Grateful for Lost & Found and Inside Out innovations.

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind so I've been slack with my blog; writing , reading and commenting. Life rolls on ...regardless.

The boys had week 1 of school, then we had a three day trip to Sydney for a 50th birthday and appointments for Sam.

The last 2 weeks I was also worn down by dealings with a telecommunications provider and trying to get our previous email addresses transferred to our new service. It almost broke me , I was so frustrated and couldn't access or send business emails for 8 days.

Our new phone and Internet service had admin issues in the system,  they were actually working. Except for a few occasions, including yesterday, when it was offline for over 2 hrs because a tech support guy overseas had done something . Finally after over 4hrs , three-four phone conversations {including on hold time } , with an interval in between to pick up my boys, I think most issues were sorted.

Thursday, morning, our 3 month old puppies went walkabout - It happened while I took boys to school and errands. They were down the front of property with DH who was working on the driveway with the tractor, the gates were open and the cows were out front too. They ran off , instead of hanging around like they usually do - probably chasing after the cows who strayed across the creek at the front of the property to eat the long grass...the grass was greener.

Dashi & Jed were missing for 24hrs .There is a huge open space for them to roam , 1000 acres on our property alone. The fencing is mostly for cattle only , with 8 neighbours or so in a km radius - plus a forest nearby - we were searching for needles in a haystack. Plus metre high grass everywhere to hide a naughty puppy or two...not to mention dams & a creek with a little water in it, slippery slopes....never mind it was OK in the end.

We spent about 3 hrs looking for them on Thursday. About 6pm I put up missing posters on closest neighbours , about 8, gates. Thankfully , neighbours about 1.5km away though adjoining our front boundary, a WAY  away, over the creek, through trees & scrub, hidden from street view , had found them. They kept them safe overnight and saw our note in the morning while leaving to take their son (8) to school.

They rang and we got to meet neighbours we maybe wouldn't have ; yet. It ended well. Due to ongoing phone number issues I had not put ID tags on them as yet ( Yes, I very slack - I was going too !! and I will Monday)

I digress onto brighter issues -  It is nice to be finally settling in and finding our long forgotten and lost STUFF groove.

On our trip to Sydney I enjoyed a breather from unpacking and playing box tetris to read the newest Inside-Out magazine.


Considered to be one of Australia's best interiors magazine and full of inspiration, I can flick through the pages of Inside - Out for hours. I am still finding new stories or snippets.

Yes, admittedly, some of the latest homeware trends are so far off my decorating radar and way above my budget . I still love to drool dream over what's new for the lounge room, kitchen, bathroom and garden, plus the practical decorating solutions for indoor and outdoor spaces.

I find I get a few ideas to cheat with decorating here and there . This month , I am in awe of the clever design ideas for Kid's playful spaces. By far my favourite feature.

Today , I went to Bunnings to buy chalkboard paint to re- purpose a play table into a chalk table. I will show you once we finish . The other ideas are easy fabulous too, imaginative and very affordable with minimal effort (ticks my first box) and so cute ! Teaming an old ladder and my favourite IKEA 'Ekby' shelves into a pedestal of treasures.

In the , not too distant, future we have plans for outdoor spaces, a little renovation to our cabin and then down the track maybe to build a new home here...one day. I am bookmarking pages for inspiration.

This issue saw craft queen Tamara creating two Why don't you...? projects exclusively for homelife. Re-purposing cracked plates into works of art or updating your wardrobe with a tree branch hanging rail. Just my style now and budget ! The boys will love this idea (we promise to only use fallen branches).

On my baking list is also these Chocolate meringues !

This edition's Inside Out also has a bonus Kitchen & Bathroom book giving a sneak peak into how technology is set to play a significant role in the design and function of tomorrow's kitchens and bathrooms - let your imagination roam into the realm of futuristic kitchens & interactive bathrooms that double as technological hubs with a big focus on innovation.

I can't wait for the self cleaning systems ...but I might give the social networking bathroom scales a miss !!!

So what have you been up to the last 2 weeks ...did I miss much ?

PS ~ I have a few copies to giveaway too.
♥

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