deserted island decisions

so here are my choices if i were to be stuck on an island......

//food\\
starter: antipasto - cured meats, cheeses and pickled veg are just my go to!
main: fish curry - my first ever curry i tried was a fish curry and i still remember it in fine detail....
dessert: vanilla slice - i love the whole spectrum of 'snot blocks' from the school canteen ones with pink icing to the avante-garde with creamy white italian custard
drink: champagne no question :) dry and as cold as you can serve it!

//music\\
of course this one is a hard one.....even with being allowed one artists entire discography! my two toss-ups couldn't be further from one another. Sade or Bjork?  Its a tough one. Wow. I'm stuck. But I have to choose! Shit! Okay....SADE! There. *phewf* that was hard......

//object\\
this is a weird inclusion on my behalf. of course your immediate family is allowed on this island.....and i'm not even going to think of something smart like 'fridge' - i was thinking along the lines of the thing i find most beauty in and if it has a function or sentimentality then its an added bonus! but maybe i'd just like to say 'pen and paper' because i would be absolutely lost in this life if i could not write something down. but maybe lists would be redundant on this island?

//hobby\\
i'd love to say weaving although i've never done it before! and i'm wondering whether i'd have to choose between knitting or crochet or whether they count as the same thing? i'm rather accomplished at crochet but have a long way to go with knitting so knitting it is. it uses much more brainpower for me and i'd have all the time in the world..........right?

Catherine from Little Glowing Lights has joined in - head on over to check out her island life!

stuck on an island food

brown rice, cucumber, ricotta, chilli tuna, avocado and a sprinkling of tamari....

this would surely be one of my meals should i ever find myself deserted on an island with only a few choices FOREVER

makes me think about other things i'd bring with me if only one choice. music? clothes? object?

so tell me - what would you take if you could only take one of the following........

food: starter, main, dessert and drink
music: one artist's entire discography
object: your favourite belonging i guess
hobby: one kind of activity that could keep you satisfied forever

next post i'll tell you mine - join me, make a post and let me know!

off the needles

two 'man' beanies off the knitting needles...one for matt and one for pop john!

i use the 'purl soho winter beanies for everyone' pattern which is SO simple yet perfect and open to many variations! i highly recommend it. these are fairly plain versions but I've enjoyed making versions with simple stripes and bright block colours. they are great for my tired brain as they are easy yet satisfying!

next up! crochet blanky for baby anderson due in september....i'm looking forward to it!

roadtrippin'

we've been on a fair few trips interstate and also a trip to the grampians since Lottie was born however we've always been with family or friends! K had an rdo so we decided to head away for one night just the three of us. its the first time we've been away and had long car rides since we gave the dummy away and since Lottie has learnt to sleep - so we were a little scared - didn't want to upset the apple cart!

she was so amazing! she slept in the car, was dragged around from country op shop to country op shop, endured sleeping in a strange place/cot and absolutely LOVED the spa bath! it was so lovely to have a bath all the three of us. and it suddenly dawned on me - i love my little family more than anything in the whole entire world and there really are few things better than hanging out together.

i even managed a bit of knitting and now we're home, Lottie has popped her third toof! top left. *sigh* they just grow so quickly don't they?

hope everyones weekend was as equally delightful as ours.....

tucker time

seems like the ability to take a photo of the mini lady in focus is all but impossible as she's always on the go! tucker time is no exception.

thanks to one yellow jumpsuit for inspiring me to share a little gif love! you can too - right here!

i feel like.........

i feel like wearing something like this...........

found here and here!
(i already have the clogs! been thinking of another pair....a blue low pair. which along with my high black patent pair would make it 3 pairs! they are just so versatile and so, so, so strong. i hate shoes these days - you pay $300 for them and they break in a season)

scarf, scoff, sleep, surprise!

the most beautiful hand dyed scarves by UNIFORM NATURAL - which one would you choose? I'm loving the mustard (of course) the fuschia (of course) but long to be as restrained as a one of the muted greys or even that very light pinky one.

another brilliant weekend here. visit from best friend. meeting mums at the bar for wine. eating the best hand made noodles on our side of town.....

lottie pearl has also "slept through" for the last 5 nights........i still give her a dream feed and she's still getting the hang of waking up at a civilised time but we are getting there!

and finally? some big change on our horizons. stay tuned!

love to everyone on this sunday xxx

vitamin c(raft)

some homemade baby toys we've made up to keep us from climbing the walls on those days when the weather doesn't permit any strolling! 

