Post of the month

Joining in today with Post of the Month 

over 

Here

We Liked

Thanks to Nuffnang and some free tickets they gave us, we took the kids to see Cars 2 on Monday night.

 We did  break all of our own rules and went out on a school night but the excitement level and nag factor from our 6 year old got through to us.

It was a great movie with something for all of us....quite a different story line than the first. This one takes you around the world following the World Grand Prix.  There is a lot of James Bond touches to the plot also.
As usual with Disney/ Pixar productions they also had a great sound track.


I think it will be a definite DVD purchase when released.

My Creative Space

This week's creative space is a carry on from last week......purses......

This week I dug out Pip's book and used the 

Cute-as-a-button-vintage  clutch pattern

Firstly I trialled it on some up cycled fabric from my stash just to make sure I got it right....

After being very happy with the turn out I cut some more of my ribbon rose material....

I have some more cut out and ready to go just as soon as I can get back into my space.

Check out lots more Creative spaces here.

Hotties

I have been following the Hottie Challenge over here for the last couple of weeks.

I thought that it would be fun to make some for our family( to replace the wheat packs that get used)

But while in the city on the weekend...I discovered these great Hotties in a store....

So I made a very "unlike me" decision and purchased one for me and two very cute mini ones for the kids.

Seriously there are so many great bargains to be had I gave in and opted out of making my own.

So we now have a new bedtime ritual...filling the hotties to take to bed with us.

( The hubbie wasn't fussed about his own so I guess I am happy to share :)  )

I spy

Please tell me we are not the only ones with Easter bunnies still hanging around on the bench....in the fruit bowl?

I think it is clearly a case of been there that long now that we don't even see it as being odd.....anyone at any time could consume them....but we have had no takers.

#23

Today the 25th June is our 23 year wedding anniversary!!!

Thanks to my in-laws minding the kidlets we had a lovely lunch at

Frasers Restaurant , Kings Park.

We used to come here often as young people...today we found it really hard to remember what that used to be like  like....after all I we have spent almost half our life times....all our adult life as a couple.

Thanks honey for there never being a dull moment and for giving it all....here's to another lifetime together.

Under the weather

Overnight  I have joined all the other 

"mummies up during the night with sick children and now have a pile of washing to dry with a storm on the way and no clothes dryer".

Oh well at least we get to spend the day home together which has been much wanted by the little guy all week....he just didn't think it would be because he is feeling so ill!

My Creative Space

Just a quick couple of zip purses with some tiny ribbon rose material I found in my move.......

Other creative spaces here.

What I discovered

While moving things on the weekend, I discovered a couple of lost treasures.....

A tin of my maternal grandmother's crocheting cottons....

She could crochet like a pro...the finest detailed crocheting you could ever hope to see. I remember her crocheting a bedspread for my parents 1 1/2 metre high bed.....I could only dream of such skill..

The other thing I found was my very first sewing boxes...the blue one I remember having when I was about eight. I used to spend holidays with my paternal grandmother and she delighted in teaching me to embroider and all other kinds of stitching.

The brown case came a couple of years later and was slightly bigger to hold more things. Again I think it came as a gift from my grandmother.....

and lastly.....

I couldn't part with Taylor's dolls cot and some of her very favourite teddies...

they will sit under my table until I find the perfect spot for them.

Parting Ways

How long is long enough?

What is ok to have an attachment to ?

How do I let go of things?

What should I keep and what should I let go?

These are some of the things I have been grappling with these last couple of days.

We have been trying to come up with a new solution to space in our home.....it is 6 1/2 years since  our Taylor left us and we have not done much with her room ..that is until this weekend.....

We came to the idea that I should move from my purpose built space in the middle of the house down to Taylor's room..

I was fine with that as I could see myself in front of the big window looking out over the garden..I liked the idea of being able to close the door when a project was in full flight, hiding the mess inspiration....

I was even looking forward to being in her space and doing what I love best ..creating....

What I didn't expect was how hard it was going to be moving ,sorting ,packing up and parting with the last of her things.....

I found myself  in the middle of the move almost paralysed with emotion not knowing how to move ahead with this reshuffle.

Derek suggested I do a little at a time...but I had created a mess from one end of the house to the other now I needed to keep going....

I love my new space  even as small and crowded as it is  (due to the amount of stuff I have tucked in there and the things I convinced myself just had to stay in there) .

I just need to look from a different angle and see the potential for the creating with her memory around me rather from the guilt of changing her space and parting with things that were hers...

