A Weekend In The Garden - Mulch Making

This weekend I've been hanging in the veggie patch. It was time for a good clean up, things had got way out of control and I could barely walk along the paths, they were so overrun by pumpkins!



One thing I've learnt in recent years is that mulching the old plants is super nutritious for your garden soil. However when it's still big (not broken up) it doesn't break down as quickly so I came up with a clever little trick that didn't require me to buy a mulcher (have you seen how expensive they are??!!)

Put the catcher on the mower, lay the old plants out and mow away!



Neck minute, mulch! You can sprinkle it on top of your garden beds, add it to your compost pile or make trenches in your garden beds and bury it. Either way, the worms will love it and it will break down quickly, feeding your soil.



Note: don't do this with your weeds, just the old veggie plants. The weeds need to go into the bin.

I have a delivery of pea straw coming this afternoon which I'll start laying over the beds that are going to be empty until spring. Unlike every other year, I'm going to be super organised and not leave my mulching until the last minute. My garden next year is going to be a super oasis of productivity, lol!

Ahh, I love a good weekend spent in the garden. I put on the radio, lather the kids in sunscreen and we go and get dirty. It's good for the soul!

I hope your weekend has been a good one too.

Alex

My New Laundry Come Second Bathroom

For the first time in months, I've logged into Blogspot intending to get back into the swing of things and the bloody thing might have as well screamed "who the heck are you"! I know, I know, it's been a long time between drinks (or blogs) but what can I say, life has been getting in the way.

Where to start! Well, it's been a fantastic Summer here in Tassie which alas is almost at an end. I've finished my downstairs reno, celebrated Christmas, partied in the New Year, hung at the beach, sent my eldest child to school for the first time and spent oodles of time in the veggie patch to name a few special things that have been going on in my world.

So, for months and months last year I promised that I'd take some pics of the downstairs reno (and never did). Well today I intend on showing you PART of it, namely the laundry come second bathroom. I have taken some pics on my iPhone (yup, the lazy bloggers tool of choice, LOL) 

I wanted the finishes to be really similar to the upstairs bathroom in order to make downstairs feel less disconnected from the rest of the house. Whilst similar in a lot of ways, it is not carbon copy of the main bathroom and I have to say, I love the result.

The copper wall light is a retro fixture that my mum pulled out of her house when renovating. Her trash, my treasure I say! 

The same tiles were used on floor and walls. The toilet suite was the same and the taps are from the same range as the ones in the main bathroom.

A cheap mirror (with cupboards behind) and inexpensive vanity basin hung on the wall completed the simple look. One day I'd like to put a shelf to the right of the basin but that isn't on the priority list at the mo.

What's behind the door you might ask? And isn't this supposed to be a laundry you say, well, wait no longer...

The washer is hidden behind a wall of cupboards and I love it. The best bit, there's a laundry chute from the hallway upstairs which comes directly down into the basket on the bench. Best decision I made in the WHOLE reno, (upstairs and down).

Not everything is perfectly finished yet. The glass for the shower screen has to go in and there's no handles on the cupboard doors but in time those little things will get finished.

Can you see the relationship to our upstairs bathroom? Similar but slightly different.

Certainly a darn sight better than what it was!

So there you go, one mostly completed laundry-bathroom. I'm yet to do the final costing but it should come in less than 10K. We had to spend a lot of money on trades for this room which always makes it a bit more expensive. We did a lot of the demo and carpentry but the rest was the experts.

It is my intent to get back into the blog again so keep an eye out for more posts to come. I've been busy and have lots to share.

I hope you're all well

Alex

The Boy's Room Evolves....Again!

Months ago I bought some second hand (retro) single beds for the boys with the intention to go full "Mark Tuckey" on them by stripping them back, replacing the panelling and the ugly metal base. Unfortunately I haven't had any spare time so I've had to give them a quick mini makeover and set them up without giving them the overhaul that I'd planned. However at the end of the day, I'm pretty happy with them with only a quick touch up. Lets see what you think.

The bedhead before TLC

Such a simple thing, using a bit of left over charcoal exterior paint and hey presto, they've come to life again. I love paint! 

The bedhead after TLC!

I'm the most useless blogger in the world I'm sure. I'm so time poor (I use my iPhone for photos, lol). With a small window of opportunity between tidying and the whirlwind that is my children, I take a few snaps and hope that they will be ok enough to shove on the blog!

Anyhoo, my point is, the photos aren't great but this is the end result. Beds in and linen on. Looks pretty comfy eh?

I've purchased cheap valances from Kmart to cover the unattractive metal base which 1, looks pretty cool but 2, acts as a cubby house for the kids (bonus)! They love hiding under there, I often hear giggles and soft voices from under the cloth although I'm yet to find one or the other asleep under there (but I'm anticipating it).

A quick rearrange of the bookshelves and the room has a new vibe. No longer baby and toddler, it's two big boys in their big boy beds.

PS, the beds cost $45 each which I think is a pretty good buy. $15 for valances and the linen we had already. Good looking and inexpensive, perfect combo. LOL

Summer Is Near and So My House Gets A Mini Makeover

Well Christmas is well and truly on our doorstep again, where did this year go? 

