my christmas

Some photos I managed to snap over the last few days.... (The rest of the time I was too busy laughing, enjoying the company of others and stuffing my face with food!)

The Mama making Spätzle for our German feast on Christmas Eve. (Sadly, I didn't take any photos of the Rinderroulade or blaukraut with speck.)

Little wooden people from Germany.

Watching the blur of dogs playing through the kitchen window on Christmas Eve.

Billy having a rest after all the playing.

Christmas Day - chopstick rests we gave my sister and brother-in-law. Made by Adelaide furniture designer Takeshi Iue, found at Bowerbird Bazaar design market earlier this year.

Gifts for us - lovely patterned napkins and placemats from Country Road.

My family knows I love Kikki-K stationery. Weekly A6 diary in mustard.

Beautiful wooden heart Christmas tree decoration, from the sister and brother-in-law.
(From Sedonia, a gorgeous shop in Seddon Victoria).

I hope you all had a memorable Christmas filled with love and laughter.

xx

first things for the little one

My sister and brother-in-law gave us a little package of some things for the Little One, including two onesies, some striped bibs and a gorgeous little beanie. These are the first and only things I have for the impending arrival, so I am a little excited! I haven't felt like buying anything yet, probably because the baby's room is still full of junk. We are slowly getting there though. The study/work room is painted and half completed - I just need to make a trip to IKEA for table legs and wall shelves. Then we can begin clearing the other bedroom and start making it the Little One's cave.

Christmas is only two days away - oh, where did the time go? I still have a few small things to buy for presents, and I am still yet to wrap anything. The tree is up, but still undecorated. I honestly haven't had the time. Billy had us worried for a few days - he was sneezing violently, twitching and drooling, so I was watching him constantly. He went to the vet on Monday where they sedated him and removed a large grass seed from his right nostril. He's much happier now!

I've been spending all my spare time with my beautiful sister - oh how I missed her! - and the rest of the family, relaxing at the beach, going for long walks, and getting (unintentionally) sunburnt. After all the dreary weather, it appears summer is finally here!

Merry Christmas everyone! x

triangles

I'd like to make a quilt like this, either for our bed or as a play mat for the little one who will be arriving in five months.

Too ambitious?

(In other news, I am seeing my gorgeous sister in less than hour. She is driving over from Melbourne with her husband and her two cute puppies Rosie and Poppy. I am just a little excited!!!)

Photo from anne louise likes via where the lovely things are.

oh christmas tree

We still haven't put up the Christmas tree.

I was contemplating not doing it at all this year, but agreed after the husband said he'd construct the tree so long as I'd decorate it. True, it appears I am stuck with the most time-consuming part, but at least I don't have to venture out to the shed to find the box, nor enjoy all the spiders and creepy crawlies that I'm sure will come out with it.

I much prefer this beautiful tree of lights than the plastic green variety we have. Maybe next year?
(from the very talented Jenn of A Merry Mishap)

little lion

Billy has been enjoying having me home. We play out in the sunshine, and sometimes we go to the beach together for a walk. (I am enjoying it too.)

These photos are pre-haircut. I was calling him my Little Lion because of his luxurious long mane. I decided his hair was getting way too long when his bottom hairs swayed from side to side when he trotted off - not a good look! So out came the scissors, and Billy is now sporting a trimmed coat and a rather hacked-at bum. The results are way too embarrassing to include post-haircut evidence.

(Next time I think we will pay the $50 and have the dog groomer make him beautiful instead...)

flat

I might just take a nap right here, thank you. (Photo via Cup Of Jo.)

The last week felt like it took a year to be over. I finally escaped from a difficult work situation, one which I have not been happy with since the day it started. Nine months later, it's all over. Sometimes I should listen more to my gut and not my head.

I feel like I should be energetic, full of life, ready for the next thing that awaits. Instead, I'm feeling a little... flat. I have been sleeping in, pottering around the house, occasionally mustering up enough energy to go out to do some grocery shopping, only to return home to bake lemon curd cupcakes. I'm not sure if it's my body telling me I need a good rest, the baby draining all my energy, or the fact I am only just realising the enormity of the situation I'm in. That I am finally where I wanted to be - free to start projects I have had in the back of my mind for years, to work for myself, to create an exciting, new future.

Or the fact we have a mortgage and bills to be paid, and - no matter how lovely it sounds - I can't just sit at home baking cupcakes for the next five months before the baby arrives. Hmmm...

eensy weensy toes

I am having one of those. Well, not that one exactly. (How cute are those little striped legs and eensy weensy toes? Photo is from the delightful Anna at one of my favourite blogs ever.)

But, yes. Up there. A baby.

Now that it's common knowledge amongst friends and work, everybody is asking me questions: What have you bought for the nursery? What clothes have you bought? Have you started stocking up on nappies?

The baby's room is currently the 'dump room', where everything-we-own-but-don't-desperately-need-right-now is living, while we paint the rest of the house.

