School Holidays? Already!

Can you believe it's time for school holidays again! Where has the time flown this year? I'm about to embark on my first child free week as Mr PA takes Emily to Canberra to spend time with her cousins. I am both excited and nervous about how next week will pan out. Will I miss her like crazy and want to jump in the car and go get her? Or will I enjoy the full nights uninterrupted sleep that I've missed for the last three and a half years? I've already made lists of things I want to achieve while she's away....like get the sewing machine out, RUN EVERY DAY, eat healthy and at an adult time (not 5pm!). 

So what is everyone else doing for the holidays? I think one of the hardest things is keeping the kids occupied and using up some of their endless energy. And if it rains.....well you just don't want to think about that! 

I have a few holiday ideas for keeping the kids occupied and I thought I'd share them....

I found this at Vibrant Designs and thought it was brilliant! How many times do you here "Mum I'm bored" during the school holidays? Add a bunch of paddle pop sticks with different activities on them to an empty jar. Every time you hear that annoying sentence get them to pull one of the paddle pop sticks out of the jar and what ever activity is written on it is what they will do. Here are some examples:

Ride your bike

Pick up 10 things and put them away

Draw

Play hopscotch 

Have a tea party

Make a collage

Read a book

Clean two windows

Dance

Watch a movie

Play dress ups

Vacuum one room

Explore the garden

Play in the cubby house for one hour

Build a sandcastle

Make mud pies

Water the plants

Hide and seek

Elastics 

Do a puzzle

Make a kite and fly it

My list could go on and on but you get the idea... Just make sure you mix some housework up with the fun stuff!

Remember this? Daju is bringing back the fun with Elastics! They've been featured in so many blogs and magazines lately and they're really are fantastic to keep kids active and occupied. I remember when my sisters got sick of playing with me I'd attach mine around the bottom of some chair legs and do it by myself. You can get your own Daju Elastics here, complete with instructions and song list. 

Glottogon make an awesome range of puzzles and Emily can sit on the floor and play with hers for hours. We have a whole new range coming in for Christmas (which is less than 100 days away now!). My favorite is the Knights Big Puzzle which is so beautifully illustrated. Every time I look at it I find some new detail I never noticed before. It's a huge floor puzzle and a great way to encourage independent play. 

Last summer if I wanted to get some housework done, I would put Emily in her swimsuit and give her a bucket of water and a paint brush and tell her to paint the cement under our pergola. She would spend a good hour, sometimes two, painting that cement. Amazing! 

Lastly my theory with kids and keeping them occupied is that the more kids you have, the easier it is to occupy them. So pre-plan some independent play activities, invite some friends over and watch them go for it! As a bonus it probably means you can offload yours to those friends houses and get some valuable "me time". Win! 

Share your best holiday activities. What's your favorite thing to keep the kids busy? Is it so wrong to dump them in front of the TV every now and then? 

Crunchy Nutty Coconut Granola - gluten free

We've been experimenting with Gluten Free recipes in our house for the last month or so now. It's not easy going gluten free and I was so worried that we'd never eat pasta or bread again. But we've found some great alternatives and so I thought I'd share a recipe we cooked up on the weekend.

I love a good breakfast and weekend breakies are all about bacon and eggs and cafe eating in our house. During the week we need quick, healthy delicious start to the day with no fuss. I love granola, especially with some natural yoghurt and a sprinkle of berries. You just feel good eating it! 

I adapted this recipe from Sarah Wilsons "I Quit Sugar" book. We're not ready to do gluten free and sugar free completely yet so I've added a little raw honey and some cranberries to the mix. 

Emily did the stirring

Crunchy Nutty Coconut Granola

1 ½ cups coconut flakes

1 ½ cups gluten free rolled oats

1 cup mixed nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, pepita’s, hazelnuts) chopped

½ cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons raw honey

120g coconut butter (or oil as it’s sometimes referred to)

Pre-heat oven to 120’C and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Mix all dry ingredients together.

In a microwave proof bowl melt coconut butter and honey together on high for approximately 1 ½ minutes.

Combine honey/coconut mixture with dry ingredients and mix with a large metal spoon.

Poor into lined tray and spread evenly over the tray.

Bake in the oven for approximately 20-25 minutes. It should be browned and will go crunchy as it cools.

Served best with some natural yoghurt or a splash of milk. 

Keep in an airtight container. 

Leek, Bacon & Sweet Potato Impossible Pie!

Today I feel like so many mum bloggers who wait till the child has a nap so they can sit down and finally bang out that post that's been floating around in their heads! Except my little one is on her third nap for they day and on a Monday I'm usually at the shop and she's usually in childcare and daytime naps have been long gone. It breaks your heart when your little one is sick doesn't it. 

