live out of town and are selling their property here so invited me over to see if I'd like any quirky garden decorations.

I scooted out there as soon as I finished work and instantly fell in love with their old lantern collection, which is now my old lantern collection!

I feel like the luckiest person on the planet!

I'm a simple girl ;)

I have hung a couple up and placed some amongst the garden so they will be a nice little surprise when they catch the eye of visitors.

I really love the cute handle on this one, though I have no idea what it's for.

I should look into that so I can pretend to be knowledgeable while explaining these things to said visitors. 

This is an oldy that I've had for a few years. I guess now that I have more than one I can call it a collection, right?

Hiding in the nasturtium.

Love love love!

I think they are just so whimsical and charming.

And how awesome that their glass is still intact!

Such detail remains through the rust. I really adore this type of thing.

I visited my parents over the weekend (a pretty monumental thing as we had a very off relationship but peace has been made and it feels like all is well with the world - well the most it has for me in yeeeearssss anyway), their yard is also full of very cool rustic treasures like these. Like a mini-pickers heaven! I started making a pile of things I planned to bring home but for some reason Dad started putting them back! I did make out with a couple of pieces of white iron lace I plan to age somehow or paint for my front porch, and some signs for my collection. If I find a discarded sign during a bushwalk etc. I give it a new home on my chook house. I will take some pics for another post, another day.

Amongst the beautiful rust, the dahlias are blooming.

The dark red ones have developed a bit of light edges with a dark red strip in the middle, normal??

Pretty, nonetheless.

 Much like this sunset! I feel so blessed to see such amazing skies in my little piece of suburbia.

I have some more exciting news to share..

I have a charm bracelet that I bought for myself about 3 years ago with intentions of not just putting pretty charms on it, but things that when I look at it will remind me who I am, how far I've come, and what's important to me.

I added my sixth charm yesterday.. a little cottage to symbolize my home.

This little house that I have been making our home for the last 11 years just yesterday became officially mine alone. YAY!!

I already owned half but have now bought the other half (well, the bank helped so I won't quit my job any time soon) so this means security, stability, peace, a forever home for my kids even after they grow up and move on, and something to pass onto them.

It's not much but it's all we need.

So yes, after nearly 6 months it was finished yesterday. Settled. Finalized. Done and dusted! :D

I better get back to this little home though and put some order back into the kitchen after the chaos that was dinner cooking.

What are you having tonight?

I NEED to start forcing myself to have breakfast in the mornings. I went to an appointment this morning and was quite embarrassed at how loudly my tummy was grumbling!

I was told it sounded like Godzilla was in there.

Um.. thanks?

Breakfast ideas?!

We had this super-awesome storm the other day!

There was thunder! And lightning!

My heart!!

I played in it for a while until I realized it probably wasn't a very safe idea.

Ok! I'm really going now! Toodles! ❤❤❤

A Wander Through The Garden & A Ramble

I needed to leave work early today because one of my boys was hurt at school.

He plonked himself on the couch to rest with the comfort of new~but~old movies.

'Oldies' like Cool Runnings, The Goonies and Stand By Me, that my boys watched for the first time over the weekend.

So while he rested and in between checking on him I snuck a bit of sunshine in the vege garden.

The dahlias have started to bloom.

Yay for colour!!

Fresh carrots for a carrot cake.

It's still in the oven so no pics yet, and it's not for us so I wont get a bite, boo!

I'll have to make another ;)

It's so exciting to me to walk around the garden and see all the new things that are happening.

New growth, new flowers, new fruits.

Zucchini babies and tomato bunches..

We have a heap of matoes in, roma, mortgage lifters, beefsteak, cherry romas and a favourite from last season, backyard Italian. Cant wait to dig into them!

The nectarine was loaded with baby fruits but I think they might've fallen off in some strong winds, unless I just wasn't looking properly. The almonds are slowly ripening up.

Elvis' onions are enormous!

This is our first successful onion crop and I have no idea when or how to harvest, or what to do with them after to cure or dry them. Help?!

I started a little herb patch this year rather than just the odd plant amongst the veggies.

Every time I grow coriander it bolts so quickly but this time I managed to steal enough for a big pot of carrot and coriander soup and a handful for a salad before it began flowering.

This has been the best chives I've grown too!

Not straggly and thin like all my other attempts. I wonder what I've done differently!

Parsley, basil and oregano are always winners and there's a little sage plant on it's way to greatness just out of frame.

Ahh these two broody cranksters!

They were a new addition to this whirl-wind of a home about 6ish months ago and they have such funny personalities that they fit right in.

Their names are Road-Runner and Sriracha. Most appropriate.

Their squawk sounds like a trumpet, and holy bajeebus they are LOUD!

They started laying a couple of months back, giving us the most teeny tiny eggs, so cute!

But now their maternal instincts have kicked in and they wont leave their nest.

These eggs were laid from the other chooks.

We live in a residential area so can't have a rooster ~ not that I think I'd enjoy one of those big meanies around *insert shudder from traumatic childhood memory of a rooster attack*!

So my little chookababies, these eggs are coming with me to the kitchen and you can please go get a drink of water instead of roasting yourselves in the nesting box!

Last stop on the way back into the house..