.....happy to drink fresh squeezed orange juice in order to get the orange mesh bag to stuff with cellophane!

time flies......

today lottie pearl is 6 months old. wow. words can't describe these last 6 months. is it possible to feel more like yourself at the same time as feeling completely reborn? maybe something like seeing an old lover - so familiar yet you have no idea who they are now.

ive finished off her 'birth' box - everything from pregnancy photos, hospital bands, birth cards and silly mementos like scribblings of feed times stained with coffee - and i have to say it feels amazing and definitely a relief to box up and say goodbye to the last 6 months. our lives have been changed irrevocably. never have i before had a job that goes 24/7, a job that requires so many decisions, a job that punches the wind out of my lungs as i gasp in wonder at the love i have for this tiny human.

i don't think this fumbling feeling will ever fade but these mama pants are fitting better, closer, every day. as i put the birth box away it feels as though we are emerging. i childishly feel as though i've been forgotten by a good few people. i feel like shouting "we've survived! i'm still here! come and play!" but i'm not too sure if anyone would hear. hard not to feel hurt but instead, trying to gather all this new found steam inside me. A good portion going towards the next 6 months, a reduced but sizeable hunk for kee and lastly, setting aside a little for myself - this new albeit familar self - with even more outrageous goals and dreams than ever before.

saturday splits

saturday splits : i get the first half of the day off, k gets the second half of the day off!

i had breakfast at el joyero, went for a joyride whilst listening to the sugarcubes and the immaculate collection by madonna and having a stingingly strong coffee in a little greek cafe complete with 80's floral table arrangements of carnations {love} and of course picking up the overlocker.

if i were still a photographer (in the occupational sense) i would have loved to have done a shoot there. all beige and monochromatic and lovely in the ugliest of ways. definitely heading back there as it is close to one of my fave clothes stores toolz

saturday morning

kee has lottie duty this morning and unfortunately her noises awaken my infernal (& internal) mama instincts and i can't sleep in! BUT i can lay in bed and read and drink my morning stovetop coffee and FEEL as though i were relaxing. but tragically, all i can think about is her. how much did she eat for breakfast? is that whimpering i hear because she isn't comfortable? whats happening out there!!!!

mama bear instinct....sometimes i love you. you make decisions, and good ones, without even consulting my brain. but sometimes, just sometimes i wish you'd switch the hell off so i could RELAX!

saturday is our switch up day so i'm quite excited. i get the first half of the day off and then we swap. I just zoom past to boob her when she needs. i think i'm going to perve at paper at Zetta Florence and also pick up my overlocker!

yep. you got me.

okay - our life is FAR from perfect. sometimes it really annoys me how everyone 'assumes' K and I have the perfect little relationship. we've had just as many hard times, if not more and being married is NO picnic, let me assure you.

HOWEVER - there are moments like yesterday when he comes home from work (as an electrician's apprentice) all grubby and tired and he produces a gift such as this.....

a turquoise platignum rollerball pen - with the disclaimer "I know you wanted a ballpoint instead of a rollerball and you wanted black ink rather than blue....but the colour was just perfect!"

thankyou for always listening to my continual dribbling about all manner of things. even if sometimes you don't answer, i know its all filtering through :)

i love you xxx

teeny tiny textile

one day i'll be as awesome as sheila hicks but right now there is a large cavernous space between my weaving abilities and hers.....

so this is "one step closer to sheila" - an homage to all those friendship bracelets i made as a child and sold from a wrapped cardboard box for 5 cents as a lucky dip with the girl over the road, Jadee Dodd. we used to sit in the sun, our knees all scabby from rollerskating stacks, holding the embroidery thread between our toes as we plaited and knotted away.

a teeny tiny piece of knotmaking.

