A Gorgeous Bag For A Gorgeous Girl

Last week Kati and I took the two littlies to see the wonderful Peppa Pig puppet show that was on at the Arts Centre. Both love Peppa and George so when I heard about the show I was desperate to get tickets, as was every other parent in Melbourne. The pre-sale tickets sold out almost straight away. I was then lucky enough to snare 4 when they were fully released the following week. 

I'd decided it would make a great birthday present for Miss E's 2nd birthday in September. However as the time drew closer I was concerned that it may be a bit disappointing for a two year old to receive a couple of bits of cardboard. 

So the weekend before whilst doing my daily perusing of Pinterest I saw Kati had pinned these gorgeous crocheted bags. Given I was in the midst of my new found love of crochet I decided that's what was going to be the rest of her present. There wasn't much info or a link on what Kati had pinned, but I could make out a little picture that said 'made with love Vendulka'. So off googling I went, and I struck gold!! This woman is amazing with what she creates. I purchased the pattern on her etsy store and then got to work with the wool I had available. 

It didn't turn out exactly as my perfectionist self wanted, but I was pretty proud of what I had achieved in under a week. And I'm sure Miss E was much happier to receive her tickets in a bag, rather than by themselves. 

A

xoxo

Husbands And Gifts Do Not Mix!

On Christmas Eve of 2008 my (then) boyfriend proposed to me. He chose this date as I have grown up believing that Christmas is a special time and this just added to it!

So this time last year we (finally!!) got married! It was a day I will never forget! Everyone worked so hard and we were, and still are, so grateful! It was better than we had ever imagined!

Having said that, this is where my problem started. What do you get for your husband on your first wedding anniversary? It is traditionally paper. A really nice card? Hmmm...

Cam and I are very different when it comes to things like this. I have to admit that I am an emotional hoarder, I keep EVERYTHING! Whereas Cam is completely the opposite. 

He sees no problems with throwing things away, whereas I have kept any cards or little love notes he has ever given me. So getting him a nice and heartfelt card I have learnt isn't really the way to go.

We did go away to Healesville for a few days (we had our honeymoon there) which was very special and we both loved the peace and quiet! He had purchased an Oroton necklace for me that I had shown him months ago, and he had hidden it since then as a surprise for me.

So when he gave that to me a felt like I had ripped him off as I had only purchased a small trinket for him, a handmade keying...

Sadly it didn't arrive until we arrived home from our travels. BUT I really wanted to MAKE something special for US. Something to keep and I wanted it made with paper...

When I think back over our relationship and our wedding day, the one thing that stands out is music!

Throughout our relationship music seems to have "played" a special part in our lives. 

We met through a mutual friend (who happened to have been a DJ) and back then Karaoke was what all the "cool kids" were doing, so we would go out with friends and listen to them sing (all the good and oh so bad!). We have also both grown up with a love of music. I am very eclectic, loving everything from bubblegum pop to classics to rock to I guess metal even? Whereas Cam is into the heavier, more alternative music. Though through our relationship with have both grown to tolerate, maybe even like each other's musical taste... But there will always be a few non-negotiables!

Then comes his parents. His mum is a former opera singer and music teacher, his father is a VERY accomplished pianist. 

The music throughout our wedding ceremony was of songs his father had recorded as unfortunately he was unable to play on the day and most of the music at the reception is all a blur... That is apart from our first dance song. I had left all the music choices up to Cam, so when I first heard the song he had chosen I was in tears! He had said it was the perfect song to explain how he feels about me. The song is "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds and my favourite line from the song is ...

So, I charged my iPad and sat for hours trying to get inspiration.... Now I am a BIG fan of Pinterest! But this is the first time I have been a little disappointed! Why is it that when it comes to anything with the word 'wedding' in it, it's either over the top or just plan ugly. After combining both Music and Christmas I struck gold! What better gift to give him than the lyrics of our first dance song in a Christmas bauble? And a photo frame with the lyrics and sheet music of our first dance song with our wedding date...

I'm not too sure that he loves them, but he did appreciate the thought and that I made something special for us both to remember our special day and our first anniversary.

