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

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

Ideas and Sources of fun for the family.

I am always looking for fab ideas to play and do with the family.  I want to keep my little mans brain alive with adventure and fun.  I want to make sure that his Daddy and I are both 'invested' parents and not miss a thing.

Every day I try and think of a fun activity for us to do.  He loves drawing with crayons, playing on his pirate ship, licking the bowl when I cook and reading books (his favourite and mine as I get to snuggle up nice and tight).  But what about some more adventurous play?

I have recently become a huge fan of Pinterest, it's a website that allows you to find and 'pin' all your favourite ideas and categorise them anyway you like.  I spend most of the night after Master is in bed dreaming soundly on Pinterest ooohing and aaahing at the wonderful ideas some very imaginative parents have come up with.  I need other peoples ideas as I am not a very imaginative parent myself I fear...

I have included some of my favourites and am busting to try them out over the following weeks.

What are your best ideas?  What are the best home-based fun play ideas you have with your kids?

Bubble Bath Paint & Recipe to make it!  The joy, the joy of making a MESS!  Awesome blog too!

Gorgeous backyard bowling, so easy!

Home made Xylophone.  Master One loves to make noise, I'd love it to be more tuneful ;s

I think we have to add a 'Car Wall' to Master One's bedroom!!

Now to convince that incredibly handy hubby of mine to help me.  I have the ideas, he has the ability!!

If anyone would like an invite to Pinterest please leave a comment below.  Be warned though, once you get started you are HOOKED!

Have a great day everyone!

Aye aye me hearties!

My dearest Mister spent two weekends making our Master One the most gorgeous Pirate Ship outdoor play area.  This all started with a conversation surrounding making a play area, near the house with a floor  and a sandpit.  Mister can't do anything by halves however and got a little bit carried away....I do love him for it though as the ship is awesome!!

A ships steering wheel is on it's way and I am making an activity board (I'll pop a photo of the one I want to make at the bottom).  The big question now is do we paint it or leave it as is?

Master One has headed straight out the door at every opportunity to climb aboard!

What are the small projects at your house that  wound up bigger than Ben Hur?

Gorgeous 'anchor' Mister made

Nearly finished!

Master One approves.

What a FAB set of steps!

This is the activity board I want to make!  How gorgeous is it?

Family Snaps

Trying to pose a 14 month old child for a photo is virtually impossible!  I must take thousands of photos and hope to catch that perfect shot...every now and again I get it right.

Easter Sunday The Mr, Master Jack, my Mum, my Sister and I headed out for a picnic to a the Peter Faust Dam in Proserpine.

There's plenty of picnic tables and BBQ's, great open spaces for the kids to run (although it is by the water so you need to keep an eye on them) and areas to pop in your boat or jet ski.  We have none of those water toys so we had to make fun with our picnic and bubble blowing.  I take bubbles everywhere because they are always engaging to kidlets.

Below you will see pictures of the beauty of the location, and it is breathtaking and well worth a look if visiting the Whitsundays or Proserpine area.

However, it's the photo I snapped of Master Jack and his Nana (my Mum) that is my dearest.  Two of my favourite people in the world.

My sweeties - Master Jack and his Nana

Jack and his Auntie taking a stroll after lunch

The beautiful Peter Faust Dam

Do you have a favourite family happy snap that makes your heart sing?

Naming our home

For some time, since buying this house in the tree-tops we have wanted to 'name' it.  It's not something I've ever thought of doing before, but I feel the house needs it.

We've tried variations of words in different languages, google translate is a gem!

Here are some of our ideas thus far -

Tropical Tree House
Spanish - casa del árbol tropical
French - maison dans les arbres tropicaux
Irish - teach crann trópaiceach


Too long I am thinking, so another variation had to be found.


Tropical Cottage
French - chalet tropicales
Spanish - casa tropicales


I think it's hard to keep it simple without being overly generic and boring.  If this part is hard I hate to think of designing the sign!!  Wow!


I found this fabbo site with "how to name your house" information.  Some great ideas! 


Then I found a site in the UK that makes the most GORGEOUS signs (for all uses!).  Now I have to find someone local to match!


Check out No on the high street it's drool worthy!  Some examples below..

Too many choices!  All so beautiful.  If anyone knows anyone in North QLD with the talent, I'd love to give them my business!!


Decisions, decisions.


Happy Easter everyone!

Pool play

One essential in the tropics is a swimming pool!  When we bought the house we decided the very first thing we would do is install a pool.  We want Master Jack to learn to swim and it will provide us with summer fun family time.

We decided to pop the pool nice and close to the house to ensure we maximised use of it.  We are also fortunate to have a bathroom that opens directly on to our patio so no need for wet little feet to travel through the house :)  Perfect!

Here is the yard before its transformation.

My dearly departed grass :(

For viewers of the great Aussie classic movie 'The Castle'...."Dug a hole Dad". 

There's not a lot of garden left.

The temporary fencing is going up and it's starting to look like a pool!

And a few months later...

We still have a fair bit of landscaping left to finish and eventually we'd like to replace the make-shift shade sail with a lovely new one (this one was found left-over from the previous owners so a bargain!).  

I'm thinking a cocktail by the pool is on the cards...

Bit by bit we get there :)

Dangerous liasons

Living on a cliff-top can have its drawbacks.  Master Jack is 14 months old and is a mobile terror!  He walks, runs, climbs and above all, he falls over...a LOT!

We do try to childproof the house ahead of injury, but lets face it, sometimes we miss things.  Trial and error unfortunately means a bump to the scone for Jack or worse.  It's always a sad day in our house if he takes a big tumble, but on a cliff it could be so much worse!!

One area we have been meaning to fence for some time is this one...

It's an area near the front entrance of our home and houses the pool filter, as you can see it's a pretty steep and rocky drop to the water tank.  A bit scary!

The Mr fashioned a fabulous Merbau gate on a hinge.  He stained it with a clear stain and I think it looks fab!  Cost under $30.  Bargain!

Looking at the nice new stain though makes me realise how desperate the balcony is for a sand and stain.  Looks like another project to add to the list!

Seaforth visit

We all went away for a few days to Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast.  It was a lovely few days and gave little Jack and I a few days exploring whilst the Mr worked.

On the way there we found this gorgeous little spot about 20 minutes off the beaten track between Proserpine and Mackay.  It was truly magic.  Nothing but holiday houses, a camping ground and a general store.  It's Seaforth, and I know I am probably the last person to find out about it!  We loved it, it's the sort of place that you feel you could let the kids run off at lunch time and call them back at dinner without a worry.

We'll definitely be back for the Markets.

What a view of the Whitsundays too.

Our little picnic spot in Seaforth.

Plenty of picnic tables, room for the kids to run and even a little free swimming pool open on weekends.

Early imaginings

Most people when they imagine their dream home, have an image of a huge mansion by the beach, or a city penthouse.  Personally I love our little cottage in the trees.  We have a very small home in the gorgeous Australian Whitsundays.  We don't have buckets of money to spend on it but plan on doing the house up, one room at a time.  In the meanwhile I have to find room for mothering, housekeeping, and companionship!  Like for all of us, it's a fine balancing act!

The house when we bought it.  Lots to do!