kids crafty suitcase activity ideas: sewing cards

Hi all and thank you so much for all the comments about my kids crafty suitcases- much appreciated! I said I'd share some ideas for things to do with the suitcases and the first thing I thought of was some practice sewing/stitching cards. I was going to make up some of these to put in Amelie's suitcase but ran out of time for her birthday.  They are a great way to get younger children into a bit of (relatively independent) stitching practice, and they would look so cute as part of a suitcase gift. I have a very happy memory of making a picture by stitching it on a piece of hessian for an art lesson at primary school so maybe that's why I'm keen on these too. The first lot of cards in my post are free printables so you'll just need a printer and some card- at least 250gsm card which you can get from Warehouse Stationery, or you could print these out and glue them to even heavier card like the card from a cereal box or even thicker if you can find some. Something else handy to have would be a single hole punch- does anyone know where you can get these from?

Vintage sewing cards from Belladia

Animal sewing cards from Skip to my Lou

I can imagine these cards from Handmade Charlotte would look fantastic as a classroom display- older children could even draw or paint their own profiles before stitching on their hair.

DIY sewing cards using a button as an 'anchor' from Cat Taylor
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Printable sewing cards from Mini-eco
And there are also commercial lacing cards sets you can buy - these would also be a lovely addition to a kids crafty suitcase, especially for younger crafters.

Eric Carle lacing card set

Dr Suess 'The Cat in the Hat' lacing cards

And these animal lace up cards from Djeco at Small Acorns are gorgeous and would be great for older children.

And another other idea for stitching practice would be to buy some hessian, felt or cross stitch fabric such as aida (with nice big holes!), sketch a picture on the fabric for your child and let them stitch along your drawing lines to make the picture. If they are a bit older they could draw the picture themselves first and if they are a bit younger you could just let them practice making stitches on the fabric. You could use an embroidery hoop so it's easier for them to hold the fabric as they stitch.

Happy sewing and if you haven't already don't forget to enter my giveaway for some crafty suitcase treats!
Megan x

vege soup with a touch of magic

I am obsessed with making vege soup lately, especially after discovering Ray McVinnie's recipe for a yoghurt and mint topping that takes vege soup from yum to absolutely delicious!!! It is so good on a winter's night with copious amounts of cheese on toast. This recipe makes heaps- if you are making some for you and some to share then about 3 soup ladles full is enough for 1 adult. You should get enough out of this recipe for about 6-8 adult servings.

Vege soup

4 carrots peeled and chopped

few sticks of celery chopped

2 onions finely chopped

4 cups chicken stock

4 large potatoes peeled and chopped
4 frozen spinach portions (I buy Talleys from the supermarket)

Ray McVinnie's yoghurt and mint soup topping recipe (enough for 4 soup servings)

100ml olive oil

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped

zest of one lemon

quarter cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley

3 tablespoons chopped mint

salt and pepper

150 ml plain unsweetened yoghurt

1. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into the bottom of a large pot. Chop up the onions, celery and carrots and cook in the pot for about 5 minutes or until onion is clear.
2. Pour in your chicken stock and bring to the boil.
3. Add your chopped potatoes and frozen spinach. Bring back to the boil and simmer for about 30-40 minutes until veges are well cooked. You may need to add a little water if your stock doesn't quite cover your veges.
4. When cooked, lightly mash your veges.

To make the olive oil topping - mix the olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, parsley and mint in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.

Serve the soup with a large dollop of plain unsweetened yoghurt and plenty of the oil mixture on top.
Magic!
Megan x

A Mousehouse Kids Crafty Suitcase Tutorial and Giveaway

Hello all, well I've finally got a chance to share my latest project- these little crafty suitcases I made back in April - it takes a while to write a long post like this nowadays! The pink one was for my daughters 5th birthday which she has absolutely loved.  I had the idea to make one after seeing these beautiful Moulin Roty ones in a magazine a few years ago- however they were pretty expensive and only had knitting supplies really so I thought I'd make one that had a bit of everything- knitting, beginner stitching, and lots of other kids crafty stuff. (Funnily enough I looked on pinterest last night to see if there were any other DIY kids craft kits and came across this gorgeous one made back in 2010 inspired by the same Moulin Roty suitcases!)

