at home with...

The beautiful Charlotte Rivers from Lottie Loves has posted a little feature on my home today. Enjoy a sneak peek into my abode...

Daniel slammed down the brakes of the car a few weeks ago when I squealed at the sight of a dolls house sitting out the front of a garage sale. It was $20 and a dream come true. 

found & delivered

There's a new op shop in our street and it belongs to the (new) local church (there are four churches on our road so we always joke that we live in Holy Land). I like church op shops. Friendly and affordable. I say affordable because some of the price tags I have seen in Salvos and Vinnies are pushing the "op-shop" label a little too far.

A few days ago me and my boys trundled down there and decided the theme of our visit would be check/tartan. Hence we came home with this hand knitted blanket (which is backed in fabric and has 30 children's names written on it, my favourite being Isabelle Tropiana - her parents were cool). Daniel scored an adorable woolen check jacket and I got a gorgeous check cotton long sleeve top which will look uber cute with denim shorts in Spring. Che got a pair of eeni meeni mini moh pants for $3...bargain. He also got a Golden Book and had to explain to the sweet, slightly nutty old lady outside that the bike was his and no, we weren't donating it to the shop.

Today I'm working from home and this is my coffee break. Daniel just came home with a new haircut and I declared him the cutest coffee delivery boy ever. It's Friday. So happy weekend to you.

pears wrapped in paper (& other wonderful things)

...and brown paper packages tied up with string. Just a few of my favourite things.

I opened the door last night to my fortnightly delivery of organic fruit & vegies and the in-season and ever-so-sweet pears came wrapped in paper to stop them bruising. They look so beautiful and I've left all three sitting in their wrapping on the windowsill.

The postman came this morning with my special order from oakmoss. Lovely Amber (isn't her blog just gorgeous) creates the most beautiful candles and soaps - with natural products like beeswax and soy. The scents she creates from essential oils are the best smelling concoctions I have ever come across. The 'spring' blend is my favourite - fresh, earthy and subtle. I don't think I'll ever have to search out another scented candle...she's got my business for life.

Also, I am the proud recipient of a fabulous and incredibly successful op-shopping venture today. I found something I have been looking for...sitting there in the corner. Hiding, almost. But I saw it and I bought in ($10) and although it needs some tlc and a coat of paint it will be in our home, on display, very soon. I can't wait to show you.

Other news:

Our local fire station has this message on the roadside board: "Stay Warm - cuddle a fireman"

I begged Melissa to please pretty please post a pattern for her fabulous stripy scarf "Hello, Sailor" and she did! I'm going to start my very own this weekend - you should too.

Have a lovely rest of your day - go search for your very own fireman.

when the thrifting gods shine

they really do shine. I truly believe in the rule of wishing. Telling yourself that you'll find that item you most want. However, if you go into an op-shop looking for it, you won't find it that day. It may be a week, a month, even years afterward. Then one day, when you aren't even thinking about it, you turn your head and there it is. Sitting quietly, solemnly, waiting for you to take it home.

Our new dining table and my knitting bag (my nana's actually)

I found a really, really, really old children's table and chairs set. Hand made. Raw wood. Stained from tea cups. A few little cobwebs. When I saw it I smiled, my heart skipped and I knew the waiting was over. After I had paid I noticed the most perfect terracotta bowl, glazed white with painted apricots as decoration. And engraved on the bottom: made in australia by kate. I bought it too. Thank you Kate.

new floor cushions + a couch cushion (lotus fabric from ink and spindle)

I love the re-arranging when new furniture arrives. I love the styling. And so yesterday when the little one slept I dusted and cleaned and put things in their place. I bought some flowers and brightened up what has been a dull little abode these past few (sick) weeks.

A few weeks ago Katie suggested her readers blog about their favourite op-shopping find. I have about 7 years worth of 'found' clothes, vases, plates, teacups and bags in my home. I suppose my favourite 'found' object would have to be my knitting bag. It was my Nana's and in my early uni days I used to take it with me...all the way to Sydney and back three times a week. I don't think I've ever worn or carried an item that was commented on like this bag was. The handles are a little worn now and so it stays inside - getting a little older and hence more rich with memories.

