Autumn, The Season of Letting go

It’s autumn here in the world down under and I can’t help today to reflect about this season and what does it signify.

Gone are those longer days during summer when we celebrate but it is the time of transition. Maybe we have to think of the things that can be blown down to the ground alongside the autumn leaves

If the memory is hurting, it’s our chance to allow the emotions to swell up inside until they overflow as tears and allow them to roll down our cheeks like the leaves dropping outside.

As the leaves change color and fall, ask ourselves,what is it time for me to let go of?

God bless,

Nova

Moving Forward

I have not posted for many months, but It does not mean I am no longer with you. I’ve said to you before that I am here to stay and I really mean it.

I had a medical ordeal again ( for those of you who are following me, you are aware that I had that “heart episode April 2013 ). Last November 2013, I also underwent a major surgery.

It was not an emergency surgery, it was a planned procedure. I underwent hysterectomy ( removal of the uterus) . I badly needed the surgery because my uterus had fibroid cysts which were causing problems to me. One was anaemia due to increased menstrual bleeding during my period. Also, a bit of discomfort because of the massive sizes of the non-cancerous cysts.

So, on the 27th of November, I said goodbye to the womb which has nurtured my one and only son for 9 months before. But very unluckily, I had complications afterwards. I had haemorrhage after the surgery which led to temporary anaemia. The bleeding caused a huge collection too of blood in my pelvis which later got infected. In January this year, I was readmitted for “infected pelvic haematoma”. I was placed on massive antibiotics to combat the infection. So the complications really pinned me down and it took 10 agonising weeks before it did resolve.

But now I’m back on my feet and I can say, I bounced back again from another adversity. But let me add this time that, I am choosing too to move forward after I bounced back. I am choosing to be healthier and to be more positive as a person.

For you my followers, let me share with you some photos of me with my dear friends when I was in the hospital.

God bless,

Nova

Outdoor Oasis during Winter

Today marks the commencement of Winter here in Australia.  But we’ve been having cold days and chilly nights since the middle of April which was late fall.  As I’ve told you in my last post, there is a challenge to use your outdoor space during winter and let me tell you once again, if there’s a will, there is a way.   I will show you how we took on the challenge of enjoying the outdoor when temperature has been dropping down. First allow me to show you once again our courtyard last summer so you can see the difference:

Here’s another view

Now, time for me show you what we have added:

My husband bought and assembled a gas heater from Bunnings to make sure that our guests will be comfortable and never freeze.  We have also added something on the wall which becomes a focal point of our courtyard:

The newest additional decor are these sconces which hold 7 tea light candles which I bought for only$14.99 from Aldi.  Putting decor on your outdoor wall is getting the taste of your inside space outside.

The centerpiece that I have for this cold season are candles, to add warmth and light.

You can see here, our courtyard is ready for some alfresco dining.  To top it all, we dared to invite guests for an early dinner, 5:30 which was already dark.  But it was part of the challenge of enjoying your outdoor to the fullest during winter.  Well, we actually did it during that time since our son was part of their school musical which started at 7 pm and those friends of ours who were watching  that night were invited to our place before and after the show ( our way of extending our gratitude for the support they have given to our son ).  Now let’s inspect the courtyard during the night:

As you can see, the wall and the table are well-lit.  But the ambiance will not be complete if there are no candles on the floor too.

There you go, all prepared to receive our guests.

Let me tell you that we had a lovely night, a night which was not cold after all due to the warm reception we gave to our guests who graced the musical show of our son.

God bless,

Nova

Linking this to: Between Naps on the Porch

Easter Centerpiece

Happy Easter everyone

Photo Gallery and its Meaning

I can never be consistent showing you what I’ve been pinning in Pinterest so I will never promise to do it on a regular basis, but surely, you’ll get to see some of my pins like these:

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I love the huge pictures above the couch.  It speaks of the magnificent maternal and paternal love to her/his child or children.  It’s amazing that “from the abundance of the heart, the decoration speaks”..

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The above picture is another favorite of mine lately since photos and words made a perfect reminder to every parent, a reminder that we are so blessed being entrusted with a child or with children.

