7 years on.....

Happy Anniversary!! 

~ Not that your probably reading :P ~

Your such a good dad and even though I'm probably being such a cranky pregnant women now that the air-con has broken .... I love you and always will xxx

~At least we didn't forget this year~

 

 

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Rockin a Bit of Style.... Apparently!

Thankyou to the gorgeous and undoubtedly stylish Simone at Honey and Fizz who bestowed upon me a "Stylish Blogger" award... hmmm. I'm not rockin much style sitting here in my jammies at the mo, but seeing as you can't see me, I'll gratefully accept the award and play along!

This award stipulates I must thank my bestower (done) link back to them (done), share 7 things about myself (to follow), and forward the award on to 10 other worthy recipients.

Here I go. 7 random insightful bits of frippery about me: 

1. My greatest accomplishment to date (aside from my two children!) is riding a bicycle the 1000-odd kilometres from Sydney to Melbourne. I did it with 3 others (all men!) about 8 years ago, raising money for our local PCYC. Our journey covered around 1000km and we did it completely unsupported, carting our belongings and little tents on panniers on the back of our bikes. Though it was physically the hardest thing I've ever done, it was also the most empowering and made me feel I could accomplish anything. If you ever get such a chance to do something you don't think you can do -- do it.

Dan, me with scarily orange hair, our dog Jonah (he's still going strong!), bloke from PCYC and Crawford

2. I have dreadful arachnophobia. You won't see an image to illustrate this point. I can't look at an image of a spider without feeling sick. And I hope my husband doesn't read this, because he might be cranky to learn that I unabashedly chucked a little animal picture book he'd bought Fern in the bin when he wasn't looking... because it contained an image of a hairy brown spider. Shudder...

3. When I was little, I wanted to be a gymnastics commentator. I recorded all the gymnastics on TV and memorised all the moves and names of gymnasts. But after I never quite got around to taking up gymnastics myself, I changed my mind and decided to be an astronomer. Clearly, that never quite panned out either...

4. I'm left handed. And yes, there is always a little smudgy bit underneath my hand from when I write. And no, I can't use scissors.

5. At university, I made a one-minute silent film animation of the Kennedy assassination using...... lego. It took me days to build the set. It was pretty elaborate. And afterward, a guy I met who worked at a production company put sound to it. I wish I had it on digital so I could share; its priceless -- even if I do say so myself.

6. My favourite flowers are orchids... Each year when they are in flower my friend Kellie and I buy one from the local show to add to our collection. Technically I should have lots of orchids in my garden now. But the truth is, I've killed all but 2. I have one green and one yellow Cymbidium left. Hopefully they will flower this year and I'll post my evidence....

7. I proudly own (and refuse to be parted with) a pair of original 1992 U2 Bono Fly sunglasses.  I never ripped off the tag. Apparently there are now worth a mint. That's good, because I haven't gotten around to saving any superannuation...


And now. I'd like to forward this award to all the lovely, stylish ladies who took the time to give me words of encouragement, support and advice last week, when I bravely announced my impending little business! That to me, is the essence of style. Thankyou:

Lona De Anna
My Sweet Prints
Homely One
Leticia
Rubie's Place
Sweetpea Design
Photographer mum

Maybe Baby 

Tied With a Bouw
Tails and Whiskers
Wouldn't it be Loverly
A Boys Mummy
Life's Little Whispers
Procrastination Mama
Life on Planet Baby

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday: Jan 23

I have to say this weeks scavenger hunt's prompts were a bit challenging! I had ideas for a few that just didn't work out. And it's been SO cold outside that I'm feeling a little unmotivated...inside shots are definitely harder to capture! But here's what I came up with anyway...


Memories- We did a sand ceremony at our wedding! This is the bottle we mixed our sands into.



Silhouette- An archive. In New York (Little Italy) with hubby and our friends!



I'm also adding this one.  It's not a great silhouette but it's what Hub & I did this weekend- went to a college basketball game!



Doorway- For birds :)



Reflection- Typical car mirror shot while Hub was getting his hair cut.




Silver- Our front door.

At The Paper Mama the challenge is 'friends'. This is from one of my nephew's third birthday party. Two on the left are my nephew's. On the right is their friend. How cute are they?!

