Chocolate Coffee and Chic Chaos.....

Free Keep Calm Printable

2011-09-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hello, if you are anything like me you love to decorate and decorate cheap or even better for free! So today i am offering some lovely free keep calm printables. Just right click and save and print off its that easy!! Enjoy!!

mad hatter tea party 2011

2011-07-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

The dessert table

finally i have some photos to post for my 2011 Mad Hatter Tea Party. Everyone went to trouble getting dressed up which was fun! It was frightfully cold though.

Heather my mother in law

Kyan the Mad Hatter

More Hats

Uncle Gavin Another Mad Hatter

Aaliah the pussy cat

Tissue Paper Flowers

Sofia

The White Rabbit popped in for a visit

Chocolate Oreo Truffles

Tea Cup Flowers

More Mad Hatter Tea Party Inspiration

2011-06-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

This year i have decided to go for a vintage Mad Hatter Tea Party theme and i have found these gorgeous inspirations all over the net. Feast your eyes on these.

I can not remember where i got these pics if they are yours I'm sorry let me know and i will give you the credit.
Happy Inspirations!!!

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

2011-06-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

I recently watched this movie and although being slightly confused loved it!. The set designs and costumes were so beautiful and i was instantly drawn to it. I love that layered gypsy, Alice in Wonderland, Marie Antoinette look don't you?

So googling through the internet i found this gorgeous The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasuss paper diorama.

it was made by the clever Julius Perdana from this great site called Paper Replica. It is a replica of the paper theatre at the end of the movie and i can not wait to make it enjoy! just download the file and print!

Mad Hatter Tea Party Printable Party Decoration Sets

2011-05-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone well today in the preparation for the Mad Hatter Tea Party i thought i would share with you these printable Mad Hatter Tea Party Themed tags, menus that i made for my party last year. Please only use them for personal use and not for resale thankyou.

Mad hatter tea party 2011 invitation

2011-05-29T01:17:00.000-07:00

Yes thats right it is that time again and i am thrilled to be joining the many in celebrating this year's Mad Hatter's Tea Party on Saturday the 25th of June Please come back and visit me and the other bloggers for this amazing and magical time! All courtesy of the gifted Vanessa Valencia at http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/a_fanciful_twist/2011/05/mad-tea-party-2011-an-invitation.html#comments

Cheats chocolate cake

2011-03-25T00:24:00.000-07:00

The other day i felt like some luxury something fabulous something devine. However with $10 to my name it all seemed hopeless till i spied a $3 plain sponge cake on special at woolies. So i bought it and raced home to see what i could do. I made a really yummy swiss chocolate buttercream recipe is as follows

Ingredients.

1 cup (220g) caster sugar
3 egg whites
300g unsalted butter, room temperature and chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g milk chocolate, melted

Method.

Place the sugar and the egg whites in a heat proof bowl. Place over a pan of simmering water. The base of the bowl should not be touching the water.
Whisk until the sugar has dissolved. You can tell if the sugar is dissolved by rubbing a little of the mix betwen your fingers. If you can feel the sugar crystal keep whisking.
Transfer the mix to a large mixing bowl and beat on high for approximately 10 minutes. You can stop beating when the mix is cool. The buttercream will become a bit like meringue.
The mix must be cool otherwise it will melt the butter as you add it.
Add the butter one piece at a time beat until smooth before adding more.
Once the butter has been added mix through the vanilla and melted chocolate. Warning the chocolate must also be cool otherwise it will melt the buttercream
Mix until well combined.

Then i cut each sponge in half and filled and stacked them with the buttercream and did a crumb coat before completely smothering the cake in the rest of the buttercream.

Next i scavanged my garden for some pretty roses and Wolah!!

So not bad!!

My fancy anniversary dinner

2011-03-25T00:03:00.000-07:00

So its been and gone....
No restaurant, No Tallavera Grove just me cooking a three course dinner and decorating the table while shooing the kids away so they wouldn't blow out the candles and figuring out how the hell to butterfly a quail! After all that i thought what the hell! We should of just gone to the beach and had fish and chips and a nice bottle of champers! While the kids ran rampant and we could somewhat relax. But i had Martha Stewart nagging me telling me that wasn't good enough so live and let learn. Ha HA

So here is the menu
Chicken cream country soup.

Grilled quail with potato Gratin and rocket salad.

Berry chocolate and cream pastry hearts.

and last but not least the table!

