Kenilworth

Kenilworth is a small town in the Mary Valley, that we love to visit.


The purpose of our trip down the Obi Obi Range, was to check out the Cheese Factory, which was one of my 30 before 30 goals. Unfortunately, they no longer host tours of the factory, so I had to be content with browsing their extensive on-site shop ;) I already had some of their delicious Feta cheese at home, so I bought half a wheel of Camembert and a small piece of their signature Red Malling.

Kenilworth has a lovely park for children, and particularly, a small fenced off area for smaller kids, which I always love to see as it means the Mama can put her feet up a bit, knowing the little ones are playing safely. Today, Roman found a friend, and they spent some time chasing each other around and generally having a good time. Leo just hung out on the swing, it's by far his favourite!

After the park we popped into the local op-shop, Shed Some Light, which supports orphans in Kathmandu. I picked up a bag of fabric remnants for $3!

Then we proceeded to the bakery, to get the boys their promised ice-cream, and Kaleb and I, enjoyed a meat pie.

We took the long way home, through Conondale and up to Maleny. All 3 boys, fell asleep on the way home, missing all the beautiful Jacaranda's that are flowering at the moment.

 

x Shara

Monthly Me - October

This is me today. Watching the rain come down outside and not caring (much) about the 4 loads of washing out on the line. It'll dry another day ;)

x Shara

30 before 30 - My Challenge
The other portraits.

Monthly Me - September

Hanging out the washing in my new hat!

x Shara

Monthly Self-Portraits are part of my 30 Before 30 Challenge.

Strawberry Picking

A few weekends ago, we took the boys strawberry picking at on of the many local farms. It was such a lovely set up, with a playground, plenty of running around space and lots of tables and chairs. There was even a birthday party happening in one of the sheds! What a great idea! We picked a load of strawberries, about $30 worth, but it was so fun, particularly for Roman.

When we got home, we washed all the berries, and then made some fresh strawberry milk, then some strawberry syrup for pancakes, then we ate the rest, some plain, some with cream, some with icing sugar, and on pancakes! Delicious!

This is the strawberry farm we went to.

Another 30 before 30 activity checked off!

x Shara

Patchwork Skirt

I have been inspired by lots of lovely patchworky style skirts on Pinterest lately, and decided to make one for myself.

Using this resource for measurements, I cut stacks of fat quarters into quarters and then added some material I already had. Joined them all up, sewed up the front and back added some elastic for the waist and Voila!

I didn't finish the bottom edge, and it is actually a bit to much fabric all up, so I think I will unpick the side seams and cut some off, so it's not so "full". I really love it and will definitely make another, but probably just simpler colours etc. This one was alot of sewing!

One of my 30 Before 30 goals was to make some clothes for myself!

x Shara

Check out Natural Suburbia!

A Family Day Out at Australia Zoo

 

Last Saturday, we finally had a day together as a family, after Kaleb worked nearly a whole month without a day off. We have been wanting to take the kids to Australia Zoo for a while now and it was also on my 30 before 30 list.

 

This is just a small selection of photos from our day, but what I loved most was seeing Roman's face every time we got to a different animal enclosure. He lit up, asked all manner of questions about the animals and listened intently as we read to him from the information plaques at each animal. He told me that he only really liked the dangerous animals, not the Koala's!

 

He had a turn at feeding an elephant, which scared the pants off him. I think he was pretty awestruck at the sheer size of it.

 

The highlight for me was seeing the Giraffe's and a Rhino. I could never have imagined how large a Rhino really is and I couldn't stop looking at him.

 

Leo was such a trooper all day, mostly content to stay in his pram. Looking at the animals wasn't really something that held his interest, although you can see in one of the photo's above that he did find a Frill-Necked Lizard in one of the gardens and spent a good amount of time chatting to it.

 

We wisely took our own lunch and snacks, knowing that it would cost a fair amount for the entry into the zoo, and it was a welcome break to find a playground at morning tea time and then sitting down to lunch on the grass in the shade.

 

Surrounding the grassed area where we had lunch were some "funpark" rides for the kids (free!) and Roman had a go on the jumping castle. On the other side, was a sandpit, complete with cave and "fossils" that the kids could discover.

 

We spent around 4 hours at the zoo and saw almost all the animals, but we decided not to see any of the main crocodile shows, as it would probably have been difficult to get Leo to sit still in the grandstand.

 

On the way out we grabbed some ice-creams for the kids, and then they both fell asleep in the car on the ride home.

 

Roman has spent all week telling everyone he sees about our trip to the zoo, and has been surprising me with his remembering of animal facts (like, Red Panda's have 6 fingers on each hand!).

 

It was fun!

 

x Shara

 

 

Monthly Me - August

Enjoying the end of Winter sunshine.... Can really feel spring pushing in now :)

x Shara

Part of my 30 before 30 Challenge

Crafternoon

A few weekends ago, I invited some girlies around for a very informal Crafternoon. A little bit of crafting happened ;), but there was lots of chatting, and baby cuddling! We had a simple afternoon tea and hot and cold bevvies.

We even had a special drop in from an overseas friend!

