We are over the moon.  With 3 delicious boys and 3 gorgeous girls, our family is complete!  I have been soaking up every minute, I don’t want to miss a thing and I must say, I am loving that my clothesline is, once again, full of pink.  Thank you so much for sharing in our journey and in our JOY!

Truffle Tree

Chocolate Bon Bon’s

Pistachio Macarons

Apple flavoured mini jelly bean baubles

Peppermint Creme Cheesecake

First up we have our gorgeous little mousse pots.  To say I adore these little jars is an understatement.  I found them one day in a little bakery Joe loves to go to.  I grabbed a few because I had not seen anything like them on dessert tables before and used them on Jeremiah’s Kite Party back in June last year.  Not long after that they were featured in the Donna Hay magazine and have since become a very popular addition to dessert tables all over – very exciting.  They are perfect for so many things, and the perfect size – not too big, not too small.   I LOVE them!

The above photo was from our Corporate Christmas table last year where we used a 36 inch diameter wreath as the focal point of the backdrop.  We have ONE only available for sale.   It comes plain, which I really like because it means that you can add your own colours every year to suit the theme you have chosen at the time.

I will be using mine again this year at home, I am going to try something like this.

via Martha Stewart

I also love these Classic Platters we used on Tijana’s Spa Party table.  I cannot wait to fill one with Fresh Seafood and another with a Glazed Christmas Ham (ok, mouth watering)

Oh and speaking of Christmas and ham, I also have a couple of these Ham bags available.

Up next are some glass jars.  We used two of these on Tijana’s Spa Party.  They are hands down my favourite glass jars because they are classic and elegant.

We also have these glass jars available.  I can imagine these on so many different styles of tables, but I can just picture them perfectly on an Summer ice cream table.

Summer fun leads me to these gorgeous Vintage Coke crates.  They are ORIGINAL coke crates, not replicas and as such have that perfect vintage look.  We have some that are sectioned for bottles and some that are completely open.  Limited stock.

We also have available these three tiered cake stands in white that I used at my 40th Birthday last year.  They come in round or square.  We are also stocking the cake stands that finish off the range.

I will leave it there for today, but will be adding in a little more stock later in the week.

Happy shopping!

Warmest,

Tracey x

We wanted to have a day, where Tijana and her friends felt very special and really pampered.  The idea was to have an invitation that suggested the day was going to be beautiful, with a little bit of luxury.  It was great to see the girls faces as they received their invitation, tied with a red velvet bow…they went down a treat.

As the girls arrived, we got them set up in their own Spa robe and hair towel, and then it was time for a little bubbly – raspberry lemonade of course!

Time for activities and pampering.  The girls made a Yoghurt, Honey and Almond Meal face mask before applying it and relaxing, giving it time to work it’s magic.

Each of the girls then received a warmed face washer to remove the mask.

This was followed by a Brown Sugar and Vanilla Hand Scrub and then a Milk and Honey bath soak, which we used some of in a foot bath, topped with rose petals.  They packaged up the rest of the Bath Soak to add to their take home goodies.  It was then time for  manicures, followed by Dessert.  Throughout the day, Joe acted as the waiter for the girls, and they sure made him work….”oh waiter…!”

The Dessert table was all about pink, with a touch of red and a focus on pretty.

The table included Vanilla Cupcakes, Raspberry Tarts, Strawberry Macarons, Chocolate Beans, Bon Bon’s, Raspberry Mousse, Marshmallows, Meringues, Profiteroles and Strawberries.  Every one loved the Chocolate fountain!  My children have already requested another as part of our Christmas entertaining.

At the end of the day, each of the girls went home with a little pamper package that we had put together.  Before the day, Tijana and I made some Raspberry Goats milk soap, Coconut Lip Balm and packaged up some Raspberry Body Butter.  To that we added in some pink thongs, and a Strawberry and Cream Lollipop, along with the Milk and Honey Bath Soak the girls made on the day.  We packaged it all up in these gorgeous little market baskets.

The afternoon was so girly and so much fun, and just the special treat we had hoped for our beautiful girl and her precious friends.

Sources:

I purchased goodies from the following three companies for the Skin products and packaging used on the day.  We really enjoyed making our own body products, and plan to continue to do so – they are natural, fun to do and a little nicer on the wallet.

Aussie Soap Supplies

Heirloom Body Care

New Directions

Paper for invitations from Christina Re.

The food was homemade, with the exception of the Macarons, which I purchased from the Lindt Cafe.

