Fave vintage finds.....

Dont laugh!  I love this Cocky ol' Rooster, oil painted by someone who put a lot of effort in and I just couldn't see it gather dust in an op shop longer than it had to.  I think he will have pride of place in my kitchen!  The King is not so sure....he'll warm to it ;)

'Be the Change you want to see in the world'........... Mahatma Gandhi

I am firstly going to tell you that I yielded, and *gulp* got up early this morning, and after a lovely snuggle with the King before the cat and puppy and 2 kids all jumped on us at 6(!) went and did the dishes..........and you know what it didnt hurt a bit!  LOL

I put that quote up as I have chosen it as my new mantra, because I repect the person who said it immensely, and also as it resonates with me and gives me the opportunity to take control of my own destiny instead of being pulled with the tide with no rhyme or reason.  As I have expressed in previous posts I have felt like it was slowly dragging me under over the last few years after our family suffered a trauma that was so (and I realise this is not the most eloquent turn of phrase but run with me) unexpected and shocking that it nearly tore us apart.  About the only thing I am grateful for the last 'phase' of my life is that we did not allow the cracks in the floor to widen enough to let us fall in, and took turns in pulling each other out of the chasm........as a result we know we can get through anything as a family and we have grown stronger as a result.  Dont get me wrong, we still have our issues....but we KNOW in our hearts that they are trivial so we move on from them quicker these days.....

'Be the change you want to see' in YOURSELF, is my way of interpreting Gandhi's quote, as if I can be proud of the person I am, and be strong for my family, I believe I have set the foundation for my children.......and that is my world ;)

So, after our early start, I went for a lovely walk with the poochies, listened to the birds sing and watched the sunrise and bathe the beautiful old houses and their 100 year old trees with a sepia glow that was just magical.   I came home and decided to be the one to break the cycle the King and I have been locked in for a few weeks, and that too was a magical moment.......the kids had a 30 minute challenge set to 'win' and we have so far not had a single roar from this old lioness.........breakfast in my patio to enjoy the morning some more before a warm shower and I can actually say that today is going to be a GOOD day, and I can allow my self time to close my eyes and  just BREATHE.

Hope your day is fantastic too, take time out for you!

Sunshine on a rainy day....

Have a fantastic day, and take time out for you xx

Its happened.....*jaws music* I've become a NAG!!

It seems the laid back woman of my youth, who I was happy just 'being', has been replaced with a narky, order barking, blood pressurised volcanohead of a woman obsessed with 'getting there on time'......nothing it seems is good enough (words courtesy of KK himself) and when I first heard the whining about how I am behaving I poo poohed it, and thought to myself "BAH, toughen up and just DO the bloody *insert here whatever had been sensibly delegated* and I wont have to"....

but it just dawned on me that I DONT have to, do I? 

After all, the house wont fall apart REALLY will it?

and another thing...I notice the more I rant and rave the less the kids listen to me and the more my head feels like its going to pop....

so....this afternoon when the cheeky monkey decided to throw a king size tanty in Big W because I wouldnt buy him $100 man size 'Steve Irwin' boots for his character costume this Friday.......I decided to let him carry on, and the 'other' eyes were on HIM not ME....I kept cool and he cooled down a lot quicker than usual.....and he EVENTUALLY did go and fix up the water bottle fridge which was a casualty of his thrashing arms.........

so.......cool and calm, thinking *calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean*  and I am NOT going to NAG about the dishes ......but I'm not going to DO them either. 

Wish me luck

x

Just because....hope it makes you smile as it does me ;)

rubber duckie

Rainy Day...perfect for vintage shopping....my fave find today:

Lots of retro tupperware bits and bobs and some dear little glass plates for serving homemade treats on....but my fave find today is this georgeous tray, not sure what to even do with it yet but......I just LOVE it.  You can see behind here in this pic the vintage fruit bowl I fell in love with on a previous tryst tee hee, please ignore the 'Ben 10 ' disc at the bottom I did not see until now, oh and any dust ;)

Isn't is funny how some things suddenly shimmy their way into your life and make your heart sing?

My 'reading' corner.

In a house full of need to do's, I felt the need to have a little  SPACE of my own, where I could catch the warm afternoon sun, enjoy a cup of tea and 'read'....or as is known to many...daydream.  This, like the rest of the old house is a work in progress and has been made up of mostly thrift shop finds, yesterday's wrought iron magazine rack still has the price tag on....thinking about painting that one white and see that lovely meat safe?  My Dad made that for me, how spoilt am I?  I am misusing it as a book shelf/gmaes cupboard atm, until I have enough space in the kitchen for it......note the ripped lino where Rosie Posy must have read my mind and thought she would HELP rip up the flooring to expose the old hardwood boards.......

