Cherry inspecting our delivery

This is what we made on night oneMexican chilli beef on rice with avocado salad

Chilli, beef, tomatos and spices

Thumbs up from Mr Cherry

Night twoChar-grilled chicken and corn with Zucchini Pilaf

Zucchini pilaf

And this is what we made on the third nightPrawn, coconut & garlic pasta

It’s GIVEAWAY time…3 Lucky Cherry and Me readers will WIN 3 nights worth of The Convenient Kitchen dinners!

To enter the draw to WIN, simply:
1. Go to The Convenient Kitchen‘s website and sign up to the mailing list: http://theconvenientkitchen.com.au/
(fill out your email address in the “Get fresh TCK news” section on the home page)
2. Leave a comment on this post telling us who’s in your family and why you’d like to win.
3. Tell your friends about this fabulous competition buy sharing this link on Facebook! http://www.cherryandme.com/2013/05/the-convenient-kitchen

PS. It’s week 33 and not long to go now before baby #2 comes along! Things are slowing down and I may be spacing my weekly blog posts to every other week. Stay in touch via the Cherry and Me Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter feeds for all the lastest news.

My mother is an absolute inspiration. Growing up, I always said “I want to be an artist one day just like my mummy”! These days I’m not an “artist”, although I am a Graphic Designer and have immersed myself in the artworld collecting beautiful paintings and working as a gallery assistant at one of Melbourne’s leading contemporary art galleries.

Today, I thought I’d share with you a selection of my mother’s paintings starting from her early 1990′s work, to her latest series.

 Self portrait of my mother Natalia who studied Fine Art in Russia and has been painting for over 40 years.

Mum painted this portrait of me when I was 7 years old. I’m still in love with it!
(This one’s not for sale!)

Babushka Doll Series

This one’s hanging in Cherry’s bedroom!

Mum’s latest body of work. Spilt Enamel Series  

My sister Nise modelling a pair of mum’s boots

The studio floor!

For more information about Natalia’s paintings, please write to elle{a}cherryandme.com.

Happy Mothers Day!

 Kanga-doos

Cherry and her daddy

Peering through the rocks to find the goannas

Birdie watching

Cherry and Me

 Fruit bats!

Luck Cherry got a toy Kanga-doo with a baby joey to take home

Ready to order lunch at Innocent Bystander

Kanga-doo sneaking a sip of Moscato Slushy

Lunch

Then we dropped into Marysville to re-visit our property that burnt down in the 2009 Black Saturday Bush-fires

We felt a little bit sad but celebrated life with a toast to my late grandparents who buit the house in 1990. Then we breathed in the crisp mountain air, listened to the Marysville birdies and reminisced for a while. Cherry absolutely loved the place and we knew we’d have to re-build here again one day.

Tea for two

Cherry showed Aunty Nise her newly converted cot-bed

How to make a pom-pom with Aunty Nise

Aunty Nise is one crafty chick and taught Cherry how to make a pompom.
This is what they used:
- Wool
- Scissors
- 2 circles cut out from cardboard with a smaller circular whole in the centre

To make the cardboard circle templates, trace around a glass for the outer circle and around a bottle top for the inner circle.

Start by tying a long piece of wool around both of the circles laying flat together

Warp the wool around the circles

Keep wrapping around and around

To make a thick pom-pom, wrap another few layers around the circle. If you run out of wool, tie on another long piece. Don’t worry about the knots because you can trim them off later.

You can use different coloured wools to make multicoloured pom-poms

Once you’ve completed wrapping, insert the tip of your scissors in between the two cardboard circles and snip the wool all the way around

Slip in a piece of wool in between the circles

Secure a tight knot

Then remove the circles, trim any stray strands and hay presto, you’ve made a pom-pom!

Ta-da!

Did you know Aunty Nise also writes a healthy lifestyle blog?
She shares great tips on Eating Healthly and Living Fit – www.eathealthylivefit.com
For weekly inspiration follow her on Facebook and Twitter too.

When Cherry was a bump in my belly, I had plenty of time to myself and managed to fit in at least 3 exercise classes per week. This time round, finding time is a little more tricky, but since Cherry started pre-school a couple of days a week, I’m now back on track.

Friday mornings I look forward to Aqua Mums Water Aerobics at St Kilda Sea Baths. The feeling of floating in the warm water is just amazing! Our instructor Mandy is a trained Physiotherapist and really knows what’s best for our preggy bodies.

My other weekly exercise ritual is Preggy Pilates at Core Melbourne, Elsternwick.

The class is shared with post-natal women, so mummies are welcome to wheel in their prams, lay their babies on a blanky or even breast feed during class. I brought Cherry in with me after she was 6 weeks and plan on taking baby #2 as well.

This little bub just feel asleep while her mummy worked out!

