Bella in Bindyland

Burleigh Breaka Pro 2012 VIP + OOTD

2012-02-11T23:31:00.000+10:00

Hey loves!

On Wednesday (8th February 2012) Trent and I were up early (6:30am), got ready & headed to the Gold Coast. I was given VIP tickets to a surfing event the 'Burleigh Breaka Pro'. The drive to the Gold Coast from Toowoomba is about 2 hours, we were glad to reach the beach! Getting to the heart of the 'Gold Coast' is always a bit chaotic, but once you start driving along the esplanade of the beach areas out of Surfers Paradise it's relaxing, I really like Burleigh Heads I use to holiday there with my parents when I was younger.
The location of the event was at the headland and the VIP tent was in prime position for viewing the surfing. When we got there we picked out a comfy lounge just in front of the interview section, relaxed and watched some surfing. Now I am not the biggest surfing fan, I think it's a cool sport that I wish I could do but this was a great event to watch and be so close to the action! It was a pretty cool event, we enjoyed ourselves. We had lunch at 12, it was so yum! It was a smorgasbord of salad and warm meals. I had the beef curry, rice, satay chicken skewers, flat bread, salad and some fruit. It was all so yummy!! They were also serving beer, Breaka milk & juice, weird combination! I had half a glass of beer & that was enough for me! I really do not like beer, so I had a juice with lunch...
We hung around for a little longer at the event, but then decided to head off and check out the beach. As normal we head to 'The Spit' where we walked along the beach (we were planning on swimming, but it was a bit windy & cool), did some yabbie pumping & then Trent fished for about an hour or 2. We headed home around 3:30pm but not before stopping at a local store to grab some ice creams for the drive home!
It was such a nice day, I love being able to do fun & exciting new things that normally I wouldn't get to do. And even though I don't know everything there is to know about surfing I still had a really enjoyable time & the best part was just being with my husband! :)

My invitation for the event...

Trent and I on the drive down.

The view from inside the VIP tent.

It was pretty cool to be in the 'reserved' section...

We sat on the lounge right in front of the interview section...

Some reading material...

Beer was served and well, I could only drink half a cup as I really do not like beer at all! And then I got a head ache from it!! :( But I also had a very nice juice to drink! :)

Lunch was very tasty! Mild beef curry, satay chicken skewers, flat bread, salad & fruit.

The view....

Looking out towards the Gold Coast...

Some of the surfers. Sorry I don't know there names! But all of these photos were taken by either Trent or myself. We pretty much took turns with the camera, but Trent got most of the great ones!

Me just before we left the event. The tent was situated pretty much on a small cliff (the Headlands) and over looked the ocean & the waves where the competitors were surfing, it was pretty cool!

At the beach...

It was so great to spend a day just relaxing with Trent!!

Yabbie pumping! I love doing it, because it means I get to play with the yabbies! I love the little skinny ones the best, they are so cute! But sometimes the big ones are fun to play with, as long as they aren't nasty! Trent was pretty impressed with my yabbie catching skills. I learnt to catch yabbies when I was like 5 with my Dad when we use to go on holidays and get up early to let Mum sleep and Dad would take us to the beach when the tide was low and we would catch them!

I found a cow at the beach!!

Trent enjoyed his afternoon of fishing, I just relaxed and kept myself occupied. I could've had a go at fishing but I just didn't feel like it. Plus I was worried about getting a snag on the rocks Trent was fishing off of. I prefer beach fishing...

Trent caught a few fish but we let them all go. These are 2 of them he caught, the top is a brim & the bottom we think is a Moses perch according to my Dad. He is very pretty!

Then the afternoon turned dark and we decided to head home before we got caught in the rain on the rocks!

We picked up some ice creams for afternoon tea, the store we went to didn't stock my favourite ice cream (Gaytime - it's an Australian ice block for all my over seas readers & it is super yummy!!) so I went with this one instead, it was pretty tasty but not as good as a Gaytime!

We did get stuck in some rain on the way home but once we got through it the sun was shining brightly! By the time we got to Toowoomba it was a beautiful sunset, what a nice way to end a fun day!

So loves that was my recap of my Wednesday at the coast! I had so much fun & I feel really blessed when I am given opportunities to try & experience new things! I am very grateful and I hope you all enjoyed my recap, I tried to describe it the best I could so you feel like you were there! To get an even better insight watch the 'Outfit of the day' video below, at the end of the video there is some footage I filmed whilst at the surfing competition!

Outfit details;

Top; Just Jeans (3 or 4 years ago!)
Shorts; City Beach.
Belt; R.M Williams.
Shoes; Woolworths.
Watch; Guess.
Bag; Guess.
Sunglasses; Guess.

Beauty details;

Hair; Natural.
Fake tan; Le Tan, deep bronze tanning cream
Foundation; Revlon Colour Stay.
Eye shadow; Australis Choc-a-block palette
Eye shadow; Maybelline New York; 01 Snow white
Eyebrows; Rimmel London; Eye brow pencil 00 dark brown
Eye liner; Maybelline Gel eyeliner
Mascara; NYX doll eye
Highlighter; Napoleon Perdis
Blush; Playboy (now discontinued)
Bronzer; Modelista

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post!

Love you all.

XoXo.

A girly casual OOTD.

2012-02-07T20:58:00.001+10:00

Hey everyone!

Just a super quick blog post, this is an outfit of the day I filmed today after the lunch I had with my Mum and a lovely friend! In this video I also show how long my hair has gotten, YAY! I love it long, but sometimes it's so annoying & I want to cut it all off, but I don't think I ever will!
Anyway enjoy the video...

Outfit details;

White singlet; Supre.
Skirt; Supre. (I LOVE this skirt!!)
Gold sandals; City Beach.
Watch; Guess, Goldmark.
Bag; Guess, Strandbags.
Sunglasses; Guess, Myer.
All jewellery; Wallace Bishop.

I am heading to the Gold Coast tomorrow for an exciting day at the 2012 Breaka Burleigh Pro! I am very excited as Trent and I have VIP tickets and get to be in a tent & get lunch and drinks! So stay tuned for a fun exciting blog post on that event!! If you want to see photos live from the event I will try and take some and upload to instagram so make sure you follow me (username; bella_in_bindyland) or follow me on Twitter (@bella_k). Gosh, I am so excited, I hope it is fun. I am taking my 'big' camera so I hope to get some decent shots! But I will try and get that post up as soon as I can!

Thanks for reading!

Love you all.

XoXo.

January 2012 favourites!

2012-02-04T15:07:00.000+10:00

Hey loves,

It is the start of a new month, which means the end of another. I cannot believe that it is February 2012 already!! Anyway, I am off topic, the end of January means it is...

JANUARY FAVOURITES TIME!!! *YAY*...

So here is the video & make sure you watch until the end for some bloopers! I love editing the bloopers the most! :) I've also been teaching myself a few more editing tricks, which I know they still aren't the best videos ever, but I think it is fun to do! :)

PRODUCTS;

BEAUTY;

Garnier - Anti-dark circles roll-on. 2 in 1 tinted eye roll-on.
Maybelline - Gel eyeliner
Australis - Colour inject mineral lipstick. Cha Cha
Revlon - Super lustrous Rosy Pout
Revlon - Pink afterglow 020 lipgloss
Redken - Argan 6 oil
Bio oil
OPI - Excuse Moi
Venus Gillette bikini trimmer :(

FOOD;

Oreo chocolate covered wafer sticks
V8 breakfast juice

HOUSEWIFE STUFF;

Pine O clean disinfectant wipes
Wax Melts

iPhone apps;

Instagram
Incredibooth
Diptic
Pinterest
Blogger

I hope you enjoyed this post & please go and enter my give away in the last post. Click HERE to go enter now!! Good luck.

Love you all.
XoXo.
B.

A sweet sounding {GIVE AWAY} to say THANK YOU!

2012-02-03T00:30:00.003+10:00

Hi loves!

So I have this problem, I was given these 11 CDs & honestly they aren't exactly my taste (I am pretty much a country music fan & that is it!) And well, I don't want to keep them if they won't be listened to, they deserve better than that, they should go to a nice new home! So I thought of you all! I figured maybe you all would like to take them off my hands? Interested? Cool, lets do a GIVE AWAY!!

This is a list of the CDs;

Foster the People - Torches
The Strokes - Angles
Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the young
Laidback Luke - presents Super you & me. ft. avicii
Avril Lavigne - Goodbye lullaby
Blue Juice - Head of the hawk
Gypsy & The Cat - Gilgamesh
Cassie Davis - Differently
Eminem - Recovery

Hole - Nobody's daughter
Michael Paynter - Love the fall

And now for a few basic rules;

1. You have to be a subscriber to my blog.
2. You must LIKE the 'Bella In Bindyland' page on Facebook.
3. Please leave a comment below telling me what you like about this blog, what you want to see more of or what your favourite sort of posts are, etc., Just leave some form of feed back for me, so I can tell what you want to see more of & make this blog better for you!
4. In your comment please also include your top 3 CD choices out of the 11. I will try my best to give all winners a CD they want, but please understand you may not get exactly what you want.
5. Please also include your email address, so if you win I can contact you so I can get your postage details!
6. For extra entries you can subscribe to 'Bella In Bindyland' on YouTube & also follow me on Twitter, you also get extra entries for Tweeting about this post & liking it!

(All details are below on the entry form, so make sure you fill it in, if you can't see it please click the READ MORE tab!!)

Terms & Conditions;

Competition period runs from the 3rd of February 2012 - 11th February 2012 at 12:01am.
There are 11 prizes in total.
Entry is open to Australian & New Zealand residents only.
All entrants must be over the age of 18 or have their parent/guardians permission.
All winners will be chosen at random, either by having their name drawn from a hat or via random.org
Postage is included in the prize, but I am not responsible for lost, damaged or stolen parcels.
All CDs are original and are not reproduced copies.
Some CDs may have slight damage to their cases, but all CDs are 100% perfect!
All of these CDs are my own property & I have full rights to give them away.
This give away is not sponsored.
Prizes are not exchangeable or transferable.
All winners will be contacted on the day of the draw & parcels posted within 5 working days.
This give away has no hidden agenda, it is to say thank you to my loyal readers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to you all & if you have any problem entering the competition feel free to contact me (bella_in_bindyland@hotmail.com) and let me know! I hope you all enter & good luck! Please do not be discouraged if you don't win, I have more competitions planned for this year!

Love you all & thank you all so much for your continued support!
XoXo.
B.

Addicted to pins!

2012-02-02T00:08:00.011+10:00

Hi loves,

Ok in case you have been living under a rock recently and are unaware of the latest inspiration website, I am super excited to tell you about it! (And if you know about it, you will agree how awesome it is!) This amazing website I am referring to is; PINTEREST!
Now there are a lot of 'inspiration' websites out there, but I find a lot are quiet childish or more directed at 'teenagers' and I find this one perfect for me and it has so many beautiful images to inspire or entertain!
It is pretty much a directory of images for crafty, fashion loving, interior decorating women (or men)? who want to be inspired to cook new dishes, redecorate their homes, dress their children (or future children) fabulously, get fit and plan their dream homes!
There is so many great things on this site, it's actually quiet difficult to put into words, so the easiest way to show you all is via images, so lets start with some of my favourites...