So the first nap I raced to the laptop and did a quick Oishi-m order for their latest Spring 13 release. So exciting and I'll share more of that later. The second time she fell asleep on my lap while I was talking to my Mum (so good to have a Mum who lives close by when your child is sick) and now this afternoon I left the room for a minute to do some washing and came back to find her asleep on the floor. Poor wee pet. 

So as promised...while I have the chance....I'm sharing our Sunday night easy peasy pie dish and I can tell you it tastes great the next day too. 

Recipe adapted from a Donna Hay Recipe. 

2 tbl Olive Oil

1 Leek trimmed and sliced

1 Sweet Potato peeled and cut into 1cm cubes

250g short cut bacon

1 clove garlic

3 eggs

1/2 cup self raising flour

1 1/2 Milk

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Sea Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 200'C. Brush 24cm pie dish with oil. 

On a tray toss cubed sweet potato in 1 tbl of Olive Oil and place in oven for approximately 20 minutes or until slightly browned and tender. Put aside to cool. 

In a pan saute leek, garlic and bacon until tender and cooked. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside. 

In a bowl whisk the eggs, flour and milk until smooth and well combined. 

Place leek & bacon mixture in the greased pie dish, sprinkle roasted sweet potato evenly on top, then sprinkle cheddar cheese. Pour over the milk, egg and flour mixture and cover loosely with aluminium foil. 

Place dish in the oven for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes. The foil stops the top of your pie from burning. 

Serve with a fresh garden salad. 

My fussy 3 year old loves bacon and eggs so this dish is well received in our house. You could omit the bacon and add any combination of vegetables and it's a great way to get the kids to eat them. 

What's cooking at your house? If you'd like to share some family friendly recipes email them to miriam@petitarmoir.com.au and I'll post them on the blog. 

Happy Monday! xo

Spring 2013 Preview! - Part II

In just a weeks time the new Spring 2013 range for Oishi-m comes out. It's no secret that this is one of my favorite brands and in the last 2 years I've seen it grow to cult following with Facebook fan pages, E-Bay bidding wars and re-sale value of more than the original RRP! 

Here's a little back story and insight into the Oishi-m brand for the uninitiated....

Oishi-m was created by Fiona McPherson who began designing clothes as a hobby for friends and her bespoke garments soon became in high demand. A few years later, along came Miyo Fallshaw to head up the commercial side of the brand. Their partnership works beautifully with Miyo looking after all the marketing and business side of the brand allowing Fiona to do what she does best, design gorgeous, unique and funky garments for your little ones. 

Miyo and Fiona with their own little test models

Photo credit: Oishi-m.com.au

Predominatly a birth to 5yrs range, Oishi-m combines kimono, vintage and retro fabrics with denims and cottons to create their signature jeans, skirts and tee's. The 'tummy toastie' is  a unique and practicle feature of their jeans, skirts and shorts. Anyone who has a toddler toilet training will appreciate how easy it is for them to pull their pants on and off by themselves. It also means that the waist will fit skinny mini's as well as chubba bubba's with no need to pull in elastic. I personally love that the jeans are created with a roll up cuff meaning you can lengthen as the child grows. We've gotten two years out of the one pair of jeans and that's unheard of in children's clothing! 

By the way, did you know that Oishi-m is made in Australia? In a dying manufacturing industry I think this is really important. They employ Mum's and allow flexibility to work around family. 

So now you know what Oishi-m is all about, who'd like a sneak peak at their new Spring 2013 range? 

Well it's all kept a closely guarded secret until the release date but we can divulge that this season they will have a first ever...a dress! There are some gorgeous prints and stripes are back, along with some very cute trackies (always sold out within minutes of stocking them). 

I was lucky enough to get a sample of some of the fabric so here you go... can you guess what it is? 

If you'd like to see more of the new range, check out their video. See if you can spot that gorgeous fabric!

Spring 2013 Preview!

Can you believe Spring is almost here? Last night we had an almost warm night and you could smell Spring was on it's way. We have so many great kids clothing and kids shoes about to arrive that I thought I'd share a sneak peak of what's going to be hot this Spring. 

St Goliath boys clothing for spring/summer features bright colours such as coral and spring green, rolled cuff shorts, classic skater tee's and versatile board shorts. Your little dude will love this seasons range!

Fabrik, true to form, has come up with another stunning collection that any little girl would love! Gorgeous prints, bright melon and lilac colours, vintage florals and laces all feature this Spring. Fabrik is sure to be a favourite!

Something for the 8-14 year olds with the arrival of Eve's Sister! Tropical, Aztec and rainbow kaleidoscope are just some of the inspiration for this seasons prints. Printed pants and bright colours will be huge this season so stock up. They'll wear it I promise!

