The Grand Entrance..

well...not really as grand as the photo below... but when I was in Adelaide my girlfriend and I did the "Cooks tour" of homes similiar to what she is about to build. I fell in love with this set of doors on one of those homes and although we haven't been able to find EXACTLY the same doors they are very similiar and we love them. So...this is what we have decided on for our new front entrance doors.

Someday there will be a post that has something to do with fabric and quilting or creativity...I promise!

Thinking LOTS!!

My head is full of what else I need to to get the house ready for the renovation - we are about 95% of the way there..just lots of tying up of loose ends, so to speak.

That is the boring part of it - but the fun part is starting to think of what we are going to use for fittings. I have finally gotten my head out of the magazines and started to actually look in shops and online.

We had always thought we would put a 10 year kitchen to make do until we could afford what we REALLY wanted but after seeing the pictured kitchen at the Harvey Norman Renovation Centre and then talking to the builder, we think we will be able to afford it now! He seems to think his kitchen guy can come up with this and stay within our budget. Very excited!

This is the style but going for white cabinetry, either a dark olivey/khaki (it's called Mangrove) or a chocolate colour (called Mink) Caesar Stone benchtop and HOPEFULLY a black AGA. The floors will be timber, finished in Black Japan.

So tell me, what do you think???

A Fit and Healthy Life

For a few years I have followed the FYM way of life. I love the whole concept of it and it truly works but I found it hard to be consistent working out at home. I know that it is a true lifestyle choice but I fell off the bandwagon and had trouble getting back on for awhile there.

So I decided to get a trainer and for the past 6 or so weeks I have been working out with Amanda of Metamorphis Fitness I join in on the boot camp at 6am a couple of times a week if I am able to (depending on my husbands travel and work commitments)and then do a one on one session with her once a week. I love working out with the other girls and it really pushes me to do better. When we were sick I really missed it, she is such a task master but we have a lot of fun at the same time. I will continue with Amanda until we go away and then return to Holly Rigsby and FYM. This is a whole lot more doable in the long term.

Exercise seems to do a lot more for me mentally than it does physically as I am getting older and the difference in my approach to life, in general, is amazing if I am not exercising. I am really working hard on nutrition now that we are back from holidays ..as I know that when we go away at Christmas to the cold of Ireland it is going to be hard to exercise over there!!

Cinderella

This morning we went here to see ...

Cinderella

written by Helen Martin
with music and lyrics by David Cashman

Directed by Will Edwards

A timeless story - with a new twist. In a dusty outback town Cinderella sweeps and sweeps while her silly sisters squabble. Purry Cat and her fairy godmother are her only friends. The guest of honour at the local ball is a royal Prince looking for the woman of his dreams - someone he can have a good conversation with! With a little bit of magic involving mice, pumpkins, members of the audience - and a lost shoe - both Cinderella and the Prince find their hearts' desires.

It was a really enjoyable production, the cast were very talented and the lead had the most incredible singing voice. The kids enjoyed it just as much as the mums!!!

We then had lunch with the friends we went with, a gander around the National Trust Shop where I picked up some great pink gardening gloves for the girls and also a wander into the Crewel Gobelin - a fabulous needlework shop. I picked up a lovely Irish sampler to do for my beloved to give him sometime in the next how ever many years. I mean it did take me 3 years to complete the last one.

Now onto sorting out the girls bedroom - packing up, sorting clothes, tidying. What a fun afternoon (?)

I Wish....for one of these in Black...

...but I really don't think the budget will stretch that far...

Quilting WIP's

These are the 2 quilts that I need to finish ASAP - my goal is for the middle of the month.

Mason's "Life's Journey" Quilt that I actually started sewing the binding down on when we were away, and Jack's Quilt needs to be hand quilted and bound....and both need to be labelled of course. The awesome Emma quilted Mason's quilt for me, take a look at the great photos on her blog here. She is a very clever and talented quilter! I can only dream of having her capabilities!!



OK, that is 5 posts to catch up with the Blogfest! Let's see how the rest of the month goes!

From the Mouth of The 3 Year Old...

...this morning....

"I've decided that I want another sister as well as Zoe, so tomorrow I am going to go to the museum and get one called Asherlee"

Books! Glorious Books!

I finished Major Pettigrews Last Stand whilst way, and really enjoyed it.

I also started and finished "The Alchemist" by Paul Coelho.. An easy read with lots of great life messages, more specifically about following your life dreams.



And I jumped on the Twilight bandwagon, albeit months - possibly years - after everyone else, and finished that too...and suprisingly I really loved it and have just started New Moon.



I even got to read a couple of trashy mags whilst we were away - New Idea, Who and Womens Weekly.

Ah, the joys of holidays!!

