Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Retro Depot

I'm blowing the dust and cobwebs off my keyboard, and breaking through the ice that seems to have formed on my blog! Poor, neglected space. I do love this little patch of mine, but actually MAKING the time to write anything worth hitting the "publish" button on is another matter, sometimes.

I have something to share though, that quite literally makes me bubble with excitement at the thought of it...
RETRO. Ahh yes. The sweet of enticement of something that came from a time when things were simpler. When people had a back yard to put a dog in. when children played under sprinklers with joyful abandon. When men up and down the street could be seen out mowing their lawns on a weekend morning, smiling and waving to one another. A time when you had to pick up your phone and actually dial in each number to talk to a friend - or even better - when you sat out on your front verandah and sipped cool drinks with your friends/neighbours. Rather like in one of my fave songs, Mayberry (Country music isn't usually my thing - but this one just strikes a chord with me).

Vintage desk lamps in cool retro colours
Image Via

This coming weekend, The Old Bus Depot Markets in Canberra are hosting Retro Depot. I don't want to sound like a cracked record, but it's time to get your groove back, if you forgot where you left it! ;)

Friday, August 8, 2014

Here's the Buzz: Busy Bee & Friends Invite


You may have noticed that the past few posts have had a general theme running through them. Bees. My little boy has had a thing for bees ever since clapping eyes on The Hive - particularly Buzzbee. So it was only natch that I themed his second birthday around bees. Yes. Sigh. My baby is a baby no longer (Not sure how long it will really take to get that concept gelled in my head).


I designed the invites, and then when his cousin also had a bee themed party, decided that I had better change the design at short notice, since quite a few of the design elements were the same. (I don't know what is going on with my camera, but every now and then it makes the corner of the photographs shadowed.)

 
And this is what I did with my happy little friends from yesterday's post. I don't have a scanner of my own (sad, I know), so my hubby was wonderful enough to go and do it for me. :)


The envelopes were simple: I just grabbed white envelopes (note to self - find envelopes to fit BEFORE you make the invites - I had trouble finding ones the right size, and ended up having to use regular business envelopes), and then embellished them with some honeycomb paper that hubby designed for me. It pays to have an IT guru in the house! ;) I cut it out in random patterns and glued it on with a glue stick. Yes, I realise that I could have probably printed it on the envelope, but I kinda liked it better this way.

 Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I'm hoping to be back next week with some more party goodies (and an down loadable page of the honeycomb!)

Flying away now! 

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Watercolour Paint

Just before the last school holidays, I put in an order for some very cool things from an online store that is based just a suburb over from where I live. In that order was some pretty new watercolour paints. I was itching to break them out and have a play, so while doing a little design work for the latest of birthday parties to come our way, I found the perfect way to utilise them.

Just two little bee  pencil sketches that I filled in with my new Seedling watercolours, and then traced the outline of with a black felt tip pen. I love them.


Happy, friendly little fellas, they are.


My humble apologies for the dodgy photographs - it was quite dark when I took the photos.

Have you played with watercolours lately? It really was fun. I'm so sold on it that I'm going to have to break out other paint forms soon I believe!

Don't fly away now, I'll be back tomorrow to show you what I used them for! :)




Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Juggling

A bit of this and that lately...

My Mum, post-op after she had surgery for a hole torn in her macular (the back of her eye).


 This was her first outing post-op. We took her to Bobbin Head to get her out of the house so she didn't get cabin fever and start climbing the walls. It was a challenge - she had to keep her head down pretty much all the time for the first 2-3 weeks post-op so the gas they had put in her eye would put pressure on the tear. Not fun for her. Or her neck and shoulders (which were really sore the first week). She did get to watch some sail boats going by though, and we took a short walk (which was all she was allowed to do) down one of the tracks - and she commented that it was nice to get into the bush where it was quiet.

My baby boy, who decided to tangle with the sprocket and chain on the pedal go cart while his biggest brother was on it (and whom thankfully was back pedaling - not pedaling forward - or it would have taken the end of his finger right off!!!).

Two trips to emergency - one at our local hospital on the day of the aforementioned accident, and the other the following day to Westmead Children's Hospital, where the plastics team cleaned, checked for damage to tendons, removed the destroyed fingernail, and stitched it all back together again. I have to say, I am now a fan of general anesthetics. Holding my baby while he quietly went to sleep for the surgery (while he was watching the surgeon and his assistant blowing bubbles no less - it was pretty funny - looking back on it), not having him yell and cry from the pain, and not having to hold him still are a big plus in my books. To those who worked personally with him, I send you a huge thank you.


Here  is his sock-clad (to keep it clean...ish) fist. If anyone knows of a way to keep a 2 year old still while they take a photo of their hand... let me know! LOL

Today would have been my parents 54th wedding anniversary. Makes me both smile, and just a bit wistful.

And the final one... nursing the rest of the family, as one after they other they fall plagued with some nasty flu bug. One that delivers high temperatures, listlessness while sleeping and vomiting. Yes, there is washing banking up... and it's the "clean" stuff - the general wear clothing that isn't decorated with former meals.

