Happy Birthday Baby!!

Well my baby boy is 8 tomorrow. I cant believe it, where did those years go?

We have a very full day tomorrow, starting with Finn's soccer game at 8.30am, followed by a party with 25 of his closest friends (!!!) at Galaxy World and then a family dinner with Finn's favourite Mexican food, tacos, guacamole etc. 

His present is a scooter from Skater HQ, with a one piece bar, customised grip tape, mushroom handle grips etc. If you have boys you will know what I mean! He has been leaving lists and pictures from Skater HQ laying around for the last 2 months. None of the kids really ride bikes anymore, its all about the scooter!

A visit from my mum.

My mum is coming up for a visit tomorrow. Yay!! I can't wait!

My mum and I are so close, so not having her nearby is hard as both myself, the boys and Simon miss her so much.

She was living just around the corner from us until a year ago when she decided to go and follow her dream of owning a pub in the country town she grew up in.

The town is a teensy town called Euabalong in NSW, population of about 150 people but there is a bigger town about 30kms away. Mum grew up here and when the opportunity came up for her to lease the hotel with her cousin she decided to go for it. It was a big move and it took a while to get used to it, but I still wish she would move closer. I think she agrees that the gloss has worn off and she needs to be closer. We will see!

Anyway we will all be joined at the hip over the weekend.

There is nothing like having your mum around :)

Today I am loving stripes!

I am in love with stripes today.

Stripes are so fresh. They can look both classic and up to the minute.

I heart stripes!

The Holiday.

Well, since I am not going on a holiday anytime soon, I thought I would put up some images from the movie The Holiday.

You know the one with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black.

A great idea, of a last minute holiday in a place totally different than your own.

I could see the appeal of both houses, but would have to lean towards the L.A house.

I think it was the space, clean lines and of course , the weather. Did you see the movie?

Have you ever done a house swap?

Have you got your next holiday planned?

all images from maggie moon blog

More of my home.

Here is some more of my home.

I have a feeling it wont look like this for long, as I have an urge to change the colours etc. I am thinking of a splash of green. Well, that is what I am feeling for this week!

My Reading Corner, it is such a nice spot. It gets sunshine plus it has the added bonus of being able to see the boys in the backyard without having to be outside. 

I can referee from my chair!

Chair, ottoman & lamp from Freedom. Side table is from Bayswiss.

Our bedroom.

Bed, sidetables, lamps from Freedom. Quilt cover and throw from Ikea. Chandelier from Freedom, it is not wired but hey it has only been 4 years! Letters on wall from Typo. I change these around a bit. Sometimes I have love, or a canvas. It all depends on my mood! :)

You cant see it but to the left of the bed (in the pic) is the ensuite and our room also has a mini walk in closet.

Another angle.

Jasper's Room. 
Otherwise known as a toy explosion!

I am letting it go for now, as he loves it and has all his toys close by. A plus is that it keeps the toys from encroaching into the rest of the house! But I have my plans for a makeover.

I did a post on it a couple of days ago :)

My eldest son Finn's room is undergoing a transformation at the moment.

He is moving into the bigger spare room, so pics of his room at a later date.

One of my photo walls. Love having pics of the family around :)

Our backyard. 
Slowly getting taken over by more kids stuff! It's all looking a bit drab in this weather. Cant wait for Spring/Summer. Thats when this house comes alive!

The cubby. Jasper has so much fun dragging the trucks up and down the slide.

You can also see Fifi the rabbit's house. She moves constantly around the yard.

My adirondack chairs. They were an anniversary pressie from Simon, perfect for watching the boys romp around. Please excuse the fence! It is on Simon's neverending to do list to restain.

Our lovely tuckeroo trees are growing bigger every day and almost blocking out our neighbours house.

So that is a little more of my home.

Rocky Road Cheescake Recipe :)

Thank you to everyone for the sweet wishes for Simon's birthday.

We had a wonderful dinner out, we started with some cocktails at Sable in Manly.

 I discovered a Pacific 55 which is a blend of vodka, lychees, lime and pineapple juice. A taste of summer in the middle of winter! We had dinner at Manly wine, with a few tapas plates to share. Washed down with a white wine sangria. Too delicious. 

We were very chatty and giggly by the time we caught a cab home!

It is sooo great going out on a Friday night, for some reason it makes the weekend feel longer :)

We had a family dinner on the Saturday night and I made the Rocky Road Cheesecake, which turned out to be a huge drama! I had left it a bit late, as it needs at least 3 hours or overnight in the fridge and I couldnt find my springform pan but it all turned out ok :)

The recipe.

Ingredients - 125g sweet chocolate biscuits, 60g butter, melted, 625g cream cheese, softened, 395g sweetened condensed milk, 3 eggs

Rocky Road - 375g milk chocolate melts, 200g coloured marshmallows chopped, 4 turkish delight bars, nuts if you like.

Make the rocky road first. Line a slice pan with baking paper. Combine ingredients in a large bowl, then cover with the melted chocolate and spread onto the pan, refrigerate until set and chop into pieces.

Preheat oven to 160/140 degrees fan forced.

Process the biscuits ( I use scallywags formerly golligwogs!) until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in butter. Press biscuit mixture into the base of a 23cm springform tin. Refrigerate until firm.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until just smooth, add the condensed milk and beat until combined. Add the eggs until combined.

Place tin on an oven tray, pour the cheesecake mixture into the tin. Press half of the rocky road into the surface.  Bake in a moderately slow oven about 1 1/4 hours or until set. Cool in oven with the door ajar. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Decorate with the remaining rocky road and dust with icing sugar if desired.

Voila! A calorie fest, enjoy!!! :)