Thank goodness its only once a year love to you all Gina xoxo

PS At least Hubby enjoyed it he bragged about it to his mates at work so it must of been good hehe!

Tallavera Grove

2011-03-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

Good Morning. It is my second wedding anniversary on the 21st March and after hinting to hubby subtly as the days get closer i seem to be losing that subtlness. After our honeymoon on the way home back to kids and reality we stopped at this breathtakingly beautiful vineyard called Tallavera Grove my jaw hit the floor when we arrived and the wine was delicious! But the best thing was the view i felt like i had been transported to a beautiful Italian vineyard in a hidden valley. Ever since then i have been dying to go back i am desperate to have a dinner in the stunning and very classy restaurant there called Bistro Molines.
Without any children, just me and hubby enjoying the view and drinking their fabulous wines and food. Sadly hubby is a pie and pub kind of guy, which isn't bad we all like our pub meals but every now and then i crave that luxury, that time without the kids, all dressed up like Sarah from sex in the city.
Perhaps i should leave out a map with the restaurant circled in red or maybe a conversation reminiscing about our honeymoon and about our stop at Tallavera Grove. No matter what i must get there.....some day.
here are some pics that i took last year when we stopped in on our way to Wollombi but the vineyard was closed. of course it was!

A Wedding Design

2011-03-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, i thought i would finally show you the wedding that i decorated for on the 29th January this year for my husband's Uncle. I offered up my services instead of a wedding gift. When my husband heard this he cringed as he has lovingly told me i am slightly Anal Retentive when it comes to things like this and i seem to turn into this bossy, neurotic, fire breathing dragon! But i live for my Preston Bailey moments.
So i told him not to be so silly i would never be anything like that eh hmmm . I was clever enough to reuse some stuff from my wedding decorations and thank you to Kmart, they had a whole lot of vases on special for $10 each fishbowl and hurricane so i snatched them up straight away.

Here are the centerpieces that went in the middle of each rectangle table. It is a spaghetti jar that i picked up from Go Lo for $3 each! I filled them with rocks and water and covered them with purple silk. I jammed some sticks in them (which i had collected from the bush near my pop's place FREEBIE!) and sprayed them copper. Next i wired on some artificial orchids and tied on some crystals which i had used at my wedding. Not bad i thought we were trying to go as cheap as possible as the bride and groom wanted to save money. I wish i had of used hanging candles on these as they needed lights but there was no money left in the kitty! And i think that all my helpers would of stabbed me with the bread knives on the table if i had asked them to string on any more stuff!

I used purple satin table runners and had the fish bowls with rose petals and floating candles on either end of the table. Then in between i scattered Burgundy rose petals and tiny crystals and red tea light candle holders from my wedding to add romance and twinkling. Gold charger plates also used at my wedding added that extra elegance. I wasn't too pleased about the napkins but that was how the catering company did it and i didn't have time to change it. There was a dimmer switch for the lights which i was so happy about thinking i could have my Preston Bailey moment but i didn't realise until it was too late that they didn't work!! Then i fretted was it too dark but with the all the lights on it didnt give me the ambience i wanted yes i know my husband tried to sneek from the room a few times during the last set up stages Ha ha. But in the end i turned half the lights off and had a few glasses of cheap champagne which seemed to slip me into a relaxed mood.

The last photo is from the head table( that's the best man.) I made an s and r for Stewart and Rebecca the bride and groom i got the instructions from here. Great blog Made During Nap Time check it out.

Not too shabby a job i thought considering it only cost the bride and groom $250. I wish i could of taken more photos but i simply ran out of time as you always do.

So have a great day and see you next time!

Take Care Gina xoxox

The married couple!

Link to A beach Cottage Good Life Wednesday Party

Chocolate Coffee and Chic Chaos.....: Life is funny!

2011-03-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Coffee and Chic Chaos.....: Life is funny!

Wednesdays Life is Good at a Beach cottage Blog Linking Party

This ones for the mums

2011-01-09T18:56:00.000-08:00

Every day feels like this can you relate?

Now this one is for the dads out there

Life is funny!

2011-01-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

I saw this funny rip off of taylor swifts song Love story on youtube and i related so much to it i bet you will too.

Justin smith

2011-01-09T18:46:00.000-08:00

i have to share with you guys this incredible, talented and hilarious. Here is just a few of my favourite clips of his but check him out on youtube. just good wholesome fun! rare these days.

Told you so!!!

