Butterflies.......{Lovely Guest Post}

I'm super lucky to have a gorgeous lady writing for the Scissors Paper Rock Blog this morning!! Vesna Bragagnolo is a Twenty8 Organic Skincare & Essential Oil Consultant on the Gold Coast! She is the owner of Holistic Kinesiology & Aromatherapy Massage for Women & I am honoured that she wrote this gorgeous piece for me!

{photography by Vesna Bragagnolo}

I was sitting outside enjoying the beautiful sunshine, quietly sipping away on my cup of tea when this beautiful butterfly caught my eye. It flitted and danced, gently touching the leaves it landed on. Almost, as if it was quietly greeting them and inviting them to come and play. I was amazed at its lightness, barely moving the leaf when it landed. Its wings opened and closed  a few times while it was settling into its resting spot and then gently the wings closed. I marvelled at the colours, the intensity of the black on its body contrasted by this almost pristine white. So delicate, yet vivid – almost regal in its appearance.

It made me think of its life cycle. Quite extraordinary, when you think it started out as a caterpillar, not particularly attractive and definitely unable to fly. Then through the miracle of nature, its evolution begins. From within the egg, it begins building energy stores for growth, eating its way out of the egg, then the leaves around it. In a few weeks in begins to make a chrysalis where its new journey begins until finally, the transformation is complete and it breaks free into a new existence.

The story of this butterfly is simple. To me it speaks about our ability to transform, to become anything we want to be. Sometimes it’s about blind faith, other times it’s about building our knowledge base before we take the plunge. Either way, transformation is what gives our dreams wings. The butterfly is resilient and even though its lifespan is short, it plays lightly, it gifts us with its beauty and it reminds me ‘that anything is possible’.

As I took my last shot, I simply said ‘thank you’ and the butterfly fluttered its wings and gently flew to the next garden. Its message was complete.

Written by Vesna Bragagnolo ~ Life’s Potential – Holistic Kinesiology & Aromatherapy Massage for Women.

You can see Vesna's gorgeous website  here! Shop online here!

And please join her lovely Facebook group here!

Thank you again Vesna, you're words & photography are so beautiful!

Week~A~Boo.......{At Play, out & about}

Holy Moly, has it really been a week since last Sunday's week-a-boo? Coz, it just feels like yesterday!!!!

The rain continued to fall this weekend! However, every now & then, the showers would ease, the ground would start to dry & the sun would peer his way through!

{the view through the car window this evening....the rain had stopped!}

The weekend gracefully kicked off on Friday afternoon, when Ella & I headed to our local bayside village for an impulsive picnic dinner! I blogged about it here.....it was BLISS! We were waiting for Chris to get home from his business trip....and it was the perfect experience to 'buy the time' & enjoy some Mummy & Daughter time :)

Saturday....my niece & nephew from 1 of my Brothers, were spending the weekend at my parents house! My brother, his wife & their 2 gorgeous kiddies Hunter & Jayla, live in the Solomon Islands....so we only get to see them every few months! So, as you can imagine, we were VERY excited to spend the day with them on Saturday! The rain didn't scare us off....we still enjoyed the beach & park!

Two cousins reunite again!! So sweet!

{Great little buddies from the start!}

{3 cousins in a tree! Jayla, Ella & Hunter!}

{At play ~ Hunter}

It was so lovely to see them, to hug them and to chat to them about important things like crocodiles, nail polish & Christmas Trees :) It made me even MORE excited that in just over 1 week, we will be holidaying with not only these cousins of Ella's....but her other 3 belonging to my other Brother! Yahhoooo! 6 kids under 5 all in one holiday house....some think that's CRAZY....but I can't wait :)

Today....Sunday..... I had an all day studio dance rehearsal for my upcoming concerts! So.....Ella had "Daddy/Daughter Date Day"! Her & Chris dropped me off at reharsals & set off for breakfast at the Coffee Club & a spot of pre-Christmas shopping :) He sent me this photo during the morning....Ella waiting for her pancakes....

Tonight we planned to head to the local community Christmas Carols...which we were really looking forward to! But, with this rain lingering & our busy schedules ahead, we decided to stay in! And Ella's daycare reported a case of Whooping Cough in her class :( So, while she's a little runny-nosed & congested...we'll keep her close :)

So, please, tell me....WHAT DID YOUR WEEKEND BRING? Rain & Puddles? Sunshine & Warmth? Adventures? Or cozy time spent at home? Just leave a comment below telling me all about it....or blog about it & link it back here :)

Have a great week my friends! There's only about 12 sleeps til Christmas.....Yeeeehah!

Smile.....It's FRIDAY!

Smile, my Lovelies....IT'S FRIDAY!!!

{Above images from weheartit}

{Above print for sale here}

Enjoy your Friday!

At My House.......{a recipe for you}

In between popping in & out of the house....{I'm loving this weather & being able to get outside as much as possible} we've done some baking!! This morning Ella & I made some fresh Chocolate Brownies to take to a Sunny Mummy playdate......and I'm glad they were all scoffled up by everyone, because I would've ended up eating them all myself {the upside....yet downside of having a husband who doesn't eat a lot [or any]  sweet food}.

