Baby Scarlet was a week old yesterday and has gained weight. All going well!
My nest feathering and savings included:
Lucy needed extra baby linen and burp cloths. I was able to go to the cupboard and grab things from my supply. I have been putting away things for future babies for years!
Some of these I made over ten years ago. How is that for getting ahead!
I reviewed what I have at the same time. Whatever she needs I have a dozen of them!
I used up the last of the peaches. To finish them off I made peach cake using this recipe here which is ideal to use up stone fruit and it also uses up left over yoghurt (which I always freeze).
I made the recipe x 3 which was 18 eggs! This got me two huge slabs in my biggest baking pan plus a heart shaped cake for a gift.
This cake is nice served warm as a desert.
The rest was sliced up into portions and frozen. Everyone got some! So the last peaches live on for some time yet. They were wonderful!
On the side of the road there was a broken old table. I could see it was cedar. So I grabbed the biggest bit of the table top which was pretty big. Andy confirmed it is cedar and he was wanting wood to make two side table tops! It would be worth at least $50. I think there is enough to make some chopping boards as well.
I made a tray of Chicken Enchiladas. They turned out great and so easy. I haven't made them before. I think they would freeze well also.
Andy went fishing with his son. They returned with a whole Eski full of crabs...
I sent them off as usual with a big picnic. They had a wonderful time which was evident by the smiling faces showing me the catch! They divided them up and this gave Andy two dinners this week which he loved.
I made two trays of scrolls. One of ham and cheese and another of vegemite and cheese. That took care of lunch boxes. The fishing picnic was actually slacks of the peach cake and scrolls.
Andy picked up some extra work which he will do over the weekend. He is happy about that.
So not a bad week. It just all adds up doesn't it!
For my Vicky Challenge I counted:
2 kilos of crabs and free meals $50.
2 trays of scrolls $70
The fishing day picnic $50
The weeks lunches $100
The cedar $50
All the cake slices in the freezer $50
I wrote $370 into my savings book for this week.
How was your week? How did you save and get ahead this week?
I need to shop today so am off to Aldi. I love going there! With Andy working over the weekend I think I will do some cooking provided the weather cools down a bit.
Have a lovely weekend! xxx
Love the burp cloths Lucy is so lucky to have those beautiful things for Scarlett. I have a stack of eggs as my sister works at a free range chicken place and gets the huge eggs for frer, mostly double yolkers. I also have nectarines so might have to make a couple of cakes but maybe I leave that till Monday as it will be cooler.
ReplyDeleteThe cedar find was great and just what you needed.
Try and stay cool and have a great weekend and hope you get lots of vuddked. Much love Debbie xx
Dear Debbie, It sounds like your SIL get the best eggs! What a bonus!
DeleteIt is much cooler this weekend. And the week looks reasonable! I am glad of that! Thanks Debbie, love Annabel.xxx
Oh Annabel, you had a very good week. The baby things are just beautiful and I know they will be useful. That's the best combination, right?
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that baby Scarlet is thriving.
As always, I love reading your Nest posts ❤
Thank you Rhonda! xxx
DeleteYour baby things are so precious. They grow so fast don't they?
ReplyDeleteThis week I was asked what weight of yarn to use for edgings on dish drying cloths. I didn't really know. I think mine might have been too heavy.
Dear Vickie, I truly am hopeless with this... I use what I have that matches.... however I lean towards a thicker edging and cotton. A thicker cotton gives me a more substantial edging I think but on something fine such as a handkerchief I think ok I will use something more delicate. I hope that helps. I think its very forgiving and anything goes! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteThanks that helps a lot and makes me think maybe my edging may not have been too thick.
DeleteWow! Love the burp cloths. Would hate for baby to burp on them! LOL Nancy
ReplyDeleteThanks Nancy! I have lots more where those came from too! xxx
DeleteAnnabel your house must just smell delicious all the time. When I saw the cakes, the picture Mimi posted of what she thought your kitchen would look like, popped into my head. Nom, nom, nom.
