My Lounge Room Makeover ..... well 'Virtual' Makeover!

It's a cold, wet day.  All five girls are back at school.  I am home alone for the first time in two and a half weeks.  Piles of mail and bills await opening.  Dinner needs to be prepared.

Sounds like the perfect time to sit back with a mug of hot chocolate and fantasize about a lounge room makeover that is totally not likely to happen because  a)  we have no available funds  and  b)  we have no available time.  But hey that's the joy of a 'virtual' lounge room makeover!!

About 4 years ago hubby knocked through a doorway from our lounge/dining area to our garage which we converted to a room......okay 'converted' is probably a bit of an overstatement ....essentially we gyprocked the roof and most of the walls, put down some carpet squares and vowed to 'finish it off'.....one day!

So for the past 4 years we have had this huge gaping doorway knocked though with the best of intentions for a door of some sort to go there.....one day!

Well we are now in the process of setting up that garage as bedroom space for Miss 17 and Miss 15 so the issue of the door between lounge/dining and garage has been bumped back up on the do to list.

And it is from that point that my whole virtual lounge room makeover is created!  

You see the space where we knocked the door through is quite large and what kind of door to put there has been a bit of an issue.....but one that I have solved with my discovery of barn door hardware......  So essentially this is a track system that will allow a barn style door to be hung and slide to close the opening.

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The barn door concept will work really well in the area we have and the barn door itself will then become a feature of our lounge/dining room.

But clearly now the whole lounge/dining area would need a makeover to complement the barn door!

That is when I found DIY pallet walls....oh my gosh!!  I absolutely love this look and since you can acquire pallets a plenty for free then it will mostly be our labour required to get this effect...okay so together with a nail gun, a saw of some sort and maybe some stain.... 

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So now in my head we've got a bit of a rustic old barn thing going on.....and I love me a rustic old barn!!!!  A gorgeous old barn conversion in a little English country town would be  a dream!!

Well now that I have my barn door and my pallet wall all that will be left to do is paint the remaining walls and hunt down some furniture that will fit the old barn theme.

And then the best bit....time to accessorize with wooden ladders, reclaimed timbers and wrought iron pieces

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I am now that crazy person who will be constantly on the look out for free pallets on the side of the road as I try to make this virtual makeover become a reality! 

I may have gotten a bit carried away with my Lounge Room Makeover Pinterest board!! You can check it our here if you like....maybe make yourself a cup of tea first!!

And here is the source of each of the images in the top collage...just in case you love these things as much as I do!

1. http://nomadicdecorator.com/2011/04/27/barn-door-hardware-for-closets/

2. http://www.country-days.co.uk/tag/crochet/

3. http://www.grandinroad.com/lyon-gate-artwork/wall-art/indoor-wall-art/611536#_a5y_p=1146543

4. https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/162620569/black-lantern-trio-wall-decor-home-decor?ref=listing-shop-header-0

5. http://alexandradesignfinds.com/

6. http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/TodaysTreasure2/4899161/crocheted_doily_rug_pdf_pattern_36_in_diameter_vintage_1960s/supplies/craft_supplies/patterns/home_decor

So tell me are you due for a lounge room make over....or is there some other room in your house that is crying out for some attention?

Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT

Inspired to Write 20 Things About Me......

So when I woke up this morning I had no idea whether or not I would do a blog post, I mean there's still that kitchen cleaning to be finished from yesterday, school uniforms to organised for Monday, kids to feed...internet to peruse!!

Clearly I decided to start with internet perusal as you do!  I came across this post by Chantelle Ellem aka Fat Mum Slim.... 20 Things About Me. ...well I love to know more about bloggers that I stalk....I mean love....so I popped over the blog for a read and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know a bit more about Chantelle!

Then I got to thinking about whether or not I could even come up with 20 things about me.....and so the procrastination....I mean challenge.....began!

Here goes....let's see how far I can get with this....20 things you may not know about me....

1. 

I am shit scared of heights.....buildings, bridges, towers....there's no discrimination here!! The one time we went to Paris of course going up the Eiffel Tower was high on the list of things to see and do.  When we got to the top I was so terrified!!  I swear the tower was moving!  I held my then three year old daughters hand so tight she may have actually squealed in pain!!

2.

I am way short....barely 151cm to be honest {maybe more like 150cm but 151cm sounds so much better!!}  I purposely take Miss 17 to the grocery store with me if I know that there will be a chance I will need things from the high shelves!!!!

3.

I hate bugs and spiders and flying things, oh and snakes.....yet sometimes I think how lovely it would be to live in the country lol !!!

4.

I love love love chocolate....like really love it!

5.

I could travel forever!  I love packing for holidays, arriving at new destinations, finding my way around, living out of suitcases, packing again.....I love it....perhaps I should be a gypsy!

