This week

• Our kids went to bed at midnight. Twice.
• I gave the children raisin toast for dinner. Just the once;)
• We had our friends over for 'Christmas drinks'.
• I made our Christmas pudding.
• I thrifted a piece of milkglass. Yippeeeee, rare as hens teeth around here.
• My bff arrived in town for Christmas.
• The postie delivered some happy mail.
• I had a Boxing day nap.
• There has been a lot of tv watching, wii playing, lego building, reading, playdough squishing, painting, swimming and chocolate eating.
• A special Christmas with a new baby in our family-her first 'Santa photo' with great Pa.
• We walked around our neighbourhood on Christmas eve to look at the lights.
• We are living on left overs.

We had a wonderful Christmas! 
Did you?!

Treasure hunting

I've been meaning to post a few bits and pieces I have picked up 'around the traps'.

Firstly, this coffee sack was purchased from the swap meet. Just $5.00
My better half is a big coffee connoisseeur so I had him in mind when I spotted this. I am thinking a big cushion on back our verandah where he drinks he morning coffee. Might be a bit scratchy?! Do you think?

This pretty teatowel was discovered at some handmade markets. I bought it from a lovely stall filled with beautiful vintage linens (no wonder the oppies are bare). It was well worth the $10.00 to me. I love the colours and it's in mint condition.

This beautiful picture was inherited from Nanna Belle-the Mr's grandma. It will make it's way into a Christmas display of some sort, I think.

And last but by no means least, a much needed lemon squeeze.
(Marleen, I know you wanted one of these ages ago. I think you may have found one but if not, this one is your okay?!)

Things I've learned lately

Sometimes...sometimes you just have to let it go.

Sometimes a good cry makes you feel a whole lot better.
So does a run.
And a chat with a best friend.
And even a good whine wine.

A bit of op shopping can be good therapy too;)
Especially when you find the glasses that match your carafe. $1.00 for the lot! Now I have six glasses and TWO carafes!

This linen teatowel  struck a chord with me.
I bumped into the Mr in Tathra one New Years Eve, many, many moons ago. The rest is history.

I also popped this old desk into the boot of my car. It fit like a glove so it was obviously meant to be.

Have you found any treasures lately?
What makes you feel better when things are a bit blah?
Hope your weekend is wonderful.

Ornament swap

I posted off my ornament swap package last week. I think it should have arrived at it's new home by now.

As well as my ornament, I stitched up a garland made from a vintage music book. It's a nice 3m, so long enough for the tree. I also folded some Christmas illustrations into envelopes. Lovely for a Christmas note to someone special or great for gift vouchers! Hope you liked your package Jen!

I also received my swap package and am beyond thrilled!
Not one, but four absolutely gorgeous crocheted baubles. I love the combination of colours! They will make a beautiful addition to our Christmas decor. How clever is Kat! Must learn to crochet!!!
Thanks again Kat! I love them!

A huge thank you to Christina for organising the ornament swap. I really appreciate all the effort into organising this. It is lovely to take part in these swaps and even lovlier to meet a bunch of new to me bloggers and visit their little spaces. Christina is currently showcasing some fantastic makers on her blog. Pop over to do some Christmas shopping while supporting handmade. There's lots of lovely giveaways too. Thanks again Christina! You are so generous of your time.

Happy December!

I love Christmas and all it's bells and whistles but truthfully, I find it such a busy and often hectic time of year.
Our calendar is filled to the brim with end of year school activities, Christmas functions for work, school and sport, hospital appointments and a couple of birthdays thrown in for good measure. My head is abuzz with all the Christmas things I want to do with and for our family.

To prioritise what is truly important to me, I  thought would make a bit of a list of things that I want to do or participate in, during the weeks ahead. I must mention that I am not normally a list girl. More of a fly by the seat of your pants type girl. Let's see how it goes though hey!

1. Put up the Christmas tree
2. Organise the Christmas books
3. Do Mum's Christmas shopping
4. Listen to a Christmas CD in the car on the way to school
5. Create a Christmas display in the entry
6. Donate gift to the Kmart Christmas Tree
7. Make strawberries dipped in white choc and green sprinkles
8. Take kids to Mr's work Christmas party
9. Sew Christmas skirts for girls (do not leave this until Christmas Eve this year!)
10. Finalise my Christmas shopping
11. Wrap Christmas gifts
12. Make Christmas deco for our Christmas dinner host
13. Make Bubba's chocolate/pistacchio stuff and package some for friends
14. Take kids to Tball Christmas party
15. Donate groceries to charity 
16. Finalise my Christmas shopping!!!
17. Watch a Christmas movie
18. Invite friends over for Chrissy drinks
19. Bake and decorate Christmas cupcakes with children
20. Take kids to get annual 'Santa photo'
21. Make reindeer food
22. Go for a drive to see the Christmas lights
23. Visit Bethlehem display at local school
24. Organise a snack for Santa and crew

I am thinking I should bump that Santa photo up the list a bit. Every year I leave it until the last minute and the queues are HUGE!

Are you a list girl?
Do you get the 'Santa photo' taken too?

Joy

I signed up for Christina's ornament swap and I've been meaning to post my Christmas deco.

My brief mentioned that vintage was good so going with the vintage theme I pulled out some vintage laces, some precious buttons gifted from The Mr's Nanna and some fabric from a thrifted pillow case. This deco just kind of evolved as I started stitching. I must say it turned out somewhat different to what I had in my head. Funny... Does that happen to you too?