Squirrels;

Source: weheartit.com via Belinda on Pinterest

I LOVE Squirrels & Pinterest has tons of cute images!

Dream homes;

Source: houzz.com via Belinda on Pinterest

I love imagining owning a big gorgeous home like one of the many I have pinned. Maybe if I win the lotto!

Source: tumblr.com via Belinda on Pinterest

In my dream home I would have my dream room, it's not a big closet. It's a library!! I love to read and one day I expect my future children to love to read so I will always have lots of books, so I would love a big beautiful room to store them all! Having a big library with a ladder would be even better!!

Source: media-cdn.pinterest.com via Belinda on Pinterest

I love finding home inspiration!! I love this wall idea!

Source: google.com via Belinda on Pinterest

Planning my dream kitchen on Pinterest is lots of fun, I think Trent maybe sick of me saying "Is this possible in our house!"

Source: camerasandchaos.blogspot.com via Belinda on Pinterest

I was devastated when Trent told me my laundry ceiling was to low for a chandelier, I was hoping my laundry room could be this cute! Hahaha.

Food;

Source: marthastewart.com via Belinda on Pinterest

Endless baking inspiration! Seriously, so many cute ideas! I just wish my decorating skills were better! But not only is there tons of inspiration, but tips as well!

Source: laurenslatest.com via Belinda on Pinterest

I am collecting lots of great recipes I want to try!

Pets;

Source: houzz.com via Belinda on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Belinda on Pinterest

I found so many great pet ideas!!

Holidays;

Source: Uploaded by user via Belinda on Pinterest

Easter wreath idea!

Source: notmartha.org via Belinda on Pinterest

Soooo many fabulous Christmas ideas! I discovered Pinterest just before Christmas, I wanted to craft & bake so many things!

Housewife stuff;

Source: thedailybuzz.com.au via Belinda on Pinterest

I have found lots of great housewife tips, this step by step on how to fold a fitted sheet perfectly is just one of many!

Things I want;

Source: etsy.com via Belinda on Pinterest

How AWESOME is this hair dryer?!! I want it!!

That is just a VERY small glimpse at some of my 'boards'. (When you see an image you like you repin it onto your board. You can even repin images from my blog onto Pinterest if you like any or find them inspiring!) I still have a bunch of other boards I didn't include on here & I wish I could've, but this post would be much to long! I am thinking of doing a weekly blog which either is about some of my favourite pins of the week or about one of my 'boards'. So like a Pinterest blog each week or so? What do you think? Would you be interested in that? I could explain why I like certain things or give my opinions. I've got a few ideas floating around... I think they will be a good addition.

Now if you would like to be apart of the Pinterest community head to the website HERE & request an invite, yes this is an invitation only website. Or for a quicker invite just leave your email address below in a comment, tweet it to me (@bella_k) or pop it on my Facebook page & I will invite you! It is a wonderful website, but beware once you start it is hard to stop pinning!

If you are already on Pinterest make sure you follow my boards! My page is bindyland!

Source: mcc.typepad.com via Genie on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Donna on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Donna on Pinterest

Source: robinredd.typepad.com via The Organised Housewife on Pinterest

So loves I hope to see you on Pinterest, pinning away! Let me know if you sign up because I will pop on by your page and check it out!
Thanks for reading!
Love you all.
XoXo.
B.

**I know some of the images aren't on centre like they normally are, I'm sorry! I embedded them off of Pinterest instead of uploading via photobucket like normal, so I am still trying to figure out what is wrong with the silly things! Any suggestions on how to fix it would be appreciated!! x

When the negative folk speak, turn on your imagination!

2012-01-30T23:45:00.002+10:00

Hi!

Ok this is a bit of a spur of the moment post, I was just asked by a Facebook friend how I put up with the 'negative' people in my life. (Ok she was more specific, but I won't mention names on here). And well, I told her the usual 'just remember certain people love you, others are just jealous, spiteful folk' and then I had this brilliant idea. And I realised I have now developed a new way of dealing with the idiots that sadly enough over populate my life...
You imagine they are something ridiculous! The method is similar to that of which they try teach you at school (scared of public speaking, imagine everyone is in their underwear!? WHAT THE HELL? I did NOT want to imagine any of my teachers or class mates nude, gross! But it's fair to say I never have a problem with public speaking so I didn't need that method) But I do have a problem dealing with nasty fools, I take it all not necessarily to heart, but I let myself get too angry & worked up! To be perfectly honest I don't have much of a problem dealing with confrontation, I will most likely partake in a verbal dual if the appropriate moment arises, but for my own personal benefit (stress apparently isn't good for me according to the Doctor!?) I have decided to teach myself to ignore & laugh off other peoples hurtfulness instead of reacting. This being said I may eventually snap if they continue their stupidity for extended periods of time or say something way out of line, but for now I shall picture them as some ridiculous creature, smile like a fool & piss myself laughing in my mind as they talk about how perfect they are & how shit my life is.
Now, I hear you ask but what animal could possibly be that hilarious looking to distract me from such hurtful comments? Well, my friends look no further...
This animal here is my top pick to picture people as;

IMAGE SOURCED FROM HERE.

THE NAKED MOLE RAT!

Like really next time the bitchy girl at school (or whoever from wherever) says something to you, stand there and just picture her as this sad, pathetic little creature. Because honestly on the inside this is what they look like, a pathetic little creature. The only way they feel better about themselves is by tearing others down. So just smile and nod or laugh (it's up to you if you laugh out loud or in your mind, possibly more polite to laugh mentally but every now and then a stifled laugh is acceptable). Or better yet just laugh to yourself & shake your head in disbelief of their stupidity, works every time to make over confident fools second guess themselves and feel silly! I actually can't wait to put this method in practice and see how well it works for me.

Pretty much the moral of this post is, don't let some terrible person who says nasty things hurt you. Because why on earth would they bother? The only time other people try to attack others is if they aren't confident about themselves (or if you kicked their cat or something else equally horrifying, well then you would deserve it). But if people are just unnecessarily mean to you for no good reason, well take a look at your life, do you have something they could want? It could be anything, but I guarantee there is something there they wish they had for themselves. And it doesn't have to be material items it could be that you are just a generally happy person, or you are self confident or someone else thinks highly of you & not so highly of them. The list is endless, but I assure you it all stems down to jealousy. So take no notice of nasty people and if by chance you are forced to deal with them and listen to them either talk about how fantastic they are and crap you are or have them be nasty to you, just imagine them as my friend the naked mole rat. Because nothing is funnier than that animal and you surely can't take anything that thing says seriously! And then go home and pray for that person, pray that they stop being such a negative mean person & pray for the strength to continue to tolerate them & help to continue to picture them as a naked mole rat. I am fairly confident God would prefer we laugh at them & then pray for them instead of punching them in the face! (Even though sometimes the later option seems a lot easier!) Plus laughing is a lot more socially acceptable than giving someone a black eye, apparently.

Hope this helps some of you and to all my negative fans that read this blog, trust me next time we have a conversation and I stand there with what could look like a fake smile on my face I assure you I am picturing you as a giant naked mole rat & dude, you look hilarious as a giant penis with teeth!

Thanks for reading, love all my positive readers! Let me know what you do to deal with idiots or what animal you would imagine a mean person as?

Love you all.

XoXo.

Weekend recap + OOTD video!!

2012-01-30T09:41:00.001+10:00

Hi loves!
How was your weekend? Mine was ok, nothing super exciting as it is hard to do something exciting when the weather is cold & rainy! Saturday we visited my family, had lunch with them, went to the shopping centre for a look (I got my first ever 2 OPI nail polishes)!

My first 2 OPI polishes, Rainbow Connection & Excuse Moi! I love Excuse Moi! I haven't tried Rainbow Connection yet, I am waiting until my nails grow a little longer, but it looks AMAZING!

We hired out some movies for Saturday night (The Change Up is pretty funny)!
On Sunday Trent took me out to lunch at La Porchetta, which was really nice. We honestly don't go out that much & that's our own choice, we just prefer to hang out together at home, but being out was a nice change! We nibbled garlic bread, I sipped wine & Trent had a JD whilst we waited for our meals & then I got another wine (for free) as our waitress forgot to put our order into the kitchen! I ordered the chicken avocado pasta, which was a little different then I had pictured, it was ok but not the best. Trent's pizza ('the lot') was very yummy! I think next time we go back I will order a pizza!
After lunch we went to visit my brother & spent some time with him until my parents arrived back home & we had dinner with them!
It was a lovely weekend despite the cold & drizzly weather. Now I do like cold & rainy weather, but in moderation! I don't like it when it last for more than a week & it makes it difficult for me to do laundry! But it's a nice excuse to do nothing & relax! I can't wait for Autumn or Winter when it is cold but dry!
Anyway, here are some photos of our weekend;

Me and my 2 cats before I left for lunch!

Wine & the La Porchetta menu!

Trent's pizza. YUM.

My pasta dish, not the best, but ok.

Trent enjoying his pizza! I had one slice & it was delicious!!

Lachlan & I.

Snuggling Marlin.

Snuggling Kabuki.

My perfect husband & I. Gosh I love him, so darn much!

My 2 younger but bigger brothers. I love them more than life, I adore them!

Mums 2 cats watching her cook dinner...

Well, those were the photos from my weekend (sorry they aren't the best quality, they were taken on my iPhone!) & here is my 'outfit of the day' (OOTD)/

V-log/bloopers video from Sunday... Enjoy...

Outfit details;

Jacket; USED - City Beach
Top; Alannah Hill
Jeans; Guess - Myer
Watch; Guess - Goldmark
Bag; Guess - Strand bags
Shoes; Giovanna

Make up details;

Foundation; Revlon Colour stay
Lip stick; Australis - Cha Cha
Eye Shadow; Australis - Choc-a-block
Eye liner; Maybelline gel eye liner
Mascara; NYX doll eyes

Hope you enjoyed this quick blog! Hope your weekend was as nice as mine!

Have a great week!

Love you all.

XoXo.

Lets catch up; Weather, dogs in showers, wax melts, life & more!

2012-01-27T14:05:00.001+10:00

Hey loves!

How has life been?
Once again I really must apologise for my lack of updates, I've just had some personal stuff going on that is a bit tough, a bit of what was mentioned in the last blog & another thing. I'm not going to go into right now as I am not really ready to share what is going on, but I think eventually will tell you all. So I am really sorry for being so quiet on the blog front it's just hard to write when I feel so down. But I will be ok, today I am feeling a lot better & more positive! :)
Lately life hasn't been all that exciting, the weather here in Toowoomba has been cold & rainy.

Cold weather in Toowoomba in the middle of Summer!

On the weekend we did some yard work on Saturday, thankfully the weather was clear & sunny, the yard looks 100% better! My parents helped us out & Trent helped Dad do some work at their place preparing for a new fence at Mum & Dads, we are so grateful for their help! Now we are planning on eventually doing a nice garden down on the back fence, just have to pick plants & decide on a design. So that is all very exciting!

