Bonfires are fun

Annie enjoying the mulled wine

Sparkler action

Holley enjoying the radiant heat

Last night we had a Bonfire.  We ate lovely food, beginning with the good old hot cob loaf pull apart dippy thing...mmmm cheesy. Then M made an amazing Moroccan Chicken Tajine from the  Jamie does book. There was cider, pumpkin pie and cake. We enjoyed the fire light, had some sparkler craziness drank mulled wine and listened to some sweet chords courtesy of Brock. Come the early morn we bedded down for an old fashioned sleep over. So much fun!!!

Just like you

With the all turbulance we are experiencing at home lately, it has forced me to reflect on my own teenage years. There were insecurities, tears, tantrums and feelings of angst.  I had a lovely dinner with a friend and her gorgeous little family at Boho in Adelaide on Wednesday night.  We were laughing and chatting about the perils of being a teen and how complex it can feel.  We were a foursome, her and I along with two girls that were sisters. We made up silly songs, had completely distasteful nicknames for people and shared so much.

Then disaster struck....we had a fight, we weren't talking, there was no more laughter only tears, mean words and diary entries with hopeless and helpless themes.  We continued on through senior high school but we had drifted apart. I remember feeling such a heavy loss, but little did I know she also felt the same.

Many years have passed and we are in contact regularly and I adore her. I have celebrated her engagement, pregnancy, the birth of her son and funnily enough it wasn't until dinner last week that we talked about that time! She said she also felt loss but didn't know how to fix it. So when I came across the open book project, I thought it was fantastic for today's teens to be able to know that yep, we were just like you once.
I wonder where my diary from that time ended up?

Home -Bless this nest

To say this week has been fraught with emotion, would be the understatement of the year.  When I was growing up I thought being a teenager was one of the most awful times. Turns out I was wrong....being the parent of a teen is! We have been in struggle city this week. There has been a missing child, meetings with teachers, tears, tantrums, anger and awkward silences.  The key to getting through I have found is rising above it all and holding onto the thought that it can't last forever....GULP! Has anyone got a tissue?

F is for.........

Just because it's Friday and it really is one of my favourite days of the week. It has a cool name, for a lot of peeps it brings excitement as it is the dawn of the weekend and usually it is date night for my love and I. It got me thinking.......

What other things starting with F get my heart swooning?

This is my list......

• Fathers - who doesn't love em? In all their bad timing and inappropriate, cringey humour!
• Friends - these guys are awesome, not the Facebook variety, the actual ones.
• Fresh coffee - needs no explanation.
• Friands - mmm blueberry& lemon, raspberry & white chocolate, the list goes on.
• Frankie Magazine - my love gifts me with a subscription every year and I love it.
• Fresh sheets - in all their crisp sunshiney goodness.
• Furry friends - my two cats (had to squeeze them in somewhere!)

• Finders Keepers - fantastic market experience 2011

What makes your letter F list?

Is that Pip?

The first thing on Sunday morning we arrived at Finders Keepers and guess who we saw? OMG Yes it was  her, in the flesh, in stereo and in all her coolness....It was none other than the divine Pip Lincolne herself!  So lovely to meet Pip and say hi to Cam and experience the Finders Keepers all at once. I needed a cup of tea and a lie down after that!  However I did push on and discovered so many awesome stalls such as hand printed fabric, bags, softies, jewellery and so much more.  This one was one of my favourites on the day. These chicks  plus one husband made the whole adventure so much fun. Great shopping, clever peeps galore, super entertainment and even better company......What more could a girl want?

The Square Market

Hello from glorious Bendigo. Today I attended a very nice market filled with creative and beautiful people.
It was The Square which is held in the wonderful Town Hall. These clever peeps were there with the most beautiful handmade great Cards.  I purchased one for a special boy in my life that is turning 2 next week.  It was lovely to see a number of Mildura girls there too. The lovely Rowena with her gorgeous skirts, Leah with her Vintage chenille goodies and many others.  Tomorrow it's on to explore what the Finders Keepers has to offer. Oh yeah and I am getting to play with my friends too. How lovely........

The Crochet Wheels are turning

It's all happening. The awesome girls at fine & sunny are set and we are having a craft workshop....Yay!!!!!
Sophie is gearing up to teach a class full of eager and excited curious crafters how to get their crochet on.
After Thursday the 24th of March, I won't  will be able to crochet!!!!   It's all set to kick off at 6:30 pm and for $10 participants will receive a crochet kit, with wool, needle and instructions to take home.  We shall have to have a cup of tea and something yummy to eat before going home and dreaming of granny squares!  Love, Love, Love it!!!!  

10 things about Miss 11

This girl is gutsy, she is the baby of our 3, who never ceases to amaze me with her maturity and caring nature.

