Father’s Day gift ideas…

I have 3 wonderful men in my life I buy for come Father’s Day… My own wonderful Father, my loving and caring Father in Law and of course the incredible man I married and the Father of my children. Each of them different and all 3 are very hard to buy for. I have been having a look around for some ideas and thought you might like some ideas too…

1. Sterling silver collar stays | 2. No. 1 Dad card | 3. Shoe shine kit | 4. Hankerchiefs | 5. Classic panama hat | 6. Flash Boy by Michael Lewis | 7. Anchor memory book | 8. Tiffany and Co. T-clip ballpoint pen | 9. Digital meat thermometer | 10. Leather passport cover | 11. Wheelmen by Reed Albergotti & Vanessa O’Connell

Have you got Father’s Day sorted? Care to share?…. I need all the help I can get.

Jx

Beauty… 3 items you need in your life…

 

1. Chanel – Les Beiges, All-in-one healthy glow fluid – I had my makeup done at Chanel recently as she used this product on me. I have been in love ever since. I am not a foundation wearer and even struggle to wear tinted moisturiser. This formula is a mix between a tinted moisturiser and a BB cream. It has an SPF in it and it’s is just divine. It’s light coverage that really does smooth and light the skin. You can’t tell I’m wearing anything but I just look better.

2. Essie – Instant Dry Oil – I love having painted nails and with two kids I rarely find the time to paint them and wait for them to dry even with quick dry polish. At night I was always too tired and when they were sleeping I had other things to do and murphy’s law would state as soon as I sat down to do them or I had just finished they would wake. Not to mention that my mani’s never last that long. I wash my hands so often during the day and with the kids I am just really hard on my hands so it just never seemed worth it. Well…. enter Essie’s instant dry oil. It really does dry my nails in an instant so having to wait for your nails to dry is a thing of the past. I LOVE this product and now find myself with my nails polished all the time. YAY!

3. Chanel – Eau Douceur cleansing water – I am really quite lazy with my skincare routine. When this was introduced to me I instantly fell in love. You squirt it on to cotton makeup pads and wipe over your face. It removes all makeup and is gentle and cleansing on your skin. There is no need to additional cleansing. So no running water and a washer. I love it and find my skin has never been better because I am more consistent with my skincare.

So, anyone already use any of these? Any other awesome products I should know about?…

Jx

Toddler books… our favourites…

For the last day of Book Week 2014. I thought I would share some of our favourite toddler books.

H is a great lover of books. He gets so much pleasure out of them and it just thrills me to see him get so much enjoyment out of something I love too.

We keep things on high rotation and as he now gets to choose what we read before bedtime it is quite wide and varied which is lovely. It’s always nice to ‘rediscover’ a book we haven’t read for a while.

A big hit with us is anything by Julia Donaldson. Her books are so lovely and varied. Her writing has a lovely rhythm to it and it can actually be a little tricky to read the first time until you get the flow of the words. She is most famous for The Gruffalo (he even has his own website). Some of our other favourites are Stick Man, The snail and the whale, A squash and a squeeze and Sharing a shell. We are working on owning her whole collection and still have several to go so no doubt there are more favourites to discover.

We also love the Dr.Seuss books. They are such fun and the best ones to start with, as they are shorter and easier to get through with short attention spans are. The eye book, There’s a Wocket in my Pocket, 10 apples up on top.

H was given the Gum tree farm series from his Grandparents for Christmas and it’s been a huge hit. It was bought through a book club but I have managed to find them here. Bluey’s Bone, The broken quad bike, The hungry rabbit and When will it rain?. The broken quad bike is a particular hit thanks to his Grandfather’s quad bike he LOVES when we’re home at the farm.

Ladybird Favourite stories for boys is another favourite. Every story gets a turn but in particular I think his favourite is the 3 billy goats gruff.

There is also the much loves classics… the Beatrix Potter collection. H is really enjoying them at the moment. We have started with the original The tale of Peter Rabbit. We have so many copies of this one… we have the box collection (a beautiful christening present for E), the complete collection in one book, a small collection of the original little hard cover books (my mother has also kept the complete collection we had as children too) and The tale of Peter Rabbit board book which is great for E as she’s not great with soft cover books.

The current favourite is How to be a Pirate which is a little golden book. H is very into all things pirate so this was one book he flipped over. It’s a really cute book and a really fun one to read aloud.

There are lots of other but will save them for another post soon.

