Happy New Year and My Favourite Posts for 2012

On Thursday 7th of June this year, I sat around my house and debated taking the plunge in to the blogging world. After much deliberation I set up and created Utterly Organised with the hope that I might have one or two people read and follow my page. I am absolutely blown away that after 6 months that I have just over 2000 faces on my Facebook page and following my adventures.

 

2012 has been an amazing year, not only did I start my own blog, but I also started up my little Event Hire and Styling business which has been also amazing and so much fun. These two new ventures though have only paled in comparison to the other new adventure that started this year - motherhood.

 

 

I wanted to thank each and every single one of you that have supported and followed my blogging journey to date, and I really do look forward to sharing 2013 with you all. The blog has been a really amazing way to connect with so many different people, which was something that I had missed leaving an office environment and starting maternity leave.

 

I have plenty of exciting things in store for 2013, but thought that I would end the year by sharing some of my favourite blog posts of the year just in case you missed out first time around...

 

1. Tips and Idea on How to Organise your Laundy and a Peek at Mine!

 

2. Pantry Makeover & Client Pictures

 

3. Organising your Nursery: Some Ideas & Inspiration

 

4. A look at Mr B's Baby Boy Nursery

 

5. Mr B's Peter Rabbit Themed Christening

 

6. Free Laundry Printables

 

7. Top Tips for a Tip Top Closet

 

8. How I Organise my Recipe Collection

 

I truly do love hearing from you and receiving ideas, inspiration and requests for things to be featured on the blog. So please anytime feel free to comment on my Facebook Page, send me an email at utterlyorganised@gmail.com or simply comment under my blog posts.

 

Wishing you all a wonderful 2013 and may all your dreams come true in the New Year!!

Getting Organised for Christmas 2013... You Cannot be Serious!!

All that lead up to Christmas (especially with the retailers spreading Christmas fever as early as October) and in one very short, crazy and manic 24 hour period it is all over for another year.

 

Or is it?!

 

Even though the last thing we may want to think about is pudding recipes, ways to decorate your tree and buy anymore wrapping paper, there really is no better time than NOW, yes now, to get ready for next year.

 

So what can you do to get in front for Christmas 2013?

 

 

The post Christmas Sales are a perfect time to stock up on Christmas Decorations for next year, with most retailers discounting by 50 - 70% post Christmas. So if you love some of the gorgeous (yet expensive) decorations at certain retailers, then wait til post Christmas to nab them at far more affordable prices - I always do!!

 

I try and add one major piece to my collection each year in the post Christmas sales. This year I had my heart set on this Advent Calendar with draws for hiding treats or messages for each day of the festive season. Unfortunately I couldn't bring myself to pay $70 for it, but at 50% it was far more wallet friendly and it is getting packed away for next year!!

 

 

Now is also a perfect opportunity to also stock up on gift wrap, cards and bows for next year because quite frankly these don't date from one year to the next. Pop these away in storage with your other Christmas goodies and relish in how organised you are that you already have these ready to go when December rolls around.

 

If you always struggle for ideas and inspiration come Christmas time, why not put together a little inspiration folder for the festive season and add to it over the year.

 

I always love to pop some ideas in my folder post Christmas after I have seen so many wonderful ideas on Facebook, Pinterest and the Internet. So if you saw a red and silver theme that you want to replicate next year, or a brown rice salad recipe that would be perfect on your Christmas table, why not write down the recipes, ideas and inspiration that you would like to give a go next year in your 'folder'. That way when Chrissie does roll around, you will have made a head start on the planning.

 

 

 

I also keep a similar folder for my ideas for Easter and other general festive/party ideas. These are the same folders and way of organising my recipes as featured here.

 

Before you recycle all of your Christmas cards from this year, why not write yourself a note or save a spreadsheet with a list of who sent you Christmas cards over the year so that you can ensure that you don't miss them out next year.

 

I must admit I was very slack again this year and didn't post a single card, but there is always next year to reedeem myself isn't there?!

 

So there you have it, just a couple of my little tips to stay ahead for Christmas next year. What about you? Do you like to get organised for Christmas well in advance? Or can you not bare the thought of anything Christmasy at least for a full 11.5 months?!

Quick, Easy & Delicious Chocolate Mousse Recipe...

Is it just me or is the 'traditional' chocolate mousse a bit tricky to master? I have always found it a little bit hard for some reason, give me any other dessert recipe and I don't have a problem!! 

 

So if you like me struggle a bit, I hope that you will enjoy this chocolate mousse recipe that is just so simple, quick, easy and most importantly delicious to make.

 

I use this recipe to fill up my mini chocolate mousse pots for events and parties, but you can serve up in any bowls or containers that you like!

