Good Life over at Beach Cottage

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Image by Sarah @ Beach Cottage

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The 30 minute rule

I do not like housework and I know I'm not alone in that department.

I dread getting the vacuum cleaner out, setting it up and then dragging it through the house, because I know once I'm finished I'll only have to do it all over again next week....and don't get me started on ironing. I told MONT when we met that I do not iron (except when I'm sewing) so any clothing he needs to be ironed is his responsibility.

Anyway, I digress...I've taken the advice of someone (can't remember who) on a blog I read ages ago, to impose a housework time limit. They actually impose a five minute rule because they had little kids and that's all they could manage at a time, but I've got a bit more time to devote to this dreaded task, so I'm now imposing a 30 minutes rule.

I embraced this because, when I was working full time, I used to spend just about all of Saturday trying to psych myself into cleaning the house, then I'd take ages vacuuming and tidying and washing because I was so fed up and so easily distracted that I'd stop what I was doing and go an have a cuppa, or a sit down or...well, nothing. I'd just stop and then feel like my entire day had been chewed up by housework.

The trick to this "rule" is to only do what you can in that 30 minute period then stop. Whatever you've missed can be done the following day when you set yourself another 30 minutes.

Now, you don't have to set yourself a strict 30 minutes, you can apply the 15 minute rule, or the 20 minute rule if that suits you better....or even longer. Totally up to you

Maybe a quick 5 minute tidy up is what you'd prefer. Easy, just stick to that then. The thing is not to let the chores eat up your entire day.

A friend of mine, who hates housework even more then I do, was sceptical about this, but then tried it and reports back that it's terrific so she's now embracing it...  Whatever works for you I say.

I'm cookin'

Still no camera and no contact from the Insurance company as to the status of our claim.

But that hasn't stopped me....Instead I've enlisted the services of my mobile phone to take some shots. Not as good as my beloved Canon, but they'll do for now

I got to baking this weekend and thought I'd try a recipe from my girlfriend "G"...it's a carrot cake and I have to say it was easy and delicious.

You can get the recipe here

Happy baking...this cake really is super easy. Enjoy

Ryobi workout

I've been doing a bit of bargain hunting...on eBay....and I've found a couple of beauties that I plan to refurbish for Number 10.

This little cupboard really took my fancy because it 's a little like the other yellow chest of drawers  I found on the nature strip last year. You can see them here. This cupboard had been stencilled with a gold paint and had old fashioned china knobs that had also been detailed with gold craft paint.

 ...and on the sides, they'd placed sheets of wrapping paper for detail, then covered the edges with gold edged gift ribbon.

Well...the knobs have been removed and cleaned, ready for another project.

The two drawers have been sanded

The body of the cupboard has also been given the once over.

...And the ribbon and some of the paper's been removed so I can sand it all back and give it the "Number 10 treatment"

I'm not sure what was used to stick the paper down and then seal it, but when I tried to remove it by scraping, then wetting it, it went all gooey and sticky...maybe PVC glue? Not sure, but I plan to get some paint stripper to get all of it off so I can get it all nice and smooth and paint it....white or off white of course.

I also purchased another chest of old drawers. They can wait for another day though.

Design

You know, architects have always amused me.

I know they do some wonderful work. Great designs, innovative features, cutting edge stuff.... but really, do some of them think that it's all about "looks" and not function? What about the small stuff?

What's amused me I guess is that they don't seem to be really good with the "livable" aspects of a house...you know, the little things that you just expect would be a "given" in a home.

MONT's worked with quite a few and he tells me some of their expectations have been unrealistic because they sometimes want things that are not possible, they overlook things that should be a priority...and some don't consult with the tradespeople who have to implement their designs.

I have a friend who's had her home renovation designed by an architect. It's all quite beautiful. Really gorgeous in fact. Even her bathroom is top class!  Only thing is, she doesn't have a power point for her hairdryer/shave etc....

Actually, I'm wrong, she does have a power point, but it's tucked away in the back of the cupboard. You know, the one under the basin.

What's with that?

She said the architect didn't want a power point on the wall because it broke the clean lines and distracted from the "look" of the room.

Sorry, but I don't get it.

You can bet your bottom dollar he'd have a power point on the wall in his bathroom.

Dottie Angel Challenge - Progress

It's been a while since I gave you an update of the Dottie Angel Challenge I've embarked upon and I have to say I'm doing a bit better than I thought I would.

I've found some bargains...scoured the op-shops and had a lovely time saving some money

As I mentioned in my original post here, I wouldn't be resorting to pre-loved underwear and I was in the market for some new bras this past week....but as usual, I waited for the sales and found a real bargain. Instead of paying almost $200 for new intimate apparel in the style I usually buy, I got 4 pairs for just under $90....and they'll last me for ages!