This crafternoon was also part of my 30 before 30 challenge.

x Shara

Monthly Me - July

Here is this months Self Portrait. Late in the evening, children finally asleep, yarn in hand, watching The Voice USA.

This is part of my 30 before 30 challenge.

You can see my other self portraits HERE.

x Shara

Yarn Along

Ugh! It is so wet, grey and cold at the moment... I thought this was the Sunshine Coast ;)

We've been stuck indoors most of the week, which is rather boring as we live in a tiny townhouse with no space. Lots of TV watching has been happening along with baking and lego building.

Today saw us at the public library all morning for Roman and Grandma to attend a Bugs Alive demonstration while Leo and I, sat in on story time with the other littles.

I haven't done much crochet over the last fortnight as Leo has been pretty much stuck in my lap all day (and most nights). He has had 5 teeth come through in 2 weeks, making him a fairly miserable little fella.

However I did catch a moment of sunshine last week to work on my poncho. The pattern is called Knock Knock Knock Penny! I chose this pattern solely because I love the Big Bang Theory, (and the pattern is lovely). I am using Bendigo Luxury 10ply in Navy. The pattern is easy to follow and I have really enjoyed it. I have finished one ball of wool and will have to order another now so I can get it finished.

While I was at the library today I remembered about another of my 30 before 30 challenges. To read the all the books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I checked on the computer catalogue and they had the first book Little House in the Big Woods. I borrowed it out and have read 2 chapters and I love it already. It has large print and colour pictures!

I haven't finished The Apothecary's Daughter yet so I really should do that before continuing on with this book.

x Shara

Join in the Yarn Along!

Chocolate & Courgette Cake

Part of my 30 before 30 challenge was to bake a different cake every month, one I have never made before. This cake is also from the book What Shall We Cook Today?. I chose it because I had some Zucchini's to use up!

With the help of Roman, the cake was whipped up in no time at all, ready in time for Saturday afternoon tea! Roman was a bit unsure that vegetables really belonged in cakes, but he gobbled up a piece of cake with his thumbs up!

Do not be tempted to put icing on this cake! It is so rich and moist, that it really isn't needed.

Chocolate & Courgette Cake

3 courgettes, peeled

250g unsalted butter, softened

250g light brown soft sugar (I used much less than this and my cake was super sweet)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

125ml milk

350g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

greaseproof paper, 30 x 20cm cake tin

1. Preheat oven to 180c (350F) and prepare your cake tin.

2. Grate the peeled courgettes, using the fine grater.

3. Cream butter, sugar and extract, until soft, creamy and pale.

4. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

5. Add milk and mix together.

6. Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa into bowl and fold into wet mixture gently.

7. Stir in courgettes and mix well.

8. Pour into cake tin and bake for 35-45 minutes.

9. Remove from oven and place on rack to cool.

Enjoy!

x Shara

Monthly Me - June

One of my 30 before 30 challenges was to post a picture of me every month till my 30th birthday.... So here I am in June:

Being silly with a Mandarin!

x Shara

This was me in May...

Fresh Orange Cake

Another part of my 30 before 30 challenge was to bake a different  cake every month, one I have never made before! I love to bake so this is kind of an easy challenge for me, but I kinda get stuck in a cake rut. Do you know what I mean? Chocolate, Banana, Chocolate, Banana... you get the idea, right? I flicked through my recipe books, started a list, searched some of my favourite foodie blogs, added to the list. I still don't have 12 chosen, but I'm sure I'll find them!

Fresh Orange Cake ~ What Shall We Cook Today

(More than 70 fun and easy recipes for kids to make)

1 unwaxed or organic orange, washed

175g of unsalted butter, very soft

250g caster sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

250g self raising flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

100ml milk

3 tablespoons natural yoghurt

3 tablespoons granulated sugar, for the topping

a 900g loaf tin, greased  greaseproof paper or non stick baking parchment

makes 1 large loaf cake

1. Preheat oven to 180c (350f). Prepare cake tin.

2. Cut orange in half. Save one half for the topping. Remove pips from the other half and cut into 8 pieces. Put pieces, as they are with skins on, into a food processor or blender. Run machine until the orange is chopped into very small pieces. Add orange to mixing bowl.

3. Add soft butter, sugar and eggs to bowl with orange.

4. Sift flour and bicarbonate of soda into the same bowl. Then add milk and yoghurt. Beat with a wooden spoon or electric mixer on speed 1, until well combined.

5. Spoon mixture into prepared cake tin, and spread surface evenly.

6. Bake for about 50 minutes, test with a skewer. If skewer has mixture on it bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven.

7. While cake is baking, make the topping. Squeeze the juice from the remaining half of the orange, into a small bowl. Add the granulated sugar and stir to make a syrupy glaze.

8. While cake is still hot, prick holes all over the surface. Drizzle glaze over the top so it trickles into the holes. Leave until completely cold before removing from tin. Store in an airtight container and eat within four days!

This cake is so delicious! Make it today!!

This is actually the cake for May, and I did bake it yesterday, but couldn't get a picture! Stay tuned for June's yummy offering.

x Shara