A Home Just Like This

Grief is tough at the best of times and there is no lie that the last couple of months for me has been one of the hardest roads I have had to walk. You think you can prepare yourself, you think you know what to expect. But the reality is that sometimes you cannot predict or control how grief will hit you.

This time of year for me is normally filled with annoying phone calls telling me it’s my “nearly happy birthday”, asking me if I would like to know my surprises and telling me how much she loved me and how excited she was that I was getting OLD!! Well, Mum… I’m catching up to you now as you will forever remain forever 54 💔

There isn’t much in this world that is cuter than a highland calf. Maggie sure does take the cake for being the cutest calf we have ever had on this farm 😍

FRESH

I’m convinced it’s a thing when you hit your 20s and 30s and all of a sudden there is not much that can beat a fresh made bed with fresh sheets. Ok maybe there is a bit of an over exaggeration there but you know what I mean. Today when I changed the sheets I reached for my room spray only to realize it was all gone. Since life being turned upside down for me I fell off the DIY train with certain things but I surely wasn’t going to let this be one of them…. Because it’s soooo simple.

Reusing the little 30ml bottle I added 20 drops total of essential oil (I like it strong) and a dash of alcohol, finally topping with cooled boiled water. That’s it. I used passion and lavender because well I like those two together for a bedroom spray and then spritzed away.

Have you DIYd your room spray? Or are you still using store bought?

Grief

It’s a factor of life isn’t it. Losing ones we love. We all know about the circle of life and that with life comes death too… the thing is that when that time comes no matter how prepared we are for losing our loved one… it’s never bloody easy, in fact it fu***ng sucks.

My beautiful mum joined the angels above on the 18th of August, she was only 54 years young. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the lungs, liver and lymphatic system in February and she put in a damn good fight against all odds she was given at the start. The thing is with cancer and knowing that you will lose someone, is it makes the grieving process quite long. You see I have been grieving my mum since February and trying everything in my power to make the most of every second we had together. Now she is actually gone it’s surreal. One minute you can be fine and laughing and the next minute you are a mess on the floor because something has sparked a memory or you realize how much you fu***ng miss her and just wish you could tell her one last time how much you LOVE her!

There is however a few things I have learnt, and of course she has taught me along this journey:
- life is too short for the s**t! Enjoy what you have and make the best of every single situation.
- Death isn’t scary. What is scary is the idea of not having the person there for you anymore. What we feel at times is selfish because for us we are the ones hurting, remembering that they are no longer in pain is important.
- Forgive. Don’t hate. Always love.
- Be brave. F**k my mum was so brave. She was/is the bravest woman I know.
- Be grateful. Be grateful every single day.

Loss isn’t easy. In fact it’s really really really hard. But what is easy is taking the time to remember, honor and cherish what we had and what we still have.

Comfort food. Sometimes when times are rough we need to reach for those things that make us feel good. My obsession at the moment is caramelized pumpkin and onion salad with walnuts, feta and roasted capsicum vinegarette (home made of course).
To make the delicious capsicum dressing you need to roast 1 red capsicum until soft and slightly charred. Combine with red wine vinegar, olive oil and herbs of choice and blitz until smooth. I like my quite vineragy so I add extra. Drizzle over salad and enjoy!! I must say it goes amazing with feta. X

Time is free, but it is priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. And once you have lost it, you can never get it back.

In a couple of weeks this little man in 5!! Say what!! 5!!! Sometimes the days have been long… and at times the nights even longer but watching him grow as this time passes us by has been my greatest gift in life. Sure, like most parents there has been some regrets and some doubts. Do I do enough for him? Have I done enough for him? Should I have not worried about doing that load of washing and taken him on an adventure instead?

As this next 6 months roll on before he starts school the motto will be, f**k it! Let’s go on those adventures, play in the mud and enjoy what precious time we have.

Operation DIY coat rack is complete. I had so much fun making this beauty. And it was surprisingly simple once I cleaned down the railway pins. Stay tuned for the next diy project which is operation build a shelving unit.

The perfect scone

There is something about the perfect scone. The buttery, soft deliciousness that melts in your mouth. But let’s face it… there can be really s**t scones too. People often think they are quite difficult but in reality it’s 4 ingredients, a little bit of love and bam THE PERFECT SCONE.

So what do you need:
2 cups SR flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup milk

Preheat over to 220 degrees C!
Rub butter into flour and salt using your fingertips. Once combined, with a knife mix in your milk until it forms a soft dough. One a floured bench/board tip out your dough and kneed softly until combined… now here is a tip!! DO NOT OVER KNEED!
Roll out your dough into 2cm think and cut into shapes. Place onto a tray and cook for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with jam and cream and enjoy!

Do you love scones? Are you willing to give this simple recipe a try?

DUMPLING HEAVEN

The other day on my stories (they can be kinda fun sometimes guys, you should check them out), I shared making dumplings. It’s actually super easy, especially if you cheat like I did and buy pre made wrappers which you can buy from most fridge sections in good supermarkets.

These babies were loaded with the good things:
500g good quality pork mince
1 small red onion
Garlic (as much or little as you like)
Fresh ginger (just a smidge)
2 large handfuls of spinach

In a food processor blitz up the greens, onion, ginger and garlic until nice and small. Add pork mince and blitz until combined…. That’s it guys it’s now time to assemble.

