{our weekend}

Not too much to report from us this weekend, it was pretty quiet, apart from a beautiful day spent at Melbourne Zoo on Sunday. The sun was shinning, it was the perfect day for a big walk in the fresh air to see all the animals and have a yummy picnic lunch on the lush green grass. 

I love autumn days like that.

Hope you had a good weekend too!

x jody

{joining Lou for point + shoot}

{this moment}

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Linking up with SouleMama.

Happy weekend lovelies. 

xx

{Winners} Arkadia Giveaway!!

Sorry its a bit of a late one tonight, I got stuck at work, but I was dying to draw this giveaway. 

so here goes... {winners selected using random.org once again.}

So the five lucky winners of the super cool Arkadia tees are...

Jess - Mumma Dearest

Nat - Muddy Farmwife

Ashley - Piper and Poppies

Milina - Little Red Vikings

Zoe - Little Swallow 

Congratulations to you all!!

Shoot me an email with your contact info and I'll pass it on to the awesome folks over at Arkadia, and they'll be in touch to confirm the size and style you are after!

So exciting!

x jody

{Winner} Lovely Little Parties Giveaway!!

The lucky winner of the awesome party pack from lovely little parties is...

Jodi from Che and Fidel!

{using random.org, with 12 entries it drew comment 9}

Congratulations Jodi! 

Shoot me an email with your contact info and i'll get the pack out to you as soon as possible.

A big thank you to everyone who entered!

x jody

And So I Ran

Today when the little ones woke, just before 7am, I quickly bundled them into bed with hubs. I chucked on some clothes and my runners. I grabbed my phone, headphones and Archie then headed out the door before I even had time to think or reconsider jumping back into my warm bed to snuggle with my babes.

Archie and I headed across the road to the big park oval type thing, I vaguely remember going there once or twice before. We did a couple of laps, I even ran and then I had to carry him a little. 

This is a new thing for me. Exercise. I really hope its not a one off and that I can drag my butt out of bed again tomorrow morning, I so need to.

x jody

{Winner} Little Green Shed Giveaway!!

The lucky winner of the gorgeous Treefall print from Lou is ....

{I used random.org to select the winner, with 29entries, it chose 13}

Jess from Little Wild Moose!

Congratulations Jess! Just pop me an email over with your contact info and your prize will be on its way!

Thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes, comments and entries last week, 

definitely feeling the love!

x jody

Celebration Plum Cake

This is one of my favourite Stephanie Alexander cakes to make and it always makes an appearance around this time of year, there seems to be lots of birthdays and celebrations and this is a perfect cake to use up any overripe plums you have hanging around.

Ingredients
180g softened butter
150g castor sugar
135g plain flour
135g self raising flour
pinch of salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
70ml milk
1/2 cup ground almonds
10 ripe plums, halved and stoned
topping
60g butter
1/2 cup castor sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 large eggs


Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease a 26 cm spring-form tin.
To make the topping, melt butter and stir in sugar and cinnamon, then allow to cool. Whisk eggs well and stir into cooled mixture.

Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then mix in flours and salt.

Mix eggs with milk, then add to flour mixture and mix to make a softish dough. {it should drop easily from the spoon}.

Spoon batter into prepared tin {it should not fill more than a quarter of the depth, as the cake rises a great deal}. Smooth over top and sprinkle with ground almonds.

Arrange plums on top, cut side up, starting around the outside edge and working towards the center. Spoon topping over and around plums on cake.

Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Serve warm with cream or ice-cream for extra indulgence or simply on its own with a good cuppa.

Enjoy!

Thank you for all your support , kind comments and messages for my little blogs birthday this week. Feeling the love.

You can enter my giveaways here, here, here and here if you feel like it.

Happy weekend lovelies!

x jody

Arkadia {giveaway}

Joining the birthday celebrations here today are new childrens label Arkadia!

Arkadia is a label for kids and the young at heart. They create classic, quirky prints that draw inspiration from nature, our children, vintage treasures and the nostalgia found in our own childhoods.

Like you, they want kids to enjoy a fun, expressive and carefree childhood. Arkadia encourages an affinity with nature, celebrates individuality and the simple things in life!

Arkadia are so generously offering five readers of Lemon Rhodes the chance to win one of their awesome Chairoplane t-shirts! 

For a chance to win 'like' Arkadia on facebook and Lemon Rhodes too if you want, then leave me a comment telling me which colour and size t-shirt you would like. {choose from white or charcoal in sizes 2, 4, 6 or 8}

For an extra entry and to keep up to date with promotional offers and the launch of their first range, subscribe to Arkadia here {they may just send you a little something from their hearts.}

Tweet about it, facebook it or blog it for even more entries and leave an additional comment for each telling me so.

Winners will be drawn randomly on Wednesday 25th April.

{please keep in mind these t-shirts are limited addition and printed to order so postage could take up to a week}

Good luck!

x jody

Lovely Little Parties {giveaway}

 Joining in the festives here this week is Lovely Little Parties! 

Lovely Little Parties is all about helping you create your own special events with a range of unique and affordable party accessories while still giving you lots of room to get creative yourself and put on a celebration that is memorable for you and your loved ones. 

Lovely Little Parties is kindly giving one reader of Lemon Rhodes the chance to win this awesome party pack!

Pack includes:
One balloon themed kids party pack - 15 invites with envelopes, 15 thank you cards with envelopes and 15 party bags.
One watercolours smart garland.
One 36" large round helium balloon in red.