6.

I love the beach from an aesthetic point of view....not so much from a sand, sun and surf point of view!

7.

I sometimes think I would like to run a 5km fun run......but given that I have never even run anywhere {well maybe once for the bus some 25 years ago}  I'm not sure how this is going to happen!

8.

I like to be alone and I like silence......make that I love silence.  So when I am home alone I don't usually have the radio or the tv on....I just listen to the.....oh yeah....the silence!!!!

9.

I love all things rustic, vintage, antique and shabby chic.  

10.

I start craft projects at a much greater rate than I finish them!!  In fact I never really finish them!

11.

I can cry at almost anything!!!!

12.

I have no idea where our forever home should be.  You should know that stuff by this age shouldn't you??  My first choice is a castle in France....which I may have mentioned numerous times this week on various internet posts...obsessed much!

13.

I love maiden hair ferns......but cannot get one to flourish in the spot that I want it in my house.  So I may have replaced it with a new one a few times when it has died {bit like parents do with their kids goldfish....sshhh don't telly anybody!!}

14.

I have a very low pain threshold....I think.paper cuts hurt.....a lot!!!!!

15.

I love Elvis, The Beatles, Beach Boys....ok there I've said it!!!  

Okay so I am really struggling now !!!!

16.

I just adore newborn babies....as in I must hold every newborn baby that I see!!!  I love them!!  Newborn is my favourite stage....those first six weeks I love them. Haha do you get the idea!!!

17.

I am really, really good at time wasting!!!!!

18.

I'm a follower, not a leader.  I hate to be the first person into the theatre or cinema and having to decide where to sit!!!!

19.

I don't swear very often....well out loud anyway {in my head might be a different story some days!!}

Woohoo!!  I made it!!!

20.

I wear jeans way too often....in fact I would wear them every day {okay sometimes I do!!}

That was a bit of a struggle !!  But there you there you go....20 things you might not have known about me!!   You know that as soon as I hit publish on this post I will think of a dozen better things I could have written!!!!!

I'd love to get to know you all a little better so do tell me a little something that I might not know about you...go ahead, don't be shy!!

Every Single Time

My eldest daughter is in Year 12.....that means I am in my 13th year of being a school mum. And do you know what??

Even after all of these years I still {stupidly} think that I will get so much done in the school holidays......EVERY.SINGLE.TIME !!!!

As the holidays approach I start to think about all of the cleaning and sorting, the culling and re-organizing that I can do in the break.  I anticipate the baking that I will do, the homemade school lunches and snacks that will fill the freezer.  I get hopeful, enthusiastic, eeek even a tad excited!

Then the holidays arrive and I say I'll give myself a few days just to ease into things, you know give myself a well deserved rest for surviving some 10-11 weeks of school.....all that lunch preparation, afternoon snacks, uniform washing and ironing, the early morning kid wrangling!!  This little rest very quickly turns into a much loved pattern of late night television viewing followed by cosy morning sleep ins.  This pattern goes on way too long, to the point where I have to get myself to snap out of it before school goes back!!

The last few days of the holidays I almost manage to get productive....almost. But hey it's basically too late now so I might as well just rest for these last few days before the mayhem of school starts again right?  After all I'll be needing my strength to get through the new term.

So what at times in the previous fortnight felt like an eternity now feels like the blink of an eye!  The school holidays are over and lo and behold I have done absolutely nothing that I intended to do.

Sunday afternoon sees a desperate search of the house for school shoes and library book...{hmm if we'd actually cleaned up the girls rooms in the holidays like I had intended to do this wouldn't be happening now!} Crap did anyone have homework they had to do.....where the heck is their homework book?? Sunday night sees a last minute dash to the supermarket to grab lunch box food as that intended bake off never happened.

School goes back and we fall straight back into the routine of lunches and uniforms, homework and assignments, then some 9 weeks later my thoughts turn to the upcoming school holidays and once again I envisage how much I will be able to get done.....all of the cleaning and sorting, the culling and re-organizing, all of that baking and cooking.....

EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.

So tell me....are you productive with your school holidays or 

do you take advantage of the time to rest (like me lol !!)

Easter Has Come and Gone.

So Easter has come and gone.  

And what was my favourite thing about the Easter break?

Was it sleep ins? Family gatherings?  Easter eggs?

In actual fact my favourite thing about the Easter break was the chance to relax and pause my money worries for a few days.....that's the great thing about public holidays and weekends....not having to monitor bank transactions constantly to make sure all debits can be covered, not having to transfer money from this account to that because a payment is going to come out. 

Though copious amounts of chocolate did come a close second!  ;-)

But now the break is over and it is back to the usual money monitoring worries which is ever so draining and exhausting!