Chocolate Mousse Recipe

This recipe has been adapted from Taste.com.au

You'll Need:

• 250g good quality dark cooking chocolate broken up (I actually oped for Cadbury Milk Cooking Chocolate instead)
• 600ml Thick Custard (I used the Dairy Farmers Thick Custard, or you can make this yourself)
• 300ml Thickened Cream (be sure to use Full Fat, the Low Fat just doesn't work!)

Method:

1. Place custard and chocolate (which should be broken up in to pieces) in to a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water.
2. Use a spoon and stir mixture until chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth
3. Set aside mixture to cool for approx 15 - 20 minutes
4. Use an electric beater/Thermomix/Kitchen Aid to whisk cream in a bowl, just until soft peaks form
5. Add cream to the chocolate mixture and fold until combined (do not over-mix)
6. Spoon in to serving glasses or pots and cover with cling film
7. Place in fridge for approx 2 hours until set (fine to leave overnight)
8. Sprinkle with cream, shaved white chocolate or anything your heart desires when serving!!

 

Christmas and Chocolate go hand in hand, so this is the perfect Chrissie Day dessert to sit alongside your traditional pudding and a fresh summer fruit salad - enjoy!!

Festive Fizz - Punch Recipe for Christmas and New Years Celebrations!

For as long as I can remember, no Christmas Day has been complete without the addition of a bit of punch. Year after year, my Mum would (and still does) wheel out her punch bowl that she received as an engagement gift all those years ago, ready to serve up punch for Christmas Day.

 

This love of punch has definitely been passed down to me, because not only am I partial to punch at Christmas time, but I will whip up a batch for birthday parties, BBQ's, trips to the races - any occasion really! I am often given the honour of 'chief punch maker' at peoples events and often asked for my recipe. So here it is, it is so simple and you can make it as boozy... or not.... as your heart desires.... I will leave that to you!

 

You'll Need:

• 2 Litres of Lemonade
• 1.25 Litres Dry Ginger Ale
• 1 Litre of Fruit Juice - I love the Golden Circle tinned stuff

Optional but highly recommended:

• A generous splash of vodka
• 1-2 Cups of sliced fruit - I love fresh pineapple and strawberries

 

Method:

 

Simply mix everything together and serve!!

 

 

 

Serving Tip:

 

If you don't have a punch bowl, then don't go to the expense of an expensive punch set.

 

I love and use the Ikea Trygg bowls, which are a steal at $2.99 and a perfect size for a punch bowl.

Source: Ikea Australia

It works well to have two bowls, and make one boozy and one not - just make sure you label them and don't get the two confused after a few too many glasses of punch!

 

Just add a cheap soup ladle and you are done - hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!

Spinach Dip Recipe - Festive Season Food!!

Well with Mr B's birthday done and dusted, it is time to turn my attention on to Christmas, and with that comes one of my all time favourite things about the festive season - festive food of course!!

 

Over the course of the next week, I am going to share some super easy and super yummy recipes that you might like to whip up over the silly season.

 

To kick things off, I have the lovely Liv from Thermomix Oz joining us as a guest blogger with one amazing sounding dip that I know I'll be whipping up for sure. If you are a fellow Thermomix fan, you will love the Thermomix Oz blog and Facebook page, both are full of recipes and tips from Liv using this amazing appliance.

Hi I'm Liv - a wife and mum to two gorgeous little girls and with a passion for yummy, wholesome food. Although I'm very new the world of blogging, I'm slowing catching on! I love sharing tried and tested recipes in the hope that we can all save time and money that's better spent with our family!

 

One of the things I found most challenging before we got a Thermomix was finding enough time to set aside in order to make nutritious and healthy food, especially at Christmas! It's so convenient to choose ready made and pre-packaged food and although it's not always unhealthy - it does usually come along with a few extra preservatives or additives that are often best avoided.

 

Dip was one of the things I used to grab pre-made and ready to eat - I never entertained the idea of making it at home. Now, I have no excuse not to make it! It would take me longer to get into my car to go buy a dip from my local supermarket, than it would to whip this up in my Thermomix! It's light, healthy, tastes fabulous and costs a fraction of the pre-packaged kind!

 

In place of the regular cream cheese, this recipe uses lighter sour cream and mayonnaise and gets plenty of flavour from yummy grated parmesan cheese. It's a perfect summer dip - a great partner for both veggies and crackers alike. This did not last long at our place!

