My tips to an organised pantry.

 Sharing some pantry love today...

 

There is nothing I love more than a well organised pantry.

And Tupperware.

 

A while back I even dabbled at being the Tupperware lady. That's how much I loved it.

 

Here are my tips of keeping a well organised pantry:

 

• Labelled containers. They don't have to be Tupperware but storing everything in like containers will have you off to a flying start to having an organised pantry. It makes life so much easier, to be able to see exactly what you have. Not to mention, being able to retain the freshness of your items.

• Baskets. These are great to contain like items all in the one spot that can't go into a container. I got mine just from Safeway for $9.00 each and I love them. I have one for bread, potato's / onions, lunch bags and condiments [including: oils, salt and peppers ect]. I feel a few more will be introduced in the near future as there are a few area's in my pantry that need reorganising.

• Wire rack / shelves. I don't have any in my current pantry as I designed my shelves so I didn't need them. I had them in my previous home though and they worked wonders. They provide you more space, especially in storing cans ect. If you have deep shelves, or a lot of space between your shelves, they will use up the empty space. They are available at Ikea and are an inexpensive way to increase your storage capacity without storing items on top of items.

• Weekly tidy ups. Like all of the different area's in my house that I like to keep organised, none of them would stay the way I like without weekly attention. If done weekly, it literally takes a few minutes of your time to get it looking beautiful again. With my pantry, I do this before food shopping day. It is  helpful time to take stock of what you already have [which helps with meal planning] and what you need to buy. Having everything in containers also makes this process easier as you can see exactly what is there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my pantry, I also designed myself "housewife station".

 

I didn't need or want a full study, but I really wanted somewhere to do my meal planning, keep my diary and everything homely and comes with being a housewife. I figured I loved my pantry, so why not put it in there?

 

Above my bench is a shelve designed for all my cook books.

 

Underneath, you will also see a basket [which came from the Reject Shop for $10], which is designated to all the kids artwork that comes home from Kinder. If it isn't getting hung up on their artwork display wire,  it goes in here. From here, once the basket is full, I will take photo's of the piece to add to a photo book. Kinder and school mum's will know that it is IMPOSSIBLE to keep every single piece that comes home.

 

Under there is also a hook to the left, that is my handbag hook. I have quite a thing for nice bags so decided I needed something to keep them off the floor. A $5.00 hook from Bunnings does the trick beautifully.

 

I hope that has given some insight into how I organise my Pantry and maybe shared some inspiration.

 

Holidaying in Singapore... Here is how it went!

Our family holiday this year had us returning back to somewhere special, back to where Dad'n and I got married... back to Thailand!

The way the flights happened, it also had us in Singapore.

Why just fly through we thought? So we stopped over for four days on the way home.

Here is what we thought of it.

* It is amazing. Every second corner gives you something to wow about.

* It is beautiful. Everything is beautiful.

* It is the cleanest place I have ever seen.

* It is the easiest place to get around. Whether you brave the MRT, or get in a dirt cheap taxi. It is all easy.

* It has so much amazing food.

* Shopping... everywhere!

* Pricing... I would say is equivalent to Melbourne prices

* So many different things to do and see. So many that it is overwhelming to chose what to do when you are only there a short time.

* We stayed at the Swissotel Merchant Court which was in Clark Quay. We found the location really good. Rooms were really large which is rare in Singapore apparently. And the pool was a big hit at the end of a hot day out and about.

* And last of all... We will definitely be back!

Here is a bit of a look at our time...

 

 

 // Singapore

 

 

 // This is the highway. Can you imagine our highway lined with gardens like this?

 

// This is one of my favourite buildings we found. The Park Royal. Covered in beautiful greenery.

 

// Bugis Cube and Junction. A great shopping district.

 

 

// Chili Crab @ Jumbo's Seafood in Clark Quay - Bookings essential!

 

 

// We caught the cable car over to Sentosa Island. Beware if you are scared of heights. Lots of deep breathing required on my behalf. Views were worth it though.

  

 

 

// A day at Universal Studio's - Sentosa Island. A must.

 

// Hire buggy at Universal Studio's - Best $20 ever spent. It is a BIG day for little legs.

 

 

// Marina Bay Sands. What can I say. This building is breath taking to see in real life.



