In which we are evicted...

 I haven't been blogging much lately because we've been very busy making the last push to finish the house.  The kids and I were homeless refugees for most of last week, bouncing between friend's houses so that the plumber, the Mr and the builder could get some work done.  

Since we had to be out of the house by 7:30am (seriously why do trades people start so ridiculously early??) and I thought it might be really stretching our friendships to turn up on people's doorsteps at that ungodly hour, we found ourselves on some VERY early morning bike rides!!  These photos were taken in Koonwarra just after the sun came up.  It was foggy and freezing but still loads of fun!!

Hopefully I'll have a house update for you soon!

House update...

Here is a long overdue house update...

This is our lounge room.  We still haven't settled on a carpet choice.  I fell in love with some sisal but as installation isn't included am going back to the drawing board.  Yes that is a dryer next to the couch.  This is of course temporary until the laundry is finished.  I like to think of it as installation art!!

This is the kitchen before the island bench was installed.  The white bench top is temporary and will most likely end up being stainless steel.  That is the bath tub for the master bathroom.  It doesn't fit through the door so it is living in the kitchen until we come up with a solution!!

Check out my vintage pendant lights.  These were a bargain score on bay.  They are suspended from the very high ceiling with black cloth cord.

A little look inside the walk in pantry.  Those drawers are temporary and will be replaced with more shelving.

Left: Kids playing in the bathtub!!  

Right: We still don't have a washing line so there is typically a lot of laundry strewn around the place!

This is the kids' bedroom.  It feels a bit like a white padded insane asylum cell.  I painted the floor as a stop gap until the carpet goes in.  I was planning on painting a hopscotch and some other fun things on the floor but can't find where I put the paint.  I also haven't hung anything on the walls yet so the space is very white.  I'm feeling totally uninspired about this space since all the furniture from their two old rooms is crushed into this room and there are some major colour clashes going on.  The hydronic heating panel hasn't been installed in their room yet so they've got an ugly little temporary space heater. Watch this space as it's sure to evolve quite drastically from this point!!

Left: This is the dining room.  The dining table and chairs are being replaced with a timber table and more practical chairs.  While I love the aesthetics of the tree stump legs, the glass table top is driving me crazy with the kids bumping into the corners and it is impossible to keep clean. Still planning to eventually put in a drop ceiling and probably a comfy cushion filled window seat.

Right: This is the study, currently known as 'the room of requirement'.  Basically it is being used as a storage space and construction area.

In which we have a domestic and get domestic...

The Mr. and I had a fight this morning.  Nothing serious just a little marital spat.  You know the kind that results in you trying to out-martyr each other for the rest of the day, each trying to prove that really you are the one who works the hardest in the relationship? (everyone does this right?  Or is it just us, with our uber competitive personalities!?)  Of course this was bad because really I just wanted to sit down and waste some time on pinterest with a cup of coffee, not have a chore marathon, but at the same time it was kind of awesome because I finally got around to fishing out all those tiny bits of lego from between the couch cushions and wiping the crumbs up from that bemuda triangle space behind the toaster.  And for his part the Mr. finally put together our island bench!!  …Not to be outdone I then cleaned out the fridge, dug a compost hole and baked chocolate cookies.

If we argued more often I'm pretty sure our house would start looking like something out of a Martha Stewart magazine… although maybe that's why Martha ended up divorced?

I've got a proper house update planned for tomorrow...

In which there are chocolate martinis and the dinner conversation degenerates...

The Mr. is working late tonight and I'm flying solo.  I made a rando lentil dish and a silverbeet gratin.  You know when everyone is really enjoying their meal and a contented hush falls over the room because everyone is too busy chewing to talk?  Well tonight the kids spent the entire meal giggling hysterically and poking each other with their forks while calling each other 'penis'.  Oh well more gratin for me.

Thank god it's cocktail Friday.  Tonight's cocktail is a chocolate martini (from my trusty cocktail bible)

3 chocolate drops

cocoa to garnish

30ml vodka

30ml white creme de cacoa

Place chocolate drops in the bottom of a martini glass and dust the tim with cocoa.  Shake vodka and creme de cacoa with ice, and strain into a martini glass.  

Happy Friday Everyone!!

And for those who have been asking for a house update, here is a little sneak peek.  This is what the laundry currently looks like.  I promise I'll do a proper house update next week.

Oh and if anyone is interested I blogged a kale pizza recipe over at food fanatics earlier this week.

Why I haven't been blogging...

 

I'm having some technical difficulties getting my photos from my flash card onto the computer.  I know, sounds like it should be super simple right?  But for some reason I'm getting all these error messages when I try and transfer them from the server to my laptop and tech support (aka the Mr.) has been working and skiing and hasn't been around to sort out my drama.  I feel a bit naked blogging without pictures. (I took these photos a couple of weeks ago when we visited my little niece)

We have no TV at our new house.  The valley we live in is some kind of media dead zone, which means we would need a 4 meter aerial to get reception.  The Mr. feels this would be a grossly unsightly addition to our abode, so I am forgoing Grey's Anatomy and The Shire in favour of architectural aesthetics.  Oddly, despite being a self confessed raging television addict, I haven't missed it in the slightest.  And since giving up TV cold turkey I no longer feel like listening to popular top 40 style radio stations.  I am living a vaguely puritanical existence in which I only listen to ABC classic FM and go to bed at around 8pm.  As you can see my life is endlessly exciting!

I have been busy in the kitchen, so when I finally manage to sort out my photographic issues I'll share some more exciting things.  I've been making lots of wintery treats like rainbow chard pies, beetroot pesto and Irish beer bread.  Turi and I have even been experimenting trying to recreate Far Away Tree pop biscuits!