BC giveaway adironback chair

2010-11-25T12:04:00.000-08:00

Hi ya

Well the beautiful Sarah from the incrediable blog a beach cottage is giving away a stunning Adironback chair, rustic rope ball and stripe cushion yep thats right and she is shipping it worldwide!!! Just head on over to her blog and leave a comment and be in the runing to get this beautiful chair and goodies good luck!

This pic is just one i found on the net you actually get a few extras with sarahs chair if you win it.

a Daisy cake

2010-11-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

well hello everyone i have been away for a long time. Sick kids trying to redo a house and garden and margaritas have been distracting me but im slowly coming back to earth now. i thought i would show you a cake i made for my darling niece Sofia. It was my first attempt and after many late nights i did it. here are the pics.

It was a 2 tier chcolate and chocolate buttercream cake. I covered it in green marshmallow fondant. i decorated it with bumblebees, lady beetles, and daisies and made the little girl to sit on top. it was all edible.

I got all the tutorials from youtube. Here is the recipe for the marshmallow fondant it is so easy and tastes so good.

My sister in law made these as favors her daughters middle name is daisy so that was the theme.

Give it a go experiment and have fun once youve made your first cake it just gets easier i promise i used packet cake mix and put buttercream between the layers of cake. i did a crumb coat of buttercream frosting on each cake and let it chill in the fridge for 30 mins. Each cake has a cardboard base and i used dowels cut to size which i inserted into the bottom cake to help support the top cake. Have fun

love Gina xxxx

Rainbow Layer Cake

2010-09-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

Hi y'all! I'm feeling like i need a sugar hit bad! I've been drooling over pics of a rainbow layer cake that i made for a Mad Hatter Tea Party i had a while ago and i thought you might like to know how to do it. Now you could do it the Martha way or you could do it the really simple way like me!

3 packets of vanilla cake mix ( i use Betty Crocker)
2 to 3 tubs of vanilla topping ( i use Betty Crocker)
food colouring red, blue, yellow and green

Make your cake mixes up and put equal amounts into 6 dishes and add 1 colour of food colouring to each dish. Mix red and yellow for orange and red and blue for purple.
Bake each mix in a round cake tin. So you end up with 6 different coloured cakes. Let cool and frost between each layer of cake stacking them up on top of each other. Then put a thin spreading of frosting all over your now enormous cake and put into the fridge for about 30mins this will ensure when you ice it for real there will be no crumbs in it. Then pull it out of the fridge and ice it all over with a thick layer of icing. You can decorate the top with flowers from the garden or a smarite rainbow. Then serve too easy and it is the best surprise when you cut open the cake!! Enjoy!!

DIY Wood Fired Pizza Oven

2010-09-13T02:55:00.000-07:00

My husband and i decided that we wanted an outdoor wood fired pizza oven after seeing it on Better Homes and Gardens. Hubby is a refractory bricklayer so we thought we would give it a go. I was very skeptical at first i thought it wouldn't work but it did and it looks great and better the food that comes out of the oven is so yummy!

It took a long time as we had to save up for each stage of building and it rained for what felt like months but at last it is finished and we are well chuffed. My husband is now my own little Italian Giuseppe and I'm the little women kneading out the dough by hand hang on how did i get stuck with that job oh well.

Mangiare!!! ( eat up in Italian)

xoxo Gina

My pussy cat

2010-09-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

It is truly amazing where i find my cats sleeping sometimes and today i found my beautiful Fudge sleeping in a pot she had to roll herself up in a really tight ball just to fit in but it worked. Now how will she get out? xoxo Gina

Creamy country chicken soup

2010-09-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

I have been making this soup a lot lately because i love it and it is so easy and yummy! My husband eats bowl after bowl so i thought i would share it with you enjoy!

4 strips of bacon rashers rind less chopped
500g chicken breast chopped small
25g butter
3 potatoes chopped small
3 medium onions chopped small
600ml chicken stock
600ml of milk
salt and pepper
150ml thickened cream
2tbsp finely chopped parsley
soda bread to serve

Gently dry fry the chicken and bacon for about 10 mins. Then add the butter, potatoes and onions and cook for 15mins but stirring all the time. Add stock and milk bring to the boil then simmer for 45 mins and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cream and simmer for 5 mins then stir in parsley and serve with soda bread.
This soup is really filling and would make a yummy lunch to serve for guests. When in season i usually add some rosemary flowers on the top which makes it really pretty enjoy.