I’d love to hear your favourites/recommendations. I have a real love affair with books and am always adding to our collection. What’s on rotation in your house?

For other favourites check out my instagram – I have been posting a book a day for book week.

Jx

DIY: chic and affordable children’s artwork…

I made these when I was pregnant with E. I looked around on the web and couldn’t find exactly what I wanted (an initial on a canvas) and what I did find wasn’t quite right or not in the right colours. So, I decided to make my own and this is what the finished product looks like…

I bought my supplies at Eckersley’s and Spotlight. I have provided links below for each item you need for the project.

To make these you will need…

• Canvas
• Letter or any other decorative item. More letter’s here
• Paint – minimum of two colours – one for the canvas and one for the initial / decorative item. You could use as many colours as you want if you want a rainbow effect or just something more colourful. The sky is the limit. I used acrylic paint but I think any paint would do. Depending on how many you are doing you won’t need much. Some more options here and here.
• Glue

1. Paint the canvas – I gave it a base white coat (in hind sight I don’t think this is necessary) and then two coats of colour. Allow it to dry in between coats. Most paints come with instructions of time recommended left between coats.
2. Paint the letter – I gave it at least two coats. Just judge for yourself what the coverage is like and stop when you are happy.
3. When everything is dry line the initial up on your canvas where you would like it and very lightly with a pencil mark some small guidelines.
4. Put glue on the back of your letter and place it carefully on the canvas being sure to look for your guidelines. apply some pressure for a little while to make sure the glue bonds.
5. You’re all set to hang or place around your child’s room.

You could also do smaller versions, larger versions, fluro or glitter versions. Really the only limit is your imagination and your decor aesthetic.

I hope you have fun with this…

Have you made your own artwork before? Ever made something similar?

Jx

Friday flowers… a little goes a long way…

Last week I posted this photo on Instagram.

I had a large lot of fresh flowers as our builders were sending a photographer to take some photos of the finished works. 3 years and 3 stages and we’re finally finished! Naturally I wanted the house looking nice but didn’t want o go too crazy with the styling because that’s not what they’re after…

I thought I would share some of the spots they ended up…

A little goes a long way doesn’t it?…

What are your favourite flowers and where do you like to put them in your house?…

Jx

From the archive… Favourite first books…

In honour of Book Week I am reposting this from the archives… We still love these books and read them most nights to E before bed.

Hello Baby and 10 Little Fingers and 10 Little Toes by Mem Fox are without a doubt two of our first favourite books. Both of my babies love these books…

I read 10 Little Fingers and 10 Little Toes to H in utero and I believe it’s the reason it fast became his favourite. It is currently E’s favourite book. At the end of the book the little baby in the story gets three little kisses on the tip of its nose… we kiss the tip of our finger and touch their nose three times. H got to the stage and E is there now that they know it’s coming and look up at you when you’re reading the last page waiting for their kisses.

H adores books and always has. E is loving them more and more and I get such a thrill to see her get excited when we sit down to read these two books. They are a big part of our bedtime routine… every night we have a book before bed. For me, it ensures the children are reading/read to every day and it’s a terrific wind down/sleep cue for them as well…

I highly recommend any new Mother’s or expecting Mother’s to add these books to your collection. They are beautiful stories and the illustrations are gorgeous…

For anyone looking for a great baby shower or baby gift these are terrific… the board books are terrific as little exploring and excited hands can’t rip them. It does take a little while for them to learn not to rip pages so board books are a definite plus…

Where is the Green Sheep and Time for Bed, both by Mem Fox are also favourites.

Are these books in your collection?
Please share your favourites and must haves, I would love to hear them…

Happy reading… Jx

All photos copyright Jess Flett

How not to bake a cake…

Ok… A baker I am not… or at least one with A LOT to learn.

On Monday I made ‘Anne’. Anne is a family chocolate cake from Beth @ Baby-Mac. I thought it was a good opportunity to christen our new Kitchenaid… this was quite a milestone for me.

Everything was going smoothly until I put the cake in the oven and then it was downhill from there…

Error 1 – make sure your cake tin is the correct size… the cake tin I used was WAY to small for the recipe so I got to watch half the cake spill over the edge and run down into the oven.

Error 2 – because of the spillage the cake took ages to cook… I am guessing because the outside of the tin was covered in spilled cake. I assumed it would take less time as the tin was smaller but it took nearly double. Can any bakers confirm this for me? either that or my oven is really slow at low heat?! I’ve not had problems before so it’s the only thing I can put it down to.

