print giveaway: abby try again 'sparkle' print

On the verge of a new month, it's time for my first ever giveaway.

Up for grabs is this beautiful 8" x 12" sparkle print purchased from talented film photographer Abby Powell of Abby Try Again fame. It's a delightfully feminine print and if I had my own little office space (instead of the dining room table), it would surely take pride of place there. But I bought it with the intention of giving it away, so give it away I must...to one of my dear blog readers.

To enter, simply leave a comment telling me the name of your favourite photographer, or photography blog (excluding mine). Open to international readers. Please leave a blog link or email so I can contact you if you win. Ends in two weeks time (midnight, 11 March) and the winner will be randomly drawn soon after.

Good luck web friends!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED - THANK YOU FOR ENTERING AND GOOD LUCK***

this weekend

I had the privilege of photographing a wedding. It was a gorgeous celebration of love & commitment 




here is a little piece of the day & I will share more once the newly weds have returned from their mini honeymoon. 


how was your weekend?

Fern's Party Dress...

Over the weekend, I travelled solo with my two kids up to Maitland (an hour and a half away) for a dear friend's child's first birthday party.

It could have been fraught with disaster; missing sleeps... long car journey... hot weather... too much cake... at one point I even contemplated ditching Fern for the day and just taking Elliott. But Fern loves parties, and I took the chance. And I'm so glad I did! We had the most wonderful day; Fern made a 3-yr-old bosem buddy and spent almost the entire day being led by the hand by her new bff. She played with balloons. Danced through a bubble machine. Ate a little cupcake. And a million cocktail sausages.

And Elliott? My little champion made me look like a good mother by being a happy and content little bubba - not shedding a single tear all day long, and went to sleep on cue in his pram for well over an hour! (He normally hates the pram with a passion!)

And I got to hang out with my friend and meet her other friends and family, all lovely people who made me forget I was a single-mother-with-a-daughter (and son) for the day!

But on the morning of the party, I deliberated on what to wear. Well, not I but Fern, specifically. (I don't have time to care about what I wear, I grabbed a black dress from the back of my wardrobe, teamed it with a vintage beaded necklace and hoped for the best!) I have been so busy making clothes for everybody else that Fern hasn't got a single item I've made for her in her wardrobe! So, when I popped the 2 of them down for a morning nap I dragged out the sewing machine and made Fern a little costume!

I have some gorgeous lime fabric with flower print that I've wanted to make something with for a while. I also had a line of sequins that Fern stole from Spotlight one day when I had my hands full and didn't notice til I got back to the car (sorry, Spotlight). And, with an hour-and-a-half up my sleeve I came up with this:




I didn't have time to measure properly, so the skirt was a little short but overall I thought she looked very cute, and I am loving the sequins! I am going to make some outfits for my shop with this fabric shortly, and I'm even thinking of adding sequins, I like Fern's so much! But is it overkill? Do tell me, fashionistas!

Me 'n' my party gal... 

Have a great week!

Hampton Blue giveaway winner

Torie Jayne Giveaway
My contest ended yesterday and I just picked a winner using random.org and I am delighted to announce the winner of the Hampton Blue Giveaway is...

Drumroll please? Without further ado, the lucky winner is...

Christy from the lovely blog Sweet Tidings. Who would like to spend some of her voucher on the East of India mug in a box. Please e-mail me your details.

Congratulations Christy, you will receive £30 worth of store credit for Hampton Blue

Thank you to all of you sweets that entered, to my loyal followers and new friends.


Have a sweet day!

Pretty in Pink Macarons

Pretty in Pink Macarons
This week on Flickr Faves Sunday, I bring you the prettiest pink macarons wit these gorgeous pics. Check back soon for some more of the most inspirational photographers on Flickr.

Some beautiful shots from my Flickr favourites (From left to right):
Have a sweet day!

Week-a-Boo

I've been missing! I do this a lot! Get taken away by different parts of my life that leave me with no time to blog! Usually it is school holidays as they are the busiest time for me with work. But I am back and boy oh boy have I missed my writing! I never knew how much of a big part it played in my life. I know this sounds silly but it was almost like something was missing! I love sharing my stories, my feelings, my life and my journey with you all and when I can't write something just isn't right. So here I am back with my favourite time of the week with my blog...WEEK- A- BOO

I had a wonderful weekend this weekend and enjoyed the special moments that I created with my husband and family. On Saturday we woke and the weather was just too beautiful to work or stay at home! Rob works most Saturdays but this particular Saturday we decided to throw everything out the window and enjoy the glorious sun that was peaking through our bedroom blinds! So Rob packed up the boat and I packed up a lunch and we headed down the coast with our wonderful neighbours. We arrived at the gorgeous Paradise Point and oh my goodness it was picture perfect! The water was crystal clear, the sun was shining and the ocean was screaming our names! We launched the boat and headed out for a day of fun in the sun. I love going out on the boat. Which for people who know me may think this comment is crazy as I get severe motion sickness. But with a dose of qwells and plenty of snacks I deal with the sickness. I just love being surrounded by water with the wind and slight ocean spray hitting my face. It is the best feeling in the world. We pulled up at our own little paradise. It was heaven. It was a little island in the gold coast waters and we had it all to ourselves. We talked and ate and enjoyed a massive dose of vitamin D. It was such a glorious day!






Saturday we headed off to a special 30th birthday party for Rob's boss' wife. It was 'red carpet' themed so we dressed up and headed out for a night of glamor. I had never met anyone there but it was nice to meet some new people and spend some quality time with Rob's new 'work family'.


This photo completely describes our Sunday....well our Sunday afternoon. We had a massive sleep in til 12.20 pm (woops) so we totally missed Sunday morning. In our defense we didn't get home from the 30th until 2.30am so we needed to catch up on our sleep! :-P We had some breakfast lunch and then got our butts into gear. We decided to do a massive cleanup of our house. From top to bottom we scrubbed! We scrubbed those ceilings, architraves, walls, skirtings, and floors like nobodies business. It was so disgusting to see the dirt that was on our walls. YUK! I never noticed it until we actually wiped it off! After the house was completely scrubbed down I went a bit crazy with the eucalyptus oil and water in a spray bottle. I sprayed it on every curtain, carpet, matress, pillow, lounge and fabric surface. Our home will be dust mite free! We have a huge job ahead of us as we are totally rearranging our home. Moving rooms to different rooms, changing furniture around. So although the house is free of dirt, dust and mould we still have a HUGE job ahead of us with de-cluttering and moving.  At the moment it looks like a bomb has hit it but hopefully by next weeks week-a-boo I can report a completed house :-) Fingers crossed! Wish me luck! 

Sunday nights are always spent at my parents house for 'family dinner'. It is a nice ending to the weekend where we can sit back, enjoy a beautiful dinner cooked by mum and dad, talk about our weeks and spend some quality time together. I also get to see my beautiful baby Roxy. She was my first puppy I bought who now lives with mum and dad.

~ My beautiful baby girl Roxy ~

 ~ Enjoying a cheeky ice cream ~

 ~ Mr Murphy - Mum and Dads Westie ~

So that was my perfect little weekend! 
It had a mixture of adventures and chores but the laughter didn't stop and the fun was never ending! 

How was your weekend? Did you have some special moments? 
Head over to Claire's special blog and share all of your joy with us! 

x S.K.K x