With open arms...thank you




I have been handed a creative blogger meme by the very kind Sarah. I am humbled to be thought of ... this is also a perfect time to thank all you lovely, creative and terribly talented fellow bloggers for all your sweet little words.

I have to tell you all 7 things that you may not know about me:

1. I once slept for 2 nights on a Felucca (could easily be classed a floating mattress) down the river Nile...Egypt is captivating in beauty and history and we just loved it...

2. Before my beautiful son was born and I become a mummy to him...I already had a love for crayons, paints, cooking and crafting, room organisation and toy sorting, cubby making, reading and nursery rhyme singing...in my lovely past life I was Kindergarten Director...I am inspired by childhood development - I love to observe children as they explore, play, learn and problem solve...there is never to much exploring to be had by the little people in our lives.

3. My husband and I lived in London for 2 years...he proposed to me in a little row boat in Hyde park. We celebrated at our local pub with beautiful friends and family - it was a hot summers day...the hottest day on record for more than 20 years.

4. One day I want to spend Christmas in New York with my family - ice skating in Central Park would be amazing (not that I can ice skate)...I lived there for six months and that was not long enough!

5. As I write this post my little one is asleep next to me and I can hear the rain on our roof...I am reminded that I love sleeping to the sound of the rain.

6. I would love to live in a country town with rolling green hills and fruit trees... or by the sea...I desperately want chickens and one of those cute wooden coops.

7. I am obsessed and loving all things white and Scandinavian ... one can never have to much white paint in there life.

This was fun and I would like to pass this creative blogger meme over to:

Emma here
Maree Rose here
Laura here

Happy Monday... we are off to explore the library and maybe jump in a puddle or two along the way. x

Hanging out with my inner teen



True confession: I adore teenage movies. It seems I just never grew out of my John Hughes phase. Forget the fact that I'm a 39 year old mother of three. Actually, I think that's the main reason I still like these films - they let me forget that I'm a 39 year old mother of three.

Yesterday I settled in for Easy A. It's one of the best teen movies I've ever seen (and we're talking over 20 years of dedicated watching here, folks). I laughed, I cried, I winced, I cowered, I guffawed. It's that good. Emma Stone is a modern day Molly Ringwald, but fortunately wittier, prettier and much less pathetic. Her parents are to-die-for (I can't say I ever even noticed Molly's parents in any of her flicks... teen flick parents are clearly aimed at, well, parents).

Of course, the real charm of teen movies these days is getting to hang out with the real-life teens who go to see them. As I sat in the cinema surrounded by over 120 teenage girls yesterday, I couldn't help but get sucked into the effervescent fizz and pop of teen-girl life. The energy level in that cinema was of football stadium standard. Everywhere I looked there was a colourful display of hand flapping, lip smacking, hip-waggling, oh-mi-godding motion.

Do mums of teen girls feel the way I felt all the time? Alive with the spirit of what if. The rush of perfect dramas, the excitement of anything can happen, the raw possibilities of living. Being with those girls made me want to tap dance on a moon lit by dazzling stars. Forget the inner child, the inner teen, like, totally rocks.

So, do go see Easy A. It's a top little film and the teenage girl inside you will thank you for it. Then again... she probably won't!

Our 'Wild' Weekend

Last school holidays, we took Fern to the aquarium at Darling Harbour in Sydney. Except, novice parents that we are, we somehow didn't realise it was school hols until we got there. And saw the line snaking from the aquarium to - I dunno - Western Australia or thereabouts. Shite.

But we had our hearts set on seeing the little fishies (and sharks! There will be great big sharks!) and so took our place at the end of the line with a great big sigh of resignation. Then, Dan noticed that there was one line with nobody in it. That would be the xpress line for season ticket holders... yes folks, for the lowly sum of a couple of hundy we could visit the fishies AND Wildlife Park AND Sydney Tower AND Manly aquarium as often as we liked for a whole year!! So of course, quicker than I could protest "but hey, we live a billion miles away and we're about to have a baby and will we really ever come back?!?" Dan was getting his photo taken for the ID and jauntily making his way through the turnstile.

Elliott sleeping through his first train trip!
Of course, that was a couple of months back and we hadn't returned since. But on Sunday morning we woke up and spontaneously decided to go to Wildlife World with the two kids. We called for reinforcement -- nanny and poppy agreed to come along and meet us at Artarmon to catch the train into the city. On the drive down to Sydney, Elliott had a minor meltdown and we stopped to give him a quick feed. Of course, the resulting blowout ruined his gorgeous outfit (and mine!) and he spent the rest of the day in his jammies - the only spare outfit I'd remembered to pack for him. But this was the only hiccup... the entire day!

Honestly, carting one 21-month old and a newborn baby down to Sydney for the day should have been a recipe for disaster; but the kids were absolutely faultless the entire day and little Elliott slept from woe to go! He slept on the train; he slept through Wildlife World and he slept through the restaurant at lunchtime! I had to wake him for a feed, and he then went straight back to sleep and stayed asleep until we were back in the car on the way home! I made it look way too easy!

Fern loves animals and was totally entranced by every creature she encountered at the wildlife park. She, and therefore we, had a complete ball. And I think nanny and poppy did, too! If you haven't been down to the Wildlife World, I totally recommend! Just not during school holidays...

Hope you too had a nice weekend; what did you get up to?

Fern kisses a frog!
Daddy inside the crocodile jaw...
Fern rides a wombat!
Mummy and Fern in front of the largest crocodile I've ever seen in the flesh!

Pretty Bright

Pretty Bright
This week on Flickr Faves Sunday, as it is the last official day of Summer I bring you a bright summery floral palette with these gorgeous pics. Check back soon for some more of the most inspirational photographers on Flickr.

Some beautiful shots from my Flickr favourites (clockwise from top left):

Have a sweet day!

♥ Loving pom poms


I go through phases, it's true. Some stay (garlands), some go (gingham) but generally when I love something, I really, really love it.

I wonder how long my new tissue pom pom affair will last? I just can't get enough of them lately. I am making some for the Cappers' mermaid party in October and generally just looking at pictures of them because they make me feel good. Weirdness.

You can find instructions on how to make them via Martha Stewart Weddings (where else!).

This post is part of Anna's ♥ Much Love ♥ Monday. Visit her blog on Monday to find more lovable things.

[Image]

shadow shot


dancing in her sparkly shoes


join in here

Bench makeover

My garden bench
Bench Cushions
Bench by Garden and Homes Direct
For my outdoor living room I really wanted a cute, comfy bench to relax on. After a long search on the internet, finding a white bench within my budget seemed impossible! Instead, I bought a hard wood bench from Garden and Homes Direct and painted it jasmine white.

For the seat pad, I had some thick foam cut to size and made a removable cover for it out of hard-wearing cotton duck. I chose the stone spot from Cath Kidston so it would match the curtains in my garden shed, and added blue piping to match the cushions in my dining set.

I bought some cheap square cushions from Ikea and made removable covers for them in the Cath Kidston pink spot, which I trimmed with small white pom poms, and the Cath Kidston rose stripe, which I trimmed with pink and blue piping. The bolster cushions are from John Lewis, and are covered with a Clarke & Clarke blue spot fabric and trimmed with white pom poms.

For colder nights, I bought a green blanket to snuggle up in, which I got for less than £5 from BHS!

A quiet relaxing seat during the day, and a cosy place for drinking Pimms at night!

Have a sweet day!
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)