A Productive Weekend Along With Some Chaos....

Bonjour Home, Love and Life friends and how did you all enjoy your weekend this week?? We actually got quite a bit done this weekend and if you can believe it we had to go back to the old house for one last collection and tip run!!! We had no choice but to hand the keys back into Homewest last week before we could get everything as clean as we wanted and before we had a chance to pull down the buckled trampoline or they would have started charging rent for still having the keys even though we're not living there (crazy hey). So any way last week I get a phone call asking me when I was getting rid of the stuff left behind at the old house (I knew they would take the trampoline away and charge us for it and we were fine with that, we didn't have any more time to go back there) and I was like what stuff?? and my accommodation manager says 'the stuff left in the house' and I'm still like 'what stuff? I only left some cleaning stuff in the cupboards for the next tenants and I left two shoe drawers in the master bedroom for the new tenant, fire tools to stay with the fire as I don't need them anymore and a couple of terrilene curtains as I don't need them here.' So she's like 'ok those things can stay but all the cleaning stuff in the cupboards need to go so I'll have the cleaners put them under the patio in a box for you to pick up and you'll need to get rid of the trampoline or we'll charge you for it..' So I told her we'd be round on the weekend (after they made a big song and dance about us not going back once the keys were handed in) to collect the stuff from the cupboards and to get rid of the trampoline.

Our trampoline that was knocked over by the wind and buckled..

So we head over first thing Saturday morning to assess what's there and how much stuff, if any will need to go in the trailer and what do you know.....yep you guessed it.....they had taken all the stuff out of the house that was supposed to stay for the next tenant and put that under the patio and left all the cleaning stuff in the house!!! Seriously how hard is it to follow instruction..!! So because we couldn't get in the house to put the stuff back Chris suggested we take the stuff back home and we could use the shoe drawers for storage in the double garage.....good idea I tell him, so we head over to mums to get the trailer and while we were gone what do you think happens?? (and we were only gone 45 mins to an hour at most) Yep upon returning to get our stuff... we find it had been stolen!! I was not happy in the slightest and I was furious.....we're pretty sure we know who it was but have no proof...it had to be someone close by and who knew we'd been coming back and forth....so that means a neighbour....especially considering those shoe drawers were heavy and were around the back..if someone was just driving by they would never have known what was out there....So while cursing people for being thieves at the top of my voice we got to work and pulled the trampoline down and dumped it at the tip along with some other things we didn't have time to get rid of while we were actually busy moving.....It took us the best part of the day to get rid of everything, bring things back to the new house we decided we'd keep after all and on our last trip I decided I was going to dig up most of the plants I had put in since I'd moved in there or revived from death that were left by the tenant before me.......I really was mad that after two years of keeping the house well and looking after the gardens that this is what they'd do and that neighbours would actually steal from us while our backs were turned.....I said to Chris we probably would have been broken into sooner if it hadn't been for having Lady.....So that was Saturday and when we finally came home at four I said to Chris, 'bugger it we've worked our butts off all day lets take Bec down to the foreshore and have an ice cream' and that's exactly what we did......

Now I know I'm kind of going backwards but anyone who knows me will be able to follow me...hehe....before the chaos on Saturday we had a good day Friday.....Bec, Luke and I went to Bunnings and got our veggies for the veggie garden and Bec got some Nemesia (poetry lavender) for the garden bed as she wanted some purple flowers. We also stopped by the Stockfeed place down from Bunnings and checked out baby chicks and of course Bec wanted to bring them all home.....I told her we'd bring daddy to look at them when he finished work as I knew he would be finishing early Friday....She and Luke were happy with that so we headed home for lunch as I needed to get Luke to work by 2pm....After dropping Luke to work Chris, Bec and I went to check out the chicks and while we were only 'sussing them out' we ended up bringing four home...lol...they were only 18hrs old when we picked them up so they're in Luke's room in a box under a light until they're old enough to go into the chook pen....We picked Luke up from work and surprised him when we got home as he had no idea we would get them while he was at work...Bec has named one chick Clucky, Luke has named one Ginger (from chicken run) and we're waiting for Eva to come down so she can name a chick and then I think we'll all choose a name for the last one.....the only thing about naming chooks is it then makes it hard to kill them to eat them when they're older...hehehe....no don't worry I couldn't eat chickens I've raised and named.....well I don't think I would...

