Sunday Afternoon

A lovely afternoon gathering at my Dads house, for my Sisters Birthday.
Lifes good!!

School Holidays

Weve been pretty quiet here at Number 6.
The children were tired at the end of Term.
I like the holidays to contain plenty of down-time so they can recharge thier batteries.
But, we have been to the movies, watched a few DVD's, read, knitted, skipped, and played netball on the local courts.
Yesterday we went on a bush walk in Chambers Gully.

 Took some friends and a picnic.

                                    
 Saw 16 Koalas along the way.

 And an Echidna.

 We got caught in a Thunderstorm, much to the little ones horror!

 On to Waterfall Gully for hot chocolate to warm up.

School holidays coming to a close.
Its good and bad.
Ive enjoyed sleeping in and not changing out of my PJ's until 11am.
But, my baby starts school next week, so Im cuddling her a little closer whenever I get the chance.

Butter Chicken

This is the second chicken curry recipe Ive put up on the blog.
But this one got rave reviews and My Mate has declared this on the best curry ever!!

Butter Chicken

6-8 chicken thighs, diced
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp curry powder and garam masala
1 tsp ground ginger and cumin
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup cream
fresh corriander, chopped.

Fry the chicken thighs is a little oil, until cooked.
Tip into an oven proof dish with a lid.
Fry off onion in a little oil until softened, add spiced stir to release flavours.
Add soup, stir and add to chicken.
Pop in the oven 180C, with the lid on, for an hour or so.
Stir through the cream.
Back in the oven for 30 min.
Serve with rice and sprinkle of corriander.

I added a diced potato and a handful of chopped green beans into the pot this time.
Also serve with mango chutney, cucumber raita and papadams.

Sewing classes

Ive been teaching a friend to sew.
She doesn't really need much teaching actually, she's pretty good.
In fact she's already attempting things Im not sure Im good enough to sew!

In return she's teaching me to knit.
Perfect weather to knit at the moment.

Ive knitted both girls a neck warmer to wear to school.

Pretty quick and easy.
And now on the needles Ive got myself a larger cowl in 2 different colours of the softest Italian merino wool.
Hope it turns out!

What I like most about knitting is that you have to sit!!
With 3 kids I usually dont get much time to sit.
But its been "sit and knit" here for a few weeks!!

I borrowed every good knitting and sewing book from the local library today.
Plenty of inspiration to flick through over the weekend.

Busy Busy

First up, the Homemade Dishwashing Powder is unreal.
Not only is it a 1 minute job to make, but it cleans the dishes as well, if not better than the comercial powder.
I will be sticking with this one.


Knee deep in Party preparation here at Number 6.
The youngest, but by no means the quietest of our Family has turned 5 and is SUPER excited.

There has been a surprise arrival of Nana from Sydney, a family birthday dinner with ice-cream cake, and a party is planned with 12 little 3-5 year old munchkins and an unreal face-painter.
The level of excitement has reached fever pitch and is about to boil over in a sugar induced meltdown any time now.
Ive had these pinned on pinterest from cutefoodforkids.com

Too easy to make, taste great, and look good on a huge white plate.

The kids dont care what it looks like.... but I do.
the fact that they taste great is a massive bonus.

I will be arrainging them on the large white platter, maybe in rainbow order of course, in all my spare time between now and the party!!

Dishwasher Powder and Liquid Hand Soap

I made the Dishwasher Powder today.
recipe from onegoodthingbyjillee
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup citric acid
Mix it all together in an air tight container.

Cost = $3.87 for 625g
Not too bad I dont think.
I have'nt used it yet, but will be putting a load on tonight to test it out.
Hope the DW does'nt spontaneously combust!!

I also made some liquid hand soap.
recipe from homesteadrevival
225g soap
3.8L water
2tbs glycerine

Cost $4.50 for 3.8L
Now that is 0.30c for 250ml
Total winner.

Its good, but it doesnt lather up as much as the store bought variety, but I think that may have something to do with the soap I used.
For the price Im really happy.
Grate the soap.
Mix it into your water, add the glycerine and mix over medium heat to melt.

It thickens up over a few hours as it cools.
My kids loved stirring it and watching it.
When cool, fill up all your soap dispensers and store the rest.

Wall Art

I bought this IKEA fabric ages ago with this project in mind.

I was de-cluttering my magazine collection.
I have Real-living since its inception in 2007!
I have always kept them for their good ideas....but never seem to have looked at them since.
So, Im going through them and tearing out the ideas I like and making a sort of design folder.
Pinterest in hard copy if you like!
Because hours spent on Pinterest are just not enough!!
When I saw this I knew I should get on with it and give it a go.

Off to the local discount art supplier for a canvas.
I bought a 91.4cm square one, $35. ( really 91.4!!!! couldn't possibly make it 1m??)

I ironed the fabric.
Already had my own staple gun.
The rest is history.



Hall way BEFORE


AFTER