And, honestly, baby clothes and nappies hasn't even crossed my mind. Now that I have my appetite back after weeks of nausea, all I can seem to think about are the three things I will get to eat/scoff/inhale in 6 months time:

1) Gooey, runny, delicious, organic poached eggs on toasted sourdough.
2) Soft, stinky, creamy, gorgeous cheese. Bring me some Cremeux D'Argental - stat!
3) Creamy, wake-me-up strong, earthy, organic coffee. Preferably accompanied by the aformentioned poached eggs at my favourite café.

(Oh and I could just eat up those little toes, couldn't you?)

oh, what lovely things for my ears

How beautiful are these earrings? By Muntedkowhai, found via the lovely Jenny Butler.

And they are only $35!

Now... whether to buy these myself, or ever-so-(im)patiently wait for someone, anyone, to hopefully buy these for me for Christmas?

Decisions.

where's the sunshine

Nothing exciting has been happening, but I have been crazily busy - my life is a little bit of an oxymoron at the moment. We have been painting the house every spare minute we can get - as soon as we get home from work, and all weekend. I am exhausted, to say the least. The plan is to have it all completed by Christmas, as we have a few busy weekends coming up where we will have to put the painting on hold temporarily. I'm most looking forward to finally unpacking some boxes, which means photo frames, artwork, ceramics and things. Here's to eventually living in a home, not just a house.

Above are photos from our first wedding anniversary getaway to Port Willunga and Goolwa. The weather was warm and beautiful. Very different to the horrible cold and rain we are having here in Adelaide at the moment. Will summer hurry up and get here already?

one year

 

I can't believe it's been one year already. I just got back from a lovely long weekend down the coast with the husband. We visited our favourite place away from home - Port Willunga, where we married one year ago - and stopped in for lunch at the Star of Greece. We spent the next two days lazing about in a cosy shack at Goolwa, walking along the beach, eating delicious fish pasties and fresh squid at Aquacaf, and indulging in afternoon naps. Wouldn't it be lovely if we could do this every day...

(All photos by the amazing and humble Luke Simon).

hoot

I have an obsession with owls of late. Loving these wooden creatures made by UK designer Matt Pugh, found via Oh Joy!. I'd like all five, please.

wall art

We are yet to finish painting our interior walls, but I have been slowly collecting more artworks for when we finally complete the Dreaded Painting Project. I saw the above on the Real Living blog highlighting affordable artworks. At $48 including shipping, this beauty by Sydney girl Kate Banazi is on its way to my house, yessiree.

bloomin'

Flowers make me oh-so-happy!

I bought this lovely bunch for only $15 from a woman at Bowerbird Bazaar who runs her florist business from home. Why oh why did I not know about her when I was planning my wedding?! (The one thing that was a disaster on my wedding day were the flowers!)

Some more things I brought home with me:



Cards from Able and Game. Absolutely love these guys for their originality and humour.

Cards from Naomi Murrell. I love Naomi's work - I first saw prints hanging in one of our favourite little cafe's Tincat, and she is from Adelaide so of course I have a soft spot for her! (I just noticed many of the photos on Naomi's website are actually taken in Tincat Cafe.)

I have loved these Alphabet Zoo cards from Lola & Bailey since I saw them on a blog a few weeks ago, so bought my initial 'J'. This would be a lovely card to buy for a new mum!

And finally, what do I see but none other than Sharon Muir's beautiful ceramics, which I blogged about last week. Of course I just had to buy this little brown owl. He now lives on my bedside table and holds my collection of earrings.

I saw many other beautiful things from loads of talented people, including a bottle vase from Angus & Celeste, but I will have to put them on my Christmas list. (Oh my, it is almost Christmas!!)

ray of light

We had such beautiful weather this weekend but again I couldn't fully enjoy it. I still haven't managed to shake this flu and am finding myself sleeping most of the day, unable to get out of bed from exhaustion. Blood tests have shown various things that I am trying to improve with vitamin supplements and diet, and one of them is a deficiency in Vitamin D. I am now taking it in pill form to boost my levels but have also tried to sit out in the sun a little each day. On Saturday I laid out on our concrete and took photos of the sky and our garden (or The Jungle as we often refer to it, as we are very slack at mowing...).

I am looking forward to feeling perkier so we can enjoy these sun-filled weekends at the beach or the park. I'm sure the husband is too - he is being ever so patient at the moment, making me breakfast in bed on Sundays and ignoring my grumpiness, but I imagine there're only so many weeks you can wait on someone hand and foot!

I did manage to drug myself up enough to attend the wedding of a beautiful couple we have known for many years (aren't they always the best ones?) and I also managed to squeeze in a super fast look at the Bowerbird Bazaar on Sunday before I started to wilt. I will take some pictures of the things I bought at the design market and post them later this week. Right now, I am going to drag myself back to bed for a wee snooze...

(P.S. Thank you to the lovely Kerry from The Seventy Tree - I feel so very honoured to be mentioned on your beautiful blog!)