How To Do Your Own Shellac Nails - Getting Started

After I posted a picture on my Facebook page of my lovely long nails last week, I have had heaps of requests for information about how I do my own Shellac... So here it is :)

(Did you know it is really hard to photograph your own nails?!)

Boosting Breast Milk Supply - Lactation Smoothie

Firstly, I just wanted to say thanks for your patience with the blog being so quiet!!  You are all so understanding, knowing that I am investing my time and energy into being a mummy for my baby girl - who is now 20 weeks old!!  I am often on Facebook, and we have great chats over there about lots of different things, so make sure that you pop over and say hi, if you have been waiting for me to start blogging again!  I will be back regularly - I promise :)

Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe

Last week I posted a picture of this delectable pesto pasta salad on my Facebook page and there were lots of you who wanted me to share the recipe.  So here it is...

Kit Kat and M&M Cake

If you are on my Facebook page you would have recently seen a photo of this yummy cake I made for my mums 60th birthday. It was so easy and looked so effective, I though I would share a few tips with you that helped me to get it done.

Our Beautiful Baby - Annabelle

It is a pink one!!  I would like to introduce our beautiful daughter, Annabelle Julie, to the world!!  She is a perfect little miracle, who has just filled our hearts with love and our lives with joy.

Bringing our beautiful baby home

My Weekly 'To Do' Folder

This week, I have been sharing with you how I organise my Command Central Station in my home.  This area is just vital to us staying organised with paperwork, plus it provides some much needed solutions to the clutter that would otherwise accumulate on the kitchen bench!

My Weekly 'To Do' Folder is another part of this station that I couldn't live without, so today I will unpack how I have set it up, and how it helps me to stay on track with my weekly jobs.

File Folders in my Command Central Station

Yesterday, I posted about my Command Central Station here.

Today, I want to elaborate on how I organise the file folders that hold the incoming paperwork that flows into our house!  I do admit that this is a long post, but I wanted to put all of this information in one location for you :)

My Command Central Station

Today I thought I would share how I organise our incoming/outgoing paperwork and general 'bits and pieces' in our living area.  This system has changed over the years, and since I have not been working and spending less and less time in the study for anything other than 'creative' work, having this all in the living area just makes sense for us.

Finishing Off Friday - 19th April 2013

To all of our new friends here on the blog, welcome to Finishing Off Friday!  This year is my 'Year of Finishing Off', and each Friday I post about the jobs that I have managed to accomplish in the week just passed.  I feel I have achieved so much this year already by having this focus, and I have been determined not to start any new projects until all of my old/unfinished projects are crossed off my list!  So, here we go....

Today is my due date!  If this is being published, it means that the baby has still decided to stay snug as a bug in my tummy!!  Which drives me crazy some days, and other days it doesn't bother me.  Like everyone, I have good days and bad days, and this past couple of weeks have been laced with a few not so 'good' days... only due to my own impatience!  This is a picture of me taken yesterday afternoon, at our favourite little get-away place, just 15 minutes from home:

Baby Milestone Photo Cards

Today I wanted to share this awesome gift that we were given for our baby shower.  It is so unique and just perfect for the photo-lover in me...

My Study - The Whole Story

I have put together this page so that you can see our Study Make-Over from start to finish.  The photos are all linked to the corresponding blog posts, so just click on the picture to see that part of the story :)

My Study - The Big Reveal

After an epic twelve month journey of pulling apart my old study and then designing and putting together my new study, I am pleased to announce that we are ready for lift-off!

If you have been following along with my Finishing Off Friday posts, you will have seen the recent progress that we made on the room, in order to get it completed.  If not, I have plenty of pictures to share with you today!

My Study - The Workbench

As you know, making over my study has been on my project list for some time now.  One of the features that I wanted in my study was a big workbench for the centre of the room.  I decided that I didn't need a desk in here, and that I would get much more use out of a bench-height table, so I invested a lot of time into researching the best design I could find.

My Study - The Expedit Wall Unit

One of the main features in my new study is my 5x5 Expedit wall unit from Ikea.

