a stop. start. up. down. weekend with a huge surprise

Greetings all,

Wow, you bloggie folk are the best ever, i can't thank you enough for all the comments over the past week as i've been exhausted, ill & flat - all things which fly in the face of who i am & what i'm about (energy, health & happiness).  

My darling husband could sense how dreadful i was feeling & took leave to come home for the weekend - you can imagine the exciting surprise on Friday afternoon when he flew in & turned up on the doorstep.  Yay!!  A whole 48 hours with my handsome soldier.  I never ask for pity - we chose this life - the Army & more recently, to live in 1300km apart, so my husband could concentrate on his career (wars/ courses/ training/ exercises/ promotions) & our eldest transition to high school smoothly (our 9th school) . . . everyone is flourishing personally, but it is a long road & a lot of work to raise children physically on your own & spend this much time away from your favourite person in the whole wide world!!  It was meant to be 2 years, then 3, now it's looking like 4 or 4.5 years, eekk!!  We can do it!! 

 Exciting image of our kitchen sink . . . but it offers up clues of our weekend - a delicious made-from-scratch tandoori chicken BBQ dinner with rice; flowers for a client; remnants of baking; freshly squeezed orange juice . . . capping off a busy weekend. 

My donations to the school bake sale . . .  

 my muffins look whipped rather than mixed, but i can barely grasp a wooden spoon with my hands (carpal tunnel) is really playing up so the KitchenAid did the work for me.  

 The latest stationery purchases (delivered on Friday) - now to think up what to do . . .

 completely love these handmade stamps - i want to use them on fabric or tape . . .

 & i need to make a new range of gift cards/ tags, these sticky rings from Japan will help with inspiration . . .

 for my next Handmade market i want to put together stationery packs & work on the packaging/ display - i think these stumpy pegs are perfect for the job!!

 I'm being very restrictive with the sharing of the vintage stripey straws while i work out what i want to do with them, but they just make drinking so much fun for the children, so i let them have a couple on the weekend.  

 I should start a series called "images you don't want to find on your camera" . . . always taken by the children . . . this is an outdoor puppy who is only allowed inside at night, after the children are asleep, to patrol the halls & keeps us safe, um, can't you tell . . .

look at that Winter coat around his bottom, SO much fluff, he leaves a trail.
So it was a very stop. start. up. down. weekend with parties, events & cuddles.  I'm so thankful my husband was here to courier the children around while i flaked in the passenger seat of my life, if only for the weekend.  He has great timing that boy!!  Love Posie

things i'm loving 'relaxing with my husband'

Greetings all,

Oh, relaxation . . . as my our school holidays melt away, so do the dreamy moments with my husband.  We were very lucky to have 2 whole weeks with him, now it's back to reality - him in Brisbane soldiering, us in Canberra schooling.  I love this image, it's in my heart forever, handsome soldier resting his head on my lap at the park while the children play.

With a hot chocolate . . .  

 shared with the children . . . how BIG is my baby boy getting??  Notice the tear at the knee of his new jeans, argh??  Oh well, he's been having a ball running around.  He did ask if one of his sisters could crochet him a patch, from yesterday's crochet class - ha!!

 Then a round of milkshakes (this only happens when Daddy is around).

 How cute is this cafe, by a huge park + attached to a gift shop = perfection (with completely delightful service too!!)  More on this beautiful place shortly.

 Can you spy my 3rd girl climbing & my other 2 on the ariel see saw??

Thank you dreamy PaisleyJade with Things I'm Loving this week, i miss my husband & these carefree relaxing days already.  Love Posie

things i'm loving 'snow day' & i'm grateful for 'love'

Greetings all,

Oh finally, it's school holidays for Canberra!!  To celebrate the last day of term, my 3 primary schoolers were invited to dress for Snow Day & dress for snow they did!!

Check out the beautiful weather, it was still -1C when we dropped them at school (yes WE, my husband flew in 30 hours early, yesterday afternoon).  He was thrilled to leave warm & sunny Brisbane to arrive just in time for a -6C Canberra night.

 Very Scooby Doo outside in the thick fog.

 I had my leather gloves on & enjoyed the car heating.