Some of it such as the knitting needles and the knitting spool are a bit too tricky to use for now but will be great in a few years time. It was so much fun collecting up the bits and pieces for the suitcase- some of it I've had for over a year as whenever I saw something cute such as the knitting needles or the animal measuring tape I'd just buy it and pop it away until I got the chance to get the suitcase done. And I also thought of some things I could make for the suitcase as well- a drawstring bag for her fabric stash, a needle book and pin cushion, a pencil case and a crayon roll. 

So I thought I'd share how I made the suitcase and what I put in it in case you would like to make your own version one day. 

Kids Crafty Suitcase Tutorial

1. Find a kids sized suitcase (mine is approx L29cm x W20cm x H9.5cm).  I bought mine from Bubbalooz- a NZ based website that has heaps of cute suitcases.  Or try searching online for mini suitcases, nesting suitcases or kids cardboard suitcases. You could also search ebay or trademe for a vintage suitcase!

2. Choose a piece of scrapbooking card for the inside lid of the suitcase- Spotlight has a good range.

3. Lie the suitcase upside down on your card, trace around it and cut it out. Then cut about 1 cm in again so it fits inside your lid (bit of trial and error here!) I then glued the card to a piece of black card to make it stronger.  

4. Decide what you would like to put on the inside lid part. I chose some embroidery thread bobbin cards printed from this fab blog here, a knitting mushroom (also called a knitting spool or knitting nancy), some kids knitting needles and some scissors. I got the knitting mushroom from here as part of a seedling kit or you could search Etsy as I saw a few on there too). The scissors were from Bernina here in Tauranga and the kids knitting needles were from the Tauranga Knitting Centre.

Place the items you want on your card and mark with a pencil where you need to make the holes for the elastic to go through to hold the items in place. Now place the card on a piece of wood and use a large nail and hammer to make the holes (see pic 1.) Thread hat elastic (tight but not too tight) through the holes and knot on the back (see pic 2.) Check that your items fit well. Use craft glue or PVA to glue the back of the card to the inside lid of the suitcase.

5. Fill up your suitcase with whatever crafty things take your fancy- here's my list of ideas- I didn't use all of them as mine ended up being more of a sewing/stitching suitcase than an arts and crafts one. I did include beads, pins, buttons etc so you'll have to decide whether they are appropriate for your kids (Amelie's pin cushion was put away very soon after she got her suitcase!!)

Stitching/Knitting

• Childrens knitting needles 
• Knitting mushroom 
• crochet hook
• 2 x ball of yarn
• 4 x embroidery threads
• hessian and Aida cloth (cross stitch fabric) for stitching practice - cut to fit into your suitcase
• Felt rectangles for stitching practice - cut to fit into your suitcase + scraps of felt for projects
•  Plastic needle for hessian for young stitchers
• Large stitching needles for Aida cloth and felt for older children
• embroidery hoop
• Small sharp scissors - sharp enough to be able to cut fabric and felt
• ‘Practice stitching’ cards- buy or make your own
• Small plastic compartment container for beads, buttons etc

Sewing

• fabric scraps
• Pins
• Novelty tape measure
•  2 x rolls of ribbon
•  buttons
•  ric rac/other trims
• elastic
• safety pins for needle book
• brooch backs

Art and craft

• crayons, felts, glitter pens, glitter glue pens, 
• mini paint box eg:  http://www.smallacorns.co.nz/product/Djeco-Watercolour-Paints-12-Classic-colours?i=438 
• beads and thread
• washi tape
• sellotape
• glue stick
• stickers
• paper, card, envelopes
• notepad or notebook and pen
• blank luggage tags
• bakers twine or string
• stamps and ink pad

6. If you're a crafter you could make some things to go in the suitcase as well-as mentioned above I made a small drawstring bag, a needle book and pin cushion, a crayon roll and a pencil case. 