Trains and Wollombi

2010-09-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

A trip i took with my little family to my favourite place Wollombi and to the Train Museum.
We had so much fun and it was a really beautiful day. If you ever get the chance to go to Wollombi do beause i know you'll love it!

It was the Scarecrow Festival at Wollombi and the drive in was fantastic the kids loved playing spot the scarecrow and the towns people really went to a lot of effort i would love to call this place home maybe one day....

My cheap lounge find and makeover

2010-08-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

I grabbed these two light blue lounges off of ebay for $129 for both of them! They were in perfect condition. But i had to glam them up so i added some furniture legs which i painted black so $200 for two beautiful french lounges isnt bad i think!

I also grabbed this side table for $12.25 and sprayed it black added a crystal knob and Tah Dah! Not too Shabby!

My rustic french coffee table makeover

2010-08-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone well the torrential rain has kept me in doors and that spells disaster as i scour the house for make over items my husband never knows what he will come home to ha ha.
I found an old hall table that was unpainted that was a freebie from my mum. So i cut the legs down to make it the right height for a coffee table painted it black and assembled some old fence palings onto the top and screwed it down. I love it and in all it only cost me the paint and screws as the fence palings we dropped over for free for firewood but i couldn't burn them!

Then i spied the old coffee table that we now use a entertainment unit and added some old blocks of wood as legs to lift it up as it was too low and screwed more fence palings on to the top. When i get the chance i would like to paint it maybe duck egg blue and scruff it up a bit to make it more rustic what do you think?

I plan on adding some baskets which i saw on special at Kmart underneath .

Hanging Flower Baskets

2010-08-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

I love Spring and it is only one week away! So to get into the mood a little early i decided to start work on my front yard. Unfortunately i cannot change the colour of the house or do any structural changes as we are renting the house off my parents. So i am hoping to cover all the yuk things and do it as cheap as possible.
So here goes.
I used 4 hanging baskets and chose to use Maiden Hair Ferns, Pansies, Sweet Williams and Sweet Alyssum.

First i made holes in every second section of the basket only big enough to fit in the Sweet William seedling.

Then we put in a little dirt and carefully put the seedlings in the holes. my husband was a great little helper!

We then cut the Maiden hair fern in half and placed it on either side of the basket then added Alyssum plants compacted it down with dirt and watered well. This is the finished product.

Not bad if i do say so myself and my husband was quite chuffed!

Here is what my front porch looks like.

Well Cookie has taken dibs on her chair.

We next tackled the corner of the front yard which was just grass i wanted a path and a place to sit with my tea in amongest the flowers so this is where we are so far.

As soon as my bulbs start to grow ill post more pics.

THE MAD HATTER PARTY!!!

2010-06-26T04:56:00.000-07:00

Well its all over everyone has gone home and i am exhausted! There were so many leftovers it must be the italian in me that i over cook. I had to beg people to take it home as they were so full!!! But what fun the kids had a blast so its all worth it. Here are some pics

My table decorations

This is the food that i served we had sandwiches as well but they were eaten before i had a chance to take a photo! I served smoked salmon and dill philly cheese, mango chutney and roast beef and ham and cheese. Chesire cat chocolate cupcakes, cake pops macaroons, strawberries and rainbow cake.

We played musical chairs, pin the grin on the chesire cat, pop the balloon of the others foot, throw the stones into the mad hatters hat, the golden egg pinata, follow and copy the white rabbit. Everyone ate and danced the day away. We had great fun and i hope you all did too can't wait to see what you all did for your mad hatter party. HAVE FUN!

now go and check out all the fun with everyone elses mad hatters tea party

http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/a_fanciful_twist/2010/04/the-mad-tea-party-2010-an-invitation-surprise.html

Check out this website for some great Alice in wonderland activities

http://family.go.com/disney/pkg-disney-character-fun/pkg-alice-in-wonderland/

Check out this fantastic video on The queen of hearts makeup

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTl3ePEmhi4

Mumford and sons

2010-06-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

                            MUMFORD AND SONS

I recently found this fantastic band called Mumford and Sons. They are four young, strappy lads from West London that just wanted to make music that mattered and i think they achieved it. Take a look at some of my fave songs by them you will be outrageously amazed!
                     Little lion man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLJf9qJHR3E

                      Awake my soul
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVpUywYjHxs

Great Mad Hatter Party Ideas! and some great blogs!!!!