Now I wonder what next year will be like, I might need to start planning now?!

K

Mmmm...muffins!!!

It's been a bit of a miserable week in Melbourne - lots and lots of rain. I love it when it rains, but makes it a little difficult with a toddler. Whilst the skies seem to have dried up a little today, our backyard is a bit of a quagmire, so what am I to do with him other than watch Cars for the 671st time?

I had almost a whole punnet of blueberries in the fridge that I knew weren't going to be eaten (I attempted to give them to Master O in a fruit salad Monday morning, but were spat out even hidden amongst all the yoghurt). So I decided why not do some baking? Great activity to do with a 2 year old, as long as you're in a patient mood.

I have quite a few wonderful cookbooks around the house (including my all time favourite Women's Weekly 'Cook'), however I always seem to turn to the 'Taste' app on my iPad first. I love it when you're in the mood to cook or bake and you have all the ingredients already at home, which is what happened this morning. I made these blueberry muffins, but did substitute one cup if wholemeal self-raising flour for one cup of the plain sr flour and added a bit of vanilla, just because. They turned out very yummy, and I don't feel as guilty eating them knowing they've got a bit of wholesomeness to them (my logic). 

Master O loved getting his hands in the bowl to help rub the butter into the flour and then stirring everything together, but think licking the spoon at the end was definitely the best part. 

So we're now off to Ikea to grab some coat hangers (and maybe some meatballs). Kati helped me go through my wardrobe Wednesday afternoon and there is a lot that is no longer in there, so I now know exactly how many I need to but. I also Need to get onto eBay to sell some of the clothes I'm getting rid of, and drop the others off to an op shop somewhere. Could be a busy day ahead...

A

xoxo

Better Late Than Never, School Holidays Round Up.

So as the school holidays came to a close, I finally found time to write my first post and FINALLY post it!

Here at the McWoods household it was busier than the Bertie Beetle showbag stand!

Other than our family Oktoberfest/Shepkids festival trip to Pucka, we enjoyed many, many special treats!

The first Tuesday A, Mum and I took our 2 year olds and Master 7 to the Royal Melbourne Show. 

Oh boy was it a long day! 

We managed to see the animals, crafts, a few rides, lots of showbags and of course lunch with the CWA. 

I think we need to plan our day a bit more if we are going again.

But at the end of the day we had 3 happy and tired kids, and 3 exhaisted adults!

Then it was back to Pucka for Miss E, Master A and myself for a few days.

The highlight was Master A having a try at rock climbing at the army gym and discovering he really DOESN'T like heights.

Grand Final weekend came - a weekend of friends, drinks and apparently a footy game somewhere.

We woke up Monday and it was time to travel to the hills for the Tesselaar Tulip Festival. 

It was a first for both A and I, as well as the kids, and it was a fun day out!

We arrived about 11 and left just after 3. 

Even though it was the children's day, We could not believe the amount of people there!

It was great to see the kids run around and spot all the things to see, to touch, to pick (oops!) and play.

There were games along the way,along with a fairy and gnome garden to discover. 

As is normal, we couldn't leave without a trip to the souvenir shop where we ended up purchasing a $2.50 lucky dip for each of the kid.

They all LOVED the lollies and the toy animals, Master A scored with both a bird whistle and a gnome on a toadstool figurine!

Then came "calm down Tuesday"... or so we thought! 

A trip to the cinemas to see "Planes", who would have thought it would have ended the way it did!

Master A was excited, as was Mister O, and Miss E had no idea what was happening. 

It was at this point I would like to point out that this is the 3rd trip to the cinemas with all 3 kids this year!

It then started and Miss E was up, ready to play. 

I took her up the back to the door, but that didn't quell her playful ways so it was out to the foyer the torment the One Direction teens.

All in all, Master A was entranced, A and Mister O saw about half of the movie, Miss E and I saw more like 20 minutes. Definitely a movie I will be trying to see again for sure!

It was then time for lunch and the Pancake Parlour was calling! 

