Living Serenely

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Showing posts from 2008

Garden update

I'm sure mum is eager to hear some updates on our gardening activity. On Sunday we went to a nearby nursery to scout around for plants and other garden ideas. Here are some of the plants that I liked so far: Bronze Baby Flax - love the rich red tones I like the dual green and red tones of the leaves... but we were told that it flowered bright pink flowers, I need to think twice about this one This will grow to a tall elegant tree-like plant Something for our side garden beds? In the end we decided to start with four of these Japanese shrubs... hubby bought some manure to plant them in. Will show you the pics when they are planted in.

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Have I been a good girl this year???

We didn't expect to receive many presents this Christmas. But a few people here and there have been generous enough to grace our Christmas tree with some pressies. So no need to wrap up 'pretend' empty boxes with wrapping paper to cover the bareness of the metal tree legs. Among the lovely presents we received this year included... House warming gift cards - always a good thing to have Solar Lights for our garden... very nice! A very chic wine glass holder... (I like your style, Audz) A bohemian looking vase (thanks Secret Santa!) And one of my top favourites: The coveted Jamie Oliver Flavour Shaker!!! I must have been a very good girl this year. But more likely, I'm simply surrounded by very very good friends!

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Christmas Eve

33 minutes left till Christmas Day 2008. My shopping is all done (more or less)... My cookies are all baked... My house is all cleaned (pretty much)... and we're set and ready to get into the holiday mood. So there's no better time then to wish you all a Blessed and Happy Christmas!!!

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Early Christmas Pressies

Hubby and I are not really into buying gifts for each other... e.g. Christmas, Birthdays, Anniversaries etc. We prefer to do something or go somewhere together... the whole quality time thing, you know. But since this year, we are furnishing the house and getting settled into it pretty close to Christmas... our household items shopping has been pretty much translated into Christmas shopping, as we fall right into the middle of all the Christmas sales and promotions and festivities. So we decided to consider the following practical items as this year's Christmas presents to ourselves: Sony Bravia 40" LCD Full HD TV Electrolux 520 Litre Fridge

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Christmas Cooking

It's that time of the year again where the kitchen starts to smell oh so yummy! Here are a couple of snippets of Christmas cooking projects I've been up to so far... Project Numero Uno : The 'cheat' version of elegant fruit cake (only 2 basic ingredients required) Base ingredient #1: Hubby's Favourite Home Brand Fruit Cake... no need the fancy schancy labels, hubby still likes Home Brand the best. Slice it into small squares (approx 6 pieces) Base ingredient #2: Ready Mix Fondant Icing. Roll it out flat to a about 2-3mm thickness Then wrap up the little cakes in the fondant icing... this took a bit of time to perfect it, trimming the edges, smoothing the surfaces etc... but it's quite fun, like playing with play-doh And for a special touch, add some ribbons for a lovely little pressie! Hubby liked it very much! He said it was a classy twist to one of his favourite snacks Project Numero Dos : Honey Glazed Ham (an impressive looking dish which is actually quite ea...

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Mummy and Daddy in Perth

We had a simple but memorable time during mum and dad's recent trip to Perth... Proof that daddy cooks!!! Mum, I'm still keeping a lookout for any sale or promotions on your coveted blouse... And rest assured that we are looking after the precious little baby plants - they're still green and thriving (the earthworms are looking happy too!) More photos of mum and dad in Perth >>here More evidence of dad's cooking >>here

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Moving

Soooo... the time has finally come for us to MOVE!!! And in the same spirit of DIY, we decided to apply the same principle here as well. So we hired a big 3-tonne truck... And with the help of some friends... (pic above: the kelefeh) We loaded it up... (Above: Siang providing his 'expert' consultation on how best to position the cargo) And unloaded it at our new home... So we are now living in a world of cardboard boxes and disparate furniture pieces... So now I leave you to rummage through my boxes for the shampoo so I can take a shower! P.S. Thanks to everyone who helped us out with our moving... hope you guys enjoyed the nandos and cold beer!!!

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It's called Easi-Paint

A couple of people have asked us about what this wonder paint kit we used. I actually forgot the name of the product which was why I didn't mention it. But after a quick check with hubby, I now know. So for those interested, the product is called Easi-Paint Home Decorating Kit You can order in online at www.easipaint.com.au

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Our wonder paint kit!

Soooo... House painting is now FINISHED!!! (except for the second coat on the feature walls which we’ll do along the way) WE received a lot of surprise reactions from people whenever we tell them. It’s like they can’t believe how fast we got through the painting without even taking any leave to do it. We can hardly believe it ourselves... Anyway, I’ve decided to tell you about our little secret weapon... Tadaa!!! Does it look impressive? Or just weird. It doesn’t look like the conventional paintbrush set at all. Where’s the brush? Where’s the roller? Yaaa... I know... special right? We came across this some time earlier this year when hubby and I were sauntering our way through one of those home expos at the convention centre. This guy was demonstrating how to use this paint kit... looked so interesting as I never saw anything like that before (actually I never painted before either, so it would all have been new to me anyway). No drops. No spills. No mess. (Really???) Easy to use. Eve...