Right, that's it I think! Feel free to ask any questions- I'll write a post soon with some ideas for getting your kids into some beginner sewing and some simple things for them to make using the supplies in the suitcase.

And if you would love to get started on making your own crafty suitcase or would just like some crafty treats I've made up a few things to giveaway- a drawstring bag, needle book, pin cushion, notebook, crayon roll and a little container of craft supplies.

...Edit 27 July Giveaway is now closed...

Just leave a comment here to enter...unfortunately I don't think you can enter by leaving a comment on my Facebook page as Facebook have tightened up the rules about running promotions (comments or questions are welcome though!) so to enter you'll need to leave a comment on this blog post - if you don't have a blogger account. just sign in as 'anonymous' and be sure to write your email address in the comment.  For extra entries let me know whether you are a Facebook 'liker', a blog follower or you could share this giveaway on Facebook or on your blog- just leave a separate comment for each one (I've taken off the word verification for comments so it'll be a little easier to comment now.)

International entries are welcome and the giveaway will close in 2 weeks time Friday the 27th July 7pm NZ time.

Happy crafting and thanks for reading!

 Megan x

Kids Market this Sunday 24th June

My 5 year old and two of her friends had a fun crafty morning on Sunday making things for the Mount Kids Market. This is a new market just for kids to sell things they have made or would like to sell such as fresh fruit or veges, second hand clothes and toys. My hubby told me about it after seeing this article online...

http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/25956-childrens-market-success.html

and I thought it would be such a cool thing to do!  We made some sensory playdough, bead bracelets, lolly bags and a few more things that you'll just have to come along to see! 

Hard at work

It's on this Sunday 24th June from 9am to 11:30 am at the Arataki Community Centre, Zambuk Way, Mount Maunganui (first right off Grenada St from Girven Road end.)

If you are interested in your child having a stall, contact Matthew at the Arataki Community Centre, ph 575 2048 

"Mount Kids Market - Stalls run by kids
This is a great chance for kids to get creative and inovative, from making their own crafts to bagging fruit off the trees. Come down and support the kids earning a little extra pocket money or fundraising for something special. Tables are provided and are $8 per stall, Kids contact 575 2048 to book your space.
HELD THE LAST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH"

https://www.facebook.com/AratakiCommunityCentre

Hope to see you there!

Megan x

my creative space: a baby bouquet tutorial

I've always loved the baby bouquets you can buy to give as a gifts for a baby shower or a new baby- however they are pretty expensive and I wanted to choose what to put in the bouquet so I thought I would try making one myself. I found this Martha Stewart tutorial but it was a bit complicated so I just made one up myself! 

1. First I bought a merino nightie, a pair of merino socks and a bib from JK's (they have a sale on at the mo too BTW). 
2. Then I found a round cardboard box I had kept from a gift (it was one of those Kaloo boxes that had a teddy in it -Spotlight also has a good selection of boxes).  I rolled up the nightie, socks and bib tightly and tied a skinny ribbon around each one to keep it together.  
3. For the crepe paper flowers I used a couple I had made for my three year olds birthday party- there are lots of tutorials online like this one.
4. Then I scrunched up some green tissue paper in the box, popped in the clothing items and the flowers, then cut some leaves out of green felt and arranged them in the box. 
5. To finish I tied a ribbon around the outside of the box and gave to the mum of one very beautiful little baby girl ♥

And 'Our Creative Spaces' has moved  - Kirsty from Kootoyoo is still running it but it is now being hosted at the fab website Kidspot- check it out here

Megan x

Ben's tomato and olive pasta

This is my hubby's recipe for a delicious, easy pasta meal - its a great meal to make when there's not much else in the pantry or fridge (and a good one for Make Do May!)  The girls and Jack like this meal too which is a bonus. 