2 coffees, 2 babycinos and 1 hot chocolate and then the sugar hit! Wriggles everywhere and flying the 2 planes that came with the movie combos, I'm sure we were driving everyone around us nuts!

However, more sugar was to be had with the kids eating pancakes with syrup, ice cream and fudge sauce. 

After that indulgence we checked out the Lego area that Eastland had set up for the school holidays.

It was something so simple, but kids were quiet impressed!

There was a large lego 'ranger' and a love boat model to look at.

There was a duplo area and both the "babies" were ready to run amok, stealing other kids blocks and building fantastic towers! I had never seen Miss E build more than 3 blocks together!

Over at the "grown up" Lego area Master A was creating an Egyptian Pyramid masterpiece, complete with a pool!

After prising the kids away, a little running around at home for my two eventually tired out.

Then the rest of the week was spent cleaning, organising and getting ready for the new school term.

Friday night Master A and I went out with my in laws to the WORLD PREMIERE of "The Magic Pudding" opera, we were even seated in the FRONT row!

We felt so special and had a great night!

We got to see the conductor and all the musicians.

It was great timing too as Mum and I had just finished reading the book with Master A.

As my parents-in-law have both been involved in the opera field, they knew quiet a few people and Master A thought it was amazing that their names were (again) in the program!

To cap off the full of fun holidays, we were off to Westfield Southland for Master A to take part in the (highly anticipated) Lego Chima Champs competition. After getting there at 10.50 we rushed to find where we were meant to be, fortunately it was NOT hard to miss!

After waiting approximately half an hour in a massive line (with miss E not really wanting to be in her stroller!), we FINALLY got to the front of the line where Master A received a wristband and lane number. 

He was in a group with three other 7 years old, he didn't really pick up that they were his competitors, so was trying to help them as much as he could. 

In the end they all received on 'Chi' and tied, so the prizes were split between them all and Master A received a key ring.

Master A was then told that if he wanted to win a better prize, he could line up and try again.

So off we went to grab some lunch (and a BIG coffee!) and to the back of the line.

After a 20 minute wait we were at the front again, only to be told he could have another go, but he would NOT be able to win another prize.

So a disheartened master A had another go, and he WON! 

The instructor went to give him a prize, but being who master A is, he explained to the man that he couldn't have another prize and ran to me in tears.

After explaining to the instructor the situation, and that would have left it if he hadn't won, he chatted with his boss and gave Master A a show bag. He was VERY appreciative, it made his day! We did have a look at some shop and ended up getting Miss E a play school sticker book for being such a good girl and sitting in her stroller while Master A enjoyed his championship. She was over the moon with this book, I had never seen her react like this to anything! It was priceless!

I'm not sure if I am looking forward to getting back in routine - the house being kept clean and having some quiet time with Miss E while Master A gets back into school, or if I will miss all the smiles, laughs and fun these holidays have brought...

But only time will tell.

K. 

Finally It's Finished!!

As I mentioned in my previous post, earlier this year I decided to pick up the knitting needles for the first time in eons to make a 'textured throw'. I'm pleased to announce it is finally finished!!

It started with a trip to a girlfriend's house to visit her and her new gorgeous baby girl. Sharing a love of all things handmade and crafty Kris showed off some of the beautiful things she had received and made for Eden, including some adorable little cardigans and a wonderful crocheted cot blanket done by her mum. I came home inspired, but not sure where to start. It just so happened that around the same time Spotlight put on their Facebook page a project, the textured throw. Each week they released patterns for 2 squares. It should really have taken me about 3-4 months to do, but I think it's been closer to 6 or 7. I did lose focus and complete a few other projects in that time though. If you're interested in trying to make one yourself it's on the Spotlight Facebook page here - you'll need to click 'see more' to expand the description, all the links to the squares are there. I saved them in my iBooks on my iPad for easy reference.

It was a great way to get back into knitting and learn some new stitches (and start my new crochet obsession). Some of the squares took longer than others (fisherman's rib I'm talking about you!!), and there's one or two that I'm not a big fan of, but I'm really stoked with the overall result. YouTube was the most wonderful resource when I couldn't understand from the written instructions what to do. I just googled the stitch. 

