shhhhh...

There's nothing sweeter... a sleeping baby, one week old. 

Adorable defined

My favourite little person just overflows with adorableness (...new word). 

It kills me. 

'Tis the Season...to be busy

The last two months of this year have been so full on so far, it's really thrown me. There aren't enough hours in the day... I'm sure I say this often on my blogs.

For those of you still religiously checking back every few days to see if I've posted, here's a little something for you.

A while back now I hosted a girls craft night which was a great excuse to get together, drink some wine and chat freely all night whilst getting creative. It was so much fun, I definitely want to do another one when everyone isn't so busy.

The result of craft night - some felt owls for my tree and some paint filled glass baubles. Both crafts were so easy. The owls were slightly more time consuming, but a cute result.

I took the top of the glass baubles (purchased from Spotlight) and poured in a generous amount of acrylic paint in bright colours. I then slowly swirled the paint around inside the bauble until I had the desired coverage. Couldn't be easier!

Our tree is a little bit sad in the present department, but I'm yet to get around to my Christmas shopping. I'm going to have to battle it out with the rest of Auckland at some point...joy!

Then there were four...

I'm sure you recognise this family, especially the little smiler in the middle...
Well now they've added another one to the mix, this time a little boy, Fletcher.

He was only one week old, and already so chilled throughout the shoot. He protested his hunger a few times quite loudly, which his sister found really amusing. The part I found amusing was her new found interest in my camera that day. Do you think she'd been interested in the camera at any other photo shoot prior to Fletcher's arrival? No. I had to chase her and beg for her to look in my direction.

But not this day. Not the day of her brother's first photo shoot. She was throwing out the smiles, creating works of art to show me, climbing on her mum's back, throwing around kisses to everyone and getting right into each shot. It was hilarious and made the shoot so much fun.

Plenty more obviously, but here's one to give you an idea of the dynamics when a family welcomes a new arrival.

A perfect baby boy. Congrats x

The YaYa Sisterhood...

Given that it's my birthday, I thought I'd take the opportunity to introduce you to the "YaYa Sisterhood Travelling Paper" that's been passing back and forth between my younger sister and I for about 8 years ( I think). It started as a lazy gift wrapping attempt and has, over the years, grown in significance.In fact, it almost doesn't matter what's inside the wrapped parcel anymore, as long as you pass on the YaYa paper.

It all started as a mad rush to wrap my sister's present before heading away for a ski weekend. I grabbed some old pink paper and jazzed it up with some awful cat stickers. I didn't even get her a card, instead, just wrote on the paper. The paper received alot of comments at the lodge that weekend and at the time I felt a bit embarrassed with my crap wrapping attempt.

The following year, to my surprise, I received my birthday present wrapped in the same pink paper covered in tacky cat stickers. I couldn't believe my sister had saved it!

And so a tradition began... the YaYa Sisterhood Travelling Paper. It goes back and forth from NZ to Australia year after year, and each year you have to find a present that will fit inside the paper. It is getting worn in places, so we have to limit the amount of sellotape used, and I've added some stickers to cover up small holes along the way.

One year I heard from Mum following my sister's birthday, that she was really disappointed I hadn't wrapped her present in the YaYa paper. I felt so awful, I had to get her another present just so I could pass the paper back to her.  It's a little bit of a bizarre tradition, but I've become really attached to it. You wouldn't believe the disappointment you feel if you receive your birthday present wrapped in anything else.

This year, inside the YaYa paper was a cat eye mask and some moustache cookie cutters. My sister is so funny.

Love you sis x

Is it really November?

I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. I'm starting to fret about Christmas shopping, remembering to finish everything before the year end and try to fit everyone in for photos. It's been busy! So many new things to share, but you're going to have to be patient with me...

Let's see what's coming up on the blog roll;

• Girls crafting night.'ll take some pictures of some creations from that night when I've put up my Christmas tree. I still have so many projects to complete.
• A holiday to Sydney to relax for my birthday this coming week, so that may just feature.
• I have weddings, new babies, families to share with you. 
• The completion of the bathroom renovation (hopefully)
• As well as some general summer house preparation bits and pieces. 
• Perhaps a Christmas photo shoot featuring my favourite little person... 

So many things! So sit tight...

x

The little details...

This nursery now has a little baby boy (hopefully) sleeping in it.  A lucky little boy to have a nursery filled with so many special things.

A perfect bassinet with a beautiful Wallace Cotton quilt that I wouldn't mind owning myself... There were a few nice quilts in the nursery that I think will come in handy for the baby photos...

I love this mobile, so simple in the white nursery and the striped owl is gorgeous, made with love by baby's creative mum. I'm sure he will love looking at the stripes and spots for hours.

The bear below belonged to baby's great grandmother as a child if I remember correctly. I love little touches like that, and I love the hat... I'm not sure about bunny, made with love by someone, or given as a gift? My memory has let me down.. woops. 

A classic Fisher-Price toy that belonged to the Dad when he was a little boy. Very cool...
And a great selection of books to be read to him at bedtime for years to come.

