Passing things down

As a child we moved a lot. As in an awful lot :( A lot of it, now, just blends together and my few childhood recollections are a confused jumble of places, people and times (often incorrectly reconstructed and mashed together from incomplete memories).

Suffice to say very little in terms of childhood or family items have made it through to our forever home to be seen by my kids :(

One little trinket, though, somehow made it through. A tacky little china cat which I can't remember when or where I got, but it was certainly sometime before I was 5. So probably around my daughter's age. It isn't anything expensive, or special, but it is the tiniest and slimmest thread linking young Adelaide with her Mum at a similar age.

With only a handful of photos, and next to nothing else from or of me as a child, it's nice to have something from my childhood to become a part of hers <3 And so the tacky kitty sits in pride of place in her shadow box.  I have impressed on her, several times, just how special it is to me (not in terms of what it is - more in terms of what it represents). And now she sits and looks at it commenting "This was Mumma's when she was little - and now it is MINE!"

 

Adelaide's kitty cat

Shhhh - Fairies are about!

So things move at lightning speed around here. If you blink you'll miss it! Like the fairy door which has been sitting on my desk since XMAS last year waiting for me to tell Sean where to put it!

So this morning we've finally agreed on a spot - in a little nook just beside the kids' cubby. We're going to make the spot into a little fairy garden! Adelaide is, of course, thrilled. Oscar has not outright declared he is a disbeliever - but has agreed to keep his skepticism to himself in front of his very excited little sister. So in the next day or two we'll be off to Masters to choose some flowers to plant beside the fairy door. I'll put a picture up when we're done.

The Study Nook

Bumped into a mate the other day who reminded me I'd promised her pics of my study nook and that I was long overdue in delivering. Perfect timing, really, as I've just bought a plant for there and am starting to turn my mind towards how to style that area.

It's quite a large area (2.3 meters long) and now I have decluttered, by removing one of the printers and putting it in the cupboard, I'm finally getting into the headspace of 'what will I do here'?

I have a few ideas. Maybe strung wire above the computer and hang prints there. Or perhaps open oak suspended shelves. Maybe even a sculptural type of wall art? I am pretty sold on painting the wall, but of course no idea about what colour! In the meantime, here it is - a blank canvas waiting for my decision on what to do.

 

My study nook

 

As you can see it desperately
needs some love and attention

 

Have added a Madonna
Lily for a little interest!

Groundcovers

I loathe weeding. It must be one of the most thankless tasks ever. However our garden bed at the back just lends itself to a never ending supply of weeds, hence we came up with the idea of putting in a groundcover to smother the weeds (and progress the look we're after).

After a lot of searching online (and in nurseries) I had decided on a white bacopa as just the thing. Until I realised at $10 a pot, it was going to be prohibitively expensive to do the area I had in mind. And then my darling husband asked if it could be grown from seed. I would never have thought about it, but a quick google indicates it can!

So I've just ordered 50 seeds online for the princely sum of $18.50. Sean has the greenhouse set up, and has been wanting a project, so this will be just the thing! Of course, that means I have a limited time frame in which to weed the garden bed ready for the seedlings. Motivation is a helpful thing!

 

Bacopa Snowtopia

Have also bought another indoor plant. A Madonna Lily for my desk. I'm not entirely sure it will get enough light there, so I might need to get a second and rotate them to a sunnier position every few days.

My New Light!

So my new light is in, and I love it. I keep looking at it (and I will admit it IS taking some getting used to) but I love it.

Before anyone points it out, I realise the bulb is completely wrong. It was the only one the store had in stock (and I needed a bulb to check the fixture with) so it goes back tomorrow to be exchanged for a different shaped bulb as they were expecting a delivery of the correct bulbs.

I keep thinking it looks too high, because I was so used to the old one which was just too low. I did consider we could have gone the larger 4 light pendant there, but I think it would have been too much for what is really a very small entryway.

 

Before

 

After

 

Looking from the sitting room
out to the entryway

A bit of green life

So the school holidays have started, and with them a flurry of activity has started around the house. The doors have been flung open, a fresh breeze is blowing through, and we're cracking on with annoying little jobs and tasks.

One of these has been selecting indoor plants for various spots. Of course, whenever I go looking for something specific what I want is not in stock! But we did come home today with a 'happy bamboo' which the kids selected for their bathroom. Probably not what I would have chosen, but it is bright and happy and adds some colour to the space.

 

A bit of green life for the kids' bathroom

In other jobs, the front light is down waiting for the boys next door to come put up the new one. Sean has held the new one up where it will go and it looked great! Such a huge change from what was there. Can't wait for the new one to go in - hopefully today sometime.

Have also had a LONG overdue clean out of my study nook (aka the dumping ground). Have removed most of the computer equipment to the lockable cupboard. At present am removing and sorting the last of the residual paperwork before I wipe it down and start considering precisely what to do with the space decor wise. An indoor plant is a must, but as for the rest of the space I am still not sure.

Still - plenty to go on with in the meantime. Like working out precisely what I want to do linen wise with my spare room (and cleaning out my linen cupboard!)

Perfect Pillows

Last month I was thinking pillows. Specifically spare room pillows. And a day or two back the spare room pillow cases arrived! My own little piece of Florence Broadhurst.

Turns out they are a slight metallic silver with a dark fawn on the relief. And while I'd been mentally planning around a slate blue, I am infinitely more excited by the silver. So now I am thinking about which way to take this room. Obviously more pillows - but it's exciting to have a silver hue to include.

And it's well I am thinking of sprucing up the spare room as we have guests arriving late October for around a week.

Pics to follow soon. Been a busy busy social weekend, so literally need a chance to catch up!

Pendant Ponderings

I've never been entirely happy with my entry light choice. I knew exactly what I wanted - it just wasn't available at the time :(  So I thought I'd found something I liked, and then had to change at the last minute, and what we ended up with was too large and low for the space. And if I am honest it's irritated me for 2 years!

Anyway - recently a fellow member of a forum I frequent put pendants in her home. She showed a pic first, and as soon as I saw them I was SMITTEN! The perfect thing for my entry way and a not too shabby price either. She explained they can be hung at 4 different lengths - she hung hers at the highest which in my opinion suits the scale of the pendant best.

She just measured the height from ceiling for me, and it's going to be a perfect fit in our entryway. Better still - when I nipped across to ask the sparky next door how much he'd charge me to swap the lights over he said he'd do it for nothing. Score!!

So without further ado here's a pic (found via google image search - turns out it's from a local blogger who I'll now also follow!)

Oh - and best still? This will enable me to get that Edison bulb I've been wanting forever SOMEWHERE in the house ;)

Drowning not waving

The last week or so has seen me simply unable to get / keep on top of things - there just are not enough hours in the day! We've also had a lot going on socially - which is nice but gives less time to get things done.

This week I am determined to play catch up. To this end have just pulled out 5 bags of clothes and toys to go to charity (and another large one to go to a girlfriend who has two younger boys). This afternoon will see the real challenge... Going through Adelaide's wardrobe.

She's shooting up at a rate of knots - so many of her sundresses from last year will be moved on as they're just too short. Necessary but I never enjoy doing it :(  However it does leave room for more - and to that end am planning a sewing day with a friend over the holidays. I have so much fabric I need to use up.

So not much to photograph, for now, but I'm keeping busy!