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!!

 

Solid Bedside Table Gets A Makeover

So .. my good friend Scott (Bungy) Williams isn't feeling all my WHITE up cycling of furniture so I decided to try a little colour to make a statement piece and I'm really impressed with the final product.

Before the makeover

After

The colour is a combination of different shades from the Annie Sloan range and it certainly is a statement piece!

Happy living people!

Old Lampshade Gets Revamped

I picked up an old floor lamp base from a second hand shop for a couple of dollars and bought it home.  The vision was to give it a new lease of life by painting it with a shabby chic look, I just needed a shade.

To my surpris, trying to find the right shade is quite an expensive exercise, particularly if you want the right colour or shape - either second hand or brand new I might add.

While standing in the aisle at the local warehouse, I spotted a shade that I liked, but I wasn't feeling the colour.  Instant thought?  Why don't I just paint the shade to?  Surely there's a paint out there that can do that?  Sure enough, there was - Annie Sloan - VERY versatile indeed and I'm in love with it!!

The before photo

The After Photo

Annie Sloan has a range of colours which are wonderful AND a little goes a long way.  I chose the colour french linen for the shade & pure white for the base and I'm really happy with the final result - I just need to ask my wonderful electrician to do his thing by adding the plug - something he says is pretty easy to do.  

Happy living people!!

The Magic Of Coconut Oil

Last month I blogged about THE BEAUTY OF BAKING SODA.  This month my beauty tip is all about the magic of coconut oil.  Not only is it fabulous to cook with (in all kinds of ways I might add), it's also wonderful for your skin. 

Rule # 1 - Coconut oil is extracted directly from the coconut flesh or kernel, meaning it's natural and is an essential fatty acid.  Not like other oils such as vegetable oil which contains more chemicals than vegetables if at all which tends to have a chemical reaction to other foods that are digested.

Rule # 2 - Coconut oil is the best oil to cook with as its molecular structure remains the same when heated unlike other good oils like olive oil, which changes dramatically when heated resulting in it being less healthier.

Rule # 3 - Coconut oil has 0% preservatives which means when you digest the oil or apply it to your body, you are absorbing nothing but goodness.

Rule # 4 - It's an all in one skin care product, hair care product and food item, which means you'll save money by not buying all the other skin, conditioner,  make up or oil products that are on the market.

The best way I use my coconut oil (apart from cooking) is as a moisturiser.  I simply apply it as I would any other moisturiser after my bath or shower making sure not to use too much.  The oil should absorb into the skin as opposed to feeling oily and wet.

My daughter Jayden loves to use the oil as a conditioner.  She applies it's to her hair, leaves it in overnight, then washes her hairs as per normal.  It makes your hair feel wonderful.

Every christmas I also make a sugar scrub using coconut oil, sugar and essential oils and give them away to friends and family as gifts.  These are applied to the body in the shower and leaves your skin feeling wonderfully soft and smelling delicious.  This xmas a good friend Rewa decided to eat the sugar scrub thinking it was some new recipe.  Fair to say, it tasted a little funky because of the spearmint oil, but it did leave his mouth feeling minty fresh :-)

Maybe one day I'll blog about the goodness of coconuts as a whole, because it really is a power product.  It's just a pity the climate in NZ doesn't allow me to grow coconuts in my garden, or else I'd be having coconut oil, coconut water, coconut cream, coconut milk, coconut flesh all at my finger tips.  

Until then my biggest problem is ensuring the jar of coconut oil in the bathroom and the jar in the kitchen doesn't get mixed up.

Happy living people.

New Shed - New Look

When we first moved on to the Ponderosa, the first thing we promised we would do was build a shed because it was the only thing the property lacked.  Our goal was to have it done within the first 12 months of moving in, however the placement of the shed was proving quite a challenge.  

Option 1 - Place it on the western side of the driveway meant paying a $3000 fee to local council to consider whether they would or would not grant resource consent for it.

Option 2 - Place it somewhere on the eastern side of the driveway meaning encroach into the paddock which will impact on the volume of pasture & hay we need for our beef.

Either way, I didn't want to chop any of the wonderful mature trees that adorned the driveway (much to my husbands disgust).  The trees where a big part of what drew me into loving this property.

After 12 months of debating, we opted for option 2.  Purchased the shed from a good friend of ours Kevin, put in the consent and waited for the council to say yay!!  

The plan was that my husband would build the shed with the help of my cousin Mike, who was an experienced builder.  Finally the council said yes, and the project began.  First my husband had to remove part of the fencing & 'trim' the trees to get the right vehicle access on site.  Then the foundations began.  I remember the trucks and trucks and trucks coming and going to backfill the pad. Once that was finished, the building began and the excitement of seeing the progress grew stronger and stronger.

Then my cousin announced he was moving to Australia to join his family which meant my husband was on his own - a scary challenge for him to know the only reassurance that he was doing it right, had to come from himself.  I ended up helping him during the build which was a challenge for myself, but after putting in the hard yards and reflecting back, we are more than happy with the finished product.  

Foundations before the backfill - view from the homestead

View from the driveway .. with the trees slightly trimmed than chopped completely

Foundations backfilled and level .. with the first posts in

My husband having fun digging the trench for the power

View of the shed from the homestead

First party in the new shed!!

I am so proud of my husband and what he achieved with this shed.  It wasn't easy for sure and took a lot longer than we anticipated.  There is still phase 2 - 5of this project to come, but for now council is happy and signed off the shed for us to enjoy the rewards.

Happy living people!!

Turn Old Bottles Into New - Upcycled

I am getting into up cycling at the moment.  Well if I'm to be honest with myself, I have been into up cycling for a while.  It's just a matter of getting it done.  Enter a renovation project that required a quick and inexpensive decor fix.

I'm searching around my home to find bits and pieces I could use and stumble across the bottles I up cycled back in my blog TURN OLD BOTTLES INTO NEW.  In that blog, I used white and coloured the inside, but the bottles lacked personality.  

This time I decided I needed colour to make a statement.  I dug out the test pot of Curious Cove that I purchased from Bunnings and used on my outside pots.  I blogged about this colour in JUST ADD POTTED COLOUR.  Its a dulux colour which is just lovely!!  I painted the outside of the bottles and for added personality I gave them a slight shabby chic look.  PLUS because these bottles are for staging a home, I added some awesome artificial roses.  The difference was quite astounding.

Original up cycled Bottles

Up cycled version of the same bottles

Bottles displayed in the bedroom

I love the final result and they really do look lovely displayed in the room.  So if you are stuck for ideas for a quick and cheap fix for colour to add to your decor or for a special party, try painting some old bottles, jars or cans.  You won't be disappointed.

Happy living people