A new life....

Hi guys! I know I've been gone from blogland for a while (almost a year since my last post, wow where did that go?!) but I'm back with a new blog.......and a new (to us) big old farmhouse in the country that we are renovating. A new life for us and adventures in country living to share with you.........chickens and all! lol

So come on over and visit with my family as we settle in to life in a small Queensland country town at my new blog....The Country House.

www.ouraustraliancountryhouse.blogspot.com

(not sure why the link isn't working other than I am very rusty at blogging and have completely forgotten how to do a link! To view the new blog you can either click on the TITLE of this post or go to my profile page and click on the other blog called The Country House. Sorry!)

See you soon..........Amanda xxx

Puppy love & makeovers.....

Hi Ladies! Wow, I can't believe that a month has came and gone with out a new post from me. We're working on something big here at Jacaranda Cottage, and I would love to share it with you....and I will, but first we have to complete it. Can't wait to show you though as soon as I can!

In the mean time, let me show you what else has been going on around here of late...

like, look who's been growing!


and turning into a chubby bubby...lol


Little Miss Tia Tutu likes to sleep at the end of the kitchen bench so that she can be near her mummy while I cook and bake (which is most of the time).....


She's grown so much over the last 2 months.....too cute!


I love her little black face. She looks just like a little bat I think. Not that bats are particularly cute.....but Tia is!


LuLu and Tia just love each other so much, they really are great together, and being full blood sisters they look a lot a like and have similar personalities as well.....except that Tia is most definitely the BOSS!


They like to swap beds and sleep together in each others beds. Here's Tia bunking in with LuLu in her bed..........


and taking it over. Poor LuLu always gets squished.....but I don't think she really minds all that much......


and when LuLu has had enough of Tia hogging all the bed, she evicts her quick smart. That's when Tia comes crawling over to her mummy and decideds to take to take over my spot on the couch.......and my cushions! But I don't mind one bit....I love my Foxy ladies so much....


The cat, on the other hand, doesn't love those two Foxy ladies all that much and is quite happy when they're inside having a nap so that she too can sleep in peace...




the other thing I've been up to lately is sorting out, cleaning and making over another room. I think most people have a room in their homes that is their embarrassing, keep the door closed, catch all room....right? Well for us that room was our study. I did get in there and tidy things up from time to time, but somehow that room always looked like a whirlwind had gone through it most of the time. I also really hated the wall colour (painted that colour by the previous owners), but never got around to painting it..........


until now.......


now it's a nice place for me to sit on the couch reading a magazine while my husband is working at his computer. So that's it now for room makeovers I think......


unless I decide to repaint the lounge, dining and kitchen......and I'm very tempted to! lol Maybe in my next post I'll show you photo's of those rooms and you can help me to decide, ok?

Until then, I hope you're all well and having a wonderful weekend my dear friends.

Lots of love........Amanda and her Foxy ladies, LuLu La Rue & Tia Tutu xxx

2010 in review...........

Hi Ladies! How are you all? I'm sorry I haven't been around here much lately, or over to visit with you. Things have been very hectic for us so far in 2010.....

We kicked off the year with a double surprise party, 80 guests turned out on Jan 2nd to help us celebrate............


my mum's 70th and Eden's Sweet 16th birthdays! It was a wonderful night, our birthday girls were both surprised and very happy. All the guests had an awesome night and it was a night that we'll never forget.........


Then on Jan 14th it was Eden's actual birthday, with a few special gifts......


good things come in small packages they say, and Eden was delighted with the two smallest presents.....this ring and necklace. I had the necklace engraved as well, it says Eden on the front and Sweet 16 on the back.............


on the day of Eden's birthday my mum and I took her out to breakfast, then to the movies, then we went to a lovely little restaurant for lunch. After an afternoon spent shopping (birthday money burning a hole in Eden's pocket!), we came home and celebrated her birthday dinner with dear old dad, a pizza and this ice-cream cake...


for the night of the party I baked birthday cakes for each of my girls, Eden got mudcake with ganash topping, and my mum got a lemon cake with cream cheese frosting. So on the birthday night we were happy to take it easy after a big day out and have a bought ice-cream cake which was delicious!


then on Saturday night, as another surprise for Eden's birthday, John and I took Eden and my mum to The Outback Spectacular. Eden had absolutely no idea as to where we were taking her, as you can see by the questioning look on her face.......


and then the look of happy surprise as we drove in the Outback Spectacular carpark....lol


love the giant aussie flag flying proudly in the carpark.......


and the signage on the barn roof.......


Eden was a very happy young woman to be there. We have been before, 5 years ago when it first opened and enjoyed it so much we've all wanted to go back again. Now they've got a new show so I thought it was the perfect time to go again.....


in the waiting/bar area they have live entertainment with a guy singing country music and people doing line dancing, and you can also go and meet some of the horses from the show. In the background of this photo you might be able to make out the stalls. It was hard to get decent photo's because the place was so crowded......


we saw our chance and quickly snuck over to meet with one of the stars....lol


the guy was pretty good and played some really good music to keep us all entertained until the doors to the theatre opened.....


good old country boy......


the barn was huge and the walls were covered with lots of cool rustic country items....


and there were some good looking saddles hanging above the bar too......


the Outback Spectacular show was just awesome and money well spent. We all had a wonderful night, but best of all I believe that our birthday girls have each had a special birthday that they will never forget.

and our baby is happy.....especially since she sat for her driver's license today and passed her test with 100%! On the weekend we're heading for the country for some driving practise...........


