Did you know that Lego makes Chinese New Year Lego sets?

When I first came across these last year I was dying to get one but unfortunately they were all sold out in retail stores and massively overpriced on other platforms, so I decided to give it a miss.

This year, Lego have released additional sets and I was excited to see that the Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner Lego set from 2019 was available! Out of all the sets that I’ve seen this one resonated with me the most. I thought it would make a beautiful showcase in our living room, so I just had to get it!

Two days later, it arrived by post and I built it on Chinese New Year’s Eve while binge watching Netflix. The set portrays an extended family enjoying their Chinese New Year’s Eve meal in a gorgeous red and gold themed house.

The set comes with 6 minifigures dressed in their traditional Chinese New Year clothes and includes 2 parents, 2 kids and 2 grandparents. The detail on the minifigures is amazing and I especially love the mother’s floral cheongsam. Both kids should also have a red packet each but unfortunately I only received 1 in my set.

The house itself is beautifully detailed. Inside, there are 2 bookcases filled with books and family portraits. There’s also a tv, adjustable lounge chair, lamp and 2 floor vases with red blossoms. The key focus of the room though, is the large round table filled with delicious Chinese New Year delicacies!

Outside the house, the front entrance is framed by lanterns and the front door has a sticker with the Chinese character “Fu” meaning Good Fortune. On either side of the paved footpath there’s a mini garden with pink and red blooms, which adds a lovely touch.

This is the first lego set that I’ve ever built so I was a bit nervous about putting it together but I had nothing to worry about! The pieces were separated into 4 main bags and there’s an easy to follow instruction booklet. All up it took me just over 4 hours to build.

Overall, this was a beautiful set to celebrate Chinese New Year and is currently being showcased on top of our living room bookcase. If you’re looking to add some Chinese culture in your home, this is a fun and unique way to do it!

Marie xo

Australia is currently experiencing one of its worst bushfire seasons. The loss of human and animal life, as well as damage to homes, and the land has been devastating. Here in Albury, we are fortunate to have some distance from the fires raging along the Victorian and New South Wales border. However, close enough to experience the bushfire smoke and haze.

If you’re looking for ways to assist, I’ve rounded up some links below to help people and animals affected by the bushfires. Every little bit counts!

Vinnies Bushfire Appeal

Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery

NSW Rural Fire Service

VIC Country Fire Authority

SA Bushfire Relief Fund

WA Lord Mayor’s Distress Relief Fund

QLD Givit

WIRES Wildlife Rescue

Knitting Pouches for Orphaned Joeys

Wildlife Victoria

Rural & Remote Mental Health

Australian Conservation Foundation

Marie xo

Happy New Year!

I was shocked to find that I took a much longer break from my blog than I originally intended. Has it really been over 6 months since I’ve been back!?

While I’ve been absent here, life with a little one has certainly kept me busy.

Being a mum has been the most challenging but rewarding job I’ve ever done. This year I don’t have any new year resolutions beyond surviving life with a toddler.

I’m not sure how often I’ll be posting this year but it’s nice to be back!

Marie xo

It’s Autumn here in Australia and the colours of the trees have turned beautiful shades of gold and red. In Albury, I love to take walks by the Murray River and there’s something so soothing about spending time among nature.

I’m so lucky to be living so close to the river! There’s so much wildlife here, and it’s a fantastic place to hang out with picnic tables, BBQ’s, kid’s playground, and a very cool cafe!

What’s your favourite season?

Marie xo

To celebrate my first Mother’s Day weekend, I’ve put together a fun gift guide to spoil that special woman in your life!

1. Mon Purse Printed Classic Bloom Pouch | 2. Glasshouse Peach Bellini Candle | 3. Sheepish Knitwear Merino Wool Scarf | 4. English Tea Shop Treat Yourself Premium Collection of Hand Picked Teas | 5. Beechworth Honey Bee Creamy Mini Collection |6. Endota Spa Gift Card | 7. Mario Badescu Rose Essentials Set | 8. Lillypilly Pottery Handmade Ceramic Keep Cup

Have a lovely Mother’s Day weekend!

Marie xo

This year marks the 2nd anniversary of my dad’s death.

After he passed away, I thought a lot about how I wanted to remember him. Should I write him a letter? Fill in a card? Visit his memorial tree?

In the end I decided to light a candle for him at Church and spent a few quiet moments reflecting and remembering. It was bittersweet but also a nice way to honour him and keep his memory alive. Since then, I’ve lit a candle for him and the tradition has stuck.

I still miss him so much.

Marie xo

This week marks the start of a new Chinese lunar calendar. As we bring in the Year of the Pig, I wanted to share what Chinese New Year is all about and how it’s celebrated.

When is Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year corresponds to the Chinese lunar calendar, so the date will vary each year. The festivities last for 15 days, from the new moon to the full moon. This year, Chinese New Year starts on Tuesday 5 February. The most important dates are Chinese New Year’s Eve where families typically get together to celebrate and Chinese New Year’s Day, where families will begin visiting close family and friends.

How to Prepare for Chinese New Year

Before Chinese New Year, people usually clean their houses from top to bottom, to get rid of all the bad luck from the previous year. If any sweeping is done during the first few days after the New Year, it’s said that this will sweep away all the new luck, so be sure to get all of your spring cleaning done beforehand! Other preparations include decorating the house with messages and symbols of New Year cheer and good luck, and preparing food for the festivities.

