Jikana Damaru

Belief

I believe ...

that all good things are possible

that you deserve all the good things that come into your life, they are sent to you for a reason

that everyone has the potential to see the glass as half full, you just need to give yourself permission

that everyone deserves to be cherished in some way

that every new day has the potential to be the best of your life if you let it

that even the bad things can be lessons for us to grow if we give ourselves permission to see it as so

that all the people who come into my life are sent for a reason, but that some will only stay for a short time, while others are mine to keep forever

What do you believe?

~ Stay Calm ~

It has been a long weekend here in Australia - always nice to have hubby around that extra day to help with the kids - this weekend however he has spent most of his time working on his computer - there is always a deadline to meet. The kids have decided that this makes for a perfect excuse to drive mum crazy! Dad won't listen so lets send mum nuts.

Thankfully hubby has now put his computer down and decided to take a drive to his mum and dads - yes with the kids, finally! My opportunity to restore some calm before they arrive home again! I have made a pot of pumpkin soup and a chicken casserole (yes masterchef is inspiring me to cook but nothing too glamourous!), sat down for a little read of the latest Notebook magazine and finally jumped on my computer for my daily catch up in the blog world.

While in blog heaven I found an even more pleasant surprise - Millie at The Laurel Hedge has mentioned my blog - this has made my day! Thank you Millie for helping keep me calm!

Now to try and remain calm for the rest of the week - Deep breaths, deep breaths I hear them returning home.

Baileys home and garden

Baileys is a wonderful store in Bridstow village, here in the UK; "The things we sell are a surprising mix of vintage and new from a variety of sources - but they all share the qualities integral to our repair, reuse, rethink philosophy."

Reusing products is just as important as recycling, in my opinion. So, for a work space that has a sophisticated retro feel about it try the galvanized metal chairs, antique 1950s anglepoise lamp and the rotary telephone. I'm particularly impressed with their handmade leather satchel in crackled white.

For original storage ideas, stack their wooden apple crates against a wall to create unusual shelving.

Thankfulness Quotes For Your Consideration

These quotes have touched my heart this week - may they also touch yours, or at least give you something to ponder.

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit - Albert Schweitzer.

Each day offers us the gift of being a special occasion if we can simply learn that as well as giving, it is blessed to receive with grace and a grateful heart - Sarah Ban Breathnach

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life; and thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine - Thomas Jefferson

A Good New Story

One of my girlfriends has been out of work for about 8 months and has been looking hard for work. In one week alone she sent off 20+ applications. A lot of the time she hasn't even managed to get an interview and she was understandably getting disheartened and disillusioned.

She did a couple of months contract work with me, but I had no more money to keep her on contract, even though she did a fantastic job and was a joy to have working with our team.

We had discussed the fact that there was a job out there somewhere, it would come and find her, she just had to be patient.

Well - it found her yesterday - she didn't apply, she didn't even know it was on offer. It found her anyway. So if you are out there looking for work, keep positive and believe. I know it is easy for me to say, I am not in your shoes. But keep your confidence and self belief as I am sure you can be just a lucky.

~ Friday Food ~

We are loving MasterChef Australia in our house - the Friday masterclass is just wonderful and I have been getting loads of great cooking tips.

I have been very inspired to do some cooking on the weekend after watching my weekly fix of MasterChef.

Enjoy your weekend - hopefully it is filled with delicious food.

Alfresco dining

I like to make the most of dining outside in the summer months. Over the past couple of years I've collected everything I would need for entertaining outside in a colour palette consisting of pale pink, pale blue, green and red.

In the picture above, the dip bowl set was from Tchibo, the colour coordinated pink and blue cutlery from Cath Kidston, and the blue ribbed table runner from Casa Domani. The small glass green votive contains lemongrass scent from Restoration Hardware.

In the picture above, the striped red and white bread knife is from Tchibo, the bread basket is from a local store, and the bird print napkin is from Cath Kidston.

Great for summer garden parties or everyday eating (not just for kids!), I went for these large and small floral and bird melamine plates from Cath Kidston on the bottom and top, with smaller dotty melamine plates in the middle from Green Gate. The salad bowls, small bowls and red spot salad servers are also from Green Gate.