Sensational salsa!

The weather here has been so average all summer, and of course as soon as I go back to work the sun comes out and suddenly we are all sweltering! Nothing is better than fresh and crunchy foods for dinner when the weather is hot so I decided to make wraps last night. On the spur of the moment I decided to whip up some fresh salsa, and boy was it tasty!

Fresh salsa for chicken and salad wraps

INGREDIENTS
1 can of supersweet corn kernels, drained thoroughly and rinsed
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tomatoes
Half a bunch of coriander
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of one lime

METHOD
Dice the tomatoes and chuck it in a bowl with the corn kernels, coriander leaves. Juice the lime into your bowl and add the garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix it all up well and leave it to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to get friendly. If you have some fresh chilli then that would make a great addition if you like it spicy.

Easy, right? I served it with some poached chicken, lettuce, and hummous with some flat bread wraps. Then there were leftovers so I made a salad for lunch today with the leftover chicken, salsa, and lettuce. No need to dress it as the salsa juice made it way tasty.

This week I discovered- Doug Up On Bourke.

Ok, alright, it's a total lie; I discovered it ages ago! But this week I took my Mum to Doug Up On Bourke so that she could discover it, so that counts. Doug Up On Bourke is the place to go in Sydney if you're hunting for anything 'vintage industrial'. I never leave empty handed!

Image: Doug Up On Bourke

It's not hard to lose a couple of hours exploring the huge space; with everything from industrial furniture to antique medical equipment, stuffed camels to mason jars, vintage drink crates to a crazy selection of pre-loved bird cages, kitsch signage to a barrel full of shoe lasts, the list goes on and it is an adventure to say the least!

The business is family owned and run and most of what they have has been restored lovingly and beautifully in keeping with its past. Just remember: if you plan to visit plan, to be a while!

We dug a hole!

What a way to spend a good chunk of your weekend, eh? Especially when after all that effort it looks like, well... not much! In preparation for having our turf laid this week we had to dig a hole so we can install the fish pond.

We dug a hole

It took us hours! Certainly not as easy as it sounded when our landscaper asked me if we could do it over the weekend to save time. The ground was muddy and full of bricks and clay and stuff, and I got blisters all over my hands- clearly I am not cut out for hole digging! I guess it looks smaller in the photo than it is in real life, we emptied out 14 wheelbarrows full. Can't wait until the fish pond is in!

Housiversary winner!

We have a winner for our "Housiversary" giveaway. Congratulations to Amanda Schultz! I hope you enjoy the photographs. Thanks to everyone who put in their entries, giveaways are fun!

A fence and a deck, well almost.

We've had a bit of progress with the yard in the last couple of weeks with the landscapers putting in the retaining walls and levelling the new tiers for the garden. It is really amazing, the yard looks as though it has doubled in size and the space is so much more user friendly than before.

The backyard levelled out

We have also had a new fence put in as the old was was in a serious state of disrepair with many palings missing and most of them broken. The new fence is 6 foot, whereas the old one was only 5 foot, thus giving us more privacy from the neighbours and making  the yard more dog-friendly. This is one step closer to us being able to adopt some doggies, so we are pretty excited about it!

New fence!

It is difficult to make out from the pictures but we had to dig a big dispersion pit as overflow for our water tanks because when our plumber went to connect it up to the one that was supposed to be there already he found nothing!  We have had garden beds built all the way around between the retaining walls and the fences and we intend to plant some hedges to give us a bit of privacy and make the yard look nice and green.

The deck, about two thirds complete

The deck is going to be one of the best bits of the house, it is huge! It flows straight out from the living room and then steps down in to the yard, I can't wait until we can entertain out there. The hope is that it will be finished this week and the landscapers can come back in and lay the turf next week. Also our new ensuite is just about ready with the shower screen arriving either late this week or early next so we can finally stop showering in a hallway!

Fabulous vintage stamps

Michael and I went and did a spot of shopping recently in amongst a bunch of running around we had to do  and came across an awesome shop that I've been meaning to go to for a while now. David Met Nicole in Surry Hills is full of amazing vintage and industrial bits and pieces, just my style!

Vintage rubber stamps

We spent about half an hour sifting through a giant barrel of these amazing vintage rubber stamps and letterpress/ printers blocks.We managed to find a few stamps that we are planning on using for bits and pieces for our wedding stationery, including one that says 'for' in the most delicious typeface. I can't wait to use them!

Also, there isn't long left now until I draw the winner of the giveaway; make sure your entry is in it to win a framed diptych of vintage inspired photographs.

Childhood sweethearts, a way-too-cute story.

We've just sent off our Save The Date cards in the post, its a bit exciting! I know it's a bit late to be sending them out, but seeing as the wedding is just over three months away and I haven't even thought about designing the invites yet, we decided it was worth it! We chose to make a postcard and ordered them through moo.com.

The front of our postcard

The back of our postcard

The reason that there is a school photo on the front is that we actually went to primary school together! It's a bit of a strange love story; we met in Year 4 when I was the new kid in town and we lost touch in Year 6 when Michael left to go to another school. We found each other about 4 years ago on Facebook, went for a coffee one night to catch up and, well... now we are getting married!

Our mushy proposal story only adds to the pukey-cute, lovey-dovey-ness of it all! It's a bit of a sweet story, hey? He admitted early on in our relationship that he had a bit of a crush on me in primary school, and I think maybe you can see it just a little bit in the photo. Can you believe that we are actually standing next to each other? That's us in the top row behind the teacher. Amazing!

