Bookweek....& a big bad tutorial

I was very lucky with the book week costumes this year, Eldest Sprout wanted to go as Max Rumble which meant he wore his Auskick clothes & Junior Sprout wanted to be the Big Bad Wolf for the second year in a row.

I dug out Junior Sprouts mask from the costume box and it has stood up to 12 months of dress ups so I thought I would post the link to the tutorial here. Being so hot this year I decided to put some felt on a tshirt instead of sending him to school in last years track suit.

He wasn't too keen on the shorts but we didn't have anything else & after he placed 3rd in the dress up parade he decided that the shorts looked pretty good after all!

Adventure Time Party....

Eldest Sprout turned 7 and being Adventure Time obsessed I put together this party for him....

 His invitation I bought from Doucette Design 

I googled some images & printed them out for the candy boxes.

5 flavour jelly jars

Each guest took home a Finn & Jake hat

Birthday Cake was from Woolworths & bunting from KMart

I painted some white cardboard for an Ice Kingdom background

I stamped some washi tape & used lollipop sticks for signs

Ice Cream cups were from Red Dot shop & I stamped the wooden spoons 

Savoury Table 

Hoi An... Part 2

I have been very slack in blogging but am trying to get back on track!

We were having such a great time in Hoi An we decided to stay a little longer. The hotel we were staying in was a little far from the beach so we thought we would grab a bit of luxury and stay somewhere right on the sand. We found a fantastic last minute deal at the Sunrise Resort for only $80 a night and let me just say it was pretty spesh! & the buffet breakfast is amazing!!

We checked in & headed straight for the beach where we were served icy cold beers straight to our deckchairs. However when we signed for the 2 beers we could have bought 14 for the same price everywhere else on our trip! the cost of luxury was a bit steep for us so once dinner time hit we popped across the road where we had seen a few family run stalls. Sitting roadside we sipped some icy cold beers & got talking to the lovely lady who owned the stall about hiring a man & motorcycle to take Mr Sprout on a ride up to Marble Mountain.

When I had travelled here previously by myself I had paid someone to take me up there & got to see some great areas that aren't on the usual tourist bus rides. Luckily for us her husband Duc was able to take Mr Sprout the very next day. At 7am he headed off & returned at 4pm after having an amazing day of sightseeing & being cooked a meal at his lovely new friends house. They refused to take any money & invited us both to come to their home the next day to cook us a special lunch, we gladly accepted and then of course we spent the evening trying to come up with ways to pay them without offending them!

Duc & Mr Sprout

The next day we walk over to the stall & head off on a moped....Duc driving, Mr Sprout in the middle who is 6 foot 6 & me on the back. Lucky we were all friends because that was one cosy ride. Mr Sprout had his legs sticking straight out so they wouldn't drag on the ground & at one point we hit a gutter & totally bottomed out which brought cheers from a local eatery!

We arrived at Duc's house to be met by the most hospitable 4 generations of people. A small sparse house filled with happy people who had borrowed a table and some chairs for us to sit at, it put so much into perspective. Duc's uncle & Grandmother spoke no English but I pointed to my camera & they were more than happy for me to take a picture, I have emailed them their photos since & they were very happy.

Uncle Great Grandmother

The care and attention given to other people and their feelings was first priority over money & possessions, we were so welcomed & included in every aspect of their lives it truly was a humbling experience.

             

Our only issue.... some of the seafood for our lunch was a little scary looking but it was so much fun to get the fire going & see how food is prepared everyday, so fresh! and tasty!

Wood Fired Fish

Fresh Seafood

A delicacy...Mr Sprout was honoured I call it ET's finger

At the end of all this they still refused any money just asked that we please tell our friends to visit Hoi An & if in the beach area their stall. Done & Done :)

 Grandmother

NB: As they refused to take just cash from us we bought them out of most things in their stall, they couldn't argue with a paying customer now could they?!

Hello....is it me your'e looking for?

Why yes...yes it is!

I love Pinterest & when I saw this little cutie I immediately had to have one........

I might need to give my front door a new lick of black paint & get the sprouts out of the way but I think it will look super cute!

There is also a goodbye you can buy for the inside of the door :)

Hoi An.... Part 1

The next destination of our Vietnam journey we decided to fly to rather than face hours on the road and for only $90 each and 1 hour of travel time we flew to Danang.