 

// A day on the "Hippo Bus" [Hop on Hop off bus]

A little exxy but it is a fabulous way to see EVERYTHING. It is a double decker bus that travels the whole town. As the name suggests, you hop on and hop off when ever you please. Your ticket is valid for 24 hours. The kids LOVED this day. 

 

// The Swissotel Merchant Court. We were very happy with our accommodation choice.

 

 

I hope that gave you a taste of Singapore.

 

If you are thinking of hitting it up, I highly recommend it. It's a pretty fab place.

Cloud play dough.

It is a seriously dreary day here today.

Constant drizzling and COLD!

As soon as we got up this morning, Boo requested a home day. Who was I do argue ;)

Friday's are go with the flow day's here with nothing scheduled, so a home day it was.

Home days often coincide with pyjama days also. Do they at your house too? MMM pj's.

So with not much on for the day, I thought I would checkout my Pintrest craft board for some inspiration. We all scrolled through and decided to give "Cloud Play Dough" a whirl.

What you need:

Cornflour
Conditioner
Food colouring.

That's it!

That is half the reason that I sold the idea to the kids so hard... It was simple.

What to do:

Put your corn flour in a bowl...
Mix in conditioner until you get a dough consistency...
Knead in some food colouring...It is hard to give amounts because I only made a small batch with what corn flour I had in the pantry. Apparently it also depends on the type of conditioner you use to how much you need. It really is just a "mix until it feels right".

As simple as the instructions are, it was quite messy. I feel messier than normal play dough.

The dough became VERY sticky before it made a good play dough. I had to keep adding flour to help with it sticking.

It reached its best play probably after 30 minutes or so of playing. It stopped sticking. It was soft. It was "cloud" like.

I tell you what though, it was the best smelling play dough I have ever smelt :)

And I had two very happy little people.

 

 
 

 

Dear Boo.

Dear Boo,

 

Last night you said something. It was something that brought me to tears and left your Daddy speechless.

 

It was something so important that it has made me write you this letter.

 

I want you to remember it forever.

 

Here is how is went...

 

Boo: I'm going to marry a Prince one day...

 

Mummy: Of course you are baby, I wonder where you will find him?

 

Boo: Oh I will just find him...

 

Mummy: Well whoever it may be I'm sure they will be just as amazing as you deserve.

 

Boo: Yep, he will have good manors, he will be kind, he will never ever be rude to me and he will treat me good. Just like Daddy. I want one just like Daddy.

 

Mummy: Yes Boo, just like Daddy (insert tears here as I walk out of the room).

 

Just as I said Boo, remember this forever.

 

Your Prince just has to treat you as you deserve. The way you knew, even being just four years of age.

 

Love you always and forever,

 

Mummy xx

 

 

 

Holidays, hospitals and beyond... Day one!

So many different things happened on our holiday that it felt two weeks was actually two months.

There were so many high's but I will never forget the low's for as long as I live.

On our official day one, Ace was admitted into hospital.

This would have to be up there on a parents worst nightmare list.

Being overseas, and your child becoming seriously sick. It happens to other people. Not us. You know that feeling?

Ace had an infection.

He was fighting extremely high temperatures, and was having difficulties breathing due wheezing and a croupy cough. After our admission, he then followed on to have two febrile convulsions. It was then they started testing for some nasty things, including Influenza.

All his test results returned negative to anything nasty and it was just obvious that he was fighting an infection. I've never thanked who ever was looking over us as much as I did at the moment.

It all escalated so quickly. I mean he was swimming in the pool fine in the morning, and then this was him now, we couldn't even wake him at all?

 

  

The hospital was amazing. Thank god!

But language was definitely a barrier. Doctors and nurses were all speaking Thai and that was so frustrating for Dad'n and I when we wanted to know how and what they were treating Ace with.

After all had settled and Ace was a little more stable, everything was explained to us in English, but until that point, our anxieties hit levels that were out of control.

Being a Nurse, Dad'n would turn to me wanting to know what they were giving him and what they were doing. My response of "I don't know" was only adding to our anxieties.

As quick as Ace went down, he seemed to come back up.

The next morning, Ace and I snacked on Pringles and Pocky sticks for breakfast. Thai breakfasts were not what we were craving at all. Savoury porridge with minced meat on top, which I am sure was lovely... But not for us.