BUT the real fun starts when I do my full day workshop intro to machine knitting at popcraft. this will be a long life goal achieved and definitely one step closer to sheila!

colour me happy

its thursday - almost time for the LONG weekend....even though mum has gone, we've had a fab couple of days. i'm really enjoying all the giggling sessions Lottie Pearl and I seem to get up to these days. kinda like we have a continual private joke about nothing but which makes us lose it every time! i'm never shy about playing games with her on a bus or in public even though i must sound mad!

i'm hoping to finish off the handmade albums i've been working on of Lottie's birth and first few days home and i'm also hoping to go and put an overlocker on layby!!! *eeep* it feels a little crazy buying something so huge when i have such little crafting time but from all accounts these things save you STACKS of time......especially when sewing for the mini lady.

and on a more existential note - do you find it a positive or a negative to always dream or wish you were doing something different, being somewhere else? does it mean you are never happy with right now or do you think it is part of life to dream about your future?

apologies - can't remember where on ETSY i found these tin cups......

weekend

my mum visited this weekend all the way from perth. it meant k & i could sneak off for a few of life's luxuries like dinners, climbing, crafting and pubbing!

mum (or Gran) left last night and we miss her so much already. watching her play with Lottie Pearl i saw so much of myself. my mum never had a career as such but i think she did such an amazing job with us 3 kids. i'm proud to see myself as a mama in her. at times, i wish it were like the olden days and she lived just down the street. not to be in this modern world.....

on another note....i've been thinking about how many real friends i have. i heard an article on ABC radio about how many friends a person has. how many do you think you have? i've always been quality over quantity but particularly now with a baby i think my circle of friends has become even smaller. and i know i appreciate so much the friendship i have gained through this here blog.

above are some horses from our collection of horse paintings. one day we'll have that house, with a big fireplace and a wall full of horses......

update: owl binky is officially ACCEPTED!

fuel for my engine

sometimes its hard, with everything going on in my head and in the day to remember to eat. which is silly cause i'll have more energy if i put more fuel into my engine!

here are some lunches from this week. tuna and ricotta salad with a few crisps and a pumpkin and boiled egg vindaloo.

add a cup of tea and a few moments of silence whilst bebe is sleeping and you have one temporarily happy and satiated mama!

update: don't think my owl binky is going to fool Lottie.....she seems determined to reach for the ugly pink thing! maybe i need to add some satin to the owl to try and compete!

binky + whats in yr bag?

turquoise seems to be a coincedental theme as of late......

this is whats in my bag (encouraged via Dos Family)

and since we've given away the dummy, Lottie Pearl has taken to a disgusting pale pink satin blanky thing with a bear head. It was given to her......I don't know why I find it so gross (maybe the already stinky sucked on ears) but in case she gets extra attached to her 'Binky' I thought it smart if I could make them myself. So tonight we'll test if she likes this! It has spent a few nights under my pillow to get my smell on it......

very selfish but it makes a mama feel better if it is homemade. waaaay better than super-synthetic-light-a-match-to-it-and-it-will-explode version. plus, it was nice to use the sewing machine for the first time in a long time!

5 minute crafting

i miss craft. i miss the luxury of spending a day with all my shit sprawled over our table and just pecking at bits and pieces as inspiration hits me.

so this hama bead necklace was just a moment of loveliness where my old friend Craft and I sat down to catch up. We had nothing original to say. We just reminded each other that even though we don't get to see each other that often anymore we still think of each other, often.

5 minute crafting is where its at these days!

postal pleasures

a package of love from way out west! thankyou ninny!

happy socks, beautiful felting wool (colours of course are perfect!), organic seeds and a paper duck all wrapped up and posted in hand-printed paper.

5 minute crafting - here i come! (more on that later.....)