Web Wednesday

- How to re size a watch. No need to take it to a jeweller now.

- Food: crispy trail bars; easy homemade vanilla ice cream; fish tacos with avocado crema; earl gray latte; DIY buttermilk and baking powder; candy floss melting moments; lamingtons; strawberry toppa ice cream tart; pistachio hazelnut nougat and a white chocolate mocha!

- 25 kitchen things to do while your tea is steeping

- Scrap booking for beginners. I have so many photos I need to sort through then I am on to it.

- 10 tips for a productive life. Helpful!

- How to clean your washing machine with white vinegar. Added to my to do list…

- How to politely say no to a ridiculous unreasonable request

- Closet organisation pro’s and con’s

- Valentines: Buy or DIY Valentine cards; 10 best lingerie sets; printable floral valentines; giant quiver of arrows; gifts for men; fortune tellers; giant tissue paper heart; 25 handmade gifts; mini heart pinatas and 40 fabulous ideas!

- How to organise your digital photos. So I can scrapbook!

- A good use of club soda. Hello healthy plants!

- How to get your kids to eat. Its a struggle some days.

- Putting the pill to bed…

- 52 brilliant ideas for organising your home

- DIY: leather organiser; chamomile oatmeal bath; kawaii decoden phone case; arts and crafts storage; dottie sheets and a mail sorter!

- Shopping rules 101. Rules to shop by!

- Throw out 100 things challenge. Easily done…

- Railway Resort for sale. I know someone who would love this!

- Subway secret menu items. Wonder if it works here in New Zealand?

- The best time to book airline tickets.

- Meal prep for the upcoming week. I want to do this!

- How to keep your house clean in 20 mins a day.

- Post ideas for the stumped blogger. I can’t wait for part 2!

What did you see on the web this week?

xxx.

Saving Money: Menu Planning

One of my unwritten goals this year is to save money and as one of my largest bills is my grocery bill I have decided to start up a menu planner in the hopes if I am more organised I will spend less at the supermarket each week. The other benefits will be that there will be less food wastage, worry about “what they hell am I going to have for dinner?”, a chance to be creative with my meals which should be fun (or at the very least…interesting?) and I can use leftovers from the previous week and utilise food from my garden.

I hope to plan my meals and create a shopping list the night before my weekly shop and browse the supermarket pamphlets, my cupboards and garden at the same time.

Yesterday I created a menu planner using the DIY from the blog  Homemade by Carmona (though I used clear book covering not self laminated sheets as I couldn’t find any online that were affordable – meant to be saving money remember?) before my printer decided the black ink had run out so I still have one more set of menu idea sheets to print.

So I scoured Pinterest, magazines and cookbooks to look for menu ideas that contained sweet corn, broccoli, green beans and avocados which I have in abundance and our peaches will be ready in a few days so I may need to look for some interesting peach recipes. Saving is fun!

Do you use a menu planner? Got any creative cheap recipes?

xxx.

Web Wednesday

- How to stock a bar cart!

- Food: Squid ink pasta; candy crush donut holes; skillet lasagna; raw banana cashew pudding; acai bowl; beet and goat cheese parfait; white chocolate chunk lavender ice cream or passion fruit cheesecake ice cream; tropical summer crush; pistachio calissons; raw vegan tiramisu; coconut black rice breakfast pudding; kumquat water and bacon and gruyere flat bread;

- 15 genius tips for living in small spaces as I live in a small space…

- What Earth will look like in quintillion years. No men?!

- DIY: Leather loop cutting board; kitchen calendar station; party supply organisation; natural scrub; wooden polaroid set; door organiser; faux gold bookends; Vaseline alternative; memory box; birch wood table; eye clock from wire hanger and office wall pockets.

- A drivable truck made of ice. Only in winter obviously.

- Regrow fresh scallions in a glass of water. I’m going to try this!

- Book recommendations for the new year. One I have read and the rest I will read.

- Valentines: Toffee; you make me melt; candy filled; candy bar wrappers and 7 non edible gifts for kids.

- What to do with all your random crap. Lots of it!

- 10 of the most ridiculously expensive food and drink items of all time, which I will NEVER buy.

- A slow cooker controlled by your iPhone. Cool!

- Would you buy a slightly haunted house?

- Celebrity Disney portraits. They chose the right celebrities.

- 20 time saving cooking tips from chefs and food experts

- 35 behind the scenes photos from the set of Ghostbusters. One of my favourite movies of all time!