It's a 40klm drive down to Hoi An by taxi & it's a good idea to get a fixed rate before leaving. Also if you can find any other traveller's heading that way it's even better if you can share the ride. We met an Aussie family from Hervey Bay in the taxi queue & pooled in with them so it only cost us $15. It was a fun drive down but the poor taxi driver was new and didn't know how to get there or find our hotels, we were glad we had negotiated the price beforehand or the meter would have been ticking away while asking directions & looking up maps.

We stayed at the very lovely Sunshine Hotel in a superior room with breakfast for only $30 a night. It has a gorgeous pool, large rooms with balconies, spa & free bikes. Every morning we would watch these two men fill a pot with soil, tip it upside down & trowel around it & then each afternoon after baking in the sun all day they would collect the pots.

We would cycle into town which was a little harrowing, I'm not used to riding on the wrong side of the road with traffic going in all directions around me but once we hit the town centre it was fine. No cars are allowed in town at all & only certain times of the day are motorcycles allowed in so it was nice & relaxing cycling around the ancient heritage town. Here is Mr Sprout in the thinnest shop we have ever seen...

And another store where I bought up big, at only $20 each for handpainted artwork I couldn't help myself!

One of the first things we did was to have some clothes made. Mr Sprout got measured up for a suit which was funny to watch, a 6 foot 6 man surrounded by not the tallest women all making jokes & laughing & squeezing his muscles etc. There was an incident in the change room where he was caught out & there was much talk about banana's & hysterical laughter from the ladies, they said it was an innocent mistake & apologised but he wasn't so sure...

It was a lucky coincidence that we had arrived at the time of the Full Moon Lantern Festival which happens every 14th day of the lunar month. All electrical lights are turned off & all the lanterns are lit.

Along the river and over the bridge you are able to purchase a paper lantern & candle which you make a wish upon & send floating down the river. It was a truly breathtaking night & we really felt like we were in the Vietnam of old.

We spent 3 nights at the Sunshine Hotel, cycling, eating, buying fabric, eating, Mr Sprout getting lost in the countryside on a lone cycle ride, eating, shopping, eating, being measured up for clothing, eating, needing to let out some seams.... probably from all the eating. We wanted to stay longer at Sunshine Hotel however they were booked out so we went online & got an absolute bargain at the stunning Sunrise Resort where we were to meet a wonderful local family who invited us into their home, stay tuned for Hoi An... Part 2.

A letter of apology......

to my overlocker.

Things have been tense lately between us, there have been issues & it needs to be addressed, let's just put it out there on the sewing table & move forward...together.

There have been times when you have been my best friend & I felt that I had returned the love by oiling & de-fluffing you every week. Maybe I have taken these times for granted lately & not given you the care you have become accustomed to. I will admit I have been working more outside the home, spending more time away from you & yes there have been a few weeks where the sewing machine has received more attention.

But the tension that is happening now is unbearable! I have tried everything to fix it & though I may have used a few choice words here & there I don't really blame you. I really don't but I do blame these two culprits for touching your tension dials & then trying to put them back to their original position..........

Please forgive me Ollie Overlocker xxx

Night Bus to Nha Trang...

Years ago while travelling in Malaysia I had got a night bus & it was so comfy & roomy I was really glad to see that there were a lot of them in Vietnam. We decided to travel the 400klm up to Nha Trang by bus, it takes 10 hours but only cost $7 each, bargain! & we don't have to pay for a nights accommodation. We were quite excited until we actually saw the bus, I think it was the oldest machine I had ever seen in my life but we laughed it off & got on. Unfortunately all of Mr Sprouts 6 foot 6 inches did not fit in the bus so it was a long 10 hours for him!

We stayed at The Light Hotel & Resort which is a great place right across the road from the beach. I booked the room the previous night before we got on the bus so was able to get a last minute rate of $40 per night in an ocean view senior deluxe room.

Nha Trang has great snorkelling & scuba diving, there are trips to the hinterland to ride elephants, day trips to see Cham Towers or you can be pampered and laze on the beach in town.

Just around the corner from the hotel is a snake restaurant where you can choose your own live snake to dine on, they kill it & put the still beating heart in a shot of vodka to be drunk. They also have live seafood to choose from which was far less daunting so we feasted on prawns & lobsters instead. Then back to the beach where Mr Sprout continued to eat anything & everything that happened to be walking by!

Next stop Hoi An....... we chose to fly on this leg of the trip :)