Goodbye 2011... Hello 2012

2011draws to a close!!!

I think many of us are feeling like celebrating the end of 2011. Feeling thankful we are actually still here it to see it end, and that we outlasted all the drama of it. For all that was awful for so many people in 2011, it still isn't too hard to think of things that were also good too. 2011 flashed by in a blink of an eye (in retrospect) even though some of those individual days were a real grind.

The thing I love most about the change of year is the feeling of letting go of all the old impediments that keep us back, and being able to become open and hopeful for all the joy and wonderful potential that the the new year holds. Hope must spring eternal or why would we continue to carry on.

In 2012 my only goal is accepting peace into my soul. I have had enough of the fight and struggle over the last few years so in 2012 I just want to float and feel the serenity. While I actually realise that this seems wasteful, I have spent so many years fighting to get upstream I wonder what it would be like to actually stop and go with the flow. Perhaps all these years I have been missing my destiny by trying in earnest to reach some other perceived goal. I want to see what will develop if I can get out of the way and just let life happen. I am also going to say Yes to all the things I keep talking myself out of doing.

Here's to you and yours and me and mine for a new type of New Year.
x
Rebecca

Happy Holidays To You

Well I have been trying to get to writing this post all week, but I have been flatter than flat chat for days on end. Baking, shopping, sewing, entertaining, cleaning and more baking all week long and no time for pit stops at all. So as my Christmas gift to you here is a little last minute treat you can make for yourself or to gift to someone else.

Image from: Call Me Cupcake

Brownies in a bottle
The  image is from the blog Call Me Cupcake. If you visit over at her site you will see more gorgeous drool inspiring pictures and recipes. Linda is also writing a book which I hope will be available on Amazon or through book stores here. (I am getting a long list of books to buy which are being written by may favourite bloggers.)

All you need is a 1 litre jar (container) and a set of scales to measure everything in. I gave one of these to a girlfriend yesterday and told her to keep it in the pantry "in case of emergency" because all you need to bake them are 3 pantry staples that everyone always has on hand.
In fact she liked the idea so much I decided to make some more to give out to guests at Christmas dinner tomorrow. I made a little hang tag to go on the bottle which gives the extra ingredients and instructions to bake the recipe. On the back of the tag I included the complete recipe so the recipients can make another emergency jar for their pantry.

Here is the tag so you can print it too. I've translated the cooking terms into something I understand (it is originally written using decilitres which I believe is French and more precise). Cups work equally well as the measurement and any straight sided cup can be used so long as the same cup is used to measure everything. Feel free to click the label image and then print the labels off, fold in 1/2 and punch a little hole in the top to tie it onto the jar.

Best wishes to you all for a safe, happy, wonderful holiday season and I will catch you all again soon!

xox
Rebecca

PS don't forget the last minute project I shared last year: Reindeer Food.

Today I made...

Christmas stockings for the kids. I guess I wasn't feeling pressured enough so I decided to add another project on a whim.

Spotlight has all their Christmas stuff at 50% off so while I only walked in to refund $7 worth of bias tape I decided not to use and spend a $10 voucher on a new ironing board cover, I actually walked out with a bunch of Christmas fabric, some new moulds (which I used in Yesterday's soap projects), and a couple of other small items.

The stocking panel really only made 2 stockings but I stretched them out to 4 by backing them with a cute owl and tree printed fabric and I added padding then lined them with the left over plain red fabric from Mum's bunting project. Sorry Mum I used it all up but you didn't really want any of it back right? [I said smiling my sweetest smile... this only works with your own Mother when your nearly 40].

The stockings did turn out pretty cute though.

Mr W invited his mate from down the street for a pancake breakfast today. 10 minutes before he arrived I dropped a Pyrex jug on the floor from less than a foot (30cm), it totally shattered and split my little toe open, thankfully DH was on hand (and wearing shoes) to help clean up the mess and me. I think I lost a small chunk of skin off my toe but I covered it in a band-aid put on a tight shoe (apply pressure) and carried on with making the pancakes. After breakfast we dropped a glass bauble off the tree so out came the vacuum again. Luckily no injuries this time.

My next job is cutting up the fruit for the pudding cakes. Another sticky job... better run off and look for the brandy - for the cakes!

Today I made...

the last strand of bunting for my Mum... and about 2kg (4lb) of soaps.
I can't really believe that all the bunting is finally finished, I got quite quick at stitching it all together by the end. It also helped that I ordered 25 metres of continuous bias tape so I didn't need to repeat my I-can't-join-these-two-@$%#-pieces-of -#@$%*^@#-bias-tape-together tantrum from last week.

I didn't really intend to make all that soap, it just happened that way. I made reindeer soap, mini gingerbread men, larger gingerbread men (which I am going to gift to the neighbours for Christmas), pond duckies, dragon flies and lumps of coal. Now my house smells divine!


If you want to make some soap too check out these soap project tutorial pages from BrambleBerry and Otion.
Coal Soap
Ducky Soap

I actually love the smell of the coal soap (which is made of real charcoal) because I used a new Cranberry and Pomegranate fragrance in it, so it is a really nice soap.

Holidays Holidays Holidays

Yesterday was the first day of the Summer holidays! Yay! Mr W had been waiting in desperation for them to begin. Yes there is all the fun, warm weather which means swimming and playing all day with his mates because there is no school, and then there is Christmas which means pressies, and his birthday which means more pressies but the real reason he has been aching for the holidays to start is because he was allowed to get a haircut on the first day of the holidays.

Walking into the Barber shop

We always go to Fremantle to get his hair cut at Norm Wrightson's (Mr W affectionately calls it 6 chairs), he's had all but two haircuts done here (one was a 1000Yen cut in Japan and one somewhere else when we were desperate and couldn't make it to 6 Chairs). His first ever haircut was done at this same Barber shop on his 1st birthday (yes I did cry a bit), and I almost cried a bit today too (I was biting my lip really hard)

He's been growing out his hair since the last school holidays, and now it is almost touching his nose. Whoop-de-doo* you say and I can understand that... but what you don't know is that this haircut would be HIS free choice!

So without further ado here is the after shot.

And walking back out of the Barber shop

He loves it! Me not so much but I keep reminding myself that it is better than a tattooed face on my child. I honestly thought he would chicken out and I gave him lots of opportunity to do so. I told him he had to ask for the style himself and he had to pay for half of the cost. I think he may have thought I might put my foot down at the salon and outlaw a Mohawk style at the last moment, but I didn't. Lesson learned we can't call each other's bluff.

After the haircut we went and did some ingredient shopping for the Christmas baking. I kept losing him everywhere we went because it hadn't quite sunk in that he looks so different. I guess I'll get used to it... and it will probably have grown out by the time he goes back to school in 7 weeks. Fingers crossed!


*Whoop-de-doo is usually used negatively to show that you feel unexcited or uninterested in something or event.