day sixty three: balsamic roasted strawberries with ice cream



balsamic roasted strawberries with ben and jerry's :)

 day sixty three and we are roasting some strawberries for dessert :)   pollyanna and i ADORE strawberries, in fact, when polly was little we had to hide them from her otherwise that was all she would have eaten for the summer!

this delicious sounding idea is pinned to my recipe must do's board and is from the wonderful blog joylicious ... she has the most wonderful insight into balance of life and her words and food will definitely capture you or at least make you think.

on with the creation ... i used two punnets of strawberries and followed the recipe as is, mine took 15 mintues to roast at 210C.

the sugared strawberries!

outcome:  deliciously sweet and the syrup with the ice cream is INCREDIBLE! ... in fact it was so good we are planning to have it tomorrow as well (we might share those ones with the kids!).  i might experiment with a higher heat because we were so hungry for them thanks to the amazing smell, i probably pulled them out slightly early for any caramelising to happen ... they were brilliant as was though!

special thanks to joy at joylicious for this wonderful recipe AND for making me stop and think ... loved her blog and the wonderful words that go with it :)

update on mailing a bottle: after convincing the lovely gentleman who served me at the post office that i really did want to send the bottle as it was, it then took off from singapore to the united states :)  boy i sure hope it gets there safely ... let me know christina, we will wait to hear from you!



i look a little hot and bothered but the bottle is on its way!


 

day sixty two: a mailed bottle of goodies

the bottle of goodies :)

day sixty two and we are mailing a bottle today full of goodies from singapore.  this wonderful idea comes from amberlee from giverslog and is pinned to my home school ideas board on pinterest (the kids have some new penpals and i am going to get the kids to send them some with nz goodies!).  amberlee has a wonderful blog that's full of tutorials, organising, baking, gifts, and so much more ... actually all the things i love!

ben and the lucky name :)

today's bottle is going to be sent to CHRISTINA who was randomly chosen from our hat of commenters.  thank you ben for your help writing everyones name :) christina could you please email me (kahoonz@clear.net.nz) your address and we will send it off to you tomorrow! 

it was so much fun looking for goodies that would fit in a bottle this size and also quite a challenge :) i went to tiong bahru plaza and searched through lots of stores looking for little bits!



the disguised goodies .... ooohhhh :)

so the lucky girl doesn't see too much of what's in store for her, the goodies are a little disguised! its a 550ml size bottle that i dried out with a hair dryer and then filled.  i taped around the top just incase and then taped on a label for sending.

the bottle .. actually i am quite proud of
what i was able to fit in!

outcome: i love how the bottle looks full of singapore goodies, as for whether it gets there well that's pending! actually i loved including everybody so much i am going to find more pinteresting things to do where you guys can participate! 

my thanks goes to amberlee for the wonderful inspiration for todays creation, your website is awesome, so full of wonderful things to make and do!

have a happy day everybody, thanks so much for the lovely comments i was truly touched and overwhelmed by your kind thoughts ... wish our bottle well in its travels :)  we look forward to it arrving safely soon christina and congratulations!

day sixty two: and i need some help to complete today's creation!

hello everyone ... today's pinterest creation requires me mailing a bottle to someone ... i thought i would fill it with goodies from singapore ....  if you would like to be that person please leave a comment and i will randomly choose someone to send to today ... and you can be anywhere in the world :)

ok this is where i hope that i get at least one comment so i can send it ... so PLEASE help me complete todays creation~!  for what the rest of this creation is about, check back later today and you will see all revealed and the lucky recipient!

sponge bombs for the pool: to say these were a big hit with the big and little kids is a major understatement, we had the most hilarious time in the pool with them yesterday afternoon and it is fair to say i also copped my fair share!  the nice thing with these is they don't hurt at all when you get barreled with them and they FLOAT ... so totally cool for the little peeps like my sweet two year old niece isla who also made great use of them!

she had a surprisingly good aim!

boys being boys!

some photo's from national day celebrations ... boy to the singaporeans know how to celebrate in style!

ben, pollyanna, and sam looking at the parachuters landing ..
we are heading up to the top of that boat next week ...
i'm scared of heights ... yikes!

they celebrated like they were singapore kids!

a helicopter escorted the flag and we sang the national anthem
with about a million others!

the fireworks were outstanding!

day sixty one: sponge ball bombs for the pool

ready for water fun :)

day sixty one and its a special day in singapore .... HAPPY 46th BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE .... we are really looking forward to enjoying the day's festivities so i am up early and making some sponge ball bombs for the kids to use later in the day!  this great idea is from one charming party and is pinned to my outdoor spaces board on pinterest.



the supplies required :)

i am making seven of them and for each ball you need 3 sponges.  all you need to do is cut each sponge in half lengthways and then in half again.  gather up twelve different pieces and then tie tightly together with dental floss ... find some water, a bunch of kids, and you are good to go :)

sponge bombs of fun :)

outcome: the balls look great but whether they live up to expectations is still pending!  we will see later today and i will post the progress!  providing these balls work they would be brilliant as party favours for a pool/beach party and with some help you could even have them as a craft activity for the kids to make at the party!  they don't take long to make, are REALLY cost effective, and i bet you would have some proud kids at the end of the activity!