Yesterday, whilst Chris was playing with Ella & being entertained by her wise-little-ways :) I whipped up a Blueberry Custard Tart to take to Chris's parents for last night's dessert. I got the recipe from a lady I work with and it is so easy......and oh so yummy!

{image from here}

Blueberry Custard Tart

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks
50 g caster sugar
25 g plain flour
250 ml milk
1/3 vanilla pod, cut open
200 g prepared puff pastry
2 tbsp thickened cream
About 300 g fresh blueberries
2 extra tbsp caster sugar
Icing sugar {for dusting}
About 150 g rich cream {for serving}

Preparation:

The original recipe said to use a rectangle tray....but I used a round pie dish!

In a bowl mix the egg yolks with the 50 g sugar for 1 minute, then mix in the plain flour.

Heat the milk with the vanilla pod until almost at boiling point. 

Mix the hot milk with the egg yolk preparation.  Transfer this preparation to a saucepan and cook on medium heat until it thickens.  Return preparation to the bowl, whisk for
10 seconds and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of about 3 mm and to form a rectangle about

35 x 15 cm.  Lift the pastry and line the base and sides of the tin with it.

Mix the thickened cream into the cold custard and spread this over the base of the pastry.  Garnish the top generously with blueberries and sprinkle with the 2 tbsp of extra caster sugar.  Trim the edges of the pastry.

Bake the tart in the preheated oven for abut 40-45 minutes or until the pastry is cooked and browned.

Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool.  Slice the tart into 6 portions.  Dust with icing sugar and garnish with a dollop of cream.

SO SO GOOD!!! ENJOY!!

Head over to Lou's blog to play along with At My House!

Hope you had a lovely Monday!

Week~A~Boo.......{Christmas Love, A New House & BBQ Bliss}

It's almost 10pm, we've just walked in the door after an afternoon out & about :) We've carried a sleeping, unbathed.......but very contented little girl from the car into the snuggly, safety of her bed & unpacked the bags & eskies from a weekend of fun! I'm tired & completely & utterly 'weekend-ed out' {in a good way of course}, but wanted to get my week-a-boo post up for the night :)

Saturday morning brought in a lovely gust of Christmas wind! Before 7am, we were already elbow deep in red & green paint with glitter & stamps & rollers & glue :) Whilst I pumped out some really old daggy Christmas music {which I secretly LOVE}, Ella & I made a couple of metres of hand-painted wrapping paper :)

{I'm linking the painting photos up with Kasia'a KIDDY ART! Head over there for lots of crafty inspiration}

Chris then returned from his run & a massive bacon & egg breakfast was on the cards :) With full tummies & a craving to spend time as a family.....we headed down to the beach to a gorgeous broadwater park :)

{We love having him home after a week up North on business!!!}

We then headed to Chris parent's NEW HOUSE :) It was moving day for them! So, we greeted them at their new place to help unload the trucks & crack open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate their gorgeous new home!

Their new pool....had me at HELLO :) I am already imagining endless summers spent here!

And.....on Saturday evening...the CHRISTMAS TREE went up :) I may have even shed a tear.....just watching my 2 Loves hanging balls & tinsel & lights! Have I mentioned that I love Christmas? heeee!!

Saturday night, I fell asleep putting Ella to bed! I think I may have drifted off before her :) I was EXHAUSTED....bigtime!

Sunday.....today! A morning of shopping, baking & cleaning :) We then headed back to Chris's parents for a late afternoon swim {which only Ella & Chris's Mum ended up braving as the afternoon became quite overcast!} and a BBQ! It was LOVELY! We picked up Chris's Nan on the way and my parents met us there too! It was BLISS! I mention on here {quite a lot} about living in the special moments & taking it all in....but it was again this evening that I stepped back, had a look around & thought "Wow...this is it!" "This is what makes me happy.....makes me complete.....energises me.....motivates me.....THESE MOMENTS!!" Moments when our 2 families are combined as one....LIVING, LAUGHING & LOVING! I love watching them dote over Ella & truly hang on to every word that comes out of her mouth! I love watching Chris teach my Dad how to use his new iPad and my Mum & Chris's Mum have D&M's about life! I love it....every little part of it! And tonight, as we relaxed by the tennis-court, lagoon-pool, vegetable-garden, underground-carpark BLISS of the Chadwick's new residence, I watched Chris in the moment as he was the chef on the teppanyaki bbq & loving being right in his comfort zone there.....I watched {probably with tears in my eyes.....as always lol} Ella go-go-going {as she does} and took it ALL in, baby! Coz it's these moments, that help me through the bad times, stressful times & sad times! 

{Above: Terribly blurry I know......but I love it all the same!}

What did you get up to on the weekEND? I'd love to know {or see}, if you're a blogger {or even just a Facebook user}, link your weekend shenanigans back to here :)

Have a fabulous week my friends!

Shadow Shot Sunday {5}

We had a lovely day yesterday {which I'll blog about in week-a-boo later} but one of the 'things' we did was a quick trip to the beach park for a play :) It was here that I snapped a couple of Park Shadow Shots :)

And, now....I'm off to enjoy our SUNDAY :) We're loving having Chris home, the Christmas tree is up and a special family dinner tonight......Life is good baby! All good!

{Playing along with Hey Harriet's Sunday Shadow Shot}

Enjoy your day everyone!