Mum created one of these too, though she finished weeks ago. Once she gets back from NZ I hope to get a photo of the both of them to put up. It's strange how different the same blanket can look just by having different colours. 

I'm now feeling a little lost, my usual feeling when I finish something that's taken so long. It won't last long, I've already started on the next thing.

A

xoxo

I started out with the needles recommended, but after doing the first
square (garter stitch) it was much bigger than 20cm, so pulled it all
undone and started again with 3.5mm needles.

My little guy loving helping to spray the water on the finished product
to block it.

I wasn't too sure on how I wanted the edging done. In the end I went
with a double crochet border in white, finishing off with single crochet
and 2 chains in purple all the way around.

And it's all finished. 

. 

Pucka (and Shepparton) in the Spring

School holidays in Victoria are underway, and what better way for them to begin than our annual trip up to Mum and Dad's at Puckapunyal for Oktoberfest. This year we left the big boys to go have the alcoholic 'fun' whilst mum, Kati and I took the kids up to Shepparton for SheppKidsFest. 

We could not believe how many people there were! For only $2 for each adult to get in and the kids free it was a great way to spend a gorgeous spring day. First point of call after a most important coffee stop was the miniature railway, though the queue to get the tickets probably took up more of our time than the actual train journey. The kids did love it though, and Ollie didn't want to get off. 

After some nostalgia with a Humphrey show the kids pretty much spent the remainder of the afternoon playing on all the different playgrounds. I doubt there was a slide left the Ella had not slid down. 

We could not leave without visiting the animals, though they were mostly goats. The kids loved it and Ayden was super excited to see a turkey. 

The most exciting part of the weekend was definitely still to come. Sunday morning before we all headed off home we took all 4 puppies for a walk round the base and came across the CFA doing their training in the yard of the fire station. After walking over to take a look at the fire truck we were offered the opportunity to climb all over it. Given Ollie is adoring Fireman Sam at the moment there could not have been a better offer made to him. 
 

  

And after lunch that was another weekend over and one tuckered little toddler who slept the whole way home. 

A

xoxo

Stripey Crochet Giraffe

We had a very BIG day yesterday taking the kids to the Show. So with Ol off at crèche today and me feeling horrid after coming down with a horrible cold it's going to be a day on the couch trying to knock off the edging of the remaining 10 squares of my textured knitted throw. I have been working on this for months and once I finally stop procrastinating and get it finished I look forward to sharing the final result.

When I began this throw I'd never crocheted before. Whilst all the squares are knitted, the edging is crocheted. With mum not being around and easily accessible for a lesson I went searching the net (as you do) and have managed to teach myself mainly off the wonderful thing called YouTube. In my searching, however, I came across some gorgeous things to create. And me being me, instead of finishing what I'd started before moving on to the next thing I decided to give this little cutie a go.

I found him here at this blog called I Love Buttons By Emma (and I love the name). The instructions were pretty easy to follow as a newbie and she's made some changes to where the pattern was wrong since. Given it was my first ever attempt at crochet I'm pretty pleased how she turned out. Whilst I could have kept her I felt she needed to be with a little person that will hopefully love her the way she deserves, so I packed her up as part of a welcome to this world present for our neighbour's newborn baby girl.

I have plans to make another, possibly for Ollie in some blues and greens, but I keep finding more and more different things I want to make. My list just keeps getting longer and longer, but first I have to get back and finishing the edging on those knitted squares...

A
xoxo

Welcome Welcome Welcome!!

Welcome to our blog!
We are Heather, Amey and Kati. Our life as the three women in the Woods family is one that is a little hectic, crazy and creative. We have three amazing little monsters, aged seven and two, that we spend our time trying to keep entertained and out of mischief.
In our down time we enjoy among other things to knit, crochet, sew, cook, get addicted to silly games like Candy Crush on our iPads and wander cyberspace coming across blogs and other inspiration for projects to add to the list. So, we decided to create our own blog and share what we create, make and do to hopefully inspire others.
Enoy!