\

fun for the pool!

thanks so much to one charming party for an excellent idea for the water ... i absolutely loved it and think the options for these beauties for a pool party are awesome!  a visit to their website for party ideas is a must, so many great options and plenty of photo eye candy!

day sixty: scrabble word art



the finished scrabble word art :)

 day sixty and i am determined not to put you through another icy cool beverage today, so we are going to make some scrabble word art!  pinned to my general crafts board on pinterest is the inspiration for today's creation from photographer J M Barclay, who has a wonderful etsy shop with heaps of amazing wall worthy photography you can buy.

i went to my very first ikea store last night (i was in heaven!) and picked up two frames that i thought would be about the right size for the scrabble words i would be using.  for this project my neice and newphew are going to get some art for their bedroom walls :)

the supplies needed, plus your choice in glue ;)

i used some scrapbook paper for the backgrounds (you could even use the scrabble base for the background) and decided to use the matte provided in only one of the frames so i could see both effects.  the scrabble letters are the plastic ones, but as this art is destined for the kids i thought they were perfect, i am still hunting for some wooden ones though.

little isla's new bedroom wall art

my sister is not a crafter most of the time (when she does she does an amazing job) so the glue supply was limited to a glue stick ... i kid you not, this project was completed with a glue stick!  if i was at home i would have powered up the hot glue gun and if i find some better glue in our travels, i will get some for when the letters fall off :)

sam's wall art

outcome: i am so please with these little creations, they have come up really well and lucky for me my sister and brother-in-law named their kids so well i could link their first and middle names :)  i am actually going to head back to ikea to get some more frames for my own kids ... yeah their frames will have to be bigger ... what was i thinking giving them long names like benjamin and pollyanna ;)

can i just say a big thank you to J M Barclay for todays inspiration ... i absolutely loved his home sweet home scrabble photograph, especially the background with the wooden letters ... i have just got to find some of those wooden scrabble tiles!

singapore update:  we are absolutely loving singapore, the culture, the food, the heat, the entertainment ...  and for those who are interested here are some of our holiday pic's so far ... for those who are not ... see you tomorrow for day sixty one!

the girls enjoying time together




new food AND utensils for pollyanna!



there are a lot of impressive buildings here :)



the kids were fasinated watching the roti's being made :)



the boys at the hawker center :)



day fifty nine: the best iced coffee

the BEST iced coffee :)

day fifty nine and its hot and sticky in singapore so a great day for iced coffee's don't you think!  pinned to steves furnishings board (he would happily furnish the house with coffee!) is the brewed coffee website with fantastic tips for brewing the best iced coffees.

the coffee :)

i did what the website recommended and used a really dark coffee, which i cooled then refrigerated ... i am hoping this will take away the need to make a coffee concentrate, which takes overnight to fully make. 

the evaporated milk and the condensed milk :)

i am also using the trick of mixing evaporated milk and condensed milk together instead of just using ordinary milk.  once the two milks are mixed together they are also refrigerated.  then its simply a builiding process: fill glass with coffee ice cubes, add 1/3 cup of cold coffee, and 2/3 cup of the milk mix (if you like it stronger add more coffee less milk mix!)



this was just superb :)

 outcome: oh my goodness, i have a new best friend and its this iced coffee ... i know this will be so completely addictive ... EVERYONE in adult clothes here couldn't get enough of it, one cup just isn't enough AND so far this is the BEST iced coffee i have EVER had ... seriously i can not tell you how much the milk mix adds to the yumminess!  the coffee cubes work an absolute treat because the coffee never diluted and in this heat the cubes thawed really quickly!  PLEASE, if you love iced coffees try this recipe it is devine :)

thanks so much to the brewed coffee for all the fantastic tips and tricks for making iced coffee ... you guys must really know your stuff because it worked a treat ... awesome!

day fifty eight: coffee ice cubes and sweetened strawberry ice cubes

sweetened strawberry ice cubes :)

day fifty eight and its someone's birthday ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE ... have a wonderful day my sweet husband! 



the kids decorating the cake all by themselves!



isla (my niece) couldn't wait and as her aunt
i wasn't about to stop the fun!

on with today's pinterest 365 and we are doing something that falls into the category ... why didn't i think of that :) coffee ice cubes for iced coffees are pinned to my recipe must do's board and are inspired by Ashley and Aron from hither and thither.  and for the kids sweetened strawberry ice cubes!  the strawberry ice cubes inspiration comes from erin over at scjohnson who made raspberry ice cubes. unfortunately i couldn't find any raspberries so strawberry ones it was :)



coffe and ice cube trays and you are good to go :)

i made a strong brew of coffee and let it cool completely before pouring it into some very cool shaped ice cube trays my sister has ... seriously who doesn't want an iced coffee with a lego man in it!

outcome: pending :)  tomorrows pinterest creation is to recreate the best iced coffee recipe i pinned to steve's board on pinterest ... so for how these little iced beauties work we will have to wait one more day to see!  its steve's favourite cold drink so i really hope the recipe is fantastic! 



what you need for the sweetened strawberry ice cubes

for the strawberry ice cubes i followed the recipe given by erin and heated the water and sugar to make a simple syrup before boiling the punnet of chopped strawberries with it for 5 minutes.  i then let the mix cool before spooning it into the trays.



yummo and so good for hot summer days :)

 outcome:  i served these up to the kids in lemonade ... i had a taste of polly's to see how it was and it was SO refreshing i made one for myself!  i also tried it with water and they add such a nice delicate sweetness the water is still refreshing when you drink it.  i can highly recommend having these in your freezer during summer :)

update on the fish bowls with ice bergs:  the kids loved them so much, and the icebergs went down a treat ... in fact my nephew sam told his mum and dad them needed to learn how to make them so he and isla (my niece) could have more!



fish bowl jelly/jello with icebergs on top!



happy children, good times :)