I hope you have a place to escape, if only for a moment. x

Disclaimer: 1 x 5 y'olds grubby sock...I can't be everywhere now can I? 

Flowers shining through the rain.......

<>

See, she's not ALL bad, some lovely detail and great light, just a lot of 70's cover ups to get thru........

Gees, what can I say? Best left unsaid ;)

Our front to back yard, just screaming out for some retro pink flamingos......now fenced and with fruit trees, avocado, mango and lime (all makings for a yummy margarita!) a peach and white mulberry tree.

C'est monstrosity no?

For your amusement, our Monstrosity.......in all her naked glory!

Our back to front yard, back 'patio' area......

Madness at Monstrosity!

So, it has been a while since I last posted about...err....anything! 
Ummmm .....Sorry about that, I have been, erm, very busy and paired with poor internet connection it just got too hard.  You see I had taken over the role of 'breadwinner' since the King had temporarily fallen off his perch and had not found work since moving to our country town.....not the start we had hoped for.

I had never seen him so down.....didnt quite know what to do and had just resigned myself to needing to work about 1000 hours a week (nurses get such pooky wages!) and while driving the 25 mins to work along a beautiful river road in the early hours of the morning, the sight took my breath away, again.  This place never ceases to amaze me with its beauty...I asked Mother Universe if SHE could please make all this perfect and let the Kings job fall into place as we had dreamed.  That afternoon while suffering from a severe case of ManFlu and lying down in the bedroom, he got a phone call..... so a huge THANKYOU Mother Universe and we can now breathe a sigh of relief!

The house we sold in emotional circumstances has not really paid off.....however we have taken a deep breath and tried to remember exactly WHY we moved.  While we havent exactly profited and found we made crappy (albeit temporary) property moguls, we just realised that we have shed $300k of debt *HAPPY DANCE* and in the meantime picked up our new project...aka MONSTROSITY, said with love and affection for this silly old rambling house.

 I finally have some pics for you to peruse and perhaps guffaw at...but we loved the light and space in this house and *plan* (to plan lol) to strip her back to her mid century glory days inside....not sure exactly what those are just yet, thinking late 40's as she was built in 1939 according to her deeds, but has had a few add ons and all verandahs enclosed to make extra rooms and has windows all around.  This looks ok and has plenty of renovating potential from the INSIDE however from the outside she remains a big white monstrosity on a busy country corner.....so we are in the middle of negotiations (read arguments) about whether to add a deck/carport to give her some proportion and some much needed off street parking (especially since some A- grade poop head decided to walk over the bonnet on friday night when I left our car out).  

Starting first from the outside in, we have tidied up the patio out the back, removed the redback laced, lead painted picnic table, added a few chairs and an umbrella for Sunday morning brunch space, planted a lemon tree, kitchen herbs, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, violets & marigolds.  We have also planted fruit trees in the back to front yard (our front yard is our back yard...), had a fence built for privacy and a space for the kids & puppy to play.  Oh yes, did I mention the puppy?  She deserves a post all to herself, but thats another day ;)

Since moving here I have, pardon the pun, dusted off a lifelong passion for vintage homjewares and thrift stores and have had several impressive finds, including a wonderful red crackle 50's kitchen table, 2 x cedar wardrobes and a lovely 60's dresser for my daughters room.  We also bought 3 x 50's milk-bar type stalls to use in our 'bar' someday, for $2.50 each(yay!) and the cute 50's desk I am writing at as we speak was literally on the side of the road.  The cupboards were a 'love at first sight' kind of find, and I found an almost identical wardrobe in a very expensive local 'antique' store which shall remain nameless, for $980, so I feel pretty impressed with myself as we got ours for $20 at a garage sale, with no idea of their value. 
You might also like to look at the site I am LOVING right now: http://retrorenovation.com/ I particularly love their matra 'love the house you're in', it makes you look at your house with new eyes, and retro, just because, why not?  Its fun, quirky and kind to the budget and you can rest assured that your house will be no cookie cutter ;)
 

...and dont you think our front lawn is just SCREAMING out for some pink flamingo's? 

Thanks for popping by, please enjoy as we make fools of ourself during the renovation phase *grin*