Your First Home – What Do You Really Want?

This year, I purchased my first new house. Ok, house may be a bit of an exaggeration. It’s a 2 bedroom apartment – but on the bright side, it is in a great spot, feels like home and offers every convenience I need. As a new home buyer, I tackled a lot of hurdles. First and foremost, agents, solicitors, banks – everyone can smell how green you are from a mile away. You look new, you look scared and nine times out of ten, you look like you have no idea what you’re doing. Buying is nerve-wracking. This is a ridiculous amount of money (especially where I’m from in Sydney), it is a very long commitment – and what if you decide next year that you don’t really like it, or your neighbours are horrible, or you get a job in another city?

Questions and doubts like these are all thoughts that plague your mind when you are buying your first home. You want to know you’re making the right decision and that you aren’t going to regret the decision later –take it from me! Given I now have a beautiful apartment which is lovely in theory, but also equates to monthly repayments, crazy strata levies, council tax…and restriction to holidays and travel – take it from me, you want to know you won’t regret it! So how can you be sure? Before you book your removalists, you need to work out what you really want – and stick to it!

1. Location
First of all, when you think you’ve found the place you’re going to buy, make sure the location is perfect. It needs to be convenient to your work and that of anyone buying with you. It also needs to be convenient to a variety of transport, as this is a twenty-to-thirty year commitment, so likely your jobs will change at least a few times during that period. Make sure you will remain happy with how far it is to shops, the city centre and other facilities, and know for certain you will always be happy with putting up with that distance.

2. Costs
A lot of us, when we find our ‘dream home’ don’t take a great deal to budge when it comes to extending our maximum spend threshold. We think, ‘ah, it’s only a little more’, and in our heads it seems easy to stretch the weekly wage that far. But it’s not, and your wage is not always predictable. Make sure the repayments are comfortable, not difficult at all. Also make sure you have enough savings that should you be terminated at work or leave, you can make repayments for at least a few months.

3. SizeYou need to decide what size home you want – and how much debt you want to go into! Are you after a flat or is a kit home more in your price range?

4. Additional costsIt is truly heart breaking when you move into your new place, thinking ‘I’m not wasting dead money on rent now’, and end up paying huge amounts in strata levies or other costs. Make sure you know that other costs are involved and if you’re happy with them especially if you are moving a long distance and need interstate removalists.

5. Adventure
Short and simple – if you don’t earn a lot of money, make sure travelling and holidays are out of your system for at least five years.

6. Home loans
Seems like a no-brainer, but read the small print. Make sure you understand how interest rates work, negotiate yours, and know you can make repayments comfortably still if the rate goes up by 2%.

Best Recipe Ideas for Outdoor Entertaining

All winter long, you dream about eating lots of tasty food, enjoying a cold beverage and hanging out on shaded patios enjoying the summer sun. By the time summer actually comes, make sure you throw a backyard party that everyone remembers by cooking up some delicious food. The following recipe ideas will have you covered for entrees, main courses, salads and desert, and will have your guests wanting more!

Feta and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms
To get things started, the most important party supplies you will need are pre-dinner snacks that will get your guests’ appetites ramped up, and feta and spinach stuffed mushrooms will do just the trick. First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and set aside a lightly greased cooking tray. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, and add 2 small cloves of chopped garlic, stirring for 15 seconds. Add a 10-ounce pack of spinach and some salt and pepper, and continue frying until the spinach is cooked. After the spinach has cooled slightly, add it to 4 ounces of crumbled feta, mix it all together and stuff mushrooms with the mix. Put the mushrooms on the baking sheet and into the oven for about 20-25 minutes, and enjoy!

Mango and Roasted Cashew Salad
Every hot summer barbeque needs a refreshing salad, and the mango with roasted cashew salad is sure to be a party pleaser. Start by combining a half-cup of sweet white wine to a quarter cup of light brown sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Then add cubes from one large mango and a half-teaspoon of grated ginger to the wine mixture, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours to let the flavours mingle. After, drain the liquid and mix and add a cup of roasted cashews, and garnish with mint.

Rotisserie Chicken
If you have a rotisserie, then this recipe will serve as a delicious classic that will have your guests’ mouths watering. First, get one 3-pound chicken and season the inside with a pinch of salt before placing onto the rotisserie, cooking for 10 minutes with the grill set on high. Meanwhile, mix together a quarter-cup of melted butter, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of paprika and a quarter-teaspoon of black pepper. Turn the grill down to medium and baste the chicken with the butter mixture before closing the lid and cooking for 1 to 1 and a half hours. Baste the chicken continuously until its internal temperature reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit, and then remove from the rotisserie. Let the chicken stand for 15 minutes before cutting and serving with either rice or potatoes.

Honey Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches
This easy to make desert will make a nice complement to the dinner and the summer heat. All you have to do is sandwich a third of a cup of honey-vanilla ice cream between two thin butter wafer cookies, and place them on a baking sheet in the freezer. When it is time for desert, serve them with a bowl of fresh cherries.

