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be still my beating heart

a little bit of kitchen lovely going on here...

glass fronted cupboards, open shelving, big wide kitchen bench, stacks of storage, streamlined appliances, a little stainless steel here and there...yummy!

straight into my dream kitchen file, oh yes! 

from here

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Home : Garden makeover

We've just transformed our courtyard style back garden from bland to grand, drab to fab and I'm so excited with it!

We knew that it could be turned into a really good looking space to relax and enjoy our little piece of the great outdoors. We just had to find a landscaper who shared our vision and one that shared the vision within our budget. 

I knew that once we got rid of that hedge that was blocking out so much light, the dated federation red pergola and most of the bland grey pavers and replaced them with a some turf, a deck and lots of lush green plants it would look pretty special and so much more appealing...

...pretty special right? I couldn't be happier : ) 

We did a lot of the prep work ourselves and then called on the creative and very talented Jules from Tree Of Life Landscapes who took our sketches and made it all come to life! 

If you happen to be looking for a landscaper in Sydney then I couldn't recommend Jules and his team highly enough. 

And really, the results speak for themselves. 

See, I told you...drab to fabbo! 

We've got a bit more tweaking to do, like paint the fence, take down the curiously placed lattice (still trying to figure out why it's there) and I have to try to talk the hubster into a new table & chairs & nice big market umbrella. We thought about selling the spa but the kids are looking forward to using it as a plunge pool now that their back garden looks so much more inviting!  

Now to do a little online browsing for some new all-weather outdoor furniture! 

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Our courtyard garden makeover starts next week (weather permitting - fingers crossed) and we can't wait!  Here are some before photos. It's currently such a drab, yucky space, so bad in-fact that no one wants to go out there.

We took out the huge murraya hedge that was separating the courtyard into two sections and cutting out a lot of much needed light. We've had a couple of the skinny and very dead gum trees removed and even just doing this has really opened up the space. Soon we will have a lovely outdoor room (sans old dated red pergola) - a deck,  some turf and lots of greenery...it will be oh so loverly!! 

So looking forward to this space being turned into something much more usable and aesthetic...and puppy friendly! Yes, yes...puppy! Our long awaited for puppy will be arriving very soon...so much excitement happening around here : ) 

More photos to come after the backyard blitz! 

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home inspiration

French doors...I am officially in love with you! 

We have some lovely big windows in the rooms on either side of our front door. For a while now I've been thinking it would be great to (one day) convert them into French Doors - hello summery days opening out onto the front veranda, lovely breeze gently blowing in...mmmm....nice! 

images via pinterest

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Kitchen Love

I'm still thinking kitchens, but have now downgraded to a kitchen makeover instead of a new kitchen...until the budget recovers from selling, buying, moving to a bigger house and landscaping! And considering it may be some time until our budget recovers, I've been searching out some kitchen remodelling inspiration. This one is really floating my boat at the moment! I'm loving that two tone colour scheme to the cupboards - so in love with that green! What a happy space to spend creative time in. 

Image via Apartment Therapy 

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Easter road trip

Good Friday saw us taking a road trip home to Southern New South Wales for some family time. It was a time of catching up with my sisters and also a time of making some tough decisions about our family home. Bitter sweet really.

We so don't want to sell the home we grew up in, but it's been almost 12 months since mum's passing and we really need to finally come to terms with our loss and grief and move forward. Selling the house will be a major step. We don't want to, but we know we have to. 

The next step is to have a clearing sale (in a few months) and then we can procrastinate over Winter - not a good time to sell. Hopefully by Spring we have come up with some plans as to what we could do with the house...a B&B perhaps! That way we keep it in the family. Anyhoo...lots of thinking to do.

Here are a few (!) pics from our week at home in the country...

Easter traffic leaving Sydney, not too bad so far! 

I haven't seen this country side looking so green for years, so nice to see.

Some amazing light coming through the clouds. Had to take a series of snaps...

A quick pit stop to keep the driver happy! 

The "wind farms" near Goulburn, almost home now.

I absolutely love seeing these golden fields. I know I'm home. 

Reading to mum! Got to keep up with the "Premier's Reading Challenge", even on holidays! 

Taking a stroll into town.

Walking down the path that this little guy's dad and I walked down many a time
hand in hand as high school sweethearts! 

Crossing the river and discovering a modern take on some aboriginal art.

Loving this glorious Autumn day.

Pointing out our beautiful architecture along the way....and giving a history lesson or two! 

My street! The street I grew up in. 

The gorgeous little chapel that I was married in. 

My girl, pretty excited to have found a "boom box" in the treasures
we cleaned out at Grandma's house! 

Also rocking her Aunty Lynne's naughty shorties found in a wardrobe from circa 1983! 

Little cousins, so sweet. 

"The Man Clan" as they became known, after a hard day's Working Bee in Grandma's house & garden.

Good morning sleepy heads! Easter morning and chocolate overload! 

The old Methodist Church next door. 

Enjoying the spoils of the Easter Egg hunt. 

"The Eggsplosion"! 

Some vintage finds from Grandma's haydays! 

Giving the "vintage finds" a good airing! 

Oh my goodness, we found my mum's wedding dress! 

The garden in need of some TLC. 

Taking the golf buggy for a spin around the paddocks! 

The bonfire.

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