Happy Mother's Day Ladies

Hope you have all had a happy day if you are celebrating Mother's Day today.

My day was quiet and restful. It started with breakfast in bed {pancakes made by Liam} and I received some sweet presents from the boys. Liam and I had coffee and cake at the Cottage Garden Nursery and Antique Center earlier in the week and I found another puppy to add to our menagerie. We called him Bob after a little terrier who is the hero of one of Agatha Christie's books "Dumb Witness".
Little Luke chose this chocolate rose from his school Mother's Day stall.

My sisters and I celebrated our Mother earlier last week before she went on an overseas trip with Dad. She is at the moment visiting Denmark with the added purpose of doing some family history research into her danish ancestors. Mum has been methodically collecting information into our family history for over ten years including scanning hundreds of slides and ancient photographs. It will be a treasure for us all in years to come. I am eagerly looking forward to Dad's photos when they get back. Of course I miss them already. Mum is one of the biggest players in what makes my life work! She does a lot for me and my boys.

I would also like to mention all of my friends who are mothers - you all work so hard and always inspire me. You are the village around me it takes to raise a child. We all have truly had some difficult moments yet I am proud to say we all know how to laugh our arses off, have a good time, find as much joy as possible from the roles we chose and still somehow manage to hold on to what makes us the unique people we are. Our hearts have all grown bigger in the process and we always find a bit of extra room in our homes and lives for the people who need us.

And "Mummy Bloggers" this includes YOU! You are an extension of my friends and family. You are there all day and night with your stories, photos {pretty and messy} and are always a comfort.
I hope you all get how much value you are. Mums need people around them, people on their team. Doesn't matter where you get it from.

Brisbane writer Rebecca Sparrow has written a fantastic post on her blog called: Why I won't read "Mummy Blogs". You gotta read it. It's important. Maybe you feel sometimes, like me, like you don't have enough time to do all the things you need to do, want to do and why am I even wasting time writing this blog? Well, you HAVE to make time for things that you want, things that are important to you or you will go crazy, your brain will shrivel up like the dried apricots you are throwing in your kid's lunch boxes. People like me really value visiting your blogs - so thank you and thank you Rebecca Sparrow.

Finally, here are some vintage mummies for you to read about ~ Mrs Miniver, who is lovely and 

E.M. Delafield's Diary of a Provincial Lady, who is quite hilarious. If you like English fiction set in wartime, then you will like these. As a Mother, you will be able to relate to their antics no matter how removed from your 2013 lives, I swear. I particularly like the covers of both of these books, Mrs Miniver dating from, according to the dedication in the front page, 1941 and The Diary of a Provincial Lady, a modern copy done in vintage style by Cath Kidston. 

valentine etsy

♥ Valentine's Day gift ideas from Etsy ~ a collection ♥

1. love between the covers but should I be reading into this? ♥ pride and prejudice heart brooch    

2. dressed to impress ♥ coral pink stripe men's bow tie
3. a delivery from cupid ♥ silver and gold arrow rings
4. a rose with no thorns ♥ vintage rose brooch
5.warm & spicy ginger and juicy blood orange ♥ Pink Clay handmade soap
6.you got to know when to hold em ♥ Ace of Hearts Print
7. for your foxy lady ♥ fox print purse
8. everything's rosy with ♥ vintage pink sunglasses 
9. for all those salad days and romantic picnics ♥ mid century pink salad set   
10. nothing declares your love more soundly than a mixed tape ♥ cassette tape brooch
11. this product just makes me think of the term "carnal knowledge". Kissable lips... mmm bacon... don't worry it's vegan ♥ bacon lip balm for manly men
12. vintage portable radio player ♥ for that picnic you were going on

13. he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me! ♥ daisy pewter cuff 
14. from here to eternity or maybe just a nice place to have a picnic ♥ Oregon Beach Photography         

         

     

op shop findings

A lovely little collection of shops along Ipswich Road at Annerley is just a short skip away from our new home. The boys and I went for a Saturday morning excursion. We had brunch at Groove Cafe which is going to be a new favourite and then checked out the 2nd hand book shop and a wonderful shop full of handmade goodies. We pressed our faces against the glass of the huge aladin's cave of an antique shop and I made plans to return later without the youngest of the boys... and then the op shops, this little strip at Annerley is famous for them. It was fun. I found this lovely vase!        
These are all places I've ventured out to before but it kind of feels different now that they are in my own neighbourhood, do you know what I mean? We are enjoying exploring our new surrounds.

