Errm there was a girl on a broomstick flying around here yesterday…and as that sign up there says, there was a dangerous current…it’s been brewing…I have been busier than my normal busy, nice busy (choosing tiles and bathrooms and stuff for the summer house) but busy all the same and I had a bout of tonsillitis that of course, being the mummy and just getting on with stuff, I put it on the backburner and pretty much said ‘tonsillitis, I haven’t got time for you’.
That’s not always the best to do…note to self, when you get tonsillitis : rest…..and so last night, shattered, it all caught up with me and that old broomstick came out…
So today I am taking a day here to just potter while the deck comes along..it’s a lovely lovely Spring-into-Summer day, the sky is blue and the sun is shining.
Sometimes I seem to get overwhelmed with things on my mind, today I’m sitting back, though still busy, I’ll be focusing on the little things and the gratefuls…
On my list – making lemonade, spending time in the garden, trying a new pork recipe on the bbq and generally, I think just getting things, especially my head, straight…and to do that, I need to exercise…it will be down there on that beach…if you see a gal on a broomstick down by the seashore…come say G’day
See you tomorrow…
oh and I’d love to know what you do to get over Broomstick Days?????
Cheers lovelies
(more seaside coastal pictures at the BC Facebook page xo)
Mostly for me is just getting away from everyone. Sometimes just puttering around my favorite antique/thrift market, walking around a few of my favorite stores or escaping to my best friend Kate’s house. I always find understanding words and relaxed kicked back conversation.
lol, believe it or not I sit and read your blog(and Miss Mustard Seed blog). Then I just go through past posts of yours (and hers) and it usually puts me in a good mood. I find that my broomstick comes out when I am feeling un inspired and have nothing to look foward to/bored/sick. I also find going for a walk through some of my favourite streets or by the river usually puts me in a better mood (again I usually come back inspired by the gardens and refreshed by the breeze.
I hope you get better soon, I am just recovering myself (well the whole family is – very nasty)…
I clean…I huff and puff while I do it, mad sort of that it is always left to me to do, but in so doing I realize that I would rather do it then have it done ‘wrong’ (read not my way) and so the whole thing feels a bit like a reality check showing me that I am the one who is in control…of the good and the bad. That or I go hide in the bathroom and take a few breaths until it all passes me by…with little kiddos the bathroom is the only place to get a few…if I am lucky
Hope the broomstick can be put away and you feel better soon <3
I get rather overwhelmed too…. haha {I wonder why?}
What I do to get it sorted out…. depends how bad the broomstick is making me. If I’m just being awful to everyone around me & my husband is home…. I get in the shower, wash my hair and put myself to bed {it’s usually around 7pm by the time I could do that anyway… but a super early night is great}. I DO NOT drink alcohol to try to cope with “it”. I drink a tonne of water. PLAN what is for dinner and get all the small stuff done so the evening will flow smoothly, I lay out pi’s, clothes for everyone for tomorrow, make school lunches and so on…….. then enlist the help of those around me that are capable. I close curtains, turn off Nintendo’s and loud tv…… the smallest ones can watch something “naturey”……. and then I JUST GET EVERYONE TO BED….. including me!
but if I’m having a ‘broomstick day’ and I’m actually alone then I just sit back and enjoy my surroundings because I love my home and all the people in it… especially when they are NOT here and I am in a bad mood. haha
Well, you needed a hug from your Mum, a nice cup of chamomile tea, and someone to look after things for a bit. I had awful tonsillitis as a kid – warm salt-water gargle calms the throat. Hugs & get better soon…:D Oh yes….my witch slams cabinet doors, unless I’m too tired to screw them back on the cabinets after they fall off….. :O
Oh boy… that broomstick sure gets around doesn’t it? Just turns up from house to house to house, ha! Well I’m with the poster above, when I’ve had enough the whole crew ends up going to bed early. Don’t get me wrong, lights don’t actually go out until 8 for one and 9 for the other, but people are in bed with a book. The earlier the “Mom is Open” light gets turned off the better. Some variation of bath/bed/book/tv or blogs usually does the trick. Reading my “stories” (blogs) is an immediate escape. If it’s earlier in the day I try to get some exercise in, and if it’s in the afternoon I throw myself into making dinner (so now you know why my cutting board has such grooves cut into it). Love your beach photos…. so relaxing.