 A nice surprise waiting at the post office - my on line orders from my head-cold-shopping - just in time for my husband to see.  As our fabulous post office lady said "you can't exactly hide 3 giant floor cushions & smuggle them into the house like shoes".  I say fabulous as she is equally as excited about my orders of fabric, twine & vintage wax paper stripey straws as i am!!  Ooppss, i ordered 450 straws, my head cold did last a few days, i was delirious & they have been a huge hit with the children.

 Oh why thank you Donna Hay, these DIY brownie & macaron mixes will do nicely as i perch myself on your indulgent floor cushions (FYI cushions reduced from $140 to $69.95 + $9 shipping each now - i've been told we're NOT visiting her General Store when we visit our parents in Sydney) & every order comes with a box of pencils.  I left a little note saying 'if you have any spare pencils, i have 4 big Donna Hay fans who would make good use of them' & da dah, 4 boxes of free pencils were beautifully wrapped up in blue tissue paper with the order.  What a treat!!

 Mmmm . . . for more Things I'm Loving, go visit the lovely Paisley Jade today.
Now to double up this post with I'm Grateful For with Maxabella Loves, as i have one busy weekend (looking at farms, yippee) . . .

 As i mentioned, yay, my husband is home - 2 whole weeks of fun & games with the school holidays.  To celebrate i treated myself to this beautifully embroidered heart by Plushka (hi Katia, gorgeous to see you here in windy, blustery, blizzardy Canberra this week) which will sit nicely with my heart collection (red one by Plushka, linen one by Red Stitch Designs, hi Brenda!!)

 Handsome soldier sent me flowers mid week, i've been pretty run down, exhausted & desperate for some time off the school run & homework judging, what a lovely surprise!!  Oh the joy of sharing the parenting, if only for a couple of weeks. 

What do two lovebirds do after 2 months apart - that's right, turn out the pantry, pull out the fridge & clean behind it + sort out all the bits & pieces which found their way to the top of the fridge.  We were heading to our favourite restaurant Poacher's Pantry for lunch, after a spot of shopping in the city, but handsome soldier felt a bit heady & unwell (no doubt frozen) so we picked up a movie (RED) & enjoyed crusty BBQ chicken & salad rolls, mmmm.  That my friends is how you keep 15 years of marriage alive.  Next we're changing lightglobes!!
Finally back on regular internet speed, yay, blogs here i come.  Love Posie
Thanks for the super encouraging comments on my talk to the high school girls about a career in design . . . they were a mix of nervous & shy, keen & so totally not interested.  I was teamed up with 2 former students who were studying Industrial Design & Engineering, we all had very different angles to discuss from 'the panel'.  They were impressed by different things - famous clients, glossy magazines, published books - each group of girls was completely different.  I did give away surprise prizes to the girls asking the best questions & handed around copies of Handmade Living for them to flick through, something tangible & the teachers loved that too!! 

school holiday reading

Greetings all,

You know i love my husband to pieces & here's a tiny example of why - he's not romantic in a flowers (they make him sneeze, make a mess with petals, then they die & turn the water brown), lobster dinners (he doesn't really like eating seafood or the smell) or jewellery (he's given me wedding rings, what else do i need) kind of way . . . but he does surprise me with, well, him - turning up unexpected/ early/ when i least expect him on the doorstep . . . & treats me with things i really love - like homey books & magazines. 

 So handsome soldier knew i was desperately trying to find Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Cookbook, to the point where i looked like a book shop lifter, loitering suspiciously on my hands & knees, checking every shelf in every book shop in Canberra.  No, i didn't think to order on line, but that would have ruined my husband finding a copy in David Jones in Brisbane, being the hero & surprising me.  He also thought i'd enjoy "this book by that Cath Kidston chick i think you like" & how cute is this, a cookbook Collection of recipes, he thought it looked vintage & like something i'd want.  Oh bliss!!  Donna Hay Magazine, well i'm a fan, her recipes are great, even for my low skill level & inclination, but her styling, that is what i love about her the most.

 A little taste of the pages of Collection . . .

 my mother used to make a brilliant pate.

 Cath Kidston Sew - i would love to make a mass bird mobile style chandelier for my high schooler for when she moves into the new bedroom/ other half of my studio.

 I'm going to try an oversized hexagon patchwork quilt this month.

 Jamie Oliver - do you ever fail us regular family cooks??

 Oh i want to go on a picnic, NOW!!

 Donna Hay, visual feast as always in her pages, like boys fishing!!

 Donna teaches you this month about noodle varieties, brilliant!!

