The Saturday Update

It's been a busy last week of maternity leave here. 

We went to baby group as a family, which was fun. I'll miss it next week.

We painted, cleaned and prepared the pantry. The shelves are going up today and hopefully we will get downstairs straightened up and the last boxes unpacked this week.

We got various projects done - sewing, cooking, baking, gardening...lots of exciting times coming up in those areas too.

Our little sweetheart cut her sixth tooth this week without a peep. We only realised when we caught sight of it. We've got one brave girl on our hands - must get it from daddy!

So it's back to work on Monday. I'll be glad when Friday comes around and I'm used to the routine.

The first...

...homemade loaf of bread.

Nico made this delicious loaf of gluten free bread on Monday. It lasted until Wednesday... Delicious!! I love how inspired we feel in the new kitchen and it's not even completely set up yet!

Reading RoundUp

Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander 2) - Diana Gabaldon

This was the second book in the Outlander time travel series and was every bit as good as the first. I was wondering how Gabaldon would keep the story new and interesting but she did it. There were new characters as well as favourites from the first book. To top it off, the ending was a brilliant cliff hanger, leaving me excited for number three.

Middlemarch - George Eliot

Another classic ticked off my 100 list. It took me a couple of attempts to get through this. I did enjoy the story but it wasn't one of my favourite classics and it didn't really stand out from some of the other classics of that time.

Death on Safari - Jessica Hill

This was an e-book I picked up because it's written by an old school friend. That probably made me read it with an extra critical eye but actually, I soon forgot who the author was and was pulled in to a thrilling whodunnit. The story had me guessing until the end. It was a light, interesting read that I would really recommend.

Next up Ulysses and the final book in the latest Ken Follett trilogy.

Carrot and Ginger Soup

 This week I tried a real winter warmer of a soup from the paleo book, carrot and ginger. It was really easy too - carrots, ginger, garlic, onions, vinegar, stock, cinammon and salt. Yum.

Project Life - December

 This month was very photo heavy. With that in mind, and running out of the usual page protectors, I decided to do another month of mini squares.

There's no journaling this month - most of the photos explain themselves. I also got some xmas paper and the December calendar in there.

I'm looking forward to this project in the new year but I'm  planning on changing up focus a little to 'tell the story' more. I'd like to get back to a good mix of photos and journaling telling the stories that make up life, and getting our family portraits in too.

Make it Monday - Toybox

Here's my latest project from the Mama sewing book. I used the same fabric as the other baby projects so we have a kind of theme going.

It's not perfect but I'm pretty pleased for a first attempt. It's also a little different to the book as they used a much thicker filling but I wanted to use up old stock before I order new.

I think this is going to be really useful in giving us some space back after bedtime and in teaching Isabella to tidy up!

Weekly Wisdom

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