I'm sure you agree, it's a room created with a lot of love. I believe Dad had to sacrifice half of his man cave to make way for his little cub, but a sacrifice I'm sure he was more than willing to make.

x

I photographed this little guy a year ago, so it was great catching up with him again as a 2 year old. He didn't stop running until we put toy story on the "TT" for some quiet time. I'd take a photo he would run over to me saying "I thee, I thee" and I'd go to show him, he'd smile and say "more?"... so naturally, I took more...

Here's one for now..

Family History Part II

Another chapter of family history...

When visiting my grandparents a few months ago, they drove me to this beautiful church, where they were married over 50 years ago.

They also showed me where their parents and relatives were buried, in the family burial plot. It is a tad depressing when your Grandparents are showing you where they will be buried... "We are going here and here"... but at the same time, I'm glad Granddad showed me, and told me a little bit about what he does to care for the grave and to see for myself how special this area is to him.

His mother's grave is immaculate. Granddad cares for it with so much love, it looks brand new and really stands apart from the other, more neglected graves. It looks like the headstone was put there only yesterday.  I didn't take a photo of it, because it didn't exactly feel like the right time to get the camera out.  But it made me proud that my family plot was so well cared for and the people there were still loved and remembered.

They drove me around to show me their childhood homes and told me about their "boy meets girl" story, driving past the hall where they had dances together as teenagers. It was so special to hear them talking about their memories and finishing each others sentences.

There was a church service on when we were there, so I didn't get to go inside the Church. I'll be back again soon though for another dose of family time. It's pretty fun visiting as the only Grandchild...

I freaken love...

Fresh lilies... 

Three bunches of pink scented lilies for $10, thank you Ponsonby Road... 

High Tea Sunday

I sit here typing this with a very full stomach...

Some friends and I went along to Cornwall Park today for a high tea to celebrate our friend's birthday. Despite the gloom outdoors, it was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon, eating treats, sipping on hot cups of tea and enjoying a glass of bubbles.

I chose a lovely pot of caramel and vanilla flavoured tea, which went well with all of the treats served, including lemon meringue tarts, scones with jam and cream, mini madeleines and a range of sandwiches and bite sized savouries. Delish! Hence the VERY full stomach...

Until today I'd never experienced a high tea, and after this one today, I'll definitely be going again. It's such a nice, relaxing way to spend an afternoon with the girls.

New Feet

These feet have never been walked on. 

Girl or Boy?

The past wee while has been pretty busy, so I have fallen behind in blogging world. Sorry readers! I'm in a really indecisive mood and can't make decisions on what to post and post layouts etc... so I have lots of 'drafts' and no posts. My bad...

I'm just going to put a couple of pictures on here now of a lovely bump I photographed the other day,  belonging to this mum-to-be, who is due next Monday. How great does she look at 38 weeks!!!

I'm going to post more on another post as there were so many more photos from the shoot. The nursery was gorgeous as well, all of the little details that have gone into it are so special.

 

More to share soon, so keep watching this space...

Tick that off the list...

I'm tired from painting and doing several loads of washing... so I'll keep this one brief. Basically our front door is a dumping zone for shoes, rubbish bags, buckets and other such items and isn't too inviting. As summer approaches, the shoe collection by the front door begins to grow as more guests descend upon our house at the beach and forget to take their jandals home.

This was the process.

1. Retrieve an old wooden book case in the garage.
2. Find some white outdoor paint in the garage.
3. Re-home all of the daddy long legged spiders into the garden (I felt like they were family, all living in           this bookcase... and couldn't bring myself to squash them. Besides, they're nothing compared to the large black spiders I sometimes find in the bath that I have to re-home.
4. Lightly sand half of the bookcase. I only did half because I am lazy.
5. Wipe down the shelves with a damp cloth.
6. Paint the shelves white.
7. Put on another load of washing and watch snippets of the All Blacks parade (Yay All Blacks), while  waiting for each coat to dry.
8. Lightly sand again to remove the paint brush strokes and add some distressing to the edges of the shelf.
9. Place shoes on the shelf and collect some items from around the house to make it a more inviting entrance way.
10. Stand back and admire the improvement. A more functional, welcoming front door.

For once I think my DIY project worked, and didn't cost anything. Success!

Confessions of a striped sheet addict

I can't help myself. I love striped sheets.

So when I received an email saying "homeware sale" and caught a glimpse of the striped sheets on offer, I couldn't help myself. I already owned one set of the sheets in a preppy blue and white stripe, so I knew they were pretty decent quality for the price, and at $45 for a set of 100% cotton queen sized sheets, in striped grey and white, well, that's what I refer to as a 'no brainer'.

Today my striped sheet collection welcomes a new member to the family. Flannelette sheet season is nearing the end, so these sheets arrived just in time for the summer months to come.

Poor photo - and upside down, but you get the idea. Grey and white striped sheets.

 

I also threw this herringbone throw into the basket (don't you love online shopping)... , it looked soft, and thanks to my mother, I have a thing about cosy blankets on couches. At $20 on sale it was an easy purchase, so I now have a taupe and white thruuuuuu for the coooooch.

