Playing around

This week I have been playing with my fancy new DSLR camera that I got for Christmas. I still have a lot to learn.


Smallest girl with the amazing wooden barn that her grandad made for Christmas.








Loving that I can get such clear macro shots.








Sylvanian families and Lego were a big feature in our house this Christmas. It took me the best part of two days to put all the boy's Lego together.





And the continuous shot mode is awesome! Any photography tips for me? I would love to hear them.

We wish you a Merry Christmas

Wishing you and your a safe and happy Christmas.


(And didn't I do a spectacular job of wrapping the guitar so you can't tell what it is).

A quick trip to Sydney

The kids finished school last Friday and we bundled them into the car for a quick trip to Sydney. The countdown to Christmas had been given up in our house as the boy was busy counting down the days till we saw the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum.



The exhibition is fantastic and I would highly recommend it to any Harry Potter fan. The small boy was beside himself with excitement, and couldn't quite believe all the things he was getting to see.

Lucky for us, the gift shop had been restocked a couple of days before we visited so we left with a marauder's map, a couple of wands, t shirts, chocolate frogs and some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. After encountering a soap flavored jelly bean, closely followed by an earthworm one, I left them to the kids.



We also went by the QVB to see the Swarovski Crystal Christmas tree, which was beautiful, and Santa's Grotto. The kids were keen to visit Santa but a two hour wait was a bit much.



A visit to Books Kinokuniya was also on the agenda - easily the biggest and most impressive book store I have ever seen.



We also stopped off to visit my cousin - head chef at Zumbo's new patisserie at Star Sydney.



The macaroons were heavenly.



We ended a very long day with a visit to the Christmas Carols in the Domain. There was a huge crowd so we couldn't see the stage from where we sat, but the kids had a lovely time.

Not a bad start to the school holidays really. Of course, now we have seen the Harry Potter exhibition, the countdown to Christmas is well and truly back on.

Playing hooky

I seem to have developed a small addiction - crocheted trim on pillowcases. So far I have limited myself to pillowcases that I make but I am finding it very hard to resist the urge to put trim on every pillowcase in the house.


At least these ones have a purpose - the purple one is a Christmas present for the big girl's favourite friend, and the other two are a very belated birthday present. You can find a tutorial to make your very own over here. Be warned, it is addictive.

Sunday

Waffles for breakfast;



A bird nest blown out of the tree;



Being serenaded by the small girl - off the top of her head she sang a song about each family member;



The aftermath of last weekend's dancing concerts (yes, it took me a week to wash the costumes);



A chair in the sun, some knitting and a good book.



Hope your Sunday was filled with good things.

Instagram

I have been playing around with Instagram (and I am sure there must be an easier way to blog photos than the way I have just done it.)


The small girl decorated the stairs today. She just can't get enough tinsel.

Movie Night

It is the end of a long week, filled with Christmas concerts and other goings on. Perfect night to curl up on the couch with a movie.


The kids and I have read Mr Popper's Penguins so it will be interesting to see how the movie compares. Hope you find a way to relax tonight.

Cutting it fine

I bought what I thought was an Advent calendar the other day at the supermarket. Unwrapping it last night I discovered it was in fact a block of chocolate wrapped in an advent calendar-like box. A home made advent calendar has always been the plan, but I always leave it too late and end up grabbing one at the supermarket. After last night's discovery I decided I would finally make my own.


I downloaded the printable from draw! Pilgrim and spent a fair bit of time cutting and folding today. The finished (well, nearly finished as not all the boxes have their drawers yet) product is gorgeous. Much cuter than my blurry photo.