What I've been up to....

Turns out I'm a handywoman! Here are some DIY projects I did for Handyman magazine. Check out the latest issue in Bunnings stores and newsagents for full how to's and step by step photos....

PS I'd love to hear what you think!

Thank god it's over!

As you know, we had a sugar-free week last week at Casa De Hutt. I bet you're dying to find out how it went - well, it went well. Surprisingly well in fact. The kids coped MUCH better than me. I have to confess to a bowl of vanilla icecream with crushed up Oreos in it one night... I did struggle. It's that thing where once someone tells you that you can't have something, it's all you can think about and if you don't have it you'll surely die kind of thing.... Willpower of steel - not!

But back to the boys, they were much better at it than me.... See, Mister 6 is an absolute stickler for the rules, so once I told them the rules, he was going to abide by them to the letter. He even pulled me up one morning for putting a (very small) sprinkle of sugar on his Weet Bix! I had to convince him that that was okay! So on the whole they were good. and behaviourally, which was what I was really interested in, they were good too. Only a week off the stuff so there was never going to be a massive difference, but it was a definite start. The point was really that there was an improvement so I can now go forth confidently knowing that sugar actually makes kids evil as well as being evil... And I think having that week hiatus period has made them more aware of what they eat which is fantastic. There were lots of questions: "mummy, does this have sugar in it?" They were quite taken aback at what did and didn't contain the sweet stuff. And it was a learning curve for me too in that they, for instance, didn't think Nutri Grain, Icecream or jam had sugar in it. 

So onward we proceed with our new way of eating. Dessert is now a special occassion - unless it's yoghurt (for now the yoghurt is the supermarket variety that is full of sugar, but we'll get there slowly) or fruit. Lollies are a special treat not for everyday consumption. 

From the overload of information I've had over the past few days, I see that our diet is far from perfect according to certain ways of thinking, but I'm not sure I can do all that just yet. I understand Sarah Wilson's school of thought on eliminating fruit from your diet because it's full of fructose which is the "bad" type of sugar, but thats' all a bit far from my world and capabilities right now. The diet soft drinks are the first thing I have to eliminate. I now know all they do is send hoax messages to your brain that you've had something sweet and cause your body to crave sweets and food to supply your brain with the sugar it can't find!

As overwhelming as it's been, it's something that has my attention and I do intend to work on, so if anyone's got any more good tips to share feel free!!!! I'm completely at sea without my sweet buddy.

Bunks - Pick your favourite...

Contemporary Cool or Vintage Vibe? Which do you prefer?

Images Via

I won't even mention it.... and sugar IS evil

There's no point is there? We both know I've been slack/absent/just plain old not here... I've been run off my feet doing Trade Shows for Noosh, designing books, styling covers and building and making projects - all of which I'll show you. But I just thought I'd pop you a little post to tell you about a semi-commitment I've made to myself to rid my life of sugar. I just got off the phone with my gorgeous girlfriend who lives down in Melbourne (let's call her the Nutrition Nazi). NN is doing a BA in Food Sciences and she is to say the least passionate about all things healthy food. At the mere mention of putting my boys on a "sugar free week plan" this week, she went into a long tirade about sugar and all its evils. Tirade makes it sound like torture - which it wasn't - its never torture talking to NN. I love her. The tirade has actually inspired me. As I write this I'm knocking back a Lose Baby Weight Smoothie with raspberries, yoghurt & oat bran. Still not super organic but a long way from the Coke Zero I gulped down for breakfast!
It all started with a kids party we went to on the weekend. Fabulous party. Biggest Candy Buffet I've seen in my life. The macarons were to die for! And I won't even mention the White Chocolate Cake Pops! The boys came home each with a box of treats weighing in at around 700g. EACH! Rainbow lollipops, Jelly Beans, Snakes, Smarties, Blocks of chocolate with personalised birthday girl wrappers... And they were absolute nightmares that night and all day the next day. Even monday morning they were still showing signs of sugar intoxication... Something had to be done!
So last night, after dinner, when the inevitable question was asked "what's for dessert? Can I have ice cream?" My answer was easy. No. We're having a sugar free week. I've never seen 3 sadder faces (one of them was my husbands). You'd think I'd cancelled christmas! Their reaction has only fuelled my resolve on this. There's far too much junk food in our house. I need to purge it. Starting with the 4 litre paint tin full of lollies (thanks Wattyl)...
Today is day one. I'll keep you updated on how it's going. I'm really interested to see if, how quickly and how much the boys behaviour is affected. I like experiments. Wish me luck! Quinoa here we come!!!!