 

Creamy Spinach Dip

 

Ingredients

285g Spinach, cooked and finely chopped, cooled
1/2 Cup Light Sour Cream
5 Tablespoons Light Mayonnaise
1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 Cup Shallots, finely chopped

Directions

Cook spinach and cool. Squeeze out excess moisture and set aside. **I used thawed frozen spinach to save time, cooked in the microwave and it was already finely chopped. You may use fresh spinach, go with whatever is easiest for you!

 

Roughly chop parmesan cheese into cubes and place into your Thermomix bowl. Grate for 10 Seconds, Speed 8.

Chop shallots and add to parmesan in bowl, along with cooled spinach, sour cream and mayonnaise.

 

Mix for 10 - 20 Seconds, Speed 8. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix for a further 10 Seconds if necessary, Speed 6 - 8.

 

Serve with fresh vegetables and/or savoury crackers. If you need to make this a day in advance, remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!http://thermomixoz.blogspot.com.au/

 

 

 

Thanks again for joining us Liv, if you are after more Christmas recipes for your Thermomix be sure to check out the Thermomix Oz blog, there is an amazing Oreo Truffle recipe on there that would be perfect as a gift for loved ones or just with coffee post Christmas Day lunch!

Make Christmas Easy Planner Giveaway!

In case you missed out on yesterday's post, the fabulous Marissa from Beautifully Organised has covered all (and I mean all) bases when it comes to helping you get organised for Christmas. Her Make Christmas Easy Planner, does just that, and you can read about it here.

 

 

I am fortunate to be able to make one lucky readers Christmas a bit more Organised this year, because one lucky reader is going to receive a copy of the planner to get cracking on organising this years festive season.

 

Because Chrissie really is just around the corner, this giveaway really is short and sweet, so pop your entry in now and good luck!! 

• Utterly Organised in conjunction with Beautifully Organised are giving one lucky reader the chance to win a Christmas Made Easy Planner valued at $29.95
• The Giveaway will be hosted on the Utterly Organised blog and is open to all of my very lovely readers!
• Readers may only enter the competition once, multiple entries will not be accepted
• The Giveaway will commence at 8:00am AEDST on Wednesday 12th December 2012, and conclude at 08:00am AEDST on Friday 14th December 2012
• The winner/s will be drawn by random.org
• The announcement of the lucky winner/s will be published via the Utterly Organised blog
• The lucky winner/s will have 2 days to contact Utterly Organised and claim their prize
• Failure to claim the prize within this period will result in another winner/s being drawn by random.org

• To enter you must like the Utterly Organised Facebook Page
• Reader must enter directly under this blog post by leaving a comment with your full name to enter
• Please ensure that your entry contains your full name (first and last name) in order to be accepted in this draw
• Any questions on the competition can be directed to utterlyorganised@gmail.com

 

Good luck!!!!!!

Organised for Christmas? This post might just save you!!

Organised for Christmas? If your reaction is more a shriek of horror rather than a confident nod, then don't despair as Marissa from Beautifully Organised might just be able to save you with her fabulous Make Christmas Easy Christmas Planner. I have asked Marissa to pop over and tell us all about the Planner for any of you that might need a little helping hand...

 

Q. Thanks for being here Marissa! Please tell us what made you decide to create a Christmas Planner?

 

A. Over the past couple of years I noticed a pattern with my friends and clients who are mums - more and more of them were getting stressed about Christmas simply because they felt like they didn't have enough time to get ready for it! We're already so busy juggling work, family, housework and social commitments - adding Christmas on top of all that was leaving a lot of mums overwhelmed and feeling like no matter how hard they worked or how late they stayed up every night, they just couldn't get on top of it all!

 

Christmas was feeling more like hard work than a time of peace and happiness..

 

Q. How does the Make Christmas Easy Planner work?

 

A. It's a downloadable file, so you just print it out from your computer at home, pop it into an A4 folder, and fill it out. It covers everything - Christmas card and gift lists, meal planning and grocery lists, even fun things like filling in your favourite Christmas traditions so you don't forget to do them.

 

 

The idea of the planner is to make your Christmas as easy as possible by not forgetting anything you need to do - it's all written down in one place, so it's easy to refer to and you can do your Christmas preparation step by step in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day.

 

You can either work through it at your own pace, picking out the checklists most important to you, or you can follow along with the weekly Christmas planning prompts at MakeChristmasEasyPlanner.com and do the whole thing with my support as you go.

 

Q. We're only a couple of weeks away from Christmas now - have we left it too late to organise Christmas this year?

 

A. It's never too late to get organised for Christmas! The beauty of the planner is that it's simple, but effective - you can complete each step in around a half hour. So even if you're just starting now, it won't take you long to catch up and get everything on track. Even if you only had a few days left till Christmas, using a planner would still help you get more done in that time than not having a tool to guide you at all. The planner helps you remember what you have already done and what's left to do, so you don't waste time trying to figure out what you are up to with your Christmas preparation.