All items pictured above, super stylish and suitable for either a boys or girls party!

To enter simply like Lovely Little Parties on facebook and be a follower of Lemon Rhodes here via google connect, then leave me a comment below!

Tweet or share on facebook for additional entries and leave me an extra comment below for each.

Winner will be randomly drawn on Wednesday 25th April.

You can check out more lovely little party goods here.

Good luck! 

xx jody

{the weekend}

This weekend just seemed to fly by. I blinked and it was over. Saturday I worked, had my eyebrows threaded and lunch out with a friend. MrS and Riley headed to the rugby in the afternoon with Uncle Bert, while Lyla and I took Archie for a nice big walk. We then all headed out for an early dinner to our favourite local Japanese restaurant joined by some ace friends, it was amazing as always.
Uncle Bert had slept over, so on Sunday, we had a slow start then headed to the pool for a swim, the kids love the pool and its a nice thing we can all enjoy together. For lunch we made yummy pancakes and then all had a nice big rest while the kiddies napped. The afternoon was a quiet one with a quick trip to the park and cheeky fish and chips for dinner!

And now Monday is here once again. 

Hope you have a lovely week! 

x jody

{linking up with Lou for point + shoot}

oh and don't forget to check out this giveaway!

Happy Birthday Lemon Rhodes and a Giveaway!

This weekend past marks one year since I first created my little space here in the blog world. One year, can you believe it? I can't! The time feels as though it has flown by so quickly, yet when I look back I can see so much has happened in that time. 

I wanted to thank you all for supporting and following me on this journey, taking the time out from your lives to visit me here, to read, comment and brighten my days. 

To help celebrate the lovely Lou from Little green shed is generously offering you the chance to win one of her gorgeous Treefall prints! 

Lou is seriously beautiful, as is her blog. She writes straight from her heart, her thoughts, loves and of her daily life. She is amazingly talented and creative. If you want to know more you can visit here or check out more of her prints and artwork here.

To enter, all you have to do is be a follower of Lemon Rhodes {if you're not already} and 'like' Little Green Shed on facebook then leave me a comment below.

Share on twitter, facebook or on your own blog for extra chances to win and leave me an additional comment for each.

Winner will be randomly drawn on Monday the 23rd April.

I am super excited to be sharing this milestone with you, to be honest when I first set out I wasn't quite sure where I would end up. And here I am, so thank you again.

Celebrations will continue with another giveaway or two later in the week, so don't forget to pop back!

Good luck!

xx jody

Friend Benefits

I've been thinking a lot this week about all the awesome friends I have. In real life and online.

When I moved to Melbourne eleven years ago, I didn't know anyone apart from my hubby {then boyfriend} and his friends of course. And I found it really hard to make friends, not because I didn't want to, I just didn't really know how and I just didn't really put myself out there. The friends I made at work were limited because of the industry I'm in and were a lot older than me, not that matters, it's just not the same.

What I've learnt over the last few years, it's much better to have a few close friends than to be surrounded by an abundance of people you don't really like. The few friends I made in that time I hold close to my heart.

But something has changed in the last year, I don't know if its me or that I have had children now, I'm not sure, but I feel confident, I feel more comfortable in myself. I'm not the shy 17 year old anymore, I say hello and chat to other mums, I say what I think and voice my opinion {possibly a little too much}.

One thing I do know is that blogging has played a part, it has been a place for me to get my thoughts down, to read, write and connect. It has helped me find myself as well as find other like minded people. I have met so many amazing women, a few I am lucky enough to see often and consider to be good friends.

And now I can see I am reaping the benefits. I am more social than ever, busier than ever before. And its not just me who benefits its the little ones too, so many of my friends have gorgeous kiddies whom my children adore and love spending time with, as do I.

It's like having my own community, if I need help or advice it's there. And I am so grateful.

Happy weekend my friends! 

xx

linking with lovely Maxabella, what are you grateful for this week? 

Raspberry and orange butter cake

You know I am a berry girl, and this just gets me every time. The addition of the orange gives it a nice little lift without overpowering. I love this cake, it has been a favourite here for years. I can't even remember were the recipe originally came from, but it is so simple I can almost make it without one now.

Ingredients
125 unsalted butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup milk
1 cup frozen raspberries
finely grated zest of 1 orange {optional}

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 20cm round cake tin or similar.

Cream butter, sugar and orange zest {if using} in an electric mixer until very pale and fluffy {the sugar should almost be dissolved into the butter}

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

Add the flour and milk alternating a little at a time and mixing well until each is combined.

Using a wooden spoon gently fold in half of the raspberries into the mixture.

Spoon half the mixture into prepared tin. Sprinkle with remaining raspberries. Then add the remaining mixture and smooth top using a spatula.

Bake for 35-40 mins. Cake is ready if top is golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool in tin for 10 mins and then transfer to a wire rack.

Sprinkle with a dusting of icing sugar.

Lucky for my waistline this cake wasn't for me this time. I packaged it up for a friends birthday, and delivered it to her early the next day.

Do you ever give food gifts?

x jody

Pasta making

 My favourite people making my favourite home-made fresh pasta, doesn't get much better than that. 

Happy Wednesday my friends, we are super excited to be heading to a special play-date today!

What are you up too?

Linking up with lovely Sarah.

xx jody