Day to Day

Blue.

 

My Pandora bracelet.  Blue glass beads.

 

Sitting on my lounge room floor.  I've had this blue pot plant holder for years, it's still a favourite.

 

Freshly picked carrots from our vegie patch.  In a blue Tupperware container.

 

On the laundry wall.  Cross stitch pictures and ribbon embroidery that I stitched years ago, some in blue frames.  This pic was just for you Cee :))

Green.

 

On my laundry wall.  Green buttons and tiles.

 

Ready to be played with.  Bella's green fabric fold out house that Nanny Marion made.

 

Wanting to be worn.  A couple of my green necklaces.

 

James' bedroom wall.  Thinking of him today, hoping he's okay on school camp.  Green is his favourite colour, especially that particular shade on his wall.

 

More fabric in my pile to be sewed.  Green and white flowers picked up at Spotlight...now they've finally reopened after the store fire.

Thinking I might do blue for tomorrow.

Now...some answers for you:

- The monkey ears and mouth are white chocolate drops - I piped the mouth on with red icing.

- I haven't seen the red leather mushrooms anywhere online, sorry.  If you're in Hobart I saw a few in Ruby's Room.

- You buy top 'n fill from the supermarket, next to where they keep the condensed milk.  It's like a very thick, solid caramel topping, only in a can.

- I know, isn't the French colouring in book divine!?  The lovely Petrina found a copy online, but in my opinion their postage costs are too excessive for a little, thin colouring in book.  But, just incase you really must have one... here is the link.  They have lots of very cute treasures in their shop.

- If I've missed anybody's question, please ask again :)

Enjoy your Wednesday.

Chocolate.

 

Playing in the lounge room.  New chocolate sofa.

 

Waiting to be sewed.  Joel Dewberry chocolate & orange fabric.

 

Muffins for school camp.  Chocolate chip, James' favourite.  Recipe is here.

Do you have anything chocolate in your home today?  I'd love to see :))

Some sharing.

A couple of layouts that I scrapbooked recently for the Aussie Scrap Source blog.

 

 

It's been a busy day and I'm feeling a bit tired now (that could be because I stayed up until midnight last night), so I'll keep this post short.  Enjoy your night :)

Magic mushroom

 

I'm not sure who adores this the most, me or Bella??  The perfect present (from Kama, Harry, Oscar & Bonnie) for resting, reading and dreaming on.

 

Totally sweet, red and white leather......ahhh, so wishing I could squeeze my bottom onto it :))

Eight.

 

We started off with bacon and eggs courtesy of Dad, cooked on the barbecue outside.  I'm not sure why you aren't using your cutlery here, but I say if I girl wants to eat with her fingers on her birthday, then let her.

 

Both sets of grandparents arrived for morning tea (with presents and jelly cakes, yum) and we celebrated with a cake.

 

Then we picked up your best friend Claire and went to the movies, ate dinner and celebrated with another cake (this one decorated by your Dad).  Your Dad spoilt us with two new chocolate leather sofas today too (perhaps he finally got sick of my whinging about our old yellow one).

 

Originally we were going to have a monkey party for you, but you changed your mind and just wanted to have Claire over instead.  I'd already ordered these monkeys from Poppet in the post - aren't they sweet?! - so we blew them up anyhow and sat them on the bench to look cute.

Here are a few of your favourite presents (plus the Nintendo DS that we finally caved and bought you).

 

 

A plastic woven basket for your fabric stash.  I bought this locally from a shop in Hobart called Ruby's Room.  The best children's toy shop, such beautiful toys and treasures.

 

Felt mushrooms handmade by Nanny Marion.

 

Mama and her baby mouse, handmade by Nanny Joan.

 

 

Imagine a place.  This book is so, so beautiful.  The illustrations are breathtaking.

 

 

Last share for today, a French colouring in book that I also found in Hobart (Ruby's Room).  I actually gasped when I saw it because I knew how much you would love it (and you do).  Such amazing illustrations printed on the most beautiful quality paper.  Today we coloured in one of the pages together (on the right hand page) and now I want to buy you all the French colouring books that I can lay my hands on.

Happy birthday baby.

Smurf village

 

This little smurf village is residing on our lounge room floor at the moment.  Bella built it out of some baby stacking blocks that we found in the top of her cupboard this afternoon.  I must admit that I have a thing for smurfs and can remember really looking forward to watching their adventures on Saturday morning television when I was small.  Papa smurf was always my favourite, he was so wise and I used to fancy his little red cap.

A love note.

 

After my post yesterday I thought it was quite poignant that I found this little note from Bella in the back of my wardrobe.  She had written it a couple of years ago when I surprised her with a stationery wrap full of notepaper and pens (it was supposed to be for Christmas, but I couldn't help myself and gave it to her early).

It reads:

Letter to Mum

Thankyou for the notepad and the special pens.  I am using them now.  They are special.  I love them so much.  Lots of love Bella.  xxoo (plus heart heart).

And that would be me in the picture looking all spiffy next to Bella - who is ofcourse holding her special notepad.

Mama.

This week I've been feeling like a bit of a bad Mama.  Our loungeroom is full of projects that I'm working on for a deadline that's really creeping up soon.  There is washing on my line that has been out there for three days (gasp - I must bring it in today).  Most of the floors in our house are covered with little flakes of fabric or cottons that are making their way out of the loungeroom somehow.  Our shower and bathroom really need cleaning.  James has a pile of clothes in the middle of his floor and I don't have the energy to put them away or remind him a million times to do it himself.

So, you say - no housework, that sounds fabulous...and yes, it is fabulous having a break from all those mundane chores.  

But this week I feel like I'm saying no to everything.  "Mum can I do get out the craft box?" "Mum can I make something?"  "Mum can I sew this fabric together?"  "Mum can we do some cooking?" and my word of the week has been - no, no, no!  You see I'm hogging all the mess at the moment and the thought of having to have extra mess everywhere is doing my head in.  Yesterday when I dropped Bella at school she started crying when it was time for me to go, which is very unlike her.  I couldn't help but think that she's missing her old Mum - the crafty, will pretty much let me create any mess I like kinda Mum.  The Mum that usually gets excited when her girl has a new idea and wants to do it straight away.  I'm not sure where that Mum is at the moment?  Vacation perhaps?? 

So, 11 days from today (when my deadline is out of the way) we are going to make THE biggest mess in our loungeroom creating something special together to celebrate getting the old Mama back.  I'm excited!!  Perhaps a sock monkey? ?

Oh and early this morning, just to ensure that the old Mama is really still here, just lurking and waiting to pop right back out, I baked these early this morning for Bella to share with her class tomorrow (it's her birthday on Saturday).

 

On the walls.

 

What's on my walls at home?  Again, a mix of new, old and handmade.  There's a favourite framed print by Betsy Gamble (Ship of Fools) that we bought when we were first married.  It cost us an arm and a leg at the time and it's still one of my most favourite things in our home.  It's quirky and most people don't find it as gorgeous as we do (hellooo Mum!), but it would be a pretty boring world if we all liked the same things :)  I can't get a good photo of it as the light keeps reflecting though, so you'll just have to imagine a little wooden boat rowing to shore into Adventure bay.  The boat is full to the brim with plants and animals (including a very large cow that dominates the boat).

I also love the canvas prints that James and Bella created.  The two above hang in Bella's room and the one below in James'.  I think it's important to encourage them to be proud of their artwork and display it on the walls for everyone to see.

 

 

Oh and this sweet embroidery by my mother-in-law.  It just feels like home when I catch a glimpse of it on the wall sometimes.