Sunday, January 30, 2011

Treasure......

Yesterday my niece & i went on a little road-trip to two nearby towns for a bit of thrift shopping. Small country town op-shops always have some lovely treasures, and yesterday did not disappoint. Among my favourites were three very pretty embroidered pillowcases (two cot sized), a vintage wooden recipe box & a bag of vintage white buttons. Can you believe that i left one of the shops with the recipe box & two of the pillowcases & only paid $1.30? I love those moments!

Now i'm off to try & clean those buttons....

Check out Her Library Adventures for more lovely finds.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

What i am doing.

:: making a felt DS cover for Chas
:: cooking lots of things with the abundant zucchinis in our vegie patch
:: drinking Jasmine green tea - my beverage of choice
:: reading Twilight - struggling to see what all the fuss is over, sorry
:: wanting my two big kids to settle into school happily this year
:: looking at my dirty floors - on my to do list today
:: playing with my real-life dolls, i like making my girls pretty
:: wasting time on the pc........yep. again.
:: sewing a pretty little floral top for Scarlett, wish it was in my size
:: wishing Frankie would come out monthly
:: enjoying summer. bliss
:: waiting for a new issue of some decent magazines to come out
:: liking the colour yellow at the moment
:: wondering who's reading my blog? anyone?
:: loving jamie oliver. the kids think he's my boyfriend *blush*
:: hoping i can learn to crochet this year
:: marvelling at how quickly my baby girl is growing - she's almost one. sheesh
:: needing to cut my toe nails - yep, still
:: smelling my new raspberry & honey candle, yum
:: wearing jeans, my favourite white top, a yellow cardi & the above thongs
:: following SeeBeArt photo a day. awesome photography
:: noticing families are getting bigger
:: knowing three kids are enough for us!
:: thinking i could never live without chocolate
:: bookmarking this. my latest blog find
:: opening the freezer - what to have for dinner tonight?
:: giggling at Amity's first crush - she really misses Jack
:: feeling content

So, what are you doing?

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Home again, home again.....jiggitty jig.




It's always good to go away, buy even better to arrive back home. Yes i am a homebody. We had a fun weekend in Melbourne, we stayed with friends, one of whom was having a birthday party - thankfully the weather was very kind this trip (whenever we stay with these friends it always rains!).   We made it to the Creepy Crawlies Sand Sculptures this time - it was well worth the visit............i was amazed at the size & detail that went into each sculpture. Previous to our visit some of the sculptures had been damaged by rain, so we got to witness the artists repairing their work, which was also very interesting. My favourite would've had to have been the dog with the 'flea circus' on it's back.
After our visit to the sculptures the kids had a chance to splash around at the beach, they had a ball - the beach was fantastic for them because it had very little waves which is much different to the Ninety Mile beach that they are used to where the usually get bowled over by the waves. 
Amity has just left for a few nights sleepover with Nan & Pa & soon Chas will have my cousin's boy come here for a sleepover - he's very excited! And me........i'm trying to catch up with all the washing & vegies that are thriving in our garden - lots of tomatoes & zucchinis at the moment. Yum.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Just for mamma.

Oh how i'd love one of these! Just for me. I could have it in the backyard & hide from the family in it (oh they're not that bad, but sometimes a mumma needs timeout ya know?) I would make it all floraly-nanna- pretty inside. Wouldn't you like to join me in there for a cup of tea & sponge cake.......whilst we embroider?

Image from here 

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Tomorrow i will.....

  • cut my toe nails
  • do the ironing
  • make salt & pepper squid for the first time
  • read my daily blogs
  • watch my kids splash in the pool
  • hopefully get a chance to read in the hammock (without getting swung by said kids)
  • take Scarlett for a walk in the pram
  • write a birthday card for a friend
  • pick some fresh flowers from our garden
  • start packing for our weekend trip to Melbourne
  • image via deco myplace













And on another note, one day i would love to have a beautiful lilac tree in my garden so i can pick lovely bunches of flowers like these.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Keeping Busy.

