Apron Stringz

Loved this post, and it seems many others did too. It's good to know others in the world have similar ideas to you, she really hits the nail on the head!

This little sweetie...

Is now in the shop. Child not included. By the way, she had a fabulous first day of school, and is happy to go back tomorrow :)

Evie's first day at school

At school

Before school

She's been soooo excited about her first day of school, and now it's here. She looked a little overwhelmed with all the kids and parents in the classroom, we'll see how she goes!

Happenings around here

Before

After

I've been spending the earlier parts of this week emptying our pantry and cleaning it all down to move it and the fridge out so we could have our kitchen floor sanded and polished. We were a bit sick of the old "terracotta tile" vinyl that was sitting on top of these raw boards, with a big seam line down the middle that we'd trip over, or get slippers caught on.
We're pretty happy with the improvement, now we have a few bits of paint patching to do, including painting the concrete hearth you can see. I wanted to tile it, but it will sit too high and might be a tripping hazard as it's not big enough for a whole foot to stand on. I'll be happy to have our kitchen up and running in a few days, when we can move the fridge and pantry back in. Our kitchen renovation is a step closer to being finished (almost 2 years after it was begun!)
A new blind for Evie & Liv's room- a holland blind made from Ink & Spindle's birch forest print in a large scale. I wanted to replace the cheap pvc venetians with something eco friendly (Ink & Spindle is a carbon neutral business), that would block out the light properly. The venetians blocked the view, but that was about it. Liv stayed in her bed all night after this blind went in, but we had to stay with my parents last night because of the floorboards.
It is very hard to photograph blinds, as you have to shut them a bit to see them. They are a dark dusty pink, a bit lighter than the photos.

Basil pesto

What else can you do on a hot day at home with children? Make pesto. So we did. We harvested all the basil we could (not much, barely the 1 1/2 cups required from Thai basil and common? basil), toasted up pinenuts, grated up parmesan cheese, foraged 2 garlic cloves from the garden, and drizzled in some Australian olive oil. This is all that it made, but I will freeze it in the ice cube tray. Smells awesome! Every time I buy pesto, I only use some of it before the rest of the jar goes off, quite a waste. It's hard to find Australian made pesto too, I've found it a green grocer's shops, but it's expensive if you're not going to use the whole jar. This way, I'll only use what we need. Next year, we'll grow more basil!

Recipe here

Etsy sale time

My time at In.cube8r has come to a close, so I'm having a sale from now until Australia Day (26th January). Use coupon code AUS25 to get 25% off your order, not including postage.

candle making

Here's a nice little school holiday activity that doesn't leave bits of cardboard, glue, glitter etc around the house.
Roll the sheet of beeswax around the wick, and roll until you have no more beeswax. simple!
I only use beeswax candles, as paraffin irritates my airways. No wonder, since it's a petrochemical. Other waxes don't seem to cut it either. Beeswax also gives off negative ions when burned, which are good for us.

Also a good activity for when your little sister is asleep :)