Crochet Adventures: a Nest of Bunnies

I kid you not...I just googled "what is a group of bunnies called?" for the purposes of being accurate with this blog post title. Unfortunately Google doesn't have an definite answer so I picked nest as I like that one :-)

When I saw Leonie's Show and Tell post last week I realised I never actually blogged about these bunnies I made back at Easter time (nearly 2 months ago - argh!). They did feature in my Project Life pages at the time though. I got the idea from the Queen of Crochet herself (Lucy at Attic 24) and followed the tutorial by Janette at the Green Dragonfly.

The 1st bunny came together pretty quickly (over the course of a day with mother and household duties thrown in the mix) and I think he may actually be my favourite...

Here's his back with his fluffy pom-pom tail!

And peep-o! Here he is.

This little bunny went to live with Maria's son when I stayed with her in Christchurch.

Next up we have corporate bunny.... 

He has more space between his eyes to fit the big brain required to be a corporate bunny. He hopped off to live at hubby's work and was crocheted in the company colours.

And last but not least....

We have Easter Bunny with colours picked out by Mr Mischief himself. He was waiting by Mr Mischief's bedside when he woke up on Easter Sunday and he was happy to see his new hoppy friend!

To be honest, after crocheting 3 bunnies in the space of a few days I was all bunnied out and vowed not to make anymore! Now a few weeks have passed I won't say never but it will probably be a while before I contemplate another bunny!

I'm linking up with Show and Tell this week - why not head over and see what everyone else is making?

Project Life (Weeks 17 and 18)

 Time for another Project Life update...

Week 17 features a detox we did around ANZAC day, Mr Mischief being silly, some cakes, dens, a trip to the park and a summary of things that aren't featured in the photos

More park photos, G playing footie, my ANZAC poppy, some crochet bunting (you can read about it here at Deb's blog), some lovely library books and beautiful sunflowers

And here's the double spread.

 

Week 18: some lovely photos I took of Mr Mischief at the park at Seatoun, a parcel arriving from Nanny, doing puzzles with Daddy, saying hello to next doors cat and the blurred photo is a new workplace for me (I picked up some extra hours at the same company, different location)

The finished bunting before I sent it off, we took Mr Mischief for a ride on the train which he loved! We made him a superhero mask, some books I re-read (favourites from when I was a teenager) and the blank space is awaiting a photo from a Project Life crop! (Hopefully I will get a copy of the group photo - if not I took a photo of the view from the drive so can always add that!)

And here's the double spread.

The album is starting to look quite full. I was hoping to squeeze a years worth of photos in one album but may have to consider making it 2.

Click here to see all of my Project Life pages and I'll be back soon with more layouts!

Fishing for Paper Fish with Magnets

Over the weekend we turned one of our big moving cardboard boxes into a pretend fire engine. Mr Mischief had been asking about this for a while and we finally got around to making up the box and letting him loose. Once the excitement of the "nee-naw" wore off he was finding other fun ways to play with the box. He dragged over a dining room chair and a long-ish scrap of yarn and was laying on the chair pretending to "fish" in the box. All of his own accord - I can take no credit for this whatsoever!

But then a lightbulb flashed above my head! I remembered from years ago "fishing" using magnets and I was out of the chair searching through the junk drawer and random boxes.

I came up with some fish roughly cut out of paper scraps (with faces drawn on with a Sharpie) which I then attached a magnet to the back of. I was planning to cut up some of those flat type advertising magnets we had but actually found 6 plain magnet discs I could use. I attached them to the fish with some double-sided tape (where would I be without that stuff?!)

Next up we made the "rod" by attaching the strongest magnet I could find (I knew I was keeping my magnet stash for a good reason!) to a long piece of yarn using washi tape.

We used a blue plastic tray as a pond and arranged the fish inside it. We demonstrated the rod picking up the fish at a high, up close level to begin with and then pretty soon Mr Michief was off on a roll! We laid the pond on the floor and he sat/stood on the couch to catch his fish.

This activity was so quick and easy to prepare and entertained him on and off for the rest of the afternoon and evening. I have put it aside for now but will likely bring it out again when he's looking for something to keep him busy.

I'm not the best at planning out activities like this on a regular basis so find that jumping right in when the idea comes is the best way to introduce fun like this!

This week I am linking up with Miriam's Becoming the Mama I Want to Be. Why not head over for some other great parenting ideas and inspiring stories?

My Commitment to My Future

This is a little scary...
I promise to try not to bore you with lots of health and fitness talk (and especially depressing "I fell off the wagon" posts) and this may come as a surprise after yesterday's cookie recipe but here goes...

I have signed up for Round 2 of Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation.

The whole thing kicks off for real next Monday (13th May) and at the moment I am working through the Pre-Season tasks.