My blog has been quiet of late but that doesn't mean that stuff hasn't been going on. Quite the opposite really. The downstairs reno has been chugging along really well and the bulk of it is now finished. One day soon I plan on cleaning it and showing it to you. Maybe next week after the last of the trades should be finished.

I've been in the veggie patch most weekends and the jungle has finally been tamed. I've started picking the first of this season's produce which is always such a satisfying feeling after all the hard work.

I've also been moving things around, making Gumtree purchases and "Summer-fying" my house (clearly my own made up word - good eh!) Goodbye fluffy, cozy carpets and welcome jute mats.

My lounge has got itself a new couch (Gumtree) and the jute rug is from Kmart. The Bonnie and Neil art is actually just a tea towel in a frame and of course, lots of indoor plants (which I love). I'm going for a neutral and "cool" kinda vibe, you can't half tell eh!

Here in Tasmania we have sooooo many amazing handcrafted products available to purchase. My budget doesn't always extend to be able to buy as many as I'd like but I'd been eyeing off this little stool by Endemic Design for a long time and recently decided to splash out and get it. It's pretty much my fave purchase for 2015. 

With Christmas around the corner I've made another advent calendar for the kids. Last year I filled the bags with toys, stickers and all sorts of fun stuff but all they ever got excited about was the days that had chocolate coins! So this year I've kept it simple and it's lots of gold coins (and a few lollipops thrown in there for the fun of it.)

So that's a bit of a snapshot of what's been going on around the house of late. I'm really loving being here and have been feeling a lot more positive about the place since downstairs has started to really come together. 

This weekend is shack time for the first time in ages. I can't wait because frankly I need a break before the madness that is Christmas starts. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Home Made Orange Cleaning Spray

Due to my dislike of waste, I often try new little experiments. A few months ago when citrus fruits were in season, I started collecting our peels in a jar. When the jar was full, I'd top it up with a stick of cinnamon and some white vinegar. I left this combo to brew in the cupboard for a few months and hey presto, I've made my own citrus cleaning spray (strain first).

It's very strong and could almost be watered down a bit. I've left mine full strength and I'm using it as a heavy duty cleaner when I need a cleaner with a bit more oomph. Best three things about it: 1 - it was as good as free to make, 2 - it smells great and 3 - well, it makes cleaning a little easier!

Today is a glorious, sunny Spring day in Tasmania. I've taken the boys to the park to expel some of the crazy energy they have, I've spent some time in the veggie patch and now whilst the boys are napping, I'm having a cuppa and a sit down. If only every day was like this but alas, work tomorrow and the mayhem that goes along with that! Happy Monday everybody. 

Faux Plastic Wrap

In July I decided to start cutting back on my household's plastic consumption. There were many reason for it but the crux of it is that I have a environmental conscious but I also worry about what plastic is doing to our health. I can happily say that my house consumes much less plastic since taking on the challenge and I'm always finding new ways to reduce more.

My latest project required me to get a little crafty. I saw an idea for reusable food covers that can be used instead of single use plastic (Glad-wrap) using only some old scraps of cotton material and some pure beeswax.

The idea is that you grate the beeswax and sprinkle it over the cotton (which you've cut into pretty little circles). Then in a low heat oven (I set mine at 80 degrees celsius), you let the beeswax melt over the cotton (I used a little paint brush to help the process to get an even coverage)

Voila, you have reusable food covers which you can use instead of single use plastic. The heat of your hands moulds the wraps over your bowl, cheese, fruit or whatever you're needing to cover. Then once you're done you give them a quick wipe with a cold damp cloth and shove them in a drawer until you need it next time.

I'm totally loving mine and when I look in my fridge every day, it looks sooo pretty! One note, it's not recommended to use them on meat but everything else is ok. They should last up to a year if you care for them properly. They were cheap to make too so lets hope that not only am I doing my health and the environment a favour but my hip pocket now that I'm no longer buying plastic wrap or bags.

Here's the original link to my plastic free blog post if you missed it as well as the link to the Mommypottamus blog that I found my instructions on. She has much prettier pics than I do! LOL

Chair Renovation Complete

A month (or so) ago on one of my op-shop trips I found these awesome old mid century chairs, made by iconic Australian designers, Burgess Furniture. Whilst an ugly duckling in their 80's grandma renovated fabric, I could see the potential in them immediately (with a little TLC).

Out came the steel wool, turps and linseed oil. A bit of elbow grease later you can see the difference in timber colour with a bit of love (left one un-renovated and right one with a scrub 'n oil!)

The final step was to recover and voila, fancy new (old?) retro chairs. 

I still don't know where I'm going to house them but once the downstairs reno is finished, I'm thinking that I'll find a good spot for them there.

Today the kids and I are vegging out at home with some movies. Actually that's a lie, the kids are watching movies. I'm re-inspired to get my "ferment on" after reading the new Simplicious book by Sarah Wilson. I got a bit slack over the Winter months but with Spring in the air, I'm feeling motivated again.

PS, the book is fab, it's like she wrote it for me!