I can't believe the school holidays are nearing an end, they are just flying by far too quickly! I always have lots planned to keep the kids occupied, but too often can never squeeze it all in. Last week we went & stayed with friends in Melbourne, who have just had their second gorgeous little boy (what is it with boys this year?! 2011 seems to be the year of the boy), we had plans to take the kids to the Creepy Crawlies sand sculptures at Frankston but to all of our disappointment the rain put a stop to that. We are going back on Saturday, so hopefully we'll have some sunshine this visit. I did however manage to do a spot of shopping (oh how i love thee Melbourne shopping centres!!) & Cotton On Kids was on top of my list - i love this store, i never fail to finds lots of trendy bargains for all three of my kids...................i'm still hoping & praying they'll open a store here where i live (and i'm sure The Bloke is hoping & praying they WON'T).
We also spent a couple of days in our home town staying with our parents, it's always nice to go back - the kids love it - lots of bushwalks & chook egg collecting & playing with their cousins for them.
Then of course it's  back home to reality & after two days, i've finally caught up with the washing. Sheesh. We are planning a few lazy days at home this week, with a trip to the movies for the two bigger kids & catching up with some friends for a play date. I also managed to squeeze in some sewing today, made some pj shorts for my boy - much to his excitement. Photos coming soon. Before school goes back i'm really hoping for two more family road trips - one to visit my cousin & her family in Castlemaine & a sister in Leongatha - finger's crossed we'll get these in!
Lastly, over the past week i have been devastated by the images i have been seeing in the papers & on the TV of the awful floods in Queensland, my heart goes out to all those poor people who have been affected at this horrible time. Seeing what so many have suffered has put my life into perspective & makes me so grateful for my beautiful little family & what we have. xxx

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Treasure......

I do love a good op-shop find, i enjoy the feeling of finding something very special - something you didn't even realize you where looking for - for a very bargain price. I found these very pretty little embroidered napkins recently in the small town were i grew up, aren't they lovely? I got all six of them for a mere $1.50 & they were mostly in good condition (nothing that a little soak in napisan didn't fix). I like to imagine that some lady (or quite possibly man!) spent a lot of their evenings hand embroidering the beautiful roses & border on each one for a very special wedding present. When i first found them i was intending to cut them up to make some goodies......but i just can't bring myself to put the scissors anywhere near them. I think they'll be perfect for my next little tea party.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Felt makings.

My first two creations for the year - a little felt hand sewn owl & a felt headband, both for my girl Amity. I think the owl is just gorgeous & i want to call  her Dottie, but apparently that's a silly name according to my five year old & she's actually a he (well i guess boys can wear pink too!) I used this tutorial to make her him. I whipped the headband up the other day with Amity's help, we had a lot of fun making it & plan to make a couple more for some very special little girls. I just love creating with felt, it's so versatile. I have a few more felt creations on my 'to-make' list. Stay tuned.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Love these days.

love summer, it's definitely my favourite time of the year - beautiful warm weather & carefree days. All year i have been hanging for these days, especially during our long, cold wet winter we had & now they're here i'm very happy. Today we took the kids for a play in an awesome wooden park, then i ducked into Spotlight for some supplies for a few projects in mind. Note to self: Spotlight is best avoided with The Bloke & three kids in tow. This afternoon we decided to inflate the little paddling pool Santa kindly delivered to Scarlett, we all enjoyed just lazing about in the backyard.
It's great not having to worry about routine, school lunches, readers, or watching the clock. Did i mention how much i love these days?

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Welcome!

So, here i am. I honestly don't have much of an idea what i am doing at the moment - so please be patient with me! My poor blog looks a little 'simple' at the moment, but hopefully once i get going i'll be able to correct my off-centre title, garish colours & perhaps even change the title (as soon as i think of a better one).
So who am i? I am the very lucky mum to my gorgeous son & two beautiful girls & we are fortunate enough to live in rural victoria. I am all about handmade, homebaked & homegrown................i enjoy sewing, vintage baby clothing, local history, fresh flowers, sunny days, jasmine tea, embroidery, cakes & sweets, fabric, cocktail rings, new clothes, long scenic drives, vintage storybooks, fresh bread, old photos, picnics, kids fashion & my favourite magazines. I hope to share all this with you - snippets of my life, things i make, links to things i love & perhaps a few recipes thrown in too. So sit back, relax & enjoy this journey with me!