What I wore Wednesday

Linking up again this week with Mardi, Janelle and the other girls, seems there are more ladies joining in each week!

Today we were off to the local play centre ~ I opted to go casual as I assumed it would be far easier to rescue a scared child from great heights in jeans rather than a skirt LOL. It was also dreary and a touch cold AGAIN this morning, honestly the weather this week has been so up and down. So it was jeans and layers (a bit like last Wednesday) I must say that I am really enjoying these weekly clothing posts, it's really making me think about wearing something nice & a bit out of the ordinary and the other thing I've noticed is my Hubby is actually commenting on how good I look (altogether now... awwww!!!)   



Jeans - Just jeans

Red Top - Target

Black Crocheted crop cardigan

Dunlop Volleys (pink & Black) perfect for play centre fun!

Of course - all these items were absolute bargains ($8 for the top and maybe $15 for the crocheted cardigan!!)

{Sunday Snippets} on a Monday

Linking up a day late with TinnieGirl this week, though we did see some sun yesterday it was in between bouts of miserable grey and I just didn't have the inclination to be picking up my camera! So here are some snippets of our bright & sunshiny Monday morning!

Reading: Bloodlines - the new (moroi/strigoi) book from Richelle Mead



Baking: Strawberry Mini Muffins... so delicious, I ate about a dozen of these yesterday (whoops!)

Wearing: my homemade skirt w/ top from Target, it's daggy housework day today!

Playing: Balancing games (I kept the little one home from daycare because of a low temp, she is starting to come good now and has been an absolute angel all morning)

Growing: Strawberries in my new garden

Testing: the glorious snap dragons to see if they snap (they do!!! So much fun!)

Finding: SPUDS! Home grown! I threw in some dodgy looking spuds and a couple of bushes sprouted in the much neglected garden. One of those plants was looking rather sick, so I decided to rip it out and what did I find but four little spuds (only tiny but still...) excitement abounds.   



  

WIWW - 24.08.11

Linking up again with Janelle, Mardi & Yvette and What I wore Wednesday along with some other girls playing along each week.

This week ~ I'm back to hiding behind the camera because I can't for the life of me get a decent self portrait whilst fighting with the manual settings and the less than ideal lighting throughout our house. It would appear that I need to clean my mirror in the bedroom, I didn't notice how bad the smears were until I tried defining the photo ~ the joys of living with a 4 year old and a staffy!

Today was mum's group and we met at Maccas as the weather has been a bit dull & wet & chilly so I opted for comfort!

  

Jeans - Just jeans (2 for $100)

Top - New from Target (a steal at $14.87 - it has butterflies, flowers & spots with a gorgeous crocheted trim that hides my rather huge bust & does not give me a hint of cleavage - trust me this is a GOOD thing when wearing an E cup - E is for eeek!) It also flows really nicely over the tummy - good for when you are a touch bloated.

Cardigan - Last season from Target (a bargain at only $7.85 or something equally ridiculous)

Thongs - Kmart last season at $3.00 (yes 3 bucks) it wasn't worth leaving them there.

Not long till spring now, this is my first day in thongs and my toes haven't frozen too much - I cannot wait till it warms up and I can wear them every day!      

Too many projects?

Give me a number people? How many is too many projects? And what if they are spread out evenly amongst many different genres?

The last few days have been grey, miserable and rainy... & as I have been feeling under the weather too (just some womanly stuff) I decided to ditch the housework in favour of curling up on the lounge with my heat-pack knitting & tweeting. Once I learn how to type and knit at the same time... there will be no stopping me!

I found this photo on my iPhone just now, my daughter (4) must have taken it last night (along with 50 photos of a pink screen... a finger perhaps??)   

I pulled out the straight needles for a miniature break from the dress (destined for Miss 4) to whip up a small cardigan for Miss Rue (ends still to be sewn in & button attached!)

I have made it into my sewing room too... starting (another) quilt top this one for my Daughters bed. I am using some carebear panels (turned log cabin) along with some 36 patch (checkerboard) squares as a centrepiece and am still deciding on the edges / borders after I complete these. I managed two blocks yesterday.



This new quilt must be because of the added inspiration above my machine, I had some mail from Ms Curly pops late last week and apart from going to a great cause - I particularly loved these two hot water bottle covers. (truth be told, I had been hankering after Ingrids and a few others before the show in Melbourne, I was ultra stoked to find Ingrids up for sale after the show... so it is now hanging on the wall along with the Nanna from Hoppo Bumpo) Great job all around ladies - I am loving having these two as part of my inspiration wall!   

  

And if that isn't enough... I went shopping today (I know... I totally need to stop that, but it's all for the 'garden' ) I just forgot to tell my husband that this particular garden is destined for the inside... and if he thinks that is bad, he's not seen nothing yet - wait till I brush up on my bonsai growing skills *insert wicked laugh here*



Can you guess what it might be? Stay tuned for more! Right now though I am off to do some quilting, eat a raspberry & white choc muffin and drink some tea!