Ready to roll

Wordless Wednesday- in the yard.

Dino the bricklayer

New pipes for the water tank

Teeny little bobcat

PS Don't forget to enter our photography giveaway!

Possum success!

You may remember that we've had a few issues with possums living in our roof cavity. We tried giving them a possum box to move to, but they preferred to stay in the spacious, warm comfort of the roof cavity. Every morning we would go out to the extension and find possum poop everywhere. We came up with a plan about how to lock them out once the doors and windows were all in, and after a few false starts we did it!

Can you see her little ear there?

We did hear them trying to get back in for the first few nights and that made me feel totally awful but eventually we know they found their new home because we have seen two of the possums using the box. It may not be as luxurious as having a whole roof cavity to themselves but it certainly is a warm and safe home for mum and her bub!

Don't forget to pop over and put your entry in for our dear little 'houseiversary' giveaway!

5 tips for an organised life in 2012!

This year I need to be organised, it's already shaping up to be a super busy year and I could easily find myself totally swamped if I don't make a big effort to be on top of everything. I decided to make this list not only to share some of the tips for leading an organised life that I've picked up over the years, but to help remind myself to stay on track!

Small Cute Diary from Kikki K

1. Keep a diary. Whether it is a fancy new phone app or a regular diary, it saves your brain from trying to remember a billion dates. Last year I tried a technological approach and it so wasn't my thing. I hated that I couldn't check my calendar while talking on the phone (hard to make an appointment when you don't know if you're free!!), there was no weekly view, my 'to do' list had to be totally separate, and I just missed the feeling of a 'pen and paper' book! 

This year I've kitted myself out with a cute diary from Kikki K that's small enough for me to carry around in my handbag, has a removable notebook for making my lists, and is adorable enough that I will remember to use it!

2. Make a list, check it twice. I'm a huge fan of the 'To Do' list; not only is it satisfying to cross things off once you've finished them but it helps me to remember everything that I need to do. Santa was on the right track when he started checking his lists twice. First you do what's on the list (or at least some of it) and then you check that nothing else has popped up as a result of the things you've already managed to do! If so, add them to the list.

3. Chunk your lists. Making a To Do list is a great way to get all your ducks in a row, but sometimes it's a little overwhelming when you have things like 'Renovate house' or 'Organise wedding' on there. Those are not one task, rather a goal that requires many (hundreds!) of tasks to get it done. Break it up into individual tasks; it looks daunting at first when there is a page-long list but as soon as you start doing all those little things and you get to cross them off it's worth it. Also it helps you remember the small things.

4. Prioritise and delegate. Will the world end if this one thing doesn't get done? Then put it on the back burner and stress less about it. If it's something that you could ask someone else to do for you (mum, partner, bestie etc.) then go right ahead. If you'd be willing to help someone else out when they are super busy then surely you know some people that would be willing to do the same for you! Sometimes it's worth paying for services that you could do yourself if it's going to save your sanity.

5. Chillax. You can't do everything. Nobody can possibly do everything! The more you stress the harder it is to get to get stuff done, and even the busiest of people need some relaxation time. Burning the candle at both ends will get you nowhere. Sometimes I put fun stuff on my ToDo list as a kind of reward for getting through tasks, or schedule leisure time into my diary by having a coffee with a friend etc.

So there you go. I have a 4 page long To Do list sitting here next to me at the moment and I've planned my day so that I can get about 10 or so things crossed off it. Wish me luck! Do you have any more tips to share about how to lead an organised life?

Don't forget to enter our 'Houseiversary' giveaway for your chance to win some of my framed vintage-inspired photographs!

How times flies- "Houseiversary" giveaway!

It's official; it has been a whole year since we moved in to our dear little house, how time flies! What's the best way to celebrate a 'houseiversary'? We are having a fantastic photographic giveaway, of course!

Film: Fuji Velvia 100F      8x10 Enlargements

The prize is some of my work; a professionally framed diptych featuring two photographic enlargements, numbered and signed. This is the real deal people, old school; analogue camera, actual film, photographic enlargements... and they're photos of a vintage typewriter!

Framed with a simple black frame and matte, it would be a gorgeous vintage-feel addition to any decor. The cross-processed Velvia film gives a richness and warmth to the photographs, and the short depth of field creates interest with the precise and intricate nature of the typewriter contrasting with the soft focus and grainy film quality.

All you need to do to enter is share a link to Dear Little House on your own blog, Facebook page, or Twitter. You can enter as many times as you share the link, just pop back over here and leave a comment on this post to tell us that you've linked!
Entries close at 6pm (AEDST) 18th January 2012 and the winning comment will be drawn by random number generator. Open to all readers internationally. The more entries you have the higher your chances of winning, so link away! The winner will be contacted by email, so if you don't want to log in to enter please send me an email (see the 'drop us a line' tab at the top of the page) to let me know which comment is yours. Prize valued at $300 AUD.

Remember, your comment on this blog post is your entry. Good luck!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED, THANKS FOR YOUR ENTRIES!

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a fantastic New Year! 2011 has been great, but here's to moving into a bigger and better 2012. We were lucky enough to be at a friend's apartment last night with the most fantastic views of Sydney harbour in all her beauty; we are so lucky to live in such an amazing city.

I took a little video if the last minute of the fireworks display on my phone, it's a little shaky but you get the idea- so Happy New Year!

Look forward to the challenges and relish the opportunities that the new year can bring! Clear out, clean up, and set yourself up for an amazing 2012. We're about to head off for a swim to clear the cobwebs and usher in a fresh and invigorating year.