House update...

 

I'm still alive.  Still packing… will it never end?  Still planning on moving to the new house in about two weeks (I've been saying that for about a month now!!)

Here are a few photos of our progress (these were taken almost a week ago now so things are a bit further along than you'll see here).

The raised lounge is painted and currently being used as a temporary dining room.

 

This is the entry.  The front door is to the right in these pictures.  The hole you can see will be converted into storage space for shoes.

 

This is Minty's room.  I moved some of their toys in there so they could play while I was working on site.  I must say this strategy wasn't particularly successful.  They stayed in here for about 5 minutes and then decided it would be more fun to wreak havoc in the rest of the house and play in the mud in the back yard!

 This is the main space - kitchen to the left and dining area under the lower ceiling.  Since this photo was taken we've started painting in here.

This is my current project.  I'm painting the bathroom walls with a textured grey paint.  It is taking quite a while to get a good finish but I think it's looking pretty good so far.

Taming the wild beasts...

 

Firstly, I just wanted to thank everyone for their messages of support after my last post.  After much reflection I've concluded that the behaviour was basically just an extreme form of attention seeking.  Lately I've been so busy packing, working and generally keeping the house running that I haven't been spending much quality 'face time' with the kids.  So rather than dwelling on the negative I'm trying to turn things around and channel their creativity and extreme energy into good rather than evil.  Both Minty and Turi have always had a wild adventurousness and a strong desire to explore and experiment.  Though it can be a bit trying at times it is one of my favourite things about them.  So although I'd like them to be a bit more compliant, I don't want to beat the spark out of them and crush their spirits!  So in the coming weeks I'm going to be turning off the TV and spending plenty of time running off their legs and working their brains with creative play so that they have no energy left for mischief!  I'll keep you updated on the success (or lack there of) of this strategy…

 

In other news, the kids hosted a little mother's day afternoon tea at kinder yesterday.  The class sang a few songs and did a little dancing and then served the mums cupcakes that they had baked.

Minty really loves kinder but I've made the difficult decision to pull her out so she can repeat again next year.  As you can see in these pictures she is tiny compared to the other kids (since her birthday is in february she is a full year younger than some of them) and until I can reign in her sleep and behaviour issues at home I don't think she'll be ready to start school next year.  Just to really confuse matters her kinder teacher pulled me aside yesterday to tell me how well she thought Minty was doing!

 

And finally a bit of a house update -  the stairs are in!  These lead from the kitchen up to the raised lounge room.  They make such nice, informal extra seating.  The door you can see leads to the kids bedrooms and bathroom.

Here is another look at our lovely pantry door and the cavity for the fridge.

House (and life) update...

 

I realise I haven't been stopping around here much lately.  The days seem to be getting busier and busier and I've been finding it increasingly difficult to slow down and record things here.  I haven't been picking up the camera, my sewing machine has been sitting idle in the corner gathering dust, and while I've still been busy creating in the kitchen I can't be bothered blogging about it before we've eaten!  So here is a readers digest version of the last few weeks, for those of you who are interested:

The Mr turned 30.  Celebrations were had - I made ice-cream cake.

The kids are as crazy as ever.  Highlights (or should I say lowlights?) include Minty giving herself a haircut and smashing her head through a window (thankfully the curtain broke her fall and she was unhurt).  Meanwhile, Turi learned to climb out of his cot and is now refusing to nap during the day.  

I decided to make my health a priority and started getting up at dawn to try and squeeze a walk in before the kids get up.  I know a few other mums who swear by this strategy.  Sadly Turi got wind of my early morning absence and started getting up earlier and earlier so as not to miss out.  After a series of 4am starts I eventually gave up and abandoned my pursuit of a healthier lifestyle.  I am back to consuming excessive amounts of chocolate and caffeine in order to combat the haze of sleep deprivation.  

I've started packing for our move.  We're hoping to be in our new house some time in May.  I'm finally beginning to understand what people mean when they say they 'hate moving'.  The last time we moved was about 6 years ago and we had hardly any 'stuff'.  This time around it is a very different story.  So far it has taken me three days to pack the contents of one bookshelf.  Kids certainly are the antidote to efficiency.

Things are moving along steadily with the house.  I finally bought tiles for the bathroom floor.  I ended up going with natural stone to tie in with the rustic vibe of the oversized timber window.  I love the unique variations in every tile and can't wait to see them laid.  As an added bonus they were a total bargain at only $28 a square meter!

 

This is the half wall that partitions off the shower in the kids bathroom with the vanity in front.

 

There is now a bulkhead above the space  where the bath will sit.  This neatly resolves the join between the plasterboard and the oversized window frame, as well as helping to define the space.

 

The plaster board is up in most of the house.  Plastering the high ceiling in the kitchen was a gargantuan effort - a special thanks to everyone who helped out!

Here is a peek at our pantry door (the white door near Minty).  It was reclaimed from a historic house on the island and dates from the 1920s.  I love the character it adds to this space.  It does need a little TLC and a new coat of paint (I'm thinking glossy black) but it already looks gorgeous, especially at night with only the pantry light on so that the little window panes glow.

 

Left: This is the entry - the Mr cut a 'man hole' in the plaster board where the door will be!  Right: Looking into the multi-purpose (office/sewing) room.

 

This is Turi's room.  My claw foot bath had a nasty accident and needs one of its feet reattached!

 

The lounge room - we still need to build the stairs joining this to the lower level.

Finally you can clearly see the variation in ceiling heights.  We are still considering further defining the space by adding a dropped timber ceiling above the dining table to make it feel a bit more intimate.