To those wonderful people who signed up to be pattern testers - you really made me smile! And I thank you. I WILL get the pattern to you, right after I pick up things off the floor, do the dishes, put on another load of washing, dole out copious quantities of panadol/neurofen/antibiotics, fall exhausted into bed.

I'll be back soon with some more buzz...

Flying away now!




Friday, June 27, 2014

Bee a Pattern Tester




These little guys would like a few pattern testers to make sure they are fine for general crocheting happiness.
Drop me an email or leave a comment letting me know if you are interested.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Crochet Bees + Pattern Coming Soon!

Well it's been a little while since I've posted anything substantial around these parts. Things have been rather quiet on the blog front in fact... even if at home things have been anywhere from the usual busy slog of household things, having my mum here on several occasions for medical reasons, and the school slog.

BUT. In all of that my hook has been playing, I've been drawing a little, painting a little, cooking tasty treats, and attempting to source interesting things with a certain theme in mind.

Remember these little balls of yellow sunshine that I posted about back in May?



Well here is what they turned into!


After lots of looking around for a pattern that I liked, I decided to stop wasting time and just make one myself. I'm looking forward to making it available, but it hasn't had any pattern testing yet, so if you are interested in testing it out, please send me an email. I'd hate to get you making something that has bugs! (Bees are fine! ;) Oh boy. The humour is a bit wonky at this hour.)


These little fellas have given me endless smiles. I made the wings from ovals of lining fabric scraps left over from my wedding dress... ehem... some 12 1/2 years ago. Yes. I hoard things.

What kinds of things do you hoard? Tell me I'm not the only hoarder out there! (Please? Pretty please?)

Hope your day is full of buzz-i-ness. :)


Check out my link party page to see some of the great places I'm sharing this project. :)

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Orange and Raspberry Smoothie - Cheers!

I don't care that we are just over one week from winter (one week!!!), the weather has been so gloriously warm that I couldn't resist something fruity and cool with lunch today.

I give you...


The orange and raspberry smoothie!

Pretty sure this isn't an original idea, but it was so basic to make and so incredibly delicious that I thought I'd share it anyway.

Ingredients:
2 oranges - cut in wedges and peeled
Approximately 1/2 a cup of frozen raspberries

Put ingredients in food processor (I used the jug that came with my Bamix) and process till it's basically smooth.

Pour into a pretty glass and enjoy!

I will say that this makes enough for a large glass - or 1 1/2 smaller glasses. And I did have to fight the boys off to get ANY. Little Clam would have drunk all of it if I let him (he got the half glass), and Baby Starfish (who's not really a baby anymore) tried to scarf all of my glass full.

So go on, get off your computer and go make one! You can come back and thank me later! ;)



Monday, May 5, 2014

A Little Splash of Sunshine on a Cool and Windy Day

For the past little while I've been quietly working with a ball of yellow yarn. Secretly squirreling away a moment here and a moment there to add another row to each of these little curvey sphere-like shapes.


One by one they join the other's on the plate - a happy little spot of bright warmth in the steadily cooling weather. Just looking at them over this past weekend has been a moment of visual snuggly-ness. Saturday was a chilly 16 degrees C (OK, so for those of you who live in snowy areas, I don't like the cold. And houses in Sydney are not built for the cold. I did grow up in an area where there would be frost on the ground every day in winter {parts of autumn and spring too}, but it's just not my cup of tea. Ohhhhh. Just thinking of tea has me wanting to reach for a cup of T2's Turkish Apple tea - or my fave Symington's Dandilion Tea.
Right. That's it. I'm off for a cup of the latter!

Enjoy your day - and may your cup be full of something good!


Sunday, May 4, 2014

Where the Rubber Meets the Road - or in this case - Where the Shoe meets the Track

Years ago I met this guy while on an expedition (3 day hike) who I thought at the time was part crazy, part talented, and definitely liked to "aim for the sky". Turns out I was probably right on all accounts. Darren has recently started training for what I would term a Marathon hike - the Bibbulmun Track. The record for the shortest time that it has been done (unsupported) in was 17 days, 15 hours, and 10 minutes (for those who are counting!). How many Kilometers, I hear you ask? 1000!!! (Refer to the 3 previous criteria that I thought he fitted in to).

The thing is, he is motivated to do it in part by the fact that he is aiming to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) because his wife and other special people in his family have Type 1 Diabetes. Talk about ways of saying "I love you" to the person who matters most in your life! He's new to the blog scene too, so if you have a minute, pop over and give him some encouragement!

Hope your weekend has been brilliant!


P. S. I'll be back tomorrow with a little splash of colour...

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Weekend Wanderings - Brooklyn on the Hawksbury

Wow. It feels like forever since I have done one of these posts. I'm sure we must have taken trips out and about, but I obviously never paid them much mind.

Our destination this time was Brooklyn, on the Hawksbury river. It's a gorgeous little spot, and one that has always made me sigh with pleasure when I drive by.









