Just Like Martha

I am such a lucky Girl.....

...to have such wonderful friends and family xx

Yes, I'll admit it, it was my Birthday yesterday...hard to keep a secret with www.janecurtis.typepad.com and www.frayedattheedge.typepad.co.uk both posting special Birthday messages on their blogs LOL...I don't mind I had the most wonderful day and was spoilt rotten...

Started the day with a long walk and yummy breakfast in Manly with my good friend Jean....Jane arranged a special girly lunch with all my good buds which was a lovely surprise...then out to dinner with close family friends..the celebrations continue today with a morning tea with my mum and dad and dinner out with hubby (just the two of us - perfect!) then another breakky harbourside with good friends in the morning and an afternoon session at the movies with a buddy....told you I was LUCKY!

Look at this beautiful card my good buddy Jane made me...very special..

And this one blew me away...a lovely lady that works with John...I make all the Birthday cakes for him to take into the office...they all call me "Martha"..she has gone to so much trouble - I Love it!

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday...oh and HAPPY HALLOWEEN XXX

Halloween is almost here...

Only a few more sleeps to Halloween..the time of year you either love or hate...love it as its kinda cute to get the kids dressed up and walk door to door asking for lollies (our street usually organises themselves and if you WANT to participate you hang a baloon on your letterbox - perfect)...and hate it as if you are not planning on participating the constant bashing at your front door long after its kids bedtime is very tiresome....

But I have to say love it or hate it, its becoming more and more popular in Australia..the shops are all decked out with all sorts of amazing creepy stuff to buy and decorate....perhaps we just need to 'go with the flow'....

A few of our friends 'get into the swing' so I have purchased some ghastly treats and decorated a cello bag....what do you think???

I am really pleased with the way they turned out!!

Finally some Scrapbooking...

I have a complaint to make...there are not enough hours in the day LOL...seriously if we could just squeeze in a few more 'creating' hours i'd be a happy girl...

Inspired by some of the papers that my blogging friend Anne from www.frayedattheedge.typepad.co.uk sent me recently I scrapped some of the pages from our recent trip to the Dubbo zoo...

 
Thanks Anne the papers blended in well...back tomorrow with a few HALLOWEEN treats to share....bye for now xxx

Shadow Shot Sunday

Good Morning everyone, it is Sunday so that must mean time for a new Shadow Shot...my photo today comes from our recent trip to Dubbo zoo where we cycled around the zoo for the day...lots of fun!

For other great shots don't forget to visit Tracy at www.heyharriet.blogspot.com to check out her great collages from the shadows she received last week and say hi to all the other shadow shooters out there...go on, its lots of fun!

Happy Birthday Bryan...

Hello, back again after a busy morning in the kitchen getting ready for tonights Birthday Dinner ..our friend Bryan is celebrating a (lets just say) 'significant' Birthday and we wanted to make it extra special by having a surprise Dinner Party for him...first things first...a special Birthday card..

Part of his pressie...these are the yummy new chocs I am trying instead of my usual Rocky Road...

And one for each guest to take home that doubles as a placecard...

I wanted the dinner party to be special but there had to be some reference to the 'Birthday Boy'...

Well that's all I can show you had better get back to it...my kitchen beckons...we are starting off with a Cheese and Dip platter compliments of one of the guests followed by Asparagus served on pastry with hollandaise sauce....Atlantic salmon on a bed of mash, topped with deep fried chilli and a side dish of seasonal salad and corn couscous....Roasted pears with a toffee sauce and French vanilla incecream for dessert then of course Birthday cake...if anyone is still hungry (LOL) there are some choc treats to have with coffee and tea....my tummy is rumbling...time for a cuppa then back to it for me xx

Birthday treats to take to school

Earlier in the week on their 'Pupil Free Day' Taylor and a couple of girlfriends spent the day cooking some Birthday treats to take to school to celebrate a friends Birthday....like mother like daughter huh, look what she came up with...

A very yummy looking chocolate cake and then this...

A decorated noodle box (hmm think someone has been into my papers and Fiskars punch - LOL) filled with chocolate fudge rocky road (a new recipe I am trying out for Chrissy - Taylor tried it out for me - yummo!)