If a walk doesn’t cut the mustard then I take my book of the moment, read for a bit then have a nap – generally wake up with the broomstick tucked away in its corner! If broomstick is still lurking, best to stay in bed!
On broomstick days, I seem to end up with wine & pretzels!! And if I can fit in some DVD movie time, then great!! Garden therapy also works wonders (as you know!).
ummm, yell at my kids??? LOL.
hope you’re feeling better today. was thiking of you this morning as went shopping at the new Ikea Tempe. will post some photos later. ran through there in just 70 minutes and only $40 spent (driving past on my way to a meeting) . is that a record? …but am now thinking to need to go back!
cheers Fiona
I am sitting on the couch with a bout of tonsillitis reading your blog! Kids are all in bed so now it is time to rest…. my broomstick has been out today too. I lament the fact that mums don’t get to have ‘sick days’…. I’ve got to wait until the weekend to have a day of rest. and you can forget about exercising, I can hardly eat!
But at least I’ve got some lovely blogs to read while I rest at night
When my kids were little I would go into the bathroom and sit for a while, even get a good cry in to let things out. When they got older and needed some time I would get in the car and go for a ride and come back feeling better. Now that their grown and gone and need some down time I just grab a book or even some knitting put on some soft music and relax. Hope ur feeling better.
Ah Sarah, I am so glad that hey I’m just normal. I’ve pretty much had a broomstick afternoon and been feeling quilty about it. My poor babies got the worst of me. Not fair. I think I am off to bed soon, soon as the dishes are packed away. xx
Missed this post in my busyness of b’day baking and celebrations etc for my baby girl this week.
Sorry to hear about the tonsilitis, nasty stuff! Hope you are feeling much better.
I have a fantastic book by Louise Hay that talks about all the emotional reasons for illness and so perhaps the universe was trying to tell you something Sarah.
Slowing down and taking time for you is the way to go when it all gets too much.
I think I am at this stage after a hectic week or two.
I am going to go to the movies tomorrow night with a dear girlfriend to see “I don’t know how she does it.” I think I could write my own sahm version of that one with 4 kids!!
If we can fit in glass of wine and a chat as well then that will be the best way to keep my broomstick at bay for this week
G'day! I'm Sarah, I live in a tatty old cottage, near the sea in Australia with a battered old deck & a big old fig tree out the back...stripped wooden floors, old sash windows & a jumble of vintage furniture. [Read More …]
Beach Cottage ladies, we have some vintage linen and some wood/twig washed up on the beach today here in Beach Cottage Land….don’t say I don’t keep you entertained now will you . Come on in. So, yep I have posted about colanders on this blog, about things sourced from the side of the road, about [...]
G'day ladies, let's have a Too Easy Beach Cottage recipe yeah? The original place for Too Easy Recipes on the web ;-)
So, after my last salad went down a storm in my inbox, that's here if you missed it, I had to do this one seeing as I make it most weeks.
There is a problem with this salad and kiddos though...it looks, well, it looks, kinda yucky...but once they try it, they'll ask if and when they are next having it....at least that's what happens in this ratty old cottage...but I must interject here that my kiddos are 'good eaters'? ...they didn't get a choice in that ;-)
Now, stop, don't start running and hitting that next on your blog reading list, pulses are your best friend in the Too Easy Dump & Go kitchen for the busy mum, or busy anyone for that matter...that reminds me I must blog the garlic canneloni Go To for when you forgot to do dinner, feel like a bath but have three ravenous young Beach Cottage Kiddos on your hands...another day.