ReplyDeleteThose burp cloths are heirloom pieces. They are so beautiful.
I am still having hits and misses with the sourdough. I've been in contact with Chris at Gully Grove and she backed up what I thought might be the issue. Both the heat and humidity are causing the sponge, then the dough on first and second rise to over prove. I need to do things a little earlier for each process. I continue to play and experiment.
I cleaned out the caravan and did some basic maintenance on it. I'm glad I did, as Bluey got a call from a truckie mate, that he was in town. Bluey invited him to stay. The van is all ready for him to just pull up and hop in.
The bath bombs have been a bit of a hit around here. I have to admit to finding them quite a luxury item. Katie took a couple with her for her Boyfriends Mums Birthday. Mum just loved them.
Bluey and Katie are collaborating on getting a small chest of drawers updated. I was given these drawers, which are from a 1950's bedroom suite. The drawers had been painted, very badly, but were in great condition. Bluey has painted the shell in gloss white. Katie is modge podging a pretty blue and white wrapping paper to the front of the drawers. It is going to look gorgeous.
With all that we did this past week we have made a saving of $300. You know it, as does everyone else, life is good.
Dear Jane, I think this has happened to me... it has been really enthusiastic on the first rise then run out of steam a bit on the second...
DeleteI hope to see these drawers! I love the collaboration!
Well done on the savings. The bread with the olives you showed me was sensational! With love Annabel.xxx
Welcome to the world beautiful Scarlet. What a gorgeous name for a beautiful girl. How lovely Harper is a big sister. Lucy sounds like she a lovely mother- she has learnt from you and your Mum.
ReplyDeleteYou have had a really good week and you have had a lot on too. I love the sound of chicken enchiladas. I have never made them either, but sounds delicious (love anything I can freeze). I love those towels. They are stunning, how lovely that they can be loved and cherished now. It was so good you had them on hand.
We have had a good week. I have made extra muffins for the freezer, bought some super specials for the freezer, made use of all left overs and got $10 off a shop. I have also continued to work on baby singlets and have visited the library with my DS (they have great free activities there). I found using my hands very therapeutic, thank you Annabel, it was you I thought of, and it helped me immensely. Lots of love,
Bridge
Dear Bridge, Next time I make these enchiladas I will post how... it was super simple probably because I cheated lol but they were yum and you could make up heaps and freeze serves. And use left over chicken or a cooked chicken or quickly cook up some especially...
DeleteI hope to get to see your baby singlets! Yes, it is really good to have something to work on. So much happiness comes from these projects. Keep up the good work Bridge! With love Annabel.xxx
Annabel, the baby things are breathtakingly beautiful! I could just sit and look at those for hours disecting each one in my mind trying to figure out how you did them! I know you shared some other great things in this post but I'm stuck on those baby things! I'm going back for a second look!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree, Patsi. They are breathtakingly beautiful! Love, Bridge
DeleteDear Patsi, One tip I can tell you is that on something like this I made it like a pillow so that in the end all the back of the embroidery is encased inside and totally hidden... this is good with anything fancy as you have a lot of ends and knots. Its a cheats way of neatness lol!
DeleteMany thanks! I am looking forward to the next week of our course! With love Annabel.xxx
Your burp cloths are almost too pretty to use. I love peach's and your peach cake is making me so hungry for anything peach's. Yum Yum Yum.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tealady! I gave Lucy some peach cake for afternoon teas and she loved it! xxx
DeleteYour linens gave my sweet tooth a smile. Sew precious, Annabel!
ReplyDelete*hugs*
Kelley~
Kelley, I think plenty of us are looking forward to seeing your craft work in the new week!!
