Jikana Damaru

Fern's Party Dress...

Over the weekend, I travelled solo with my two kids up to Maitland (an hour and a half away) for a dear friend's child's first birthday party.

It could have been fraught with disaster; missing sleeps... long car journey... hot weather... too much cake... at one point I even contemplated ditching Fern for the day and just taking Elliott. But Fern loves parties, and I took the chance. And I'm so glad I did! We had the most wonderful day; Fern made a 3-yr-old bosem buddy and spent almost the entire day being led by the hand by her new bff. She played with balloons. Danced through a bubble machine. Ate a little cupcake. And a million cocktail sausages.

And Elliott? My little champion made me look like a good mother by being a happy and content little bubba - not shedding a single tear all day long, and went to sleep on cue in his pram for well over an hour! (He normally hates the pram with a passion!)

And I got to hang out with my friend and meet her other friends and family, all lovely people who made me forget I was a single-mother-with-a-daughter (and son) for the day!

But on the morning of the party, I deliberated on what to wear. Well, not I but Fern, specifically. (I don't have time to care about what I wear, I grabbed a black dress from the back of my wardrobe, teamed it with a vintage beaded necklace and hoped for the best!) I have been so busy making clothes for everybody else that Fern hasn't got a single item I've made for her in her wardrobe! So, when I popped the 2 of them down for a morning nap I dragged out the sewing machine and made Fern a little costume!

I have some gorgeous lime fabric with flower print that I've wanted to make something with for a while. I also had a line of sequins that Fern stole from Spotlight one day when I had my hands full and didn't notice til I got back to the car (sorry, Spotlight). And, with an hour-and-a-half up my sleeve I came up with this:

I didn't have time to measure properly, so the skirt was a little short but overall I thought she looked very cute, and I am loving the sequins! I am going to make some outfits for my shop with this fabric shortly, and I'm even thinking of adding sequins, I like Fern's so much! But is it overkill? Do tell me, fashionistas!

Me 'n' my party gal...

Have a great week!

Hampton Blue giveaway winner

My contest ended yesterday and I just picked a winner using random.org and I am delighted to announce the winner of the Hampton Blue Giveaway is...

Drumroll please? Without further ado, the lucky winner is...

Christy from the lovely blog Sweet Tidings. Who would like to spend some of her voucher on the East of India mug in a box. Please e-mail me your details.

Congratulations Christy, you will receive £30 worth of store credit for Hampton Blue

Thank you to all of you sweets that entered, to my loyal followers and new friends.

Have a sweet day!

Pretty in Pink Macarons

This week on Flickr Faves Sunday, I bring you the prettiest pink macarons wit these gorgeous pics. Check back soon for some more of the most inspirational photographers on Flickr.

Some beautiful shots from my Flickr favourites (From left to right):

The gorgeous raspberry Pink macarons by Junglefrog
The beautiful chocolate filled pink macarons - short stack by jayme michelle
The wonderful close up of Janjou Pâtisserie - French Macarons for Easter Photoshoot by MSIMANTOV
The pretty speckled Raspberry Rose Dark Chocolate Macarons by allie1903

Have a sweet day!

Week-a-Boo

I've been missing! I do this a lot! Get taken away by different parts of my life that leave me with no time to blog! Usually it is school holidays as they are the busiest time for me with work. But I am back and boy oh boy have I missed my writing! I never knew how much of a big part it played in my life. I know this sounds silly but it was almost like something was missing! I love sharing my stories, my feelings, my life and my journey with you all and when I can't write something just isn't right. So here I am back with my favourite time of the week with my blog...WEEK- A- BOO

I had a wonderful weekend this weekend and enjoyed the special moments that I created with my husband and family. On Saturday we woke and the weather was just too beautiful to work or stay at home! Rob works most Saturdays but this particular Saturday we decided to throw everything out the window and enjoy the glorious sun that was peaking through our bedroom blinds! So Rob packed up the boat and I packed up a lunch and we headed down the coast with our wonderful neighbours. We arrived at the gorgeous Paradise Point and oh my goodness it was picture perfect! The water was crystal clear, the sun was shining and the ocean was screaming our names! We launched the boat and headed out for a day of fun in the sun. I love going out on the boat. Which for people who know me may think this comment is crazy as I get severe motion sickness. But with a dose of qwells and plenty of snacks I deal with the sickness. I just love being surrounded by water with the wind and slight ocean spray hitting my face. It is the best feeling in the world. We pulled up at our own little paradise. It was heaven. It was a little island in the gold coast waters and we had it all to ourselves. We talked and ate and enjoyed a massive dose of vitamin D. It was such a glorious day!

Saturday we headed off to a special 30th birthday party for Rob's boss' wife. It was 'red carpet' themed so we dressed up and headed out for a night of glamor. I had never met anyone there but it was nice to meet some new people and spend some quality time with Rob's new 'work family'.

This photo completely describes our Sunday....well our Sunday afternoon. We had a massive sleep in til 12.20 pm (woops) so we totally missed Sunday morning. In our defense we didn't get home from the 30th until 2.30am so we needed to catch up on our sleep! :-P We had some ~~breakfast~~ lunch and then got our butts into gear. We decided to do a massive cleanup of our house. From top to bottom we scrubbed! We scrubbed those ceilings, architraves, walls, skirtings, and floors like nobodies business. It was so disgusting to see the dirt that was on our walls. YUK! I never noticed it until we actually wiped it off! After the house was completely scrubbed down I went a bit crazy with the eucalyptus oil and water in a spray bottle. I sprayed it on every curtain, carpet, matress, pillow, lounge and fabric surface. Our home will be dust mite free! We have a huge job ahead of us as we are totally rearranging our home. Moving rooms to different rooms, changing furniture around. So although the house is free of dirt, dust and mould we still have a HUGE job ahead of us with de-cluttering and moving. At the moment it looks like a bomb has hit it but hopefully by next weeks week-a-boo I can report a completed house :-) Fingers crossed! Wish me luck!