2010-06-22T16:14:00.000-07:00

I have found the most fantastic blog. Its called Peach Pizazz it has a great collection of parties. There is the Mad Hatters tea Party, Bee party, Camp out party and the list goes on I'll show you some of my favourites. Go check out her blog you wont be diappointed!

All photos were taken by the talented Jessica Claire check her outhttp://www.jessicaclaire.net/

Isn't it just adorable! I bet the kids loved it.http://peachpizzazz.blogspot.com/

MAD HATTER PARTY 2

Now for some more inspiration from the darling Donna over at Party Wishes. Donna is so clever she really is a true inspiration!Check out her blog for some fantastic ideas.http://partywishesscv.blogspot.com/2009/07/mad-hatter-tea-party.html

How cute is this party? Donna certainly has a great eye for colour and fun.

MAD HATTER PARTY 3

This party is a classic vintage Alice in Wonderland Party. Everything from the games to the costumes even the stunning location is amazing! I would of loved to go to this party, you could of even had this for your wedding it was that elegant. I found it on the blog Unruly Things which is written by Alison Graves it is a fantastic resource for all things unique check it out http://www.unruly-things.com/2010/06/a-very-merry-unbirthday.html in the mean time here are some pics for you to drool over.... Enjoy!

How fun! The photos were taken by a very talented photographer called Ryan Savella you can check out some of his work here http://vimeo.com/groups/1406/videos/10533353.

After all this incredible, delicious, unique ideas i can feel the creative juices stirring i better get to it! Gina x0x0

CUTE ALERT!!!!

I found the cutest party ever on youtube, i just stumbled upon it take a look

and this one too.

Sarahs House

2010-06-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

Ok its official i love Sarah Richardson from Sarahs House. She has had no formal training which makes her even better and she makes every room feel warm and cosy which is the look that i am after for my house. even though she spends $20,000 a room which is the fantasy realm for me, its easy enough to take her tips and ideas and transform your room on a dime. Season 3 sarah bought a farm house and we will follow her asshe transforms it into a warm and friendly family farm house home. Here are some pics from season 3 of Sarahs House.

THE BEGINNING

Well this is what she started with a real country farm house.

Then the fun began!!

THE MUD ROOM

This is a great room i love the earthy red that they used and the warm wood tones brilliant!

How cute is this light?

I Love the pannelling on the wall. The wood and the tin just mesh so well together. The jugs on the table look they are the old ginger beer jugs my dad has. They look exactly the same i may need to do some raiding.......

MAIN BEDROOMS.

These two bedrooms are so divine and most of the furnishing were flea market finds my favourite.

This is my favourite bedroom ever! I love the duck egg blue then the contrast of the dark earthy red it brings a warmth to the blue. The wood and the brass just take this room back to a time of chic country life. i have taken great inspiration from this room and plan on a bedroom and kitchen in these colours. The blue room is the west room and the red room is the north facing room.

THE MASTER BEDROOM

The Master bedroom was really beautiful but it wasnt one of my favourites it was a bit too grannyish for me but i wouldnt mind staying in it for a couple of days but not forever. All the right elements are there it is bright and sunny i love the bed but i feel its a bit empty at the top the fireplace is nice but just didnt give me goosebumps like many of her others. But i still love you Sarah!! See what you think.

Maybe a different bed without the posts and a bigger chandelier might of done it for me i dont know. I suppose you cant please everyone!

KIDS BEDROOM

I adore these rooms any boy or girl would love to have this as their room. i know my boys would. The ceiling with the old barn wood. The dusty blues and greens i love it. The girls room was perfect the pillows were made from an old chenille blanket sarah found in the cupboard when she bought the house.

THE BATHROOMS

There are two bathrooms a main and family one. I have to say i adore the Main bathroom yellow and grey, claw foot bath yummy! But the family bathroom as hard as i tried i couldnt find a single thing that i liked about it. The bath and tiles were too modern and the curtains too country, the mirrors were boring, sorry Sarah didnt like it.

The Family Bathroom

HALLWAYS AND BASEMENT

Only sarah could turn hallways into places that you wanted to stay. The basement is the best family treat i have seen and the boys would love it.

DINING ROOM AND FAMILY ROOM

I really loved the attention to detail in these rooms they were so warm and inviting any one would be thrilled to be invited over to this house. The rugs were patterned to avoid staining especially under the table, the dining table was extendable and a bargain find at a local market. the wall pape is actually fabric and the arch way is antique from a wood salvage yard! The two rooms blend so well together without looking the same. The exposed brick is gorgeous and check out the chandeleiers darling aren't they?