DeleteRegards,
Rachel
Gorgeous baby linen Annabel. I'm really worried now, I think the blanket I sent had "to" not single t. I said it all went wrong. I worked four days this week so made money rather than saved it. Enjoying the cooler evenings. Tomorrow we start on the new purpose built chook area. Got the weekend off so hopefully some sewing too. I made apricot and Fresia scented soap on Tuesday. It smells divine, looking forward to using it. I didn't do lovely shapes like you. I did it in my huge glass baking dish and slice into rustic style chunks.
ReplyDeleteFi xxx
Fi I hope we will get to see your new chook area!
DeleteXOXO
Vicky
Annabel,
DeleteThe baby things are just gorgeous! They look like part of a designer layette set! Your baking really shows the effort you put into things as well it all looks yummy! And you always find the most amazing things on the road side! I am hoping when it gets nice out again I will be finding something worth while too. As for us we had a big clean out of toys and gave away or donated lots and lots of legos and dinosaurs bins and bins full! I got free store money which I turned into 3 bags of pb cups for .99 and I went back with coupons and got sale items and got more store money for my purchases to use this next week. I cashed in points from various things for a $5 Starbucks gift card and a $5 Walmart gift card and I got goodies in my mailbox! I got a small bag of dog food coupons for free French fries, a razor, a jar of pesto sauce and organic milk and deodorant. Plus some clearance items too. And Rick got a motor off of a junk piece that was thrown out that he will be able to use on one of his projects. We also got 3 dump truck loads of wood for free. The chickens gave us 3 dozen eggs this week too! And we saved lots of interest as of Jan., but I will add that in at the end of the year I think instead of monthly. I paid bills online or over the phone and saved 4 stamps. All in all it was a great week of just a little over $900. I'll take it! I hope everyone has a great weekend!
XOXO
Vicky
Hi Victory Vicky!!
DeleteYou have such an interesting life!! It's marvellous how you make do!!
Regards,
Rachel
The soap sounds divine Fi. I love the chunky slabs of soap. I love the scents you used!xxx
DeleteJust beautiful embroidered baby cloths....you are v clever a lot of detailed work there. Congrats on arrival of another granddaughter....pretty name
ReplyDeleteHi Jan! That towel edging .... Did you knit it?!! It is still elegant!
DeleteI think I need more knitting practice, or crochet, or both - so that I can tell the difference!
Regards,
Rachel
Thank you Jan! xxx
DeleteDear Annabel, those baby cloths seem too beautiful to use , I dont think I could be trusted with them .
ReplyDeleteThe fruit laden cake/dessert looks scrumptious , thanks for the reminder I have printed it out :-)
Wishing you and family cooler weather and respite .Love Maria xxx
Maria, when I think of you, I picture hearty meals!!
DeleteAs for replying to comments, maybe I am copying your style! It is an opportunity open for everyone!!
Regards,
Rachel
Dear Maria, With this recipe if you have a little bit of fruit then you can do a thin layer on top... I have a lot of fruit so did a really thick layer. It was yum! I hope you have had a bit of a rest over the weekend, if possible. With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteDear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteThe baby linens are absolutely exquisite. Such detail.
I had to smile when I saw all the things you did with your peaches, as last night, with snow on the ground, the wind whipping, and temperatures below 20 degrees F, we were enjoying fresh peach cobbler for dessert that was made over our summer and frozen. Your cakes look delicious and I'm so glad you had the link for the recipe.
As for nest feathering, I made two huge loaves of artisan 1 hour bread. Found a corned beef in the freezer and cooked that for dinner one night and have left overs for sandwiches, made a gift for friends wedding anniversary which I know on the open market would have cost at least $40 each. I can't think of anything else right now. Wishing all a wonderful weekend. Blessings, Cookie
DeleteHa ha!! I hope you'll show us all this artisan bread, Cookie!!
Regards,
Rachel
Dear Cookie, I love being able to get out something full of summer fruits right in the middle of winter!
DeleteThe bread and corned beef sound beautiful. Have a good new week! With love Annabel.xxx
Hi Annabel!
