Perfect Afternoon Tea

Baxter enjoys a variety of foods so when it came to afternoon tea today, I decided to let him choose.

After choosing sultanas, nectarine, green stuffed olives, cheese, unsalted cashews and purple grapes he then told me it was 'perfect'. 

What is your perfect afternoon tea?

Hayley x

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Crafting Over Here

It has been nice to have gorgeous people emailing me about my little shop 'My Lemonayde'. Your words have inspired me to get stuck into my craft and keep on creating. 

Sometimes I wish that I could just stay in my pyjamas all day and  play with my washi tape and Create. 

Sounds like fun doesn't it? 

Have a great day and don't rush  to get our of your pyjamas. 

Hayley x

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Garden Wander

Potted Fig Tree with Figs!!!

Basil & Blackberry (non invasive)

As you already know, we are trying to revamp this unloved garden that we moved into 7 weeks ago. The ground is so dry the shovel just about bends.

So with lots of manure, compost and water we are slowly getting it turned over and ready to plant our dwarf fruit trees and I'm super excited. 

I am hoping to try and squeeze in as many as I can. Dwarf fruit trees are definitely the way to go in our small yard. So far we have a Meyer Lemon, Kalamata Olives, Ballerina Apple, Blueberry, Blackberry, two fig trees in pots and plenty of strawberries and I haven't finished yet!

The kids vegetable patch is looking great. We planted cauliflower, broccoli, chilli, lettuce, cabbage, beetroot, leek and peas. The boys are tending to it quite often, watering it and after one week they are ready to harvest, except the veggies are at least 8 - 12 weeks away, so it's going to be a long wait.

Our larger vegetable patch is still in the process. I want to plant the same vegetables again but obviously at a later date to keep the supply going. I will also add kale, carrots and spring onions to this area. 

The herb pots/garden have already flourished with parsley, basil, mint, sage, lemon thyme, bay tree (in pot), oregano, chives and my special herbal tea plant = chamomile. 

We had the backyard stripped bare, cutting every ugly tree, plant, pulling up weed mat and leaving nothing but dry dirt. We hope to eventually have every inch covered with edible plants. 

Being self - sufficient with fruit and vegetables eventually is our goal, so we know where our food has come from, being chemical free, help our environment, cut down on costs and showing our children the importance of growing your own.

It's no secret that I  dislike buying my fruit and vegetable from the supermarkets and there are no fruit shops locally. After asking the locals I have found out that there were at least 3 supermarkets up until 3 years ago but the supermarkets eventually squeezed them out, grrr!

Apparently there are lots of fruit and veg available around the region which I am more than happy to support but driving around the region weekly doesn't exactly sound practical. 

I just hope that this challenge isn't too time consuming and that the benefits out weigh the cons. Have to wait and see I guess. 

Where do you get your fruit and vegetables from? 

Hayley x Pin It

Made It: Tomato Relish

It is the season for using excess tomatoes in the garden, if you are lucky to have grown some. 

Unfortunately this wasn't the case for me this year, having only just created my veggie patch so hopefully next year. 

Every year my grandmother and aunties get together and make tomato relish. I haven't been involved as I have always lived too far away. So I was delighted to take part in this year's relish making day. 

Making relish was a lot easier than I expected. When 5 kilos of tomatoes landed on my door step I knew exactly what to make.

I successfully made 12 jars so hopefully these will last, considering I have already used one jar throughout the week. There is nothing quite like homemade relish on toast. 

Now all they need is a washi tape label and to be hidden put away. 

Have a great day.

Hayley. x Pin It

On My Side Table

This is what you will find on my bedside table these days; gardening books. These books were on display in my local Collins Bookstore, I felt they were calling me to take them home. 

I always flick through all of the photos first, I am a visual girl, then I go back and read the fine print. 

These two books are so inspirational:

Seasons In My Kitchen by Marcelle Nankervis. 

Marcelle writes about her journey leaving Melbourne taking on the family farm. She sets herself the challenge of transforming unloved patches of dirt into vegetable patches, poultry and orchards. Living off the land is her dream and settling for a healthier lifestyle for her family. 

The book is broken up into seasons, with details of what to plant  in each season and a list of what to do in the garden during these seasons. 

Small Space Organics by Josh Byrne

Josh is a known presenter on ABC Gardening Australia program. 

This book is also hard to put down, once opened. The photos alone and inspirational. Josh has provided essential guides on how to start and sustain an organic garden in a tiny space which is great because my backyard is quite small.

Josh covers food production, water conservation, soil building, chooks and heaps more. 


What books are on your bedside table? 

Hayley x Pin It

Our Week

; Simple Sausage Rolls to go with my yummy tomato relish, recipe found here. 
; Apple printing, finally using up those apples. 
; Baxter refusing his afternoon sleep,fell asleep on the couch. Nice quiet moment. 
; Planting out our herbs. Parsley, Mint and Chives with our resident toadstools. 
; Stamping, finally unpacked them and became distracted. Thinking about putting some into my shop

Linking up with Em over here.

Have a great week.

Hayley x Pin It

Closet Drinker

Yes, I am admitting online that I am a closer drinker. Big call I know but this is it;

Hubby and I have refused to drink tea for years and hubby even gave his brother a nudge saying tea drinkers are softies.  We couldn't stand the watery taste oppose to the strong aroma of a coffee. 

After many nights of sleepless nights and an upset belly I googled how to resolve this using a healthy organic approach. 

Chamomile tea. This was the answer, it kept on coming up every where I looked. So I had to give it a go, much to my disgrace.

I bought Organic Chamomile tea from a local grower, then came the tea pot, always wanted one, but didn't have a reason.

 That night, we made our Chamomile tea and surprisingly it didn't taste too bad. When we hit the sack, let's just say that we slept like babies with calm bellies and we didn't tell a soul.

We still cannot stand black tea but chamomile tea has now become our night time ritual when no one is around of course!

What herbal tea do you like?

Have a great weekend.

Hayley x






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