It measures about 6x4 inches and although it's not very 'Christmasy' I am happy with the end result. 
Fingers crossed it will be much loved by it's recipient.

Are you participating in the ornament swap too?
Check out everyones makings over here. Wonderful!

It's a dotty kind of day!

Miss 3 tried her hand at making some wrapping this week.

We used some sheets of pattern paper. I use this a lot when I am gift wrapping. I love a simple brown paper package and the pattern gives it just a little more interest I think.

This wrapping however needed a pop of colour as well because it's for a small person.
Lulu used these paints. They are $3.95 each at Riot Art and Craft.

I love them! They are ready to use, practically mess free and super easy to clean up. They are great for toddler hands too. And you can sing the dotty song while you are painting. You know the one...put a dot over here and a dot over there...

Lulu wanted to keep on dotting so we made a little artwork for her room as well.

Have a great weekend!

Meet Harmony

This morning I had the absolute privilege of watching my beautiful niece bring her baby girl into the world.

Birth is such a sacred and vulnerable thing.
There are no words...

So truly grateful I was able to share in this miracle. It will be etched in my heart forever.

Smelling the roses

If truth be told my house is a mess at the moment. I have stuff crammed in every nook and cranny. I could show you some photos but maybe you have your own mess (tell me you do) or maybe you don't. You might be one of those super organised people. I am not.

So what to do when feeling overwhelmed by the cleaning, washing, folding, cooking...and that's before I get to the nook and crannies.
You pick flowers. Yep you pick flowers with your littlest love and make a happy space.

Little Miss had a lovely time arranging her flowers and I had a lovely time watching. After she had them carefully arranged in 3 then 4 then 5 jars- I set them up on the dining table on an old piece of wood I had previously salvaged from the wood heap at the inlaws place. It's actually a lovely minty green with a lot of character.

Sometimes arranging some flowers and snapping a few photos is just enough to fill my creative cup!
Now I am off to tackle the mess but every once and a while I'll look over at my happy place and stop to smell the roses.

What is making you happy today?
Do you have roses at your place?
Is your place a mess like mine?

Scraps

Recently I was lucky enough to receive a huge bundle of quilting scraps from Sarah.

Despite my own scrap bucket spilling over, I was more than happy to have some new prints and colours. Sewing has not been a high priority lately but I figured half the work was done with these lovely triangles.

It has some dark denim on the back and I very pleased to say I made three buttonholes on the back. hahha my very first buttonhole ;) I read those instructions with gusto and had a practise on some scrap and the rest is history. Yep! I am pretty pleased with myself.

Have you mastered any new skills lately?
Do you loathe reading instructions too? Ick!
Thanks again Sarah!

Holiday thrifting

Before we left on our trip, I worded the Mr up about stopping at op shops and markets along the way. I gave him good warning that I wanted to stop when I spotted something of interest. He couldn't believe my ability to spot a salvo's or a vinnies sign from afar. He is a patient man indeed. Sometimes I scooted in quickly while he looked after the gang. Other times we made a morning of it and visited a number of oppies. I really had my heart set on some milkglass but unfortunately no such luck!
These lovely treasures made their way home with me nonetheless.

Cheerful Johnson set, new to me design.
Glass apple dish...perfect for this dip and some delicious fruit pieces.
Doilies
Children's book. Love the saturated colours in the illustrations.
Pillow case
Floral sheet

Loads of books were also thrifted, read along the way and donated back at the next oppy. Mostly by our little bookworm, Miss Bella.

I also added another little cloche to the collection. This was purchased at Alittle Antique in Port Macquarie. It's a gorgeous little shop. Worth a visit if you are in the area. Port Maquarie was the last place we visited before heading home so this made for a lovely keepsake of our travels, I think.

Have you been thrifting lately?
I am finding the treasure hunting a bit hit and miss these days.

Margie's Marshmallow Salad

It's 'a retro cook' off and I am jumping in with a childhood favourite.
To be honest, I feel like a bit of a fraud really...I'm not sure if 3 ingredients constitutes a recipe but I was raised on this stuff so here goes.

Margie's Marshmallow Salad

2 x cans of mandarin segments
1 x packet marshmallows (beware of sneaky little hands)
1 x carton sour cream

Combine sour cream and marshmallows.
Drain mandarin segments and gently fold into sour cream and marshmallows.
Refridgerate for a few hours. Serve chilled.

My Mama usually whipped this up with a bbq. It was always served as a salad despite being more like a sweet. Have you ever tried it? Maybe you have your own version.

Big thanks to Kylie and Donna for hosting the 'retro cook off'. Check out the smorgasbord here. It's absolutely delightful! I can't wait to try the Black Magic Chocolate Cake made with condensed tomato soup!

Bunting

I had a rummage through my thrifted doily stash the other day and chose a bundle to stitch into some bunting. I don't think I'll ever become tired of the humble doily. So much potential or just perfect as is.

Do you like doily bunting too?
This one needs a new home. Do you have some place to hang it?

I am offering this bunting up as my 'craft it forward' gift. All you have to do is promise to craft something else forward. There is no looming due date by which you need to craft it forward. I received this beautiful cushion cover from Zara yonks ago as part of 'craft it forward'. Gosh I haven't said that for a very long time. Did you ever say 'yonks'..maybe you still do.

All doilies have been collected on my op shopping adventures. The binding is made from a yellow floral sheet, also thrifted. It measures just short of 3m, so nice and long.

Please let me know if you would like it. First in, wins.