A little wish



I'm a big talker; love, love, love a chat. It's one of the reasons why I'm such a big commenter on your blog. Chatterbox = Commenter = true. Some days I visit and don't have time for comments... but there is something that I think would help me out greatly.

On Blogger blogs, you can change the way your comment box works. Instead of having the comments 'embedded below post', you can have a pop-up box appear.

Why is this helpful?

Well, it simply means that when we comment, the word verification is right there. We leave a comment, do the word veri and hit 'Publish Your Comment' and we're done. If you haven't got a separate pop-up box, we comment, we hit Publish, we wait for your whole blog site to reload and then we do the word veri and then we hit Publish again... hmmmm... takes a lot more time and it's lots of extra page loads to be dealing with. You can still view the comments embedded after your post anytime you click on the actual post.

So, in my dream blogland, we would all go to 'Settings' and then 'Comments' and then change our 'Comment form placement' setting to 'Pop-up window'.

That is my wish.*


* Of course I have much more important wishes to wish than just this little wish. Like, I also wish that world hunger did not exist, that wars were only part of history books and that I had Sienna Miller's wardrobe, but I thought I would start small and build up from there...

[Image via weheartit... please let me know if it is yours.]

Point + Shoot: 37



 
Sunday Afternoon 4.30pm


With all the baking, cooking and cleaning I did this weekend, hopefully means that this baby may be arriving sooner than later.... that would be just lovely!!
I'm so ready to meet this little miss ~ although technically I haven't even packed yet so better get moving and perhaps I should enjoy some lovely full nights of 
sleep for a little bit longer too.


We also managed to celebrate a friends 30th Saturday and sneak in a pub lunch with some fab friends on Sunday, finishing off a fine weekend..... how about you??


Don't forget to check out Chantelle's and Claire's bloggidy blogs too!!




Ikea Family Live Magazine - My Feature Article!

Good morning folks!

Hope you had a great weekend...... I was still getting over my excitement from Friday, when I opened m letterbox to discover a package containing advance copies of the new Ikea Family Live magazine... and a little feature article of me, my family and our humble little home!!!

So excited; it's certainly been a long time coming. The shoot actually took place in May last year, and this is the first time we've seen pictures from the day!

I won't spoil it by posting the whole article... But here's a little preview and I think the magazines go out to homes this week.

if you are not yet an Ikea Family member, do yourself a favour and sign up! I's free, and aside from the the obvious perk of getting a magazine featuring my home ;), you get such magazines delivered quarterly featuring homes from around the globe plus decorating tips and other trinkets; a discount card; and a free coffee whenever you visit the store (and lord knows you need one or five to survive the outing). Just visit the Ikea website in your country -- in Oz its www.ikea.com.au.

The article is a teeny bit fabricated, (journalistic license, no doubt) but essentially it's us. And our little and unassuming home. Because the great thing about Ikea is that its about LIVING in your home. With real people. I am not an interior designer but I think our place scrubbed up pretty well and I am proud of how it came out! The only thing I'm a tiny bit sad about is the fact that little Elliott wasn't a part of it. I was actually about 6 months pregnant when the shoot took place, but you can't really tell from the pics and little Elli's nursery hadn't even been painted yet. Actually, what is now his room was the storage room for the billion Ikea items that arrived in my house!

I'm sure I'l bore you all ad nauseum over the next week about the article and (once I work out my scanner -- grrrr) I will post more decent photos of the spread. I apologise in advance for going on about it! Here's a quick pic I took with my camera just to prove it really did happen!



Those of you who get the magazine, I'd love to hear what you think...

x

Special People


If you ask the people who love me to describe me in one word I can guarantee you they would say ‘Corny’. Everything in my life is big and beautiful. Adjectives are my best friend and the absolutely most amazing thing ever invented. How could I ever describe the colour of a sunset without stunning, gorgeous or amazing? How could I tell you about the sunflower without divine, special or captivating? How could I describe a song without magical, soulful or heart wrenching? Everything I see, everything I do is magical. I see the beauty in every sight. I see the joy in every situation. I see the special qualities in every person. Yes things get me down and I go through very hard and painful situations. But the minute I look to the sun, feel the breeze against my face, hear the laugh of a child or the smile of my husband my heart feels warmth and nothing in the world can bring me down. Life is sometimes hard, Life is sometimes painful but I believe every day is a gift so we should celebrate every minute we have. If you believe in yourself and the power of your thoughts you can get through absolutely anything with a smile on your face and a strong, healthy and happy mind. “Believe in yourself” “Never Give Up” Two short but powerful quotes that I try to live by every day. If you want something – Go for it! We tell children everyday “can’t is not a word” maybe we need to start telling the adults as well. So everyone I am telling you right here, right now! I love being corny. It makes life fun and it make me happy.