It was really hard to get a good photo of the entire unit, due to the workbench being in the middle of the room.  I hope that you can piece together the big picture ;)

Finishing Off Friday - 12th April 2013

Its Friday again!  Already!  How the time flies...

I celebrated my 34th birthday on Tuesday - I had a quiet, but lovely day with family.

Our Baby Zone in the Lounge Area

As mentioned in my New Carpet post recently, we have created a little baby zone/playroom in the lounge area of our home.  This area is right beside our kitchen, and obviously backs onto our lounge room, so it means that it is very central to where we do lots of the 'living' in our house.

My Laundry - The Whole Story

I have put together this page so that you can see our Laundry Make-Over from start to finish.  The photos are all linked to the corresponding blog posts, so just click on the picture to see that part of the story :)

My Baby's Nursery

Now that everything is ready for our little miracle when we bring him/her home from hospital, it is time to reveal the nursery!

If you follow along with my Finishing Off Friday posts, then you would have seen all of the bits and pieces that have gone into making this special room.  Today I am putting all of the pictures together so that you can get the overall effect!

This photo is taken from the doorway, looking into the room.  Outside the window is our pool and patio area.  A lovely relaxing outlook for our child, as they grow up :)

A Little Laundry Decorating

Renovating our laundry a couple of years ago was such a fabulous investment of our time and money.  The room is functional and organised, and after a few years of it being like this, I can promise you that it was worth being so thorough with everything, as the systems in place all work like a dream!

Something that I always wanted to do was to decorate the laundry, to make it a little more visually appealing.  It looked lovely - very clean and sleek with the white cupboards and taupe bench tops, but it just needed some personality.

Introducing 'Loui... with love' - Personalised Gifts & Embroidery

I am super excited to share with you that my amazing sister, Loui, has opened her Facebook store, Loui with love, specialising in personalised gifts and embroidery!  Her products are such an amazing quality, and so adorable, they just make the perfect gift :)

To celebrate Loui with love's grand opening, I thought I would do a little post about the fabulous products that she has available.  I tried to take some great photos to share with you, but with my 2 year old niece as my assistant photographer, I had to be super-quick with my snapping ;)  The photos don't do the products justice, but hopefully you get the idea...

Baby Singlets - these are just some of the applique designs available

Cook Islands Travel Journal - Day 4

Dear Diary,

We woke up to yet another gorgeous morning on the isle of Aitutaki.  Mick again started his day with fishing off the jetty, getting 'smoked' by an illusive fish who taunted him!

I had a lie in (until nearly 8am), then a quiet coffee in bed, overlooking the gorgeous lagoon on our doorstep.  Another tropical breakfast, this time blessed with cappuccino and flat white coffees - instant was killing us!  And then back to the bungalow for more fish and reading 'relax-ment'.

Cook Islands Travel Journal - Day 3

Dear Diary,

It was still dark when I woke to find Mick creeping in from the balcony.  I wondered what crazy hour of the night it was, but was pleasantly surprised to find out it was 6.30am - the sun rises here at 7am.

Mick had been woken by the splashes of super-sized bonefish chasing baitfish around the pylon of our bungalow.  In a flash, he had a line in the water - the first 2 casts each returned a trevally - a pretty good start to the day from my perspective!  But, of course, having never had enough of fishing, Mick persisted and was soon rewarded with a good-sized sweet lip - victory!

We had breakfast at the Bounty Restaurant - our included tropical breakfast was fantastic!  While Mick satisfied his hunger with his absolute favourite, pancakes, I was delighted with my muesli and fruit which came served in a coconut!  Does this place ever cease to amaze??

Finishing Off Friday - 5th April 2013

This week was another very productive one for me!  Mick went fishing for three days over Easter, so I had lots of time to potter around the house.  This is what I got up to...

Preparing for Baby

- I finished off the Baby Zone in our lounge area.  This is where I will be feeding the baby, so I wanted to create some little packs of supplies that will come in handy during this time.  I will be posting more about this next week.

