I won’t write too much about Disneyland as I’m sure you all know what you would find there :-) This was our second visit to Disneyland Hong Kong as a family, and although I have heard some say that it is probably the smallest of all Disneylands, I think that’s actually a BIG PLUS when you have two small kids. I’d definitely recommend this Disneyland for families with young kids – you’ll get to see the whole park in one day. But if you want to avoid the huge lines – go on a weekday!

On our previous visit we spent a significant amount of time getting photos with as many characters as we could, so this time we spent more time trying out rides and seeing other attractions at the park. Some photos from our visit:

Next time, we’re hoping to hang around for the night-time fireworks :-)

I have my first day at my new job tomorrow. I can’t believe we have been here for two weeks now. It’s been a fun two weeks with the girls, helping them settle in and get used to the way of life here. But as of tomorrow, it’s back to business :-)

So I have a few posts coming up that I’ve scheduled ahead of time on some of the things that we’ve been up to. I’ll start with our visit to the Charlie Brown Cafe:

This little cafe is a wonderful pit-stop for all Peanuts/Charlie Brown fans. The cafe is upstairs, and as you go up the steps, you’ll find Peanuts figurines in cute settings on the wall.

Once upstairs, you’ll find a good amount of seating space plus a few lounges. There’s even a party room in the back.

The menu is pretty much a kid-friendly, Western one with items such as pasta dishes, hot dogs, and sandwiches. They also serve coffee and iced drinks.

Their specialty, however, are different types of mousses in the shape of Peanuts characters. I ordered the Snoopy Banana and White Coffee mousse – it was delicious!

There’s also a corner with all kinds of Peanuts merchandise. We found the staff to be really friendly and helpful too.

The girls and I really enjoyed having our lunch here – we’ll be back!

Charlie Brown Cafe
G/F-1/F, Koh Pah Mansion
58-60 Cameron Road,
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

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I’m sure you have all seen the unbelievable and horrendous devastation that has occurred as a result of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Please consider donating to the many charities that are now on the ground providing practical assistance to all those affected. For a list of ways to help, please read this article: How to Help Japan: Relief Options by the Huffington Post

Remember this little fella that I made last year?

His name is Norm and he’s in the March issue of Homespun (12.3)!! If you want to make your own little Norm the Garden Gnome, make sure to pick up a copy of the issue (it’s also got a bunch of wonderful stitchy projects from a range of fantastic designers).

From the Homespun website:

Thank you Homespun!

So we actually made it over! I’m still pinching myself. That last week in Melbourne was a mad rush – a blur of activity and exhaustion. But somehow (and with awesome help from family) we got everything into storage, got on the plane, and made it safely to HK :-)

We’ve been here almost a week now and we’ve spent it settling in to our new home, visiting the girls’ schools and preparing them for their first day, and getting acquainted with our new neighborhood in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon.

Our apartment is tiny by Aussie standards but is just enough for the family. We feel very thankful that we’re able to enjoy this view of the Hong Kong harbour from our windows:

We don’t have a car so we’ve been walking and taking public transport everywhere. The train system here is fantastic (although ridiculously crowded sometimes) so it’s easy to get around.

I’m not complaining about all the walking though since we’ve been enjoying our fair share of both Chinese and western delicacies :-)

My company has been awesome and have allowed me to work from home for 2 weeks in order to help get the girls settled. So at lunch time, the girls and I go out for a walk around the neighborhood. We visited Kowloon Park, which is a massive park with lots of things to do and see.

I think we’ll be going back to that park often :-) Here’s a view of Tsim Sha Tsui from the children’s playground in Kowloon Park.

It’s just turned Spring here so the mornings are just a tiny bit chilly but the days are really lovely with maximum temperatures between 19°C and 21°C :-) I do post up photos from time to time on my Twitter account if you’d like to see what else we’ve been up to.

And thank you so much for all the best wishes I received before we left – it was very comforting to know that we were moving to another country with so much support and love :-)

When I first started reading crafty blogs, Abby’s (called While She Naps) was one of my first blog feed subscriptions :-) I love her style and each of her softies are endearingly adorable. I was blown away when she started making soft sculptures, especially her range of fabric birds.

So I was thrilled when I found out that she was actually writing a book on how to make these amazing birds! The book has now been released, and I was also privileged to receive an advance copy recently  – it’s called “The Artful Bird“:

Inside you’ll find 40 of Abby’s stunning bird soft sculptures, complete with pattern pieces with detailed and helpful instructions.

These are some of my favourites, which I hope to try once I get a new sewing machine :-) The Peacock, the Flamingo and (of course) the Owl:

Absolutely amazing, right?! You’ll also find an excellent section on materials and techniques – very well illustrated and explained:

And in the back there is a section of Q-&-A with well-known bird artists like Ann Wood.

This is definitely a book for crafty bird-lovers! I am so proud of Abby – her creativity and talent are awe-inspiring and this book is a testament to just that.

As I mentioned, once I get all my crafty stuff together again, I’ll definitely try making one of Abby’s birds!