tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17526117875519627462024-03-06T01:55:14.384+11:00Haus Designs//haus: /noun. a building in which people live; a household
//design: /noun. a plan, scheme or project
//haus designs: /adj. a little bit of this and that, with an extra helping of everything elseRachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-72655765894225909392014-12-31T09:51:00.001+11:002014-12-31T09:51:11.842+11:002014 - the year that was over in the blink of an eye.
Yep, seriously. Where did this year go? It seems like yesterday it was the same time last year. Due to the fact that 2014 is drawing to a close I think a yearly wrap-up is in order.
What was the best thing that happened to me this year? Making new friends and developing old friendships. I enjoyed having more people over to our house and we had the most amazing time preparing for andRachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-81020545886919993082013-01-07T12:46:00.001+11:002013-01-07T12:46:19.661+11:00Apricot Jam
The apricot tree in our yard produced fruit for the first time this season. I was so excited to finally get fruit. I picked and weighed them to find out the total of the haul - 63 apricots (+12 that fell or were bird eaten) with a total weight of 4kgs. After sorting the eating from the cooking (mostly just blemishes) , it was about half/half.
My search began Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-27409700361072725112013-01-03T14:51:00.001+11:002013-01-03T14:51:10.804+11:00A Summer Of CookingI have recently developed a love for reading cooking and homemade blogs. Anything to do with making it yourself and I'm hooked. I guess it's no surprise that I am a huge fan of Pinterest.
My goal this Summer is to try to make as much of my food as possible. The aim is to eat fresher, eat healthier and as close to natural as possible. Ok, I admit, I love desserts... but ifRachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-19440122248166179902012-09-24T11:46:00.000+10:002012-09-24T11:46:56.929+10:00The SNAP Results
Running Food
Tally: Monday 17th to Sunday 23rd
September 2012
Weetbix (14 bics) 1 pk = 72 bics
for approx. $4.00  Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-61482742481289917642012-09-24T10:24:00.000+10:002012-09-24T10:24:43.266+10:00Sunday SNAP Challenge
SUNDAY:
Breakfast consisted of toast with butter and vegemite spread. The girls had a glass of milk each, Hubby had one, and I had two cups of instant coffee with milk and sugar. (Can you tell I'm not a morning person?)Lunch - We made toasted sandwiches with ham, turkey and cheese. Hubby and I had another instant coffee with milk and sugar each.Dinner was home made pizzas.Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-47861131680396746802012-09-24T10:03:00.001+10:002012-09-24T10:03:50.786+10:00Saturday SNAP Challenge
SATURDAY:
Breakfast consisted of home made pancakes (Hubby's speciality) topped with maple syrup, jam, butter and cream. The girls had a glass of milk each, Hubby had one, and I had two cups of instant coffee with milk and sugar.Lunch - We made toasted sandwiches with ham and cheese. Hubby and I had another instant coffee with milk and sugar each.Dinner was a Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-88950587086537877022012-09-24T09:37:00.000+10:002012-09-24T09:37:41.017+10:00Friday SNAP Challenge
FRIDAY:
Breakfast consisted of Weetbix with milk and a dash of cream for me, toast with butter and jam for the girls and Hubby. The girls had a glass of cold Milo each, I had two cups of instant coffee with milk and sugar (it's Friday...)
Lunch - Emily had a peanut butter sandwich with Cheese and Bacon Balls (chips) for snack, Sophie and I also had some Cheese and Bacon Balls asRachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-31881954691523304572012-09-21T10:40:00.002+10:002012-09-21T10:40:55.329+10:00Thursday SNAP Challenge
THURSDAY:
Breakfast consisted of toast all round with butter and jam. The girls had a cold Milo each, I had a cup of tea with milk. Sophie and I also had a bowl of yoghurt each.Lunch - Emily had a lunch order amounting to $3.30, Cheese and Bacon Balls (chips) and an apple for snack, Sophie had some Cheese and Bacon Balls, and a free meat pie that was left over when we were Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-26744188220075431722012-09-20T09:55:00.000+10:002012-09-20T09:55:30.616+10:00Wednesday SNAP Challenge
WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast consisted of Weetbix for me with milk and a dash of cream, the girls had a slice of toast with jam and a cold Milo each, I had a cup of tea with milk. Hubby bought a coffee on his way to work, but this comes out of his spending money for the month - not my food budget so I'm not counting his purchase. (As a side point, Hubby doesn't normally buy coffee but a Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-68460669816568878362012-09-19T11:45:00.000+10:002012-09-19T11:48:13.972+10:00Tuesday SNAP challenge
TUESDAY:
Breakfast consisted of Weetbix all round, with milk and a dash of cream, the girls had a warm Milo, I had a cup of tea with milk. Hubby bought a coffee on his way to work, but this comes out of his spending money for the month - not my food budget so I'm not counting his purchase. Sophie also had a small bowl of yoghurt.
Lunch - Emily took rice cakes with butter,Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-36366291005285513312012-09-19T11:32:00.000+10:002012-09-19T11:52:56.148+10:00Monday SNAP Challenge
MONDAY:
Breakfast consisted of Weetbix all round, with milk and a dash of cream, the girls had a glass of orange juice each (leftover juice from last week), I had a cup of tea with milk. Hubby bought a coffee on his way to work, but this comes out of his spending money for the month - not my food budget so I'm not counting his purchase.