We did a section of the Great North Walk. It's the first time baby Starfish has gone under his own power, rather than using the pram or the child carrier (We still had to carry him part of the way back, but it was way past his nap time, so I think that can be excused, ;) don't you? ). Some of the walk was really steep, but all the boys did splendidly. I am so proud of them!

We walked along until we hit the dam that supplies Brooklyn's water. The reflections were Monet-esq at that time of the day - I can only imagine how good they would have been earlier in the morning. We found animal trails in the sand, and there were ants galore. On the track. Beside the track. And lets not forget to mention termite nests in trees. Hubby showed the boys how to collect nectar from the bottle brush flowers and eat it... which they loved so much it took an age to move up the track. At least until they spotted the next plant anyway - then they ran up the track till they arrived at "honey destination". There also was this little cave off to the side of the track about half way along that opened from both sides, which we had to stop and have our photo taken in. You should have seen the masterful way hubby manhandled some fallen branches and twigs to set up an impromptu camera holder (that was about as high as he was) so we could all be in the photos.

We capped off the day at Pie in the Sky for lunch (near Cowan). If you are in the area, and you've never been before, the pies are yummy, and well worth stopping for. I had a Lamb, Honey, Chili and garlic pie. You might think that it sounds a quirky mix, but trust me, it works! They also do a couple of different salads, and wedges/chips/mashed potato etc. If you are a motoring enthusiast, it's also a bonus. We didn't see any noteworthy cars while we were there, (much to my Top Gear UK loving sons disappointment), but there were plenty of incredible looking bikes parked in the car park, which got their attention.

Chalk it all up to a fun-filled, memory-making day - one I hope we repeat again soon!

How did you spend your long weekend?

   Sheree xxx

Friday, March 28, 2014

Aspirations - and what happened instead.

At the beginning of this month, handsome hubby set off to Fiji for work for 11 days. While he was away I had the greatest of aspirations to spin out a few catch-up posts of an evening while the little people slept. Instead I played host to a friend for 10 days, supported my beautiful next door neighbour after her husband died, and in general tried to hold down the fort on my own. I don't think I even got to sit at my computer. I checked email on my phone, and chatted with hubs using the phone as well. Between the never ending cycle of cleaning, cooking, homework, and tending the garden, I think I fell into bed around midnight each night, and woke again around 6:30 - 7am each morning (aside from the nights the kids were unsettled, and when I got up at 4:30 one morning to take my In-laws to the train station so they could fly to WA!).

So here is a little photo recap of some of the things that have been happening around here.

Roses Valentine's week

From top left: Banana and Wisteria flower; Seedling sprouting; French Lavender; Baby Purple Potato plant.



1. I've never had my mint flower before. Probably because I usually eat it all before it gets that far!
2. Produce freshly dug - Purple Potatoes, Orange Sweet potato, and Fijian Sweet Potato (White on the outside, Purple on the inside and Oh. So. Sweet).
3. Basil and Parsley going crazy.
4. Evidence of my little helpers in the garden - there is something about seeing their little boots lined up that just melts my heart...


Heart craft. 
One day I might actually get this one finished, as well as some finished photos of the other ones.


Experimenting with Watermelon and Lime Granita

Developing a new-to-us cookie dough
So there you have it. One small slice of what has been going on. Oh but there is SO. MUCH. MORE. I'm not going to promise that you will get to see it (cos every time I do that, I fail miserably at it!), but I hope to share some more small tastes of what is going on in our world very shortly.

On that note, I'll leave you to your musings. Hope you all have a brilliant weekend!



Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Valentines Sneak Peek

I've been working for a little while at night on some of these...


I don't know what is going on with the colour... the red is more of a deep crimson.

Twenty Three little hearts. Hopefully I get them all finished tonight And I can show you tomorrow how it all turns out.

And on another note of beginnings, here is something else that I've been working on. Still in it's early stages yet, and the kids will be getting involved with this one! :)



Hope your day is splendid!

   Sheree xxx

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Cleaning out the Fridge

I can't believe we have been home almost a month, and I'm only now just getting back into my blog space! The Jelly fish is back at school for his second year, Swimming lessons are just kicking off again, and there has been a parade of visitors through our front door ever since we got home. But what I really wanted to share with you today was this little bit of tastiness...


The Roast Pumpkin and Beetroot Wrap.

It's what you do when you arrive home late in the day from holidays and couldn't be bothered dragging yourself to the shops for groceries and everyone is hungry AND the fridge is basically empty. It's just a layer of mashed white beans (tinned) with some herbs/garlic salt mixed in, some thin sliced "fingers" of cheese, grated beetroot, some thinly sliced fingers of pumpkin that are fried in olive oil till just soft, and some shredded sweet potato leaves (because you don't have any lettuce in the fridge, but you DO have sweet potatoes growing out the back!) all wrapped up in a multi grain tortilla. YUM.

If you give it a go I'd love to hear what you think.

Bon appetit!








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