Then this sweet story on the last page of the magazine, about how Donna found a baby bird's nest on her way home after dropping her youngest child at his first day of school.  Sigh, i've been there.  She teamed it with a handmade bird from a friend & took this beautiful image.  What a gorgeous memory to keep of the experience.  As a fellow mummy who has an empty nest with all her children at school, i think i'd like to find a sweet bird's nest too & pop in 4 little handmade birds, under a glass dome, wouldn't that be delightful?? 
Aren't i the luckiest girl around, thoughtful husband & our 4 fabulous children, all together on school holidays.  Now time to ignore them all & stick my head in all this school holiday reading.  Love Posie

social commentary Sunday 'bad boys'

Greetings all,
Thinking of starting up a new meme for all who wish to join in, called Social Commentary Sunday.  My friends know i am loud with strong opinions, so why not make that into a weekly post??  Maybe just 'what's on your mind' or i could throw out a theme/ topic/ idea on Saturdays for us to post about on Sundays.  Want to join in, let me know!!
This weekend has seen me sewing up a storm, i have to constantly replace stock at the Shop & mass produce for markets, but after a heavy & emotional week, i've turned to quilting.  Love of colour, simple design & sew on autopilot.  So . . . Bad Boys might be a strange title subject for this housewife, mummy & patchwork quilter to pick or relate to??  Read on . . .

 While i sew, i have DVDs on in my studio to save me from day time or weekend sport, sport or sport on television.  The gorgeous SuperNatural brothers have been entertaining me.  Granted i'm focused on sewing with only one eye on these hunky boys, but there is something about them which reminds me of my choice of husband - handsome, broody & a bit of mystery - the bad boy action man??  I'd like to say Bear Grylls types, parachute jumping, rock climbing & in their spare time, fighting demons. 

 As i was watching Sunrise in my studio, the ads for Home&Away kept rolling . . . some 'bad boys' have moved to Summer Bay.  Typical story, the good girl has fallen for one (you can piece the story together from the ads of course) & da dah, the bad boy turns out to be quite nice, gentle with an easy smile that melts you & makes you weak at the knees.  

 Last time i watched Home&Away my cousin Alyssa was on, some story line of her tricking her on screen boyfriend that he was the father of her baby (bad girl, classy role Lyss).  The boyfriend = Chris Hemsworth (as in Miley Cyrus's boyfriend Liam Hemsworth's brother - OMG, i have a connection to Hannah Montanna, shame my children wouldn't care, OMG, i have a connection to Billy-Ray Cyrus, bit of sick just came up in my mouth) anyway . . . as i name drop & digress (Alyssa here with pals Alex & Gyton) . . . 

 Alyssa is my inside guru into Hollywood bad boys who are REALLY nice in real life.  If you've seen Ryan Kwanten in TruBlood (FYI while i was looking for a photo of him, there is a Jason Stackhouse workout) you'd never believe it, he's so bad on screen.  Sure he's totally hot but to me, Ryan still has that baby face from his Home&Away days, either that or i'm just 36 & acting my age??!!  The surfy angle reminds me of my husband in his early 20s, i know, as if i could resist.

 Ah, yes, Sam Worthington, hello ladies, he reminds me the most of my husband - very broody & has played a few military roles.  I did let out a yelp when Alyssa (who never name drops, i drag it out of her) said that she had dinner with Sam just after Avatar & he's still the same nice guy.  That broody face & work boot footwear just sucks me in.  You can add to my list the likes of Daniel Craig (James Bond), David Boreanez (Angel, Bones), Jon Hamm (Mad Men) & Wentworth Miller (Prison Break) who i find mesmerising, their eyes & fact they say so little - wow, i often say to my husband "what are you saving your words for??" as he just doesn't talk unless he has something really important to say.  Quite confronting to me, the blabber-oner.  I had to get used to comfortable silence very early on in our relationship.  I was never looking to 'save' a guy or mother one, i didn't want a damaged one with baggage either.  My husband had just a dash of conflict in his eyes.    