And I also snapped some photos of Mums cute puppy, Kokoda, he is growing up so fast and is very adorable!

The dingo digging post holes.

Our yard 1 year ago. Last January 2011.

Daisy & Duke playing in Dads work car. See how good Daisy can jump, she kept playing jumping just for fun!

Trent working on the carport with Lachlan.

Our back yard now! 1 million times!

My favourite shots of Koda pup from Sunday. Isn't he adorable? I am trying out the sports function to capture action shots on my canon 500D, he is a quick little fella!

The sky was beautiful on Sunday.

My little brother also bought his first car this week, we are very proud of him. It is the exact car he wanted, a Land cruiser ute!

Lachlan & his new car.

And my 2 brothers started back at school this week, they are in grade 11 & 12 this year, I can't believe they are both seniors! I remember when they both were in grade 1, realising how old they both are now makes me feel VERY old!
On Tuesday afternoon when it was cold & rainy I felt bad that Duke & Daisy were outside so I decided to wash them in the shower & then they could be inside for a while, now my shower is NOT one of those big fancy ones, it's just a regular small shower. Bathing a German Shepherd in there is very hard, but I love them so I do the most insane things! So they stayed indoors until we went to bed that night, I would've kept them in over night but it's not easy to do with 2 cats and plus they aren't 'indoor dogs' so out they went!

Shower time! Daisy was the most filthy (obviously) but Duke has a thick coat so it holds a lot of dirt. The dirt in Toowoomba is red dirt so it makes them look even more filthy & underneath our house (our house is like split level, so it's raised up just off the ground) is all dirt and the dogs lay under there so they get dirty very quickly!

**Please note after they were bathed, I scrubbed and cleaned the whole shower & bathroom and vacuumed where ever they went. I love my dogs I just don't love how messy they can be! **

The hounds inside drying off and all clean.

Yesterday was Australia day & the rain stopped and the sun shone making it a hot disgusting humid day, I didn't do anything super exciting for Australia day as Trent was at work (clearly everybody else did from all the Facebook updates & Tweets I was reading) so instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself I got stuck into my housework whilst the sun was out. I seriously did like 6 loads of laundry, it's hard when it's so rainy to do laundry, but on the rainy days I did get to test out my new dryer that Mum & Dad gave us for our wedding gift! I also dusted, polished, vacuumed and mopped!

My dryer! :)

Waiting on the floors to dry.

Freshly mowed lawns & 2 cute pups!

And then I decided I better mow the lawn because there was more rain predicted, so I had a full on day but my house is shiny, pretty & thanks to my new wax melt purchases it smells lovely!! Have you tried those wax melts? You pop them into the top of an oil burner candle & they melt and release the scent, they last for like 20 hours of burning time! I love them! They are so much better than using oil (I use to use lavender or sandalwood oil). You know how oil goes gross & sticky & can make a mess? Well, the wax melts just re-hardens once the candle goes out, so it's a lot safer if you have cats (or children) that can knock over candle holders that may have oil in them, I love mine! Dusk has some nice scents & there is a candle shop at Highfields (Lily Scents) I love that stocks some great candles & melts, I picked a few up there on Wednesday when I was out with Mum. The scents I got were rain, clean cotton, baby powder & morning dew. I like scents like that! What scents are your favourites?

This is a quick look at our bedroom. I just did this duchess display yesterday, I've been meaning to do it since we got the bedroom suite but just ran out of time or forgot. I really like it, I knew with our bedroom I wanted quiet dark timber furniture that was chunky and had dark handles so that looked masculine and then I could display a few feminine items without the whole thing looking to girly, which is why I like the black frame it's still pretty and delicate but not to girly. And those little blue statues are a boy & a girl they are placed on 'my side' & 'Trent's side' of the room and they were actually made by my Dads Mum, I never got to meet her but my Great Grandma gave them to me and I've looked after them for years knowing one day I wanted to have them on display in my marital bedroom. I think they are very sweet & the fact they have a special meaning behind them is even sweeter! The other pieces shown are a pink & white doily my Mum gave me, the floral candles & candle holders I got at Target on clearance, I have a crystal ring holder, bowl (both from second hand/antique stores) & a penguin (penguins a bit random I know, Mum gave him to me) and the LOVE word was made for our wedding. My Mum spray painted it gold for me. I really like it and it is how I pictured it, I may add to it over time but I don't think I want it to be overly crowded, if anything I will probably add more photo frames! What do you think of it?

Now for some random photos from through out the week;

Kaubuki and I this week.

Me on Wednesday, yes it's the middle of Summer and I am wearing a scarf & jacket!

I had to take Kokoda out for toilet time in the rain, fun. (This is the bottom half of the outfit, jeans & boots! Crazy clothes for Summer, but they are my favourite type of clothes to wear so I am not complaining!)

Thanks for reading this post, sorry it was so random and all over the place, but now you are pretty much up to date with my life! The weather is cold outside, I think I will go pop a movie on (or a trashy reality TV show DVD - guilty pleasure!) & do some ironing, no fun but it needs to be done! May write another blog on a website I have been OBSESSED with lately & I think you will be too!

Have a great day!

Love you all.

XoXo.

Remember the little things when you are down!

2012-01-16T23:09:00.003+10:00

Hi loves!
Ok this post will probably be a bit rambley and bit like a journal entry, but we are friends right? I can tell you this stuff & vent to you...
Do you ever have those feelings where you are like you are just happy? Like you maybe having a crappy week but something happens and it just perks your day up a bit? I love those moments and I like to mentally store them in the back of my mind so next time I am a bit down I can remember one of them! The other day at the grocery store I was with Mum whilst she was doing her groceries (obviously) and a lady we didn't know started chatting to Mum, she commented on how lovely it was to see a Mother & daughter so close (because we were joking with each other) & she complimented me on my figure & then she said I reminded her of Princess Kate! Like WOW, Kate Middleton! I nearly died! I think my response was something like "Serious? Oh wow, thank you so much, WOW!". I love her & her style! This was the best compliment I have ever received from a stranger! It's fair to say I was pretty pleased, I may have walked down one or two (or three) of the grocery aisles doing a princess wave & telling Mum she should be happy to walking with someone that could be mistaken for royalty. But I was just joking, I honestly don't think I am as pretty as Princess Kate the only thing we have in common is we are brunettes, but it's just little things like that, that make me smile. Like the first comment about how close Mum & I was good enough & then this lady just out did herself by saying I looked like Kate! I was so stoked & I will be filing that compliment away for one of those days when I look in the mirror and go, "Serious God you gave me this face?". And we all have those days and next time a stranger or even a friend compliments you receive it graciously & file it away!
Lately I've been a bit down, I've mentioned it in a past few blogs that I am not feeling super cheery or well. And you know sometimes people just aren't 'Sally Sunshine,' my 'issues' (I guess we will call it that) are kind of irritating a lot of it could be avoided if people weren't so mean, stupid & ignorant.
I guess I've just got a bit of stress in my life and it really builds up and takes it toll. And at this point in my life I shouldn't be stressing as it's not good for me! I will admit that I am a very stressful person unfortunately (I am trying very hard to work on it, any tips on dealing with stress would be appreciated!! Leave a comment below, tweet me or comment on the Facebook page), I take a lot of things to heart and lately I have had to hold a lot of anger & stress inside because of what I have had to deal with pretty much over the past 10 or so months.
When I was growing up in my family if I had a problem with my brothers or my parents we expressed our feelings. We said what was on our minds even if it wasn't very nice and sometimes we would (& still do) get mad at each other and not talk for a few hours or if it was bad maybe a few days but then it would blow over and we could move on, because what we were feeling inside was released and we felt better we didn't have that thing eating us up inside it was released & the weight was lifted. I honestly grew up thinking most families did this. Well, I now know that this is not the case, I am now put in a situation where I can't voice my opinion without being spoken over or having the person I'm talking to throw a tantrum and storm out of a room (these are not children I'm dealing with either, these people are older than me)! This to me is beyond frustrating, like seriously? I don't know if it is the fact I am a woman who has an opinion most of the time & that I will speak up and defend myself, I will defend the people I love and I will call someone out if they being ridiculous. It just puzzles me how mean people can be & sometimes it's sneaky mean, like passive aggressive kind of stuff, that's the worst I hate it! Like trust me I can be mean, if you offend or hurt someone I love I will be the worst thing that has ever happened to you. 13 years of being bullied at school has made me one of the most defensive & quick thinking people I know. Seriously, I was (& still am) very tiny at school I had nothing else, I couldn't fight someone my only form of defence was words. It also went for me and my sister, she could beat me up (she is tougher & slightly bigger than me) but I could cut her down in seconds. And I have so many things I want to say to people that are really hurting not only me but someone I care about so deeply and I can't. Just because people are to full of themselves to listen and can't be proven wrong and they just won't open their eyes and see what other people are really like.
Like I could be a complete fake idiot & tell people what they want to hear, but honestly doing that makes me sick. I was raised to be nothing but honest and that's how I intend to stay. My parents taught us all some very important life lessons I now realise & will always remember; we were praised & rewarded for the good, we knew when we did something bad, we were given nothing for no reason, we knew hard work was the way to achieve what we wanted & always stand up for yourself & be honest (there are a ton more things, but this post is already way long). My parents are great people & I think I have very strong characteristics of both of them & lucky for my enemies a bad temper is one of them and it is genetic from both sides & I thank them for that!
Anyway I'm off topic again...
To be fair I gave these people ('issues') every chance in the world, I was nice & I tried so hard but when you be cruel, spiteful, bitchy & pathetic to me you only get a few chances and they have well and truly used up all their chances. Like I just cannot possibly be like "sure friend come to our house, insult me, insult what we do, praise an idiot and trash us" I just cannot deal with that kind of stuff anymore. It drives me nuts!
This is a time in our life where we our building ourselves up, this is meant to be a happy & stress free time. But it is honestly like people are dead set on making life hard or unpleasant for us. And for some crazy reason these people think things can just be forgotten? Like are you for real? You offended me on countless occasions at some of the biggest events of my life, I let some go but like hell I am letting others slide.
And reading this you may think well maybe I should be the bigger person and let it go? Trust me I have let countless things go, I can't let anymore things slide. Nothing I do, nothing we do is good enough it's insane, I have never been put in such a strange situation like the one I've landed myself in. And the issue of 'respect' was bought up the other week to us, we are both & I most certainly am a firm believer in respect works two ways. Now Trent and I respect a lot of people, my parents, family, friends, the elderly, service men & women, emergency service people , etc. You know the normal people and I respect everyone and anyone who shows me respect. I however cannot respect someone who does not respect me. It just can't be done. I'm sorry, it just can't. If you treat me like dirt, well my friend expect the same thing right back. I will not be treated badly by anyone nor will anyone I care about be disrespected in front of me.
And to be honest Trent and I are quiet different when it comes to dealing with confrontation, he is much more calm & lets things go but I know when things hurt him & well I am not (as you can tell by this novel of a post). I just don't know, he just prefers to shut people out & that's it, I would prefer to deal with the situation at hand tell the people who are wrong that they are & why and then hopefully move on from it. But honestly I think I am going to swing on his side of dealing with things this time (unless I get my chance to voice my opinion & let me assure you I am not scared of people I will defend myself & those I love until I am blue in the face). This year one of New Years resolutions as a couple was this;

When someone fucks up, let it go. If they keep fucking up, let them go.