Back later for another post....I know two posts in one day its too much isn't it!

Happy Mail

Today I received some HAPPY MAIL from my new blogging buddy Anne, all the way from Scotland...you may recall Anne and I met up for coffee one day when she and her hubby were on holidays in Sydney...and the rest they say is history...we keep in touch on a regular basis...go on over and visit her at www.frayedattheedge.typepad.co.uk and be inspired!!!

I recently won some RAK on her blog (for the un-initiated that's Random Act of Kindness = RAK - cute huh!) and today it arrived in the mail...lots of goodies for me to create with..

Lots of yummy stuff...cool animal print papers (maybe for the scrapbook pages of our recent trip to Dubbo zoo???) some great fabric (a Christmas decoration perhaps??), buttons, ribbon and REAL dyed wool (cards for sure), some 'local' postcards to put on my corkboard in my 'creative space' to remember my blogging buddy and last (but certainly not least) some very old pages from a book (ahh I think Anne knows me well and has been following my French book adventures..).

Anne, these are fantastic - I love them - thanks so much I feel very special xx

A few quick cards to share....

Today is the first day of the HIGH SCHOOL CERTIFICATE in NSW. some 60,000 children will sit their English exam......Good Luck!

I sent this card to our friend James a few days ago to let him know we were thinking of him.....

And a NEW HOME card with inspiration from the wonderful and talented Kim Archer....www.kimarcher.typepad.com to welcome some friends who are moving into their very first home...

 
Bye for now xx

A few days in the country....

Last week we packed up the car and headed west...first stop ORANGE where we had a wander then headed to a vineyard that had been recommended to us...BRANGAYNE OF ORANGE...for a quick tasting..

A lovely place to visit and some very nice wines (a few managed to make it in to the back of the car...), sadly it was pouring with rain so we were unable to wander around the property so it was back into the car, next stop our destination for the night - DUBBO!

We caught up with our dear friends and even managed a night out (adults only - thanks to the adoring grandparents who offered to babysit) first stopping at the restored MILESTONE PUB with its amazing sandstone rooms downstairs where we enjoyed a glass of bubbly, then off to a wonderful Tapas restaurant called TWO DOORS - a great night was had by all!

The next day was ZOO day and we were thrilled when the weather co-operated, the wind and rain from the previous day disappeared and it was overcast but warm - perfect for cycling around the TARONGA WESTERN PLAINS ZOO, DUBBO...

 
Lots of great animals, lots of great talks by the keepers...its hard to pick a favourite but these guys were pretty cute and we did get UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL..

So nice to see animals being cared for and living in such a great environment, they have really worked hard to imitate their natural environment wherever possible and in many cases you have to get pretty close before you see a fence..we loved these cheeky apes and could have watched their antics for hours.....SIAMANG APES....

They have this amazing 'call' which can be heard 4kms away...and their throats puff up, they put on a real show - very entertaining!

And who can resist these cuties (usually asleep we were very happy to get these shots)

If you ever get the chance to visit Dubbo a trip to the zoo is a must and seeing it by bike was great - we would certainly recommend it.

 Some afternoon tea with our friends then it was off to our next destination - WELLINGTON!

 
So if Dubbo is famous for its zoo, then Wellington is famous for its caves...and they are pretty spectacular, we were more than impressed!

We only went on a tour to CATHEDRAL CAVE which is the largest and most spectacular but there is another you can visit called Gaden Cave along with a Phosphate Mine.

This was used in the 1800's as a church and is still used today for weddings, carols at Christmas time and the odd concert - amazing! Taylor was mucking around with the sepia setting on my camera and took this great shot..

 
 Across the road from the Caves complex is the Japanese Gardens which are only small but still spectacular...

 
 We had a great few days 'in the country' thoroughly recommend a country raod trip to everyone...good food, great company and lots of great memories xx

Shadow Shot Sunday

Back from a 'road trip' out west (pop back tomorrow and I'll share some pics of our adventure)....lots of shadows but today I'll share with you the ones taken at the Japanese Garden in Wellington, country NSW...

These blossoms were stunning - ahhh spring is in the air...

Don't forget to visit other shadow shot shooters over at www.heyharriet.blogspot.com - enjoy your Sunday xx