- Stay at home dad leaves post its for his wife. Lol.

- Since when is pregnancy a competitive sport?

- I hope this Jennifer Lawrence story is true!

- 50 of the best uses for coconut oil. Its now an essential.

- How about cooking for a whole month?

- Lighting tips and tricks for bloggers and photographers

- 8 tips for raising an only child. Princess is an only child.

- Hanging light makes a spooky forest

- 10 tips for transforming your kitchen. Easy!

What reads did you find online this week?

xxx.

January Book Picks

Amazon.com: The Maze Runner (Book 1) (9780385737951): James Dashner:...
amazon.com

Untamed (House of Night, Book 4): P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast:...
amazon.com

Witness in Death: J. D. Robb: 9780749906764: Amazon.com: Books
amazon.com

Amazon.com: Soul Beach eBook: Kate Harrison: Books
amazon.com

Gone Girl: A Novel: Gillian Flynn: 9780307588371: Amazon.com: Books
amazon.com

Amazon.com: The One Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window...
amazon.com

Dark Places: A Novel: Gillian Flynn: 9780307341570: Amazon.com: Books
amazon.com


I had done well with the book challenge goal I set myself on my Goodreads and read more than that. I want to read even more this year and have chosen some books from the library for my January picks. I do own a Kindle but only have books on it that I can't get from the library. My picks are a mix of books from series I am already reading and recommendations from Goodreads, blogs and friends. Three of these books (that I know of) are being adapted for the big screen so I will probably see the movies when they come out. I want to look at joining in with the A Beautiful Mess book club soon too.

Do you have a Goodreads? What are you reading this month?

xxx. 

Sunday Sweets

The Simpsons returning to our television screens ♥ reading more books ♥ watching school holiday movies like The Witches ♥ eating overnight oats every morning ♥ using homemade natural cleaning products ♥ Bitten ♥ sleepovers and bike rides ♥ neighbourhood barbecues ♥ roadside fruit stalls ♥ sunny weather ♥ being out in the garden ♥

What did you love about this week?

xxx.

Sleepovers and bike rides

Princess has been learning to ride her bike without trainer wheels during the school holidays and today she managed to ride on her own for at least 30 metres if not more. I think after a few more rides she will be away and on her own.

She had a sleepover on her own at her grandparents a couple of days ago and we were worried we would get a phone call in the night saying she wanted to come home but apparently it all went smoothly and she wanted to stay again the next night (though I think it has more to do with the yummy dessert they made for her that night!)

Her grandmother wants to spend a day out with her somewhere special and have her for another sleepover before she goes back to school in 2 weeks time. So now I am searching online for fun places or events they could go to in either Tauranga or Hamilton. Any suggestions?

What do you like to do with your kids in the school holidays? Do you go for bike rides and organise sleepovers for them?

xxx.

Web Wednesday

Here are some great things from the web this week!

- Food: Easy Chia Seed Pudding; chocolate cake with basil buttercream; tangerine sherbet; and chocolate crunch bars! Yummy!

- The food would go well with either of these drinks.

- I had to show my Husband this - Lego x The Simpsons comes out next month.

- Fifty Shades of Grey wines. So now you can “hit the bottle”.

- A ranking of all 131 of the Babysitters Club book cover outfits. I had the whole book collection when I was a tween.

- I love these lip balms from S.W. Basics. The flavours and packaging design is great.

- 12 most creative perfume bottles. I remember winning the first one once.

- Using unroll.me to unsubscribe from email newsletters. Best thing ever to unclog your inbox!

- Liking the instant paper with polaroll

- Here are 10 Small Ways to Improve Your Kitchen in 2014

- 7 super foods for sickies you need to have at home

- Learning how to make mayonnaise is simple enough

- 5 second face pick me up. Quick and easy.

- Is fashion blogging dead? I haven’t blogged about fashion  in awhile and I admit to wanting to see something other than outfit posts on blogs myself.

- My favourite blog at the moment, Modern Parents Messy Kids. A great one for the school holidays.

- DIY's: Rose body scrub; raised garden beds; jewelry blocks; screen printed family t-shirts and making a day planner.

- Why we are sold on essential oils. They aren’t called essential for nothing.

- Free Valentines downloads for girls and 17 of the cutest homemade Valentines cards. So cute!

- Tips for decorating your coffee table

- An ancient city discovered underwater. Love this!

And of course the trailer for Season 4 of Game of Thrones…



What great things did you see on the web this week?

xxx.