I am loving the concept of the plan so far as I really agree that I need to have my head in the right space to achieve weight loss and fitness goals. I got to the fourth pre-season task and may have stalled for a week...it involves what I am doing right now...putting my commitment to my future out there in public.
This is daunting. But it's time to shake things up and do things differently.

Many times I have started a health-kick and fizzled out in the first couple of weeks.
I've lost count of the number of times I've joined Weight Watchers to then not actually follow the plan and get more and more miserable each week when the scales showed what I knew in my heart - that I wasn't committed.

I like to think this time is different. I feel more determined. I am looking forward to trying the exercise options. I am keen for some more healthy meal ideas. And I am putting it out there in public.
I plan to give this a go. Commit for 12 weeks (that's only 3 months and these days that time period seems to go by in the blink of an eye!), get through Winter and come out the other side fitter and healthier and hopefully a few kg's lighter.

My commitment for the next 12 weeks is to follow the plan - find the time to do the exercise, eat the healthy meals and snacks and monitor my results.

I'm not posting a before picture or any stats here now because looking at them upsets me. But I will record them and in 12 weeks I'll be back here to show how far I've come.

I can do this!

Recipe: Simple Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's been such a long time since I shared a recipe on here so I thought it was about time. A colleague let me try one of these cookies this morning and gave me the basic recipe. I had to come home and give them a go this afternoon to see if they really were as easy as she said!

These cookies aren't particularly healthy but they are simple (only 4 ingredients), dairy free and pretty quick to make. They are also AMAZINGLY YUMMY!

Makes 12 (I halved everything and made 8 smaller cookies but they are still a decent size!)

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix it all together, dollop spoonfuls onto a baking tray and bake for 10-15 mins at around 175 deg.

Simple as that!

Great for those times when you need a plate of something quick and don't have much in. I usually have all these items in my pantry so I think they will definitely become the emergency recipe (so long as I know it's going somewhere with no peanut allergies).

Enjoy!

I'm linking up with Fun with Food this week. 

Why not head over and see what yummy food everyone else is making?

Project Life (Weeks 13, 14, 15 and 16)

More Project Life pages to share today...I'm amazed I have got this far and love that my album is starting to look half full :-)

For the most part I am completing my pages just after each week: I choose photos on a Sunday, print them on a Monday and then make the pages usually on the Monday or Tuesday.

The pages usually come together pretty quickly. In fact, the trickiest part seems to be taking photos of the pages and cropping them to load here on the blog :-) So I think I will continue to share my pages here each fortnight or month rather than weekly.

Here's a look at weeks 13 to 16...

Week 13 was the week leading up to Easter weekend so my pages feature lots of crochet bunny's as I made 3 in one week! Also included is the canvas and some of the packaging it came in from Maria, a beautiful morning sky and a picture and song words from Mr Mischief's kindy production.

Over Easter we went to Te Papa, the Chocolate Fish Cafe and explored Houghton Bay Beach.

And here's the full spread.

Week 14 - I found my Instax camera and snapped a picture of Mr Mischief (accompanied by the tag from the Thomas pyjamas he got from Easter), we took the bus into town to meet hubby for lunch, we had a  lunch outside (to enjoy the good weather) and I found an awesome book in the local bookshop featuring activities for each season.

On the other side - I got new shoes (!), we got a Chuggington set with some FlyBuys points, I crocheted a baby hat for a work colleague and made some progress on my ripple blanket, we finally made it to Maranui Cafe at Lyall Bay and I got into the spirit of the clocks changing by lighting candles and the oil burner.

Both pages together.

Week 15 was BlogCon week! On the lead up to the big weekend I made my swap partners name tag, we made chocolate cornflake cakes topped with Mini Eggs sent by my Mum in the UK, I picked up an awesome rainbow pencil plate at the supermarket, soaked up some sunshine and we built blocks with Nanny via Skype. (Also included is the monthly card I write with what Mr Mischief is loving, saying and doing).

The most amazing part of this spread is hubby's contribution! He took the 2 photos of Mr Mischief at the top when they went to the Life Flight Open Day whilst I was away in Christchurch. I got him to write the captions for each photo and he also wrote the black and white journalling card about what they got up to while I was away. It's fantastic to have his handwriting and thoughts captured in the album and hopefully I can convince him to join in again soon. 

Also on this page is the Famous Bloggers Panel at Bloggers Connecting, Mr Mischief looking all grown up when I got home and my name badge and "I'm kind of a big deal on my blog" postcard (designed by Stella for the BlogCon goody bags!)

Full Spread....

...but wait, there's more.... 

 

Of course, my weekend in Christchurch had to have it's own insert. I used a 9 pocket 4x4 page protector with a third cut off.

On the plane ride home I made good use of having my phone on flight mode and instagrammed my favourite 12 shots from the weekend. It was so difficult to pick just 12 but I think these ones tell most of the story (along with the panel one in the main pages above). 

The pictures and captions have been shared in this blog post so I won't write too much here.