Lunch - Emily took rice cakes with butter, Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-61616595571295370502012-09-19T10:59:00.002+10:002012-09-19T10:59:54.430+10:00SNAP Challenge via The Non-Consumer AdvocateKaty from The Non-Consumer Advocate was featured on a breakfast TV show recently (Sunrise) and since then I have been reading along in earnest. I am always looking for ways to reduce our usage and wastage.
Katy has proposed this week to be a SNAP (American welfare system food stamps) challenge - basically you need to use a budget of $4 per person, per day for food expenses. Being Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-26910491886257977402011-12-09T13:34:00.000+11:002011-12-09T13:34:37.746+11:00Our new little Haus-mateIntroducing...
Cooper.
This is our newest addition to the family. As I mentioned in the month in review, we had been talking about a puppy/dog for a while. We came across the ad for Cooper and made some inquires. The owner/breeder was located in regional Victoria and he was the last one left in his litter. We asked for some photos of the parents (they owned both Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-66846494622156473862011-11-26T16:14:00.001+11:002011-11-26T16:16:08.170+11:00A MONTH IN REVIEW - November 2011A MONTH IN REVIEW - November 2011What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
On my Kindle I have been reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austin for what feels like for-ev-errrrrr. In reality I did start it about 2 months ago. Not being a hard copy I had no idea exactly how long it was... my lovely husband informs me that he saw a hard copy and it was some 500 pages, which might Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-66804884114020561432011-07-13T17:22:00.000+10:002011-07-13T17:22:54.743+10:00Starting From ScratchNo, we are not selling, although we did very seriously contemplate it.
Back at the time I posted about my shopping challenge I decided I could no longer ignore the fact that we were spending more money than we were bringing in. Credit cards had become our reliance when we didn't quite have enough to buy something (or pay for such and such bill) and they just began to grow out of control. &Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-10364905878205122942011-06-14T10:32:00.000+10:002011-06-14T10:32:11.543+10:00My $100 Grocery ChallengeIn my last post I mentioned that we had trialled cutting back on our weekly food/grocery bills. Tough times call for tough measures. I am totally guilty of normally wandering the grocery store and placing whatever items take my fancy into the trolley and at the cash register handing over my credit card as I stare at the (what seems like) 4 bags of groceries and wonder where the $250 Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-47454528152752954542011-06-09T12:50:00.000+10:002011-06-09T12:50:48.080+10:00What's been happening around the haus*We tried picking 2 of our corn cobs last week, but they were not quite ready - mostly still white kernels with a few yellow ones. I'm not sure if they will ripen or if it is now too cold and wet.
*The main project of the concrete patio was achieved last month with mixed results - more to come on that. Let's just say it's done.
*We hosted a farewell party for our friends who are Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-7024763406902239642011-05-16T12:05:00.000+10:002011-05-16T12:05:54.035+10:00The Great Australian $100 Grocery ChallengeRecently we have been working though our budget and looking for areas that we can cut back on without it hurting too much. One area that I noticed perhaps I could cut back (even though I have already) was in our weekly grocery shopping. I've already mentioned that every time I visit the supermarket the bill seems to be larger than the time before and I seem to be leaving with less andRachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-89160434824249460482011-04-18T11:35:00.001+10:002011-04-18T11:40:23.866+10:00Project:// patioWhen we built our house, the original plans included an outdoor room (a.k.a 'alfresco') where the slab and the roof line extended. Due to the shape of our block, we couldn't build over the easement that runs along the rear boundary, so had to have the outdoor room removed. We also changed the orientation of the sliding glass doors in the Dining room so instead of both sliding doors Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-1015585449839735402011-04-11T11:32:00.000+10:002011-04-11T11:32:36.457+10:00Cooking on a budget - IndianI have been having a bit of a whinge lately to some of my friends about the cost of living and how much our weekly shopping bill keeps increasing, so after much talk I decided to search for some new recipes that are both easy and cheap. Both myself and my hubby enjoy eating Indian food (he's more daring spice wise than me though) and while it may not seem like an expensive option for Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-82968491909829981712011-04-07T16:29:00.000+10:002011-04-07T16:29:47.246+10:00Interior experimentationI have been thoroughly enjoying reading some interior design blogs recently. I think if I were to change my profession I would like do study interior design and decorating. All the colours, the styles, making everything work together - love it!
We have been in our house coming up 3 years now, and despite us choosing everything (from the floorplan to the wall colour) I still am not Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-48053554899172504322011-04-04T08:30:00.001+10:002011-04-04T08:57:23.863+10:00What was happening in the garden last week...I have never been an avid gardener. It all began when I was a child. My dad gave me a small plot to plant some things - little violets, some freesias and a cactus. I soon lost interest in maintaining it so it became an overgrown space - mainly with the violets. On the plus side is the fact that the cactus is still alive and well - but it's no secret that they thrive on neglect.
Rachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1752611787551962746.post-75800319340010562822011-03-22T12:40:00.000+11:002011-03-22T12:40:30.304+11:00Vacuum Cleaners Suck!
Image from Get Price
Yes, they really do. We were given our ladybug (Red Electrolux Oxygen) as a wedding present some 7 years ago, and unexpectedly last week it died. Just stopped. Then after unplugging it, checking everything and plugging it back in there was success - until it stopped about 2 minutes later, followed by some electrical zapping kind of noises. Yep, dead.
WeRachel Witthaushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915077744653395050noreply@blogger.com1