 In an effort to tie all this together with the gratuitous images of hunky guys . . . what really is a bad boy, on screen or in real life??  Is it a look, an attitude, the mystery, what's not said??  Sure there are some scary genuine bad boys out there, who beat their wives & deal drugs, horrible, yuck.  I'm talking about the ones you can't take your eyes off, they are captivating, mysterious & SO different from your life, they're an escape??  That is what i felt when i first laid eyes on my husband. 
He was loud, popular & from a very different world - the Inner West of Sydney (it was a bit rough in the mid 90s, now it's gentrified) with working class mates who drank, they were soldiers.  I was a strong minded teenager, a good girl from the safe & quiet North Shore of Sydney, studying at university, focused with goals, but attracted to him like an intense magnet.  We started dating immediately (ok, imagine me cute, blonde, slim, fun, smart - i was a catch & a mystery to him too).  I soon realised this apparent bad boy was completely adorable - he would drive me home & walk me to my door; called my father 'sir' when they first met; always helping cook with my mother; always phoned (this was before mobiles, SMS & email); never let me pay for anything; held doors open/ chairs out/ gave me his jacket if i was cold . . . OMG, he was the nicest bad boy ever!!  Um, we talked baby names on our first date & i was actually thinking he was going to be a fling as i was fresh out of my first serious relationship.   
Probably why, 17 years later i am still madly in love with him!!  He is still broody & mysterious, he has been to places & seen things in war i could never imagine.  He's protective, responsible & sensible, i feel safe.  I would never say i tamed him, i was just the right challenge & made the ideal military wife for him.  I still say to him, "if you never asked me out, i'd still have a crush on you & wonder about you".  Oh imagine if i didn't marry him, but someone boring & obvious, i'd still be thinking of my teen crush.  I have never doubted our relationship, perhaps because my parents didn't either - ok, after dating him for a few months they were off on a big trip around Australia . . . they asked him to move in (my parents were VERY conservative, this was jaw dropping stuff) to look after me & get this - put money into his bank account to buy groceries every week!!  Can you imagine in a million years doing that for your teen daugther's boyfriend??!!  I'll just state here & now, we won't be doing that for ANY of our children, what were my parents thinking??  He he he, they did expect us to sleep in different rooms, ha ha ha.

Right now, this is as wild as my bad boy experience gets - this cute little heart breaker is the son of Rosalind from Grace Designs who popped over on Friday, she makes gorgeous babies too!! 
So there you have it, my first offering for Social Commentary Sunday, let me know what you think & if you'd like to join in & i'll do a linky list next week.  Or do your own today, maybe your own take on Bad Boys or who you chose to marry too, love Posie

any excuse to buy little extra luxuries . . .

Greetings all,
I paced my Christmas shopping so evenly & well in advance this year, i feel quite entitled to indulge in a few little luxuries. 

Thank you for asking, my facial/ massage/ eye brow wax went wonderfully, i didn't want to leave!!  Thank Martha from JellyShane for some sober advice, my eyebrows do NOT look like Nike ticks, i'm so sorry you had to go through such an ordeal.  I even managed to wash my new hair do & dry into a cute style today, there is hope!!  & fear not Monet Paisley, my hair is streaky blonde, it just didn't look like it in the photo in my dark lounge + swimming over Summer, it will go even streakier!!  I just don't have time for colour maintenance.

Anyway, sticking to handmade style or handmade-craft-enabling themes in my indulgence . . . i've had a bit of fun.  Check out the Plushka festive bunting for the treadmill, precariously positioned/ pushed out of the way for the Christmas tree. 

Apparently it's quite westie/ redneck to have a treadmill in your living area, but i like to run & watch television, "would you rather me be fatter??"  No, thought not.  When we build our own home, of course, there will not be a treadmill in the lounge, but the Army just wouldn't provide us a house with a wing for the gym!!  Let's move on . . .

 tonight i picked up some Tupperware from a party last week, hopefully my slicing of vegetables for homemade cooking will improve immeasureably, like my spelling!!

 Too cute, had to buy 4 of these handmade Christmas trees for my 4 made-by-me children.

 Can anyone resist a stationery store??  I hit the 3 biggies at the Canberra Centre tonight while my girls were at parties in town, Typo - comedic thrills; Kikki-K - compulsory pieces; Smiggle - cheap cheer.

 More cards, ornaments, ribbon, twine, stamps, books . . . argh!!