The cake stands, platter, glass jars, white square bowls, and mousse pots are all available for purchase through me.  You can see my Facebook page (product details will be added this week) or contact me on tracey@traceylau.com for more info.

How about a tie wreath to decorate the room.  Details on ‘how to’ can be found at Good Housekeeping here

Gorgeous decorations, cupcake toppers and beverage tags from Shindig parties.

You can read all about them and find a download link here

Or have the kids cut out some letters from patterned paper to make an I love Dad banner.  Source BabyCenter

I love the idea of this Room Service Door Hanger by Seven Thirty Three, for those who love to give Dad his breakfast in bed.

You can find out more here

I love this Game Card from Paper and Pigtails.

You could turn it into a Father’s Day card or add it to Dad’s breakfast tray.  The download is free and is available here

How about a paper airplane card – templates available at Martha Stewart.

I also love these cute coupons, also available at Martha Stewart.

Looking for some ideas to package or wrap your gifts.

Free Favor box template available from PaperCrave

Cute bow tie wrap from Martha Stewart.

Have you bought Dad a gift card and want to finish it off nicely.  Polkadot Prints are offering a free Gift card pocket, available here.

Thinking of getting crafty with the kids and giving Dad something homemade.

I adore these personalised Hand print tree’s from Personalised Prints on Etsy.  You print out the base tree and add each child’s hand print to finish off the the tree.

or you could create this “love you this much” card, from a Day in my Life – details here

How about doing up a tie for Dad, with a special Father’s Day message (from I heart nap time)

Or you could make Dad a tie on a stick cookie, sweet!  Details available from Munchkin Munchies

However you choose to celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful day on Sunday, as we acknowledge the special men in our lives…the men we, or our precious children, call Dad!

This print was created by Sarah Jane Studios (LOVE her work) and she is offering it as a free download, which means you can save it to your computer or even have it printed and framed for your wall.  Download available here.

Joe and I recently sat down with our children and spent a few weeks, a little at a time, drafting a mission statement for our family.  Each person was asked what mattered most to them, what they thought was really important and what kind of family they wanted to live in.  We compiled all the different answers and then put together a mission statement that incorporated the heart of each individual and the direction and focus of our family as a whole.  I want to get it printed and displayed in our home, as a constant reminder of what it is we want, so, as a family, we live life on purpose.

We also put together a list of questions to ask each of our children, as they get older, to get them thinking about what they want out of life, to help them decide what defines success for them.  They included things like:

1/  What kind of person do you want to be?

2/  What values or character traits do you think are important in life?

3/  How do you want to make a difference in the world?

4/  What do you think you would like to do for a job?

5/  What are some of the things you would like out of life – e.g. would you like to travel?

6/  When you are 100 years old and sitting on your rocking chair, reflecting on your life, what do you want it to look like?  What are the things that will matter the most to you?

We tested them out on Harrison, who turns 13 next week (eek!) and it was amazing to hear his answers.  His answers may change over the years, but at least he is thinking about it.  It also helps to explain how making decisions each day will take us closer to the life we want, or further away…to show that we can choose to live life on purpose.

LOVE this print – I hope you enjoy it too!

…we are expecting Baby No. 6.  This precious little bundle is due February 21st, which happens to be Joe’s birthday.

My husband has been amazing, taking care of absolutely everything – 5 children and all that entails, meals, the house, me and working as well.  I could never adequately express how much he amazes me and how grateful I am for all that he has done and all that he is.

If you have sent me an email in the last 9 weeks and have thought I was ignoring you, I am SO very sorry.  I tried to answer a few but couldn’t last at the computer.  I have begun to work through them so hopefully I will have an answer for you in the next few days.

I look forward to catching up with you all and seeing what has been going on in your world.

Warmest,

Tracey

I was able to get these photos of Jeremiah recently just as he woke up and right before he got his first haircut, with his bedhead hair and all.  Jeremiah is not one for sitting still, I mean there is just too much to see and do, so getting photos of him is quite a task.  I knew the moment he had his first haircut he would lose this toddler look.

Oooh that little lip, so kissable.  And after his haircut…

He wasn’t sure what to make of all the Happy Birthday wishes and songs, but he loved blowing out his candles and ripping into his presents.  Happy Birthday beautiful boy…you are so special, you are full of life, you bring excitement to our home, you keep Mummy on her toes…and you are deeply loved.

Today is my Wedding Anniversary and even though it certainly hasn’t been 55 years, it just keeps getting better.  I dream of doing a shoot like this with Joe one day…he would so rock a trench coat and hat.

images by Jesse Holland via Style Me Pretty