ReplyDeleteJust look at the detail you have worked into those treasured pieces! I hope you are amazed at what you have done!
Your peach cake looks very, very inviting - and with cream, too!!
I think you have had a beautiful week!!
I've been chipping away at things - chipping sword grass, chipping potatoes, finishing things, starting things, continuing other tasks!!
With very warm regards,
Rachel Holt
Hi Rachel,
DeleteDo you bake bread in a dutch oven on an open fire? If you do how do you keep the bottom from getting too done?
Blessings,
Patti
Ha ha, Patti! I love this kind of talk!!
DeleteWhile I know that bread can be baked beautifully in a Dutch oven, which is then placed inside a conventional oven or under a barbecue hood, I have not yet tried baking in a Dutch oven over an outdoor fire. However, I intend to try fairly soon! You see, the cast iron in the Dutch oven distributes heat so very well!
What I have done, so far, is baked scones and damper in a spun steel camp oven (lighter in weight, and less fragile than cast iron!) which was then placed within the wood stove's firebox once the fire was down to coals. I used a trivet on the bottom, but it still takes careful watching! Glowing charcoal scones are not really edible!
If you could find a trivet (or devise one with egg rings), you could protect the inner surface of the Dutch oven by wrapping the sharp trivet edges with aluminium foil.
Let us know how you go!!
Regards,
Rachel
Oh I see:) My Grandmom had a beautiful wood stove in the kitchen that even had a hot water tank and a bread oven. I remember her just moving things to a different part of the stove top to get the right temp. The bread baking was always mystery to me :) I would love to have one of those vintage kitchen stoves. I will keep my eye out for trivet.
DeleteHugs,
Patti
Dear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteThe baby cloths are beautiful and your baked goods look delicious. Your savings for the week was impressive.
There is nothing for me to share, as I am relegated to sitting or laying down with these blood clots, at the moment. I have some hand sewing projects I would like to start; otherwise, I am doing alot of reading.
Blessings to all my fellow Bluebirds.
Love and hugs,
Glenda
Dear Glenda,
DeleteYou are in my prayers for a quick resolution of the blood clots. Blessings, Cookie
Hi Glenda!
DeleteIt's wonderful to hear from you again! May He give you good rest and strength!
Is there anything simple you can use to help against blood clots - like pineapple, mango, paw paw or kiwi fruit?
Rest well!
Regards,
Rachel
Thank you so much for your good thoughts and prayers, Rachel and Cookie.
DeleteNaturally, there are several excellent blood thinners and those would be my preference; however, I was hospitalized with these blood clots
and given a prescription for blood thinning. It's a newer prescription, so the side-effects are very minimal and few, fortunately. I am being taught patience :).
Love and hugs,
Glenda
Dear Glenda,
DeleteI hope this will be a good new week for you and you feel improvements. Hand sewing is lovely. While the machine for me gets lots done fast the hand seeing is more enjoyable and I can do it while doing something else or take it with me around the place. the most special things I have ever made are hand sewn... so I hope this will bring you contentment when you must be frustrated. With love Annabel.xxx
Wow, Annabel, your embroidery is divine...heirloom burp cloths! :) Those crabs are beautiful...I've never seen crabs with blue/purple legs, before. I've been picking away at small, but needed, little cleaning and repair jobs around the house this week. My hubby has a week of holidays and we were just discussing whether or not to dive into a "fun" project like removing wallpaper in the guest room or something like that or just to enjoy the time off...haven't made up our minds, yet. I always like the idea of getting a big job done, but then once we start, something unexpected always reveals itself, so I'm a little leery at the moment. :)
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful weekend and lots of grandgirl snuggles.
Love, Jen in NS
Jen, you and Annabel are like peas in a pod!!
DeleteIf your daughters learn half as much as you have in skills, they will be doing well!!
Regards,
Rachel
Dear Jen, Thank you! We often go for the bit of both choice... a couple of days to do a project and a couple of days to relax or some arrangement like this hoping for the best of both worlds!
