Friday flowers… a little goes a long way…

Last week I posted this photo on Instagram.

Friday Flowers... a little goes a long way - alittlepartoftheworld.

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…

Friday Flowers... a little goes a long way... alittlepartoftheworld

Friday Flowers... a little goes a long way... alittlepartoftheworld Friday Flowers... a little goes a long way Friday Flowers... a little goes a long way

Friday Flowers... a little goes a long way Friday Flowers... a little goes a long way Friday Flowers... a little goes a long way Friday Flowers... a little goes a long way Friday Flowers... a little goes a long way Friday Flowers... a little goes a long way

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…

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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…

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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…

Pineapple Love

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…

7vignettes

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

IMG_2791 IMG_2790 IMG_2794 IMG_2803 IMG_2863 IMG_2795 IMG_2865 IMG_2866 IMG_2869 IMG_2870 IMG_2884How has your week been? What’s on for the weekend?…

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

 

Navy nails… yay or nay

What do you think?…

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I’m loving navy nails this Winter… I’m loving them as either a mani or a pedi…

Here are some navy shades to try…

Navy Nails... Yes or No?

 

1. OPI – Light my Sapphire | 2. Chanel – Blue Satin | 3. Bobbi Brown – Navy | 4. Essie – Midnight Cami | 5. OPI – Russian Navy | 6. Giorgio Armani | 7. Revlon – Urban | 8. OPI – I saw… U saw… We saw… Warsaw

I really want to hear what you think? Yay or Nay? Tried it before?

Jx

Instagram… the week that was #4… @alittlepartoftheworld…

Happy Tuesday… sorry it’s not Monday but we were away for a long weekend which was soooo lovely.

Last week I had lots of fun with #myweekofminimal by @its_my_week and I’m playing along with #fmsphotoaday.

It was also really nice to be featured on @flowers_blossom_, @snap_ish, @flowerlist, @downthatlittlelaneshop, @fatmumslim, @nio_mod_kirabug, @nothingisordinary_, @nio_mod_ashleigh, @all_the_differences, @stunning_shots, @ptk_people, @nio_mod_honeytoo, @stillography, @its_my_week, @emotivelifephoto, @two_themes, @nio_mod_riceandbeans, @lovelysquares and @mom_hub. Thank you very much to each and every one of you!

the week that was 4How was your weekend? What did you get up to? Jx

Friday Flowers… It’s the weekend!!

Hi… #TGIF…

I’ve had a week of feeling under the weather with an annoying cold… It’s been so annoying. I’ve had a very slow week and just focussed on getting through the day with the kids. There’s no such thing as a sick day with kids.

Anyway, onwards and upwards. We have a quiet weekend ahead with family so am looking forward to that.

Today I did the change over of some flowers in the house and the buds from the little pink roses last week were too pretty to throw away so I snipped them off and collected them in a bowl. I put them down to take some photos and Miss 1 wanted to join in. She had solo much fun tipping them out and putting them back in. When I went through the photos I loved the ones with her little hands in the photos so much I decided to include them.

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What’s on in your neck of the woods this weekend?…  Whatever it is I hope you have a good one.

Jx

The yummiest salad… Lentil Salad & Red Pepper, Mint and Feta

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This is such a yummy salad…

We have been making this salad for years and it is seriously so yummy. The only major downfall is if you’re anything like me you tend to over eat because you like it so much…

This recipe came from a lovely family friend whom my Mother nannied for in London when she was a little girl. She came to visit in 1997 and gave us a folder of recipes and we have been making this one ever since…

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Lentil Salad & Red Pepper, Mint and Feta

(Serves 6)

Ingredients;

I cup dried lentils

6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

6 tbsp red wine vinegar, plus vinegar to taste

2 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp ground cumin

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 small red onion, diced

1 red bell pepper (capsicum), seeded, deribbed and finely diced

¼ cup chopped fresh mint, plus mint sprigs for garnish

6 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1 small red chilli (optional)

Method;

Pick over the lentils and discard any misshapen lentils and stones. Rinse the lentils and drain, then transfer to a saucepan and add water to cover by two inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the lentils are tender, 15-20 mins. Remove from the heat, drain immediately and place in a bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, the 6 tbsp vinegar, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Add to the warm lentils and toss together to coat evenly. Add the onion and bell pepper and toss gently. Let stand for 20 mins at room temp.

Season to taste with more salt, pepper and vinegar, if necessary. Add the mind and toss to mix well. Transfer the salad to a platter of individual plates. Sprinkle with the feta, garnish with the mint springs and serve.

NB: over the years I have added fresh chilli to the salad as I love the heat kick it gives it. You should definitely try it.

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Jx