The newest members of the family....only 18hrs old when this pic was taken Friday...

So now we have Sunday and while Sunday proved to be a productive and good day it started with some of the chaos from Saturday spilling over into Sunday morning......ever since we moved here Lady just has not settled at night time....she's been barking at possums all night (we didn't have them where we were before) jumping the gate and barking in the neighbours yard (again something she's never done before) and basically making a nuisance of herself and on more than one occasion keeping everyone awake with her barking......We have been very patient but firm with her.....I don't know why she's obsessed with the possums and barking at them all night and no matter how much discipline she gets it just doesn't stop her. Molly, my crazy dog who is going senile has been the best behaved she's ever been since moving here....she has a good morning bark at the neighbours next door building and occasionally will bark in the middle of the yard for no reason but other than that she's been great. Lady however barked all night Saturday night and was jumping the gate (we could hear her) until 3am Sunday morning when she finally went quiet and went to sleep...or so I thought.....So we get up Sunday morning still tired from Lady keeping us awake most of the night and I go to let Molly outside (she sleeps on the back veranda at night as she just won't stay out when it's this cold) and what do I see.....Lady next to her kennel, yes next to it, not in it......with a decent sized dead baby possum....well now I really was not impressed....I'm not sure about other states but over here if your dog kills a possum you can get fined for it!!! I called Chris and told him what she'd done and he took it off her and buried it....She knew from the moment she saw me in the morning she was in trouble and she didn't even try to stop Chris from taking her spoil.....She spent the rest of the day moping around the yard and keeping her distance.....I really don't know what's got into her lately or what we're going to do if she doesn't settle down......but hopefully all the other possums have learnt to stay up in the trees away from her.....

 Lady sulked all day yesterday...aka...the possum killer

Molly my old crazy girl who's been the best behaved of all the animals...

So after Chris buried the possum we finally made it to the meeting, which was nice to have some normality to the weekend...thank you Jehovah!!! We came home after the meeting and decided to do some work in the garden and try and balance out all the chaos of the weekend so far...Luke and Bec planted their carrots, Bec got baby carrots and Luke got regular carrots and they both helped with the cabbages and the peas.....I'm now wishing I had of got a picture of them in the process of planting them....

Bec's baby carrots top left, cabbages in the middle and Luke's carrots down the bottom and the peas where it looks empty...

While at the old house Saturday I dug up my birds of paradise plants, my rose bushes, my lavender bush and bought home my other bench seat which is more for garden decoration than sitting unless you want a splinter in your bum....hehe.......I'm thinking I'm going to sand it back and give it a fresh coat of paint....

My rose bushes pruned back but they'll be fine in a few weeks...

One of the birds of paradise...

Bec's three little Nemesia plants right behind the bricks....

The other bird of paradise...they both need a prune then can't wait for them to flower again....

My Lavender a little droopy from the move but it will bounce back...

Another bench seat...this was a roadside find years ago and it's just stayed with me....

And our chicks today...now four days old and doing very well....

So with all our outdoor work done for another Sunday we came inside had some lunch and I ended up watching Manly beat the Roosters with Chris....And I can tell you now....we didn't hear a peep from Lady last night and we all got a good nights sleep.....However I did find her out the front this morning as I was heading out to the shop and she made a hasty retreat back over the fence and into the back yard.....if anyone has any idea why she's so obsessed with barking at possums I'd love to hear your thoughts.....

Well that was my productive, crazy and chaotic weekend....how did your weekend go??

Oh So Very Cold....But Plans Are In Motion....

Hello there Home, Love and Life friends and how are you all today..? Well today has been very cold here in little old Busselton, the mornings are freezing, the nights are freezing and the days are chilly, it's so cold in fact that today I decided I had to put the electric blanket on the bed as I think that's half the reason I'm not sleeping properly...I'm just too cold...so on it went this morning and I'm already looking forward to climbing into my nice warm toasty bed tonight. It's a lovely cool 17.5 degrees here today and we're only half way through May....something tells me it's going to be a very cold winter.....brrrr.