Fly away home - Book week 2011

This week is Book Week and our daycare sent home a newsletter saying 'come dressed as your favourite book character'   

I convinced Miss 4 to go as a Ladybird & of course had to take some before photos...

The book - Fly Away Home (a pop up book that my mum picked up from the bookfest a few years ago)



Her red lady beetle dress, complete with lady beetle headpiece and 2 {requested} plaits with red ribbons (is it sad that I had to send her along with recycled from a chocolate box red ribbon??? and I call myself a crafter)   

She was totally stoked that she was allowed to wear her special red shoes and take the book along for show & tell!

  

And check out the feet in these last 2 shots, I didn't realise she was showing me a pose, until she mentioned it... then I had to take one with her foot like this mummy!!!

This child is so utterly adorable!!!   

Sunday Snippets

Linking up with Cathy again this week. The weather is cold, grey and miserable :( it's been raing off and on and apart from a morning spent at the local uni campus, I'm now home curled up on the lounge with only the dog for company!
















How has your Sunday been?

What the Blythes get up to in a day!

It's been a while since the girls made an appearance on the blog, so today we got out and about and took some photos ~ Just because we could! I am hanging till Christmas in the hopes that we get another 2 girls to join our growing family (one for Miss K and one for me... just because!) they are rather addictive (hint... hint... to any family member reading this and struggling to find that PERFECT gift for me... LOL)

Rue decided to supervise the last few lines of quilting earlier this morning, looking all relaxed in her new Pink rocking chair (stolen from the Daughters barbie box)



Later we found Ally having a deep conversation with the new Gnome in the garden about whether Dragons really do come out of the snap-dragon flowers ;)

Rue was caught eavesdropping on this conversation! Of course she is nearly blonde and knows that dragons do live in the blooms ;)

A few jumps on the trampoline with Miss K (who desperately wanted to take her for a jump :o )

And a quick climb of the mulberry tree to check they are growing ok!

  

Today was all about Rue as last we checked Ally was still conferring with the gnomes on garden business!

  

How does your garden grow?

A mini update on the Seeds I sowed last month - nearly 4 weeks on, let's see how they are progressing! This is moreso for my own gardening journal... needed to put it somewhere you know ;)

Tray 1 - side one...

1. Cucumbers - off to a great start!

2. Capsicum - no signs of life yet :(

3. Roma tomatos - growing away nicely

4. Chives - nothing yet...   

Tray 1 - side 2

1. Beetroot - not a sign of life yet *sigh*

2. Tomato - I sight 2 little seedlings

3. Sweet Corn - one teeny seedling about to emerge

4. Snow Peas - starting to tower above everything else    

Tray 2 - side 1

1. Peppermint - nice clusters of seedlings emerging

2. Oregano - no sign of any life

3. Sweet Basil - A few little plants growing

4. Lettuce - great success!     

Tray 2 - side 2

1. Spinach - Looking good

2. Parsley - nothing :(

3. Coriander - A few small seedlings

4. Thyme - I swear I saw something small... but can't see it now

Ordinarily these are not as dry as this... I had just pulled them out to water and took photos first ;)

In the bigger pots - Dwarf Bean*, Carrot Dwarf Pea* - all showing signs of life!   

Climbing Beans*, Zucchini, Pumpkin - all growing well

* all marked have been transferred to the garden to continue growing on the mini frame

And just because, a little shot of my flower garden that changes daily as I add more to it!

   

Basting & Quilting...

Once upon a time, this blog was a Quilting Blog with a bit of other crafting thrown in... the quilting got lost along the way and while I've still been doing some (read: starting quilt tops!) it's been quite sometime since I actually QUILTED anything let alone finished any!!! So when Corrie started organising a quilting day in Sydney this weekend to finish some of the Quilts for Queensland... I thought it was about time I got my butt into gear since I had promised her this quilt would be a FINISHED quilt!!!

I basted it, changed to the big walking foot (this thing is an absolute DREAM compared to the old janome ;)

Just basic straight line quilting, 1/4" either side of each join. It's basic, but it's exactly what I needed to get myself back into the groove once more. This little quilt has grown on me and I hope it brings a smile to someones face one day soon!

Of course... since I was already basting ~ I decided to make the most of it and baste this little one at the same time. I just realised the little girl it's destined for is turning ONE in 2 short months :o eek! I best get my running shoes on with it.

The bug is itching again ~ This is what I loved about being 'off' work last time around, hopefully I can get back to it and start knocking some more creations out in the coming years. First cab off the rank (after the Doll Quilt Swap) will be a quilt for my daughters bed - poor child is still sleeping under store bought princess bedding!!! :O   

Happily Hooking

Remember my post over the weekend I showed a little sneak peak of a little project I was happily hooking away on?

Well I finished it on Sunday and it's been photographed, rolled up, wrapped up and awaiting to gift it to my Mum who popped in yesterday!   

Happy Birthday Mum! Hope you had fun showing off your new scarf today!

