House Update - Getting Closer

The end is near - horray!!

While we are still waiting on the exact date for our balustrading to go in we do however have grass and plants and boy does it make a huge difference.

This week sees most of the the finishing touches - appliances, carpet, floor boards polished.

All of my goodies that have been in storage for what seems like forever arrives on Friday - what suprises will be in store for me there!

So here is a photo taken after planting was done on Saturday - I am so thrilled and I can't wait to be back in The Cove!!








Black and White Halloween

Black & White Halloween
This week on Flickr Faves Sunday, I bring you a black and white Halloween colour palette, with these gorgeous pics. Check back soon for some more of the most inspirational photographers on Flickr.

Some beautiful shots from my Flickr favourites (clockwise from top left):
Have a great day!

Fern's Naming Day



Over the weekend, we celebrated the Naming Dedication of our beautiful baby girl, Fern Lucinda, with our closest family and friends. Despite the odd meltdown in the leadup from the event (planning/organisation stress coupled with severe sleep deprivation); the day was exactly what I dreamed it would be and more. 

We never wanted a formal churchy affair, but definitely wanted some spiritual elements included. We opted to hold the ceremony at my parents in laws' home in Somersby on the Central Coast. Obsessive Avid gardeners, their 20 acre property looked stunning with splashes of Spring colour against a backdrop of mountains and the sea beyond. 





The Minister who officiated our wedding ceremony 5 years ago conducted the Dedication, which we thought kind of brought things beautifully full circle. There was just the one reading, an edited version of 'Oh the Places You'll Go' by Dr Seuss. I searched the internet high and low for potential readings and couldn't find anything that wasn't terribly cheesy or just wasn't quite right. This poem/ book summed up what I wanted to say and even the Minister wanted a copy afterwards!

The theme for the Naming Dedication was 'butterflies' and originally I planned to stage a butterfly release, but the company I found in Sydney were extremely slack in responding my enquiries and I decided not to go ahead. Besides, I am not entirely convinced it is not a bit cruel to the butterflies to keep them enclosed in such a tiny space and then transport them to a foreign climate and environment. Nevertheless, we stuck to the butterfly theme with cakes, decorations, invitations... and then the kids discovered a corner of the paddock with literally hundreds of butterflies hovering around anyway -- who says God is only in church??

I was so happy with my butterfly cupcakes and the way they turned out. I was asked many times how we made them, I think they looked a whole lot more difficult than what they actually were! I also made some caramel mudcake cupcakes which we painted an 'f' onto as an alternative desert.







The double chocolate cookies I baked from a Nigella Lawson recipe went down a treat, in fact they were hoovered up before I had a chance to explain they were supposed to be taken home as favours! 



As the venue was so lovely, I kept the decorations simple. I hung some pale pink Martha Stewart pom poms from the pergola above the tables, and decorated an old candelabra with some feux roses and nylon butterflies I bought inexpensively from Spotlight.   



Fern's vintage inspired dress and headband were from Tea Princess... I was never really very inspired by traditional Christening gowns for several reasons including the cost and the fact that they wear them once for about an hour! Once I found this label I knew it was exactly what I had been looking for, just the right combination of sweet and whimsical. And Fern really did look like a little princess on her special day.



Fern is such a blessing to our lives, and brings us such joy and happiness. Congratulations on your Dedication, baby girl, we love you. xo 

Fern's Naming Dedication


Over the weekend, we celebrated the Naming Dedication of our baby daughter, Fern. Such an amazing and beautiful day. Full story and photos to follow later this week... xo

Jessica Watson - what if she were YOUR daughter?


Jessica Watson. A young girl who at just 16 years old has set sail on a little pink yacht on an around-the-world solo mission. She's been sailing "half her life" (?!) and is apparently well equipped for the 240 day, 23000 nautical miles (38000 kilometre) journey. It is fascinating and awe inspiring but I just have to wonder, what are her parents thinking right now? What goes through your mind as you say goodbye to your daughter for the better part of a year, as she risks her life in a journey never before undertaken by someone so young and relatively inexperienced? The media has been in a frenzy in recent weeks and everyone from the Premier to the Deputy Prime Minister have voiced their opinion on it. Jessica, who will sleep in 20 minute naps and eat freeze dried fruit and meals throughout the journey says,
"when it comes down to it, there’s no way you can prepare yourself in your head for eight months alone. There’s no test for that. How you’re gonna handle yourself after two weeks just doesn’t compare to eight months, so the only way to find out is to get out there and do it."
Anyway, this is not the sort of thing I normally write about on my blog but I can't stop thinking about this brave girl and the incredible mission in front of her. I wish her the very best of luck and will follow her blog with interest over the coming months! Read about Jessica and her journey here. 
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