a refreshing take on love & weddings

Greetings all,

Just took an unintentional bloggie break, which did include a family trip to Brisbane for a beautiful wedding & some internet issues.  It appears i'm back on line so, hello!!  

One of my husband's soldiers was marrying his beautiful & patient girlfriend of 10 years.  It was pouring with rain, however, it didn't hamper the atmosphere.  What i love about weddings most - at the ceremony - is watching the groom, waiting for his bride.  It was such an honour to witness their marriage, very formal yet incredibly relaxed.  It truly was all about the love.  I knew how this bride felt, she just wanted to get married to her handsome soldier - fidgeting, looking around, smiling, tears, breathing in the moment, then letting out the loudest 'i do' ever!!

 The bride had organised the entire event while her groom was deployed & no detail was missed (she's a designer too, we notice everything) & i knew it would be a magical event starting with the stunning invitations.  The groom was instructed to bring 8 dozen champagne pashminas home from Afghanistan for the chairs - aren't they beautiful??  He was also meant to ask his father to make a speech, he forget . . . his father threw together a heartfelt speech in a few minutes!!  I do like a groom who isn't fussing about flowers, food or fonts. 

 The reception was incredible, delicious food & fantastic company, in the barrel room of a vineyard.  I really enjoyed finally meeting my husband's work mates, some had wives (with 4 children), some had lived in Canberra, some were freshly engaged - there were PLENTY of conversation starters.  I was seated in the middle of 5 soldiers (husband on my right) & on the same long table as the bridal party (we're so A list).  Everyone relished the fine dining & amazing wines.  

 The whole event had a classic vintage feel . . . handmade, pretty, whimsical with flower girls tossing petals & page boys in kilts.  Above all, every single guest was made to feel incredibly welcome & comfortable, no expense was spared.    

So we clocked up 3000km on the new car, not bad for it's first week, cruising up to Brisbane with a niece & nephew collected from boarding school, they were our babysitters.  It rained the entire weekend, so we actually left early, returned our babysitters to their parents & then all headed out to dinner, with my parents.  That was tough, my mother is very childlike in her Alzheimer's now, clinging to my father, giggling, she was our family matriarch . . . i don't think i'll ever get used to this.  I'm so glad my husband was there to help me be brave & let me cry myself to sleep at the motel that night.  It's certainly left me drained this week, so we're hanging out at home, raising chicks & ducklings (yes DUCKS!!) & a movie at the cinema - The 5 Year Engagement - i loved it!!  Love Posie

3000km, 4 children, 4 bikes, 1 mum, 1 dog & a shark!!

Greetings all,

'It's about the journey, not the destination' well, not when the destination is gorgeous & sunny Brisbane in Summer & 2500km of the round trip is in torrential rain.  It was tense!!  All these images are taken in the middle of the day, in Summer, crazy right??!!

 We had 3 weeks of glorious sunshine then 10 days of rain, with more & more rain forecast (poor Queensland) so we left early, as the highways kept closing due to flooding. The children were fantastic, they are great travellers & read, chat, sing & sight see.  Note: they all have a spare seat between them!!  Bringing the dog was the BEST distraction for our 3rd girl who doesn't love car travel, he also made a comfortable cushion.

 This darling puppy spent his 4th birthday looking out the window in the centre row of the car, bless his heart.  He even had a sleepover with his puppy cousins (Boxer dogs Lily & Saffron) on the way home, saved me finding an animal friendly motel.  The children sprayed him with air freshener & he didn't even smell like wet-dog, brilliant!!

 At one stage on the New England Highway, after 100km of pot holes & heinous driving conditions with mist, road works, rain & P platers flying past me . . . there was a sign saying "Warning Oil Spill".  Are you kidding me, what else could you throw at me??!! 

 I stopped by my brother's place for dinner on the way home & his wife presented my son with a helium filled remote controlled shark, LIFE SIZE (almost) & i was just thinking, 1000km to go, now, with a shark floating around the car!! 