 

Special Price? Please!!!

 

Thanks for that Marissa!! So there you have it, with the help of the planner you might just have this Christmas malarkey down pat for this year!!

 

If you are interested in purchasing the Christmas Planner, Marrissa is kindly offering my readers a 50% discount to purchase by entering the code word MERRYCHRISTMAS in to the checkout field. To purchase simply head over to the website.

 

What about a freebie? Pretty, pretty please!!!

 

Yes one lucky reader is going to be lucky enough to be receiving this for FREE as part of a giveaway on the blog.

 

Now I realise that with Chrissie less than 2 weeks away (gulp), that you want to get moving on this ASAP, so this competition will be short and sweet and entry is right here on the blog for 48 hours only, it will kick off tomorrow first thing and will run until 0900am AEDST on Friday 14th December, so the lucky winner will have all weekend to plan Christmas out!

 

See you back here for entry tomorrow!!!

Free Christmas Printable Set Giveaway!

So you love the freebie chocolate bar wrappers created by the fabulous Be Design Solutions?!

Well you are going to LOVE the rest of the set too, and for one very lucky reader this set is going to be all yours and personalised for you, for Christmas time!!

 

In addition to the chocolate bar wrappers that we all know and love (if you are yet to discover them, please check out my posts here and here), this set also includes:

- Party Circles - perfect for cupcake toppers, gift tags or stickers for some DIY Christmas crackers perhaps?!

- Reindeer Food Folded Tag
- Cookie Bag Toppers
- Toblerone Wrapper
- Cookie Bag and Reindeer Noses Bag Toppers

And you can choose from Silver Grey/Red, The Aqua/Red (my personal favourite as you can tell!) or the Green/Red version.

 

The prize includes each of these files emailed to you, for you to print to your hearts content (not for re-sale or commercial purposes).

 

A BIG thank you to Be Design Solutions for generously donating this little giveaway.

 

If you are interested in purchasing the entire range to make your Christmas festivities beautifully co-ordinated and chic this year, then the range is available to purchase for a mere $25.00 per set. Contact Be Design Solutions to order or for more information.

Good luck and please see below terms and conditions for this giveaway.


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Terms & Conditions- The giveaway will be hosted by Rafflecopter and is open to every single one of my readers - yay!!!
- The announcement of the lucky winner will be made right here on the Utterly Organised blog
- The lucky winner will have 5 days to contact Utterly Organised and claim their prize
- Failure to claim prize within designated period will result in another winner being drawn
- Entrants must like both the Utterly Organised and Be Design Solutions Facebook Pages
- Any questions on the competition can be directed to utterlyorganised@gmail.com

Impulse Buyers Rejoice - Swappa is here!!!!

Since having a baby, I am a complete and utter impulse buyer - actually maybe I always had it in me.... But in my defence, these days rather than battle the change rooms with a pram and an 11 month old baby who just wants to pull everything off the hanger, I end up picking impulsive items from the shelf such as 67 dresses, 29 tops and 34 skirts with the intention of taking them all home to 'try' on at home and end up returning the ones that I don't like. Am I alone here?!

 

My impulsive behaviour continues online where I have been sucked in one too many times by a good deal on a deal site (you know the ones - Scoopon, Spreets, Deal of the Day - need I go on?!) for a $49 colour, cut and blow-wave or $29 for a 3 course meal for two both in locations that quite frankly I know that I am never going to be able to get to in this lifetime. Sound familiar?

 

Well if you are anything like me, then you are going to love the genius nature of a new website in the Australian market called Swappa.

 

 

 

Swappa is an online marketplace that allows you to offload your unwanted, unused or nearly expired daily deals so they don't sit there wasted and you can get some of your hard earned back in your pocket - hooray!!

 

It is also the place to head if you have missed out on a deal of a lifetime, as you might just find the deal being sold that you missed out on originally and probably at an even better price that the deal was in the first place - bonus!!

 

So how do you find deals that you might want to sell?

 

Super easy, simply head to the Swappa website and paste the word“Voucher” in your email search area, and look for any daily deals you may have forgotten about, or can’t use anymore. When you find one, simply email it to sell@swappa.com.auand Swappa will sell it for you. It’s that simple!

 

Is it easy to sell?

 

It really is, all you need to do is forward your daily deal confirmation through to sell@swappa.com.au, enter the sale price in the subject field and the folk at Swappa will do the rest!

 

The Swappa website is super easy to navigate and Swappa also has a Facebook page that you can join if you want to keep tabs on some of the great offers as they pop up. More information on how it all works and any fees can be found right here.