DeleteEnjoy the week! With love Annabel.xxx
Dear Annabel and crew,
ReplyDeleteAnnabel: **GASP** **SIGH** **SWOON** at the burp cloths! Your stitching is so precious I really enjoy looking at it! Of course you made some 10 years ago, why I am I not shocked!?
How oh HOW did you survive all of the painting last year? It's not the painting thats getting to me, its the sanding & prep work! ARGH! When my right shoulder isn't throbbing and hurting it's tingly and numb. However I almost have a beautiful new laundry room. My painting was sidelined by dear husband and dear daughter being ill. They are on the mend, I am back at it.
Feathered and cooked, fluffed and dusted, played nursemaid for the past two weeks (overlapping) with the two sickies, doctors appt., antibiotics, now the never-ending cough that won't go away for either of them. Needless to say it has been BUSY!
I had a great week at the grocery store, only needed fruit and veg and some ground beef on sale and BUTTER for .99/lb (4 sticks per lb, don't know how they sell it in Australia). I am cooking/baking today. Two loaves of bread, choc chip muffins, a quiche, and a zucchini slice for the freezer. Oh yes......and still....sanding two cupboards and finishing....hopefully....the laundry room!!!!!!!!!
With lots of Love,
Colette xxx
DeleteDo take care of your shoulder, Colette! A gentle muscle massage can do wonders and prevent pinched nerves and such! A hot shower or other heat would also help relax it!
Australian butter sells, generally, in 250g and 500g blocks (@AU$1.60 & $3- respectively, for the cheapest butter).
Regards,
Rachel
Lots of thanks Rachel! The shoulder gets a rest today, and a soak in the tub :) Plus now I'm sick too. ARGH Thanks for the butter reply its so interesting to see the differences/similarities of how such common things are sold in our countries! xxx
DeleteDear Colette,
DeleteThank you so much! Well I sympathise re the painting. This is an older house and the fancy plasterwork and all of that why I love it. But it meant that every paint job meant cleaning, fixing, sanding, and weird little jobs and what starts off as just paining becomes trips to the hardware store and a domino effect of work to do. AND I injured my arm really badly, was covered in bruises and in a bad state for months! The laundry was the first room I did too... but we have a little laundry so it wasn't too bad.
I hope you feel better soon! As Rachel mentioned butter is sold differently here and I always wonder what is a stick of butter!
Have a good week and I hope you will show me how your laundry turns out! It will be worth all the hard work as I know you will make it beautiful! With love Annabel.xxx
What lovely baby things! And how smart you were to have them make ahead. We are expecting our sixth grandchild in July so there is no time like the present to get started here.
ReplyDeleteLana, you have a wealth of experience! It is good to hear!!
DeleteRegards,
Rachel
Dear Lana, Congratulations on a new Grandchild! that is wonderful. It gives you a bit of time too! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteWhat lovely baby things! Lucy and Scarlett are so blessed to have you.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm going to have to quit reading your blog when I'm hungry! Your peach delights and scrolls look delicious.
Blessings, Leigh
Hi Leigh!
DeleteThanks for commenting!
I am still thinking about your bamboo stitch!
Regards,
Rachel
Hi Annabel,
ReplyDeleteYour needle work is so beautiful! How lovely for Scarlet that she has such a talented Grandmom. Yummy baking and I will be right over to have some crab and cake :) When we were chilren we went crabing and fishing and claming every
weekend and that was our free seafood for the week. I had a single mom and she was very industrious. So now I love seafood but not the prices:) I have been doing some more looking thru all the free Wilton cake decorating stuff this week. What a blessing we have cupcake liners and sprinkels and decorating tips to last a lifetime. Like Annabel and the cling wrap.
We were also given more things for the pantry and even masks and
gloves for the first aide part of the pantry. It has been such a lovely week. God is faithful to supply all our needs
and even some wants.