Check out the new canvas Mary-Jane from WALNUT Melbourne! When I saw these I just had to have them. I've been a fan of their canvas MJ's for my own daughter since she was old enough to walk and the new style is a coated canvas with a more slimline design and rubber capped toe. Team with dresses, shorts or jeans and they're the perfect footwear staple. They'll be available in sizes EU 24-30 from around August 2013. 

Next week I'll give you a few more insights into Spring and Summer including some of the new labels we'll be stocking this season. And I have the big Kids In Style expo coming up from 1st August so stay tuned for all the great finds and new products we showcase from the expo. 

Tell me - what do you want to see more of this Spring/Summer? Is there something you're always struggling to find? What do you think of the new WALNUT Melbourne Mary-Janes? 

Where I come From - Going Home

Last weekend we took off on a road trip to my birth town of Urana, in the Southern Riverina, NSW. We were there for my little cousins baptism and it was the perfect excuse to show Mr PA where I grew up and my old primary school. He also got to meet a bunch of relatives that he wouldn't otherwise see and so I thought I'd share a few of the photo's from the day. 

This is the "good" road. Urana is dry and flat as far as the eye can see!

The local watering hole. I think my parents 'courted' there over a few lemonades and beers. 

Winter blooms (or me trying to get fancy with my iPhone)

My old primary school. There were 28 kids in the school from kinder to year 6 when I attended and apart from some aesthetic changes, she's pretty much the same. 

Our old next door neighbor, Andrew Whitehead, makes these amazing sculptures out of old bits of scrap metal and farm machinery. You can see more of his work here. 

This photo is exactly what I remember about my old home. Red dirt, flat plains that went forever, storms that would tear your house down, and a land that you both loved and loathed. We took this road home so we could drive past the farm I grew up on. 

Lastly this is my old farm. I remember riding my bike up that long driveway every day for school. It took an hour to get to school on the bus and an hour to get home. Such long tiring days. I can't imagine Emily doing it now. Mum spent most of her days out here alone when we were at school. No mobile phones, no internet, and Dad usually down the paddock on the tractor or feeding sheep. I don't know how she did it! 

The trip back to Urana gave us a real appreciation of what we have in town. The lovely rolling hills, the green, the good roads and the friends and family who are just around the corner or across the road. The one thing that has never changed out there is the sense of community and how a whole town really becomes like family. It'd been 20 years since I stepped foot in that place but they were welcoming and friendly and genuine. I'm looking forward to heading back very soon. 

Where do you come from? 

What Emily Wore - Princess Party

Most of my regular customers know that we are very blessed to have a gorgeous, although sometimes a bit too energetic, daughter named Emily. I Instagram Emily a lot, especially if she's wearing something from Petit Armoir. So when her 3rd birthday started coming up I couldn't wait to pick out outfits and 'style' the event. 

OK so Mr PA did mention to me at several times that the party was for Emily and not for me, but I don't think I went too overboard. And she did pick the theme - Princess of course!

The inspiration came from Donna Hay's latest Kids Magazine. Love the styling in this edition and the recipies are well thought out and easy for a novice like myself. 

The birthday girl! I can't believe she's three already. Where does the time go? She's wearing Fabrik Odette Skirt and Fabrik Navy Stripe Leggings, Navy Skeanie Loafers. The tee is models own (wink wink that means I got it from Target ssshhhhh!)

I made the birthday cake. I told you I didn't go overboard! Like the hair accessory on top? The cupcakes are the Rose Swirled cupcakes from the Donna Hay Kids Magazine and the large cake is vanilla butter. They were delicious! 

That gorgeous water urn is from my god friend at Pour Mes Amis. She also supplied the bunting, party plates, cups, napkins and a voice of reason when I started to get a little out of control! The straws are from Paper Eskimo. 

Paper Eskimo Balloons - every Princess needs some pink balloons!

Kissing Frogs. Mum found the mini Cadbury frogs and the little cups are from The Essential Ingredient. Huge hit!

The Pink and Purple Princesses. These two are 8 weeks apart and the best of friends. Emily has a Fabrik Cable Knit Cardigan on. 

The next day we took off for a Sunday drive and lunch to the Gerogery Hotel to listen to some live music. This little pub is an absolute gem. It's located about 25 minutes from Albury and there's a great beer garden with swings and a sandpit for the kids. 

Fabrik Circus Tee and Fabrik Rah Rah Skirt with the Navy Stripe Leggings. Perfect for a swing!

You know your in the country when this is what you see on the way home. 

We had a fantastic weekend. How was yours?