Monday, December 31, 2018

A Very Aussie Christmas....

 
I had an epiphany this Christmas friends.
 
Here we all are in the Southern Hemisphere, sweltering in 40C+ heat, and trying to have a European Northern Hemisphere Christmas.
 
No more.
 
This year, we leaned towards the light and the fresh for festive fare.

 
We wrapped simply, and embellished with glitter.

 
We celebrated with home made and earthy.



Cute Kitty Cat towels were stitched.
 


And packaged prettily.


Friends sent offerings. Nice.
 


 
And decorations were kept rustic.

 
The faux bocce` lawn came up a treat.


And whilst Sugar might now be considered evil, we had some anyway.
 

 
Bath treats were dispensed to one and all...even the littlies.

 
Accessories were key. Of course.

 

 
Miles of gingerbread was rolled and baked on Christmas morning.
 

 
And the Christmas cake was chocolate, ginger and cinnamon...not fruit.


Cherry turnovers made their debut as a new favourite.
 



 
And family all pitched in with their own yummies.
 

 
After which, all we needed was a fruit cleanse.
 

 
 
And a beach getaway.
 

 
I hope your Christmas was merry too!
 
Happy New Year!
 
...Mimi... 

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Top 10 posts of 2018...

 
As the year draws to a close, I thought it might be fun to revisit the Top Ten here at A Tray of Bliss.
 
So without further ado....
 
Number 10...seen above...
 
Customised Luxury Chocolate Bar Sleeves with printable...
 
Number 9...
 
The History of Bohemian Style...
 
 
Number 8...
 
Motherly Advice...Stay Busy...
 
 
Number 7...
 
Budgeting and Insourcing...How to Bake and Make Do...
 
 
 
Number 6...
 
Motherly Advice...Use your Noodle, or Rice, or Pasta...
 
 
Number 5...
 
Insourcing....How I'm Saving Money...
 
 
Number 4...
 
Authentically You....Role Models...Adele...
 
 
Number 3...
 
Motherly Advice...Don't make your own life difficult Part 2...
 
 
Number 2...
 
Insourcing...How I'm saving money in 2018...
 
 
And the Number 1 post for 2018...
 
Insourcing...Budget Busting Home Made Coconut Yoghurt...
 
 
What a year!
 
Enjoy my little retrospective...
 
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Monday, December 24, 2018

 
Merry Christmas my dear blogging friends.
 
May you have the best of the season...
 
...and remember...
 
...everyone is facing a battle of which you are unaware...
 
...be kind...
 
...tomorrow and always.
 
Much love...
 
...Mimi...
 
 
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Saturday, December 22, 2018

Adapting to the life of a 9-5 job!

 
Well this is all a bit different...says me at the end of my first six weeks in my suddenly corporate role...
 
Most days, the only free will I have, is what colour to wear...
 


 
...which has actually turned out to be a bit of fun, because I have several people in the office also wearing The Colour of The Day...

 
I am enjoying getting dressed up every morning. I feel like I'm donning my armour...or a costume perhaps...

 
And never fear, I'm still marinating my own feta..and chicken...and steak. You know me. Ever the Earth Mother even in the face of Corporate Silliness.

 
Meanwhile, must have nails to match the outfit.
 
 
That fills in half an hour in the evenings, whilst Husband and The Diva prepare the meal for common consumption. And clean up for me. What? How did I not twig to this sooner? Work at the office...family takes care of the rest. Oh, that's right...it's my brilliant example and subterfuge brainwashing of them on the merits of cleaning the fridge before one shops, and DIY-ing most of what we need that's done the trick.
 
 
Go me, right?

Of course thrifting is all the more simple now that I have a thrift store immediately below my office.
 
Behold...accessories galore.


 
It really is true that you can double or triple the number of outfits you have, simply by wearing different accessories. Just as well I have a vast collection of said accessories. I knew all that stuff was going to come in handy!
 
Working and earning meant that a new Christmas tree was in the budget.
 
This one has built-in lights...what is this sorcery??


 
And of course, even in the Tropics, we like to pretend we're having a snuggly White Christmas so festive decorating includes throw rugs.

 
How could I resist?
 
I could not have anticipated the changes in our lives this year.
 
My disabled son has a sweetheart.
 
My daughter auditioned amongst 800 hopefuls to secure one of just 16 places in a prestigious performing arts course, so she will move Universities in 2019. She also met her beau at the first university, so perhaps that was meant to be.
 
I have this new job, with all of it's learning and rewards.
 
And life is never the same two Christmasses in a row.
 
You too?
 
Merry Christmas my dear friends. May the blessings of the festive season be upon you all.
 
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