 So with all that road side rain, our pit stops were few & short.  Needless to say, we travelled with towels & had the parks to ourselves!!

 We also stopped by my parents new cottage in the country, so cute, look at this view out of their kitchen window onto the side drive.  Leaving busy Sydney was the best decision, the calm has given them a new lease on life.

 Oh hello, i wanted to rip this oven from their cooking nook & take it with me!!  My parents are so happy here, under my doctor brother's care.  They live in a 2 bedroom cosy cottage (which my brother owns & maintains), they walk into town for coffee each day, Dad has lost 15kg & reduced his drugs by 75%, amazing.  Mums seems happy, she's past the horrible Alzheimer's stage & is now very clingy with Dad, which he adores, constantly holding his hand & whispering to him.  57 years of marriage people!! 

I am thrilled to wave the flag for the ACT, as we crossed the border from NSW, we had dry roads & sunshine, it was overcast but finally, unpacking the car in dry weather!!  I was happy to come home to a spotless house, so glad i made the effort, knowing we were going for 5 weeks over Summer . . . our lovely neighbours even parked their uncle's car in our driveway as 'faux inhabitants' & collected our mail (which included a $7.69 fine for using the Go Between Bridge in Brisbane) on our way to South Bank, ooppss.  Love Posie
PS thank you all so much for the girl-power-happy-thoughts & love in my last post, things are still on track (real estate wise) so we're holding our breath.

i'm grateful for . . . 'reconnecting'

Greetings all,

This time of year is always special for we Army wives . . . we have just moved to a new city or stayed put for the year, either way, we start reuniting & reconnecting with dear old friends, neighbours & school mums after a few postings. 

 In the past week i have met up with one of my favourite mummies from Darwin, her husband has just deployed for Afghanistan; our fantastic old neighbours from Sydney emailed me from Brisbane, they have had twins; my husband's great mate from cadets has moved to Canberra, 27 years of friendship; my darling friend who used to help me cut fabric in the height of my business, rang from Darwin, she just bought a new home; & my darling 3rd girl ALWAYS makes best friends with girls who move interstate or overseas - she's just met up with her 1st grade best friend & when school resumes, her 2nd grade best friend is back from America.  We've also run into other old school friends at the pool.

 While i've been ignoring blogland (sorry, i love you, i'll be back over at your blogs as soon) i've met up with a gorgeous new bunch of bloggers too.  It's always fun to meet people you have had a bloggie relationship with, in the flesh.  My children gasp "oh, not another 'virtual friend' Mum".  Always welcoming when you bump into people in the street (not randomly, but outside the meeting place) & they look at me & the children . . . "you must be Posie".  Hell yeah, you guys are so much fun, in blogs & real life!!

I'll be realistic, not all Army wives are my kind of people.  There are plenty of rough & scary types + the ones who use their husband's rank as some kind of badge of superiority.  Imagine my delight at one particularly awful one dropping the C & F words at a Tupperware party with young children present, yep, she was the demonstrator . . . i am very glad to rid those warthogs from my life.  As i have somehow managed to never attend a single Sergeant's Mess Function (this is highly rare for a Warrant Officer's wife) i tend to make a couple of very good friends each posting & remain in contact with them.  Those ladies know me, i love & adore them, like old school friends, they are not light situational friends, but the real deal & i'm blessed with a dozen of them.  You ladies rock.  I do love not having to start from scratch with 'my story' & they get me, as they're living the same life!!  We've been through cyclones, deployments, childbirth & moves together. 
This week's new KidSpot i'm grateful for 'reconnecting' with some fabulous new/ old ladies in my life, who i have for a couple of borrowed years, i'm so lucky.  Love Posie

my one word for 2012 will be . . . 'rainbows'

Greetings all,
OK, Maxabella Loves introduced a one word resolution for the year, 'better' & that certainly was my wish for the year, to live better . . . my one word is going to be 'rainbows'.  Now, i'm no giddy bohemian dreamy hippie, however, i do wish for rainbows, what is not to love about a rainbow (unless it comes out after rain has ruined your garden party or washing on the clothes line).   

