Come on a journey of inspiration & adventure while renovate & restore a beautiful Victorian home 'St Elmo' in the picturesque Hunter Valley, Australia & laugh at a few of our family adventures along the way.




Monday, July 28, 2014

Fit bodies are built in the winter

I have just embarked on what I believe will be an annual event for me

I participated in this challenge last year & one of my girl friends actually won the event so I can say without a doubt that the results you see are real.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience  & whilst I have regained a small amount of what I lost in last years challenge it only happened recently when I got sick & was unable to exercise for 3 months.
So this year I have bigger goals to kick .
I am aiming for ABS, I haven't seen them since my late 20's so its time to rid them of 15 yrs of padding....eeek!!!
I am going to post the occasional recipe or update on how I am going with it all, from time to time to share with my challenge buddies & anyone else that likes to follow a clean eating lifestyle.
Don't worry, there will still be plenty of the usual stuff as well.

I try to be a little thrifty on the challenge & still follow the nutrition plan as close as possible, after all its a system that works so why mess with it.
This is my version of a protein ball recipe that I use to replace protein bars
Enjoy!!!



Choc Chia Protein Balls
¾ cup Protein Powder(Vanilla or Choc)
½ cup Almond meal
½ cup Coconut
1 heaped tablespoon of Tahini Paste or Organic Peanut butter
3 tablespoons of Cacao Powder
2 tablespoons of Stevia or Natvia
3 tablespoons of Chia Seeds
Cold Water
Mix all dry ingredients, then peanut butter. Slowly add water until you make a sticky  paste. Be careful not to add to much water or you wont be able to roll it into a ball.
Roll into balls just like you would a rum ball & roll in some extra coconut, it makes approx. 20 balls
I sometimes add peppermint essence or even 3 tablespoons of goji berries to change up the flavour.
Macro breakdown is approx. depending on how many you make
Calories.per ball 64
Protein 5.5g
Carbs 1.5g
Fat 4g


Feel free to follow the challenge over on the Maxines Facebook page.

CHEERS
Trish xxx

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

We bought a house!

So its been a while since I did an update on the Dream House.
You may remember I did a post a while back explaining why we had decided NOT to build,
 if not you can catch up on all of the details here
Well the good news is,



 WE SOLD THE LAND

The better news is...
 we have purchased a new home or should I say a 108 year old home.


Meet St Elmo, Circa 1906


Isn't she pretty!!


There are a lot of great original features left in this house which I will share with you more when I can get my photo's to stop loading sideways


We have a LOT of work to do to make her shine again, which I am grateful for, as we still get to make it our own


There is still one of the  fireplaces left out of the three the house originally had & we actually intend on making this room the Master bedroom...ooh la la, it sounds so romantic, I cant wait!

We have met the current owners who are such lovely people & filled us in on lots of the homes history. 
They are the 3rd owners of this home, having lived there for 35 years.
Sheesh, I haven't lived any where for longer than 6 years, perhaps I will settle down this time.

The house was originally built as Maitland's maternity hospital, so if the walls could talk, there would be some amazing stories to tell, I'm sure.
Don't worry, I did ask if it was haunted & they  said they had never seen or heard anything in their 35 years living there but one of their grand daughters had said she kept hearing babies crying when she had a sleep over one night.
I was hoping for  something a little  more exciting than that, he he he!!!

I cant wait to move in & start decorating, renovations will have to wait until we build the shed so my dream guy has somewhere to be a tradie from again. But there will be tonnes of things to blog about at long last.

I cant wait to also take you on a bit of a tour around the suburb we will be living in.
Lorn is a Heritage conservation area, so the homes are all gorgeous old heritage homes, some beautifully restored & some in need of some love.
The streets are lined with beautiful old tree's & its all situated on the banks of the Hunter River.
Eeek , I have so much to share!!!

WATCH THIS SPACE 

CHEERS
Trish xxx




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