Sunday nights are always spent at my parents house for 'family dinner'. It is a nice ending to the weekend where we can sit back, enjoy a beautiful dinner cooked by mum and dad, talk about our weeks and spend some quality time together. I also get to see my beautiful baby Roxy. She was my first puppy I bought who now lives with mum and dad.

~ My beautiful baby girl Roxy ~

~ Enjoying a cheeky ice cream ~

~ Mr Murphy - Mum and Dads Westie ~

So that was my perfect little weekend!

It had a mixture of adventures and chores but the laughter didn't stop and the fun was never ending!

How was your weekend? Did you have some special moments?

Head over to Claire's special blog and share all of your joy with us!

x S.K.K x

Is it easier to be nice in blogland?

On Friday night an exchange occurred that made me realise that it's easier to be a nice person in blogland.

We were at the school 'Icebreaker' function, where the grown-ups hang out without their cling-ons and have an uninterrupted conversation for longer than 30 seconds. It was fun. I mean, it was held under the covered area in the school playground with a couple of candles for 'atmosphere' and there was a lot of standing up involved and I couldn't shake the P+C President who insisted on being her own version of a cling-on, but, hey, a night out is a night out, right?

But I was complimenting a woman on how beautifully she was dressed and half-way through realised: Too Much. She was staring at me like I was a perverted stalker (and I wasn't even looking at her boobs!). This is what I said:

"You look so gorgeous tonight. I love how you've put that necklace with that dress... such a stylish touch. Really unique and special."

Weird IRL, huh? But a comment like that on, say, Kymmie's 'Fancy Pants' link would be just the warm-up, right? We'd go on to discuss the cute shoe, the hair, the studied pose. IRL, a casual 'you look nice tonight' is about the maximum expected or appreciated.

How often do you randomly go around complimenting people? Noticing the details? How often do you go out of your way to let someone know that they've made your day? That they're unique and special and talented and kind? That they are insightful, clever and fun?

No wonder we are all addicted to this special blogging community. It's probably not that we're all more caring and thoughtful - just that blogging allows us to be!

[Image via weheartit... I gotta get off weheartit because I hate not being able to find the correct source! Those darn tumblrs...]

shadow shot

join in over @ Hey Harriet

my girl loves to run!

Sweet treats to make, decorate, and give by Laura Tabor

This month I'm reviewing sweet treats to make, decorate and give by Laura Tabor from illustrated lifestyle publishers, Ryland Peters & Small and CICO Books. Laura Tabor is a successful British jewellery designer. After an acclaimed and successful graduate show from Central St Martins Laura launched her eponymous label, which adorns boutiques and department stores in and around London as well as internationally. After moving to a new home with a fabulous kitchen, and having just completed a collection called Sweet, Laura decided to turn her hand to one of her childhood passions, baking! I chose to review this book as it sounded a great fun baking book full of magical ideas!

In my opinion this is a wonderful hardbound book full of whimsical sweet treats. It combines beautifully styled photography with great recipes and ideas.

Sweet treats to make, decorate and give contains over 35 delicious decorating ideas for cakes, cookies and candies. Laura Tabor has combined her passions for jewellery and baking, producing a range of beautifully decorated edible gifts; from shimmery marshmallow pearls, Fabergè-inspired Easter eggs to a pretty fondant Valentine's rose locket.

Each culinary treat is styled beautifully and photographed by Stuart West. Not only is it a delight to look at, but as you leaf through the pages it is full of practical instructions that are clear and easy to follow, with lots of photos, hints and tips to help you get it right first time.

The first chapter, covers the equipment you will need, basic cupcake and cookie recipes, how to's on icings and butter creams and pretty gift wrapping ideas. The second chapter, entitled 'Beautiful Treats for Girls', has jelly gems that catch the light, intricate art nouveau dragonfly and butterfly cookies and beautiful chocolate cameos. 'Gentlemen Adorned' has recipes for eccentric peppermint monocle cookies, cute button bites and peanut butter filled moustache lollipops. 'Celebration Gifts' is packed with ideas for all occasions, like the stained glass and rosette cookies, teeny baby cakes adorned with milk chocolate golden safety pins, mini wedding cakes and romantic juicy jelly hearts set with real gold leaf. The final chapter, 'Fun for Children' has easy-to-make bright candy necklaces and bracelets; from the gobstopper ribbon necklace, cookie charm necklace to the rice paper blossom jewels.

At a recommended price of £14.99, I think this book is good value for money as it offers inspiring ideas with very clear step-by-step instructions for the novice baker, while more experienced cooks will be inspired to create uniquely different sweet treats.

Some of the sweet treats that really caught me eye are:

Gobstopper ribbon necklaces, so pretty and cute, perfect as a gift for the little people in my life!

Art nouveau dragonfly and butterfly cookies. I have some pink and blue edible pearls that would look fab on these!

So need to have a go at these, so many options, so much fun!

Faberge-style Easter cookies, to go on this year's Easter Table!

To summarize, sweet treats to make, decorate and give is a wonderful book full of recipes and ideas for uniquely different sweets, all with clear, informative instructions.

Please note that my opinions are my own and I am not paid for these reviews (apart from receiving a free book, of course!).

Have a sweet day!