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Sneaky Peek : Lifehouse Design

My sister’s home is featured on the front cover of the current Sanctuary Magazine after their business – Lifehouse Design recently won two awards in the BDAV (Building Designers Association of Vic) annual design awards for their LiFEHOUSE 2.2 house in Castlemaine for:

  • Best Energy Efficient Design
  • Residential Design, up to $300K construction cost

I had also featured their home here when I stayed with them in December. It is so wonderful to see loved ones recognised for many years of hard work!

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Merci

I came across this gorgeous photo online of Minnie Mortimer’s daughter – Tuesday in Paris.

I am so looking forward to all the travelling opportunities in the future with Poppy and James and certainly hope that Paris will be on the list.  We can then pop into the fabulous store – Merci!

(Sorry no recipe today – I haven’t cooked anything exciting this week). Xx

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Big Sister Love

Poppy loves doting on her little brother!  She shrouds him with kisses and tells him: “Don’t worry James” when he is crying.  It is lovely to see your children interact with each other.  It is even lovelier to be able to say “your children”!  

Five Years

Nick and I have been married five years today!  Time certainly does fly since we met almost seven years ago and now we have a dog, two children and a mortgage.  We certainly fit into a clichéd demographic, but I wouldn’t swap it for the world. A few more wrinkles and a lot less partying,

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‘Push’ Present ♥

Acne Studios Cypress Boot

Today I am loving my ‘recently paid off lay-by’ Acne boots that I have been coveting for many months.  These were a gift to myself for the ordeals my body went through to finally meet baby James!

They are almost too beautiful to wear.  Mmmmm – only joking. Xx

Acne Studios Cypress Boots

Acne Studios Cypress Boots

Acne Studio Cypress Boots

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Sneaky Peek : Parents Retreat

As I have mentioned before, Poppy has now moved into our old bedroom (and her big bed) and Nick and I have moved into our newly renovated ‘parents retreat’.

We have only just completed the final touches, as ‘early bird’ James had other ideas and threw a spanner in the works being born three weeks early. I had hoped to have been fully moved into our room before he arrived, but it wasn’t to be.

The window seat is installed, the carpet has been laid, the wardrobe is full of our clothes and we are loving this glorious, new sunny space.

Parents Retreat

Before …

Before...

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After …

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Ikea Wardrobe

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Yum : Chicken Stir Fry with Coconut Buns

Pork BunsI am finally getting back into some kind of routine at home after James was born and hope that I can continue to post my regular format on The Poppy Files again.

I found this recipe on-line and made it last night for dinner.  It was delicious and very easy (Poppy loved the Coconut Bun but didn’t exactly demolish the chicken):

Coconut Buns

  • 270g tin of light coconut milk
  • Approx 2 cups self-raising flour
  • ½ tsp salt

Chicken Stir Fry

  • 1 tsp vegetable oil
  • 3 chicken thigh fillets, cut into 1cm strips
  • 100g mushrooms, such as shiitake or button, roughly torn
  • 1 bunch broccolini or small broccoli, cut into 5cm pieces
  • 3 tbsp oyster sauce, plus extra to serve
  • 2 tbsp lightly toasted sesame seeds
  • Lime wedges, to serve

Method

For the coconut buns:

  • Pour the coconut milk into a food processor
  • Use the empty tin to measure out the self-raising flour – you want 2 tins’ worth of flour
  • Add the flour and salt to the food processor and process until a dough forms
  • Lightly knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, then roll out 4 to 5 balls of dough (you may need to dust with more flour, it’s quite a wet dough)
  • Place the balls into large muffin cases and place, in a single layer, into a steamer basket with a lid
  • Put the steamer over a pan of boiling water (medium heat) and steam for 10 minutes.

For the chicken:

  • Place a wok over high heat and add the oil
  • When hot, add the chicken pieces and stir until the chicken is browned, about 3 minutes.
  • Place the broccolini in a microwave-safe container and microwave for 50 seconds
  • Add the broccolini and mushrooms to the chicken and stir for 1 minute
  • Add the oyster sauce and stir until the chicken and vegetables are coated and heated through
  • Put the chicken and vegetables onto a large plate and sprinkle with the sesame seeds
  • Place extra oyster sauce, sesame seeds and the lime wedges on the side
  • Mop up the juices with the hot coconut buns.

Source:  Adapted from jamieoliver.com

Chicken Stir Fry with Coconut Buns

Chicken Stir Fry with Coconut Buns

Chicken Stir Fry with Coconut Buns

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Cuddling Cousins

Woah!

Woah!

We had a very social weekend indeed with my sister and her family visiting us from Bracknell. Poppy and James received lots of cuddles from their cousins, and Poppy loved playing with the ‘big girls’.

We went out to dinner to Fish Frenzy on Saturday night with them (gotta love meeting at a restaurant at 5.30 pm.  At least you are home by 8.00 pm in time to watch Father Brown!!)

On Sunday we all went out on the boat for French Toast.  The girls were on the lookout for pirates and even had a turn at being ‘captain’, under Nick’s guidance.

We also had a visit from my oldest friend Prue and her family.  To top the weekend off, my friend Tim dropped by to share his recent experiences of cycle-touring through the Swiss Alps.  Ho hum. Xx

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Scarf ♥

As I am feeding James for many hours over a 24 hour period, I am spending quite a bit of time on:

I get lost in all the beautiful images that pop into my phone in the wee hours which help to keep me awake for the very important job of feeding our son!

One image that I especially love is this beautiful woman (probably French) with a stunning scarf – so effortlessly chic’!

Grey-Scarf

I love scarves and wear them regularly.  I really do believe they make a simple outfit into a very stylish affair.

On one of my night-time feeds, I came across this fantastic video from Wendy’s Lookbook:

Sublime! Xx

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Just Because …

Little Jimmy

… he’s so cute, and my days and nights revolve around this pint-sized man!

As a result my topics for my blog are somewhat limited at the moment, so apologies for all the ‘baby-centric’ posts.

We had a visit from our Child Health Care Nurse yesterday and James now weighs 2590 grams.  He has put on 560 grams since birth and has grown 4 centimetres in length!  The many hours of breastfeeding are working wonders.  Xx