Love this rainbow at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane!!  Beware, there are guards EVERYWHERE just dying to tell your children off, before they even think to touch anything. 

 After the joy of grocery shopping today in blistering heat, i popped into a gift store & could not believe my eyes, a full rainbow set of mixing bowls with lids!!  Hello Summer picnics.

 Special mention to the Marimekko napkins.  Last week i picked up these plates & bowls in the hope that my children (who do the dishes in school holidays) might be more inspired. 

 Fabulous example of weaving (at GOMA).  I plan a large open space in our homestead entrance, with maybe just a rug or amazing art??  This would be ace. 

Ok, so i love rainbows & after a years of running a small design business, exposed to glorious colours, patterns & textiles, i'm about to put it all on hold & to good use . . . to build a homestead & start a farm for my family.  Trust me, i'll be clutching at rainbows as i deal with real estate agents, architects, tradesmen & hardwarestore-sales-staff-rolling-their-eyes-at-me as i ask a million questions.  I love that it will be my full time job, especially the decorating part & styling each room!! 

Nothing can dull the colour i see, the hope & dreams for a better life for my family.  My husband will be home from war in 6 months, his 5th & final war; we have 4 happy, healthy & hilarious children; we want space & a simple life - best of all, we know how to make it happen & it's happening, yahoo!!  I have more properties to view & we've put our Darwin apartment on the market too.  This is HUGE.  I'm going to love love love 2012. 
Bring on the rainbows i say, to our bright & colourful future.  OMG, this is my 499th post, rainbows to you all in blogland too.  Love Posie

home baked . . .

Greetings all,

I know, another food inspired post by Posie, what is going on, she's a designer not a cook!!  Well, influenced by the glamazon whom is Faux Fuchsia, who conincidentally posed the blog influence question today . . . i answered with homemade bread making.  Back in the mid 90s when i was a keen newly wed, i used to bake our bread, from scratch, amazingly non-demanding for two people in the humid tropics of Darwin where dough rises instantly. 

 Fast forward 15 years of marriage & 4 children + freezing-cold-dry-yeast-rising-unfriendly-Canberra . . . Faux Fuchsia bakes her own bread rolls (with a red KitchenAid dough hook i'm guessing) so it brought back my passion & effort. 

 Yes, i was baking boobies, thanks children!!

 Mmmm, with homemade butter to boot, they were delicious.  I'd recommend you eat the day of baking, like they're going to last longer than 5 minutes once they're out of the oven??!!  Are you under the influence of Faux Fuchsia too??

While the buns are in the oven, tee hee, i've been piecing together gazillions of multicoloured strips of fabric for a batch of pencil rolls . . . the Handmade Market is 18 days away, eekk & school holidays too, yahoo.  My darling husband is only here for a few more days sob, in the meantime, suffer more delicious food posts. 
As i've mentioned before, when he's home, every meal is a flavour sensation, he's such a great cook, i can't believe he has to eat ration packs like it's WW2 (when really it's a 21st century war) & he won't buy a BBQ for his bachelor pad in Brisbane, he considers that too moved in, it's nearly 2 years.  He doesn't like seafood so that salmon sensation in the last post was in his absence, as he dashed to Sydney on Sunday.  Last night was BBQ lamb with vegetable perfection, tonight it's that amazing tomato/ yoghurt/ butter marinade chicken he does on the BBQ, then oven, drool. 
I do notice the dramatic increase in time i spend at the sink, washing those too-precious-for-the-dishwasher-kitchen-accessories like the KA food processor/ mixer/ blender/ pots & pans, even the garlic press (i have never proposed to be anything other than a bad cook, i use minced garlic from a jar, shoot me).  I can say that i have never fed my children 2 minute noodles, macaroni cheese or potato bake, ever, not even as a side dish, they would refuse & demand meat.  I don't microwave either, man, they won't eat anything from a frozen box in the oven, i just struggle along cooking from scratch, argh.  They're totally into health.  I'm just waiting for handsome soldier to retire & cook full time.  I'm patient!!  4 more years??
What cooking/ baking/ making in your household??  Love Posie

