… and we couldn’t be more thrilled !!
happy friday everyone !!
xx
it’s another ….
4
Category Archives: art
joey’s cake.
i am not a baker. my grandmother was a baker & my sister is a fantastic baker & my sister-in-love just rocks the cazbah … but somehow the genes for baking did not come my way. that said, i do love to cook – especially dinner (when i have the time!). one thing i have noticed about kids parties are the incredible, detailed, thoughtful cakes. some of my friends have produced THE MOST AMAZING cakes i have ever seen in my life ! another thing I have noticed about kid birthday cake making is that it is quite a stressful activity. not only does one put an incredible amount of thought into what type of cake, theme etc (i flicked through the women’s weekly kids cake book a million times). there is the whole assembling of the cake either with perfect timing or into the wee hours of the morning. since many of us have only just started to live in houses rather than apartments, it has been quite an ordeal to move a ready-made cake to a park or the beach for the special occasion.
this year i decided that i didn’t want the stress of making kids birthday cakes. for miss v our friend over at peek-a-boo party cakes made this ah-mazing cake. for joey last week i cheated just a little bit …
i knew joey loved ‘raa raa, the noisy little lion’ tv show so i decided to do a jungle cake. i bought two sponge cakes (i.e. four half sponges) from the supermarket (they only cost me $2.50 each!). i also bought two tubs of betty crocker ready-made butter icing (frosting). so pretty much, my job was done.
i then assembled the cakes into three tiers using the frosting as a thick layer in between each sponge. i followed the fantastic instructions over on oh happy day on how to frost a cake to perfection. and lets just say the results were perfect.
for decorations, i had a bunch of african animals that the kids play with, plus a garden of greens.
easy !
for those of you who can bake & enjoy the challenge … good luck ! may you be blessed. for those of you who are like me & find the exercise stressful due to imminent fail … may you be released into a touch of ‘cheating’ so that you can sit back, relax & enjoy the party 
xx
three.
last week my little piece of pumpkin pie turned three ! it was such an exciting time for us all. i am stoked that we made it through two & I’m so proud of my little man. he is such a delight & so much fun to be around.
he had school on his birthday. we debated whether or not to take him out for the day & settled on the decision to keep him in. at least he had all of his friends around him for the whole day & his teachers were so sweet in packing a full day of birthday activities for him. he even got to skype his nana + pa. so special. due to all the allergies i was not required to make a cake or cupcakes (phew!). instead joey & i made some party bags full of all bits + bobs plus a chocolate or two. he carted them off to school in a little wooden cart with balloons attached. it was the sweetest sight.
that evening we had a little party for our mothers’ group. kids dinner + cake. it was the perfect end to a fun day for my big three year old. just before he went to sleep he asked for “another party tomorrow”. if only life were that free & easy !
happy birthday little guy. we love you to bits & can’t wait to see what a wonderful three year old you are.
xx
DIY heart photo collage.
here is a really easy DIY to fill some of that wall space that is just glaring at you day after day after day ….
i have never been one to frame photos & put them on the mantle piece to look pretty & collect dust. in fact I am the opposite ! when we first got married, one of the first things i did in our marital home was to take down all of mark’s framed photos !! there’s just something about framed photos that does not appeal to me … perhaps they are too clunky & take up precious room, perhaps it’s because the photos always seem so posed … or perhaps i’m just a little bit different?! (probably the latter!). but I do love photo’s ! that is one of the main things I love about blogging … the photos !
i am an absolute instaaddict. i love instagram photos because they are small, de cluttered & capture a moment in time at an instant without any fuss. so i had this great idea (again!) to use more of my instagram photos around our house. i found this great little company Printstagram who print your instagram photos & post them out to you. Easy ! And so was born the DIY heart collage …
Step 1: Find a Blank Wall in your Home.
Step 2: Select your best instagram photos & get Printstagram to print and send them to you.
Step 3: Arrange your photos in the shape you like (for me… always a heart !).
Step 4: Apply adhesive to the back of the photos.
I used double sided tape which I would only recommend if you are planning on painting your house in the future like us – otherwise it is not a good product for freshly painted walls. You could try painters tape or something similar.
Step 5: Place your photos on the wall.
How easy is all of that !
As you can see, I have a bit of space left in my heart on the left hand side. This was not done on purpose, however, I am really happy for the space because it allows me to add photos as our family grows.
The original idea came from this post … isn’t this place just divine?!
Happy DIYing !
xx
* If you’d like to follow me on instagram I am: emmyliddell.
* If you’d like to follow me on Pinterest just press the Pinterest button on the right hand side of this page …
Guest Post: Place
Today I have another Guest Post ! This one is from my brother-in-love Andrew. I love this … It shows every bit of his personality, his intellect, his appreciation and love for family and his home which is a million miles away from here. It is perfect … Thanks Andrew !!
“Place matters. Each of us has a profound relationship to one place or another. We were all born somewhere and although we tend to disregard its significance, our home is an intricate part of us.