My sister has an electronic book, of the Sony kind. We bought one for my dad for Fathers Day. Moving with the times and all that I know I should take an interest in these things. I mean lets face it, by the time my girls are in Uni (should they choose that path), maybe even high school, potentially their study books etc will be all downloadable onto one of these devices. I know I know, it is so much easier for their backs to carry a little tiny thing around rather than a whole load of ridiculously heavy books BUT!!! And to me it is a big BUT!!! I hope that the good old trusty paper back (or hard back if you so please) has it's place forever. Nothing beats the musty old smell of a library book. Nothing beats the flick of pages. Perusing the front and back covers of a back, wondering if it worth reading. Flopping down on the couch (or the pool bed if you are lucky enough to be in Fiji or somewhere lovely) opening the book, pulling out the book mark, flicking the pages and eventually the last turn of the final page... The touch, the texture, the sight, the smell of a real book - this is what will more than likely keep me forever away from all these new fandangle e-books. Sorry to say but they just ain't for me!

Friends...

are the family you choose!

I am blessed to have so many really wonderful friends. Without their love and support, life would be duller and laughs would be fewer.

This is one special mate who I met when I was 11. Like all friendships we have had our ups and downs but we always come out on top and have shared so much over the past 25 years that I think I would truly be lost without her!



There are probably hundreds of these immature and silly photos through the years - we don't get away with them as much as when we were 12...but we try!!



Between us we have 4 special princesses who adore each other as well. It is so special that the friendship lives on in our next generation!



We have just spent a really fun time hanging out in Fiji all together, along with some more of her family and other friends.

Blogtoberfest

I am already behind in the game because on the 1st October when all the fun began I was in Fiji staying here...
Having lots of fun family time in the pool...

Drinking a few too many of these....
Seeing a beautiful one of these every day....

Playing 9 holes of this...

Listening to lots of this...

Waking up to this every morning...

And did I mention how much I loved hanging out with my beautiful family?


Other wonderful experiences included finishing 3 whole books, a hot stone massage, a boat trip, not to mention the fact that I was also there with my oldest friend and her family - what a wonderful holiday with many fabulous memories!

So it is now the 5th October, and I know I will miss a couple of days as I am going to Melbourne on the 15th for 3 days (a hens do) but with school holidays, renos starting, some planned sewing and lots of book reading I am sure I can get in on the act for most of the month.

Hope you enjoy x

After 3 years...

it is finally done....and I love it!

Now to take it to be framed, then into storage until it can be hung somewhere in the "new house".

Reading...

I have powered through my last few books, unable to put them down as they made for great or compelling reading...

Today whilst the sick one snuggled and slept on me I began this. It is such a pretty book to look at and after a few hours reading today, I am thoroughly enjoying it..

Sleeping Beauty

The Kindness of Fellow Quilters...

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated my birthday. Over at EB Newbie Quilters, we have done an FQ swap for the past couple of years. In my haste to pack up in readiness for the renovation I totally forgot to take a photo of all the beautiful fabrics I received. Thanks ladies for the lovely FQ's, they will all be wonderful when I get back on track with my Dear Jane...bring on my sewing room, I say!!!

I was also sent some lovely extras, chokkies, hand made cards, pretty little pink scissors, gorgeous little "business type" cards which I guess are for scrap booking but I am going to use them as gift tags and for my art journal. The beautiful Nic sent these absolutely divine little dolls for my girls - they are already well loved, taken to bed each night and we have already have lots of fun playing with them. Thanks Nic for such a special gift, it is truly appreciated, and you are a very clever girl!

Finito

Feels good to finally complete another quilt, it has been some time! Thanks again to the talented Emma from Sampaguita Quilts for the beautiful quilting. Once this house reno is completed I WILL do a machine quilting course, I must!!!



The Horn cabinet will be packed up this week, I need to sandwich and quilt a quilt to get the binding done as well as get the bindings on 2 other quilts. I had hoped to get it done the past couple of days but with one of the princesses with a tummy bug that idea was shut down pretty quickly.

A packing weekend then a sewing Monday and Tuesday is the plan..but we will see!

Life is full of....

boxes and trips out west at the moment...

My beloved Nanny has been very sick, in and out of intensive care. Then last Thursday she suffered a massive stroke. There have been a lot of journeys out to where she lives, 3 hours away. It is exhausting but worth the effort to spend precious moments with her. She has responded well to the stroke treatment so we are hoping the prognosis will be positive as time moves forward...and if it is not then I pray for it to be quick and painless.

The other crazy element of my life is our renovation. The building is due to commence at the end of this month. ARGH! I thought I was prepared and organised for this to start, but when you get down to the nitty gritty there is so much to do...

We are all plodding along, making the most of family time, special moments and packing and sleeping as time permits.

No quilting whatsoever though, sadly! I hope to indulge this week sometime!

Fathers Day...

A celebration of my husband, my best friend and fantastic daddy to our 2 angels.

A Joyous Morning!

Nearly every morning I awake somewhere between 5.30 and 6am and go for a walk with my pooch. I love this start to the day, the fresh air, the solitude, it really sets me up for a great day, and I can feel the difference in myself, and the dog, when I don't do it. I was delighted that this morning it was finally warm enough to wear just a long sleeve tee, without a jacket. Spring has well and truly sprung and I love that! We got caught in a massive down pour and got drenched but this morning even that didn't dampen (ha) my spirits.