Love,
Patti
You're living a warm story, Patti! It is wonderful to read!! It is all about His faithfulness, since we have much to learn in this department.
DeleteRegards,
Rachel
Dear Patti, I love the sound of your Mum! All that seafood must have been wonderful!
DeleteI am so happy about all those baking supplies! You are set! Also baking can become gifts. I know you will make the most of it!
The things for your medical supplies are excellent too!
Have a great new week Patti! With love Annabel.xxx
Those baby linens are amazing! I can't imagine what you'd pay at a specialty shop here for something like that. Assuming you could even find them! Just lovely!
ReplyDeleteThat peach cake made my mouth water!! I might need to make a coffee cake or something tomorrow morning!
As for nest feathering, I made 2 loaves of Cuban bread this morning and the house still smells good!
I bought a stocking stuffer for my brother.
I made my Valentine's Day cards. I watercolored love bugs! I got the idea from a Pinterest book I got at the library.
I'm still embroidering carrots and started embroidering another quilt square for my church group. I split time between the two!
Debby,
DeleteCarrots being embroidered .... bread made at home .. other baking! It's good to look back over the week with satisfaction!
Regards,
Rachel
Dear Debby,
DeleteI hope you might take photos of the cards! They sound lovely! You had a very good and industrious week! There is nothing like baking to make the house smell lovely. I saw you can buy a spray to make the house smell like you baked! hahah! I thought why not just bake!? It has many benefits!
Have a good new week! With love Annabel.xxx
Your cake looks delicious! I will be trying your recipe! :)
ReplyDeleteDear Jes, This is a great recipe to use up fruit when there is a lot to deal with. I hope you like it! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteHi Jes!
ReplyDeleteAnnabel's Aussie recipes are catching!
Regards,
Rachel
Oh Annabel, those clothes are beautiful! And those cakes look delicious!
ReplyDeleteI've been putting my crockpot to use the last couple of weeks! Making big batches of a dish for dinner, then putting leftovers in baking dishes for another night's dinner and I usually get a couple single servings out of them for my lunches at work also! My boys aren't big on casserole type dishes yet (They're 4 and 6) so I usually just need enough for my husband and I and I make them something a little more kid friendly. Baseball season is here for them, which means many dinner-time practices, so we'll need quick food ready to go to avoid eating out.
We had a lovely Valentines dinner at home last night. I decorated the table all fancy and cooked an Italian dish along with a thin crust pizza from some pizza dough I had in the freezer and we all made homemade valentines cards for each other out of construction paper. I always go to the 99 cent store and put together a little bag of some of their favorite snacks as well for around $5 each. I do the same for my husband and he always enjoys it. My husband buy me some flowers, which added to the cost of the evening, but I know we still spent a lot less than going out like we do most years and I love that we got to incorporate the boys instead of getting a babysitter. I hope they learn that even though it's a silly holiday, you can still make it a special day of love without spending a lot! They both loved it. My 4 year old even said it was the best day ever! :)
I have 4 days off this weekend, so I'm hoping to get some more pizza dough made up to freeze and also some bread. I've been making a lot of soups since they freeze so well, so I would love to have some crusty dinner bread ready to go to serve with it. I would love to try my hand at some sourdough, but I'm not sure where to start with it and it's winter here, so I'm not sure if I'd have a warm enough place in my house this time of year, although we don't get extremely cold where we live. I'll have to research it some more!
Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!
Dear Tarin, I loved hearing this and about your Valentines Day. It was beautiful that your four year old thought it was the best day ever!
DeleteI love how you are using your crock pot. If you have a little puff pastry you could use the casserole to make little tiny pies. If the children like pies. I make pies from left over casserole and it is like an entirely different meal and they freeze well too but they might be kid friendly. For small ones I use a muffin tray.
I haven't had my sour dough going through winter yet and our winters are mild compared to many places. But some of the US ladies might be able to help on that one.
You had a wonderful week. Well done! With love Annabel.xxx