Week 16 seems pretty mundane compared to the previous week but that's what this album is all about - showing every day life! 

On this page we have an Instax photo, a snapshot of my FitBit helicopter badge (for climbing 500 flights of stairs) and a picture of a pansy that came home with me from the garden centre.

Over the page: I finally got my work uniform and my boss snapped a photo so I sent it home to include in my album, I signed up for Michelle Bridges 12WBT (more on that to come!), we went to the Art section of Te Papa and saw the Firefighters challenge along the way. And in the bottom right corner that's movie tickets from a Sunday afternoon date with my husband (complete with wine and tapas at The Embassy - yum!)

And here's both pages together.

Wow - mammoth catch up!

You can see the rest of my Project Life pages here.

Adventures in...Christchurch :: Bloggers Connecting

I've had this post on my mind since I was in Christchurch which was 2 weeks ago now! I feel like I've written it so many times already (in my head) but actually sitting down and typing the words has been difficult. I've been distracted and found myself in hibernation mode a bit since the clocks changed. I always seem to slow down a little at this time of the year and coming home from the conference tired meant I was forced to take some time to be quiet and rest up. I'm now at the stage where I want to get more done including an update of this blog and share all the things I've been meaning to for weeks so here goes...

Wow, what a weekend!
On the afternoon of Friday 12th April I headed to Christchurch for the Bloggers Connecting conference. I arrived back at Wellington airport on the Sunday lunchtime and gave me wee boy and husband a HUGE hug.
The time in between was intense, busy, loud, exciting and a HUGE step out of my comfort zone.

Here are some of the things I want to remember...

Waving goodbye to these two for 2 whole nights. It was my first time away from Mr Mischief overnight but he had an awesome time with Daddy.

Meeting Maria - who kindly offered me a room at her house on the Banks Peninsula. It was lovely to meet her and her family and I really enjoyed climbing up the hill by her house in our pyjamas to see the amazing view on Saturday morning and all the talking on the car journeys everywhere.

We shared a lot of stories and it's wonderful to spend time with someone that has had a very different journey to get to New Zealand and great to still find things in common. 

Going back to Christchurch. My last time in Christchurch would have been January 2010 but I was there for work and didn't venture beyond the airport (I was seeing off a group of volunteers). I have fond memories of Christchurch and spending time there with my Mum and my hubby in 2008 in particular. I wasn't looking forward to seeing the city the way it is now but I am so glad I did witness it and got to hear such brave and heart-breaking stories.

Meeting Lauren - my swap partner (we made each other a name tag and swapped a small gift). It was lovely to meet and chat with Lauren after visiting her blog to come up with ideas for her name tag and gift.

The Famous Bloggers Panel and Saturday morning workshops. Amazing to see so many bloggers in one room and so strange to recognise so many people from their blogs but not know yet what their voice sounded like!

Spending Saturday afternoon at The Make Cafe chatting and crocheting in a seat by the window. The concept of this store is fantastic - the craft shop, the cafe and the classes on offer are a great combination and I'll definitely visit again when I'm next in Christchurch.

Meeting like-minded people and arriving at the C1 cafe on Sunday to discover I wasn't the only one ready to  get back into my hoody, jeans and allstars!

Seeing the surreal-ness of Christchurch. Looking across the city from the roof of C1 and struggling to find my bearings as so many of the landmarks are missing. But then spotting a car on the side of a building and taking a double-take and smiling.

So many genius ideas in C1 like the Harry Potter style bookcase/door which opened when you stepped up to it. And the water saving idea of a tap above the toilet cistern for washing your hands.

Taking a tour around the city with the people that have lived there for a long time. Listening to the stories and being able to reconcile the pictures seen in the media with what is actually there. And that's why I am so glad I went. The city looks broken in most of  the pictures seen in the media but there are so many other things going on. So many awesome people doing small things to make others smile. So much beauty amongst the rubble and the re-build.

Seeing a glimpse of some of the beautiful architecture that once filled the city - even if it is a little broken (look at the top of the spire).

Misty mornings and driving through beautiful scenic New Zealand.

Diggers, fences and trucks of rubble everywhere showing that people are want to re-build, get on with things and carry on.

Finding some pretty pansies growing in the CBD.

Beautiful building facades being held up with containers.

Beautiful Autumnal colours and blue trees.

Also not pictured but great memories...

* a look round the Friday night craft market and bringing a few things home and seeing familiar faces as I walked around

* walking into Miriam's house on Friday night to a houseful of chatting bloggers having fun

* a fabulous goody bag containing some lovely things to accompany me home

* dinner at Winnie Bagoes on Saturday night and watching everyone having fun with the photobooth

* chatting with bloggers that I've felt I've known a while through their blogs and swaps and emails (like Juliet from Tartan Kiwi and Megan from Mouse House)

It really was a wonderful weekend and the ladies that put all their time and effort into organising it did an absolutely fantastic job.

I am glad I went :-)