Life is short – Life is crazy – Life is beautiful
 Make the most of it – Make every moment count

Every now and then you meet a special person that touches your heart. You read about a special person who motivates you to be yourself. You listen to a special person who encourages you to succeed. I am so lucky to have such beautiful people in my life. I have an amazing husband who is my perfect and we live and love passionately. I have a loving a supportive family who is there every step of the way and loves me for me. I have special and unique friends who I laugh, cry and have fun with. Lately I have found a new circle of friends. A new bond that I never thought I would have. Beautiful souls that have touched my heart in more ways than they will ever know, yet I have never met them ‘in the flesh’ I am talking about the gorgeous beautiful and truly amazing people I have met in this crazy online world. 

There are 3 ladies that I would like to take the time to thank and express my gratitude for their zest of life, their love of all things beautiful and for sharing their positive outlook on life with me and showing me that it’s ok to be ‘corny’ and that life is beautiful and we should celebrate this. 

The first lady really was the first person who really spoke to me through her words and showed me that it was ok to be me and was ok to think, feel and act the way I do. She taught me that it was ok to believe in beauty and magic and that life is special. Claire from Scissors Paper Rock is a very unique and special lady with a heart of gold and a sparkle in her eye. She has overcome pain and some hard times with belief in herself and has created such a beautiful and special life for her husband and 3 year old daughter. She has shown me to live outside of the square. She has taught me to be myself and to shine every day. Her words touch my soul and warm my heart and I thank her for being herself in this crazy world and truly seeing the beauty in every moment. Thank you Claire. You are very special.

The next lady I have stumbled across on the fabulous world of You Tube. I must admit I have taken a month off blogging as every couple of nights I get on here and fall into the world of Jewelchic. What can I say? How can I describe this amazing woman? She is a funny, down to earth, special person with a whole lot of love and positive energy to share with this world. Her energetic outlook on life is contagious and her spirit is just heartwarming. Megan encourages me every day with her positive thinking and her outlook and belief in the law of attraction. It’s not always easy to be positive in a world of negativity and pain. But Megan has shown me that it’s ok to believe in what I believe and to put trust in myself and show the world that life is beautiful and if we believe in ourselves then nothing can bring us down. What a beautiful soul Megan has and I am truly grateful to have ‘stumbled’ across this amazing lady and I do hope that one day in the future I will get to meet her. She is a such a joy.

And finally the amazingly beautiful Kelly from Enjoying the small things Words can not begin to describe the strength, love and kindness of this very special women. She is an incredible lady with a heart of gold and a magnificent, strong and inspirational human being. She is an amazing mother to her gorgeous children and I can only pray that I can be just like her. If I am half the mother to my children that she is to hers than I know that I would have succeeded 100% and my children will be the luckiest kids on earth. Thank You Kelly for sharing your story, your love, your life. You are so inspirational.

x S.K.K x

Red Center Day 3

Our second day in the red center was just amazing! Words just could not describe the joy and excitement I was feeling as I went to bed at the end of our amazing day! I didn’t think anything could have topped the first two days that we had and the things that I achieved…but it did. Our third day started bright and early once again at 3.30am. We were back on the coach heading towards one of Australia’s famous icons, Uluru. There was no way that I was going to fall asleep for this morning’s trip. We dodged and braked for the wildlife again but for some reason this morning I did not even notice. I was watching that tiny orange line that was rising from the ground in front of us. It was so beautiful. We could see Uluru in the distance and the excitement and anticipation was building as we got closer and closer and it got bigger and bigger. We finally arrived at the sunrise viewing station. We pulled up alongside several other coaches, buses and cars all full of eager travelers excited to see this beautiful sight. And boy was it a beautiful sight. 

It was the first beginning minutes of sunrise. The warm air blew around us we hopped off the bus and we were greeted with a hot chocolate and biscuits to enjoy while watching the view. I remember giggling. Not really believing that I was actually there! In the distance was this amazing icon that I had read and seen so much about my whole life and there it was at the most beautiful time of day. Everyone was getting their prime spot! Setting up cameras, taking photos, enjoying a laugh as we greeted the new day with excitement and wonder. As the sun rose the colours changed. Rob and I took our fair share of photos. We were definitely not going to miss out on this very special view…we wanted to remember it forever. The sun had finally risen and we were ushered by our tour guides back on to the bus. This is when Rob and I became a bit nervous. All we wanted to do on this trip was climb Uluru. People warned us, our travel agent warned us, the guides warned us, that we probably weren’t going to be able to climb. These days it is very hard to climb and they have very strict rules. We were watching the temperature as you were not allowed to climb if it was over 36 degrees but so far we were all ok…it had only just reached 30. We got excited! Maybe…just maybe we would get the chance. As we got closer to Uluru we noticed a sight that we did NOT want to see. The wind blowing in the trees. If it was windy you were not allowed to climb. As we got closer the the wind picked up! By the time we got to the rock we knew that our dream was not going to be a reality. Rob was really upset and I could see it was eating him up inside. I was ok, disappointed, but ok. I had climbed the Kings Canyon and had experienced that amazing trek so I was satisfied. Rob tried everything. We said we would even sign a document that said if we died we take full responsibility…ok now looking back that was a bit drastic but at the time, in the moment, we were desperate. We finally accepted defeat changed our thinking and decided to step off the bus with a positive attitude. 