Let me introduce you to Wendell Berry. If someone is reading this aloud to you, close your eyes so you can picture him better (if you’re reading, please keep your eyes open). When we first encounter our hero, the setting is New York City, 1964. Wendell is a young writer and literature professor at NYU. To the dismay of colleagues and friends, he decides to leave New York in the dust (and apparently literary aspirations) to return to his native Kentucky family farm. Wendell’s choice to return picked up the conversation with his home place that produced him a healthier life and for us some fascinating articles and novels. He writes of the land considerately with knowledge and affection, like a lover. I recommend reading:
Articles: “A Poem of Difficult Hope”, “God and Country”, “The Pleasure of Eating”
Novels: That Distant Land, Jayber Crow
Everything else he’s written.
I recently made a trip to my hometown Marion, Indiana. My cousin Emily and I decided over breakfast to make a film. We had eight hours. We shot nine short pieces of family members telling autobiographical stories at the scene of the crime so to speak. The following are stories from my grandma Leone and my brother Peter.”
wall art.
i have been looking at bare walls ever since we moved into our new place – so it’s time to get some wall art. i have never actually ever purchased any wall art – it is usually either homemade or from my super talented brother-in-love. but now we have many many many walls to fill so i think it is time. i am not quite sure about a theme or what I am really looking for – perhaps just prints and art that are bright & make me smile. here are a few prints that i have been looking at over on etsy just to get me started ..
which one(s) do you like best?
what are your hints and tips for purchasing wall art?
xx
*this post was inspired by A Beautiful Mess.
#proudwife.
it doesn’t take much for my man to impress me. he pretty much just has to breathe & i am totally #proudwife. but this weekend was really special for him & also for me as i was with him when he was awarded the Premier’s Teachers Mutual Bank Mathematics Scholarship. wow ! what an incredible achievement. i was so proud & thoroughly enjoyed watching him be recognised for his creativity and his hard work. i am so excited to see what he gets up to in our lifetime together. let’s just say there is never a dull moment in our house because he is never satisfied with mediocrity or slowing down. even. for. a. second. i am just delighted for him & I can’t wait to hear about all his adventures from his study tour next year.
i was also absolutely delighted to witness a sweet little friend of mine receive the Premier’s COFA Scholarship for Creative Arts. The gorgeous hannah was my flatmate while i was at uni & bless her little heart she is the wonderful woman who introduced me to installations … our little unit was practically an installation with all her works while she was completing her studies at COFA. isn’t she just so gorgeous ?! she will use her scholarship to experience the shanghai biennale & other wonderful things. what a talented lady !
xx
mad men.
i love mad men. it is absolutely in the top five of my favourite tv series. i love how nothing happens in mad men … yet so much happens. i love the styling. i love the story lines (or even lack thereof!). i love the soundtrack. i just love all of it. i was so pleasantly surprised to find James Minchin III ‘s website the other day care of my friend Rosie over at fashademic. his stills from the set of mad men are truly beautiful.
you can find more of his incredible stills over here.
xx
neon.
i have been really sick these last two weeks 
i don’t get sick so it is a bit weird being sick. my husband has been amazing while i have been sick. he claims i don’t know how to be sick (i think it’s because i don’t get ‘man flu’). so he repeatedly brings me cups of hot tea, medicine, and sends me to bed early. bless him. the house is a shambles, there is washing to the ceiling and lots of food (rice in particular) under the baby’s high chair. i caved today and finally went to the doctor i am now on antibiotics i can’t remember the last time i took antibiotics and was stumped by the dr’s question if i would prefer amoxicillin or augmentin ???? i had no idea so went for the lower strength antibiotic.
anyhoo, mark gave me the weekend off and i pretty much spent it sleeping on the couch. but in my moments of consciousness, as i was looking around the lounge room, i decided it is in desperate need of some neon. neon neon neon. neon is happy. here are a few places from around the web that have made me happy …
one, two, three, four, five. wow ! get me some neon. xx
over the weekend.
during the week we decided to block out this weekend for compulsory family fun time. we have had too much sickness over here & we were all in need of some R&R together.
luckily for us it was beautiful weather & peek-a-boo party cakes were having their $1 cupcake saturday. such a great combo ! i think joey must have eaten close to four cupcakes … his favourite was the peanut butter cupcake. my favourite … the carrot cake cupcake. booyah ! while the baby slept joey watered the garden. such a great helper
in the afternoon we hit the beach. the perfect place to be on a sunny winter afternoon. trucks, sand and hot chips. yes ! we just love the beach.
on sunday we went to church & afterward we did something we rarely do … instead of going home for the baby’s sleep we decided to go into the city. big mistake ! on a normal day this little adventure would probably have worked out fine … but the aroma festival was on this weekend which meant there were a million and one people walking around circular quay. bummer ! we weaved our way in and out, bumped lots of heels with our pram (sorry !!), tried to carry a toddler who wanted to walk (so we wouldn’t lose him!) and finally made it to the MCA. we had a quick peek at some amazing art & then decided we were all exhausted so it was time to head back home. we were all happy to get home & enjoy some sunshine on our front porch with a cup of tea. perfect end to a fun weekend !
xx