What to Wear 

During Chinese New Year, people will typically wear bright red clothes as it’s believed that the colour wards off bad fortune and evil spirits. Some people may also purchase and wear new clothes to symbolise a new beginning for the New Year. For men, this typically means a red shirt and for women, this typically means a red dress. My husband and I prefer not to buy new clothes every year, so we have red clothes on hand for special occasions such as Chinese New Year.

What to Say

There are various greetings and sayings that you may hear during Chinese New Year. However, the most common one is wishing someone “happiness and prosperity” or “Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái”. For close family and friends, you can be a bit more cheeky and ask for a red envelope filled with money, by saying “Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái, hóngbāo ná lái!”.

What are Chinese Red Envelopes?

Also known as red packets, or “hóngbāo’s” these are typically given to kids or unmarried adults from their parents, grandparents, family members and close family friends. The red packets symbolise happiness, good luck and blessings, and inside each packet you’ll find money. Traditionally, people should only receive red packets while their unmarried. So when they do get married, it’s time to give rather than receive! Parents will typically keep on giving red packets to their married children however, as a symbol of their love and blessings.

What to Look Forward Too

There are so many things to look forward to during Chinese New Year but my top 3 would be:

1. Catching up with family. Here in Australia, my family isn’t too traditional so normally we would catch up on the weekend closest to Chinese New Year’s Day over a delicious feast. Since we’re in Albury this year, we’ll have a quiet one at home with Miss K.
2. Indulging in Chinese New Year treats. There are special foods and treats that are made especially for the Chinese New Year festivities. Every year, I look forward to having pineapple tarts and bak kwa, which are salty-sweet dried squares of pork, similar to jerky.  I also love the “Prosperity Salad” or “Lo-Hei Yusheng”, which is a delicious raw fish salad that is tossed with chopsticks by everyone at the start of the family catchup feast. The higher, the better! I’ll be making a short trip back to Perth soon, so I look forward to bringing some of these treats back with me!
3. Giving red packets. Although I have to admit receiving is a lot more fun than giving red packets, it’s a privilege to give red packets to younger family members as a married couple. They say the more you give, the more you’ll receive happiness and prosperity in return, so it’s important to be generous! It was so sweet giving Miss K her very first hóngbāo!

Wishing everyone a happy Chinese New Year – may the Year of the Pig bring you much happiness, prosperity and luck!

Marie xo

For the last few years, I’ve chosen a word as a way to focus and shape how I’d like the upcoming year to be. This year, my word for 2019 is JOY.

It’s a play on my daughter’s middle name as well as a reminder to find joy in my daily life, find joy in my new role as a mother, find joy in being a family, and being able to find joy in the face of any challenges this year.

I have so much to be grateful for and this year I want to make the most out of every day by embracing life and being joyful.

What’s your word for 2019?

Marie xo

The Highlights

1. Miss K. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the biggest highlight was the birth of my sweet baby girl. When I found out that I was pregnant earlier last year, I was so happy! That happiness continued throughout my pregnancy to when I held her in my arms for the first time. She’s brought my husband and I so much joy, and we love her so, so much!

2. Blogging. This year I got back into blogging and I wrote a total of 33 blog posts. This is a massive jump from 2017 and I hope to increase this number in 2019. I’m still not sure where I want to take this blog but I do know that I love writing and putting together content, so I’ll see where it takes me!

3. Mental health. I wanted to improve my mental health and outlook on life by actively removing and reducing things that have a negative impact on me. I’ve been able to quit, unsubscribe, reduce, and say no to things and time spent on negative things and people. As a result, I’m glad to say that I had more ups than downs.       

The Lowlights

1. Pregnancy terrorists. This term was actually coined by my obgyn who told me to ignore any negative advice or comments regarding my pregnancy. Fortunately these were far few and in between, however I was surprised that these comments came from people close to me rather than strangers.

2. Instagram. After Miss K was born, I spent less time on Instagram and lacked the motivation to post daily. While I love the platform, I just simply don’t have the time to maintain my account and interact with everyone like I used too. Nothing like having a baby to make you rethink your priorities!

3. Physical health. I started the year strong by joining the gym but ended up letting my contract expire shortly after I fell pregnant. I had morning sickness during my first trimester and felt too tired to exercise for the rest of my pregnancy. Coupled with the move, it was all too much and was eventually told to rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. Now that I’ve almost fully recovered from the birth, I’m keen to get back into the swing of things.

Lessons Learnt

Time is precious. I always knew that my priorities would shift and time would be more precious once Miss K was born but I really had no idea until she arrived. Miss K is now 9 weeks old and my days are broken up in “sleep cycles”. Now that she’s on a semi regular routine it’s a lot easier to get things done but gone are the days where I could spend an hour reading, watching movies or playing games! The challenge this year will be finding the right balance between work and play.

Staying positive takes a lot of work. It’s also a lot more than just removing and reducing things that have a negative impact. If I want to maintain my mental health and improve my outlook on life, it’s going to take active action on my part. I also need to chill and stop worrying about things that are outside of my control.

Family is everything. Now that we have Miss K in our lives, it’s really brought home that we’re our own little family. I look forward to spending time together as a family and creating our own traditions.

How was your year? What are you looking forward to in 2019?

Marie xo

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a relaxing break over the holiday period. We spent a quiet one at home with just the 3 of us and it was perfect. There was a lot of time spent on the couch cuddling with the little one and enjoying food that I wasn’t able to eat during my pregnancy – smoked salmon, pate, prosciutto, hummus and sushi!

The past year flew by so quickly and I’m sure that this year will go by even faster! I look forward to watching Miss K grow, spending time together as a family, making new friends, exploring new places, and working on some scrapbooking projects.

Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!

Marie xo