Classic cars in the Whitsundays

Today was a truly glorious day in the Whitsundays.  The weather was perfect and we could not wait to get out amongst it.

We took our young 'brmm brmm' enthusiast to the Airlie Beach foreshore where the local Lions Club had so kindly organised a Classic Car Show.  Entry was completely free and was to encourage more tourists to Airlie.  It's so great to see a group such as the Lions Club doing such wonderful work for local tourism and small business, whom have all taken a battering over recent years.

We went down, like many and 'ooohed' at the cars.  Master 19 months cried out 'car, car, car' time and time again and the Mister drooled.  I'm not a car 'nut' but I loved having a look at the gorgeous collection too.  We then trotted off to have a coffee and cake :)  Yum!

Airlie was abuzz and I absolutely loved watching everyone appreciate the paradise that is on our doorstep.

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I loved taking them!

The Mister informs me his father had one of these.  What an era! 

The Mister may one day trade me for one of these...

This interior is a dream come true!
I've dreamt of being a Pink Lady from 'Grease' for EVER!  This fits the bill perfectly!

I took this pic just to make you all jealous!!

Hope your weekend was equally gorgeous :)

Photo of the Day (POTD) in the fabulous Whitsundays

We were lucky enough to pop over to Whitehaven Beach recently.  It has to be one of the most glorious places on earth!

It's winter here and yet warm enough in the Whitsundays to swim in the clear ocean.  Our little one loved it!

Been to the Whitsundays lately?  Some awesome accommodation bargains at the moment, the sun is shining and the wonderful people of the Whitsundays will make you feel so welcome.

Jealous much??

Yummies in hanging baskets!

I've been trying to grow some fruit and vegetables in our garden without having to ugly up the yard with lots of wire and mesh.  We have a very high bush turkey population and they are hell on the garden.  They are a protected animal in the area, but geez sometimes I think they deserve a bath in a great big saucepan on my stove!  Clearly, it's only a fantasy of mine whenever I have a damaged garden...

So, recently I have been growing the odd veg and fruit out of hanging baskets and they are growing great guns!  I haven't had any problems so far and will keep you posted.  I found some fantastic tomatoes at Bunnings (yellow!) specifically designed for hanging baskets, I also have strawberries, herbs and lettuce.

The lettuce is lovely now and you can see from my pic that it's been raided recently for our lunch.

I grow these just outside Master One's door and he is helping me water them and watches them growing.

Can't wait to munch!!!!

Strawberries

Hanging Tomatoes

Itsy bitsy tomatoes (they'll be yellow!). Also oregano, basil and thyme.

Lettuce & Parsley

Colour Palette electronic genius!!

What a FAB tool this is for planning a colour palette!  If you find a gorgeous picture online you love, you can simply paste the URL into the program and it will generate the colour palette.  Sheer brilliance!!!  I see so many gorgeous pics and wonder how to colour match them.

I have been having fun with this all morning :)

Here's the site!

Colour Palette Program

Then I found this great link on Creature Comforts Blog with some sensational examples.  What a beautiful blog.

Love, love!  Will be busy exploring gorgeous indoor ideas all day I fear :o/

Have a great day!

Buying Local

Recently in the Whitsundays (Airlie Beach/Proserpine & Bowen) area, we have been asked to reply to a survey on having a local farmers market.  This is something that interests me enormously!  I love the idea of buying locally grown and produced products.

There are a couple of awesome markets around, but they focus primarily on craft, clothes and gifts.  There's a smattering of local producers and food, but not a specific food market.  Understandably, the local markets focus a lot on the tourism market.

Here is the link to our Famers Market Survey.  If you are local I encourage you to take the time to answer it.  Anything that brings great, local produce to our region is a good thing right?

Whitsunday Farmers Market Survey

The Whitsunday Market runs every Saturday morning and also gets up and running when one of the big Cruise ships moors up nearby.  There is also the Bowen Market and the Proserpine Market as well.

I find one of the most difficult things to do product wise in our house is to stick to buying local.  I can buy so much online, cheaper than in our local stores.  I am very aware though that times in the region are tough and try my very best to resist the online bargains.

Why not shop at the market here?  Check it out, it's glorious!!!

Whitsunday Market

Everything in the mouth!

Master 16 months puts EVERYTHING in his mouth.  I seem to have my fingers in his mouth 100 times a day.  Does anyone else have this problem?

We have chewed books, toys, clothes, crayons and chalk.  When we paint I have to hover as he will pop the entire paint brush in his mouth.  He even pops rocks and sticks in his mouth.  Also I hate to think how many moths have been ingested.  Ugh!

It's not so much the gross factor, but more that I'd hate for him to choke on something one day.

Any remedies for this?

Rainbow Cupcakes

I do try most of the time to ensure Master One eats super healthily, however, occasionally we like to break out and have  bit of junk fun!  This weekend I tried Rainbow Cupcakes.  They were delightful, messy fun! We had a ball making them, although Master One did need a bath when they were baking.  What's fun without some mess....right?

I basically made a Basic Vanilla Cupcake Recipe from Taste (my 'go to' website for quick, yummy recipes).

Then I separated the batter into 4 containers and coloured them using the instructions on the side of the food colouring bottles.  I was missing one crucial colour so my colours could have been better..  I then popped some cupcake casings into the muffin trays and carefully layered the colours, smoothing each layer out to the edge with the spatula.

Then a quick spurt of simple icing and a sprinkle of hundreds and thousands.

So gorgeous, a bit messy to make but well worth it once you see the looks on the kiddies faces when they bite into them :)

Vanilla Batter, ready for colour!

Coloured batter.

Voila!

Inside our Cupcakes...yummo!