That knitting bag is home to those beautiful skeins of yarn that are sitting patiently, waiting for their turn on the needles. A few of you have asked if I'm knitting Purl Bee's super easy baby blanket and yes, I am. Purl Bee suggest using Alchemy Yarns' Temple - a superfine merino wool. However, Alchemy doesn't have an Australian distributor. I found the most beautiful Australian certified organic merino fleece wool - woolganic. Best of all it's created by a sweet little family (buy it from them directly) and it's super soft. Ché already cuddles up to the blanket so I know he's not going to find it prickly. I did encounter a little problem though - the pattern requires 40 rows (20ridges) per colour. That's fine if you're using Alchemy Yarn because it's 117metres...but if you use Woolganic you only get 104metres per skein. I purchased two skeins of each colour (knowing that the extra will get used eventually) and I'm knitting 48 rows per colour.

Most importantly - the colours. I chose grapefruit moon, gaia, sangha, leura, raindrops, gondwana and chilli pepper. Bliss.

thanks for all your comments re. white space. i like it...the space. i also like what claerwen said: white really is the new black.

Be well.

it's all about the bike

Oh radio flyer. Love the primary colours and the fact that I can steer the bike while he rides. Without fail when we ride across a pedestrian crossing Ché will ring the bell. He's down with all the other bikies too - and the skateboarders. Even if they're 14. Skateboards scare me so I'm staying well clear of them for now.

We've had some pretty exciting op-shop trips lately too. Wooden puzzles, new shoes and these automobiles, handcrafted by a local wood turning group. Aren't they gorgeous. I picked up a big wooden lorry too. Daniel and I are planning to paint it and fill it with little wooden people. We'll tie a big bow on it and give it to Ché for his second birthday. I'm thinking a yellow lorry might make his heart go all a flutter. Mine sure skipped a beat when I saw a whole tub full of wooden trucks and cars. For all you local girls head to the Vinnies opposite Fountain Plaza at Erina. I left you some x

i deliberated

There have been so many things I've found in op-shops that have had a rather cyclical life in my hands. They come into my home, stay a while, return to the op-shop. So now I'm more disciplined with what I buy.

A few days ago I bundled Che into the car and thought I'd return to a few favourite haunts that I used to visit several times a week. It must be noted here that babies and op-shops don't mix all that well - getting C in and out of the car is not fun for me and not fair on him. Hence I haven't op-shopped for a while. But now, considering the economic crisis and my desire to find vintage pre-loved goodness, I'm at it again.

Che loves it too - lots of trucks, cars, big-ugly-bright-hideous-plastic-toys that can be admired from a distance and never brought home. And then this wooden horse rocker that made me smile as soon as I saw its red feet. Che hopped right in and started a rockin'. And what did I do? I stood there watching him and deliberating. Thought process:

• oh it's beautiful
• it needs some sandpaper and touch-up paint though
• that's ok, I can do it when I'm doing this
• but do I really have time?
• will it fit in our house?
• is it corny or is it one of those great finds
• reminds me of little community playgroup centres
• old-fashioned toys (sigh)
• but will it get used or sit in a corner?
• he seems to like it (Che is smiling)
• imagine it in a nursery when we get that cottage
• next to a bassinet, or baby hammock, or moses basket
• i like the red
• i like that it's not made in China (Brazil, actually)
• oh, it's only $10
• There'll be more babies one day
• oh gosh, imagine a few little kids in that nursery in the cottage

"C'mon Che, out you get. We have to pay for it."
"You're going to take this one love?"
"Yes, we'll take it." (Smile).

thank you...so much. for all your sweet and passionate comments that were left on the last post. Mostly I'm just thinking aloud in this space, so it's comforting to know that you read with enthusiasm and not boredom. Those comments, they inspire me...to think aloud a little more and perhaps, one day, to thread all those thoughts together and print them on paper.

tea

Tea cannisters found at a garage sale down the street. The perfect accompaniment to my teacups and teapots. Yes, I love tea. Picked up an Indian kaftan too. It smells like chai.

orange

Different shades of orange coloured my day...this rainy winters day. Mandarins from the local farm, vintage linen from the op shop, pumpkin soup for lunch and a cute little munchkin caught in a strange light.