Checking the little red wagon of strawberry plants for any fruit.

Just the one.. I've had my eye on this guy for days waiting for a taste.

It was so warm and sweet!

Dee~lish!

Every day when Elvis finishes work he rings and asks if we needs anything from the shop on his way home. I'll give him the usual, milk, bread, and always at the end of the list is flowers. I am always at him to treat me to a bunch of flowers. He never has though. Well not for a loooong time anyhoo. I usually get told to grow my own (but when I try to grow my own he complains that you can't eat them, sigh!)

Last night when Elvis got home he gave me a little surprise. He picked this from the small rose bush growing at his work. Naw what a nice guy!

He picked a large sprig (read that as branch if you like) of honeysuckle from our front archway last week and I told him that was actually more special to me than buying a bunch from the shop.

He drives me to the brink of crazy so much but he balances himself out with little sweetnesses like this.

He made me so cross a few weeks ago but bought me two mangoes as an 'I'm sorry' gift.

He's not much good with words and can be a real grump, but he can be a real softy at times too. Just don't tell him I said so ;)

I had an awful day yesterday.

I felt so lonely and like I have nothing to look forward to.

All my frustrations caught up with me and I cried and sulked and grumped.

My poor family :(

I got through my Monday (usually a big trigger for my anxiety) and spent some time in my garden. I baked. I watched my son play his second ever basketball game. I felt more at ease and relaxed for having the afternoon off, even though it was not a relaxing reason.

Some days I really miss being a stay at home mum.

I feel like it's where I belong and where I am happiest.

I love cooking and cleaning for my family, even though I whinge and whine about it now that I am working. It's just super hard working and then having to try squeeze in all that stuff when I get home.

But I am so grateful for my job.

For a long while I was only doing relief work and had no stability, no certainty. I stressed about money so much (gosh, I still do!) but now I know I have a job next week, and the one after, and next year...

I love that I am setting a good example for my boys. They see me working hard to make sure they don't go without anything, and sometimes manage to save a bit of money to make improvements on the house.

I hope they see it and want to do the same when they get older.

They are good boys, I'm sure they will.

Well that was an enormous post!

I must've needed the outlet.

I hope you liked walking through my garden with me.

Let me know what you are growing :)

Toodles!

❤❤❤

Oh ~ this was the sunset out my kitchen window a few nights ago, no filter. The clouds looked like fairy floss and the fluro pink was such a beautiful contrast against the blue!

All the nyummies

I feel like it has been so busy around here lately but I have no idea what I've been doing!

We had some family visit for a few days which was super special to me as I don't get many visitors, especially family.

I gave Elvis' mum a copy of the novel, The Help and we have both raved about it since.

Such a great book, and movie too!

I've just started reading the fourth instalment of the Miss Peregrine's series but have already decided after it I will read The Help again, it was just so good!

I had a go at making a lemon and poppy seed cake, it was nice but a little dense.. 

like me, hehe ;)  

There was also a pavlova made.

Always such a pretty thing to make.

 My kids and I call it pavola these days ~ we saw a  funny kids tv show about primary school student antics (just a fun fictional show) with an episode about their teacher making a birthday pavlova, but one boy called it pavola, it stuck with us :)

More cinnamon rolls were made.

A double batch even!

These were for my staff morning tea and seemed to be a hit.

I don't want to look at another one for a while now!

This is something a little special I want to share..

This is Elvis'

secret~but~I~think~he~knows

Christmas present.

I bought the wood burning tool at the hardware store for a decent price and had so much fun making this present!

Elvis is obsessed with smoking bbq, I'm sure he dreams about it!

He chews up his phone internet data on youtube videos on smoking meats.

For his birthday a few months ago I surprised him (but he knew, goshdarnit) with an offset smoker. I can be a real good girlfriend at times.

He always has to google what the correct temperature for particular meats are though so I thought a little board to hang by the smoker would be handy.

I can't take credit for the images, which I found on Pinterest, so thank you to that clever person!

I've had a hankering for some hot bread smothered in butter and honey so tonight I gave it a whirl.

Ive had zero success with bread making in the past but thought my cinnamon rolls worked perfectly and who could fail with my you-beaut oven?! ;)

Well, to set the record straight, I can fail with my you-beaut oven hehe

But the bread worked out just fine.

Globs of butter and oodles of oozy honey

*heaven*

It's the simple delights that are all I need sometimes and it felt really good to achieve something, even if it is small, private and downright uneventful as making a ball of bread (I don't think it deserves 'loaf' title).

So I ate and ate, and ate some more until I thought I would burst!

But you know what...

There's another ball/baby loaf on the kitchen bench and I'll do it again tomorrow! ;)

The summer veggie garden is really coming along and we are already watching lots of tomatoes forming, zucchini babies stretching, and harvesting the mature crop of carrots.

The bugs must be holidaying at the neighbours because the plants are finally getting a chance to do their thing.

So exciting!

I love being in my garden, and being able to use it to feed my family is so satisfying.

I send my thanks out (probably not as often as I should) for my little safe place.

Some days its all I have.

But its all I need for me n my lil family :)

Time to get some nunighs, maybe I'll dream of homegrown beefsteak tomatoes and basil on homemade bread, mm mmm!

❤❤❤