Lovely fresh sheets, a warm electric blanket and a cosy throw blanket for when I just want to curl up with a magazine....

The one thing about this cold weather is it has got me thinking about cooking lots of delicious casseroles and soups and making them with fresh produce, which led me to another thought.....the vege garden....hmmm well lets just say the vege garden here is pitiful...I don't even recognize what's growing in it and it's just sand and needs topping up with compost...so for the weekend I've decided I'm heading to Bunnings (as I do whenever I have a brilliant idea) to get some seedlings of winter veges, compost and whatever else I might need to revive this vege garden...

Our raised garden bed....as you can see it needs quite a bit of work..

I have no idea what this is but it's growing in the vege garden though not very well...

And while we're on the topic of fresh produce we're thinking about getting some chickens for the chook pen we gained with this property....I had chooks years ago and loved getting fresh eggs every morning...nothing taste better than fresh laid eggs...I loved having chooks but due to Molly (our dog) attacking them and stressing them out they stopped laying eggs and I had to re-house them.....this chook pen is quite secure so hopefully this time round she'll behave herself...

The outside of the chook pen...looking forward to having chickens again..

The inside of the chook pen...we have some work to do before it can house any chickens...they even have a chandelier....

Other side of the chook pen....plenty of room in here for a few chooks..

My garden bench from the old house sitting under one of the big shady trees...it's as if this spot was just waiting for my bench...will be spending plenty of afternoons here watching Bec play...

So there you have it...while the cold weather is turning my mind to mush and making me want to sleep I've still managed to come up with some ideas of what I want to do outside that will get everyone involved and I know Luke will love having chooks again as he loved the last lot we had when he was younger....for Bec having chickens will be a whole new experience...I think for Chris too actually as he's never had chooks before either......I really have managed to experience a lot of things in this life even when I think I haven't....Now if any of you have any idea what that plant is growing in the vege garden please leave a comment and tell me what it is I really would like to know......take care for now and I might just be back with some more ideas tomorrow....xo

Home Sweet Home....Part 2....

Bonjour Home, Love and Life friends and how are we all on this fine chilly morning?? Now I know I've been lapse in keeping up with posts but when your unpacking one house and setting up another there really has been little time left to get on the computer. In fact I think this has got to be the most I've been off the computer for some time.....but with only a few more boxes to get unpacked today I'll be back in the swing of things before you know it.

Well we're still loving the house and I'd have to say there really is only two downsides to it and that is the owners have sealed the chimney off to a big open fireplace and put a gas heater in......now don't get me wrong I'm glad we've got heating but anyone who's ever had a wood fire knows that a gas heater just doesn't do the same job as a wood fire does......a wood fire not only warms the whole house but it gives the house a different feel, it's a lot cosier sitting in front of a nice fire than in front of a gas heater with a loud rattling fan.....and there's a lot of brown in this house..don't get me wrong I'm loving the hardwood floors but all the trim and doors are brown..it makes it a little overwhelming and what I wouldn't give to freshen it up with a coat of white paint....but we're not complaining because besides missing the warmth of a wood fire..and a lot of brown....there's too much else to love about this house and I'm decorating as I'm going so it's coming together quite nicely.....so on to the rest of the pictures I promised..

This is the full length of the back veranda/sleepout area...it's huge and the girls are having a ball with all this space to play in....thinking of putting some nice small cane chairs in here as it would make a great sunroom area too....

The lovely fireplace...sealed off and a gas heater in place....I finished decorating the mantle yesterday...

The lounge room finally set up properly...love the big window that lets in tonnes of light during the day..

The dining room finally clear of boxes....

One of the best things about our new location is the beach is only a few hundred meters from home and this is the track leading down to the water....

So there you have it that's the rest of the house and I hope you all like it as much as we do....we really only had one hiccup while moving and that was the trampoline.....we had terrible weather the weekend we moved and when we went back to get the trampoline we found it on it's side and over near the fence. Now our trampoline is a big 12 foot round trampoline with a net around it so you can imagine the sight we came too...we pulled it back on it's legs and this is what had happened to it....

As you can see the whole frame buckled and legs came off...this was after Chris and I took the net off as it was acting like a kite and blowing it over......We knew the wind was strong but never thought the trampoline would be blown over......I still can't believe the damage that was caused....we have promised Bec and Luke a new trampoline soon...