If you’re interested in joining a pre or post-natal exercise class, make sure your instructor knows your weaknesses and don’t feel pressured to push yourself past your comfort zone. Finding time to exercise during pregnancy is important, but it’s also equally important to rest and relax! Besides looking and feeling your best, these classes are a great way to meet other ladies with babies too!

Aunty Nellie’s kewpies – Read about her collection here

Chrysanthemum, Carnation and Kewpie posies by Wunderplant.
We love Amy’s beautiful organic floral style! Visit the Wunderplant website here

Our kewpie brunch table deliciously prepared by Egg Unlimited.
We loved Egg Unlimited’s tiny breaky treats! Visit their website here

Crispy bacon, free range egg and house mayo in buttermilk rolls

Green pear and spice mini muffins with kewpie party-picks from Etsy

Baby spinach and salted ricotta muffins

It wouldn’t be a party without fairy bread!

Mum and me

Cherry’s pick: Smashed avocado, sun dried tomato and lime multigrain sandwiches

Wow!

We made polka-dot party hats with kewpie stickers from Etsy

Three kewpie babies

“Welcome to my party!”

Cherry loved her Rock Your Baby dress so much, she refused to take it off at bedtime! Visit the Rock Your Baby website here

Cherry was simply fascinated with the Naughts & Crosses bubble machine!
Visit the Naughts & Crosses website here

Daddy and Me

Cherry’s kewpie birthday ice-cream cake!

Cherry said “it’s amazing!”

“Happy birthday to you!”

“Make a wish”

“Do you like your cake Cherry? She looks like you!”

We served Cherry’s kewpie cake in  ice-cream cones

“mmm yummy mummy!”

Click here to see how we celebrated Cherry’s 1st birthday last year

To celebrate Cherry’s 2nd birthday, one lucky Cherry and Me fan will WIN a kewpie doll from Naughts & Crosses!To enter the draw to WIN, simply:

1. LIKE Cherry and Me on Facebook
2. LIKE Naughts & Crosses on Facebook
3. Then share this LINK on your Facebook wall
(Either cut and paste this URL as your status or click share on our Facebook wall link)
4. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling us you’ve entered!
5. Extra points go to Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest tagged mentions too. #Kewpie

Fresh bread from The Red Hill Epiqurean

Artwork by Polixeni Papapetrou

Faux Jackalope head from Made 590

Mum arranging our coffee table display

Cherry’s first taste of a chocolate Easter Bunny!

Beautiful Dahlias freshly plucked from our county garden

Simba waiting patiently for his Easter treat

Cherry keeps Daddy company while he cooks the birthday BBQ

House smoked salmon from The Red Hill Butcher

Quinoa, tzatziki and beetroot salads

Mum’s 4 bean salad with marinated capsicums, red onions, coriander, lemon and olive oil

Happy 2nd birthday Cherry!
Tune in next Sunday to see Cherry’s 2nd Birthday Kewpie Party Post!

I made my famous Strawberry Triffle. See my step-by-step recipe here.

Just in case you were wondering, Easter Bunnies Get Drunk At Easter was a little trick my music teacher taught me to memorize the guitar strings notes.

Flower Fashion

Botanical InstallationsThis image was taken at last year’s show. Botanical installation by Michael Strownix. Read more about The Wacky World of Michael Strownix here.

Cherry road tests the latest in Cubby trends

What a beautiful day!

And of course we bought some flowers to take home!

The shop front window display

Clink! Fizzy water served in glass jars. Don’t you just love those paper straws!

Three ladies with babies!
Me (due July), Lauren from Patchy Rugs (due next week!) and Esther from The Project Agency (due June)

Love those giant button wall hooks!

Little lamb and heart garlands

Plastic and paper party goodies

Comfy cushions and beautiful bedspreads

Bright and happy pom-poms

Fawn and Toadstool lamps

Hand made felt animal masks

Motex label maker with coloured tapes. So retro and so fun!

And now for the Giveaway…This week one lucky Cherry and Me fan will WIN one of these Motex label makers + 3 x neon tapes!!

To enter the draw, simply Like our Facebook Page and SHARE this link on your Facebook wall before midnight 23/03/13. Then leave a comment telling us why we should pick you. Remember, you can enter as many times as you like! Extra points go to Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest SHARES too! Good luck!

Don’t forget to tag us too!
@cherry_and_me
@thewoodsflk

The Woodsfolk
39 Church Street
Hawthorn VIC
thewoodsfolk.com.au

Cherry was excited to introduce the cows to her friend KaneThey relaxed back in their seats and watched the sunset over the paddock together. A beautiful way to end another day.

The next night we headed out for dinner to the latest hotspot in Red Hill, The Epicurean

Chillies, herbs and other veggies growing in apple crates

Mask decorating while we wait for dindins

What Cherry ate

What I ate

If you’re visiting the Mornington Peninsula, I definitely recommend dropping by to sample local wines and cheese or stay a bit longer for a bite to eat. The Epicurean is located at 165 Shoreham Road, Red Hill South, Victoria.