Homemade Granola

I'm not a great fan of just oats, but love the consistency of all the nuts, seeds and dried fruit in this granola.

It's packed with goodness and is great with just plain yoghurt for breakfast or by itself as a healthy snack. 

For a more paleo version, simply omit the oats and add more seeds,nuts and coconut.  We are making more of the paleo version in my house now that my husband has made that lifestyle change and a container doesn't last long in my house.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of porride oats
1 cup of jumbo oats
1 cup of sunflower seeds
1 cup of pumpkin seeds
2 tblsp of sesame seeds
1/4 cup of slice almonds
1/4 cup of walnuts
1/2 cup of hazel nuts
1/2 cup of shredded coconut
1/2 cup of honey
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/2 cup of dried strawberries or other dried fruit 

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 140°C

 

Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread out the hazel nuts and coconut evenly and toast until golden.  Leave to cool completely and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, place the oats, seeds and remaining nuts and mix to combine.

 

Heat the oil and honey in a pan until combined, then removed from the heat and add to the oat mixture.  Stir well, then spread out on one or two baking sheets.

Bake for about 50 minutes until crisp, stirring occasionally to prevent the mixture sticking.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool.  Once cool, throw everything into a bowl and mix .  Store in an airtight container.

Serves 4 people.


Happy living people!!

 

 

Fireplace Chairs Get A New Lease On Life

So my wonderful husband has a NEW SHED, but now it's getting pretty full with my stuff!  (which he isn't too impressed with).  So time to apply some lovin by doing a little upcycling and maybe look to let some of my collections go to a new home.

One of my latest creation is two beautiful fireplace arm chairs.  They were fairly rustic to begin with, but they had great bones.  I decided to recover them with a nice french linen I picked up at spotlight and paint the frames - yip you guessed it, with paint from the Annie Sloan range.  This time I chose graphite and finished it off with with clear & dark wax.

Judge for yourself, what you think of them?




Before - in their rustic state

Finished view from the front

View from the back



View from the side .. with upholstery tacks

Both chairs finished

This was a real learning curve for me as I'd never done anything in this scale before, but my wonderful mum motivated me to give it a go, and I'm really happy with the results.  The chairs are really quite comfortable and are great for sitting out on the front porch and reflecting in the sun.  Of course they are too good to leave out there on a regular basis, and unfortunately I have no room in my house for them to live permanently. 

Yes over the years I collected lots of different things and I have to admit, buying 9 acres gave me lots of potential to collect more :-)  But sadly, these babies will need to find a new home somewhere but for now, I am just enjoying learning from the experience.

Happy living people!

Revamp Your Dining Suite - Part 2

So .. I'm really getting into "up cycling" furniture so I decided to try revamping another dining suite.

The whole thing was a very orange stained pine which I was feeling, so I painted it pure white and french linen from the Annie Sloan range and applied clear wax for extra protection.  I was pretty happy with how that looked, but decided to distress the paint a little for a bit of added texture.

Happy living people!

New Additions - Part 2

The first of the next generation of beef has arrived!  Born on a very cold and frosty night/early morning, the calf is healthy, feeding well off mum and integrating into the rest of the herd.

To be honest I thought it would've arrived last week sometime, but the wait was definitely well worth it.

Less than a day old .. trying to get it's balance properly

Integrating well with the rest of the herd and exploring everything and anything! - 5 days old

Never wonders too far from mum and can't understand what this hay and grass is about - just give me MILK!

Reflecting on my past blogs OUR PERSONAL CASH COW and BULLET THE BULL, we know for sure now that Bullet (or Roger as my husband calls him) has done the bizzo. Hopefully within the next week or so, this calf will have a friend to run around with as a couple of our cows are showing good signs that it won't be too long before they become mothers.

Today marks 5 days since the calf was born and we have done nothing but simply monitor the calf to see if it hasn't wandered too far away from mum, or that mum has rejected the calf for some reason.  That means no early morning  wake ups or multiple feeds which is definitely much easier than our past experience with calving.

Happy living people!

Live Love Learn

Yesterday we celebrated my daughters Aaliyah and Jayden's 19th birthday.  Upon reflecting on the up coming days of the event, I couldn't help but wonder where the years had gone.  I remember their birth as if it was only yesterday and still regard them as my babies, but they have grown into intelligent, responsible and loving young women.

My husband and I have had numerous conversations about life and the reality of our mortality as we grow older, but instead of writing about it, I think the below picture reflects what should be done.

Who knows what the next 19 years will bring for me and my whanau, but I expect us all to love each other, learn from everything and live every moment as if it was our last. 

Happy living peeps!!

The Lounge - Before

We've been at the Ponderosa for nearly 3 years now and it's time to renovate our lounge room. 

The room itself is bright and relaxing and has lovely views of the northern & western side of the Ponderosa, but the finishings of the previous owners wasn't the best and it needed some personal influence that suits me and my whanau.

In saying this, the renovation won't be too big, just a simple cosmetic change.

 



I think that the lounge itself looks great in the photo's but I believe it will look even better once we have finished the cosmestic changes in this renovation so watch this space.

Happy living people!

 

 

Winston - Gets A New Lease On Life

This old house was given a brand new lease of life. I learnt so much from this exercise and I will be forever grateful for all those people who assisted me and my whanau in achieving this massive learning curve.

Happy living people!!