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I adore this photo gallery too with the word family and a big letter monogram.  The word “family” is just perfect  since it is the family which makes a house a home.  The family who shares  their joy and pain, their loss and triumph, a family who just share themselves to each other.

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Finally, allow me to show you another great picture gallery.  The wall reveals life’s events and occasions which definitely depict that life is really beautiful and should be well celebrated with family and friends.

God bless,

Nova

Under Your Bathroom Sink Part 2

I have made a post not so long ago entitled “Under your Bathroom Sink”.  To my surprise, I got very good comments, they thought that our bathroom sink was pretty organized ( although for me it was not pretty at all ).  I had also a  comment from Russel Ray Photos a professional home inspector  who is one of my followers.  He made an advise that dry stuff like towels, bathroom and the like should be stored under the bathroom sink to make it easy for us to know if there’s a leakage somewhere.  Likewise he mentioned to me that chemicals kept in the bathroom sink might eat away the plumbing and the underside of the sink.   Well, since he is a professional home inspector, he has all the knowledge about these things and I know I should take his comments on board.  However, I had some problems.  The space under our bathroom sink is quite small for me to store towels and toilet paper.  But having in mind that chemicals should be stored away, I thought of a solution.  

I thought that the enamel bread tin which of course always keeps moisture away can do the trick.  But of course I need to change the label.  Now I turned on to my chalkboard paint:

I love these chalkboard paint which I have used in many projects of mine.

Now I can say that chalkboard paint works so well with enamel tins.  It only took me few seconds to apply it and the dried so quickly as well.

Now I have an entirely new label.  I have placed inside most of the liquid medicine hoping that chemicals will not eat away the plumbing under our sink ( well, this is just a guess, I have to wait for the comment of a professional again).

I have used another enamel tin here which is labeled sink so I did not have to change it.  I just made sure that all of us in our household will find it easy to look for what we need by sorting out the other medicine.  I have divided it into three categories, for allergies, for swelling and for colds and flu.  I also put the cream and ointments here which I should have labeled 4.  Anyway, I will get it done after  this post.

So here is our updated “under the bathroom sink organization”.  So for those of you who have seen my previous “under the bathroom sin organization”, do you like the improvement?  I would surely love to hear your comments and I will take it on board, for sure.

God bless,

Nova

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Between Naps on the Porch

Simple Monthly Organization

I believe that home organization means taking in control of your home and even yourself.  When we are organized, we can finish the unending tasks in our home.  But of course, getting organized is not too easy.  It needs planning and action.  But the in- between is what I find it difficult.  You need to find out if the system in place is working.  If you’re lucky enough then, you can continue with the current system.  But if not, then the need to modify or revise the system is essential.

I have done several paper organization in the past but it’s my first time to have a monthly folder organizer.  I am trying this and so far it’s working especially to cope with many school notes to be read and signed.  Let me show you what I have done lately:

This is my folder which I have labeled “Monthly Organizer Little Prince 68 “. Inside, I have placed A4 extra heavy protector sheets which I have divided by using Manilla dividers.  Of course, each division is labeled

The first thing that you’ll see in my folder is my “to do” stuff.  For example, after I received the tax invoice from the new violin teacher of my son, I did put it here to remind me to do it within that week.  It’s something important to be done after several days but not pretty urgent.

The second division of my monthly organizer folder is for our “utilities”.  I have to admit we are not yet totally paperless.  There are many bills directly debited from our account but not our mobile phone nor our home phone.  Me and my husband just want to review it and make sure we are billed correctly.  But you see, we are getting there.

The third division is devoted for “school” stuff.  Like recently, information was sent for the music camp in March.  I read it put it here since I know I need to review the information again  like “what to bring” just before he goes camping.

Then finally, when the month is over or if I do not need the paper to stay in my folder ( after I’ve paid private music lesson for my son ), I transfer it to our filing cabinet where things are sorted out as well through labels.

