Weekend Reading

I thought I would pass on some interesting things from the internet that I have been reading or tagging lately.

I made these biscuits this morning with a biscuit maker that I've had in the cupboard for a couple of years.  I've had two previous attempts at using this item however I haven't had much success.  The trouble was I was using a recipe that wouldn't squeeze through the little templates and you have to look for a recipe for "push biscuits" or "Spritz Cookies".  I won't say it was easy because it was little fiddly until I got the hang of it and one template worked better than the others so just went with that in the end.  I remember from my childhood Mum had a biscuit press and we would make biscuits from it all the time so I really wanted to do it for my kids.  These biscuits are a very light shortbread and only take 10-12 minutes to bake.  I will be baking these again and as I do with all my biscuits, I freeze them so they are fresh and we don't eat all of them at once.  Unlike the chocolate box that has come home from school to raise money, ahhh I've just about eaten most of them myself so I will be the one donating the money.  I have no self control when it comes to chocolate and it's my "go to to fix all problems" and yes there are a few stressful problems which aren't going away anytime soon.

A camping recipe for marshmallows on sticks or at home.  You may need to press the "translate" button at the top to change the words into English.  There are pictures and the recipe instructions.

A post from the Lunch Lady about home made Anzac's vs a White Wings Box to make Anzac's.

I came across this blog on small simple living called The Assortment Blog.  The story about a successful couple with 3 small boys who lost jobs, savings and their house in 2008-2009 GFC and were forced to downsize their belongings and family dreams only to discover they have a far more meaningful life than they ever did before.  Eventually they built a tiny little cabin to live in with one small room for kitchen, dining and living and it's tiny but they couldn't be happier.  They document and photograph the cabin being prebuilt and placed on some land.  This is their story here.  Here is the link to their cabin posts.  Whenever I see stories like this it reminds me that having less is not necessarily doing without however I still have issues with trying to get rid of my excess stuff and I have a lot of stuff.  Regardless of this when I read stories like this I gravitate towards owing less stuff and nurturing my kids with home baked goods, love and kindness. Her blog is very inspiring.

Another blog I have been reading lately is Erin's blog called "Reading My Tea Leaves" and her and her husband lived in a tiny one room apartment with a loft bed.  They have had to find another apartment recently as she is expecting their first baby and a cot would not fit into their one room apartment, so it was very small.  She has lots of tips on small living which can still be applied to anyone and is worth a read.

With the school holidays coming up in Brisbane in a couple of weeks here's a list of things to do to keep the kids occupied.

Check out these wonderful painted sticks, another holiday activity and/or when you are camping to keep the kids occupied.

I have these templates and have to make time to create a book each for James and Sienna called "Reasons why I love you".  Check out Melissa's fabulous books for her 4 children, this is one of them and a "how to" post.  I started a page for Sienna..this is her a few years back and her cheeky laugh.

Have a good weekend.