I've also been haunting the op-shops and picked up some pretty nice little pieces of linen, doilies and cotton napkins etc. I think I've paid about $11 in all and many of them are quite beautiful. I have plans for them and will let you know about that later.

One other thing I have bought though, (and at full price) is a new pair of slippers for around the house.

I bought these.

I can't bring myself to wear second hand shoes or slippers but these will last a long time and I know they're going to be as comfy as anything because I already have another pair of Haflinger's and they're wonderful!

I can't wait for them to arrive from the UK...

Sure I've been tempted when I've been out and about, but I have refrained. I figure it'll be there tomorrow or the next day and if I truly "want or need" it then I can always go back and get it. So far though that hasn't happened.

So, onward and upward with the challenge...so far so good.

May I have the envelope please...

It is with great pleasure that I announce the winner of the Whiteport giveaway!

Drum roll please... and the winner is:

Alison...

Well done ! !

I usually put all the names on pieces of paper and draw the winner out of my little Chinese style urn. This time was no different...I just wasn't able to photograph the results.

Congratulations Alison. I know you'll love your little gift...Whiteport is full of truly wonderful stuff.

I'll pass your details onto Jennifer at Whiteport and she can arrange to have your goodies shipped to you.
Thanks for all your comments everyone...I'm so glad you all liked Whiteport.

Me?

I love everything on the site...my favourites are...

Hemstitch table linen

 The monogrammed pillowslips

 The Avignon Linen Ottoman...and...

The dragonfly sheets...

*sigh*
They're all so gorgeous!

A WINNER

Yes, I am a little late I know...but as they say, better late than never.

I feel like a fish out of water without my beloved camera...I'm not able to take any photos of my projects or our new bedroom and I have to say it's a real bummer!

Oh well, hopefully the insurance company gets back to us soon so it can all be finalised and I can get my mojo back

Now...onto the real reason for this post. My giveaway.

We have a winner of the CSN Stores gift voucher

It's: Katrina from Wakeboarding Mama...

Congratulations Katrina, I'll pass your email address to CSN Stores and they can contact you about your prize.

Thanks for joining in an commenting everyone...funny though, most of you appear to have blogs that detail blogs that have giveaways. Something I've never really seen before.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your prize Katrina....or I hope your daughter does.

Another giveaway - in white

I mentioned a little while ago that I'd have a lovely giveaway from an Australian company that specialises in absolutely gorgeous things...

Now you all know how much I love white, so this giveaway gives me a lot of pleasure.

The name of the company is:  Whiteport...and you guessed it. It specialises in everything white!

Jennifer emailed me while we were still on holidays to make a very generous offer of a lovely item from her beautiful store for my Aussie readers.

So here we go...three beautiful pure cotton t-towels in perfect white!

Apart from kitchen items, Jennifer also has quilts and sheet sets.

Glorious furniture, like this linen armchair.

 This lovely little linen shopping bag

...and monogrammed pillow slips. These are really gorgeous!

So....all you have to do to go in the draw for these is: become a follower of Life at Number 10, check out Whiteport, subscribe to the site and leave me a comment to tell me what other items take your fancy.

Don't worry, subscribing to Whiteport doesn't cost a thing. It just means they'll send you an email every now and then to let you know about the new items they have on offer.

Get to it... it's lovely looking at all the beautiful things in there...

My other giveaway for the CSN Stores voucher is still up for grabs too....I'll draw that next Monday. Keep the comments coming

My absence...and A Giveaway

I've been very remiss in my blogging duties of late. Busy at home after our holiday at the beach ended...busy dealing with the insurance company over our recent break-in. Busy at work...yup, busy!

But I'm now back iun the swing of things and raring to go...and I have a lovely giveaway for my Canadian and US visitors. There'll be another giveaway for all you Aussies next week.

CSN Stores has once again been extremely generous in offering a lovely gift voucher

CSN has a lot of things for sale. Not only furniture, cookware, lighting and outdoor living sets they also have swingsets. Yes I had to mention that in this post. But they do... and they're happy to give one of my visitors a gift voucher to the the value of $35.00 to spend at any of their stores, including a swingset if that' what takes your fancy.

Yep, they even have clocks...hundreds of them...like this Postema Wall clock

and ....this rather nice little Vogue make-up mirror by Lite Source



Want a vase instead? No problem. Hundreds of them, like this Waterford with a candle included.

 

 

Cutlery...or flat ware? Yep...that too

 

All you have to do is check out CSN stores, tell me what you'd put your $35 voucher towards and why...

So get commenting everyone, as many times as you like. Tell your friends and everyone you can think of.

All images from CSN Stores