Well besides losing the trampoline it has been a great first week in the new house and I'm looking forward to doing a few projects I have in mind but more about those in a later post.....I want to name the house as I can't keep calling it 'the new house' so if you have any ideas leave a comment....til tomorrow...take care and Au revoir....xo

Home Sweet Home....Part 1...

Bonjour Home, Love and Life friends....Well after an extremely busy week moving house I can finally tell you all about it. As most of you know we moved last Saturday and into Sunday, Monday, Tuesday....you get the idea...we have been going all week. Saturday we had help from one of Chris' work mates but other than that it has been just the two of us moving everything across town by the trailer load and unpacking non stop, in fact I'm still unpacking but am just taking some time out to catch up with all of you and see how you all are.

I have to say I'm loving the house and the more I get put away and the house comes together I'm loving it even more. As some of you may remember from an earlier post A Maddening Start To The Week.. I was talking (complaining hehe) about not being able to find anywhere to rent and how the rents were much cheaper over east and that was for properties with lots of room to move due to being on acres of land and how I'd always longed for space. Well believe it or not we managed to get pretty close to what we wanted, we're still in town but our house is on a 1019sqm block (Chris is glad he doesn't have to mow the lawns as it's included in the rent lol), it's an older house, (which those of you who know me know I love older houses,)  it has a small but lovely front veranda and decking out the back, we're only three streets back from the beach and we are very close to town.

Taken yesterday morning on our way back from our walk to the beach

My quaint little veranda...anyone for coffee here..?

The back of the house..love the decking...bbq's here for sure..

Side garden bed...there's my bench seat from the old house under the tree

Lots of trees, it's very shady in the afternoon...

Mine and Chris' new room...

Bec's new room...

Eva's new room...

The new bathroom....I actually like the blue and white scheme..

The new kitchen..I've had to work wonders in here with less than half the storage space than the old house..

The first dinner cooked on the new stove was Chow Mein and everyone loved it...

We've been so busy that this has been the first chance I've had to get on the computer, especially being I didn't have any internet access until Wednesday. And now it's Saturday and we've been here a week already and we've picked Eva up and are still getting the last of the unpacking done. As you can see I still need to put some more pics of the house up as the dining area still has boxes in it, the lounge isn't setup properly yet and we have an awesome sleep out I want to show you all. So they will come in a part 2 post very soon. Take care and have a great weekend....time for me to get back to work and do one final trip to the old house to get my rose bushes, bbq and pots that we couldn't get during the week. Au revoir mon amis..xo..

Liebster Blog Award...

A little while ago my wonderful friend Nellie awarded me the Liebster Award. I remember I was completely surprised as I didn't even know such an award existed here in blogland. I have been wanting to pass the award on to other lovely bloggers I have come to know however at the time Nellie gave me the award I was still getting to know bloggers and wasn't sure who to pass it on to. Now that some time has gone by and I've gotten to know you all so much better I feel I can pass the award on.

In German liebster means darling, beloved, boyfriend, sweetheart...I think we'll stick with Beloved :)

First of all I must thank Nellie from McCarthy Designs for the award because not only did it surprise me it made my day when she awarded it to me. If you don't know Nellie you simply must visit her Blog where she shares lovely pictures of her home, scone recipes and wonderful gift pack ideas for her online store which is full of goodies.

Nellie's corner she made over and she refurbished the mirror herself..

The rules for the Liebster Award are:

1. Choose 5 up and coming blogs to pass the award on to. They must have less than 200 followers.

2. Give lots of thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to their sites.

3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites.

My fellow bloggers and friends who I would love to pass the award on to are:

Caz From Gorgie Girl

One of Cazs' many market finds...she always finds a bargain..

Cas From Peaches and Maple

Cas loves her Country/Coastal scheme and is always coming up with new ideas like this one

S....From Jacana

You'll find a wide variety of topics over at Jacana...

Kris From The Bouse Life

Kris loves her shabby little cottage at Avondale and I'm sure you will too


Last but not least I would love to pass the award back to the lovely lady who awarded it to me in the first place. Nellie always has a kind word to say and her blog is full of wonderful ideas.