There you go, my paper organization system.  It’s currently working fine but of course,I can’t say that this is a  permanent system since organization involves modification and revision as the need arises.  The beauty of organization is that it gives you the opportunity to assess and reevaluate for the better.

God bless,

Nova

Linking this to: I Heart Nap Time

Valentine’s day

It’s love month once again and by next week, we will celebrate Valentine’s day.  So, last weekend, while my husband went to do some overtime ( maybe for another gift for me..haha, my guy never fails me anyway ), I decorated for Valentine’s day:

You can see here our photos when we were still small

I love this picture of mine carrying a handbag which shows that an early age my love for style

This is a picture of my husband who’s always fascinated with airplanes.

I thought of the time when these photos were taken, when we were so innocent and carefree.  What we knew then was the love from our parents and other family members.  During that time, we never thought that someone would love us unconditionally and that we can spend a lifetime with someone who we never knew before, who we never met earlier in our lives.  But that is the making of a  love story, story of how two people met, how they fell in love  and how they keep the love forever.

When we keep the love forever, then we are sure of this:

So, let me greet you Happy Valentine’s day..from the bottom of my heart!

God bless,

Nova

Australia day, what does it mean to us?

Australia day is celebrated every 26th of January.  It commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet from Great Britain in Port Jackson which is now part of Sydney.  During Australia day Australians celebrate their country and culture.  So being Australian citizens we do celebrate it every year, we take pride in the accomplishments of Australia as a country and most importantly, we take pride that this nation is multicultural and that it has embraced many cultures which include our own, the Filipino culture.  Today, I would like to show you how we celebrated Australia day 2013.

I’ve made a simple table centerpiece consist of Australian flags to show how grateful we are to this country in our own simple way.

Then we drove up north of Sydney, made our short escape to the Hunter Valley.  We visited the largest garden display in Australia, the Hunter Valley Garden wearing Australian shirts.

During Australia day, we thank Australia for making us its own without taking away from us our own culture, our own identity.  We thank Australia for allowing us to enjoy its beauty and share it with the rest of the world.

God bless,

Nova

How to Decorate a Bookshelf

I have shown you what is under our bathroom sink recently and because of your lovely and inspiring comments, I would surely come up with an idea how to make it prettier and more pleasing to the eyes.  While, thinking how to update what is under our bathroom sink let me reveal to you our newly bought bookshelf which I have decorated

Do you like what you see?  Hopefully you do since I was so pleased with the outcome.  So how did I do it? Firstly, before we bought the bookshelf, I had already in mind what I wanted to place.   I thought of the souvenirs from the Philippines which I recently bought.  Let me show them to you

Tricycles ( A motorcyle used as a “taxi” ) a means of transportation in the Philippines

Jeepney, common means of public transportation in the Philippines.  Originally made from US military jeeps left after world war II. Very popular because of its flamboyant decoration

Sorbetes cart, “sorbetes” known as ice cream to Filipinos are placed in this wooden cart and the a vendor pushes this cart and sells ice cream throughout the day.

Of course, photo of me, my hubby and my son ( This is one of our latest picture taken on Christmas day in a studio).  I put it beside the words welcome HOME since we are a family who welcomes love and friendship in our household.

There is also a photo of me with my parents and siblings.  Since even they are not physically here with us, they mean a lot to us.

Secondly, I did  NOT go for symmetry but I tried to create balance.  I did not  put all the picture frames together nor the similar objects beside each other.  I did scatter them and made sure too that the objects are of different heights to give emphasis to every single item.

Thirdly, I thought of the color scheme.  I decided to have a mixture of gold, cream and green and I was glad with the result.  I think soft color like cream or white with a bit of bold color can really make any decoration interesting since it breaks the color monotony.

Lastly, I made sure that the main purpose why we bought this  bookshelf is not defeated ( not really to organize books because this is in the entryway ).  Our objective is to hide the shoes we wear everyday.  So the last shelf is made for this purpose.

There you go folks, I guess I just made another focal point in our house with a very simple goal, to hide our everyday shoes.  This is quite good indeed, do you agree?

God bless,

Nova

Sharing this with: 52 mantels, Between Naps on the Porch