I am almost embarrassed to tell you how easy this is, we have it so much that I always have a couple, make that six, cans of lentils around and a jar of goat's cheese in the fridge...the great thing about this is that it's all too easy to get ready in just a few minutes, but it looks, tastes and seems like you did oh so very much more than that.
You can obviously too change it up a bit depending on what you have to hand in your kitchen, and I must say that is how I settled on this version...because one day when I made it I didn't have enough Parsley in the garden and so I chucked in some basil too, and liked the Summer feel it added.
I think of this as being a rather posh salad, not sure why, because it couldn't really be further from the truth...the great thing is that it works so well for an average run of the mill day, (when I did this for this blog post, it was a hot Sydney Sunday and I did it just simply to go with Rosemary & Garlic stuffed pork, you can see that pork here),
...but just as easily it works on a regular old Wednesday night when you have lost all enthusiasm for rustling up yet another meal, or indeed on Saturday night, when your friends are on their way over for dinner and you my friend, are in your new vintage inspired clawfoot bathtub (that's me in a few weeks time, k?) without any clothes on, a tipple and no idea what to cook for dinner...
I have a complicated and ever-changing relationship with goat's cheese...it never fails me in its performance and it never fails to impress me (you can find out a bit more on what I like in food here if you like) and I kinda collect it...because it's very easy to collect and has a fairly long fridge-life, I love trying out different ones and there's not many things I love more than goat's cheese on sourdough...but I think the best thing about it is not thinking about it exclusively in the toast/salad department...I've stuffed it in chicken and all sorts of things as a last minute and it's been fab.
But let's get down to the nitty gritty of this super salad that makes you look like an angel who has been on her knees all day scrubbing the front step when really you are in the digital world and spent most of ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, howdy, howdy howdy today for a Beach Cottage Too Easy recipe.
If you like cake, cream, sugar and chocolate, make this.
This is, rather than a recipe, a putting it together...as you know I am no dessert maker, but, I do make quite a few sweet things, because, somehow I have ended up with kiddos, who in their roles as offspring, believe that part of the deal, is that not only do I feed them a home-cooked meal with a few homegrown ingredients in there, yes, they also believe that dessert and not the kind that comes out of a packet is included too in this All-Inclusive Deal they call Parenthood.
So, this, for sure, is no culinary masterpiece, but if you are looking for something that is so very easy, dump-able, uses everyday ingredients and at the same time makes you look like you spent hours pulling things together plus tastes good....well, then this is for you.
Best though, you don't make this for yourself, if you have spent the most part of your week sitting on your derriere reading blogs...this my friend ain't low in the calories department...if, however, you are treating yourself to a delight in a mason jar, this is so for you.
I first had a version of this when at dinner back in Old Blighty with a girl, I once, in another life, caught the train up from our village to London with...she was a funny thing really...I am not quite sure how we got on...she was kinda prissy and a bit bothered by too much...I would run to the train flustered, having got up late, and she would have a spreadsheet on the train times, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, a few years later when we both had bambinos, I bumped into her again and we met up for playdates and dinner sometimes....this particular night, after a lovely meal she served up little bowls of creamy, cakey fruity stuff topped off with chocolate flake...it was delicious!
She didn't serve hers in little jars like this, hers were in a champagne glass and not quite so layered as these ones, plus she used tinned fruit not fresh or frozen.
Years later when said offspring kept requesting dessert, one day I wangled together somehow these from what was around in the fridge and they've been with us ever since.
Most likely, if you ever come here for dinner, and shock horror, you dont' bring the dessert with you, this, if you are lucky, will be what you will get.
Throw it all together, sprinkle a lil bit of chocolate on the top and the blog reading past-time you so rudely left in order to make this, is my friend, your oyster.