Pattern: Queen Anne's Lace Scarf - found here

Wool: 100% silk (purchased from Prudence Mapstone) 1x 50g skein

Length: 60"

Ravelled here 

What I wore Wednesday

Linking up with Janelle, Mardi, Yvette and the other girls this week once more! I apologise in advance about the bags under my eyes (my gosh, it feels like my eyes are about to sink right into them they are so big!!!)

This week the weather warmed up marginally and I finally got to wear a skirt minus the tights* (Yay for Qld weather!!!)

Skirt - Black Denim (Myer)

White Tee - Target

Pink Jumper - Esprit (Myer)

Bracelets - Hematite Charmology (from Montville) & my nan’s gold bracelet (BTW that’s my nan & pop in the frame above my head - circa 1940 (ish) wasn’t she so gorgeous!!!)

With HUGE thanks to my mum who took the photo on my digital camera… (her first DLSR photo ;) she did good hey? BUT although I positioned her exactly where to stand to take the shot, she still managed to take a step back to include my pink uggies :o and incase you are wondering… no I didn’t wear them out and about today, I wore my black flats but there was a small altercation with chook poop and now they are at the back door drying off!!!   

* NOTE TO SELF * it is probably a really good idea to use moisturiser on your legs before you venture out in a skirt post winter… your legs are white enough as it is, without the snakeskin effect of dryness to go with!!!

  

Let's take a walk...

...through my garden!

With only 15 days left in winter, spring is literally just around the corner and my garden is definitely showing signs of coming back to life once more! To think, a mere 12 months ago I made the announcement that I was going to try my hand (again) at gardening, remembering also that I had pretty brown thumbs when I made that decision! I've learnt a lot in the past 12 months and while most attempts have been miss rather than hit, I do feel I know a little more than I did when I first started. I'm still not fully there yet, but let's just say my thumbs are now green with a hint of brown on the edges... a wee bit like my {still alive} lavender bushes! Thankfully Mum & Dad are calling back through on their way home tomorrow and they don't know it yet, but they are going to be put to work helping me with a few of my plant dilemnas ;)

** warning ** this post is a wee bit photo heavy, so I will try to keep my words to a minimum

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I'm very remiss to say, I've done not much with my *new* vegetable garden that the boys finally built for me back in January ( :O ) terrible, terrible, terrible! Especially considering I had whined and whinged about it for months! Let's move right along, one thing I have been doing with it is creating my own compost (well it's not really exactly there just yet... but it's close enough) this whole garden has only ever been filled with grass clippings & sawdust from an old gum we had to get cut down.

  

A couple of hours later... ta dah!

After last years attempt at vegetable gardening and let's face it we really didn't have much luck with many edible vegetables from it (what with planting too late as well as the big floods...) by the time they were mature, most of the vegetables had rotted. Not to forget I had used many bags of potting mix (yes, *hangs head in shame* ) and no fertiliser...

This time around, I have been reading up on permaculture and building myself a no-dig garden with layers (a bit like lasagne) see more here to get the general gist of it. What I did and I had to slightly change it around a bit from Sonya's garden was 2 layers of newspaper, a little layer of my {nearly there} compost, hosed down and soaked, a layer of horse poop, another light layer of my own compost, a layer of sugar cane mulch, another layer of compost and final layer of sugar cane mulch. Phew. At each stage I layered it down. It was bloody hard work - especially considering I had to move all the existing stuff aside before layering it up (& I'm not used to being on the tools... I am very sore tonight!) . For each plant, I just cleared aside a little hole in the mulch and placed a little premium potting mix and tucked it in neatly. Once this garden is up and running, I will turn my attention in the next couple of weeks at the old vegetable garden!

  

I went on a little walk through the backyard to check out the fruit trees and document their progress after I noticed there were a lot of flowers happening on each of them! First tree was the mulberry tree which like previous years, looks as though it will bear a good harvest of berries once again this year!!! Yummy! (you may need to squint to see the multitude of berries)

Then I got a little sidetracked with a visitor... well hello there Mr Kookaburra!

  



Yes, I'm looking at you... what - you are looking at me too? Hello!



It was pretty cool, he let me get about 2 metres from him, before he spotted the dog and flew off! Next I wandered over to the Avocado tree... it has so many flowers (?) on it, I am hopeful that THIS year we may finally get some fruit from it...



Next up was the Mango tree, also bearing lots of flowers & again very hopeful we get some fruit off it too (crossing fingers here)



Both trees have been hit and miss since we planted them, mind we've never really done anything to them... this year I've given them a few baths in worm tea (of course this is TOTALLY the reason we get fruit if we get fruit right???)

The orange tree is flowering again, I'm not too hopeful as this tree consistently flowers then doesn't bear fruit *sigh* again... a shower of worm tea maybe all it needs right?



And lastly, my little lemon tree that has bore fruit for us over the years, but who I nearly lost last year with some blasted disease - seems to have come back to life again and look - it has FRUIT! (of course... it's because of the worm tea bath ;)



And that concludes the wander through my garden for today. Hope you enjoyed it and honestly... you didn't really believe me when I said minimal words right? LOL! Be sure to tell me how your garden grows and I'll pop by to have a wander through it!