Lay out your wrappers and add a small amount to the center of each wrapper. Dip your fingers into a bowl of water and wet the corners on the wrappers then fold over and punch down the edges. I chose to steam mine but they are super tasty pan fried too.

For the dressing I made up a little one to taste which was:
Kecap manis
Chili
Rice wine vinegar

They are that simple and the best thing is you can totally switch things up and get a little experimental with the fillings ✌🏼

This is progress!!! From not letting me touch her at all to finally eating from the bucket… I will be brushing your beautiful locks in no time Agnes!!

Honestly though all jokes aside one of my favorite things is building trust with my animals. It’s not always easy and it takes a bucket load of time (totes no pun intended there) but they are such incredible, gentle and loving animals… so why wouldn’t you want to make time for them ✌🏼

New growth is always so much fun.... especially when you know that the end result is going to be delicious home grown GARLIC 🧄

Meet Agnes.

She became a member of our family on Sunday, and I couldn’t love her anymore if I tried. She is still very shy but we made progress with her coming up to smell my boots today. Hopefully soon I will have her eating out of my hands and having neck scratches with her.... I’m not going to lie I may also want to brush her 😂😍

You guys all voted yes in the stories today so here it is!! Vietnamese style chicken soup!

Guys, if you love food from SE Asia, stop what you are doing and get cooking! Amazingly delicious, super simple and jam packed full of nutrients to help you fight off winter colds.

Ingredients
1 whole organic chicken (approx 1.6kg)
2 onions finely chopped
3-6 garlic cloves... I’m no rookie so I definitely add more
5cm k**b piece ginger finely chopped
2 cinnamon sticks
6 Cardamon Pods
3 star anise
1 medium sized chili chopped (optional)
2 tspn Himalayan or sea salt (to taste)
VEGETABLES: Add as many as you like, Asian veggies work really well
1/2 sliced Chinese cabbage
1 cup coriander, thai basil and/or mint leaves
Carrots, julienned
Zucchini, finely chopped
1 bunch baby bok choy
Broccoli, finely slice stalk and cut up the little florets
Green beans, sliced
Snow peas, finely sliced
Mushrooms, try different varieties – they all work well
Lime wedges, hot chili sauce and fresh chili to serve...
moral of the story guys whatever greens you want to add!!
Method
Rinse chicken and add to pot with 2-3 litres of water (enough to cover). I also added a heaped spoon of dehydrated chicken bone broth!!
Add onions, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise & salt. Simmer for until chicken is cooked through. remove chicken and set aside. Strain off your broth to remove the cinnamon sticks and star anise and then Place on heat (simmer) and add veggies, add the ones that take longer to cook first.
Remove chicken flesh and finely slice
If including noodles, cover rice noodles with hot water to cook, strain
Add noodles into soup, along with sliced chicken.
Top each serve with fresh sprouts, coriander, mint, basil, chili and lime.
This soup freezes really well.

How do you prepare for a new season?
It’s actually quite amusing how much the garden, and what we need to do to help it thrive, can do closely relate to our lives, and what we need to do to thrive. Whether it be gardens or life there are so many ways in which you can prepare yourself for the new season. Generally speaking new seasons means preparing for new growth. We can either get our seeds (go check out my website for a range of awesome organic seeds 😜) and throw them into the soil and pray for the best or we can rejuvenate that soil and follow simple steps 👇🏼

1. Ditch the weeds!! This helps keep those nutrients where you need them and stops them from taking over and squashing your seedlings and restricting them from getting what they need ie, nutrients, sunlight and water. In life it means pulling the things out that try and drag you down.
2. Compost and fertilize!! adding compost and fertilizers to your soil helps to replenish what has been taken by either you previous crop/weeds! Think of it as amending your soil. It just goes to prove that we actually need s**t in our lives to help us grow stronger!! Often we think all the s**t things we endure in life is bad, but it just prepares us for stronger growth!
3. Till that dirt! Tilling mixes the soil amendments into the existing garden soil, helps to break it up making it easier for plant roots to pe*****te the soil, and aerates the soil. In life we can think of this as preparing our foundations for stable growth. Making sure that we have everything, including the s**t firmly underneath us, ready for us to blossom!
4. Mulch! Think of this as the protective layer. Warding off weeds, protecting those nutrients we have so carefully added to our soil and ensuring that we have a nice warm spot for our seedlings to grow! This is the gardens support network, life’s family, friends, counselors etc. It protects the plants and helps them thrive towards the sunlight.
There is a reason that they say gardening is good for the soul. It provides us with a connection to our lives, to what we need to thrive. And teaches us that no matter what s**t throws at us, we can use it to our advantage to make us grow stronger!

The precious gifts from the farm. Life can provide the simple and beautiful things from time to time

Don’t you wish that you could have super soft towels, like they do in the hotels, all the time?

I know after a while my towels go a bit dull! They aren’t that super cuddly softness that they once were. Well that was until I found this little hack!

Simply add 1/4 cup of baking soda to the barrel of the washing machine along with your towels. Add in your regular detergent to the compartment along with 1/2 cup of white vinegar and a few drops of your fav essential oil... I actually love the citrus oils and geranium in my washing. Pop onto a normal cycle and then line dry! This works a treat for me every single time. You can also pop them into a dryer if you have one, however if it isn’t necessary to use it we tend to dry our clothes the more environmentally friendly way 👌🏼

Are you willing to give this little hack a try?