Wish us luck! lol

Wishing you all a very happy day! See you soon........love Amanda xxx

Happy Sweet 16 Eden!

Happy Birthday to our beautiful girl, our darling daughter Eden. I can't believe that you are Sweet 16 already! I can remember so clearly the night you were born,it seems like it was just yesterday....... 3.02am Friday 14th January, 1994....7 pounds in weight and 56cms long. All arms and legs, gorgeous red hair and big brown eyes.....and that smile that melted our hearts and twisted your Daddy and me around your little finger instantly and forever...lol



Happy Birthday Eden, Dad and I love you so very much and we're just so proud of the young woman you're becoming.

Hugs and kisses.........Mum, Dad, LuLu, Tia and Julietta xxx

Is it still only January?!

Hi Ladies, Happy belated New Year to you all! Wow, so much has been happening here at our little Jacaranda Cottage over the last couple of weeks that it feels to me that we're a lot further into 2010 than we really are. Firstly let me tell you that the double surprise party we threw for my mum's 70th and our daughter's Sweet 16 went off with out a hitch and was truly a wonderfully magical night for us all! We had over 80 guests turn out for the party, and everyone seemed to have a terrific night, especially the birthday girls. We were all completely worn out the next day, but all that work was just so worth it, I'm really glad that we did it.

Then just after the party we had a funeral to attend for a close family member. Such a sad time, and one that has really rocked my mum and her sisters especially. We've also been dealing with what Princess would be doing this year, and helping her look into choices for her future.....schooling, college courses, working. Finally today we came to a family decision and now it's a mad scramble to get things organised for her. On Thursday Princess will officially turn 16, so we've got a lovely day planned for her birthday, then on Saturday night we're taking her out to a surprise destination as another part of her birthday present. Then next week I believe that we're going down to the Transport Department for Princess to sit her learner's driving test. I think we're all nervous and excited at the same time, although I'm the most nervous about having a learner driver driving my new truck! lol Oh well, that's why we have insurance........right? Right??

Anyway, after the party we finally got all the Christmas decorations put away and then it was time for me to start playing house...........with some newly acquired items.......


The wire rooster was a Christmas gift from my sweet hubby. I bought some raffia balls from the local dollar store to tumble inside for some texture.....


The lamp was bought in December from a yard sale, 2 lamps for $20. Bargain! The glass vase was thrifted for $3, the Paris plaque was thrifted, 2 for $5, and the dark round Paris candle was bought at the local dollar store from the throw out table for $2............


Here's the other Paris plaque, and the glass pears were also bought from the dollar store. They were the most expensive item at $4 each. The candle sticks in the background were also thrifted, painted white and I added some black candles to tie them in to the look.


Do you like it too? My taste seems to be changing yet again. A girlfriend of mine is just like me, with too many different tastes, and we're always saying that we need to have a few different houses so that we can decorate each one in a certain but different style. Now if we could only win the lotto it might happen! lol Until then, I'll just keep playing and changing things out here in our little Jacaranda Cottage!

Wishing you all a wonderfully happy week. I'll be around to visit with you soon, after Princess's birthday celebrations!

Love Amanda xxx

It's all over...and it was fabulous!

Hi Ladies! How was your Christmas? Ours was really wonderful, it's good every year, but this year was just the best one ever for some reason. We had lots of family over to our house over the 3 days. On Christmas Eve I roasted a turkey with all the traditional trimmings, on Christmas Day I baked a ham with all it's trimmings, then on Boxing Day I did a roast pork with all it's traditional trimmings. Whew! I was worn out by the 27th, and I actually fell asleep on the couch and slept for most of that day! lol Now we're busily preparing for the big BIRTHDAY BASH, the double surprise party that we're hosting for 80 people on 2nd Jan to celebtrate my mum's 70th and our daughter's Sweet 16th. I'm in a frenzy of cleaning and preparing to start baking (yes I'm making almost all the food myself from scratch for the party. I'm crazy I know!), but I wanted to stop by to say hi and show you some photo's from Christmas..........

presents scattered all over and crammed in anywhere there was an empty space....


I know the anticipation got to some.....but their wait was well worth it in the end!


the turkey was heavenly.....


and everyone, especially LuLu, looked upon it with delight!


we had desserts galore, including Princess's requested homemade Rocky Road ice-cream...


others wanted Christmas cake with their ice-cream.....


and delicious brandy custard......


presents were eagerly opened......


and enjoyed....


with sheer delight.....


and delicious.....


lip smacking......


abandon......


toys were played with......


energetically......


until they could be played with......


no more......


having a baby in the house for Christmas added so much to our already full hearts...


it makes my heart overflow to see my babies.....


sleeping....


dreaming.....of running wild with her devoted sister LuLu when she awakens...


and the chaos starts all over again! lol



So ladies, I'd like to wish you and yours the most wonderful New Year. I hope 2010 is a year of dreams coming true for you all.......



I'll be back after the big birthday party in the new year. Until then, take care and enjoy!

Love Amanda, LuLu La Rue & Tia TuTu xxx