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Friday, July 9, 2021

Recent Things: Lockdown Baking, Crafting and Reno To-Do Lists

Recent Things in the Southern In Law World

Why hello there! Happy Friday that kind of feels like every other day because we're still in lockdown in Sydney 😜

I've missed a few Recent Things post because we haven't really been doing much of anything. Both Jesse and I have been working from home, avoiding people and maybe getting to the grocery store once a week and that's it. 

In our spare time we've just been hanging out, baking, watching TV, feeling this wiggly little human inside me kick about (so fun!) and trying to get whatever reno bits and pieces we can without having to make a trip to Bunnings.

But let me catch you up on the last few weeks >> 

Lockdown Chocolate Cake Baking

Recently Baking: Chocolate cake 🤤 Is there any better smell than chocolate cake baking in your oven? I vote no!

Whilst I haven't really been eating that many sweets since getting pregnant, I reached the baking stage of lockdown yesterday and decided we needed to bake a chocolate cake ASAP. 

So whilst Jesse was still answering work phone calls, I set to work making the fluffiest, most delicious chocolate cake with a seriously creamy frosting.

I photographed it because it is SO good that I can't keep it to myself.... you need to make this too! SO maybe keep an eye on the blog next week because I'll probably be sharing it then.

New Cricut Explore 3 Machine

Recently Playing With: My new Cricut Explore 3! My friends at Cricut hooked me up with a new machine to test out and I am shook.

This baby is SO fast and I'm obsessed with the new smart materials. No more messing with mats and designs cut in literally seconds. My poor Maker may be overlooked for a while 😅

Custom Mama Jumper made with the Cricut Explore 3

The first project I made was this super quick and easy Mama jumper which I made into a Instagram Reel! It was my first time ever filming a reel andddddd, let's just say there's a mistake you might pick up in the video because I was too busy concentrating on the video and not concentrating on my project, haha.

Drinking alll the water

Recent Must Have: A glass of water by my bed. That's the one random pregnancy thing that seems to be sticking. I commonly wake up in the middle of the night wanting water so the last thing I do before going upstairs of a night is fill my water glass to bring upstairs with me 😜

Baby Stroller Recommendation Babybee Rover 2019

Recently Purchasing: Our first baby purchase, other than clothes - a stroller! I took advantage of the end of financial year sales and picked up a Babybee Rover 2019 model after so many recommendations from friends. As soon as it arrived Jesse HAD to put it together and we were both pleasantly surprised! 

The Babybee Rover was $750 in the EOFY sales (usually $850... I think the new model may be slightly more expensive) and it has so many more accessories and features than other strollers I'd seen in store for triple the price. 

Not sponsored, just a mama sharing a good find! I'm definitely not one of these boujee Mums that needs the fancy stroller brand. I want practical, durable and safe. 

Upstairs Renovations

Recently Working On: Our upstairs "kitchen" - well, what was the kitchen and what will become a study nook! We took the tiles up a few weeks ago and started removing the wall tiles but realised they were just going to leave giant holes and damage the walls.

Our initial solution was to take the tiles off and cover all the holes with VJ board panels, but we decided it would look odd to have only one space with VJ boards so we started looking at other options and getting a few quotes.

The solution? Wellllll, we're going to learn how to gyprock 😅

Gyprock works out far cheaper, it means we can repair all of the holes and put the cableing into the walls and we may even get to put in a little access door into the storage space on the side of this space soooo that's what we're going to do.

Our first step will be cutting back the old gyprock where the tiles are, then we've got to get new gyprock panels, attach and join them, finish them and we'll be good to go. 

Luckily we are pretty good at learning how to do things and when lockdown ever ends, we'll have my Dad to help us too. 

Bathroom Renovations - Removing the Old Mirror

Our granny bathroom reno has stalled because we need a bunch of things from Bunnings and we don't want to go shopping at the moment sooooo the bathroom is just sitting there with the undercoat on the walls, waiting for a top coat, tile paint and a new vanity.

This weekend our to-do list includes removing plants in the backyard (we're taking out one side of garden beds to lay new turf in Spring), painting our staircase risers ready for the new flooring to be installed, doing the top coat in the bathroom and potentially painting the skirting and architraves upstairs ready for the new floors. 

Soooo much to do, so little motivation to do it, haha! 

But tell me, 
What's been happening in your world recently? 
Anyone have gyprocking tips for us? 😜


   
   

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2 comments:

  1. You're still in lock down? I am so sorry. And I thought your country was doing so much better than ours. I'm in the U.S, fully vaccinated, and we are wide open. Maybe that's not such a good thing for the non vaccinated, but, at this point, there is really no excuse. Our vaccines are fully available everywhere. I hope your situation changes soon. And I hope your pregnancy is a breeze.

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    Replies
    1. We've not been in lockdown for a very long time, however, had a Delta variant case from a return traveller which very quickly spread and lead to an outbreak so they've locked the state down.

      Unfortunately because Australia did do so well with COVID, our vaccination program was really slow and we have low vaccination rates so lockdown was essential. At the moment only those aged 40 and up can be vaccinated, or front line workers who are eligible.

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