It was so surreal. He was sitting up in his hospital bed like not much had happened. I, myself, looked like I had aged 20 years minimum, but that was okay. As long as my little man was okay!

As I look back and reflect on it all, there are some things that stick out that helped us get through a sucky situation.

Having family travelling with us... Obviously.

We had support for Boo and we had support for ourselves.

Our travel insurance... They were amazing!

If you are in the market for a policy for your holiday, have a look at AAMI. Their support left us speechless. We had doctors calling us asking about Ace's condition. They offered to liase with his treating team so they could fully translate what was happening if they language was becoming to much of a barrier. They covered all medical expenses before we left the hospital so we didn't have to outlay money for the rather large bill! I can not speak highly enough about our experience. It was such a blessing.

Of course you never think it will happen to you, but this time, for us... it did.

Will we continue travelling with the children?

Absolutely.

This would of happened where ever we may of been. I will however research the hospitals a little more of where we will be travelling. I would like to have a better understanding of where we would have to go if we are somehow unlucky enough to frequent an international emergency department again.

So, that was "day one".

At least it could only get better from there!

 

Being a tourist in your own backyard...

There is something that Boo has been dying to do since we moved.

We always seemed to say "another day" or "we haven't got time"...

But today we did it.

We rode the Ferris Wheel!

I must say, I am glad we finally did. It was pretty cool!

 

Such a stunning day.

Finished off with an amazing lunch with Ganma & Pa on the waterfront.

Life's pretty good here!

Painting a chalk board wall...

One morning, I woke up and decided that I needed a chalk board wall in my life.

But where?

 

I knew with my (and Dad'ns) OCD ways, we couldn't have it in a main area of the house. Not only would this chalkboard be for me, but the kids would also be on there too. I had already visualised lots of smudged artwork and chalk dust everywhere. This idea took some deep breaths,

 

I decided that our pantry was the perfect spot for said chalkboard.

 

I could have all my fun on it, the kids could go crazy, and when I no longer wanted to see it... I just close the pantry door. Perfect!

 

Dad'n was sceptical but knows better than to doubt my decorating ideas. Mainly because it just ends in me sulking.  

 

My inspiration was found very quickly. Thanks Pintrest. And we were off to Bunnings the same morning. When I want something done... I want it done yesterday. That's just how I roll.

 

So that evening, my chalk board came to life.

 

Two coats. A few drip crisis's, and please note, chalkboard paint isn't the easiest things to get off. You need to wipe it the SECOND it drops. It was a bit hairy scary.

 

 It was so black going up. Dad'n gave a few "are you sure this was a good idea" comments.

 

But then it was finished and I was absolutely in love. It suits our home perfectly! Love, love, love it.

 
 

                   Before                              After

 

       

 

 If you are toying with the idea of adding a chalkboard wall into you life, I say go for it. They are a bit fab. 

Operation "Playroom organisation"

If you follow me on Facebook, you will know that we are in the process of organising our playroom. 

To be honest... I've been on this operation since we moved in but have never managed to finish it off.

So here is what we have going on to keep chaos to a minimum and easy fun playing to a maximum!

When designing our floor plan for this house, storage in our playroom was really up there on my priority list.

We decided on two shelved cupboards on the TV wall which meant it didn't eat up any wall space, and also added to the bulkhead effect around the TV feature wall.

You could also organise similar to this with Ikea Expedit unit's, bookcases, shelving units.

We have used this system for quite some time now, the "homing similar items in a box" system.

I have found that it is easy to manage as at the end of the day, we just lay which ever box is needed on the floor, and usually its 6+ boxes. Sometimes its all of them. Not all the time.  Then everything gets put in the appropriate box, and put away.

I now have each box labelled with not only the word of the items that are in the box, but also a picture to help with recognition.

The containers I ended up settling on were from Target.

 

After doing the rounds, I found these to be sturdy, cost effective,  they had clear windows to help see what's in them, and they came in a variety of sizes.

 

The cupboard to the left I decided to dedicate it to all of the containers.

 

 

 

The cupboard to the right homes Boo's dress up's down the bottom. This was just achieved with a hanging rail below one of the shelves.

It is also is home to all our art and craft supplies.

