Finding joy in the everyday

The burning of the Bentley Hotel Book: The forgotten rebels of Eureka by Clare Wright Like most Australians, I learnt about the goldfields in Victoria and the Eureka Stockade (1854) at school. I loved Australian history and this was one part of our history that I found fascinating.  However the history I learnt was all about the men on the goldfields, no mention of women. In fact I hadn't even realise women were at the gold fields at all. There were at least 1500 people crammed into the Stockade by Saturday afternoon.  Some had spent the previous night there, by most had slept in their own tents. The purpose of the Stockade, after all, was to prevent, by force if necessary, the arrest of unlicensed diggers. There had never been a licence hunt at night.  But throughout the day on Saturday, most diggers kept rolling up, many coming from other goldfields, eager to add weight to the moral majority of resistances. The numbers were swelled by women who...

I love wearing spots which is good, as there is plenty of choice at the moment when it comes to spots. The skirt above it a very bright red covered in black spots - I feel like a lady bird when I wear it!! It is 100% polyester (2 layered) in that wonderful crinkle fabric, so no ironing required (perfect when traveling). I wore this to work on Friday and felt very smart with a black t-shirt and black sandals.  Not hard to miss!! This isn't me!! It is from the Ezibuy catalogue. A black and white spotty skirt I made earlier this year using cotton fabric. This is lovely in summer.    Another black and white spot skirt - this one is SO comfortable and flattering with its 6 gores.  Looks lovely with a a bright red top! This is a lovely dress (sadly an iron is required!!) - bright and sunny for a summers day, great for a special occasion.  When I started this I didn't realise how many outfits I had that were spotty - I have an...

The smile on my face doesn't mean  my life is perfect.  It means I appreciate what  I have and what God  has blessed me with. Life doesn't always go the way you want it to. But its so important to not regret what you haven't got, but instead rejoice at what you have. Blessings xxxx

Ok, this is pushing the whole art friday thing, but this kitty is SO cute and I had to share it with other like minded "cat" people.  If you don't like cats or kittens, don't read any further (don't even peek at the link) - but if you are like me and your heart melts when you see cute photos of cuddly cats and fluffy kittens, check out this link.  This kitten is ADORABLE . Her name is Daisy.  http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/ben-torode-kitten-in-japan Now that your heart has melted and you want to take Daisy home, check out this link - Daisy is a little older and still gorgeous.  Ok, I am a little crazy about my cats and yes, I am one of those mad "cat-ladies" who talk to their cats, but why wouldn't you with a cat that looks this beautiful. http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/ben-torode-daisy-and-hannah Ok, I won't bore you with any more cute cat links - anyway this is my blog and I can post ...

After struggling with a machine that had all sorts of tension problems I decided it was time to upgrade and buy a new sewing machine. I was going to wait to the new year, but with two half finished projects that I couldn't finish I decided not to wait. And it was a good thing I didn't as the day I went to Janome I discovered they had just started their "Christmas Sale".  As a result I saved $200, not bad, I was impressed. It took me a little bit of time to get get use to the new functions, but now I am sailing quite nicely!!  Back to sewing my white skirt and this cute little dress. Whilst the new machine is great - I am still driving and need a lot more practice. The zip in the white skirt isn't great and I can't blame the machine for that. Hopefully no one is rude enough to look that closely at my zip. If they do, they are very rude (and too close to my bottom)!!   This machine can do automatic button holes which I think is very exciting and n...

I've really haven't ever talked about the clothes I wear or shared an outfit that I have wore - its about time!!  Firstly I love clothes, I won't pretend I don't. I have far too much and fill more than one wardrobe.  I buy from many different places, some expensive, some from the charity store and everything in between plus I make my own! Yes, I tend to only wear skirts or dresses - I am a girly girl and love to look feminine.  I love bright colours but do wear black quite a bit too, it goes great with red. The length of my skirts vary, from long (to the ankle) up to the knee and everything in between. This outfit is a real bargain. The skirt was $5 from the charity store, the tee was $19.00 and the cardigan was $9!! However the cardigan was originally $59, but with a $20 voucher (which the online store sent me for my birthday) plus a mark-down I got a bargain!! This is the sort of outfit I wear to work every day. These aren't the worlds best photos, difficu...

My husband LOVES cheese crackers and will buy them at the local supermarket and munch through the entire packet. Not very healthy, so I thought I would make my own. Whilst these couldn't be considered "healthy" at least I know what is in them and they do contain much less sodium when compared to the bought version. In fact they only contain 4 ingredients. These are parmesan and rosemary, but I thought I might make DH one batch with blue cheese and see what they are like (he loves blue cheese!). Simple ingredients: 100g butter, chopped 100g parmesan cheese, grated 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, roughly chopped 3/4 cup plain flour See link for recipe: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/512/rosemary+parmesan+biscuits The best thing about these is the smell in the house whilst they cook - just yummy, cheese with a hint of rosemary.  Cooling on the rack - these were so quick and easy to make.