Nellie From McCarthy Designs

Some of Nellie's lovely bath products...

So there we have it Home, Love And Life friends....if you want to pass on the award and make someones day feel free but don't feel you have to. I really wanted to pass on this award as I think it's a lovely way of letting fellow bloggers know we appreciate the time and effort they put into their blogs so we have something enjoyable to read. I also wanted to pass this on before we move house (which starts tonight) as it has been a while since Nellie awarded it to me and I thought now is the perfect time to pass on a bit of something fun to brighten everyone's day.

Well now I'm off to do the last mad rush of packing so have a great day and take care....I'll check back in later today....xo

Home, Love & Life As I Live It Revamped.....

Well how are we all today Home, Love and Life friends?? I am well though down with somewhat of a thumping headache. As you can see my blog has been revamped...yey...I finally figured out how to do it but had some help from the lovely Elisa at her blog....Elisa has put up a tutorial on how to make a photo collage banner for your blog, so if you're like me and still figuring things out head over to Elisa's blog and check it out, you'll be surprised how easy it is, I know I was.

I'm not sure if I'm completely happy with the pics yet, there could be a few changes as I'm not too fond of the blog title being across my head....hehe. But I am happy that I have learnt yet another computer/photography/blogging skill to keep things fresh. I love blogger but the templates just didn't provide what I was looking for so I really wanted to design my own look and now I have :-) Don't you love it when you learn how to do something new?? I know I do and I also like to share what I have learnt, so if there's any new bloggers like me lurking around and wanting to know how to make your blog to your liking then I hope the tutorial helps you.

So what do you all think about the new look?? Are the pics ok? I could change them yet....any ideas on how to move the title?? Still trying to figure that one out.....(nope don't worry I have figured it out hehe) Well I'm outta here as I'm going to attempt to lay down for a little while and see if this headache goes away....and I hope you all like the new look of the blog....take care xo

Don't forget to stop and smell the roses will you....xo

From One Side Of Town To The Other...

Well hello Home, Love and Life friends and how are you all doing today? So I know I've been a little absent this week and with good reason. As most of you know we've been on the house hunt and last Friday I finally found a house I love (and as Chris was at work I had to make the call but knew he would love it too) and put in an application for it. We got the good news Tuesday that we were approved and the house is ours....so we are moving this weekend...argh!! hehe..Naturally there is some paperwork to finish off Friday afternoon before we get the keys but other than that all is going smoothly so far......now to just actually move a house full of furniture from one side of town to the other.

Even though we've only be in this house for just over two years a lot has happened here and I thought I'd share a few memories with you all before we move into the new house.

It's where I moved to with all three kids from Perth..

It's where Chris and I started dating...

It's where we were married and had the reception...

It's where we bought our first car together...

It's where Eva and Bec were welcomed into the family

It's also where my youngest and my oldest both moved

back to the city within a few months of each other and 

the youngest was the first to move out.....

It's where I got the good news my best friend had given birth..

It's where I started my blog....

It's where I rediscovered my love of coffee

It's where I decided to go into business...

It's where I met my amazing friend Nellie (and other lovely bloggers) 

and found the best online shop ever....

It's where I discovered my love of whitewash and 

finally decided on a french/beach decor scheme

It's where I found and fell in love with Instagram...

It's where we enjoyed the summer together as a family..

And most importantly it's where we decided that we would live in

our lovely new house on the other side of town...more pics will 

follow but what do you think so far...?

There is so much more that's happened in this house but too much to write about in one post as I would be here all day..I guess one of the most important things we decided on in this house next to getting married was that we would try for a baby and we'll all just have to wait to see how that one pans out....but here's hoping..

Now for those of you visiting my blog today and going 'woah, it's all white, what happened?'...I'm in the middle of revamping the blog and it may take a little while as I'm still figuring things out. Also I will try to blog as much as I can over the weekend to keep you all informed as to how the progress of moving is going but I will be without internet access until mid next week.......nooooo.....hehehe.....so please keep visiting, leave comments, I love reading all your comments as they always put a smile on my face and I'll be back with lots more pics of the new house as soon as I can....For today however take care and enjoy the rest of your day...xo