Then above we keep our kinder and swimming bags which are always repacked and placed back in their home at the end of the day.

 

 

 

Oh and the top shelf. The special top shelf.

 

It is reserved for toys that have driven Mummy insane, the ones that need a "rest".

 

We also keep our Easter egg hunt baskets up there. Better dust them off soon for when the fluffy bunny visits!

 

So that is our major storage covered...

 

We also have a 4 x 4 cube Expedit unit to house all our every day toys, ones that don't require storing.

 

And also a kids desk that is home to all drawing and colouring in things.

 

  

I hope that has given you some insight in to how we try to keep our playroom organised and maybe given you some ideas?

 

Maybe you already have a fab system that you find works well?

 

 

Share it! Find me on FB and pop some pics up! Would love everyone to get sharing.

 

Until next time...

 





Finding the perfect travelling bag for kids...

Finding the one... Travel bag for little people that is ;)

I love to travel and holiday, that's no secret. Who doesn't?

But what I also love is every fab find that I can get my hands on in the lead up to said holiday.

It used to be beautiful travel bags and accessories for myself, but since children, the obsession has turned to them. As it does with everything it seems.

For quite some time, I have been on the hunt to find to perfect carry on bag for them. The one.

Our family holiday last year had us taking a "Trunki". I thought it was SO going to be the one. How wrong I was.

I thought it was the answers to all. It was going to be amazing. So many parents raved and swore by them. It was going to rock my travel accessory world right? Wrong. It didn't work for us. AT ALL!

Sure it was fun for the first 15 minutes arriving at the airport. It was cute. But for the rest of the time, children got over pulling it. We didn't have time to have them riding it. Dad'n got super over trying to carry it. Its bulky and awkward. Its hard to get into. Many un choice words flying around surrounding that little case. Try to picture arriving after an overnight flight with two children still trying to sleep getting through customs with this big pink thing that every family member wants to throw! Sorry, still some pent up anger issues regarding poor Trunki LOL. Can you tell?

So we are getting geared up for our trip in a few weeks and our new bags and accessories have arrived. So we are having a play.

We kind of  look like a walking advertisement for Skip Hop.

I have always loved their products, we have quite a few in our collection. They have always functional and very durable.

We also got the matching travel blankets that I have attached on the back with a hook for easy access. Who doesn't like matching! They stuff in and out of the attached pillow which seems to work really well.

So far, these bags seem to hold a fair bit, but not to much so they get to heavy for children to manage. Carry handle packs away neatly and  they have a parent strap to make them a bit easier to carry for those times when children get over it. Which mine seem to a lot!

I look forward to giving a review on the other side of the trip and letting you all know if these in fact, were the ones.

Anyone else have a travel accessory problem? There could always be worse things I say ;)

Feel free to share what works, or what doesn't work for you.

*** Please note: These are my own opinions the products mentioned above, no endorsement has or will be received ***

Creating better days.

I often wonder. What would be the ratio of peoples complaints vs compliments?

 

Everyone always seems quick to ask for the manager to report someone, email a complaint and spread the word to family and friends to avoid a certain business, person or place.

 

But when do we show gratitude to good service, wonderful help, or someone just being a positive influence on every day life?

 

I try to always focus on being thankful and showing gratitude in my own family and life.  But now I have made it my mission to extend that to my surroundings and encounters.

 

It began yesterday.

 

I have been feeling very positive about Ace's childcare that he started attending one day a week this year. It hasn't been the easiest of transitions for us both but we have found the centre to be overwhelmingly caring and made it so much gentler on us both.

 

I decided to write an email to the manager expressing how happy I was with Ace's care. That she has wonderful staff and that I could not be happier having him there... It went into it a bit further than that, but you get the gist.

 

The response from her was so heartfelt. It was beautiful. It also said that what she received from me was so rare that in fact, she couldn't recall the last time it had happened.

 

I hope it made her smile. She  then forwarded it onto Ace's carers, I hope it made them smile. And  I know it definitely made me smile.

 

It was just showing gratitude. That's all it was. It took less than five minutes.

 

Is there something you are thankful for?

 

 Tell the person. Tell the place.

 

Just a thought.

 

 

*** Picture credits to: http://www.honeybearlane.com/2011/10/giving-thanks-thanksgiving-printables.html ***