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Glimpse into our almost finished home

Entrance hallway Kitchen Master Ensuite Bathroom We're aiming to move in by this weekend. Lots of packing to do to get there! But very excited :)

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Floorings

Aaaahhhh... floooors!!! All this while there has been a lot of activity happening in the background parallel to our painting efforts. We have chosen to lay three types of floors throughout the house: 1. Tiles - easy to maintain and clean 2. Carpet - Warm and cosy in the bedroom - Sound absorbent (for home theatre) Coming soon: timber laminates... (And yes I know... need to vaccuum)

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Some painting tips (for those interested)

Important painting tip : when painting fresh unplastered walls, you always need to have a sealer base coat to start with. Otherwise the lime in the plaster will react with the paint colour which might have unpleasant results next time. We had used up a whole weekend at the start of our painting project to paint this base sealer coat throughout the house. It was a bit dull because it was not the actual paint colour yet... so quite demoralising to paint something without being able to see immediate tangible results. BUT today we are thankful that we did put the base coat on. You see, as we were packing up and preparing to move out of our current house we were renting... as responsible tenants we tried to clean up the place and do some touch ups here and there. There was one particular corner which had some bits of plaster and paint peeling off. The problem was there before we came, but we decided to try and mend it anyway. So hubby peeled away some bits of paint, which came out in small ...

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My Scrapbook

A glimpse of a page from my scrapbook... (Master suite page) P.S. Another two rooms done - Master Ensuite and Bathroom now have two coats of a lovely light creamy latte (and mould resistant!) colour known as 'Vitesse'

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The Blue Room

Home Theatre feature wall: 'Tasman Blue' Hubby at work. My work: touch ups and corners Which carpet colour do you think looks better? I'm inclined to this one because it seems more versatile and seems to highlight the grey tones in the feature wall more... Or should I just go with the current blue theme of the room? By the way, in case you are worried, I am aware that there are visible streaks on the wall... first coat only ok?

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DIY people

Sorry for the sparse updates. lots of photos to share but lately only been able to blog from my mobile. We've been pretty much fully occupied over the last couple of weeks painting our new house. Its all coming together nicely. Tiling is done, carpet and wood selections made. I have a nifty little scrapbook where I keep track of all my paint chips, colour samples, magazine clippings etc. Painting has been quite fun actually. We listen to sermon recordings as we paint and work through each room methodically. We've finished the first sealer coat throughout the whole house and finished two rooms already. Right now I'm waiting for hubby to pick me up to go to the house so we can put the finishing touches to the home theatre. After that we'll start on the kitchen/living area. So exciting!

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Getting older soon

Flew back in to Perth from Sydney on Wednesday night. Then on Thursday I walked into the office and was greeted by an enthusiastic 'Happy Birthday!!!'... Is it November already??? I know time flies but this is getting too much. Then on Friday I received another chirpy 'Happy Birthday' message from my bro... Are people so determined to see me a year older as soon as possible? Am I getting that old or are the people around me the ones getting old? Chill out... I still have one more month yet!

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Escape...

So as I mentioned , hubby and I went away for a couple of days down south for our own private mini retreat at Empire Retreat . It was a much needed break. After the craziness of the past few weeks with work and preparing for Search for a Star, we just needed to unplug and reset... Enjoying a bit of wine with some fresh strawberries... Soaking in our private jacuzzi spa... Posing and playing some pool... Breathing in the fresh air and enjoying nature... Having scrumptious breakfasts prepared for us... We came back quite rested, rejuvenised and recharged (much of it also had to do with immersing ourselves in ABBA music 3 hours to and 3 hours fro!) View more photos of our retreat >>here

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More Popular Posts

Our DIY outdoor chalkboard

Today’s entry is not so much a post as it is just a way to showcase the latest addition to our outdoor play area… Our new mega sized outdoor chalkboard!

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Learning about snails

This past week has been all about snails.The children are always fascinated by the snails in our garden and ask endless questions about them.A couple of weeks back, one of my boys stumbled across a snail crawling along the ground.

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DIY magnet shapes

A couple of weeks ago, I had posted this snapshot of these set of magnetic shapes I made on my Instagram. I received a few curious questions on how I made them.

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Three Questions

And so Nathan’s very first day of kindergarten is over. It was a mixture of good, bad, sweet and sour. I think that so much happens throughout the day, it can be challenging for a little person to filter through it all.

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My cup runneth over

These days my days are packed full to the brim. From the moment I wake up to the sound of Grace calling through the baby monitor and Nathan’s cheeky face peering at me over the edge of the bed… to the evening when I finally tuck them into bed and say goodnight.

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