Oh my goodness this was not hard at all. Have any of you been to Uluru? Do any of you realise how big it actually is? I was gobsmacked. It was soooo big! Words or photos for that matter just cannot justify how big it is and how beautiful it is. When I used to think of Uluru I was like yeah yeah a big red rock. But oh dear no. It’s not just a big rock. It is the most amazingly beautiful sight I have ever seen. The characteristics of this ‘rock’ were just divine and the views were just spectacular. We decided that seems as though we could not climb it we may as well walk around it. Easy peasy. No worries at all. I t was only 10 kilometres. It was all flat ground. That’s nothing compared to what we did yesterday. Um boy was I clearly mistaken! It was walking for 10 kilometres with no shade in the direct sun with the sun reflecting off the red rock beside you in FORTY FIVE degree temperatures! It was hot and it was hard. Uluru is just lucky it was so god dam beautiful because I don’t know how else I would have made it. With every kilometre we walked the sights changed. The colours, the formations, the stories were just magnificent. It truly was breathtaking. We finally finished our beautiful but very hot and exhausting walk and stumbled across the cultural centre! 

Wow! I couldn’t breathe, my heart was pounding, my clothes were dripping with sweat but one step into that centre I was taken away. I was taken into the world of these beautiful people and their stories and their history. I left hta building with a sense of peace. Even though I was upset we couldn’t climb I now understood why. It was’t the heat or the wind. It was the protectors of their land making sure that we didn’t climb it. It is a very special and sacred place and has so much history and love surrounding it. I knew we had done the right thing by not climbing and it made my heart happy and warm. As we live in a wonderful commercial world they of course had a souvenir shop. We of course went in as we wanted to take back a special reminder of this beautiful trip. We ended up buying a carved lizard. Which ws very fitting for us. I couldn’t go past the bookmarks however that were at the cash register. They were amazing and all hand painted. There were four there although none of them really grabbed me! I wanted a special one! Something that meant something and that said something to me. I wasn’t just going to buy one just because. I then saw some aboriginal ladies actually painting them in the corner. I asked the man if I could have one that she was painting. She was using pink paint so it grabbed my attention. The man took me over and introduced me to the lady and I asked her what her painting meant. She said 2 words that brought tears to my eyes, “True women” That was it. That was my painting. How amazing is that. I had really proved to myself on this trip that I can do anything I set my mind to. I was powerful and strong and for me to see this painting and especially ask for it (which I would never normally do) was a sign that I was a changed person and was a ‘true women’ This bookmark will always be special to me and I am thinking of actually framing it and putting it on my wall so it is always there to remind me of how powerful I am.

The rest of the day sailed by just beautifully. We headed back to the resort, did a bit more sightseeing and had a little rest as we had a big night ahead of us. We were off to the “Sounds of Silence Dinner” We got dressed up and got picked up once again by our trusty coach. We were taking out literally to the middle of nowhere. Away from the resort, away from the buildings, away from the cars. Just us on a dusty road heading into the dessert. We pulled up on the side of the road and were told to hop off and we were led down a dirt path. At the end of the path was a waitress standing beside a table covered in black cloth. We were all offered a drink and escorted into the viewing area. There was another “bar” with more drinks and another waiter. We met an amazing couple who were florists from Sydney who were there on business.  We talked and shared our stories and drank as we watched the beautiful sun set over Uuru and the Olgas. The breeze was light but nice against our skin. The air was warm and hit us as the breeze died down. It was getting darker and darker and we were all asked to find a group of four or 8 and head down another path. Of course we made our group with our new friends and headed on down. There greeting us at the end of the path were 10 tables all lined with white table clothes and lit up by candles. Beside the tables was the buffet table which melt absolutely amazing. We sat down and met the rest of our table, fantastic English Sydney siders who were the funniest people we have ever met. The food was amazing, the setting was divine but these people just truly made our night. Photos couldn’t capture our night as we were literally under the stars eating by candle light and our little digi cam just couldn’t capture the photos in the dark. But they are captured in my mind and hopefully I will never forget. I can close my eyes and remember sitting there under the stars with Uluru in the background eating my crocodile ceasar salad by candle light with my husband by my side and laughing and smile with our new friends. Nothing makes me happier than this memory. 

Before dessert all of our candles were blown out. We sat there in complete darkness and were then told to look up. Oh my goodness I have never seen anything as magical as this sight. There above us was the clearest sky with hundreds, thousands, millions of stars. The sky was lit up by the beauty of these stars. It was so magical I was overcome with emotion. It was then and there that everything I believe in and everything I trust was proved. It was there that I felt at peace and free and so unbelievably happy. I will never forget this moment. It was a beautiful ending to a beautiful holiday that I will remember forever. 






 (ok flies got too much and went straight down)




 x S.K.K x

Laundry Day

Laundry Day

This week on Flickr Faves Sunday, I bring you wonderful Laundry room pics with these gorgeous photos.
We have started planning our new laundry room, so stay tuned for more laundry room inspired posts this week!

Some beautiful shots from my Flickr favourites (From left to right):
Have a sweet day!

through my lens



Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)