1. My sweet girl is headstrong - once her mind is made up that's the end of discussion
2. She is so creative, she paints, draws, sews and makes interesting stuff
3. Resilience is something she has really developed and displayed in 2010
4. She is a great little cook & makes the yummiest Anzac biscuits ever!
5. Caring for animals is her passion and she has very happy pets
6. She has a great sense of self - she knows what clothes and colours make her feel best
7. Thoughtfulness is a great attribute and this girl picks flowers to cheer you up
8. Fire brigade has her full commitment - she put her hand up to be Madam Secretary
9. Her physical strength is awesome and she helps me move furniture with ease!
10. She makes a bed like an Army drill Sargent- I mean you could bounce a coin on it.....

Oh my Darlin!

This is my beautiful girl Clementine. She has moved into our back garden and I can barely contain my excitement!  I can't wait to give her the love she so rightly deserves, a clean, new ply, lots of no more gaps and some soft furnishings that are easy on the eye and I have my very own studio...YAY!!!!

2011- Does it really have to be called "The Year of the Rabbit?"

Look at that! How quickly did Christmas and New Year roll around? It felt like a whirlwind blew through. So much so, that I can't bring myself to take the Christmas tree down yet.

Let's get on to The Year of the Rabbit. During the Christmas blur, M,14, 13, 11 &  I were having a BBQ with the NT friends. There was a rather traumatic incident with our friends big dog and our pet Rabbits. Score being Dog 1, Rabbit 0. So there is a slight painful association with the Chinese Year of the Rabbit at ours.However,

we have enjoyed a lovely time catching up with family and friends over the festive season.

These things were awesome:

•  A visit here 
•  Celebrating my sister's birthday
•  Cousins sleep over
•  Romantic 2 day child-free getaway to Melbourne
•  Exploring Piper St, Kyneton (ah child- freeee!)
•  AWESOME presents ( I DID get Pip's new book,thanks to Fine & Sunny
  
•  Time to myself to begin an embroidery project from my book 
•  Beautiful food and wine
•  Finding a gorgeous pair of shoes here that fit my big    feet YAY!
•  Painting at Caledonia St (I made a great team leader)
•  Driving home with 14 as my DJ, the same Hip Hop song 16 times made us laugh alot

So I guess The Year of the Rabbit isn't so bad after all......

Christmas Craziness

So it's nearly here. Don't you just love the "Are you organised for Christmas?" question. It seems to be the only time of year when complete strangers express concern for the level of our organisation. To avoid a twenty minute conversation about the complete lack of anything remotely like organisation going on in my life, I reply rather meekly and politely  that it's "Going well, thank you for enquiring."
The honest truth would actually sound a little like this.  Wellllll.............The kids have some presents, the marvellous M has possibly far too many, the dining room is my work area with a wrapping, stamping and tag writing station as well as many works in progress...The cute as bunting for a favourite boy, a key thingy for a workmate, a pair of jeans that need urgent repair for a friend.  I still haven't unpacked from the Craft Up @ Artback, I have yet to bag up hair accessories for my neice and I am constantly trying to keep all things Christmas away from Pierre and The Baby. Add to the list planned drinks and catch ups, a Christmas party, 2 night duties, friends in town from Alice Springs and we are going away in 4 days!
I have managed to only experience one major meltdown.........o.k two meltdown's this week. 
Meltdown #1- A little background on the lead up to paint the picture; I have started a tradition (which is important to me that I maintain as I am particularly inconsistent with stuff at times) of MAKING each family member an individualised Bon-Bon to snap open at Christmas lunch.  Finding appropriate things to fit inside a cardboard tube the size of a toilet roll is not that easy.  Anyhow I have eveyone's BB gifts sorted, that correct amount of cracker pulls, crepe paper, printed labels etcetera.  That is until.......an early morning phonecall from the host of Christmas Lunch.....my wonderful Mother in Law (sincerely & honestly) to say she had a few orphans joining us for lunch, possibly 6!!
There was a small 3 way conversation between M , the MIL and I about adding extra BB's for the newly aquired guests and going to one of the many $2 shops around to source extra BB's.
Ten minutes later I found myself sobbing in the bath, crying big salty tears into the bubbles and blubbering that I go to so much effort...BLAH, BLAH, BLAH! I ended up having a shower to calm down and  sleeping for 3 hours after my tantrum. 
Note: The catalyst for my irrational thinking and behaviour may have been due to a sleep depravation. Sleeping 3 hours in 48 is far from recommended.


My amazing MIL and I spoke yesterday, she was calling to say the orphans had been promptly re-accommodated to Christmas lunch elsewhere and she was hoping "we" were Ok.  I informed her I was delerious, irrational, hormonal and wanted to punch my own head in! 

I think most of us need a disclaimer at some time or another in December don't we?
My brain hurts too much after re-living that to write about meltdown #2, another time....maybe.

Craftin' it up before Chrissy

I have been meaning to get a plethora of crafting done prior to Christmas, however I seem to be chasing my tail. So I have found the ultimate solution, get everyone together and have fun while we work on our To Make Lists. Invitations are open to other likeminds who also need to get their stuff happening.  So we will be celebrating our craftiness, making some handmade lovelies to gift all while we eat, drink and be merry. 

This would not be possible without the sheer kindness of the lady herself, Anne Hederics at ArtBack in Wentworth. So pack the project, pop in the car and join in.