(Sorry about the f-bombs, but we are adults and every now and then the 'F' word is totally appropriate!)
In all seriousness, we are living by this. I personally have felt a bit hurt by someone (different person) lately for like the millionth time & I have just taken a big step backwards, if I'm not good enough to share things with or be included in their life or be treated how I should be treated I shouldn't do everything for them. And honestly this is pretty much the way my husband deals with things, we kind of are just done being hurt by people & being treated like we are nothing. We don't get respected as a couple or individuals so why on earth would we want to associate with people who are so mean? So now we are just throwing our hands in the air and saying we are done. I am trying to take on board his way of thinking, 'just don't care' attitude. Since writing this post and getting so much of my chest (writing is like therapy for me) I am now a little confused that if I was confronted by these 'issues' would I just laugh, shake my head and leave or would I stand and fight? Or I could just say; 'bless your heart' or 'I'll pray for you'. I guess it would all depend on the moment but either could happen. It could be a bit of all of them... What would you do?

Sorry about this kind of 'angry/sad' post, it just feels good to write. And if by chance you feel you have been personally vilified by me please remember I only write the truth, I've never lied in any of my posts and I didn't feel this way over nothing, so maybe instead of writing some lame nasty comment back you take a long hard look at yourself and how you act and change it. If you still feel vilified please feel free to contact me directly to discuss the issue.

Well, loves that is I all I have, I promise I will try to write more positive and upbeat posts it just feels good every now and then to vent, hope you don't mind. I love this blog so darn much! I will now end this by reminding myself that a lady thought I looked like Princess Kate and to me that is awesome and it makes me smile!
Stay positive, remember the little things that make you smile & try to block out the bad. (I seriously need to take my own advice!)
Love you all and thank you so much if you made it to the end of the post! Gold star for you!
XoXo.
B.

This is so true.

Yes I admit it, I am extremely sarcastic young lass. I can't help it!

Truth.

The top 2 I need to work on, the bottom 3 I am pretty good at!

XoXo.

To the beach we 3 go...

2012-01-15T22:06:00.001+10:00

The other day we packed up again early in the morning. We were beach bound again and this time we had an extra person to join in the fun, my brother Lachlan. The weather in South East Queensland has been terrible, so hot! So we headed to the Gold Coast to cool off! It was a lovely day and we decided to spend the day around 'The Spit'. We discovered a dog friendly beach there and cannot wait to take our dogs down there, we just aren't looking forward to a 2hr car trip with them! (If you have any tips on travelling long distances with dogs please let me know! They do travel well, but 2 hours is a long time in a car!)
We swam and played in the surf for 2 hours and then headed for lunch at the usual place 'Peter's Fish Market'. Then the boys decided they wanted to go fishing so Trent went and purchased a new yabbie pump to collect some bait and we hung out at a quiet little beach area where they caught some yabbies (I played with them) and tried to catch some fish. Well, the beach area didn't have many hungry fish so they went to fish on the rocks at 'The Spit' and I took some photos! It was a great day and I had lots of fun, I always love relaxing at the beach and just doing a whole lot of nothing!
We headed home around 4:30pm and the most gorgeous sunset welcomed us back to Toowoomba! The sky was on fire that night, it was breath taking!

There really aren't many photos of me at the beach just because I feel sick! I have terrible sinus & a Summer cold kind of thing. So I feel like death! But I was happy to be at the beach!
But anyway here are some photos;

The Spit at the Gold Coast.

Lachlan and I...

Trent & I...

Sandy thongs...

How cool was this, I checked my phone & saw 11:11 on 11/1 how neat!

I was bored so I entertained myself...

Lunch... Yum!

Relaxing under a tree...

My yabbie pals!

I took photos whilst the guys fished...

Trent relaxing and fishing! I love these photos of him!

Toes in the ocean!

I love spending time at the beach, so relaxing!

At The Spit for some more fishing...

The boys fishing...

Crabby!!

Watching the trawlers head out...

Snack for the trip home!!

Told you the sky was on fire... Impressive? I think so!!

Sorry this post was a little late, I planned for it be up 3 days ago but I've been sick with a cold & my internet has been mega slow, fudge me why!

I hope you enjoyed this post, it was nice reliving these photos of a warm sunny day considering how cold & rainy it is today!

Stayed tuned for more blogs & if you would like to stay up to date on my random adventures & photos please follow me on instagram, my username is bella_in_bindyland

Love you all.

XoXo.

Makeup haul January 2012!

2012-01-09T19:26:00.000+10:00

Hey loves!
This is just a super quick post, on Sunday I went to a local pharmacy which was having a big cosmetics & perfume sale! So I got some great bargains and thought I would share them all with you!
Let me know if you have picked up any great make up deals lately & where! If you live in Australia check out your local Malouf Group pharmacy for some great make up deals!
Enjoy the video...
Love you all,
XoXo.
B.

A cold remedy & life update.

2012-01-07T00:05:00.000+10:00

Hey loves!
Sorry for being absent for the past few days! I've been a little sick. You know the sort of sick when all you want to do is be looked after? Well it's fair to say I was glad to have my Mumma to care for me!
This past week was a little busy, I spent 2 nights with my Mum whilst Trent, my Dad & little brothers headed out west to do some hunting. It was great to spend time with Mum, watch girly movies, shop & care for her bundle of cuteness Kokoda.

Mum and I went to chinese and even got a dessert of deep fried ice cream to share!

My outfit for shopping.

I purchased the most beautiful vintage inspired dress!

& I also got some new DVDs for my collection!

Mum made me a delicious breakfast each morning!

Being at Mums meant spending time with this little gorgeous ball of fluff! I love him! I do not love him that much however at 4am in the morning when the cats decide to wake him up! Yes, the naughty jealous ginger will make a lot of noise or tap him on the head to wake him up!!

The jealous ginger; Kabuki!

My parents other cat Marlin, he has had this goatee since he was a kitten!

I started getting a little sick when I was there, nothing serious just a sore throat & cold symptons. Nothing life threatening, but by the time Trent returned home I was still sick so I spent yesterday resting. I made a special cup of my 'witchy-poo' tea and this morning I woke up and felt so much better. So I thought I would share this quick remedy for basic colds & flus. I've been having this 'potion' since I was young & it's always worked for me & my family members...
It's pretty simple you need;

1 clove of garlic (or 2 if you want an extra strong cup)
1 cup of boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons of honey to sweeten.

Then you;

Crush the garlic. Either put it through a garlic press or finely dice it.
Boil kettle.
Put the garlic in the cup.
Pour boiling water over garlic.
Stir in honey, add more if needed.
Drink & start feeling better!

I find having this just before bed works best. Obviously if you are allergic to garlic, water or honey please use some common sense and don't drink it. Garlic has a ton of health benefits as does honey. Pretty much this drink works wonders for me, my family & I'm sure it will help you feel better if you aren't feeling 110%. I really don't mind the taste of garlic, I even eat the garlic out of the cup once I've drunk the tea. Sounds disgusting but I like it. I know some people can't stand garlic, but I like it & plus after drinking this tea I know I am safe from vampires.

Today I was feeling a lot better and did some laundry (I had a ton to do after Trent had been out west!) & I did some groceries, nothing mega exciting! I am now spending the night with my biggest younger brother Lachlan. I like having my brothers stay over and keep me company whilst Trent's on night shift!

Anyway a few things that made me smile this week apart from being with my Mum & her pets.

My husband coming home from hunting!
Being loved by such an amazing man.
Getting a surprise parcel from my friend Libbi with a t-rex shirt! Such a cool shirt! Thanks love!
Beautiful sunsets.
Loving my pets & loving the love I get from them.
Having such a good relationship with my younger brothers & I pray that never changes.
Being grateful for my amazing parents & how much they love us.

My awesome new shirt! How neat is it? She got it for me because I call Trent 'T-rex' & clearly this is a t-rex & it's shooting a rainbow from it's mouth, which kind of ties in with a personal joke Libbi and I share about our imaginary pet unicorn. Random eh!? But I love having a best friend that I can share the most bizarre jokes with!

With sunsets like this, it puzzles me how people don't believe in God. I feel so grateful every time I see a gorgeous sunset! If you want to see more of my sunset photos check out my instagram & make sure you follow me, my username is; bella_in_bindyland

What made you smile this week? A million other things made me smile, but they are the main ones! Wow I can't believe we are pretty much already finished the first week of 2012! This year is flying by already & I say bring it on! I cannot wait for things to start happening this year, I hope 2012 is a great year for not only Trent & I, but for you all as well.

Well, I best be off to bed so I continue to get better!

Thank you for reading this somewhat random, jumbled, random post!

Love you all.

XoXo.

Project 365... {Completed}

2012-01-02T00:27:00.000+10:00

On January 2nd 2011 I took a photo of the 'Queen Mary Falls', I uploaded it to Facebook and captioned it as day 1 of my project 365. A photography style assignment in which I would take 1 photo everyday. Today I finished it on the 1st of January 2011.
I am not going to lie it wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done, especially if I forget to upload photos for a week (or more)! And some days it really was difficult to find something positive to write about or even feel like taking a photo (yes shocking I know, but sometimes I don't feel like taking photos)! And some days I cheated and used photos that I had taken on not exactly that day & I even used the same photo twice, not intentionally. It is a photo of my parents dog Rebel, I used a photo I really love of him & I for the day he passed away, forgetting I had already used it a few weeks before!
The pleasantly surprising thing that happened today was I started getting Facebook messages, statuses, comments & even a tweet saying that I have friends that want to do project 365 this year because I inspired them! I inspired someone! ME! How cool is that! Now I am not claiming I invented the project 365 but I've seen lots of variations of it on the internet. 365 photos of food, your own face, things that inspire you, things you are grateful for, your baby, etc. I focused mine on my life, whatever positive thing I could find in my life that day & trust me in 2011 I had some rough days, my life is not always sunshine & glitter believe it or not and I had to look long and hard to find a gleaming sliver of positivity on some of those dirty crappy days full of negativity! But I did it! Doing it really helped me see the good in almost everyday! I found it really rewarding because I can pretty much recall each & everyday from 2011 and considering what a hugely important year it was for me I am so grateful. And to the few people that got to feature in my project 365, thank you. You are all there because I love you and value that you are in my life, you are all positives in my life. (With maybe 1 or 2 exceptions!)
But I thought I would share with you now the 365 images I have captured over the course of the past year, the images that piece together the past 8760 hours. The pictures that explain almost each & every one of the 525, 600 minutes of my life in the past 52 weeks.
Enjoy...

This image was the final one, I pieced together the most important things in the world to me. My husband, fur babies & family. Yes, my friends are also very important to me, but without these 3 main factors I would be nothing.

From looking at all these photos you should be able to tell very easily a few main things about who I am...

