The Great Outdoors

We had a wonderful weekend.  Looking over at Absolutely Beautiful Things I see we're not the only ones enjoying the beginnings of warmer weather.  A soccer presentation got us all out of the house nice and early and applying some serious sunscreen to stand on the oval waiting for formalities and trophies.  Luckily the sprinklers were running on the grounds so the kids all went for a run through to cool down afterwards.

Home again to do some more work on my project - very exciting!  I'm refreshing a bench seat we've had on our back deck for several years.  I've recovered it before and last year threw a temporary rug over it to hide the worn out cover but now I'm doing the real thing.... here's the "Before":


 Here's the inspiration for the new colour scheme (remember the little bowl from Bison?).  I found the fabric in my sewing box - no idea where it came from... perhaps someone will recognise it?!

So, a bit of a sand and tidy up and the undercoat is already an improvement:

I've chosen a lovely paint colour - Dulux "Adrift" which is quite fitting for my state of mind at the moment.  Watch this space...

So, a resting husband, happy kids doing house swaps back and forward all day with friends and me out the back with a paintbrush.  Still managed to put a meal on the table and all sit down together to enjoy - now, that never happens... just who is that woman?  She's not around here very often!

Hope you had a good weekend too.

Blogs I have loved...

It's so long since I blogged I forgot my password.  But that's not saying much - I'm always forgetting passwords.


There are so many blogs I follow and people I feel I relate to, mostly written by creative-type women, often mothers.  I feel I have this secret community all to myself.  But I don't contribute... why is that?


I think most bloggers consider their blogs something of a journal, a note to self on what's currently going on in their life, a way of both sharing and remembering, throwing a line out to see if anyone bites.  Like me, many are Mums who do a thousand other things and perhaps also like me, sitting in quiet contemplation in the evenings, or day times, or wee hours, is a way to relax and recharge; filter the days happenings and renew oneself by seeking inspiration elsewhere.


I love this piece on Life in a Pink Fibro about growth - our selves and our lives, acknowledging the passing of time. We're not unlike our own Mums, are we?  It may look different on the surface but we all have our support groups, filled with likeminded women who share similar lifestyles and dreams, reflections and challenges.  We may not have on a frilly apron, but when we share our lives the sentiment is the same.

Anticipation

I've just bought a new book.  It happened by accident.  We were shopping for other people's birthday presents, which is of course the best time to buy an unbirthday present for oneself - inevitably finding the ideal gift for... me!

Emily Chalmers has been a favourite for some time.  An innovator of the Vintage aesthetic, Chalmers' styling, her books, her sense of vintage style are all influential and inspirational for me.  Stumbling across her latest offering has me in flutters of excitement but I can't sit down to devour it just yet - lots to do before I can steal some time so I just put it aside and look where it landed: on my Grandmother's sewing table, next to a vintage doily topped by one of my actual birthday gifts - a gorgeous and perfectly formed bowl from Bison - now how's that for modern vintage?!

Loft Beds

There's something about a loft bed.  These beds over at Inspirations Deco made me think of a pair that took my breath away some years ago.  It was a secret loft for Mr's nephew in a beach house built by his sister and her husband.  Bits and pieces literally fallen off the back of trucks cobbled together to make a sublime little getaway on the north eastern coast of New Zealand's North Island.  Inside, within the roof space, a little pair of beds had been created by mattresses on the floor with a mini chest of drawers in between, where the kids would bunk down at night, high above the adults enjoying their nightcap on the deck.  Reclaimed windows swung out to let in an evening sea breeze and it was easy for all to forget there were children present - just the way the kids liked it!  A chunky, handmade ladder was fixed to the wall so only game grownups would even attempt to gain access to their little haven by scrambling up into the eaves.

I have lovely memories of that Batch on the beach, just a little shack really but filled with love and holiday souvenirs of shells, second hand sofas and cordial.  All you need at the beach!

The Special K Theory

I suppose I should come clean... I'm a procrastinator.  If something's worth doing, it's worth thinking about for an extra day or so to ensure you get it right, just in case you can improve on it. 

Or is it The Special K Theory we're dealing with here?