 

Some inspirational images to give any other striped linen addicts their fix...

Source: cologneandcotton.com via Victoria on Pinterest

Source: sundayinbed.tumblr.com via Victoria on Pinterest

Source: westelm.com via Victoria on Pinterest

Source: westelm.com via Victoria on Pinterest

Source: serenaandlily.com via Victoria on Pinterest

Source: store.alderandcoshop.com via Victoria on Pinterest

Boys can bake

I knew he could cook, but I didn't know he could bake!

When he suggested baking a birthday cake for his brother I was sceptical. Did he want me to make a cake? Surely he knew I couldn't bake.. surely he was there to witness the hokey pokey choking cookie disaster? We spent the weekend at a friend's farm and she made a delicious carrot cake, which I'm sure was the basis of his motivation.

It turns out he was quite aware of my lack of baking ability, and was willing to take matters into his own hands. I landed the role as his assistant , which basically means I follow him around the kitchen washing used bowls, stacking the dishwasher, putting ingredients away and wiping surfaces. I was a great assistant.

So apart from the fact that he forgot carrot cake was his brother's most hated cake, it was a huge success. Fortunately his mum had whipped up a delicious pavlova, so he still had some cake to celebrate. 

And now for the evidence.

Part of me almost wanted the cake to be a disaster so I could go "See! It's not as easy as you'd think".. but, he proved me wrong. Some people can bake. He has inherited the baking gene from his mother, who is a fantastic baker.

I'd like to point out that I made the vanilla bean and cream cheese frosting. Thank you, yes it was amazing. 


The end.

Number 36

 I went to a farm in the weekend to spend time with our friends. He is a dairy farmer, so naturally there were a lot of cows around. I'm usually scared of cows, I find them unpredictable, but the calves were rather friendly. Especially number 36, who liked to chew your clothes.

I will definitely be making more visits to the farm, it's a great break away from the city (even though I live at the beach), but getting away from it all feels so good sometimes.

Food on your face

My goddaughter LOVES food, just like her Mum. She just gets so into it, I couldn't help but pick up the camera and capture the moment.

Excuse me, you have food on your face....

 

What? You don't eat like this?....you're missing out.

 

 Thanks Aunty, but I don't need the spoon...

 

What's for dessert?

 

 

x x

Has the moon lost her memory?

This is a long post about memories, and probably of little interest to anyone other than my family, but I feel like writing these memories down in case they're forgotten. We have Alzheimers on both sides of the family... in varying generations.... (must. consume. fish. oil. supplements).

Anyway, a few months ago, I flew down south to visit my grandparents. Despite the plane being unable to land, and having to complete my journey on a bus for 5 hours, it was worth it.

I started reminiscing about childhood memories spent down that way with my other grandparents who are now deceased. Whilst out driving, I asked my grandparents if we could swing past my Nana and Poppa's old place. I'd always loved that house and I'm so glad we were able to find it.  I was able to take photos of the house and the street, something I didn't have, and let the memories come flooding back.

It felt like another lifetime when I'd played in those streets in the school holidays, with my brother and the kids next door.  I'm not that old, so it surprised me just how long ago it all felt.

This is the house from the bottom road. This isn't a view we saw often, but I remember walking along the brick walls, dipping my toes down the sides of the wall, practicing my beam technique,  while Poppa tinkered away on his Triumph in the garage. Side note: I sucked at gymnastics. The two bedrooms at the front of the house were so beautifully decorated.  I never spent much time in those rooms, so my memories are a tad faded, but I know they were well put together. Nana was an interior designer and wore lovely woolen tailored suits.

This is the view of the house most clearly etched in my mind. I still remember walking down that path into the kitchen and baking cornflake cookies with Nana. Poppa would sit in the front room reading teletext or watching TV and muting the ads. If I sat really really quietly next to Poppa and didn't make a noise, sometimes he would let me play games on the Teletext. Not often... but sometimes. What a treat! If my brother was good he was allowed to pull the Cadbury limited edition cars off the shelf and pretend to play with them (still in their boxes).

If Poppa wasn't watching the TV or playing his beloved organ with his missing fingers, he would be in his little shed attached to the kitchen restoring old stereos. His stereos were beautiful pieces of art, restored to the finest of details. I still remember the constant sound of the radio, out in that shed, where I'd bring him freshly baked cornflake cookies. He'd just mumble. I'd head back inside and help Nana to update her antiques catalogue.

It's nice to see that whoever lives here now cares for the gardens as much as my Nana did.

 

 The image above is the formal entrance to the home. I don't ever remember anybody using this door, or these stairs. Just like my Nana's Spode china, it was not to be used, just admired. It was for 'special occasions'.  I used to imagine who Nana would let use this door, and figured it could only be someone like the Queen. If the Queen had popped in for a cup of tea, she would have used this door, and the Spode china.

I'll save the story of the Dragon Lady and the Boy Next Door for another time.

Do you often visit places that remind you of your childhood? Driving past your old house and wondering who lives there now and what furniture they have?