I love my husband who is perfect.
I got married in 2011.
I spend a lot of time with my family who I absolutely adore.
I love animals & they are a big part of my life.
I take way to many photos with mine & my families pets!
I only have a very small selection of close friends.
I like food, crafts & sunsets.
I've met a few celebrities.
I got my braces taken off in 2011.
I really don't mind taking photos of myself, at the end of the day if you are unhappy with how you look, how on earth can you expect someone else to think you are pretty! And God made me this way so why not like it! (Remember that!)
I have a very blessed life (& trust me I take none of it for granted)!
I love to take photos.
And maybe you've discovered something else about me that I don't see here.

If you are contemplating doing Project 365 I suggest you do it! I am so glad I did it, I actually want to print all these photos off and make an album or do one of those photo books! It is like having a diary and recording everything about each day for a whole year. And whilst scrolling through the 'photography app' section on my iPhone last night I noticed you can actually down like 'Project 365' apps! That's pretty handy if you don't want to share them with all your Facebook pals! I am considering re-starting the project, but I honestly think I may take a break. But it doesn't mean I won't stop taking photos! I am obsessed with taking photos I have been since high school, seriously ask anyone I went to school with I was always the annoying nerdy kind of kid that took photos at parties, school events , etc. And being that kid didn't make me cool or win me any friends. YAY for being a loser!

If you want to check out my project 365 in my depth, please go to my Facebook page which can be found HERE or if you would like to check out more some of my random photos of everything follow me on instagram (bella_in_bindyland).

I hope I have inspired a few more of you to do this & if you decide to please let me know by commenting on this post or letting me know on Twitter (@bella_k) or Facebook because I would love to check out your photos! And if you think; "darn it's already January 2nd, it's too late to start the project" it's not, I started mine on Jan 2nd last year! You can start it whenever you like! And make sure you keep in mind this year is a leap year so you will be taking 366 photos! So label your album Project 366 or something similar!

Good luck & if you do this I hope you find it as rewarding as I have!

Love you all!

XoXo.

{200th blog post!!} In 2011 I...

2011-12-31T11:09:00.001+10:00

Before I start with this post I would just like to say WOO HOO!!! This is my 200th blog post! 200! If you have been with me since the beginning or read every single post, you've read 200! Way to go! How awesome and I find this big number so appropriate to sum up such a big and important year... Yes that is right I am back with my annual yearly review! You can read last years HERE. I like to write these because at the end of 2012 I will look back on this one and remember all the events from 2011, big & small. 2011 was a HUGE year for me, the biggest so far in my life, so lets start!

In 2011 I....

Celebrated the start of 2011 with my family. Hiked to the Queen Mary falls. Fell more in love with my fiance'. Witnessed the Toowoomba floods first hand. Had to navigate through the terrible floods that swept through our town of Toowoomba with Trent to pick up my brother from in the centre of town. Felt so much sadness for the flood victims. Donated anything I could to the flood victims of Murphy's Creek, Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley. Was inspired by the love Daisy & Duke have for each other. Won a Playstation 3 and a few games. Celebrated my 2 year anniversary with Trent. Decided on a wedding dress, well actually I made my Dad pick my dress & he picked the best one. Witnessed my dog Daisy steal a big dog food container from the laundry and break into it. Purchased my wedding dress & veil, they were so expensive but I think worth every cent. Finally taught Daisy that it is fun to play with dog toys. Hand wrote letters to my best friend in Ipswich & got hand written replies. Strengthened my friendship with my best friend. Purchased 2 pairs of Guess jeans. Had so many great times with my family. Went to the coast with my family & Trent. Was appreciative for the amazing little bigger brothers God gave me. Went to Rainbow Beach for my good friends wedding. Watched the Super Bowl and backed the winning team again (Packers!) Spent a lot of time with my Mum, shopping, sipping coffee & loving her. Took thousands of photos on my Canon. Celebrated Valentine's Day with my fiance'. Was disgusted once again in someones behaviour. Shopped around for a new car. Went out to dinner with my family & surprised my Mum with a cake and had the whole restaurant sing 'happy birthday' to her. Was spoilt by Mum who gave me 2 antique tea sets. Purchased an iPhone after much hesitation and actually love it now. Won tickets to go see Alan Jackson at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Had a water fight with Trent. Went on a picnic with Trent. Took my Dad to see the Alan Jackson concert with me. Attended another friends wedding in Ipswich with my parents. Got surprised with a new car when I was sick on St. Patricks Day. Owned a brand new car. Went shopping for car accessories for our new car. Got very excited about being able to go grocery shopping and fit all the groceries in the back of our new car (grocery shopping in a ute is tough!) Spent countless days with my Mum. Purchased a beautiful yellow sundress I love. Had a bridal shower thrown by my Mum & Melissa. Had a Tupperware party/bridal shower where I was very spoilt. Spent time with my little bigger brothers. Blogged, blogged & blogged some more. Thought we lost our dogs forever when someone let them out. Got our dogs back thankfully. Got more Tupperware than I know what to do with from my bridal shower. Laughed at how silly my fur-babies are and loved my pets more & more everyday. Purchased some new Ralph Lauren glasses. Got spoilt at Easter. Spent time with Mum whilst the boys went hunting. Successfully baked my first lot of hot cross buns. Watched my brother march in the Anzac day parade and felt so proud. Used the old wood stove in our house to keep us warm in winter. Got my drivers license, finally! Met Jennifer Hawkins with Mum. Baked Trent a birthday cake & celebrated him turning 22. Got matching pyjamas to my cat. Didn't feel sad when the announced Osama Bin Ladens death. Dealt with a lot of negativity, hate & stress on the lead up to our wedding from people who should've been loving & supportive. Drove back & forth to Ipswich many times with Mum organising everything for our wedding. Was super proud of my youngest brother when his hunting story was published in an Australian hunting magazine (Boar it up ya). Was disgusted by peoples ignorance. Picked out Bible verses for our wedding. Built an amazing friendship with someone I never thought I would be this close to. Had to replace one of my bridesmaids because my beautiful friend was pregnant. Watched my brother get presented with the Silver Duke of Edinburgh's award & felt so proud. Picked out wedding rings and got spoilt with the prettiest one available. Survived the "end of the world" or "rapture". Sent out a massive stack of wedding invitations. Helped Mum buy her gorgeous bengal kitten, Kabuki. Finally got my braces taken off. Went and saw the McClymonts in concert with a good friend & met the band. Finally tasted Grill'd burgers in celebration of having no more braces. Started being financially rewarded for all the work I've put into my blog. Witnessed to many beautiful sunsets to count. Met Lee Kernaghan. Got fed up with all the negativity and stress people were causing us so we packed up and left our life for a few days and went to the coast. Went to 'Cooly Rocks On' car show at Coolangatta. Purchased a gorgeous skirt from Kitten D'amour. Loved Mum & Dads cats possibly to much. Won tickets to a Broncos game & went with Trent. Picked out a suit for Trent to wear at our wedding. Purchased our doggies winter coats because Toowoomba gets super cold. Picked out my flowers for our wedding. Actually fuelled my car up all by myself. Split timber all by myself & started our wood stove. Headed to Ipswich to spend time with my lovely friend. Went to Dreamworld with Trent & my 2 brothers. Accidentally char grilled a bird in my wood stove. Successfully paid our bills, mortgage, rates , etc., for 2011. Got a wood heater installed in our house. Got my makeup professionally done for the first time ever (wedding make up trial). Got eye lash extensions. Ate at the Shingle Inn with Mum way to many times. Had a wedding rehearsal. Handmade all my table favours with Mum for our wedding. Handmade all our place cards for the wedding with Trent. Bought a beautiful big blue Guess bag to be my wedding bag. Picked up my wedding dress & veil. Got a surprise parcel from Ireland. Fell in love with how gorgeous our wedding cake was. Got my hair ragged curled. Spent the night before my wedding with 2 of my most lovely friends and had a great time. Had my family come together. Married the man of my dreams. Had my wedding day be so amazing & beautiful. Wore the most beautiful wedding gown & veil. Was hurt by peoples actions at my wedding. Surprised everyone at our reception with a surprise Father/Daughter dance. Loved being a bride. Packed up, told no one (except my family) & went on a secret honeymoon to Montville. Went to the Buderim Ginger Factory, Eumundi Markets & Noosa on our honeymoon. Went to Australia Zoo and Ettamogah Pub whilst honeymooning. Watched movies from our spa in our room & stayed in the most romantic & private cabin on the honeymoon. Won a $1000 Westfield shopping card. Purchased an Apple iMac with the gift card. Decided on colours to paint our house. Started painting the laundry. Got given a brand new dryer for our wedding gift from my parents. Fell in love with Instagram. Purchased a new bedroom suite with all the money we were given for our wedding. Went to a car show in Ipswich with Trent & the EK. Ate lunch at a dine in Pizza Hut. Tried to rebuild the relationship between me & my sister. Was selected for jury duty. Hated jury duty and was put on a terrible case. Purchased tickets to see Taylor Swift play in Brisbane in March 2012. Laughed at the fact my parents sent their feral cat to the RSPCA because he was to aggressive, then collected him because they felt bad & luckily the weekend vet wasn't able to get near him to put him down, now he is much more loving. Had a ladies day with Mum and got hair treatments done. Celebrated Mishka's 2nd birthday. Had my heart break when Duke ran away. Walked the streets of Toowoomba searching for Duke for a whole weekend. Saw how heart broken Daisy was without Duke. Had my heart mended and my faith restored in others when a beautiful & honest family contacted me to say they had been keeping my baby boy safe all weekend. Started making YouTube videos. Watched to much trashy TV. Went to the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers. Felt lucky to live in such a beautiful town. Cut my hair, well cut my fringe into a straight across fringe. Embarrassed my Mother by wearing a wags the dog tail around Target. Went to my first ever baby shower for a beautiful friend. Decorated my house for Halloween. Went on a shopping spree in Brisbane. Got surprised for my birthday with a beautiful little black kitten from the RSPCA named Spook for my birthday. Turned 23 years old. Had a birthday BBQ that changed the course of 2 peoples lives, I guess for the better. Saw my sister get ridiculously drunk. Helped my sister have enough courage to walk away from something that wasn't good for her. Fell in love with Spook. Had a family BBQ at Cooby Dam to celebrate my 23rd birthday. Started bike riding. Stacked the bike. Haven't really ridden since. Won tickets to go see the Sunny Cowgirls concert. Met the Sunny Cowgirls.Got given a beautiful key ring from London from a great friend. Celebrated Halloween. Made Halloween treats. Got no trick or treaters. Cried when our family seal (Rottweiler) Cooba passed away. Went to a craft class. Went to my sisters university formal. Purchased a big beautiful Christmas tree from Myer that will last us for at least the next 5+ years. Had my cats try and eat my tree. Went to the beach. Fished. Cleaned up the beach from fishing line & found $5 floating in the ocean - karma! Celebrated my friends 21st. Handmade some Christmas ornaments. Handmade my Christmas cards for all my loved ones. Had my brothers sleep over & look after me whilst Trent was on night shift countless times. Celebrated my brothers turning 15 & 17. Was so proud of my youngest brother for getting a traineeship as a vet nurse, because he is now one step closer to his dream of being a vet. Showed my lovely friend from Brisbane around Highfields. Snuggled my friends baby. Won tickets to the Faith Hill & Tim Mcgraw concert in March 2012 (& an iPod, movie tickets, PS3 games, vouchers & so much more) and felt very grateful. Went to Carols by Candle light for the first time ever. Celebrated my Dads birthday. Had to be strong when I had to take Mum to the vet to put our much loved Rebel to sleep. Was once again so hurt & disappointed by someone. Walked my cats on leashes. Snuggled a baby brush tail possum. Made a lovely friend who I can so easily talk to, but yet have never met. Baked sugar cookies. Used royal icing successfully. Celebrated Christmas early with friends. Made Rudolph cupcakes. Celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple. Got spoilt at Christmas with my family. Welcomed a new member into our family, Kokoda Mums new little puppy. Loved to much. Laughed a lot. Cried. Felt the pain of having something beyond our control not go right. Was a wife. Was a housewife. Was a friend. Was a best friend. Was a sister & a daughter. Was a blogger. And loved every minute of it. Appreciated the fact I got older this year. Appreciated every moment in 2011 from the hard stuff to the perfect ones. Realised those who love me are worth the time, those who don't aren't. Lived by the quote of

'If your presence can't add value to my life, your absence will make no difference'.