Penne pasta- enough for 4

2 rashers of bacon chopped into pieces (optional)

1 diced onion
1 clove finely chopped garlic
Chopped veges- beans, carrots, capsicum, courgette, broccoli
2 Tins crushed tomatoes
Kalamata olives-as many as you would like!

1. In a pot put water on to boil for the pasta.  Add pasta when water is boiling. When the pasta is cooked drain and set aside until adding to the pan with tomatoes and olives.
2. While the pasta is cooking, in a wide based saucepan fry the bacon.
3. Add onion and garlic and cook until clear
5. Add your veges and stir fry until cooked (you can add a dash of water to the pan if the veges starts drying out and sticking to the pan)
6. Add tins of tomatoes and olives and your cooked pasta
7. Simmer for 5 minutes

For more meal ideas read my Meal Planning post here :)
Megan x

lunchboxes

Like most mums I have tried everything in regards to things like baby bottles, sippy cups, drink bottles, nappy bags, lunchboxes in the quest to find a really good one (I was going to say perfect but I really hate that word!!) With Amelie starting school it was time to find a really good lunchbox and drink bottle - she used to have 'lunchbox Tuesdays' but doing a lunchbox every day is a whole different ball game!
The lunchbox I've found for her is the one I like the best so far out of all the lunchboxes I've used over the years so I thought I'd share it with you, and the pro's and con's of the other lunchboxes if you are looking to get one for your kids. (Of course it's just my opinion and this isn't a sponsored post or anything!) I do like the other lunchboxes, but for school and for fitting into a school bag I like the Nude one the best.

This is the one I'm using for school and is my favourite- The Nude Food Mover Mini.  I bought it from Plastic Box but you can buy them online from Yum Yum Kids. There is also a larger Nude Food Mover but it is pretty huge!

Nude Food Mover Mini

Pro's

• not too bulky or long so easily fits in her bag along with her book bag and jacket
• easily fits a sandwich, muffin or other treat, raisins, babybel in the main compartment (I don't use the sandwich 'seatbelt') that comes with the lunchbox
• the two pod containers are great for things like pretzels, popcorn, crackers, cheese and carrot sticks, grapes, yoghurt...
• can take out one of the pod containers and put a small apple in the space

Con's

• The only con I can think of is your child losing the lids or the whole containers from the pod compartments so I've labelled the lids and the containers as well.
• and it can't fit a banana

Tupperware lunchbox

Pro's

• lots of compartments so don't need any extra containers which is great

Con's

• can't fit an apple as it isn't very high
• can be quite difficult for kids to open
• I find it a bit too long when stuffing it in a school bag with everything else in there!

Penny Scallan style lunchboxes

Pro's

• look very cute and the kids love the look of them too
• insulated lining
• fits an apple or a banana

Con's

• I found it quite bulky and difficult to fit in a school bag with everything else
• have to use gladwrap, snack bags or a lot of little plastic containers if like me you are not a fan of gladwrap!

Sistema lunchbox 'Quaddie'

Pro's

• compartments on top plus a compartment for small water bottle that comes with the lunchbox so no need for separate containers

Con's

• another one I found just too bulky to easily fit into a schoolbag
• the lid is quite heavy and actually takes up a lot of space in the main lunchbox compartment
• I could just see my 4 year old forgetting to shut the lids on the top compartments properly and then opening up the main lid and anything left in there tipping out everywhere. Maybe not but highly likely!

For her drink bottle I went with this Sistema one I bought from Plastic Box as well. It was only about $5 and is small, light and BPA free (I was looking for a small one as school bags can be heavy enough without a large, heavy drink bottle as well, and there's water fountains at her school too) and it's easy to open and close.

So there you go, my two cents worth on kids lunchboxes...

And here's a couple of tips from a really great blog post I read last year that had heaps of lunchbox tips and ideas but I can't for the life of me remember where I read it (if you have written a kids lunchbox type post let me know!) 

