One Weekend Wonder {8} to the beach

One Weekend Wonder - {a weekly link-up} - a special moment or experience captured during the weekend. One you want to cherish.

  Friday evening I was unpacking Ella's Kindy bag, and as always I came across an array of little creations and art pieces. A bangle made from pipe cleaners and beads, a puppet made from paper and feathers and a gorgeous flower ensemble constructed from straws and cupcake cases. I loved the flowers. Thought they were perfectly 'Spring' and like all doting Mothers, I felt proud of my little creative girl. So I grabbed a jar and put them on show in our house, for all to see.

Ella comes downstairs.

Ella: "Ah Mum, why did you put the red and green headphones in a jar?"

Me: "Oh....headphones? Sorry darling...I thought they were gorgeous Spring flowers?! I was so proud of your art work, I wanted to put them on display!"

Ella: "No, they're headphones and my friend Amelia made them for me!"

Ok.....so they're not flowers and my girl didn't make them! Oops! But I think they look pretty good there in the old pasta sauce jar - so they're staying for now! Thanks Amelia :)

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Saturday was a crazy day. It doesn't even deserve much of a mention on this blog. It contained locked in the car - car keys, a fussy cranky baby, a missed baby shower, spilt formula and hot garlicy carbonara spilt all through my new car - which now reeks. Yeah - one of those days!

So........

Moving on to Sunday......

A much better day!

We headed down South. A day at Kingscliffe was had....

The weather was glorious. Warm and dry.

Families were out in force, enjoying the perfection of the day, at the beach.

We walked along the lovely stores and cafes, and stopped for a play on the beachside playground....

Fair to say - Ryder loves the swings!!!

We then headed to the Surf Club for a lovely lunch with some family. I saw my cousin for the first time in 16years! He lives in Germany. Him and his wife are here on holiday so we caught up with them over some great food and a few champers! With a pristine view of the beach and about 4 whale sightings not far from shore - it was perfection.

I didn't get a chance to take any photos during lunch {except a few Instagram shots} as I was too busy sipping champagne, downing fresh oysters, chatting with family and feeding fidgeting kids.

Tough life ain't it? :)

Afterwards, we slowly cruised back to the car with our two sleepy kids....

And headed back home.... Ready to start a new week!

How was your weekEND? Anything exciting happen? Or just the usual busy-ness of wrapping up one week and preparing for the next? Please feel free to link up with your weekend posts:

Busy & Slow {week-a-boo}

Sunday Sunday Sunday! How the heck do you get here so quickly Sunday?? Does anyone else fell like Sunday nights just seem to appear way quicker than other night of the week? :)

Our weekend was a nice mixture of busy & slow!

Saturday consisted of 'jazz shoe' shopping, dancing lessons & visiting Baby Indi for some more cluckied up cuddles :) The afternoon was then spent lounging & lazing....just chilling at home:

{Ella's ABSOLUTE favourite read at the moment!! Where is the green sheep? By Mem Fox & Judy Horacek}

Here's my girl in action:

A lot of Saturday afternoon was spent reading 'Where is the Green Sheep?' & playing Barbie dolls :) 

Today, Sunday, was a little bit more full....a different kind of full from Saturday.....and that balance is what makes the 2 day 'holidays' always feel so good! We headed off early this morning to the markets, to grab some bargains, hang out with friends & see 'Aunty Mon's' stall; Sweet n Sexy Scraps:

The coffee smelt good, the food was delicious, the vintage finds were amazing & it was nice to hang out with great buddies! Ella & Tiffany:

{Above: 2 blonde beauties}

And seeing Ella being loved by her Bestie always makes my heart sing:

He's always looking out for her :) 

We then headed home {slightly exhausted but still looking for adventure} and hung out with Chris! He took his girls {us} out to lunch & we had a pretty cruisey, sleepy evening at home!

Ahhh! Another weekend done & dusted! And a new week begins! 