I love that the room is still purple and her butterfly's still hang around over head.....I need to remind myself that just because we change things that were, doesn't mean that we will forget what was.

I am looking forward to it being a room filled with life and productivity and a room where I have struck a good  balance between me and her.

I know that this is just a room in our house- our house of 12 1/2 years , a house where we have grown our little family and a house that will provide so many more memories for us ....

But it needs to be a home that  is not stifled by the things I tell myself I must hold on to in order to keep remembering.

For the memories are truly in my heart.

What more???

What good is a pasta maker if you can't share the goodness?

Following church this morning we headed home to make preparations for a extended family birthday pasta lunch....I know birthdays seem to go for days around here...

Oh the flour trail that comes with making your own pasta....

The birthday boy really excelled at feeding 13 people  spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread all made from scratch.....MMMMMM

My contribution was a simple chocolate cake......

and a dose of the mid winter sun to bathe in......

Clearing the head

We took a few minutes out of the house today to clear the head......well mine anyway....

It was a wet and windy day today so it was nice to head to the beach and watch the waves.....

we did hunt a cache while there too!

(it was cold - The little guy just doesn't get it!)

We stood and watched the rain coming in fast....

There were a few distractions from the weather watching....

Then it was back to the shelter of the car and home again to continue what had begun!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend wherever you are.

Ho Hum

I'd like to be able to say this is how I spent my day today admiring the view....

(photo by my husband...view from his workplace)

But a trip to the dentist and getting stuck into some decluttering that was emotional a bit taxing....has left me feeling a bit deflated and feeling sorry for my self.....

looking forward to the weekend though.

Home Improvements

Let me start by saying we have been in our home for 12 1/2 years.....

we have painted and done many improvements over the years as money ,time and resources allowed us.

This was my laundry on Monday morning......

Monday being my darling husbands day off we had a coffee at the Dome to start the day and as a result of that coffee, by 7.30pm this was my laundry.....

We decided, measured ,shopped, bought, carted home, built and installed my our new laundry....

Why oh why did it take us so long and how have I managed with little to no storage in their all these years?

It really wasn't that hard and didn't even really break the bank either!!!!

I love it and my clever husband is such a darling at being talked into spending his rostered day off completing one of my a crazy requests....

Now just to get on and do that pile of ironing that is spoiling the view.

My Creative Space

Do you have some "go to" gifts that are fairly quick to make, yet can all look slightly different from each other?

The little zippered purse is one for me.....

This one was for a work colleague who celebrated a birthday this week.

My goal is to hit some of those "go to" ideas and fill my present basket ready for the next wave of occasions.

For other creative spaces pop over to here.

Happy Birthday

Does the middle day of the middle month mean that it is half way through the year????

Well it may well be but it also means that my hubbie / their dad is having a birthday today.

Although it was a work day for him we still  celebrated with gifts and food .

We are lucky to have such a multi- talented, clever, strong, wise , handsome and one in a million guy looking after us as a family......

He also is the biggest kid when it comes to gifts......

this year we bought him a pasta maker!!!

So it was a family affair to get dinner on the table tonight......

("my turn")

("no my turn")

("once more for my turn")

Lucky it needed to go through so many times so everyone had a turn!

The kids had it down pat by the end and we had enough spaghetti to feed an entire nation......

but boy it did taste good.....

I may like to bake goodies....but this guy is the master of the real stuff that needs to go on the table......I love that he is so determined to get things right and make it taste just superb.

Celebrate

We are celebrating achievements in our house tonight.

This letter arrived today......

We have been waiting a couple of weeks for the verdict to come in....after an application , interview and workshop day we have arrived to a big fat YES!

The greatest thing about being accepted in this programme for Year 8 is that she can walk across the road and she is there.

A real answer to prayer.

Hey a shout out to our little guy for his achievements of "five ticks" two days in a row......WooHoo.

Saturday again

There is a hive of industry around here at the moment....cooler weather without the rain allows much motivation to get some of those jobs we have been putting off.

So amongst some new down pipes being fitted outside...I now have these.......

My Kitchen window hasn't had any treatments on there for a long time...hubbie likes the unobstructed views through to the vegies and chickens...

But after persuading him to hang these  at the other end of the room a few months back today he agreed to hang my newly made curtains for the kitchen.

They are eclectic and unmatching...just the way I expected them to look...

and thankfully now they are up I am not the only one that agrees they look pretty neat.