Op-Shop Porn.

Yesterday, I went op-shopping. It was on a whim. I was driving past and something told me to stop.

In my experience, op-shopping can be terribly hit and miss. In my case, more miss than hit!

But this time, I totally came up trumps!

My loot? Total crafty-lovers porn: A huge jar of vintage buttons, an old ivory knife, a gorgeously vibrant vintage pillowslip (perfect for my Summer range dresses and bloomers!) and AND some totally adorable patterns for baby rompers, sundresses, hats and more that have me literally salivating for some spare moments to jump on my sewing machine!

I cannot wait to whip up some Summer delights for my shop with these finds.

Unfortunately, it will have to wait. We're off to New Zealand tomorrow for a week! V exciting!

What trumps have you scored from the thrift stores of late?


Nine tier star cake

Nine tier Birthday cake
Glitter stars and gingham ribbon
Blue glitter stars and gingham ribbon
Top tiers
Nine tier star covered cake

Yesterday we celebrated George's 90th birthday. To say that George likes fruit cake is an understatement. Ever since I made him the Star Christmas Cake I have been making him fruit cakes every few months, decorating them for Easter, Halloween etc. He likes to have a slice with tea everyday so for his 90th birthday I decided to make him a nine tier cake. He ate the top two tiers yesterday and his party guests shared tier four, leaving him with seven tiers to last him until Halloween!

Have a sweet day!

This week I'm grateful for... advice

Time away to just ponder is so necessary, don't you think? When I set out on my big truckin' adventure (honk, honk) the rain was bucketing down, I got stuck in gnarly traffic jam 15 minutes from home and I did find myself thinking "what the farm am I doing?" But then as soon as I left the city the rain lifted and the most magnificent rainbow was suddenly before me - arched across the road such that I had to drive right through it to be on my way. A sign, surely a brilliant sign.

I did a lot (a lot) of thinking while travelling solo. Many of the ideas and directions I came up with were good ones, some were not.


So, this week I'm grateful for...


157. Advice - a caring, careful sounding board is a blessing indeed.


158. Pondering - what a great, meaty word that is. What great, meaty ideas come as a result.


159. Riding solo - turns out I'm actually pretty easy to get along with.



So, what's making you smile today? Add your Grateful post to the list below (and please, we love you, but it really does matter that your post is one about being grateful, not just a random), add the button (grab the code from my sidebar and paste it into your post) and pretty-please add a link back to me. Then pop over to visit other bloggers who are spreading a little sunshine.




[Image by Ahndraya Parlato]

i am hoping

this weekend will be spent 


relaxing in pjs
enjoying home cooked meals
reading books
flicking through magazines
soaking up some winter sunshine
& getting to the bottom of the laundry pile






what are you hoping for?





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