social commentary Sunday . . . 'just enjoy YOUR life'

Greetings all,

I was going to do a social commentary on why are we so quick to get angry, hate & judge people we don't even know, other than how the media portrays them or they are classic celebrity disasters . . . i just can't get in the negative mood . . . so i'm just doing a post on 'just enjoy YOUR life.'  You get one life right, so why not just embrace what you have, adore who is around you, indulge mostly your needs . . . with a sprinkle of wants.

 How could i possibly get all bent out of shape when my day started with sweet fresh strawberries from the Farmer's Markets . . . 

 i have pink Stock prettiness on the dining table . . .

 my husband made butter to spread on delictable Italian bread . . . 

& we added a new chicken to our flock, a stunning Australian x Indian Game bird.  We planned to go with Indian Games as our table bird (meat) for when we have a farm, so to find one at the markets was a kick start to loving this breed.  I think i impressed the farmer with my knowledge too.  She is not pretty enough to show (not that we had planned to put her in pageants) but was ugly enough for a discount (imperfect beak.)  Like i said on Instagram, we love an under dog.  Welcome the enormousTrombone.

On to other blissful things . . . working through the 30 Days of Braids eBook with Hair Romance & loving every style.  Today we tried the French Side Sweep Braid, which i need to work more on sweeping, rather than swirling.  A happy 11 year old regardless.

 To wrap up the weekend, we took a drive to the country, that's about 10 minutes in any direction from Canberra, a very regional bush capital city . . . & spied some gorgeous properties (not all for sale) but farm-ideas-building.  No one in this family needs convincing that country life is the way to go for us.   

 So folks, just enjoy your life, it's so easy to make changes for good - focus on the positive & don't get bogged down by the negativity in the world which is so largely irrelevant to your own personal life.  Everything here was under $10 each - the strawberries, flowers, butter & eBook, except the discounted $25 chicken.  Money makes life easier yes, however it doesn't bring you happiness . . . you need to seek that out in every corner of your world, often in places you least expect it.  We never knew chickens would be so awesome, making our own butter would taste so good, or that i could do fancy braids in my daughters' hair.  We are planning a farm & a wholesome country life, yet are still living in suburban Army housing - that's not going to stop up practising how we want to live in the future, now.  Just open your heart & these good things will happen too, making the lovely out of the every-day-simple-needs.  Love Posie

spiral braid up-do-how-to

Greetings all,

Last month i put up an image of my middle girl with a spiral braid around her head - many asked for a tutorial - so i did her hair again for choir at Floriade flower festival & took snaps along the way.  Now this girl has waist length platinum blonde hair, it's quite thick & dead straight.  To French plait, you have to ensure the hair is absolutely tangle free, a tiny knot will be your undoing.  

As this braid swirls around her head, i find it easier to part & separate the hair into small sections.  This is not for the faint hearted (or stubborn) . . . your child will literally have to contort their body & twist their head off to allow for the best angles.

Quick tip: her hair was freshly washed & still damp, very easy to handle.  

I had her lay down & twist, it was very manageable (for me.)

 Basically i kept going around her head (twice) & i curved the corner at the starting point, kept going until i had one round patch of hair left (centre), which i plaited to the end like a tail.

 This was the end result, looks far more complicated than it really is.

 This took a solid hour (thus not filming it, yawn) using many hair clips to hold things in place as i twisted my daughter's head & body around.  When i got to the whispy front hair, i actually did a mini French plait, to hold it tighter, then joined it up to the next round of the spiral.

 As i said on Instagram, this child cares for her hair, happily brushing it like Marcia Brady every night.  She has zero split ends & thoughtfully turns off the water while she combs conditioner through it, so she doesn't hog 6 people's worth of hot water.

 Da dah, end result, a little whispy but nice & tight, held together for days (she slept with a shower cap on, i need to make her a silk sleeping cap - Little House on the Prairie style!!)  She loves it, even pops little fresh flowers in there.

 While i'm no Hair Romance (hello Christina) i do try with my girls hair styles & hopefully can avoid the added expense of up-do-appointments for future dances, formals & events times 4 children.  Try French plaiting ladies, it's so much fun - basically plait flat & every time you switch to a side -  collect a strand of hair, it's pure magic & looks a million dollars.  Do check out Christina's stunning hair styles, she's a doll.  My girls watch the tutorials like television & love to have braided hair at athletics, so neat & tidy.  In the end, success of failure . . . it's nice mummy-daughter time.  Love Posie