loving all things French & Festivalish

Greetings all,

A month ago (excuse the tardiness) we were in Brisbane & went to their French Festival (tipped off by Thea from Thea&Sami screen printer extraordinaire).  It was fantastic . . . c'est magnifique!!

Brisbane suffered rather chilly Winter school holidays so this is not how their glorious warm & sunny skyline normally looks, even in Winter, alas, check out the French flags & HUGE crowds. 

 While in the queue for crepes, i sent the children around with the camera to take some snaps, so this is their view of the stilt walkers, called the Baguettes or something quaint.

 My darling patient husband queued up for 90 minutes to provide our family with delicious crepes.  I took the children to play at South Bank, it was spitting rain but by GOD we were having crepes!!  Look at these banana deliciousness.  Note to self: get rich quick scheme, make crepes & charge a fortune for them at a French festival!!

 Ok so some quiche & pies were purchased too.  Lucky our children are into sharing, by way of passing around a quiche or pie & each taking a bite - i referred to it as 'a tasting plate'.

 Using this Frenchy inspiration to make good use of my Frenchy stationery.

 Playing around with new tags & loving the red, white & blue!!

 This is a bit orange, sorry for quick snaps at night on the kitchen counter!!

Love a good international festival, many macarons were consumed & it was great fun.  Shall mark it for the calendar next year, with my complimentary military holiday home husband's bachelor pad in Brisbane.  Love Posie

things i'm loving . . . 'the mighty Queenslander'

Greetings all,
I have always been a big fan of the stunning Queenslander style of home.  To me it's architecture at it's most functional & stand out beautiful.  It's not an entirely unique style of home to suit tropical/ sub tropical climates, similar styles are found around the equator, but in Queensland, they reign supreme.  My husband patiently stopped the car every few hundred metres along the 'Moreton Bay Tourist Drive' around the Sandgate-Redcliffe area, north of Brisbane, so i could take these snaps.  Poor bloke, with me thrusting my breasts across him to lean out his window to snap yet another image of a house.  He wasn't complaining, tee hee. 

 Look at the stairs, the balcony, the gates!!

 Clever way of controlling the breeze, with shutters.

 These are all along the foreshore, nothing blocking their view of the beach across the road.

 So many different ways with paint colour combinations . . .

 & stunning gardens!!

 Even multi level Queenslanders don't look McMansion, just grand!!

 I think the wrap around verandah is a must though.

 Why not buy one today??

 Add a jacaranda tree, it's the perfect family home.

Then there are monoliths of buildings like this, all i could think was "too much money" & the old cliche of "money doesn't buy you style".  I'm sure the owners LOVE it & have amazing views, but me, i'm old school quaint, i'd pick a Queenslander with a verandah & a rocking chair, every time.  The homestead we're designing will be based on a ground level Queenslander (raised country houses seem to have more snake sitings, eeek) as it's all about French doors & that wrap around verandah for me.  Oh & a breezeway (an external hallway between 2 buildings of the same house) which my husband isn't sold on.  Honestly, he just has to say you find more snakes in breezeways & i'd scrap it from the design!! 
To see what other people are loving this Friday, take a peek at PaisleyJade, love Posie

supporting the Queensland economy with dreamy shopping . . .

Greetings all,

Oh boy, why did we ever leave Queensland & come home to the rain & freezing cold Canberra??  We had such a lovely holiday & did lots of dreamy shopping.  First stop, like always, was beautiful Simone from Beach Vintage blog's shop Just Plain Gorgeous in Bulimba (just around from fancy Kangaroo Point) it's where the beautiful people live.