There is nothing like a backyard barbeque with mates to celebrate the coming of summer Aussie-style, so try out some of these recipes and relax!image:shutterstock.com

Lemon Tea

Lemon tea can refresh me when I feel sleepy during the day.

5 Tips for Planning a Wedding Reception at Home

When it comes to your wedding reception, there is really no place like home. If you or your family own property that is special for you and your fiancée, such as a lakeside house or a family country cottage, then you can really cherish your big night in a place that is extra meaningful. The following tips will help you get organised so that you can throw a party to be remembered right in your own backyard.

Stay on Level Ground 
Before you even begin to plan a wedding reception in your backyard, check to make sure the ground is level. Chairs, tables, the stage and the dance floor are all things that need to be on even ground. To test it, you can simply put a table and some chairs out to see for yourself, or you can hire a landscaper for a couple hours to do a more thorough check.

Tend to the Green Space
You will want to take care of this as early as possible, as plant life generally grows on it’s own terms. The success you have with your lawn and garden will depend greatly on what season you have your wedding in and how early you start planning. If you want a spring wedding, start talking to your landscaper in autumn about reseeding, replanting and sodding your lawn. The same goes for perennials: they need winter months to take hold, so the autumn before your big day should be when you do last minute planting. Annuals also need to be planted early enough that they have time to fill out, and be sure choose varieties that will be in bloom around the time of your wedding.

Hire Your Supplies 
Chances are good that if you are having a wedding reception in your backyard, you will need to hire your party supplies. Items such as tables, chairs, dinnerware, table linens and place settings are all little extras you will need. You will also need some larger structures such as pergolas or tents, a stage, a dance floor, a bar set-up and a portable bathroom depending on how many guests are attending. It is best to book these things well in advance so that you aren’t left in the lurch.

Set Up Boundaries
Having the wedding reception at your home is a recipe for having to play host all night long, and the next morning, too. Unless your house is a mansion and you have butlers, you won’t want wedding guests staying over night – especially since it is your first night as a married couple. Make it clear to people that the party is over at a specific time of night by either stating it on the wedding itinerary or by booking extra rooms at a nearby hotel.

Have Backup
Having a plan B that is just as good as your plan A is really important. If your house is too small for your guests, you should have a back-up venue available in the event of unexpected weather. Your plan B could also just be a few extra party tents that can withstand more punishment from the elements. Stifling heat can pose just as big a problem as rain, so have a few extra fans, shady areas, cool drinks or portable air conditioners available to keep all the party people happy.

And most of all, enjoy every moment, of this most important and special occasion. 

Small River on Old City Area

-click to enlarge-

Kali Baru, the small river that flows around the old city area of Jakarta, Indonesia. I captured it when I visited the area months ago.

The Weekend in Black and White

How to Choose the Best Flower Arrangement for Your Home

There is a lot to consider when looking for the best floral arrangements for your home. Flowers as decorations are very effective at setting the mood of your choice in any room, so you will want to decide what that mood should be before you get your flowers. There are limitless combinations to the arrangements you can have, so it’s always good to play around with different varieties of flowers, vases and ways of presenting them. The following are some tips for choosing the best flower arrangement for your home.

Location 
Where you decide to place your flowers in your home can really change the tone of a room. Displaying them as a centrepiece on a kitchen or coffee table will immediately attract the attention of guests, whereas flowers on bookshelves or in sconces on the wall will make a great addition to your home’s ambiance without taking centre stage. Bouquets in the bedroom, as opposed to more public areas such as kitchens or living rooms, can help create a sense of intimacy and comfort. Of course, the mood also depends a lot on the type of flowers you choose for the arrangement.

Type of Flowers
You can choose different varieties of flowers depending on what feeling you want to create in your home. Sunny flowers such as daisies, tulips, carnations and sunflowers will make your space look bright, vivacious and inviting. For a more modern and classy look, you can choose orchids, lilies, baby’s breath or roses instead, or simply make an arrangement out of all white or light coloured flowers. You can also create warmth in the bedroom by choosing deep, rich colours of red, blue or purple, such as violets, lilacs, bluebells, irises, carnations or hydrangeas.

Season
Your floral arrangements should change with the seasons. Different seasons set different moods and your interior decorating should complement these moods. In the winter and autumn, use rich-coloured flowers that are deep shades of red, orange and gold. This will bring the much-needed warmth into your home during the cooler seasons, and will create a cosy atmosphere that will make you want to snuggle up with some hot tea and a good book. In the spring and summer, use vibrant colours and light shades, and better yet, mix many colours together in one bouquet. Lots of yellows, pinks, oranges and pastels should be used. This will give bounce to the ambiance of your home and inject feelings of excitement, anticipation and new beginnings that these seasons embody.

Events and Holidays
Depending on the festivities, flowers can go a long way in setting the mood for any holiday or event that you are planning in your home. For formal events such as dinner parties, use elegant flowers such as calla lilies to set the mood. For a touch of style, you can use pretty much any flower standing alone in a classy vase. A single orchid bloom floating in water in a small crystal bowl will add a classy edge. Holidays such as Christmas always call for a festive touch when it comes to home decorating, and a beautiful poinsettia is sure to do the trick.