Last Days of December

Well, time sort of ran away from me in the lead up to Christmas and I didn't quite get to finish the DPP photos....but I thought I would show a few of the photos I took prior and after Christmas.

I made 2 of these Christmas Cakes...a Nigella Lawson Chocolate Fruit Cake and the recipe can be found here.....it is truly DELICIOUS!!!

A beautiful pot of basil....so generously given to the leaders of the Girls Groups we lead at Church....and a very generous gift voucher for a favourite nursery and gift shop...Acorn Nursery in Surrey Hills....the girls are such a delight and a blessing and this was such an unexpected gift from the Mums'.

The newest member of my brother's family....little Daisy...she is so cute



and two new members of my family....yes, I am getting 2 Burmese Kittens....and I visited them this week to meet them for the first time....they are so sweet....anly 5 more weeks until they move into my home....

As the Kittens are near Gellong, I decided to make a day trip and head to the Wool Museum in Geelong.  I then went for wander along the waterfront and after visiting the kittens, I decided to head towards Queenscliff and catch the Ferry across Port Phillip Bay to Sorrento...it was the most beautiful summers day....I will show some more photos in the next few days....



AND THE WINNERS ARE.....

Hi everyone and a HUGE thanks for entering my giveaways...sorry I didn't get around to drawing these last night as promised....but here are the winners of my Advent Wallhanging and my Table Topper

The winner of the Advent Calendar is.....Mary C

and the winner of the table topper is...Carla G

I will be in contact with both of you to get your snail mail addresses so that I can post your packages before Christmas....once again, thanks to all who entered and left such lovely comments....



DPP Day 19

DPP Day 18

We had our Church Carol service last night which was wonderful as always....sadly my photos aren't so lovely...but I decided to pop a photo in anyway...sorry about the blur!!

DPP Day 17

Well, here is the finished and decorated cake....my Niece initially saw the cake with only the icing and coloured sprinkles, but her face after she saw the completed decoration on the cake was absolutely priceless....and her little friends' faces when we cut the cake.....I originally found the recipe for the cake itself here....and am very glad that I did...

DPP Day 16

Tomorrow is my Niece's 6th Birthday Party and again she asked if I would make her cake...she then chose what she would like....this is the assembling of the cake

Recipe

I recently posted a photo of a Peppermint Fudge slice which I made...I have since been asked for the recipe...so here it is....enjoy!!!!!!!!

CHOC PEPPERMINT FUDGE SLICE

Ingredients:

2 packets Chocolate Ripple Biscuits

250 grams Cadbury peppermint Cream Chocolate

100 grams butter (Unsalted or salted)

1 tin condensed Milk

Whiz biscuits finely in food processor

Chop butter

Break chocolate into pieces

Put all ingredients into large microwave bowl and microwave on high for 3 minutes

Mix well and put into lamington tin/tray lined with baking paper

Refrigerate until set

Cut into small pieces

ENJOY!!!

DPP Day 15

One of the lovely things about where I live is that often in the morning, I wake to see hot air balloons floating across the skyline and this morning was one of those days

DPP Day 14

I wonder what this could be going to be?????  Stay tuned for Saturday where all will be revealed...



DPP Day 13

DPP Day 12

This is a photo of my dear Dad (with my nephew) who today underwent a hernia operation....not a huge op in itself, but pretty major considering my Dad is 86 years of age....I am just very thankful that he has come through the op pretty well....I visited him tonight and he was up and about and joking with the nurses....

Second Giveaway item

Hi and firstly, my apologies for not having shown this earlier today as promised.  This is my second giveaway item for the Quilting Gallery Blog Hop Party...it is a felt table centrepiece with ric rac.  It is approximately 45centimetres across.....(I think around 17 inches for those that are non metric!!)...Anyway, if you would like to win this...just leave a comment and I'll pop you in the draw....if you wish to go in the draw for both of my items, just say so in your comments.
It seems too, that from seeing other blogs and giveaways, that some are waiting till next week to announce the winners...so I thought I would do the same....so I will announce the winners at the end of next weekend....I did not realise how many offers of prizes there would be and I am sure it must be taking people a long time looking through everything which is on offer....(oh and by the way...the jar of chocolates is NOT being offered!!! Sorry!!!)

Day10

I have just found my favourite new place to visit...the new IKEA located in Springvale....I usually head toward the city to go to the Richmond store....but I think those trips will be history having discovered the one in Springvale....firstly, I do not need to contend with so much traffic heading towards the city.  Secondly, parking was a breeze AND free!!!  And added to that, there are a whole lot of other homemaker style stores...such as Domayne, Provincial Home Living and a new storage store...so I will be definitely going back for many a return visit....

Giveaway Time with the Quilting Gallery Blog Hop Party

Here is a photo of my giveaway item....I know it is too late to use it for this year, but it is an Advent Calendar which I have made from a pre-printed panel.  It has quite reasonably sized pockets for holding treats.  "Hop" on over to the Quilting Gallery to see a full list of those participating in the Blog Hop Party!!!  (I am not sure what time Australian time they will be listing all the participants)

To win this, simply leave a comment and I will draw a name on Monday night (Australian EST) to allow for those international guests to make a comment too...yes I am happy to post overseas....though bear in mind that it might not get to you before Christmas...look forward to playing.

I will then announce another giveaway item on Sunday morning Australian time...check back here tomorrow too!!!

Day 9

Day 8

DPP Day 7

STOP PRESS!!!! GIVEAWAY COMING UP

Just a bit of notice that the "Quilting Gallery" is hosting a blog hop party on Saturday and I am participating by having a giveaway on my blog....so pop back here on Saturday to see what I would like to give my readers a chance to win.

See you later today with my photo for the day too....