A very dear friend and housemate many years ago stumbled across The Special K Theory quite by accident when we were discussing breakfast - it transpired that Special K was my favourite breakfast cereal, but my way of thinking was that I didn't want to eat it every morning, in case I got sick of it, and then it wouldn't be my favourite any more.  Her perspective was simply, "Eat it until you get sick of it, then find a new favourite".

Simple, yes, but I realised it's just not the way I think.  The merit of my way of thinking is I can enjoy things in small doses for prolonged periods - savouring special clothes, jewellery, trinkets, then carefully folding them back into storage to be taken out and enjoyed occasionally, knowing they'll always be there to enjoy.  Once recognised, The Special K Theory can be applied to many areas of my life, my behaviours.

But why prolong joy?  Why ration yourself to the bare minimum and save things "only for best", or "for special occasions" when they can be enjoyed every day?  It's only stuff afterall.  I can find a new cereal - they bring out a new one every couple of weeks, and if not, Special K's been around for over 50 years - it'll still be there to rediscover again and again.

Is it about being satisfied with what we have, rather than always searcing for something new?  I'd so often rather reinvent something I own - be it furniture, clothing, a recipe, than go out and buy another one to clutter up my life.  Perhaps that's why I have a penchant for things that are preloved - someone else has enjoyed them {and paid full price for them} and all I have to do is reinvent them, rediscover their beauty and celebrate them once again.  If I get bored with them, they don't owe me anything...

Do I feel that buying new is the easy way out?  Anyone can do that.  I want to be different, distinct, discover something for myself.

Meanwhile, it's taken me 3 days to actually post this blog - it wasn't right the first time so I filed it away to revisit later.....

It's only water...

It's funny how people forget to take umbrellas out with them - even when they leave home in the rain, we just dash here and dash there to avoid the drops (I heard of a study done to measure whether you get less wet by running through rain... you don't).  All you have to do is pull on a pair of gumboots, pick up a groovy umbrella and celebrate the rain that falls around you - it's only water afterall and it dries... really!

I got these pink Hunter wellies 2 years ago in New York.  It was November and cold and wet, but it was New York, so it was OK.  After agonising over the colour (and the fact that it never really rains in Sydney so how can I justify gumboots?), we bought them and they joined us in a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and the subsequent nourishment of shoestring fries at the Heights Cafe - the winning recommendation of a dear friend.  The boots didn't see daylight again until we returned to our own hemisphere but it's amazing how much it does rain once you're of a mind to enjoy it - to savour, rather than scorn weather is much more pleasant.

It's my birthday so why should a little rain dampen my spirits?  I walked to work with my umbrella and returned to an unexpected pile of presents on my bed!  Love a spontaneous shopping trip to make up for lost time - and in secret!  Will share the spoils in a later post but for now, as the man says, "Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain..."

Away, away, away

What an amazing country Australia is.  A weekend camping trip can take you so far from your own consciousness into the unexpected that you begin to wonder at everything you know.

I took these photos of the incredible sand dunes at Dark Point, a jewel found almost by chance on the NSW mid north coast in an endeavour to take a beach swim.  We were overawed by the size and beauty of the dunes with their bleached white sand and rolling, rolling enormity.  If the walk to the coast was long and strenuous (say nothing of the return trek in 40 degree heat!), the prize was breathtaking.



The Task Ahead



 


The Reward - and all to ourselves!

 



We camped at the beautiful Boomeri campground, looked after by National Parks and graced by stunning specimens of Angophora gums and Xanthorrhoea grass trees (Boomeri is the Aboriginal word for these amazing trees).

Nature is indeed raw and real.

Speaking of raw and real, I couldn't resist this beautiful moment in food - the "before" picture of what eventuated as some pretty gourmet burgers - in the bush!



The friend who saw us grow

For my first entry I thought I'd write as if I've been blogging for some time, as I have mentally made entries to this blog for months before actually getting to this stage.  I have been updating the wallpaper on my phone regularly as if it's my blog so perhaps I've been in training!  The ultimate trigger was this entry over at Beach Vintage which was so similar to my current wallpaper I took it as a sign and dove headlong into blogging at last. 

This was my breakfast too - enjoying the fruits of the season and passionfruit always sings summer to my tastebuds.

I hope you find my blog stimulating on some level, as I plan to.  Now, if I can just get my phone to talk to my computer, there will be images...!