Last week I wrote a bit about our struggles to make ends meet, you can check that post out here.

Following on from that post I heard from many of you that you too suffer similar financial difficulties and many of you appreciated a story that you could relate to.

I have been reading a lot in books and on the internet, looking for ways to make money, ways to save money.  Looking for tips and ideas, anything that I can find to help improve our situation.

So I've decided to have a bit of a focus on finances and will be putting together a little series called  'Our Finances Suck' and will write regular posts on what I read and what I learn along the way in the hope that it will not only be of benefit to me but maybe to some of you as well.

I have also lined up a few guest bloggers to write some posts for the series as well....better than just hearing me ramble on right!

Here's hoping we can put an end to our financial worries this year and even move forward in improving our situation!   How else am I going to be able to afford me a castle in France one day!!

I'll try not to make it too boring....I promise....because if we don't laugh along the way we'll probably cry lol !!!!

So stay tuned for part one of 'Our Finances Suck' next week!

What are your biggest financial worries and problems?  

Is there anything you would like to see the 'Our Finances Suck' series include?

Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT

10 on 10 Photography Circle - April

School holidays are upon us and in between the plentiful rain showers there have been moments of sunshine.

Miss 10 and Miss 6 ventured outside in one of the bursts of sunshine with their bubble mixture and a great photo opportunity arose....in fact I think I am now a bit obsessed with photographing bubbles!!

I love how something so simple can provide so much fun...for all ages!  And now I love the thrill of trying to actually catch a bubble in my photo.....because there may possibly have been a few hundred photos taken that were just sky, or grass or the back fence....it is so frickin hard to get the bubble in the photo lol !!

So here are a few of the better photos captured....

Oh and I have just discovered (after like two years of using blogger!)  that if you click on the first photo all the photos featured in this post will come up in a pop up window and give you much better detail...who knew!  But make sure you read through til the end to follow the 10 on 10 blogging circle...there is a great showcase of talent to see!

Eeek the photo I have been bursting to show you! Pun totally intended!
The moment the bubble burst!!!

After blowing bubbles became for my photo taking pleasure
rather than their own enjoyment they quit!

Bubble wands abandoned until their memory of this day fades!!

Once again all of my photos were taken on my iphone and using the Sony Smart Lens....I love that lens!!!

Please check out the other blogs in this photography circle....there's a lot to love in our 

wonderful group....  

I am linking to Fleur over at  Our Urban Box    

Be sure to check out her great photos for this month

by clicking here

Dear Noel...

Hi Noel,

Don't you just love a letter from a random stranger....but do read on....I'm promise that I'm not totally crazy (yet)!

So you see 'Noel Fielding' has become a bit of a household name around here....our second daughter has watched a few of your comedy shows and really loves your style of humour.  Now we must watch Never Mind The Buzzcocks on a weekly basis (and clearly we are out of sync here as we just watched a Christmas special last week!!)  Often she just throws random Noel facts at us at dinner!  You see she loves comedy and loves art....common ground!

Here's the thing....you know how teenagers rarely leave their rooms and would rather be seen dead than be seen out in public with their parents....yeah well that pretty well describes our daughter.  If it weren't the need for food and toilet breaks she would probably never leave her room!  Seriously we could almost leave her behind at times if we weren't focused!!   Imagine how inconvenient going to school is for her!

Uncharted Territory....

So today is Good Friday....and it is the first Good Friday that we have not all been home together doing Eastery stuff.


Miss 17 is doing work placement at the Easter Show (she has to complete work placement hours to complete her Entertainment course for the HSC)  and has a shift today and tomorrow.

I know it's nothing major but it just led me to thinking about how this will be the way of the future for us with our eldest turning 18 this year.

We are entering uncharted territory for us as parents.  We've had a lot of practice at the newborn thing, we've coped with the toddler stages and we've managed some sort of routine in the school years.

But this will be different.

This will be the stage where we have to let go more and put a lot of trust in the fact that we have taught the girls well enough for them to make good choices.

This stage scares the sh*t out of me!!!!!

There'll be more days that used to be spent together now being spent apart as the girls develop more independence, get jobs and having growing circles of friends.

There'll be boys and cars and boys driving cars.  There'll be access to alcohol, potentially access to drugs.  There'll be people that we don't know, places we haven't been.  There'll be night clubs, pubs, parties......can you hear me freaking out a little!!!!!

Thankfully at the moment Miss 17 is just focused on the HSC, school and soccer. But when the HSC is done a whole new world will await and a whole new stage of parenting will begin.

Wish me luck....I'm way scared!!!

Have you parented through this stage yet or is it still to come for you? 

 Do you have any tips for me?