 Ah, today my husband took me to Poacher's Pantry for lunch.  Our little 'last day of school celebration'.  We planned to buy a Christmas ham there, smoked on site, but they only had HUGE ones & we're not having Christmas day with our immediate 40 hungry-ham-loving family members, so we'll settle for a smaller leg from a farmer's market instead.  We did leave with some goodies from the pantry for our parents, like truffle chocolates, marinades, preserves & sauces + freckles, the extra expensive & sugary type which you can only eat slowly!!

Oh, had a great idea this afternoon - to arrive at school early with a disposable camera for our eldest daughter to take shots of her friends on the last day of primary school EVER.  Best. Mum. Ever.  She liked me for a whole half hour after that, then things went back to normal preteen-mummy tension.  I actually said to the teens-in-waiting . . . i hope you're taking notes & you don't bother to be so challenging.  They were on their way to a Friday night party anyway, they'd agree with anything i said!!  Happy weekends, love Posie
EDIT: my husband went back to Poacher's today & picked up a small ham, turkey & more Freckles!!  All is well for Christmas day at our place, table of 6!!

what exactly is 'no appointment necessary' hmmmm??

Greetings all,

Not normally one to be huffy . . . but i went to the hairdresser today, enough said - i hear you, HUFFY!!  I use the no-appointments-necessary-kind of hairdresser.  I have thick straight colour free hair, it's hard to cut badly.  My tactic over a decade of stay at home mothering has been to arrive as they open, so i get the first haircut de jour, in & out, very handy if/ when i had up to 4 children with me. 
Today my husband took the children to school & had a dentist appointment, perfect, i'll get a haircut while he's out.  So i rocked up at 10a.m. & i was swiftly informed that i could have my hair cut at 11.15a.m.  I said "oh, i thought you opened at 10 & i'd be first".  Ok, upon looking around, the salon was full, my bad, but . . . the receptionist did the over dramatic head swivel to emphasis e v e r y  c h a i r & e v e r y  h a i r d r e s s e r was busy & then eye balled me with a breathy statement of "we open at 9, always have".  Lies i tell you!! 
So a combination of my not keeping up to date with opening hours, maybe it's Christmas trading, who knows, who cares, i went back at 11a.m. for my 11.15a.m. no appointment necessary APPOINTMENT nonetheless.  You guessed it, she hadn't written my name down (emphasised by her huffing "Jennie, no, no, no, no Jennie on the list") so i was made to feel like i was abusing the no-appointment-necessary slogan plastered all over the salon window, by indeed, not making an appointment.  I remained pleasant, i mean, they were about to take scissors to my hair!!

In between all of this, my husband had arrived home from the dentist & was surprised to find me back home so early too.  He very nervously asked "did you get your haircut, looks nice??" as he remembered to 'notice'.  Then added the helpful comment of "i don't know why you go to that hairdresser" but i simply don't care enough about my hair to pay $200 & thanks to the Army, we move state/ territory every 2 years so i can't form an attachment/ bond/ dependency with a hairdresser as it will only end in tears when we leave.

So i woke up looking like this . . . quite literally, how tired do i look??!!

I'm just about to hop in the shower & i look like this, quite literally, wrapped in a towel!!

I know, i'm as suprised as you are how unphotogenic i am!!

But wait, there's more . . . i said to Dany - the gay Korean hairdresser assigned to me, to do something short & fun.  He removed my glasses (why do i always forget to wear contact lenses in these situations, i can't see anything without my glasses??) & i said "sure, try a fringe" . . . at first i thought i might be channelling Joan Holloway from Mad Men, then as Dany played around teasing my hair & flattening it, it went a little more like Peggy Olsen . . . then my shock as i regained focus with my glasses, Dany had cut my hair JUST LIKE HIS!! 

I got the giggles, seriously, i walked off to the bakery laughing thinking, i'm a 35y.o. mother with a boy band hair do.  I told the baker & she said it looked nice.  Ok, brave enough to return home to my husband, again, he actually likes it, so i'll keep it this way for Summer.  FYI my husband things boys in boy bands look like girls anyway!!

Happy haircuts everyone, i know Retro Mummy is off on Saturday to the salon, she loves her hairdresser & gets a great do.  It's that time of year - check out my son's new trim.  I had put off his haircut for weeks, so last night i just said to my husband "shave it off, it's Summer, it makes swimming easier, it will grow back" & he did. 

maybe he'll grow up to look like Jensen Ackles

 More personal grooming on Thursday when i get a facial & my eye brows done, wish me luck!!  I made an appointment for that!!  Love Posie