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Hooray for birthday presents from lovely twin sisters! The sweetest locket and little papery goods from Emily Martin.

Thanks dear sister! xx

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My dreams of having a vegetable garden are coming to fruition. Corn, snow peas, tomatoes, lettuce and watermelon seedlings have been planted to begin with, into our freshly dug over garden bed. While another garden bed has been spread with horse manure and mushroom compost and will be planted out in time. Yesterday we visited our local garden center for inspiration. Isn't is adorable? (Did you spot the lizard in the first pic?)  As a result of our visit my mental wish list of plants has grown considerably.

We have identified a small mango tree growing in our yard, as well as what we are confident is a macadamia nut tree. For my birthday I was lucky enough to be gifted a lovely Mulberry plant, which will find it's way into the yard once some of the unwanted shrubs and trees have been removed. (Palm trees, how immensely I dislike you and the orange nuts and massive leaves you scatter beneath you.) We hope to add more fruit trees along the back fence as well as more veggie beds with time, should my thumb prove green enough. What's growing in your garden?

Christmas Decoration Tutorials

L to R: Bugs and Fishes pinecones, Mary and Laura's felt ornaments,Bugs and Fishes Vintage felt ornaments, 
Zakka Life Christmas ornament, Big Box Detox Felt Bows,  Purl Bee Fall Leaf Coasters,
Bugs and Fishes Puddings, Crafty-licious acorns, Felt Owls.  

Happy Monday folks! With only one more birthday left before Christmas, my attentions have turned towards decorations. (And felt. I love felt. Don't you?) I can't wait to put our tree up this year with the little mans help. He did so love to rearrange the decorations last year after all. But we shall be waiting until the 1st of December, as is tradition.

It wasn't until we had Cohen that we started our family Christmas traditions. Before that we had no tree and no decorations, which seems a little sad now. Children do tend to change all that. Since then I have been adding to our box of decorations each year, both before and after Christmas. And while last year I focused on hand making gifts. This year I think a few simple handmade decorations are in order instead.

I have found some wonderful tutorials online and feel that a trip to the craft store is in order. Do you have any plans for home made decorations this year? Or have you already been working on Christmas crafts? Please leave a link in your comments if you have so we can come and visit!

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I had such a wonderful time at my 30th birthday picnic party yesterday, as Fiona and I both celebrated with friends and family. There was cake, a pinata and presents. Decorations, picnic blankets and delicious food. Sugar fueled laughing children, one very well fed dog and fun to be had in the photo booth. I really couldn't have asked for more. 

Many thanks to everyone who came! What a gift it is to have such beautiful friends.

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As preparations begin for our birthday picnic party tomorrow, I thought I would leave you with some images of our actual birthday adventures...

 

Noticing, appreciating, participating, celebrating.
Southbank. GOMA. City.

My Creative Space

Thanks for all your lovely birthday wishes yesterday! I had a lovely day indeed and will share photos of my adventures tomorrow.

In our creative space this week, Cohen and I have been making more wrapping paper. This time we collected leaves from the garden, blobbed paint onto baking paper, lay the leaves on top and pressed them to the paper. Perfectly pitched to the talents and attention span of an almost-three-year-old (next month in fact! I can hardly believe it myself!)

I have been thinking about further Christmas craft, but thinking is as far as I have gotten so far. I'd like to blame the heat and pregnancy for that. I made so many gifts last year, yet I can't see it happening this year. Rather than feel guilty about it or putting pressure on myself, I am reminding myself about the joys of having a simple Christmas and I am celebrating the achievement of home made wrapping paper too.

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More Creative Spaces here.

30

I never really thought about where I would be, or who I would be, by the time I turned thirty. Thirty seemed quite old to me as a child, as did twenty-one, though that number seemed to have more glamour. Perhaps being a wife and mother, renovating a house and working in my studio is without glamour. Perhaps our days of world travelling and nights out partying are behind us for awhile. But thirty comes with a sense of success and fulfillment that has taken me this long to achieve and appreciate. As well as many dreams for the future. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy birthday dear twin sister, half of my heart and closest friend. I love you. I love you.

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25 weeks.

There seems to be so much else to focus on at the moment, that I have to remind myself to slow down and enjoy this pregnancy. To be still and feel the baby, think about the future and take care of myself. With 15 weeks to go, baby seems to be making the most of the available room, before things get too cramped. Our little one loves to stretch, dance and kick. Patient Dada has even felt our little one's firm movements twice now, after several attempts. Cohen has less patience and prefers to blow raspberries on my tummy, or wrap his arms around me and bury his little nose in my belly button and then laugh and laugh.

My bump feels such a part of me this time that I sometimes forget that I am pregnant. Then I catch sight of myself reflected in a window, or Cohen touches my belly and reminds me, "Bubba in there."

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Children are so very physical by comparison to adults. Especially almost three year old boys I am finding. They are always doing, rarely sitting. Mostly running, rarely walking. And loud, really rather loud a lot of the time. And then sometimes they are so taken by their play that they 'work' silently for long stretches of time, digging, raking, filling the wheelbarrow, tipping it out and starting all over again, stopping only to inform you 'Mama, dirt in shoe. Yuck.' 

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The last of the three bed rooms. This is the progress in the nursery so far, though it won't be finished until after the baby is born and we know the sex. Then we can finish decorating. In the meantime we are keeping it quite plain and neutral. This was how the room looked when we brought the house, this is how it looked after receiving a new ceiling, new paint, as well as having the carpets removed and the floor boards polished.

And this is how it is looking now-

The cot and change table were both Cohen's. The cot we brought from ebay, the change table from Ikea. The glass light cover was thrifted for $2.

This sweet old chair was my Grandmothers, the cushion was thrifted, the doll hiding in the cot was mine as a child.

This wardrobe is another ebay find we brought recently for $40. One day it will receive a new coat of paint and some new handles. And that little vintage dress? Well, I could not resist it and as we have Cohen's things should this baby be a boy, it seemed only fair to have a few things just in case it is a girl.

Thrifted 'Baby' embroidered pillowcase, baby shoes and vase. Porcelain bird house from Spotlight.

And a few more vintage dresses inside, just in case...

This room is also waiting on curtains and a rug. I can't wait to fill those little empty frames after baby is born. I have my eye out for a lamp table and a nice lamp, as well as a mobile. I love walking into this space though and imagining welcoming our new little one come March.

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I'm going slowly today, thinking over ten years of memories of my dearest friend. Despite a year passing, the loss feels no less.

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October, November and December are all birthday months in our house. First Dada, then Mama, then Cohen. Which makes it a little difficult to start thinking about Christmas until all our special days are out of the way. I still promise myself each Christmas that next  year I will start a little earlier. Do you do this too? 

So we decided to make a start on wrapping paper this morning. I made a star potato stamp, which Cohen thought was wonderful. He happily finger painted and stamped until he declared it was time to 'wash Mama' and toddled off to wash his hands. 

Next I suppose I shall have to start thinking about cards, decorations and gifts. Especially given that we shall be hosting the whole family for Christmas at our house and I will be 30 weeks pregnant by that time. What do you have in mind for Christmas this year?

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PS. Congratulations to my beautiful sister for winning a National Library Summer Scholarship! You clever girl you!