What did you get up to this weekEND? 

I'd love to know :) Link up below!! Have a magical week!

Shopping Madness......{& some online treasures}

I just got home from a morning of shopping with my little Miss! We're 3 weeks away from Christmas & the shops are already a display of mayhem! I thought I'd be fairly safe to go today....a Monday, State Schools are still in.....but NO.....the crowds were out in force!

{iPhone photo ~ out to lunch today ~ at the shops!}

I had to giggle to myself.....Ella ate her lunch at the bakery/patisserie, but I wanted to get sushi...which was at the other end of the shopping centre. So, once Ella finished her food & we finally got to other end, I bought my sushi, put Ella in the indoor playground & sat on the 'viewing' couches to eat my lunch & watch her play! I looked around as I gobbled my lunch as quick as I could, lap overflowing with bags & shoes & other random bits n pieces! There was a line of mothers, fathers, grandparents sitting on these benches/couches watching the play area with careful eyes....and every single one of us was loaded with 'stuff' and scoffing down some sort of meal :) It was like everyone was thinking "Oh thank goodness.... the kids are content & safe & distracted at play....it's my chance to eat!!"

Anyways....I got the few bits n pieces that I had on my list for today {and some other random goodies that always make their way into the trolley lol} and we headed to Officeworks & the print shop to pick up this week's print orders! Ella had a nasty fall at Officeworks & with tears streaming her face, she sobbed "I really need my Daddy right now!" AWWWW!! Luckily, Chris's work was just around the corner, so we popped in for a Daddy cuddle & kiss....and everything was right in the world again PHEW!:)

I made a little pact with myself this year to do as much as the Christmas shopping online & to also shop mainly at small/run-from-home businesses, and to support the handmade community! I have bought all of this year's presents online....minus my Brother's.....his request can't be bought on the internet and I still need a few stocking fillers from the cheapy shops! But I feel great that I'm organised for once before the school holidays have begun....AND....I managed to do it all online through these awesome webstores:

• The Country Seam ~ madeit
• Bel Kai Designs ~ USA based small business
• Epheriell ~ madeit
• Pip & Bean ~ ETSY
• LilyClaire ~ madeit
• Charmed By Leigh ~ madeit
• Fizzy Little Things ~ online Australian based webstore
• The Earthly Creative ~ madeit
• Emylyne ~ ETSY
• Faith, Hope & a whole lotta Love ~ Photos
• Sweet n Sexy Scraps ~ madeit
• Ebay ~ an oldie but a goodie
• Deals Direct ~ scored some fab buys here
• Angus Robertson ~ Online bookstore

Oh gosh the list seems huge already....and this is just some of them :) But I must admit, shopping for Christmas presents this year has been so satisfying :) Not only did it feed my online shopping addiction {hehehe} but I really felt good about supporting some small businesses {who were mainly run by Mums....just like me} and I loved getting some gifts that truly are unique & made with care & LOVE!

How are you going with your Christmas Shopping so far? Are you an online shopper? Or would you rather battle the crowds to get your Christmas goodies?

Happy Monday!

Week~A~Boo.......{A peek into our weekEND}

Oh my.....here we are again.....it's Sunday night {10pm} and another week has come to an end & another week is about to begin!! You are probably tired of reading this sentence from me....but where does the time go? How can it possibly be SUNDAY again????

With that out the way :) HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND?