• buy two of the same lunch boxes and drink bottles so you've always got one ready to pack
• freeze a whole lot of muffins and mini muffins so you've got something to grab from the freezer. 

Any more lunchbox tips gratefully appreciated!

Megan x

my creative space: school books

Well my big 5 year old is on to day 3 of school today and wow it has been busy! My fantasy of life getting a bit easier with one at school has been completely turned on its head... getting two, sometimes three kids out the door before the 9am drop off and back at 3 has been a real challenge for me so far! Jack's afternoon sleeps have had to completely change and I actually think I am going to have less time not more because of that! School is going great though and she is very happy so that's good and I'm sure once I get used to it all things will settle down a bit (I hope!)
Anyway, on to my creative space- this was something I did last week that was soooo enjoyable- covering school books. Yes I hear you say - how can that be enjoyable but I really did enjoy doing this- probably helped that I set my little space up with a coffee and the sky remote too!

I had been thinking about how to cover Amelie's school books for a while as I love the creative aspect of this (any excuse to get a bit crafty) and the novelty of covering school books for the first time. I was actually going to cover them in fabric after seeing these great posts from Cotton Kiwi and Ruby in the Dust.

http://cottonkiwi.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/back-to-school-fabric-covered-exercise.html
http://rubyinthedustdolls.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/covered.html

But then I saw some book covers on the amazing Facebook page of Fairy Dust Stationery. Toni designed and printed out her own covers for her daughters school books and folders and covered them with clear duraseal.  I thought this was such a great idea as well - duraseal is not very eco-friendly but having seen how school books get treated it does appeal to keep the books in tact and waterproof! (I used to teach kids who had books covered in wallpaper which looked really great but didn't last long- it would end up ripped and tattered really quickly.) And I loved the idea of designing covers with her name and colours and pictures that I knew Amelie would like.

But life got a bit busy and then I had a brainwave- using my stash of scrapbooking and art paper and card that I have been collecting for ever.  I keep everything for my art/card stash- invitations, cards, packaging, magazine pictures, paint sample cards...anything that catches my eye really.

So in the end I chose some of the papers and card that I knew she would like,  cut them to fit the different school books and stuck them on using a glue stick (I only covered the front of the school books). Then I covered the whole book with clear duraseal. I had 6 books to do and all up this only took me less than an hour.  I also added cute stickers to some of the books and the name labels from Stuck On You (thanks for the advice re: school labels on my facebook page) before covering with the duraseal.

For one of the books I had fun doing a bit of 'patchwork'...

and for one I had this collage picture in my stash that I made about 4 years ago and had never framed so on it went!

I couldn't label the books for each subject as I wasn't sure what each book was going to be for so I added a blank label sticker to the top of each book after covering them.  I got the labels from this gorgeous sticker book "Crafty Stickers" from Book Depository. 

Another fun idea would be to use your children's art works or get them to design their own covers for each book if they're a bit older or use photo's- cut them to fit the book and cover with the clear duraseal- they would love that I'm sure. I still love the fabric idea as well so will keep that in mind for other things like having a special writing or drawing book for home maybe.

And I have to share this great tip from my friend Kylie for school- keep a jar with coins in it - because if you are anything like me you will never have cash in your wallet and there is always something your child will need $$ for school- mufti days, shows, trips, fundraisers etc. And they'll tell you just as you're leaving the house in the morning!

And thank you for all the great ideas about meal planning in my last post Organised Home Challenge: Meal Planning. Using random.org the winner of the tea towel set is Number 10- Miriam! Email me your address Miriam and I'll post the tea towels to you :)

For more creative spaces click here

Megan x

Organised Home Challenge: Meal Planning

It's been a little while since I wrote my last 'organised home challenge' post- just over a year actually! The last one was just before I had Jack and there has not been much organised home stuff going on since then that's for sure. But with Jack now nearly 1 and my eldest starting school I am hoping to make my life a little more organised again. I was inspired to start some meal planning after reading this post on the blog Modern Parents Messy Kids.  I was also reading Annabel Langbein's cook book Free Range in the City and she mentions meal planning and having a weekly plan eg: chicken on tuesdays, slow cooker wed night etc which really appealed to me. The other reasons I want to get into meal planning are