Paper Dolls

My friend Kelly sent me this gorgeous canvas tote bag from Sydney featuring vintage style paper dolls. 

I absolutely love it! Then my friend Pascalle launched her latest collection Twenty Five Seventy Five 

from The Lavender Room on etsy and of course, her paper doll necklace was an immediate favourite and so I thought I'd better put a collection together! 

1 paper doll tote {girl side}  2  lemon dress   3 vintage cloche hat

 4 paper doll greeting card set  5 pink bow ballet flat  6 Dr Martens brogues 

7 avon ice cream comb  8 peter pan collar  9 vintage paper doll postcards

10 twenty five seventy five paper doll necklace  11 vintage marigold silk dress  12 silver mary janes

13 nothing boat love for you dress  14 white and navy cloche hat via  15 navy bow ballet flat  

16 paper doll tote {boy side}

Another special mention to Chibi Run  and her lovely blog. I have only recently discovered her blog which I love visiting and her shop has so many cute affordable things! I particularly like the paper doll stationery range {items 4 and 9}! And Oh My Gosh, I was so glad to find the avon "ice cream comb", I had one when I was little and LOVED it ! Did you have one too?
I love the twenties/vintage/ great gatsby look of these traditional paper dolls, however for a bit of a mod twist the wall decal paper doll collection from Love Mae is TOTALLY fantastic... am I too old to be playing with a set of these???

Can You Keep A Secret

Shhhh Can You Keep A Secret?

I can't... and I shouldn't.
My friend and I visited Can You Keep A Secret on the weekend and I just have to tell you
how lovely it is!

It's more than a shop that sells vintage, it's a whole 1920's Queenslander style house in
Greenslopes, Brisbane where each room is wonderfully dedicated to it's own theme of vintage.
I liked the "gentlemen's room" and the "kitchen room".
My friend had fun trying on dresses in the "ladies room".

the gentlemen's room

front entrance

There is parking right out front on Logan Road and what I love about it is that as you step through the front gate from the footpath, and walk across the bridge to the house, it feels like your are stepping back into the past. So many cool things from my childhood! It's just like closing my eyes and imagining I am back at my own Nan's home in Greenslopes when I was a little girl in the 70's... except my eyes are open and it's all real - with the same authentic feel.

I really enjoyed having an unhurried look at everything whilst catching up with my friend...
Our conversation went something like... "oh my god, check this out" "oooh that looks good" "blah blah blah, he's really nasty" "LOVE those shoes" "you're looking really skinny" "my Nan had a set of these plates!" "should we get coffee?" "that is JUST gorgeous" "what are you doing tonight?" "oh my gosh, I had this exact same thing when I was little" "that's hideous, but quite cool" " I love polka dots" "damn kids" "I really need to have that" "what size shoe are you?" "that looks great on you!" "what the hell is this for?" "you HAVE to buy it" "yellow is your colour" "I love it, it's a SWAN!"

There is a really good mix of clothes, accessories, furniture, household and decorative items.
You should really go visit! It's a lot of fun.
Here is their facebook page for more info {looks like they have some cool events happening}
or their website.

perfect sunday

Hello, hello!

It's been a busy week for me, I had something on every night and a headache which has lasted pretty much the whole week and I've been so tired... the thought of sitting at the computer for more than 5 minutes has not been appealing or doable.
I also had grand plans of following Lobster and Swan's Matchbox A Day as my creative endeavour for February but yep, wasn't happening this week.
However... this weekend has been a rare, child-free one so I did have some lovely, quiet time to myself!

I spent some time catching up with the matchbox challenge and my brother in-law took me on an excursion to buy my very first whipper snipper! After a quick lesson I am now a proud owner/operator. Fast forward to 2 and three quarters of an hour and two tanks of petrol later and I have a choppily, half trimmed front yard and forearms that are so shaky I can barely type these words.
Not to mention the blisters on my hands. Still ~ I am VERY satisfied, yes sir.