DPP Day 6...not so Christmassy!

As I went to put some water in a watering can today, this littel guy jumped out (in my kitchen)...so I quickly found somewhere safe in my garden to send him....I love finding these little guys in my garden...

DPP Day 5

This is a little Nativity decoration I bought in Germany...it has a windmill thing at the top which when you light the candles, the heat moves the scene around....there were some simply lovely Christmas decorations in Germany....it would have been very easy to go overboard...

DPP Day 4

A couple of exhausted children after a weekend at their Aunty's....we had heaps of fun!!

DPP Day 3

Today I have spent the day with my niece and nephew and tonight I took them to look at some of the Christmas lights around the area where I live....this one was mentioned by a work colleague as being completely over the top....and it WAS!!! 

DPP Day 2

I took this photo when I was visiting Berlin in October...it is at the site of the Berlin Wall where a church had been torn down as it was on both the East and West of Berlin....This memorial is outside the Chapel of Reconciliation and is aptly named "Reconciliation".  The Chapel itself is an amazing piece of architecture and a real peace about it.

December Photo Project

I have decided to give the December Photo Project a go again this year and hope I am able to keep up with posting a photo a day throughout December.

So here is my first photo...I have recently started getting some fruit and vegg delivered and this was my very first delivery...

Food Glorious Food!!!!

So, the past couple of weeks has seen me doing a spot of cooking.... first up was this peppermint Fudge Slice.  I help out with a girls group at church and a couple of weeks ago we had an overnight camping trip and one of the girl's and her Mum brought this slice....which we all raved about...so they kindly gave me the recipe and I had to make it on when I came home...and then took it to work....it went down a treat....

 Last weekend was my nephews birthday so I made these little guys....and I thought you might like to see a photo of the cake his Mum made too...
To make the cars, all you need is a packet of the small "Milky Way" bars, some "Tiny Teddies", "Smarties" and "Life Savers" lollies....assemble them and voila...easy peasy and ever so effective....even the adults at Tom's Birthday hoed into them!!!

Today at work we had a staff meeting and shared lunch....so I made these carrot cupcakes and was inspired to make matching edible decorations for them....

I have been a bit slow in putting more of my Europe photos on my blog(s) as I have been trying to make a few photo books from them...and this has been quite a time consuming activity....but I will get around to it....In the meantime, enjoy the above photos!!

Pinterest anyone?

So...I have only just discovered Pinterest...a virtual pin board where you can "pin" things which you find on the Internet which inspire you or that you like or want to remember....so guess what? They have a Waiting list!!n of course, they don't tell you how long it is, but reading a couple of forums, it coul deb quite long! Alternatively, you can be invited to join by another member...so my BIG favour is....if any of my readers have an invite they would like to use...I would love to be invited...there are some great things on there already...and I can't wait to start my own little board...thanks in anticipation!

St Peters and the Vatican

Along with all the beautiful artwork in the Vatican Museums, the architecture was also incredible...here are a few of my favourites.

 I am inspired to make a quilt after seeing this table...

A wonderful holiday!

For those readers of my regular blog, I have been away for the past 6 weeks on a most wonderful holiday in Europe.  I did blog regularly on my other blog which I set up specifically for my holiday so that I could keep family and friends updated with my adventures....if you are interested in reading an almost daily record of my travels, you can do so over here.  I wasn't able to post photos whilst I was away, so for the next little while, my posts here are going to consist mainly of some of the photos I took whilst away.

I left Melbourne on 13th September and have been home just a week tonight....My computer decided to crash last Sunday (when I opened an attachment to an email...silly silly me!)....anyway, my computer is back....faster and better than ever...I had some extra RAM installed which is FANTASTIC....especially as I have been able to download my music onto my I Pad!!! YAY.
My first stop in Europe was Rome....I probably liked Rome the least of all the places I visited...but on reflection, I think this was primarily because it was my first stop and I was completely overwhelmed....I travelled by myself and this was the first major overseas trip I have ever taken...anyway, I really did love Rome and will return one day in order to see the things I missed out on and I am sure next time, I will be much more confident...hopefully not getting lost and also having more appropriate clothing....Rome was HOT....and I had taken mainly cool weather clothes....plus I had major blisters on my feet...so all in all...a somewhat difficult time....but I still made the most of it all and saw heaps....

First off, I had a brief stopover in Hong Kong...where there was an incredible display of costumes...so I had to take a photo!

This shot is near where I was staying in Rome...this wall is part of the old City Wall.....It was incredible to be in a place where everything is so old....I think was what I found the most mind blowing thing about my whole time away...everywhere had such history attached to it and age!

Will be back again soon with more photos!!!

Christmas Quilts



I attend a patchwork group/class on a regular basis and earlier in the year we decided to start on a "Block in a box" Christmas Quilt where each of us chooses a colour theme and fabrics and make one block for ourselves and then pass the box on to the next person each month...sort of a round robin...anyway, here are the photos of a few of the blocks which I have been working on over the past few months....

Friday Inspiration

Deary me...is this the most beautiful Dear Jane quilt EVER?????...made in Kaffe Fassett Fabrics....inspires me to make my own Dear Kaffe quilt...hmmmm... dream on Lisa....

Inspiration Friday

My apologies to those of you who aren't into Blue and White....but I need to warn you that this colour scheme will feature very regularly on my Inspiration Friday as is it absolutely my most favourite colour combo in the whole world....I juest never seem to get tired of blue and white....I do believe that this photo comes from the blog Absolutely Beautiful Things....one of my very favourite blogs for inspiration

Inspiration Friday

How fantastic is this cake???? Yes it IS made from icing...I might just have to try and use this to inspire me to made one at some stage....could be a good challenge don't you think???