THE KITCHEN

They say that the kitchen is the heart of the home and sarah definately achieved that with this room. It is a great mix of country and modern. The stainless steel appliances pull it into the 21st century just enough. I love the blue and yellow tones so bubbly, bright and fresh! The great breakfast nook with adorable sign is a favourite of mine. I really liked how she used the antique wood rails on the shelf and the numbered stairs how cute! This is my favourite kitchen of hers so far I love it!!!!

NOW FOR THE FINALE THE EXTERIOR

Well its the end of the journey what a transformation the outside is a little too modern for me but still nice. I noticed though there is no garage or carport or anything. Im a little puzzled perhaps she ran out of money all together she spent 1.2 miliion buying the property and doing it up! But it is fantastic and gives us all some inspiration!

Mad Hatter Tea Party Food. Choc Chip and Potato Chip Cookies.

2010-06-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

I think i have found the best cookies ever! These cookies are so delicious they never last long at my place. The crunch and saltiness of the chips with that velvety smooth choc is to die for. They would make a great Mad Hatter Tea Party Food as they are so quirky here's the recipe.

You Will Need
3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup of packed brown sugar

1 cup of white granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

                                                     2 cups of plain flour
                                                    1/2 teaspoon salt
                                                     1 teaspoon bicarb soda
                                                     2 cups of crushed plain chips

1 cup of choc chips your favourite kind ( white milk or dark)

Step 1

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and spray your biscuit trays. Put butter and both sugars and vanilla in a bowl and cream till light and fluffy.

Step 2 Add the eggs one at a time beating well between each egg.

Step 3 add flour, bicarb soda and salt. Mix well together.

Step 4 Add the crushed chips and choc chips and gently mix together.

Here's a tip

To crush my chips i put them into a snap lock bag a little at a time and using a rolling pin or in this case an empty jar crush them softly and add to the bowl.

Step 5 Once mixed together drop tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto the greased trays about 5cm apart.

Then pop into oven and cook for about 15mins i turned the tray half way through cooking time. Then let cool for 5 mins on the trays then put on wire racks to cool completely.

When cooled completely serve on a pretty plate or stack them and tie with string or ribbon although they dont seem to last that long at my place Enjoy!!!

Yummy Mexican Dip

2010-06-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

This is my husbands favourite dip i usually make it when there is an important game of footy on like there is any other! It is so easy and really yummy enjoy!

You will need

2 packets of philly

2 jars of your favourite salsa

2 avocardos ripe

1 packet of shredded tasty cheese

1 or 2 bags of Doritos

First put your 2 packets of philly cheese in your serving dish and smooth them all over the dish making it even height. It is so much easier if the cheese is at room tempreture.

Next add your avocardos it is much easier to smoosh them up in a small bowl first then spread over the top of the cheese.

Next then tip over your salsa and spread out evenly.

then the last step is to add the shredded cheese

Now you are done. A little tip if you are serving this to a few people i would recommend having a serving spoon and small plates and everyone puts a some on a plate and eats it from there that way you dont have to worry about double dippers and broken chips all through the dip ENJOY!!!!

Beautiful cottage garden

2010-06-15T16:28:00.000-07:00

I just have to show you these beautiful pictures that my mum took when she visited her Aunty and Uncle in New Zealand recently. they have the most beautiful cottage garden and it was autumn. Enjoy ( Thats my beautiful mum)

I think its just so pretty i cant wait to visit them and see it for myself.

Mad hatter tea party invitations

2010-06-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

hi everyone! Well i finally got around to showing you how i made the invitations for the Mad Hatter Tea Party Baby Shower i had for my sister in law last November. What i day iwas trying to finish our kitchen before it sanding and painting days before the party but i ran out of time oh well. The day of the baby shower it was 40 degrees, so humid, we had a mini dust storm a power outage and rain but i think everyone still had fun.

This is what i started with a paper bag book which i bought in bulk of ebay years ago. ithen scoured the internet loking for digital scrapbooking pages until i found a checker board pattern.

I then changed the colour of the checkerboard using Picaso 3 which is a great free download. the Rabbit pic was a free clip art i found on the internet. I used microsoft digital image software to make the page. Printed it out and stuck it on with glue.