Packed up for the night and headed to Brisbane to ring in the New Year with a great friend.

So that was 2011 for me, how was it for you? For me it was tough, great, sad & brilliant! I say bring on 2012, 2011 was a combination of easy & hard situations so I can handle whatever 2012 has to throw at me and I can't wait for it to start! I am so happy I've been writing this blog & I've recorded so many of my feelings & events, it really is such a great thing & I can't wait to write even more posts in the coming year. Please enjoy tonight & have a wonderful time and most of all be safe...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Love you all.
XoXo.
B.

Kokoda; our new family member!

2011-12-30T22:50:00.000+10:00

Hey loves!
I have some great news! I know most of you read the posts about both of my families dogs sadly passing away almost within a month of each other from old age (you can read the posts HERE & HERE) and I loved reading your comments, tweets, emails & messages about those posts it made me feel a bit better about such a sad situation! Yesterday however was a positive day for my family. My Mum picked up her new little puppy! He is a blue stumpy tail cattle dog (just like Rebel was)! His name is Kokoda**, which I think is a great name! I thought I would share with you all some photos of this little cutie! He is a very well behaved puppy and knows how to sit already! My parents cats seem to be ok with him, that aren't thrilled that he is there, but they are not being nasty to him which is great! I am so excited to welcome this little cutie into our family and I thought everyone would love to see some cute puppy photos, because why wouldn't you want to see a puppy! :)

My first photo with Kokoda.

My new baby brother (yes in our family even if you have fur you are still considered family!)

Barry the Boar - the toy I bought him!

Kokoda and I. My new baby brother...

Mum and her new baby boy!!

Mum and Dad and Kokoda!

He already is such a loyal & affectionate dog towards my Mum, I am so glad & also very proud to have such a great dog in our family. Mum deserves & needs a good, trustworthy & reliable dog and Kokoda seems perfect!

Can you spot the naughty Ginger in the back ground??? (KABUKI!)

Surrounded by cats! But they don't hurt him, they reach in and pat him on the head but that is all.

Chewing on Barry the Boar.

Sleeping.

Passed out on my lap.

Smile Kokoda!

Argh, I did NOT expect him to kiss me back!!!

Getting a bath this morning.

Trent and his new baby brother-in law!

Kokoda's first photo shoot was today! He sat there perfectly for about 1 minute while I snapped away! He is a perfect dog!

Then he passed out, it's tough work being a puppy this cute!

So that is Kokoda, cute hey! I love him, I know he doesn't replace Rebel or Cooba, no dog ever will but it definitely feels a little more normal now having a dog at Mum & Dads. And as I just said we aren't trying to replace Rebel or Cooba, no dog can but I am sure they both approve of this little fella and would've accepted him into our family! He is already so loved and I am so proud of him, he is amazing! And just for the record he is a pure bred stumpy tail cattle dog, meaning he was born with no tail, we did not dock his tail or anything close to it! It's the way God made him, just like how my cat Mishka has no tail! He comes from a very good breeder just outside of Toowoomba who Mum and Dad said was very nice, I can easily say this is going to be one very loved dog and I am sure he will love us all in return! I will keep you all updated with pictures as he grows etc.

Love you all.

XoXo.

**This name may stick but there is a very slight chance it may change in the near future. But for now I am pretty confident his name will be Kokoda!

Christmas 2011.

2011-12-29T23:49:00.002+10:00

Hey loves,

Just thought I would do a super quick update and let you all know I had a fabulous Christmas and I hope you all did as well! We spent the day with my family. I had so much fun surprising them all with some lovely gifts. I love spoiling them all because they really deserve it! We had a lovely family lunch that Mum cooked for us. Just like every other Christmas it was great. We got to my parents early and left late. I was extremely spoilt and love all my gifts :) I got some lovely presents... (I may do a haul video/post early in the new year, let me know if you want to see it!!)
Here are some festive photos;

The cats being festive.

My festive crafts for 2011.

Christmas morning, Santa came!

Christmas baking!! Shortbread, sugar cookies & rudolph cup cakes.

The dogs opening their gift, a new toy! :)

What the pets got for Christmas dinner (there were 2 cans of dog food, but it was easy to take a photo like this!)

Me on Christmas morning!

One of my Christmas gifts from Trent.

Opening gifts at Mum & Dads.

Worlds prettiest sewing box to go with my new sewing machine :) YAY for being spoilt!!

I was excited to give my brother this gift as he is a little tricky to buy for, he was surprised and loved his new Akubra!

Trent getting spoilt!

I love this photo, Dad looks so surprised & happy! We got him a camping stove thing. (Sorry Trent picked it I just know it's a good one!) Dad really wanted one so he was very happy!

If there is one thing I love about Christmas it is when Mum cooks a giant bird! Gosh I love turkey!

Trent about to enjoy the best meal of the year!

Champagne at lunch!

My delicious lunch... Roast turkey, pork, crackle, potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, peas, corn, stuffing & gravy!! Yummm...

Lachlan and the best dessert ever, Mums pavlova!

Tristan and I.

My beautiful Mum & I in our matching Christmas shirts!! :) We spoilt Mum this year, she deserves it!

Our first Christmas as a married couple!

That is a quick glimpse into our Christmas day for 2011. It was so lovely to share it with my family, I really would have it no other way and I foresee many more Christmases shared with my family because Christmas without them would not be Christmas to me! It was a very special Christmas being Trent and my first Christmas as a Mr. & Mrs. So that was lovely & I am so grateful to have such a loving husband!

I truly hope you all had a beautiful & safe Christmas.

Stay tuned for another blog before New Years!

Love you all.

XoXo.

PS: Stayed tuned in the New Year a give away will be coming! I was going to do one in December but it was just a crazy month for me so I figured I would do one in January 2012! So if you like music stay tuned! (*Hint I instagramed a photo of the give away in the beginning of December!)

x.B

{Merry Christmas}

2011-12-24T22:08:00.000+10:00

Hey loves!

Just a quick note to say...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hope you all have a wonderful day full of love, family, food & fun! And have a lovely time giving gifts & I hope you all get spoilt as well!

Take care & thank you all for your support!

Love you all.

XoXo.

A Christmas video! {Holly Jolly TAG}

2011-12-22T11:07:00.000+10:00

Hey loves,
I just uploaded this super quick 'Christmas TAG' video and thought I would share it with you all!!

Hope you are all almost prepared for Christmas!

Talk to you all soon!!

Love you all.

XoXo.

Christmas gift guide 2011.

2011-12-18T00:57:00.000+10:00

Ok clearly it's the season for gifting! To spoil the ones we love (& sometimes it's just required you have to buy gifts for some people you don't really like that much...) I always have a tiny bit of trouble finding gifts for some people, well I always know what I want to get most of them but sometimes my budget doesn't allow it! And I love Christmas shopping, I love spoiling my family & a few special friends! So I thought I would brainstorm a few ideas for a few different categories & I hope it inspires you and helps you when shopping for your loved ones...
**I've also linked some of the items in case you are interested**

Men in your life (husbands/brothers/friends/boyfriends/Dads etc.);
Men are hands downs the most difficult people to buy for! But here a few of my ideas (I can't write exactly what I got for my brothers in case they click on this post but I will share after Christmas)...

Board shorts. I always get Trent at least one pair for Christmas because in Summer we go to the beach a fair bit & he just prefers to wear board shorts more than any other kind of pants. Seriously board shorts & thongs (flip flops) is his main outfit. Plus he wrecks tons of good shorts by wearing them to do jobs around the house so he always needs new ones & they just make an easy Christmas present.
T-shirts. Trent does not like clothes shopping at all. He will wear the same darn shirt time & time again until it has holes in it & then to him it is still wearable! So for birthdays. Christmas etc I make sure I buy him at least one new shirt so I am slowly building up his clothing collection.
Jocks & socks. Now I don't normally buy these for people but I know plenty of people who do, it makes sense buying men something they need.
Boxer shorts! Trent always gets a new set either from me or my Mum. This year I have got him a double pack with squirrels on them! The other pair is plain black. They were like $10 from K-mart!

Trent at Christmas 2009 with his new Playboy boxers from Mum.