• we cook the same meals a lot and forget about all the other meals we can also cook
• it was taking me ages to choose meals for the week when I did the grocery shopping
• wanting to be more organised so we have all the ingredients we need for dinner and it is at least prepared during the day (if not cooked)
• want to do more cooking of double meals so every 2nd week we don't have to do actually do a lot of cooking
• trying new recipes
• giving the kids a wide variety of meals so they get used to different ingredients and food from different places - I love the idea of having themed dinner nights eg: Mexican night-eat nacho's, listen to mexican music (thank you YouTube!), look on a map to see where Mexico is, have little flags, learn some Spanish words eg: please, thank you, make up a menu etc.

So first off I made a big list of all the meals we already cook or want to cook and sorted them into

Mince, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Lamb, Fish, Pasta, Pizza, Eggs, Salads, Vegetarian and Soups. I used some of our recipe books, my recipe file and searched online for recipes too. 

Then I made up a blank table with a weekly plan (This might not work out every week but at least its a start!)

Mon- Lamb or Pasta

Tues- Mince

Wed- Chicken

Thurs- Beef or soup 

Fri- Fish, Pork or Sausages

Sat- try new recipe or cook a treat meal eg: steak

Sun- easy meal- eggs, soup etc

You can download my (very simple) blank weekly meal plan here- I've also got spaces for trying a new desert each week (really need to learn some more desert recipes as apple crumble is pretty much my only one!)  and baking for the week.

So I thought I'd share my list with you- you could copy and paste it and modify to suit your family if you want.  Some meals in my list have links to a recipe online and as I share/find more recipes I will link to them here. 

I found lots of recipes on the websites below plus a few more like Masterchef, other TV cooking shows and celebrity chef websites too like Jaime Oliver, Nigella Lawson and Annabel Langbein. 

http://www.realstock.co.nz

http://www.foodlovers.co.nz

http://foodinaminute.co.nz

http://www.taste.com.au/

http://www.foodie.co.nz/

MINCE

• Cottage pie
• Meatballs with noodles and tomato sauce
• Meatloaf with mash and peas
• Lasagne
• Homemade cheeseburgers
• Nacho’s MEXICAN
• Taco’s MEXICAN
• Spaghetti Bolognase ITALIAN
• Baked potatoes with mince and cheese
• Chilli Con Carne

CHICKEN

• Chicken Fajita’s MEXICAN
• Slow baked italian chicken (Donna hay recipe)
• Roast chicken with roast potatoes and peas
• Chicken Noodle and Pea soup 
• Chicken drumsticks baked in oven with morocCan seasoning with couscous and roast vegetables (onion, carrot, pumpkin, capsicum, courgette) MOROCCAN
• Crumbed chicken drumsticks with homemade coleslaw
  http://chelseawinter.co.nz/crumbed-chicken-drumstick-recipe/
• Chicken cassoulet FRENCH
• Chicken stir fry with asian egg noodles and vegetables ASIAN
• Chicken Curry (Butter chicken/korma/balti/rogan josh) with naan bread INDIAN
• Chicken Schnitzel
• Chicken Pita Pockets
• Chicken Parmagiana ITALIAN
• Chicken Fricasse FRENCH
• Chicken Fried Rice ASIAN
• Chicken marylands/drumsticks, tomato and olives casserole
• Chelsea Winter Italian chicken and potato bake with mozarella and vinaigrette
• Roasted chicken breast with creamy herb sauce
• Gypsy Chicken
• Chicken Tenders Wraps

