Mmmmm...mail goodies.

Some lovely things have arrived in the post in the last week or so. Yay! It's so nice to get something that isn't bills. Have a look at these gorgeous little numbers from Sweet Vintage on Etsy.

After seeing them on Nagaire's blog a while ago, I just had to have my own. I have already used one on a wall art project (another post soon) and have used the cute circle flower that came on the wrapping(!) to tart up one side of an op-shop bag (which I now adore!).

And look what I put on the other side - the giant flower I made ages ago and haven't been game to wear as a brooch. Yay again!!

My other lovely delivery was this beautiful fabric from Funky Fabrix . I have used the black, white and yellow one for the above-mentioned piece of art.

Off camping for the weekend, so hopefully will have some nice shots to post next week (as long as work stops being so busy!). P.S. Anna Garlin Spencer wrote 1912 in "Womens Share in Social Culture",

'No book has yet been written in praise of a woman who let her husband and children starve or suffer while she invented even the most useful things, or wrote books, or expressed herself in art, or evolved philosophic systems. '

Aint that the truth!!

A fantastic resource...

What a great website! If you are into interior design, renovating, DIY or even gardening and haven't stumbled across this site yet - go have a look. It's called Houzz - go to it here. It's a HUUUGE collection of photos from private contributors and interior design companies of the houses they have put together. You can search the THOUSANDS of shots by room, by design style or by city/county (mostly in the US, but also London, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv and others). The best thing about it is that it allows you to build a personal 'ideabook', adding photos and comments as you go. This file is held online and you just log in to access it anytime - great if you wanted to show a builder (or hubby) EXACTLY what you mean! Also great for trying out furniture placement without lifting a finger, or seeing intersting colour schemes with out any painting. These are a few of my current favourites... here, here and here. Enjoy!

Just a quote I found...

“For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it. For every truth there is an ear somewhere to hear it. For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it.”

Ivan Panin

That's all.

A Love Affair...

I have a love affair with Australian native flowers, especially the Bottlebrush that is flowering everywhere at the moment. The delightful specimen above, a Callistemon Viminalis came from the carpark at school (knocked down by the roofracks of a huge 4WD) and is now being appreciated on my linen chest at home. Thanks Mother Nature (and Land Rover) for my gift! P.S. A couple of thoughts for today - "If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen." Henry David Thoreau

and

"There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story." Linda Hogan

Don't forget to take a moment out of your day to smell the flowers and touch your bare feet to the grass. Take a deep breath outdoors and be thankful that we live in such a wonderful part of the world.

All the fun of the fair!

What a huge weekend just gone! I spent all day Saturday (and alot of the night) at Toni's mega crop Cancer Council fundraiser, which was great fun. Met some lovely girls and caught up with some that I knew already, had plenty of laughs, ate heaps of cake, won a prize and raised money for cancer research. I even did some scrapbooking!

Then all day Sunday was spent at the Ekka, which was great. The boys had a fab time. They ate junk and saw agricultural delights not usually a part of their daily lives. They watched events in the main arena and had some good old-fashioned fun fair fun! We kept costs down by catching the train, limiting the kids to 1 showbag each, taking our own lunch and having a 2-ride limit for each child. They were just as happy as they would have been spending twice as much, as you can see in the photos...

Luckily the boys were off school on Monday for the local public holiday, so even though I had to work, at least I didn't have the school run to fit in. Phew. Time for a rest this week!

P.S. Some thoughts to ponder this week-

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." -Derek Bok

"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. " -H. Jackson Browne

and finally...

"Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself. " -William Faulkner

Yay for wall art!

Not what I expected to be doing this afternoon after work, but ... wall art has happened!

(View from bottom of stairs)

While not as drool-worthy as the pieces from here ,here and here, quite nice nevertheless, and a good deal less expensive! Found quite by accident at a local discount shop.

Wonders never cease - I finally have something to improve my plain and rather dingy stairwell. Anyone who knows my boys would understand that any artwork hung here would last about an hour. This is the ideal solution. Yaay!

(View from top of stairs)

I may even get silly and add some blossoms or butterflies! I wonder how long they would last? Any thought or suggestions?

Ta-Daa!

It's a cushion cover! (You can probably tell from the photo ;)

There are actually two, but the stitching is not finished on the second one. I am trying to add a bit more colour into the lounge - it was all getting a bit too green.

Once they are finished it's on to a bigger project - I am going to attempt some furniture restoration. Ooooo!

P.S. A big "Well Done" to the Embellish girls for the first stall - can't wait to hear all about it at the mega-crop on the weekend - and just over $300 for the Cancer Council!

“If at first you do succeed, no one will believe how hard the job was”