DVDs. Normally everyone I buy a gift for at Christmas in my family also receives a DVD. I often wait until they are on sale or I go to Sanity where you can get 3 DVDs for $40!
Electronics; wether it be an Mp3 player, a new addition to something they already own (a new mouse, keyboard, speakers , etc.) or even a new electric shaver or hair trimmer , etc.
Cologne/shaving stuff. A few of Trent's favourites are Ralph Lauren Polo (the blue one), Diesel for men & for a cheaper brand he also likes Brut & a few of the Lynx fragrances. For my brothers last year I got them a Playboy cologne set each, they really liked them & I think they smell really nice.
Fishing gear. My Dad loves to fish so almost every year he ends up with some new lures & fishing accessories. Trent is also rebuilding his fishing collection (his was at his parents house & it was thrown out) so they are simple presents & if you know nothing about lures or fishing I recommend asking the guy at the store (just think about where the person you are buying for goes fishing most (ocean or lake) or fish names they commonly say they have caught as you can buy specific lures for certain fish) or if you don't want to ask just read the back of the pack. I normally just try to find the most pink & glittery lure there! :) Also the soft lures that are scented are also good & pretty cheap!
Hunting gear. Not everyone likes hunting but in my family is a popular past time for the men, my Dads birthday just passed (12/12) and I got him a nice new gun case. It is a Plano Hybrid case and is a soft case with some hard parts. It is a 46" case which means it will fit 99% of guns. This one is more of an expensive case but you can get Ridgeline cases which are about $35. Other hunting accessories could be camo' shirts, a camelbak (a water bottle X back pack), arrows (if the person you are buying for has a bow), hunting DVDs (my little brothers always love these), hunting magazines (a cheap gift & my little brothers always love them). If you do have a man in your life that likes to hunt (or even fish) and you have no clue what to get them you can always get them a gift certificate or take them to the store get them to show you, write down or even snap a photo on your phone and then you can come back alone and buy something.
Books. Now not every guy will enjoy reading, only one of the guys I buy for really likes books. That is my youngest brother and I took him to a local book store and got him to photograph a few different titles he may like to own so I can return I purchase a few for him for Christmas. I really love giving books as gifts.
Games. Now of course the most popular game I assume for Christmas will be the latest Call of Duty game but there are tons of different games out there for all sorts of consoles, it just really depends of what games he plays. And if the spoilt man has to many games you can always start buying accessories such as an extra controller, a head set etc.
Car stuff. You can get gift packs of car wash kits for about $30 or less that make great gifts when we were little we use to give to Dad. They always come in handy. Or any car accessory could be appreciated just flip through your local Repco, Autobarn or Super Cheap (or other car store) catalogue for ideas. I am tempted to get Trent some car eyelashes for our Holden EK...
Another good thing for guys keeping with the car theme is a model car of their favourite car... It's easy enough to find out, just casually ask them if you don't know and head to your local model car shop and ask the sales assistant if they have one. No one in the whole of Australia makes a darn Holden EK wagon. No one!
Basically my biggest tip is seriously just take them to 2 or 3 of their favourite stores give them your phone or a note pad and get them to take photos of or write down like 5 things from each store they really want. And ask them to make the prices vary, so from a cheap stocking stuffer gift to maybe a bigger item. Then you can come back & purchase what you want & they still get surprised but they also get something they actually want.

The ladies in your life. (Sisters, Mums, friends etc.)

Now I think buying for some ladies is very simple, some however are VERY difficult... Once again I won't really write exactly what I've got my family because some nosey people may snoop!

Books. I love giving books as mentioned in the above catergory. It could be your favourite novel, a classic, a book you know they want or a cook book. I love getting cook books, they are so inspiring & I've got a nice little collection now and most were gifts. If you are stuck in book inspiration look in the best sellers area. And think about what they like, if they enjoy the new Post Secret App get them a Post Secret book (they are amazing!), if they enjoyed Twilight there so many similar books available now and coffee table books are also great gifts.
Make up. Now this gift is a bit personal & you have to know the person pretty well to buy this. But a few ways to cheat is get something neutral, so natural eye shadow palettes are best (browns, golds etc.) If you have a close friend or sister and know a high end beauty product they have been lusting after take note of the colour, brush or whatever they always pick up & go back and buy it for them. Trust me, I would appreciate like 1 MAC brush or some make up! Nail treatment packs are also good (Price attack now stocks OPI polishes!)

My Estee Lauder make up kit that Trent got me for Christmas 2010.

Hair products. Now don't go to the grocery store and buy average products, get a nice hair treatment pack from the salon. They normally come gift wrapped nicely in free carry bags or clutches. Every salon almost will be doing Christmas bundles. Or you could get a gift voucher for their favourite salon for a hair treatment and scalp massage.
A spa voucher. Seriously if you are really stuck just get this. No one would turn down a good massage!
Clothes/shoes, I find this one really touchy and personally I would never buy someone clothes as sizes & styles are to difficult. But a clothing voucher to their favourite store is always good & easy.
Unique beauty products. Lush has a fantastic natural range, their products are amazing & they have a Christmas range and lots of gift packs for the holidays!
Candles. Dusk has a beautiful range of Christmas themed candle products & also some beautiful smelling candles that look amazing.
Perfume. I get my Mum perfume almost every year as part of her gift. I buy her White Diamond by Elizabeth Taylor as it's her favourite and she has worn it forever. She always really appreciates it and by each Christmas she has run out and is ready for a new set! Other perfumes I am loving currently are; Taylor Swifts 'Wonderstruck', Vivienne Westwood 'Naughty Alice', YSL 'Paris', Viktor and Rolf 'Flower Bomb' and Estee Lauder 'Pleasures Delight'. There are a ton more but they are the main ones!

Estee Lauder Pleasures Delight. Trent gave me this for Christmas 2010.

Pyjamas! If you are close with your Mum and Sister or even your best friend you could always buy matchings PJs! Peter Alexander has some gorgeous pyjamas! I got some gorgeous PJs from my best friend for my birthday, I love them!
Home wares, if you know there is a certain thing they want (a nice plate, a crystal vase, serving bowls etc.) Go and buy it! Buying someone something they want is the best option! If anyone who wants to buy me a gift is reading this I would love a KitchenAid mix master! (Joking I don't expect an $700 gift!)

My parents gave me this lovely picnic basket and rug for Christmas in 2010.

For the fur babies in your life (pets);

Some people may think I'm nuts but I buy my pets gifts for Christmas. They deserve it for all the constant love they give us.

I so far have gotten Duke and Daisy an X-large Kong toy. (You know the red ones.) I got mine from the RSPCA they are like half the price you pay at the bigger pet stores!!
I've only gotten the cats a small bag of toys from the cheap store so far. I am heading to the RSPCA to purchase them a new toy each this week.
Flea & worm treatment tablets are always a good gift. I know they are really quiet expensive (we buy Comfortis for the dogs but are thinking of changing to Sentinel). But a gift of no fleas & worms is a great gift!
A trip to a fancy pet groomer maybe a nice early Christmas treat for your furry friend.
New grooming accessories (brushes, nail trimmers etc.) We just got Duke the new Purina Shedeze to remove his thick undercoat, it's amazing!
A nice new set of food and water bowls. I want to get the cats a new pretty water bowl, preferably a heavy one made of ceramic so they don't drag it around the kitchen.
Pet treats. A nice bag of treats or a big bone would make your pet happy, they really aren't fussy.
My cats are getting a late Christmas present in the New Year. We are shopping around for a big cat scratching post, climbing toy thing. We have found some huge ones for about $120 online, so once Christmas is done we will order one for them!

Cats also love wrapping paper. So make sure you wrap their gifts. They will love you for it!

Some expensive pet food. If you are like us and normally get your pet food from the grocery store maybe treat your pet to a fancy brand from the vet or pet store!
We always buy the cats & dogs a nice can of food that has turkey in it for Christmas!

You can see the pet food tins in this photo!

Just remember when buying dog toys (especially for big dogs) if you buy them from a cheap store they will break. We got Duke a nice red squeaky ball 2 Christmases ago, it was ruined within half an hour because it was just from a grocery store, which is why this year he is getting Kong!

Trent giving Duke his Christmas gift in 2009.

Children;

Now I really can't advise on what to buy kids as I have none to buy for. But I shall try my best and if you are a parent (or you regularly buy for children) please leave a suggestion below or on my Facebook 'Like' page for other readers to see :) !

For little girls; Barbies are always awesome. I know some people are anti-Barbie. I think that's so strange. They say it makes girls have an unhealthy body image. Really? What is wrong with being thin (healthy) and looking like a girl? Ok, I am not getting into this right now, but it's just fair to say I am a strong Barbie lover, I still have all my dolls in near perfect condition and love them all and I cannot wait to have a daughter and spoil her with Barbie things! And if your daughter has a lot of Barbies get her one of those play sets, a Barbie car or even house (I always dreamed of getting a Barbie house!) They are very affordable and I received many Barbie sets (vet, lounge room, horse, stable etc) for Christmas when I was little and loved them (& yes I still have all of them as well!)

Clearly I was super excited to receive this Barbie animal care set!! I think I was maybe 7 or 8 here.

Cabbage Patch Dolls, Baby Born or any other baby doll! Little girls love to play Mum. I think especially if you are expecting another baby. When Mum had my brothers (I was 6 when Locky was born and 8 when Tris was born) I loved copying Mum and carrying my dolls everywhere. (Yes I still have all my dolls as well)
My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shops etc. Now I much prefer the originals of these toys that were out when I was little, I think the latest ones look like aliens. But hey, kids must like it.
For little boys; Tonka trucks or John Deere trucks. I just saw some John Deere trucks for like $20 at Big W and they were pretty big! My little brothers loved trucks when they were little and so did I actually! (I got a tonka dump truck one birthday with a sand pit, the truck is still in Dad's shed somewhere!)
Lego. What kid doesn't love lego!
Farm animals and sets. My brothers loved playing 'farms' when they were small. But Tristan was the main one who has almost a full set of very expensive farm animals by the brand 'Schleich'. These toys are extremely life like, are made in Germany & can be found at most toy stores (Toy World does carry them I know for sure.) They are a little pricey, at least $4 per item and some go up over $10. But they are great toys. Tristan still has all of his and they are amazing.

These are the farm animals, very life like & very good quality!

The farm sets I mentioned are amazing. My parents got these for Tristan and they are hand made from wood. He has cattle yards, stables, rode ring and a cattle truck and trailer. They are expensive but ultimately I think if you buy quality toys and you teach your children to appreciate their toys it is worth it (we were always taught to look after what we got, if we damaged it or broke it on purpose we would not get another.) **I can't actually find a link to the exact maker of the cattle yards but they were purchased in Central Queensland and I think it was made by someone affiliated with Emerald woodworkers group. If your child loves playing with farm animals I highly suggest you try to track down this maker, he is amazing! There are a lot of similar ones that can be found at markets but the Tristan's is the best I have ever seen**

Tristan unwrapping the rodeo set he has. This was in Christmas 2007 or 2008.

Trent checking out the toys. Christmas 2009. In this photo you can see the cattle truck & trailer, stables, cattle yards & rodeo arena. All are still in perfect condition and these are toys that will be one day handed down to Tristan's children. (You can also see a lot of the farm animals I was talking about in my last point)

Children's movies. This is always an easy option.
Books. This will be something my future children will be spoilt with. I love books and they will as well. Once again books can be a little pricey but teaching your children to appreciate them & care for them is very important. One of my most treasured books is a personalised Christmas book I received when I was very little.

I love this book, it's so special to me. I now proudly display it in my house as a decoration and flick through it.

Clothes. New PJs, a new outfit to wear to Christmas lunch or a some new Summer (or Winter if you live in other countries) are a great idea.
Special 'children's perfume or cologne' is always cute. Avon normally does a range of kid's stuff!
If you are planning a holiday on or after Christmas buy a new toy for the trip. So if it is a beach trip maybe a body board or a sand bucket and moulds? Or even some new swimmers.
If your child is getting ready to attend school for the first time maybe get them something to make them excited for school. A new back pack with a lunch box with their favourite cartoon character.
Hair bows, head bands and a pretty hair brush would be sweet.
Toys that get your kids outside! A bike, hula-hoop, skipping rope, balls, sporting equipment, a new pool (like a blow up pool. You can get a big above ground one if you want, but they are pricey. One year Mum & Dad got us one. It was great!) Something that gets them up and outside and moving is great!
Now there is a million items that kids could get for Christmas, in case you didn't notice I purposely left out electronics (ok I did add in DVDs but they are ok in moderation). I just think kids don't necessarily need a new game console or a mobile phone or an iPad to be happy. They need toys that stimulate their imagination and mind not a mind numbing game that keeps them glued to the TV. But I'm not a parent I just know how I was raised and how I plan to raise my kids. These are just my suggestions. :)

Now I hope these basic lists gave you some inspiration and if it didn't, well I'm sorry.