Nesting

Tomorrow I will be 38 weeks pregnant!  How exciting (and overwhelming, and scary, and exhausting, and wonderful... and all of the other emotions that are buzzing through my brain at the moment!).  Just when I think that my belly can't possibly grow another inch, it stretches even further and I wonder what it ever felt like to be normal!

I have loved every moment of this amazing pregnancy journey, and have been so blessed to have had a lovely nine months of growing my little miracle.  Getting here was a different story, but that just makes me even more thankful that I am here, and we are about to embark on a wonderful new adventure!

My New Laundry - The Electrical Elements

As you know, I put a lot of thought into the little 'things' that make up my laundry.  I tried to think of everything that would be of use in the long run.  This post is all about the electrical items that we added, to make the room just right.

Yesterday I posted about the Robinhood Ironing Centre - read about that here.  It would have to be my favourite electrical addition to the room! But here are plenty of others that have helped to make the room that little bit more functional also...

Mick found this amazing swivel light for the sewing bench.  Previously, I had a long fluro tube above this bench, and wanted something similar again, as the old one threw a lot of light.  I was so thrilled when Mick came home with this fluro tube that actually swivels!  You can point it directly down for sewing:

My New Laundry - The Robinhood Ironing Centre

It has been a while since I posted about my new laundry (which isn't really new anymore!), but I have a couple of posts that I wanted to put up, in order to finish the series.  You will see these pop up over the next week or so...

Including the Robinhood ironing centre in my laundry design was something I had dreamed of for many years!  After now having had the system in place for quite some time, I can certainly report back that it was money well spent :)

New Carpet in our Lounge Room!

This post is somewhat overdue - it has been in draft for a long time, so in the spirit of Finishing Off, I thought I would post it now anyway - even though the carpet is 6 months old!!

Something that has been on our To Do list for years now, is to get new carpet.  When we moved in 8 years ago, we were thankful that the house had a neutral palette of cream carpet and tiles, which meant that we could be flexible with our colour schemes, without having to outlay money for new flooring.

However, with cream carpet comes spills and stains, and after 8 years of 'living' in our lounge room, the state of the carpet was quite embarrassing.  With the news that our little bundle of joy is on the way, we decided that new carpet was now a high priority - there is no way I was putting a baby down to play on this yucky floor!!

Easter Decorating 2013

I think I have been too busy with all of my other projects to get the Easter 'bug' early this year!  I have done a little bit of decorating around the house, but I haven't gone crazy, like I did last year ;)

Finishing Off Friday - 29th March 2013

We have had another big week around here!  The topic of 'Finishing Off' certainly rings true with two of my room make-overs finally being moved to the 'finished' pile!

The Study

- Mick finished putting the workbench together on Sunday night, so on Monday morning I was up at the crack of dawn putting all of my goodies into it!  (In this photo, it is pushed right up against the Expedit, ready for the electrician to install the fan - normally it is right in the centre of the room.)

Laundry Hamper Make-Over

This week, I re-covered an old laundry hamper of my mum's, for the baby's nursery.  It was a fun project to complete, super cheap, and I am very happy with the result!

I Have Been Featured in Party Style Magazine!

Wow!  This is so exciting!  Cassadiva has been featured in the Easter issue of Party Style Magazine!

Chicken & Snow-Pea Sprout Baguettes Recipe

I have a recipe to share with you today... and it is a great one for an outdoor event.  This makes a great sandwich or baguette filling, which is fabulous for a picnic or a snack that you want to make ahead of time.  It is a nice twist on a chicken sandwich, which is packed with flavour and lots of veggies too!

A New Look & A Weekend Update

I guess you have noticed that things are looking a little different around here!  I am so excited with my new blog template, made by the very lovely Sharnee at Suck My Lolly Blogger Templates.  I love everything about it - the pink and brown (my two favourite colours), the layout, the fonts, but most of all I LOVE the little bows!  Aren't they just adorable?!

