[sweet Chrissy treats]

My awesome punky friend Helen introduced me to these little treats at her Girls' Night In parties. Just so simple, white choccy dipped marshmallows with 100s and 1000s. They look so pretty in a glass too. The regular marshmallows at Woollies were sold out yesterday, but after a taste test today, I reckon the swirls are even better. Spunky little snowman pops will be a big hit with the big and little kids at Christmas lunch tomorrow.

...and what do you do with the leftover chocolate and 100s and 1000s?? 

White chocolate hearts, of course!

Merry Christmas Eve. xx

[cheating with Donna Hay]

I like to bake, but often don't as it's just way too tempting to eat everything! Cupcakes are needed for a birthday party at the skate park with the boys tomorrow, and when I saw this beautiful packaging (as only Donna knows how to do) I thought, why not? 

Easy peesy choccy cupcakes - just add a couple of eggs and milk to this and that's the lot!

Donna is such a legend at branding too...

Even the cupcake cases are pretty.

Who wants to lick the beaters?

Dollops of chocolatey goodness...

I'll lick the spatula and bowl!

Baked perfection!

Now the birthday boy is quite partial to Cadbury's 'Bubbly' at the moment, so the request for cake decoration was decided upon early in the peace. He conceded that not everyone likes mint chocolate, so he's more than happy to remove the offending article and dispose of it for them. What a caring boy!

[unexpected bargain hunting]

I decided this morning that I'd see if I could get some Contact (that had a wood pattern) to give a facelift to the dodgy old white bedside table I'd rescued from under the house for my boy's new room. As chance would have it, we happened to be going past my favourite op shop at Lawnton, so I thought why not just drop in and see if they had a pine bedside table to match his chest of drawers...

Bingo! We found the perfect complementary piece. It was sporting some lovely carving by it's former owners Justin and Jack, but a side trip to the hardware on the way home for some wood filler will smooth out the rough edges. Before I got to the op shop I had in my mind I didn't want to spend more than $20, and was stoked when the volunteer at Endeavour told me the unpriced piece was $19.95. Bargain!

My eldest has been getting into hockey at home lately and using my old stick (from the 80s) round the back yard. He was very excited when he sprung this pair of sticks at the op shop, and for $9.95 and $3.95, I could hardly say no now could I? I'd rather the boys running around the yard than sitting on the computer, so it's WIN WIN!

[the bed head project]

It's my eldest's 12th birthday tomorrow, and I made it, I got the room habitable for him to move into his new space. I am far from finished (still so much to sort) but it is all in boxes, bags or on shelves ready for me to got through. Apart from dumping almost half a wheelie bin full of junk, by far my biggest achievement in this room's transformation has been making an upholstered bed head.

I was lucky enough to have my timber cut to the correct size at Bunnings, so was a simple glue and nail job to put the pine frame together with the MDF base. A trip to Spotlight for the wadding and fabric (which my boy chose himself), and then it was staple gun time.

Wadding and fabric cut to size

Fabric stapled on, and split batten attached

I hadn't forgotten the techniques of folding beautiful hospital corners on the edges from when I learnt to make my own canvasses, and I'm so happy with how neat they turned out. The trick to the bed head is how it's attached to the wall with a split batten - one half goes on the bed head, and then this slots in onto the other half attached to the wall. 

Still some more refurbishing to do to the shelving, not to mention the mountain of toys to sort through, but my 12-year-old with the attitude to match should have enough of his own space to have pre-teenage angst in for the time being. The hardest thing will be getting all the things sorted before he decides to have a look at what's there 'for old time's sake'. I'm certain stealth sorting still be will be required to achieve my task of culling the unnecessary clutter.

Almost there. xx

[decluttering and my new friend eBay]

I've been a very slack blogger this past couple of weeks, but it's been no vacation that's for sure. The last week of school was just crazy with a function or break-up party almost every day, and the first week of the school holidays has seen me on 'operation declutter' ... and it's a huge task. 

The kids have been banned from their playroom for the past few months as they refused to clean it up. 

I'm amazed I can actually see the floor in this photo, as it wasn't visible at all before I started.

With my eldest turning 12 next week, and the obvious need of separating 6 and 12 year olds into separate bedrooms (the time of bunking in together should've ended six months ago), I have set this date as my deadline to get this room cleared out. Without a deadline it will never happen!

Unfortunately to make room to store excess items until I can dispose of them (sell, give away or dump), it's meant I've had to clean out other areas of the house, and has inspired me to organise and declutter quite a few places like the cupboard under the vanity in the bathroom and the pantry! Organisational bliss has ensued. Yay!!

eBay is my new friend, I have listed 10 items and already sold one. The dump and the Vinnies clothing bin have been visited a few times too, and my nighttime trek to the wheelie bin (while the kids are asleep and can't intercept me) with old or broken toys not worth donating or selling has been done with an evil laugh. Mwahahaha.

[dancing with the divas]

 

It's what we live for (and get nervous butterflies about) every year ... dance concert ... and yesterday was our big day. Quite a few of us got some last minute practice in by dancing two of our dances in the morning at the earlier concert for the Chermside studio, then at 4.30pm it was Albany Creek's turn. I was quite amazed how this 'trial run' got rid of my jitters, and I danced 'Can't be Tamed' in the arvo the best I ever have. So chuffed about this!  

   

My lovely dancing diva mates and I danced our hearts out to 'Can't be Tamed' and 'Summer of 69', and then partook in a little backstage party in the dressing room with a few bubbles before our dance 'Fever' late in the second half. I'd injured my heel landing heavily earlier in the year, and by this stage it was really starting to hurt whenever I put any pressure on it ... but as they say, 'The show must go on!' and I really wanted to get back out there and dance!

After 'Fever' we only had a few songs for a costume change before we jumped back on stage into the finale. I think we all had a big grin on our faces when we left the stage after our bows as we got a huge cheer from the audience. Go divas! :)