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Sort of Here - Staying Calm

I did think I was back last week but it appears things turned out a little different and it was a false alarm!  

I had great plans for last week as Mr A was still on holidays and going to be house dad while I got on top of things, made more plans for my business and got back to blogging.  One small problem with that plan - while ever mum can be heard in the next room house, dad believes that this means he can come and go and do as he pleases and mum will just stop whatever it is she is doing and fix it (or feed it as the case may be with my children).

Our week then ended on a very sad note with the passing and farewell of a very courageous friend James - James is the son of Mr A's good mate from school.  He was just 10 and lost his battle with cancer having struggled with it for more than 8 years of his life.  I do like to think that my life experiences have helped me to never take my loved ones for granted but watching how James and his family have fought this disease has given me a new perspective - none of us really know what we will be dealt in life or how we will cope - one thing is for sure, things in our house have become much calmer this week and the spilt drink on the floor is no longer the end of the world.

So we will see how this week turns out - I do plan to get back to blogging - my new calmer perspective means that I will not get stressed if I don't quite make it to the blog and seeing as we still have a week left of school holidays this plan will be a wise one. This final quote is perfect though - just what I need right now.

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Miss Etoile @ Top Drawer

This week for my 'shops i love' page, I bring you Miss Etoile, a Danish brand started in November 2008 by ex-Lisbeth Dahl designer, Anne Lassen, with backing from Bahne Sørensen A/S.

"Miss Étoile is a fictive person, created by Anne Lassen, who lives in a glamorous universe, surrounded by beauty and femininity in her boudoir home in Paris. She is the centre of every collection. Everything is designed to fit into her universe. Miss Étoile has everything a woman can dream of from home accessories to furniture and textiles. Her name, Étoile, means star in French and she loves all that shines and sparkles."

I discovered the brand last week at Top Drawer and am in love with the ceramic lid jars, bird paperweights and the pretty embellished China. I am also delighted to tell you that charming lifestyle boutique Bohemia, one of my sweet sponsors, will be stocking this adorable brand soon...

Have a sweet day!

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pastels and chalk

Shots from the only photography post published to my old blog. Seems fitting that I find them new digs over here. I know that Christmas cheer and New Years wishes have just been exchanged, but just wanted to say THANK YOU (again) for your friendship and generous comments. We're greeting 2011 in a mini state of flux so it's kinda nice to be reminded of a few familiar constants like the online community. Our family is fine (healthy, far from wealthy, striving for wise)...just waiting to find out whether or not another move is on the cards. I know they say a change is as good as a holiday, but we've shifted so many times that the sentiment is overrated.

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Ms Nosybella: I really must do something about that...

Hello Bellas

My sister Al from the Pink Fibro and I were having a laugh the other day about all the little (and not so little) things around the house that need fixing. All the things that have probably needed fixing since we moved into our respective homes but time has passed and these days we just put up with the constant irritation. Women are good like that.

On this occasion, rather than wondering about our own homes, we were commenting on each others'. You see, we'd swapped houses between Chrissy and New Year and because we are no-holds-barred sisters, the conversation was full of things like:

"OMG, what's going on with your kitchen tap?!"

and

"Are pool pumps supposed to be that loud?"

and

"Aside from nearly killing myself on your front steps..."

and

"We couldn't lock the doors upstairs... um, do you ever actually lock the doors upstairs?"

So, here is an abridged list of things that desperately need attention in Maxabellaland:

• The front steps are crumbling sandstone. Nice if you live in a castle.

• Yes, it's true, the upstairs doors don't lock. Hello Hamburglar.

• There are no working door handles. Hello shut out of my own house on more than one occasion yet still we have not fixed the door handles.

• The seat on the second toilet is loose. Slip sliding awaaaaay.

• The stove does not work. The oven works well. This is why I'm a baker, not a fighter.

I could go on...

Alongside your 'To Do' list, do you have this kind of 'Things that never get done' list? 

If so, my question today is: 

What are your top three 'Never get done' items?

'Til next time

[Image by Michael Wildsmith/Getty via The Guardian]

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The auction for Lori starts at 9am on Australia Day (26/1). Click here to be a part of it.

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