I went with one of Sharnee's Premium Templates - Pinkaholic.  She was kind enough to customise it for me, making a few slight changes that I requested for a small additional fee, and I am so happy with it!  And I have to say that she is just the sweetest lady to deal with - loved her customer service :)

Other than a new look for the blog, this weekend was heaps of fun around here...

We celebrated my niece's 2nd birthday on Saturday.  How cute are these cakes that my sister bought from Woolworths?  They were so yummy too!

Finishing Off Friday - 22nd March 2013

Another week has zoomed by, and I can not believe all of the jobs that I have achieved in this short time!  I apologise for the long post ahead, but I have LOTS to report.

Let's get to it...

The Study

- I feel like we need a drumroll here.....  The study is painted!!  Yippee!! It looks like a brand new room, thanks to my amazing Dad!  It will take me a few weeks to get everything organised in there, but knowing that I can now start working on everything that I have been planning since completing my online 'Organise Your Creative Workspace' course with Simplify 101 last year is super exciting.  It seems to be just perfect timing, now that the nursery is pretty much finished, that I can spend my time and energy getting my new 'Creative Studio' ready for hours of crafting and scrapbooking fun!!

- The first thing we did after the painting was done, was assemble the 5x5 Expedit cube unit for the back wall of the room.  Poor Mick has had to put together so many flat packs this year - I think he was glad to know that will be the last one for a little while!

Hair - Headbands

Since learning to curl my hair last year in The Year of Good Hair, I have come very attached to headbands!  I find them such a useful accessory, as they not only provide bit of flair to a simple hairdo, but you can colour coordinate them with your outfit, and they also keep your hair out of your face, which I love.

I guess my signature headband would have to be the one that I bought for Christmas a few years back...  I am sure that you all recognise this as my 'Cassadiva' photo!  This was taken on Christmas day, when I was trying on my new apron that I had received as a gift. 

Hair - Hair Donut

It has been a long time since I have done a 'Hair' post, but I found these photos on my computer from last year, and knew that I had wanted to do a blog post using them, so here it is!

Having fairly short and thin hair, I was always envious of the girls who had a big bun wrapped on top of their heads.  Then I learned about Hair Donuts and thought it could be something that might just solve my problem of a puny little bun!  And it did!

Chocolate Easter Nests Gifts

Last Easter I decided to make presents for everyone, rather than buy Easter Eggs.  I chose to make these little Easter nests.  These are all over Pinterest and the internet, probably because they are really simple to make, and quite cost effective too.

 

Easter Cake Pops

Last Easter  I decided to give Cake Pops a try!  I must admit that it was an awful lot of work, but they looked quite pretty and tasted yummy!

A Little Birthday Card Postage Bucket

Yesterday and today, I have spent some time preparing all of my March, April and half-way through May birthday cards for posting.  I admit that I missed two of my lovely girlfriends' birthdays at the start of March (sorry girls!!), so I needed to backtrack a bit and catch up on those, plus I wanted to do the next month in advance, as I know I won't have time to even think about writing birthday cards to send when the baby arrives!!  The end result - this cute little bucket of ready-to-post birthday cards!

Finishing Off Friday - 15th March 2013

What a big week on the blog it has been!  Thanks to everyone who followed along with 'My Baby Shower' posts!  It was so much fun sharing all of the amazing things that happened on the weekend with you all :)  If you missed them, you can find them here.

The day after the party, on Sunday, I admit I was a bit sore and stiff!!  But my wonderful parents came to the rescue and Dad continued to paint the study, and Mum helped me with the final clean up after the party.  By Sunday night, everything was back to normal, and my house looked just the same as it always does!

On Monday I woke up feeling fabulous - full of energy and motivation - yay!  I still have this dreaded ear infection, and it has now also gone to the other ear too!  Double trouble!  However after 2 more doctors visits this week, they are slowly healing and my doctor is regularly cleaning it out, to ensure that it heals properly.  So, while sleeping has been a bit tricky (with both ears hurting to lie on and not being able to lie on my back when pregnant), I have been surprisingly energetic each day!