Baking your own gifts for Christmas is always lovely. I always make short bread plus many other yummy treats for my family at Christmas.

Well, my loves I hope this has helped you, you now have 1 whole week left until Christmas. So if you still haven't done any shopping I suggest you get a hurry on and I hope this list helps! And if any of you would like to spoil me, I will have this please...

I am joking I don't expect you to buy me anything! Especially not a reindeer worth over $500.

** Doesn't this reindeer look like he is getting sexually abused by Santa???!!**

I wish you all the best for the final week of Christmas shopping, I still have a few gifts to pick up and buy so don't worry if you are running late! So am I, I'm not super organised or anything!

Love you all.

XoXo.

Goodbye old mate...

2011-12-17T00:55:00.002+10:00

"And it'll break my heart after all we've done, when I call his name and he don't come" (L.K)

This post has taken me a few days to write, it is still hard to deal with...
Just over a month ago I explained to you all that we just lost our 9 year old Rottweiler Cooba, I also wrote that I was afraid our other dog, his best friend, our 15 year old stumpy tail cattle dog wouldn't last much longer. Not because he was sick, but maybe he would fret without his friend and that we all couldn't really handle losing another pet. It really is the most heart breaking thing. Well, unfortunately last Tuesday (13/12) Rebel passed away.
Once again the day started out good, Trent, Dad & the boys left early to head to the cattle sales in Ipswich. Which meant I had to drop Trent off at Mum and Dads very early (7am) and I laid in bed with Mum for a while snuggling the cats, then we went to breakfast & then went to do some shopping. We got a phone call in the afternoon from my sister saying Rebel didn't look too good. I rushed us home and when I saw Rebel I just knew, this was it. It was pretty terrible he couldn't really walk, he walked a little bit but he was kind of curved in the middle, I sat with him & patted him whilst Mum got ready to go to the vet he just kept shuffling closer to me, it was like he wanted me to snuggle him, so I did. I also had to make the phone call to tell Dad about the situation, they were all just leaving Ipswich (1 hour away) as I rang, then when I came back to pat Rebel he took a small fit, it was really terrible. Gosh nothing is more difficult then seeing your animals in pain. We quickly put him in the back of my car & we headed straight to the vet. The vet gave us the news I knew was coming, he had to be put to sleep. He wasn't in pain he said, but he would be scared and confused as by the time we got to the vet he could no longer stand up & he was paralysed in his back end. The kindest thing to do was to put him to sleep. It was just me & Mum at the vet. This was hard, Rebel is Mums dog, she loves him so much, he helps her a lot, she was devastated and I had to try and help her come to terms with what was happening. We had to put him on the table and wait for the vet to come in, seriously I hate this. This was the second pet within a month & few days that I had to watch get put to sleep & also the second animal I had to put down when it was just me and my Mum (Mako the cat was the other, he was very sick). I swear it never gets easier and because it was Rebel a dog that has protected us all since we were little, he guarded our house yard, got rid of any snakes & was a best friend for us all, it was so hard. The hardest thing as well was I had to hold it together, I had to be strong, I had to support Mum, she needed me. Then it was done.
If you can avoid ever seeing your pet get put down, please do so. It's the most horrid experience, it tears my heart apart even just thinking about it.
I spoke to the vet and asked what caused everything he said it was just old age. It wasn't a paralysis tick or the fact it was a hot day it was just his time. Chances are he took a stroke & it kicked off all the problems, I am just grateful we got home when we did and got him to the vet so we could help him. I would feel terrible if he had died all alone and at home scared without us.
We came home and sat on the grass and had a can of Coke & cried together. And still 3 days later as I type this I am crying, it is so hard losing a pet. Like I've said before, it hurts me more to lose a pet than it would if some people I knew died. Pets are always so loyal, they don't hurt you, they just love you and it doesn't matter what sort of person you are, as long as you are nice to them they adore you. Rebel was a special dog and sadly enough we knew this day was coming we just didn't think it would be this year. We thought he would hold out until after Christmas, but it was just his time to go join Cooba. I just hope he is hanging out with all our previous pets in pet heaven & is back in his prime when he was a young, athletic & vicious stumpy tail.
There is one song that describes Rebel & it is 'Mate' by Lee Kernaghan. If you haven't heard it before you can listen to it HERE.
I will miss Reb-dog so much, but like I said I knew this was coming & he has lived such a long life. 15 human years is an extremely long doggy life. But I guess preparing yourself doesn't really help much when it actually happens, it still hurts...
I have so many good memories of Rebel. To quickly name a few;

When I was younger (under 10) I was doing some colouring in out in the sun on the school holidays & Rebel was spending some time with me. I held my purple pen & I saw Rebel had a white patch on the top of his head, well I thought he would look pretty darn fancy with a purple patch instead. When Mum later asked why the dog had purple fur I said he did it himself, she didn't believe me.
We use to have to chain Rebel up if we had visitors (he was a guard dog & was only ok around other children not other grown ups) Chaining him up was a scary process when he was a young & fit dog he would chase us and try to keep us with him. He wouldn't bite us but I guess it was just the fear of him chasing us. He just didn't like the chain, we all dreaded being the one to chain him up.
I know he shouldn't have done this but he pretty much destroyed any snake that slithered into our yard. He protected us from so many venomous creatures and could've easily been bitten himself but he was fearless & no snake stood a chance.
He once took off with my Kelly doll (you know the 'Barbies little sister, Kelly dolls') Yep, he had it by the head and sprinted around the yard with it. That taught us to play Barbies outside!
He always protected us. If I sometimes felt scared at night (we lived in a big house when I was younger on a property) I knew nothing could get me. Nothing could possibly get into the house yard whilst Rebel was there, it made me feel better.

And now for some of my favourite Rebel photos;

A much younger Rebel...

Rebel and I. 2008

I took these photos of Rebel a few months ago.

I took these quick snaps on my iPhone about a month ago. I am glad I did.

I know it's not a great photo but this is Mum & Rebel the night before he passed away. He was happy, he was coming over for pats & rolling on his back for tummy scratches. He was just being Rebel. I seriously regret not bring the big camera this night & taking some good photos of him...

R.I.P Rebel, you were a wonderful dog and I love this photo of us. I told him before I took it "smile for the camera" clearly he is very cheeky and thought it would be funny to poke this tongue out and close his eyes. I know when pets, people etc. pass away they go to heaven but they also stay with us and watch over us, so Rebel I know you protected us for so many years, make sure you continue to look after us. I love you mate, you were one amazing dog & I know you will never be replaced because there is only one Rebel!

Thanks for reading.

Love you all.

XoXo.

How to make; Bindy's Guacamole!

2011-12-15T22:12:00.001+10:00

The festive season is here! *YAY*. Which means lots & lots of Christmas & New Year parties to attend or throw! Parties often mean making party food & bringing dishes to share with friends. One of my most popular dishes I always make for parties & it is often requested by many of my friends & family is my guacamole. So it is fair to say almost everyone loves it!
So this is it;

My guacamole...

Now yes I admit, it is not the prettiest dish in the whole world, but it taste AMAZING! It's the sort of dip you just can't leave alone! So lets get into the recipe...

Ingredients;

2 tomatoes
1 big avocado
1 large red (salad) onion
Salt
Pepper
Sweet Chilli Sauce

This ingredients can be doubled if you want to make a bigger serving.

Utensils;

Container or bowl to mix ingredients
Knives
Spoon
Cutting board

Directions;

Peel, seed & dice avocado.
Remove seeds out of tomato and dice.
Peel and dice onion.
Place all diced ingredients into a bowl/container and mix together.
Make sure all ingredients are combined evenly.
Add salt & pepper to season.
Add sweet chilli sauce to taste. (If you like it spicy add more etc.)
Stir everything together.
Refrigerate.
Serve with salty biscuits, such as jatz etc. Or whatever you like really!

This is such a simple recipe but is super tasty, I love it! My parents love it.

**The scar on my wrist is from a roasting rack burn**

And just for a quick & funny story my parents go out for dinner a fair bit for Dad's work, they were out at a nice restaurant and they had guacamole on the menu, so Dad ordered it for entree. Fair to say it was the normal blended & strange tasting one, nothing like the one I make. Dad had one taste and didn't eat any more of it because it was nothing like mine! :) I think it's the best compliment when people say that my cooking is good! Especially my family because they are extremely fussy!

I hope you enjoy this recipe & if you end up making it please let me know what you think or if you change it in anyway, I would love to know! Also post any pictures of your attempt on my Facebook 'like' page. (BELLA IN BINDYLAND)!

Love you all.

XoXo.

Toowoomba Carols by Candle Light.

2011-12-12T12:59:00.001+10:00

Tis the season to be jolly, fa ala la la la la la...

On Sunday the 4th of December Trent took me the 4GR Toowoomba Mayoral Carols by candle light! I was super excited, I've never been to carols so I couldn't wait!
We went to the outdoor amphitheatre at Queens Park here in Toowoomba and it was packed!! We weaved our way through the crowd to find a small spot of grass to set up our chairs not far from the stage. It's times like this I am glad I am with Trent, I would've given up and sat at the top of the hill but he found us a perfect spot in the middle close to the front!
Trent headed off to get us some 'show food' and we dined on chicken chips, hot chips & soft drink! :) And he also surprised me by bringing back 2 matching Santa hats as I was a bit disappointed as I wanted to bring my sequinned Santa hat & Trent said no way because no one else would be in a Santa hat.Well, almost every person there had a festive hat of some sort! Fair to say he felt a bit bad which is why he got us matching hats & they even flash! Very cool!
The carols started with the Toowoomba town cryer opening the event, I can't believe we have a town cryer, he is so cute! The carols were lots of fun & there were so many people, roughly estimated they said about 5000 + people. It was a really nice event, it was great when you hear so many people singing in unison to my favourite carols & waving their candles.
The only negative things about the event were; they didn't sing 'Rudolph the red nose reindeer' & the 'Disney Princesses' that sung 'away in a manger' sucked! It's my favourite Christmas carol, but oh well it was still a great night!
The night concluded with fire works & then Trent & I finished off a fantastic night with some ice cream from Baskin Robbins!
Now for some photos of the night...

On the way to Carols!!

Got my carols supplies!!

No darn Rudolph the red nose reindeer :(

ME!! :)

Gosh I love him & I am so grateful he loves me enough to put up with my extreme love of the festive season!!!

My husband and I at Carols by Candle light!!

My candle...

Carols by Candle light!!!!

FIRE WORKS!!

Well, loves that was a quick recap of my carols adventure, I had such a brilliant night!! It was great & all thanks to Trent :)

Here is my outfit of the night video, some footage from the night & a bit of a v-log, you can tell how excited I am in this, I am such a dork!

(ARGH why is the screen shots YouTube chooses always so darn terrible!!)

I hope you enjoyed this post!!

Love you all.

XoXo.