BEEF

• Beef and guinness casserole
• Whole scotch fillet with sauce vierge 
• Crumbed beef schnitzel, noodles and corn/peas combo
• Beef stir fry with rice and vegetables ASIAN
• Steak with creamy peppercorn sauce and potato gratin (Annabelle Langbein recipe)
• Steak Sandwiches
• BBQ Sausages
• Hearty Beef Minestrone
• Beef Bourginon
• Curried Sausages
• Beef and Vege Pot Pies
• Crockpot Potato and Sausage Casserole
• Tomato and beef casserole slowcooker recipe
• Creamy mustard sauce beef stir fry

PORK

• Pork sausages, cannellini beans and tomato stew 
• Pork chops, noodles, and peas
• Roast pork
• Pork belly
• Bacon bagels
• Pork Pops with sweet chilli sauce
• Pea and ham risotto
• Hot Dogs
• Scotch eggs

LAMB

• Roast Lamb
• Butterfly Lamb
• Lamb cutlets/lamb rack-with potato rosti's
• Greek style lamb kebabs GREEK 
• Greek style Lamb Steaks with cannellini mash GREEK
• Lamb and rosemary Potato Pie
• Moussaka GREEK
• Moroccan lamb stew MOROCCAN
• Lamb Kofta’s GREEK
• Greek style meatballs in tomato sauce
• Lamb wraps
• warm lamb salad
• Slow cooked lamb and lentils

FISH

•  Crumbed or pan fried fish, french fries and peas or salad

PASTA

• Macaroni cheese with bacon
• Carbonara
• Tomato and olive penne pasta 
• Pea and ham rissoto
• Sundried tomato and cream penne pasta
• Ravioli

PIZZA

• Homemade Pizza’s

EGGS

• Bacon and egg pie
• Breakfast dinner- eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, breakfast sausages
• Omelette
• Boiled/poached/scrambled eggs
• Cheese, bacon and spaghetti pie
• Eggie Surprise (poached egg on toast with spaghetti on top)

SALADS

• Chorizo and potato salad 
• Caesar Salad 
• Greek salad
• Potato salad

VEGETARIAN

•  Falafel with pita bread, salad and yoghurt dressing MIDDLE EASTERN
•  Quiche with bread rolls and salad/peas/beans
•  Frittata 
•  Vegetarian Chilli
•  Vegetable soup with yoghurt and olive oil, garlic and herb topping with cheese on toast 
• Corn fritters with sweet chilli sauce

SOUPS

•  Chorizo and lentil soup
•  Chicken, vegetable and pasta soup
•  Minestrone 
•  French onion soup FRENCH
• Chicken Noodle and Pea Soup

Easy kids meals

• Picky-tea- boiled eggs, sausages, cheese, carrot and gherkin sticks, sausage rolls?
• Sushi

The other thing I've finally done is set up a master list for my grocery shopping- I shop online with Countdown.  I was re-inventing the wheel every week adding the same stuff and the same amounts to my basket so now I can just add all of that straight away and then add any other extras we need plus the ingredients for dinners. Can't wait to see how much quicker it is next week having that done!
Have you been doing any organising lately or have any organising you want to do? Or do you have  a favourite dinner or desert recipe on your blog that you'd like to share? Or just some more ideas for meals or categogories?  Leave a comment and you'll be in to win this cute tea towel set :)

Thanks for reading and happy organising!
Megan

Winter Clothes

I love corduroy for kids winter clothes- warm, hardwearing and just a little bit of an old fashioned vibe to it. I went to Spotlight in the weekend when they had their 40% off sale and they had the most gorgeous range of printed corduroy for boys and girls. I bought some of this cream Babushka's cord and made a really quick skirt for my 5 year old for school.

Teamed with a long sleeve top and leggings from JK's in their 25% off sale it's a great little outfit for a small cost really!

I was also lucky last week to find this cute- as brown corduroy Nature Baby dress in Zero To Five (a second hands kids store here in Tauranga and the Mount) for my 3 year old for $9 -score!

Even though it didn't really need it I added a few hearts (inspired by one of my favourite bloggers Clare at Greenvalley Crafts).

This will look so cute with a long sleeve top or merino underneath and some stockings :)
I love sewing....
Megan x