Ours was filled with the usual mixture of fun & chores, the have-to's with the need-to's working perfectly alongside the want-to's & fun-to's! With shopping trips, Doctor trips {asthma has very unwelcomly set up camp in my little Miss's chest again....argh!...thank goodness for today's medicines.....liquid steroids work WONDERS!}, cleaning & baking! Present buying, present wrapping, present giving & wine! Late nights, early mornings, long days & lots of coffee! Sunshine, rain, clouds & warmth! Movie afternoon complete with Tinkerbell's new story & homemade cookies! Lunch with family, many laughs & Grandparent love!......this was a quick-ish rundown of OUR weekEND!! And here's some snaps of some of those captured moments:

{Morning baths.....just because!}

{making fairy wishes in the garden}

{relaxing in the garden.....because it's SPRING}

{Mummy & Ella shadow shots on the beach on a lazy Friday afternoon ~ playing along with Shadow Shots here}

{the view from my parents deck as we enjoyed a Sunday lunch for my Dad's birthday!}

{giving GRAMPY love on his birthday!}

{cuddles with Grandma......just for LOVE}

{and celebrating}

This was a PEEK into my weekEND! And I'd love to have a peek into yours too!! Just blog about it or even just put photos on Facebook from your weekEND & link it back to here!! Add your name to the linky below so other people can have a peek into your weekEND too! Play along...share the love! Have FUN!!! I can't wait to see what you all got up to!

Happy Monday to you all :)

{Week-a-Boo}.....a peek into our weekEND!

Can you believe another weekEND has come & gone and a new week greets us :) I swear the older I'm getting, the faster the weeks are just FLYING by!! However, a weekEND filled with magical moments & glimpses of bliss...makes these fast flying weeks all the more beautiful!

So..here it is....a peek into my weekEND & all it entailed! Our journey in pictures:

Saturday consisted of cleaning {gah!}, de-cluttering of Ella's toy {double gah!}, shoe shopping for the little Miss & groceries! To finish the day off with a bit of spark....we had a picnic in the backyard as the sun set :) We sprawled the blanket out on the grass & indulged in 'fizzy' drink & mini pikelets ;o)

I'm obsessed with her little pudgey fingers at the moment...and the sweet way they grip things :)

Sunday morning.....I busily worked away....and opened an ETSY store :) Yep...you can now purchase my Prints on ETSY too...yay!

We then headed further down the coast to enjoy an afternoon of food, wine, family & fun:

I enjoyed a lovely glass of red with my lunch :) It's the simple things that make me smile!

Ella {who was so shy & anxious as a baby} is now 'Miss Social TO THE EXTREME'!! She loved an afternoon getting attention from family & strangers {new friends waiting to be made}. Above is a precious moment with her & her Pa!

And....we danced to the Live Band!! As soon as that beat started, Ella was dragging everyone out onto the floor :)

Boy, did we dance?!

And.....we shared a few precious moments of LOVE!

Before heading home, we checked out the gorgeous beach scenery & a quick play on the playground!

And now, we're at 9pm on a Sunday night! I can look back at these photos and relive in my mind all those little moments & the feeling of contentment they brought me! But for now...Miss Ella is snoozing in the lovely world of slumber after a big day....and Hubby is sitting here on the couch with me....so I'm logging off to be with him before another crazy week begins :)

What did you get up to on the weekEND? Please, Give us a peek :)

 Add your blog link to the 'linky tool' below & link it back to here!! Spread the love & gain some inspiration by checking out the other participants during the week :) ENJOY!

~ Have a Fabulous Week everyone ~

Baby Joy...{Point & Shoot}

Saturday 17th July 2010 ~ 3pm ~ Maternity Ward, Hospital.

On Thursday night at 6:40pm, our family welcomed a new little precious member! Hubby's sister had her 3rd child ~ 3rd daughter! They named her Lily & she is simply gorgeous! On Saturday, Hubby, Ella & I headed into town to enjoy a lovely Vietnamese Lunch in China Town followed by a visit to the hospital to meet our gorgeous new niece & Ella's latest cousin!

The first pic is me holding little Miss Lily at only 2 days old! She was so cuddly & warm & had that beautiful new baby smell! I must admit I hogged her for quite a while....I was loving those newborn baby snuggles!

This second shot is Miss Ella....a proud big cousin to Lily & being a show off for the camera :)

These are part of Fat Mum Slim's Point & Shoot.

Happy Monday everyone :)