Beach Cottage Too Easy Layered Raspberry, Cream & Sponge Dessert
1 small maderia or butter cake or a pack of cupcakes (or of course make your own)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
8 tbsp fruit
1 x chocolate Flake or chocolate bar for grating
1. beat the cream cheese until it is soft
2. whip the cream until soft peaks form
3. combine & add the sugar through
4. cut your cake into portions
& layer into the bottom of your jar
5. add a tablespoon of fruit
6. layer on top the cream combo
7. repeat
8. grate chocolate or Flake on top
*Beach Cottage Recipe Notes : this is just a guide really, you can use any cream that you have on hand...I have made this with clotted cream (don't even go there unless you want to seriously get these babies on your thighs), with double cream and I have even, in desperate times squirted in that, ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, well I thought it was time for some blogging tips here today, alongside a few nice flowers and shells ;-)
I was recently part of a blogger discussion group over at Kidspot and a couple of hours later had a few questions from girls who couldn't make it to the live chat, one was on my Facebook page and one via email, the Facebook one I will deal with in another Real Girl Blogging Tips post...the email one asked me what essentials do I think every blog needs?
Well I have been around here for a while now doing the blogging thing, so I should know this, yeah and I mused this on my walk by the sea this morning I thought well what do you only need?
...I think it is really very easy when blogging, whether or not you are blogging up there in the lofty heights of the Super Bloggers or you are just dipping your toe in the water, to get side-tracked by 101 million different things that are 'essential' to your blog and if you are someone like me who actually gets a thrill from reading blogging tips then you are in an even worse place because you will find yourself literally buzzing with these essential things to add/do/implement on your blog.
However, walking along, gulping down that brisk sea air today (no sunshine & clouds) I thought you actually don't need any of that professional blogging stuff to be successful...but there are a few things that are pretty much crucial ...and once I started to think about it I got it down to about 5 - these are the only things that you need to concentrate on...once you have read through take a look at some of the big girl's blogs...you'll see that actually they don't have bundles of stuff on their blogs...but they do have all of these...
So here are my top things that your blog must have
1. About Page
There are all sorts of About Pages out there, and if you search on it there are many different tips and ideas for what to have on yours
Whatever blogging platform you use, adding an About Me Page is easy, quick and simple and will do everything to grow your blog.
I like a long-ish About Page, I am inherently nosy and I like to know a bit more about the person but at the least you should have on it your name and where you are located. I also think a photo is good too...over the last year or so I think this has become more important in blogging - if you are hesitant about that as I was, you can try using sunglasses or a behind shot until you get comfortable.
There is nothing worse than stumbling upon a new blog and going to find out more to only be faced with a piddly little one liner About Me Page...well there is something worse, not having one at all!
2. Contact Page
The chances are someone, somewhere will want to contact you and you will be surprised what lands in your inbox once you put yourself out there on the world wide web with a blog.
Many bloggers also use this page to include details for PR's/brands that may want to contact them and some bloggers put their stats on there too.
A short, to the point and simple Contact Page works really well...whenever I have wanted to contact another blogger I am often very busy and have limited time so I don't want to hang around sifting through information looking for an email address, so concise and clear ...
G'day lovely Beach Cottage lovelies.
So, yeah, so on a roll people, so on a roll.
I feel kinda home accessory wired right now.
I am always telling people, if anyone ever listens, that blogging is all about passion, not that sort of passion, but about passion that makes one tick.
Things like this make me tick tick boom.
I love finding things that suit my budget and let me treat my home but look amazing too.
So without further adieu I introduce you, ladies of the beach, to the blue vintage glasses that I have been stroking for about a week or two now...
These glasses are from a little boutique I sometimes happen upon, this boutique sells also pet accessories, carpet cleaner, bras and compost...it's quite unique though.
And, thanks to my friend Marnie (she blogs over here, go take a look at her praying position, interesting), who just so happens to be one day having me over for a lil' Greek dinner, has let me in on the fact that we call Kmart....The KMart...with an accent ....as in 'I love The KMart'...just like her MIL does. Oh yeah. Love that.
So I have had my eye on reproduction vintage glass blue wine glasses and being trying to find real true vintage blue glasses for like ever.
