Arts & crafts on the cruise

I finally remembered to take pics of the different projects I did while I was on the cruise. I really enjoyed learning new techniques and meeting new people :)

Making earrings



Crepe paper flowers - hibiscus and a rose


Quilling - butterfly, roses and daisy


Beading - a gecko

Wedding anniversary

Craig & I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on Saturday :) I was spoilt with a weekend away at Mantra Pavilions Mirage on 1770! We arrived Friday night and left Monday morning. Craig had organised it all last month and kept the details (except for the town) a secret :) We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment over-looking the pool - it was amazing!! The ensuite had a MASSIVE spa - I had lots of bubble baths :)

It was wonderful to have such a relaxing weekend together - we swam in the pool / spa, walked along the different beaches, had BBQ on the balcony, read, watched movies, did some bush walking and went to the markets.

Christmas in July prize pack

I recieved my cute prize pack for entering the Christmas in July challenge over at Sandie blog. Thank you to Sandie for organising such a wonderful challenge and Nicole at Craft Queen for providing the prizes :)




Has anyone else realised lately how quickly Christmas is creeping up on us?!? I have already lay-buyed some pressies and the Christmas cards are done :) Mum and I had a wonderful time creating and baking for last year's homemade Xmas - so we are going to do it again this year. I brought this book last year in the Xmas sales - it has a few reciepes I will be trying. Plus I have already started surfing the net looking for some new ideas.


If you have any great ideas or know any good blogs I should check out - please leave a comment and share them with me :)

Last week of holidays

Craig had another week of holidays - so we spent a few days fishing, shopping, catching up with friends, and relaxing. We caught lots of small fish and I managed to catch this flathead!



Craig and I went to the movies to see "Killers" (starring Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl) - it was a great film!

Friday night we went out to dinner at Western Suburbs for Mike's birthday. I quickly made this card - I CASEd it from here.


Saturday night we went took Elena out to dinner to thank her for house / pet sitting while we were away.

I recieved a surprise parcel - these pruners from Fiskars :) I have already used them and they are amazing!!


Today we have been enjoying the last day of our holidays - just relaxing, doing a few odd-jobs around the house and a friend from Brisbane dropped in for a visit.

Cruise Day 6, 7 & 8 - At sea

Day 6

We had a bit of a sleep in this morning, then a leisurely breakfast.


After that I went to arts & crafts - making earrings. Then Craig & I went to bingo again - gotta love the bingo lingo! he he After that we decided to put a few dollars in the pokies and watch people playing poker, blackjack and roulette in the casino.


A bit of socialising and soaking up the sun on the deck, then off to the buffet for lunch. After that I went to another quilling class where I learnt to make roses.

We went to the formal dining room for dinner, then Craig & I went to see a show - "Motor City" in the International Lounge. After that we all sat in the Bengal Bar listening to a band, then off to The Atrium to see the champagne waterfall, Baked Alaska parade and laser show.






Day 7

Another leisurely breakfast, then quilling class where I made butterflies this time.

Due to the lovely weather we spent most of the day up on deck relaxing, reading, drinking cocktails and chatting :) The ocean was a lot calmer today, so Craig & I spent an hour relaxing in the heated spa - bliss!


We packed our bags ready for pick up - check out mum's bag! LOL I admit we had a LOT more bags now than we did at the start of the cruise! he he



One last delicious dinner at the formal dining room, the off to see "Boogie Shoes" in the International Lounge. Finished the evening with a cocktail in the Bengal Bar listening to a band.


Day 8

We were up at 4.30am (crazy?!?!) and stood up on the deck watching the ship sail into Brisbane - what a sunset!


We had breakfast, then got ready to disembark. After our group was called it only take 40 mins to disembark, go through customs, catch the transfer back to the parking and get on the highway back to home!

Cruise Day 5 - Port Vila

Up early again to have breakfast and to get ready to spend the day at Port Vila (Vanuatu). Our shore tour wasn't until the afternoon, so we had the morning for some sight-seeing and duty-free shopping (mainly alcohol LOL)!


The first thing we saw once we got off the ship was literally hundreds of mini vans (we found out later there was approx 300) lined up! We got straight into a bus (mini van) with some other people and went into town for some duty free shopping :) Our bus driver (Roger) offered us a price to drive around sightseeing for an hour - so after some shopping we got to see the most gorgeous lagoons, a view of our ship, some beaches & resorts, Parliament houses / embassies, etc and Roger gave a very interesting commentary along the way.






Back to the ship for LOTS of shopping at the markets :) We brought lots of bags and coin purses, some jewellery, cute dolls, a ukulele for Cohan and some grass skirts for Lacey and Cody - so cute I can't wait to see them all dressed up!


After some lunch we went on our shore tour. Arriving at the gardens, a specialist guide will introduce the highlights of this tropical treasure trove. Amidst the lush trees, variety of palms, fruit trees, colourful shrubs, vegetable crops, medicinal plants and cascading vines, find aviaries of local bird life, a turtle pond, safely housed snakes and lizards and a pre-historic looking coconut crab. Read amazing custom stories, see some of the strange customs of old including real historical photos and information. Explore a cannibal house. View an interesting collection of WWII photos and artifacts, explore a real chief’s area and see how kava is prepared in the traditional manner. Learn how underground food is cooked.











After another delicous dinner, mum & I went to the International lounge to watch "Pirates of the Pacific". We thought we would avoid audience participation by sitting upstairs, but we were wrong! LOL We ended up throwing fabric fish into a net! LOL

Cruise Day 4 - Lifou

Up early and a quick breakfast because we were excited to be spending the day on Lifou. To disembark the ship we had to travel by tender (aka lifeboats). Our tour wasn't until after lunch, so we spent the morning wandering around the island, looking at the market stalls, watching basket weaving demo and singers, and just sitting on the beach enjoying the amazing views.










We chose the Melanesian Encounter for our shore tour (2 hours). Guided bus tour with local guides commentary. Visiting their church, visit Chief's hut, explore the village, see cooking demonstration.











Back on the ship where we grabbed a very late lunch, then I was off to arts & crafts to make a crepe paper hibiscus for the Island night theme! After dinner we relaxed & listened to a band in the Bengal Bar. Check out these 2 sexy island girls that were outside the dining room LOL

Cruise Day 3 - Noumea

We got up early, had breakfast and then went for a wander around the ship. I went to a quilling class and learnt how to make daisies. Then we all went to a Cruise Fair in The Dome - a sample of cocktails, cooking demos, fruit carving, towel / napkin folding, wines, etc.


After some lunch I went to another art & craft class - a beaded gecko! Then we all went up to the Dome to watch the ship sailing into Noumea.


We got off the ship and straight onto our bus. We chose a 2 hour shore tour - Highlights of Noumea and the aquarium. Travelling with an informative guide, meander through the city centre viewing various landmarks and appreciating the typically French architecture and South Pacific lifestyle. Next, the coach will climb the hills to FOL Lookout for spectacular views of Noumea’s sheltered yacht marinas and the picturesque beaches and bays of the resort area. Next stop is the aquarium.














After the tour we went back to the ship and watched some of the locals singing & dancing on the wharf.




We had dinner then off to the International Showlounge to see the local Folkloric show - Temonoroa Tahitian Experience. Amazing dancing, singing and even some fire twirling!




It was the first theme night - County & Western - so we went to The Dome for a Country Hoe-Down - live music and line dancing :)