I also happened to fit in a spot of vintage shopping {mostly looking} and coffee with my friend.
I will tell you more about that soon but here are just a few pics.
These ones were taken at Can You Keep a Secret. A whole house full of vintage! Wonderful.

Hope you all had a great weekend too, perfect even.

presents in the post

sometimes when life gives you lemons, someone lovely just happens to post you an unexpected parcel filled with love and cute stuff.
This morning I was awoken very early and abruptly by, to put it delicately, my little son spewing his guts up. The rest of the day wasn't the best, I had to miss work but in the afternoon I received a present from my friend Kelly who lives in Sydney and can I tell you, it couldn't have come at a better time.
Us three in the sick house were all very cheered up by it!

YAY for HAPPY LAB - I have been drooling at these over the internet for some time firstly for their superb packaging and secondly for the sweetness within! I love this concept!

cola and strawberry happy pops, blueberry happy strap, strawberry peppermint secret mints 

and candy floss happy beans!

And a gorgeous retro spaceship fabric covered notebook and coin purse!
I love these = perfect for taking notes on my intergalactic adventures. From Kaboodle Designs!

A calendar full of dreamy images from Typo, love the front cover and... how did you know I desperately needed a new mouse pad!?! Here's the before and afters...

I feel very loved!

Old & New

Some gorgeous little milk glass bowls I found at the tip shop for 50c each as well as this pretty white plastic tray which looks ancient. An old glass bottle from the markets {a gift on Mother's Day} holds a gerbera from a friend. My large succulent produces lots of tiny new ones for me to replant about the place.
Hope you all had a great weekend and are enjoying the beautiful sunny, breezy days!

Apples on Ainsworth

My sister and her husband recommended Apples on Ainsworth {facebook page} to me knowing how much I'd love it. It's just a few suburbs away to the west of where I live so the boys and I dropped in for lunch.  

This part of Salisbury used to get visited frequently by me although I haven't been there for a couple of years so I was delighted and surprised to find this little gem. It's a whole heap of goodness tucked into a little shop. The food looked amazing, especially the big fresh salads and there was an interesting range of teas and beautifully packaged {yay} cold drinks to tempt me next time. Lots of deli items as well as a selection of gorgeously displayed fresh fruit and veges. 

oh and did I mention the small matter of vintage... tea sets, drink glasses, serving ware, salt and pepper shakers, my tea pot had a fluffy cosy, a relaxed and eclectic collection of tables and seats pottering about the wide shaded footpath, a big basket of blankets to take across the road to the park for a picnic...

I am looking forward to returning, rennovations are underway and I am sure something beautiful awaits.

Tip Shop Trip

My sister and I went on a trip to the tip shop on Sunday but more about that and what I found there later, first I want you to meet these two lovely ladies... $20! I can't believe what people throw out. I love them!

I am thinking of painting the frame pink as I'm not too keen on the gold, 

pics to come when it's up and looking pretty!

born in the 70's

I was excited to find this present for my friend's birthday at the Wolloongabba Antiques Centre  and couldn't wait to give it to her for her birthday this weekend. We had previously had a lovely morning together there and as we both oohed and ahhed over various items I noticed she had a particular weakness for those beautifully hideous combinations of 70's tableware and crockery combining stoneware and wood, orange, brown and mustard. I must admit to feeling a slight sense of nostalgia for them which has now turned my opinion from distaste to love! It is amazing how your taste can change so much so that something you once regarded as ugly can appear so aesthetically pleasing. 

Love makes anything look beautiful!

I was very pleased that my friend loved them too. I also found a suitably 70's card! I love this range by Australian artist Sue Adams taken from her work during the 70's. I got mine from David Jones but you can also see a range available at lark

Brisbane - Why no Haigh's?

Am about to embark on a delightful diversion from the conventional via some Haigh's Chocolate (mmmm - do not visit website if you are sensitive to chocolate) via my friend returning from a trip to Melbourne.
Yes, no ordinary block-o-choc, so much better.
I also have a peppermint mouse and also some pretty beads and earrings sparkling at me from inside my little souvenir packet from Melbourne.
Well... they may have Haigh's amongst other marvels to recommend their city but I heard the weather made Brisbane feel tropical in comparison!