Oh yes I have spied them in Frenchy boutiques, I have lusted after them in stores that I shouldn't even enter and I have put them back pretty quickly in those shops with the hand-written price tags. C'mon, you know the ones.
And, though all of the above have tempted me, muchly, really, even with my wardrobe stashing skills I just thought that, actually, I'd rather be saving that casherooni for our next trip overseas..
Hello The KMart.
Tick Tick Boom
Vintage style blue wine glasses.
Do not come to my old place and think you might pick up one of these and smile with pleasure at their handblown quality, their weight, and be secretly jealous that my wine glasses cost more than your car...friend, that would not happen...these do not feel like that...indeed these in a funny way reminded me of my baby girl, she was a tiny little thing, with stick legs, the tinsssssssiest ankles and wrists you ever did see, she slept sideways in her cot wedged in between rolled up blankets and would only settle attached to Mr Beach Cottage or I or a (dirty) pj top of mine scrunched up under her nose...the first few times I picked her up to cuddle, being used to Honeymoon Baby who weighed in at 9lbs at birth and has never really stopped growing, I nearly threw her little bird-cum-rat down covered body over my shoulder.
These glasses are like that...be careful or you might lose your wine down the front of your shirt.
But oh baby, we are not talking picking up here, we are not talking quality, we are not talking house accessory snobbery.
Beach Cottage ladies, we are talking aesthetics.
And this is what I need in my cottage.
Blue vintage style glass, paired with coastal / nautical / beach stuff on my deck.
It's The KMart.
Tune in tomorrow, tomorrow, I have more budget foofing for your home, or maybe it will be the dress that wraps me up in supermarket-chic and makes me feel like me again.
Good Day to you my friends, wanna come hang out on my deck, talk house accessories, The KMart and drink some wine from blue glasses?
Sarah
I try to find time to read if at all possible, go for a run and most all screw the filter onto my mouth so I don ‘t have to apologize the next day
i need a filter! x
Mostly for me is just getting away from everyone. Sometimes just puttering around my favorite antique/thrift market, walking around a few of my favorite stores or escaping to my best friend Kate’s house. I always find understanding words and relaxed kicked back conversation.
Go surfing! Or swimming if thats not your thing.
lol, believe it or not I sit and read your blog(and Miss Mustard Seed blog). Then I just go through past posts of yours (and hers) and it usually puts me in a good mood. I find that my broomstick comes out when I am feeling un inspired and have nothing to look foward to/bored/sick. I also find going for a walk through some of my favourite streets or by the river usually puts me in a better mood (again I usually come back inspired by the gardens and refreshed by the breeze.
I hope you get better soon, I am just recovering myself (well the whole family is – very nasty)…
alice, a walk normally does wonders for me…I love looking at the streets and houses, especially early or late evening…xo
I clean…I huff and puff while I do it, mad sort of that it is always left to me to do, but in so doing I realize that I would rather do it then have it done ‘wrong’ (read not my way) and so the whole thing feels a bit like a reality check showing me that I am the one who is in control…of the good and the bad. That or I go hide in the bathroom and take a few breaths until it all passes me by…with little kiddos the bathroom is the only place to get a few…if I am lucky
Hope the broomstick can be put away and you feel better soon <3
thanks Jodi, love your bathroom trick haha
I get rather overwhelmed too…. haha {I wonder why?}
What I do to get it sorted out…. depends how bad the broomstick is making me. If I’m just being awful to everyone around me & my husband is home…. I get in the shower, wash my hair and put myself to bed {it’s usually around 7pm by the time I could do that anyway… but a super early night is great}. I DO NOT drink alcohol to try to cope with “it”. I drink a tonne of water. PLAN what is for dinner and get all the small stuff done so the evening will flow smoothly, I lay out pi’s, clothes for everyone for tomorrow, make school lunches and so on…….. then enlist the help of those around me that are capable. I close curtains, turn off Nintendo’s and loud tv…… the smallest ones can watch something “naturey”……. and then I JUST GET EVERYONE TO BED….. including me!