 I picked up a pretty pink kaftan & delicious blue dress in there + some fabric, bliss!!

 Further along Oxford Street is a cute shop called Green Glass - they have the cafe by the park in this post.  Really lovely goodies & service to boot.

 Of course, a treat for the children to have some stationery fun in the school holidays involves a trip to Kikki-K, i think we went to the Chermside store??  I love this flag stamp!!

 Next time i'm in Brisbane, i'm checking out this shop, Frankie & the Fox, i was forbidden to enter by my husband, he doesn't understand my constant need for fashion eye candy.

 So just a quick snap on our way past.  The sign alone screams my kind of store.

 So farewell beautiful blue skies & sunshiney Queensland Winter.  I shouldn't complain, i've spent 7 Winters of my life in Darwin cruising along at 30C every day, no chance of rain, just that holiday feeling. 

Canberra is technically the sunniest city in Australia, i must admit, we have many Winter days which look like stunning Summer, it's just 2C outside & you're wearing gloves, so i'm just playing spoilt.  The best thing about Queensland is most positively definitely my husband, i miss him, sigh.  Have happy weeks everyone, love Posie

I'm Grateful For . . . 'my siblings'

Greetings all,

Wow, last day of school holidays, sigh, we covered 4000km of NSW & QLD, with the focus on family - mostly my husband - but 3 of our siblings too (we bypassed Sydney which eliminated a brother & a sister + their families).  More on Brisbane soon, i can truly admit i am EXHAUSTED. 

On the way up we visited my husband's sister & caught up her 6 children on the Central Coast (teens & Uni students are harder to trace these days) - she put on an amazing lunch with Grandpa making a guest appearance too; then on the way home, my brother & 3 of his children - we had brunch at his hotel in Newcastle, crashing their boy's weekend with his Uni student, then was taking his 3 boys to the TriNations rugby in Sydney; finally my sister & her 3 children in Bowral - she fed us afternoon tea & dinner, we hung around for 5 hours, not in a hurry to complete the 200km home.  I've said it before, cousins are the BEST things ever, my children are so lucky to have 19 first cousins (no, we're not Catholic) we just LOVE children. 

I'm possibly the ONLY person on earth who drives huge distances, timing the last fuel stop 5km from home, brrr 1C, 9p.m.  I'm also possibly the only person who does all the washing & unpacking immediately??  THEN i wake to a clean, tidy & organised home, skipping off to the supermarket for milk, bread, eggs.

I can absolutely, positively confirm . . . this flour-not-quite-fitting-into-the-flour-Tupperware-container-but-i-tried-anyway . . . sums up my life right now. 

I am about to have the busiest few years of my life - i don't want to wish the time away "it's the journey" & all that - the destination though, our own homestead & farm, husband retired from the Army & 4 children in high school, poof, it will be here before we know it!! 

I just have to work smarter, not harder & let some things go (like my website & fabric Shop), i'm exhausted but thinking & planning, hard!!  First on my list is to resume my gym ritual, it's so important to me (healthy body & mind) i'm unhappy i let it slide last term.  I resigned from the P&C but still do things for them, there truly is no one else, it has to stop!!

After unpacking, sorting & shuffling the groceries, i reached for the cashews, which i had thought about purchasing, not purchasing, purchasing for 5 minutes at the supermarket.  Great, after my 5 minute long deliberation, i picked up peanuts instead of cashews - see where i'm going, i'm slipping, i feel unfocused & i'm careless. 

No, i didn't notice they were peanuts until i had actually put some in my mouth, waaaaa!!  So Maxabella Loves who is Grateful this weekend over at BabyMac, I'm Grateful for the lovely visits with my siblings, it gave me just enough energy to get home, think clearly & start making changes thanks to their advice on where i'm going.  Love Posie