Error 3 – don’t be in too much of a hurry to turn it out as it won’t have cooled enough and you will rip half the top off.

I soldiered on a had a hell of a laugh at my efforts. My husband got a great laugh out of it.

Whatever the outcome we got a yummy cake and it’s only uphill from here right?!

Ever had a baking disaster? What are your helpful tips for a baking novice?

Can you ever stop at just one piece?

Jx

Patience is a virtue…

Anyone who knows me well… knows I am not a hugely patient person. Becoming a Mother meant I had to grow patience literally overnight.

Let me tell you… it’s still a work in progress and some days are better than others…

I find screaming on the inside, taking 3 deep breaths and counting to 10 slowly great coping mechanisms!! hahahaha….

Actually, in all seriousness, stopping and taking 3 deep breaths… taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly really does help…

Some things requiring my patience at the moment…

Toddler tantrums… now H is 3 he can turn them on at will and knowingly turns up the volume. When they are younger they don’t have control over their emotions like they do at 3 so I’m finding the tantrums at will a big adjustment and requiring a lot of patience

Dirty Nappies… changing several dirty nappies a day… we have some serious toilet training coming up when the weather warms up a bit.

Early waking… I literally dream of the day I can once again wake naturally of my own accord.

Repeating myself… having to repeat myself several times to get something done… like sit and eat, get dressed, sit down instead of stand on the couch… just to name a few.

Routine change…  E is in the process of dropping her morning sleep so we are doing the daily dance of will you won’t have one… I remember it being like this with H so I know I have to ride it out but it still requires patience.

Fussy eating… spending time cooking a meal only to have it looked at and declared Yucky!

Being a parent is quite literally the hardest thing I’ve ever done and as the saying goes… you reap what you sow. So I continue to grow and practice having patience and enjoy this wonderfully frustrating and rewarding thing that is parenting.

Because, at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have it any other way…

What’s frustrating you at the moment? Can you sympathise, empathise? Got any patience to spare?

Jx

Pineapple Love…

I have such a fondness for Pineapples. We have a lovely Pineapple print framed and hung in our entrance way. Pineapples are a sign of welcome so it’s only fitting we have one in our entrance welcoming people into our home.

I am finding pineapple everywhere at the moment and I have to be careful or run the risk of ending up with a house full of pineapples…

Here are some favourites I found on the web whilst looking around…

1. Driftwood Pineapple | 2. Yellow Pineapple lamp | 3. Pineapple wrapping paper | 4. DIY Pineapple ring dish | 5. Watercolour Pineapple print | 6. Pineapple candle holder | 7. Nickel Pineapple lamp | 8. Girls Pineapple print t-shirt | 9. White porcelain Pineapple | 10. Free printable wrapping paper | 11. Ceramic Pineapple Jars | 12. Pineapple gift tags | 13. Pineapple and tropical print set

Do you like the pineapple craze at the moment?

Have any pineapples in your home?

Jx

Friday Flowers… bright as the sun…

Happy Friday!!! #TGIF…

We’ve had a fairly quiet week which has been lovely. With the long weekend it has been a short week.

We have a quiet weekend ahead.. lots of house maintenance and the city to surf is on Sunday (good luck to anyone running that might just be reading this) so our movements are a little restricted that morning. We will more than likely head down and cheer them on. We also have dinner with friends on Saturday night which will be lovely as it’s been a LONG time since the 4 of us caught up sans children. Let’s hear it for baby sitters!! hip hip hooray!…

This week I started reading ‘Big Little Lies’ by Liane Moriarty as I’m joining in with Beth over at Baby-Mac as she is starting a book club and I love any excuse to read. If you’re keen, jump on in as I know she’d love to have you. If you’re on social medial the hashtag is #babymacbookclub.

This week marked the finish of #7vignettes hosted by Jen Francis of Interiors Addict (@interiorsaddict) on Instagram. It was guest hosted and judged by West Elm (@westelmau) t0 celebrate the opening of their Chatswood, Sydney store. It is the first month I have completed and I really enjoyed the creative challenge. Here is the collection of my vignettes…

Anyway, enough of me. Here are some gorgeous yellow Chrysanthemum’s to warm up your Friday and put a smile on your face…

How has your week been? What’s on for the weekend?…

Have a good one whatever you’re up to… Jx