As I do every morning, I logged into the council website to check the status of our DA. A long 77 days ago, we submitted our plans into council. Imagine my ecstatic whoop of delight when this morning, dripping wet, I logged into the council website and saw that our plans have been approved and a letter is on the way to us!

So soon, our dream home will be a reality. It will be hell on earth to get there as we are living through the build but it will be more than worth it in the end!

Book Week

We all love books in our house, no one more so than our beautiful girl Zoe. She was very excited to be able to dress up for Book Week at school yesterday. Before we decided on the final ensemble we went through a number of books, and a number of costumes before she finally decided on an old favourite "Meg and Mog".

Happiness is...

knowing that you are going to have time today for the pile of fabric/quilts that are sat on top of your sewing cabinet!!



Late last week Mum's quilt arrived back from the amazing talented Emma - see her great pics of the quilting here . I was absolutely delighted with the quilting, and can't wait for Mason's quilt to arrive back as well.

Today I will make and attach the binding, finally make and attach the binding to Ciára's monster quilt, sew the backing for Jack's quilt and hopefully some other cutting that needs to be done. Need to get started on my mother in laws quilt to take to Ireland with us in December! Might even do a few more blocks of Zoe's buddy's quilt!

First of all though, an hour sorting out the toy room. We are getting ready for our renovations. We expect to be out of council by the end of the month so I am spending some time each day sorting out and clearing out and packing up!

I'm Reading...

Tragic I know but I just can't turn down an autobiography, about anyone!!!

Grandparents are Special Gifts

My grandparents live 3 hours west from us, this only happened fairly recently - about 18 months ago. I still struggle with not seeing them on a fortnightly basis as I used to and I really miss them. On Sunday we headed off nice and early to go and catch up and have lunch with them. My beloved Nanny is the most amazing women, so upbeat and positive. It is sad that she is starting to really age and lose her memory ... but for 85 and my Pop is 91, I think they are looking pretty good. It is well worth the trip every time we go. I have been blessed to have had my Nanny for so long, I am about to turn 37...but even more blessed to have had the special relationship that we have shared. I love that my girls have been able to spend so much time with their GrandNan and GrandPop. I hope they still have a few years left in them yet!

It's Thursday Lunchtime...

on a cold and windy, but sunny day. Zoe woke with high temp, rosy cheeks and complaining of a headache. I am still under the weather with my cold and cough and Ciára has a cough. Even though it is a day care day for Ciára, at 8am I announced a PJ Day and we were staying in for the day.

So whilst they have been doing this throughout the morning...




I have been doing this...


It is destined for my BIL's son who is due next month. A simple stitch in the ditch and some hand quilting will finish it off.

The rest of the afternoon will be spent giving cuddles, maybe a snooze and hopefully some more time on the buddy's quilt!

Excitement is...

forgetting that your new clock is being delivered and the door bell going and the delivery man standing there in the pouring rain with a HUGE big box just for you!

I was recently in Adelaide visiting one of my great friends. She took me to a fabulous interior design store, Update Interiors.

I fell in love with this clock. I had to have it. We tried to source it in Sydney, but in the end it was shipped up from Adelaide. The lovely Liz, proprietor of Update gave me a generous discount to help with the shipping costs. I am so glad we decided to get it as it would have been one of those "Why didn't I get it when I saw it" stories.

It is 92cm in diameter and looks huge, and when the house renovation is done, it will go in the family room. Until then, it will go back in it's box for safe keeping until it's special piece of wall is ready for it! Now we just need council to get a wriggle on with our approval!



Not a great photo, as I just popped it onto the dining room table to make sure it was all ok and in working order!

Such a sticky beak...

...and oh so handsome!

Things That Make Me happy...

So my poor little blog doesn't get too neglected, once a week I am going to post one thing that makes me happy. There are so many things in my life that give me a little kick and make me feel grateful that I could do this every day...but with the daily responsibilities of life this is not realisitic but on a weekly basis....very doable!!! I should be going for months!

On Friday night our dear friends Mel, Jon and Finn came for dinner. Mel knows my favourite flowers and gave me a lovely big bunch. I didn't take a photo of these beautiful friends (who make me happy) but here is a photo of one of my life's happy moments - the beautiful tiger lily, ah the sweet smell in my family room right now gives me a lift everytime I am in there!

Today...

A few pages of journalling, both of the arty and the non-arty kind, in this fabulous journal...


I finished "Mason's Journey" quilt top for my step sisters little man who was born in late June. It will now go off to the talented Emma to be quilted.



And some cutting for a quilt for Zoe's buddy at school. Zoe asked if I would make her a quilt to say thanks for "being the bestest buddy ever". This kit was sat there staring at me so thought it just perfect for her Year 6 mate. I will get stuck into putting it together tonight after the kids are asleep.

Something to Live Life By...

"Act as if failure is impossible, and your success will be assured. Wipe out every thought of your not achieving your objectives, be brave and set no limits on the workings of your imagination. Never be a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future...and you will see that nothing can stop you
~Anonymous