Now to the inside

All the pics i used were free clipart pics i bought an alice in wonderland digital scrapbooking pack from an online shop( sorry i dont remember which one).I cut slits out of the tea party scene picture before i glued it down and stuck on the quen and baby tea cup so they would pop out. The first one took ages but after that it was a breeze and i had so much fun making them.

I think the invitation sets the mood for the entire party i wanted people to be excited about coming hopefully that worked. Now for the back of the invite.

This is using a page from the alice in wonderland scrapbooking pack and i stuck a photo of the mum to be on it.

I also made some other invites before these ones but decided not to use them. here they are

This was the image that i used for the background of the other invite i used it for the pop up image in these invitations it was all printed on thin card and cut out with a scapel knife.

These are the Rsvp notes that i stuck in with the invitations so everyone would remember to rsvp it worked!

The front of the envelope. I designed the page and then printed it straight onto the envelopes.

This is the back and inside of the envelope i printed off some digital scrapbooking paper cut it to size and glued it in to the inside of the envelope and a strip on the outside once again i found some free clipart and printed it on the back of the envelope.

Let me know what you think or show me some of your creations.

Its important to rember when making invitations that it gives your guests and inside into what your party will be like. Dont be afraid to think outside the box go a littlew crazy let your creativity ooze these were so much fun to make! See you soon Gina

Mad Hatters Tea Party 2010

2010-05-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

Do you like to go mad? I do especially when it involves tea and cake so please join me and many others as we celebrate the 3rd annual Mad Hatters Tea Party Check out a fanciful twist blog. ill be there will you?http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/a_fanciful_twist/2010/04/the-mad-tea-party-2010-an-invitation-surprise.html

My Vineyard Wedding

2010-05-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

I found a picture in a Preston bailey book.

This is what my fabulous designer friends came up with.

The sticks were sourced from behind my grandads property in the bush so they were free.

Then we chose Merlot ribbon with skeleton leaves (from ebay) painted in the jewel tones of reds, purples and golds. Other merlot ribbons were also tied onto the branches with chandelier crystals (from ebay) and then votive candle holders wre also added.

The container that the tree sat in was a plastic planter from golo which we spray painted gold and the branches were drilled together and then set on a piece of wood which fit into the container exactly to stabilise it and then it was covered which this gorgeous sand clay powder and then topped with rose petals. it looked so stunning when the lights were dimmed i loved it.

This was the idea i had for the gift to the guests. I bought the boxes off of ebay and printed out the tags and stuck them on and added gold ribbon. Inside were chilli chocolate motorbikes. Why? Well both kierran and i love chilli chocolate and the motor bike shape was because kierrans dad died when he was little and i wanted to find a way of remembering him without it being too sad so on the side of the boxes was a little note that said
For Jim your tracks are everywhere, with a stamp of a motor bike. Simple and tasteful i thought.

My dress was from ebay it cost $200

my bridesmaid dresses were from Unique Vintage.http://www.unique-vintage.com/

flower girls dresses from ebay $100 for both.

The boys suits were from ebay also they were $89 each but were pin striped and came with everything including the tie.

These were our cake toppers my husband loves the knights football team so it was made with him wearing them and he had a little bit of a but crack showing as this is usually what you see when he wears these shorts.

The flowers were arranged by my great friend Maria from design a space Carrington Nsw Australiahttp://www.designaspace.com/ they looked perfect against the black i think it cost about $40 a bridesmaid which was so much cheaper than getting them professionally done.

My birdcage veil was from ebay second hand it cost $15 my braclet necklace and earings were from an antique shop called the Colosseum http://coliseumantiques.com.au/Home.aspx on Maitland Rd in Mayfield nsw they were exactly what i wanted and cost about $265 for the lot.

I had some games set up for the guests to play while i was getting my photos taken i had croquet and quoits they were also from ebay i think $25 a game. Ill show you how i made the Invitations, name card and save the date cards soon.

Moonbah Hut

2010-05-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

Moonbah Hut.

This is my dream place to live. Its actually a holiday house in The snowy mountains called Moonbah Hut. I am hoping to stay there one day. Here are some more pics check out the stayz website if you are interested.What a beatuiful snowy day.My Husband would love the fishing!Local horsesThe hut at nightThe cosy bedFancy a cocktail anyone?The beautiful sceneryOHH snowmen and snow angels and snowball fights.Caught one!Ahh i feel relaxed already!