 

Now if only Swappa allowed you to swap your dodgy unwanted gifts that you know you'll be getting from at least one family member this Christmas time....

 

Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by Swappa, the post and its' contents have been prepared for release by Utterly Organised.

 

 

Hamptons Style and Teddy Treasures Blog Giveaway Winners....

Thank you to my two amazing sponsors - Teddy Treasures and Hamptons Style for their very generous participation in the recent giveaways.

 

The lucky winner of the $100 Teddy Treasures gift voucher is:

 

And the lucky winner of the stunning Hamptons Style print is:

 

Congratulations Lilian and Sarah-Jane, I really hope that you enjoy your prizes, please contact me at utterlyorganised@gmail.com so that we can arrange for these to get to you asap.

 

Thank you to everyone that entered, the next giveaway is never too far away if you missed out this time.....

Tips, Tricks & Instructions for the Freebie Chocolate Bar Wrappers

Well the Christmas tree is up - yay - and I am in Christmas mode now and it seems so are many of my readers. I am so pleased that so many of you love the free chocolate bar wrappers kindly provided by Be Design Solutions as much as I do!

As promised here is a little bit of a step by step guide for putting these together, it really is so simple:

 

1. Download Files

 

Files can be found on my original post here

 

2. Print Files

 

When printing ensure that no scaling is applied to the print job, otherwise your wrappers won't be printing the right size

 

3. Trim Files

Either trim by hand with your trusty pair of scissors or use a paper trimmer - I LOVE my paper trimmer which I picked up a tidy sum of $10 or there abouts from Aldi.

 

4. Remove Wrappers

Remove the original paper wrappers oh so carefully so that you keep the foil nice and neat and in tact!

 

5. Ready to Go!

Once your file has been trimmed down, line up the image at the front

Then simply fold the two ends one over the top of one side and stick using glue or double sided tape

 

5. You're done!!

 

That's it, sit back and marvel at home clever you were to put these together!!

 

What Paper?

 

A few readers have contacted me to ask what paper to use. I personally find that the best paper to use is a 150gsm gloss paper that is readily available through Officeworks or other similar retailers.

 

If you don't want to buy a whole ream of the stuff, I find that the staff at the Print station at Officeworks are only too happy to sell you a few sheets of the paper you need for around 15 or 20c a page.

 

Or you can take these files to a printer such as Officeworks or Kwik Copy etc and have them do it for you too.

 

Don't forget to send me some pictures of your finished chocolate bars to utterlyorganised@gmail.com or share them on my Facebook wall, I would love to see them in action!

Free Printable Christmas Chocolate Bar Wrappers

Well today being the first day in December, it is about time we got our Christmas Craft on don't you think?!!

Firstly a very BIG thank you to Karen from Be Design Solutions for offering up the Chocolate Bar Wrappers from her amazing Christmas printable range for free.

The entire gorgeous printable range by Be Design Solutions

The chocolate bars really do make the most amazing little gifts for teachers, friends and family members without breaking the budget. You can also arrange to have these personalised (for a small fee) with your family name, kids name or even business, by Karen and I am sure that your recipients will be all the more impressed.

 

I personally love the idea of using these as little placecards to place on the dinner table for Christmas Day. You could create simple name tags and and wrap around each one with some bakers twine. So many uses for these and I am sure that you will come up with many more (which I'd love to hear about of course!).

 

There are two sizes available to download and us, the first is suitable for a 100g Cadbury Chocolate Bar and the second is a smaller size suitable for the Aldi Choceur 40g Chocolates (available in a 5 pack and pictured below).

The wrapper also comes in two colour variations - the Aqua/Blue and the Red variation.

Cadbury Chocolate Bar Wrappers

Click here to access the Aqua/Blue Cadbury Design

Click here to access the Red Cadbury Design

Aldi Choceur 40g Chocolate Wrappers

Click here to access the Aqua/Blue Aldi Design

Click here to access the Red Aldi Design
 

And here is the finished product - pretty amazing looking for something you whipped up yourself isn't it?!

Remember if you want to match these in with the rest of the range, be sure to head over to Be Design Solutions where you can purchase the entire set of personalised PDF files for a mere $25.00. To order, or for more information please email Karen at karen@bedesignsolutions.com.au.

If you need instructions on putting these together, please pop back again tomorrow and I will share a step by step guide and a few of my tips to make this a cinch.

 

I would love to see your pictures, so please feel free to post on my Facebook Page or email them to me at utterlyorganised@gmail.com

 

Thanks again Be Design Solutions and I hope you all enjoy!