PaisleyJade: March 2015

Lately...

By PaisleyJade - Tuesday, March 31, 2015

In less than 2 days we are moving house! The last month has been crazy busy with selling, buying and packing up to move. In amongst it all there have been some lovely moments and so much to be thankful for.

Moments like finding cute letters like this while sorting and packing up our house - a letter (obviously written by Dad) by our oldest son when he was little to his Nana...

Making sure there is time for relaxing and fun during this busy season...

Enjoying the race to get the early morning boxes for packing from our local supermarket...

Not really enjoying packing - but looking forward to it all being over!!

Loved our recent Blogger gathering after our Cupcake Escape! There were lots of laughs, delicious food and an awkward moment with a belly dancer...

Loving catching up with these awesome leadership mentors...

These are so cute - not sure if edible, but love mushrooms and toadstools!

So there are some of our random happenings - see you soon when we are in our new house!!

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bloggers

The Cupcake Escape!

By PaisleyJade - Saturday, March 21, 2015

Yesterday I took part in an exciting cake decorating workshop with blogger friends from Auckland and Whangarei, organised by the lovely Simone from over at Greatfun4kids and Sandra from Kiwi Cakes.

We had so much fun and learned so many great tips to do with making icing, decorating cakes and cupcakes, different types of ingredients, fondants and other great products available. I have definitely been inspired after spending a few hours testing out the different products and also understanding why I previously have had different issues when it comes to icing cakes and cupcakes!

We had heaps of laughs too! A massive thank you to Sandra from Kiwicakes for hosting us - she is a super generous person (you might remember her from here when she gifted me these awesome goodies!) and is full of baking wisdom! Check them out online, or pop into their store in Kamo, Whangarei. They do hold regular workshops as well so check them out on their website or on Facebook to see what's happening.

These are some of the cupcakes I made... I even made a special "golden torso" cupcake for my husband just for a laugh!

Such fun!

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food

Homemade Iced Frappuccino!

By PaisleyJade - Tuesday, March 17, 2015

My husband has a slight obsession with Frappuccinos at the moment. He's the sort of guy who, while others are ordering flat whites and double shot lattes, is quite happy to ask for a milkshake or frappe. He's truly just a big kid at heart.

So in honour of my guy, here is my easy homemade Frappe recipe!

Homemade Iced Frappuccino (makes 1)

Toss in a blender the following and blend until mixed (but not overmixed!):

6 cubes of ice

Half a cup of milk

Double shot of espresso coffee mixed with 1 tablespoon of condensed milk

1 scoop vanilla ice cream

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Serve as is or poured over another scoop of ice cream. Top with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle if you want to really live on the edge!

So good - but just for treats!

For more delicious recipes visit here.

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family life

Final Renovation Photos

By PaisleyJade - Tuesday, March 10, 2015

We are currently surrounded by boxes as we pack up to move from our old home to the next - adventure awaits in the form of a very large bungalow that we are looking forward to renovating and making our own.

This current house we are about to leave has been a lovely home - we've had heaps of great memories made here, and done a lot to the property since we first moved in over 8 years ago.

I've shared some of our renovations here in the past, but thought I'd share a few more before and after shots of the rooms and areas I've missed.

It's been a crazy ride renovating our second home together - and here we are moving on to a third one to renovate! Hopefully this will be our last in a while...

The Outside

When we bought this home it was a lovely orange colour (ewww) and had a jungle of a back yard. There was heaps of clearing to be done, fences to be built and painting needed. Love the final result!

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

After a few years...

The Bathroom

This home has the smallest bathroom ever! We had to work with the space we had, installing a 'shub' sized bath and decided to keep the original tongue & groove wall boards look.

Before:

After:

The Lounge:

The lounge already had no wallpaper when we moved in, so after polishing the wooden floors, restoring the doors and wall papering/painting, it was lovely. Can you believe that little guy in the photo below is now 13 years old!!??!!

Before:

After:

Dining Room:

The dining room wasn't too bad when we moved in, but after a lick of paint and installing some French doors and a deck, this small space became beautiful.

Before:

After:

Bedroom 1:

This room was where our 2 boys initially slept until we changed it into the girls room. Those louvred widows had to go!

Before:

After:

Recently:

Master Bedroom:

Our bedroom needed a window seat built in, painting and new wardrobe doors - although there aren't many before pics, I love how it is now.

Before:

After:

Other renovation posts of our home on the blog:

(Click on the title to view the post)

The Kitchen

Sleepout

Bedroom

Laundry

So there you have it - the final renovation photos of our home, a few weeks before we move out!

I'm sure there will be many renovation before and afters of the new house, especially with 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 3 lounges, kitchen, dining and a massive hallway (did I mention there is an attic as well?). Phew - yep, just call us crazy.

To see all renovation posts, click here.

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family life

Lately...

By PaisleyJade - Wednesday, March 04, 2015

Hello! We are currently in the middle of packing up our home, but I just had to pop in to say "Hi!" and share some of our adventures lately...

We had an amazing time last Saturday with one of the most fun families at our church (yay for the Pyles!) - we spent time on their boat, giant water slide and hanging out. Our kids came away saying that it was one of the best days ever!

Please excuse my children's faces...

They also introduced us to this amazingly fun game called DiXit! We haven't stopped playing it since - too good!

There was a cute little addition to our family on Valentines Day, our great-niece Summer Rose! She is so cute and tiny!

We are currently in the middle of a rather large new adventure! We have listed and sold our home as well as bought a new house all in the last month! We are going to miss our lovely old home with a massive section - but our family has outgrown the house and new adventures are on the horizon (in the form of another old home to renovate that is giant and best of all has 2 toilets!). We are in the middle of packing - and as you can imagine, packing for 6 people is rather crazy!

So that's us lately - we can't believe how quickly our place sold (bitter sweet) but are excited for the new home we are moving into!

I'm hoping to post a few before and after shots of our current house before we leave, then will bring you along on the adventure of our new home renovations as well.

See you soon!