Ok, so what progress did I make this week??  Let's see...

The Nursery/Baby

- I found homes for all of my wonderful gifts that we were given at the shower, including washing everything new and those things that we already had.  I did around 6 loads of 'cutesy' washing, and now everything is fresh and ready for a new baby to enjoy it!

My Baby Shower - Thank You Gifts (Part 4)

As a little special parting gift, the girls arranged these gorgeous little favours for everyone to take home from the shower...

They were beautifully displayed in this bird cage!

My Baby Shower - Invitations and Party Games (Part 3)

I just LOVED these invitations that my sister ordered online!  They were just perfect for the colour theme, and considering I love to bake, having the preggy girl on the invite wearing an apron and holding cupcakes, it seemed very fitting!  They were just so sweet!

My Baby Shower - The Food (Part 2)

I didn't get a whole lot of photos of the food, as by the time it was put out, I was busy mingling with the guests.  But thankfully between my mum, my sister and I, we managed to grab a few good snaps, so here they are:

My Baby Shower - The Decorations (Part 1)

I was so lucky to be thrown the most amazing baby shower by my beautiful sisters and mum over the weekend.  We have such a close family and I am always thankful for that, but it is the special times like these that really make me realise how lucky I am to have them!

My sister-in-law also helped out so much, sending handmade decorations, food labels, thank you cards and more all the way from Western Australia!  We missed her not being here, but were so grateful at how much she contributed from so far away - it was very sweet and very much appreciated :)

Rather than jam-pack everything from the party into one massive post, I am going to spread it out over the week, and give each little topic the attention it deserves.

Today let's start with the decorations!  I love this part!

We went with a pink and blue theme for the shower, since we don't know what gender our baby is, I thought let's just do both!  That was about all that I knew about the party.  My sisters didn't tell me one little thing about what they were planning, and I wasn't allowed to help at all!  The girls said it was a great colour theme to work with, as there is heaps of both blue and pink around...  And it looked fabulous too!

I will let the photos do the talking!

 

Finishing Off Friday - 8th March 2012

Well, this week hasn't been as productive as I anticipated due to a terrible ear infection taking up residence in my right ear!  It was one of the most painful things I have felt in a long time, and because I am trying really hard not to take any unnecessary medications, I was trying to find natural pain relief - which just pales in comparison to the real thing!!  Anyway, after a few sleepless nights and a few miserable days, I am on the mend now, and ready to stop feeling sorry for myself ;)  So, let's get to it!

This week's 'Finishing Off' progress:

The Nursery

- Mick hung the curtain rod for the valance above the cot, and it looks so sweet!  My mum is just so clever, having made this valance for us!  I just love it.  I think it really finishes the room.

My Maternity Journal

I was given this Maternity Journal at the start of my second trimester by a very sweet cousin of mine, but I was very slack and it sat empty for all of this time!

Finishing Off Friday - 1st March 2013

We had a lovely long weekend at the Sunshine Coast last weekend, with my family.  The sun came out on Saturday, and us girls had a lovely day lazing by the pool, chatting, laughing and eating while the boys went crabbing and fishing.  It was such a lovely weekend away!!

iPhoto - Digital Photo Books & DVDs

I have been using iPhoto to make digital photo albums for the past 3 years.  I could talk all day about this awesome program, but I just thought that I would pick out the features that I love the most and share them with you, as I often get asked lots of questions about it.

Firstly, iPhoto is a Mac program.  It is not online, it is a program that is installed on your hard drive.  There is apparently a version of it for the iPad, however I have been told that you can't make the photo books using the app (it is more just for storing your photos).

A Mini-Album

I wanted to share with you this great little album that I found at K-Mart recently for only $4!

Finishing Off Friday - 21st February 2013

This week my accomplishments are:

Photos

- I completed Macy's album.  Totally.  Completely.  Fully.  Done.  There will be no further updates on this project, since it is now complete!  Yippee!!  That is one mammoth task that is done, thanks to my system of breaking it down into weekly mini-projects.