but if I’m having a ‘broomstick day’ and I’m actually alone then I just sit back and enjoy my surroundings because I love my home and all the people in it… especially when they are NOT here and I am in a bad mood. haha
hmm, I like your coping mechanism Susan! I don’t think I have ever been to bed that early in my life, I should try it…thanks
…the broomstick is back in the cupboard already now, thank goodness
Well, you needed a hug from your Mum, a nice cup of chamomile tea, and someone to look after things for a bit. I had awful tonsillitis as a kid – warm salt-water gargle calms the throat. Hugs & get better soon…:D Oh yes….my witch slams cabinet doors, unless I’m too tired to screw them back on the cabinets after they fall off….. :O
Oh boy… that broomstick sure gets around doesn’t it? Just turns up from house to house to house, ha! Well I’m with the poster above, when I’ve had enough the whole crew ends up going to bed early. Don’t get me wrong, lights don’t actually go out until 8 for one and 9 for the other, but people are in bed with a book. The earlier the “Mom is Open” light gets turned off the better. Some variation of bath/bed/book/tv or blogs usually does the trick. Reading my “stories” (blogs) is an immediate escape. If it’s earlier in the day I try to get some exercise in, and if it’s in the afternoon I throw myself into making dinner (so now you know why my cutting board has such grooves cut into it).
Love your beach photos…. so relaxing.
If a walk doesn’t cut the mustard then I take my book of the moment, read for a bit then have a nap – generally wake up with the broomstick tucked away in its corner! If broomstick is still lurking, best to stay in bed!
What a beautiful blue in the last picture!
On broomstick days, I seem to end up with wine & pretzels!! And if I can fit in some DVD movie time, then great!! Garden therapy also works wonders (as you know!).
I like to escape to my room with a good book, and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist for a while!
ummm, yell at my kids??? LOL.
hope you’re feeling better today. was thiking of you this morning as went shopping at the new Ikea Tempe. will post some photos later. ran through there in just 70 minutes and only $40 spent (driving past on my way to a meeting) . is that a record? …but am now thinking to need to go back!
cheers Fiona
the amount you spent is a record for sure! well done!
love how you did it on the way to a meeting haha
x
I am sitting on the couch with a bout of tonsillitis reading your blog! Kids are all in bed so now it is time to rest…. my broomstick has been out today too. I lament the fact that mums don’t get to have ‘sick days’…. I’ve got to wait until the weekend to have a day of rest. and you can forget about exercising, I can hardly eat!
But at least I’ve got some lovely blogs to read while I rest at night
I hate when I start feeling all stabby. My hormones fluctuate all the time which leads to many ‘broomstick’/'stabby’ days. Bah! Humbug.
When my kids were little I would go into the bathroom and sit for a while, even get a good cry in to let things out. When they got older and needed some time I would get in the car and go for a ride and come back feeling better. Now that their grown and gone and need some down time I just grab a book or even some knitting put on some soft music and relax. Hope ur feeling better.
Ah Sarah, I am so glad that hey I’m just normal. I’ve pretty much had a broomstick afternoon and been feeling quilty about it. My poor babies got the worst of me. Not fair. I think I am off to bed soon, soon as the dishes are packed away. xx
Missed this post in my busyness of b’day baking and celebrations etc for my baby girl this week.
Sorry to hear about the tonsilitis, nasty stuff! Hope you are feeling much better.
I have a fantastic book by Louise Hay that talks about all the emotional reasons for illness and so perhaps the universe was trying to tell you something Sarah.
Slowing down and taking time for you is the way to go when it all gets too much.
I think I am at this stage after a hectic week or two.
I am going to go to the movies tomorrow night with a dear girlfriend to see “I don’t know how she does it.” I think I could write my own sahm version of that one with 4 kids!!
If we can fit in glass of wine and a chat as well then that will be the best way to keep my broomstick at bay for this week