a photo-a-day challenge with FatMumSlim May #2

Greetings all,
Welcome to the second 12 days of the photo-a-day challenge with FatMumSlim for May.

11. kitchen - i think it's fair to say i love red accessories in my kitchen.

 12. something that makes you happy - finally finding a vintage desk i've been searching for, only the lady in front of me put it on hold (literally, 5 seconds ahead of me) but she didn't come back for it, so it was mine the following day!!  Meant to be baby, $40 happy bargain too.  

 13. mum - i posted about my Mum on Mother's day, so i chose this image for this post, remembering the words my Mummy said to me when expecting twins "Jennie, of course you're having twins, you needed a challenge" as our first child was so text book eat-drink-sleep-healthy easy.  FYI twins were easier, they ate-drank-slept-healthy & had each other for company!!

 14. grass - how cool is this spongey grass our neighbours are growing slowly in clumps in their front manicured garden.  My children stroke it gently & update me daily on growth patterns.  Our patient childless groovy young couple neighbours are so kind, they'll say "let the children run, jump & pound the landscaping, it will test how good a job we've done."   

 15. love - i adore hearts & love this sparkly purse.  I want to take it to a wedding, it doesn't really go with my buttery yellow Alannah Hill dress with black sequins, but i adore it anyway.  Is there ever more love on display than at a wedding??  

 16. what you're reading - slowly eyeballing my collection of mother's-day-gift-to-me books, the French Cross Stitch Sampler is a must for the car trip to the Brisbane wedding, now i can use my hands again.

 17. snack - not every lunchtime in this household = a sandwich; nothing beats an avocado dip with Turkish bread, fresh from the markets, feeds 4 hungry children for $7 & is a one plate wonder.

18. something you made - this is a tough one for a designer & housewife, as i've made & created thousands of things . . . so i'm going with . . . i've made a wonderful life with this handsome soldier who i love & adore.  He would say "right back at you Jen."  He is doing what he does best - providing for his family, cooking us eye fillet steaks (something he missed while in Afghanistan) with a feast of salads.  He also needs his jeans repaired, i wonder who could fix them??  Can you spy the spotlight he ended up replacing himself??

 19. a favourite place - around the house, i love this shelf filled with Babushkas. 

 20. something you can't live without - a clear kitchen counter, simple.

 21. where i stand - no earth shattering political view here, i stand in boots: ankle, long, buckled, zip, heeled, flat . . . i love boots in Winter, they are essential, comfortable, warm & always on trend.

 22. pink - just head towards my middle girl's room & look up.  Took me a long time to embrace the colour pink, however, 3 daughters will push you over the edge, they're not pink pink girls, just casual pink users.  My son's favourite colour was pink, until the boys at school told him that was 'gay' (nice) so now it's his second favourite colour (hang in there boy, takes a real man to love pink!!)

 Thanks folks, i'll wrap up May on the 31st.  Love Posie

a photo-a-day challenge with FatMumSlim April #3

Greetings all,

Welcome to the final 10 images of the photo-a-day challenge with FatMumSlim for April.

 21. bottle - popping the cork on this Veuve Clicquot beauty when my husband returns from Afghanistan next month.  We have so much to celebrate on top of his safe home coming . . . the sale of a property, academic & athletic awards for the children + we're buying a farm & new car!!

22. the last thing you bought - oh hello Country Road, this pom pom mohair blanket is truly to die for, plus a fluffy furry cushion.  I had to order on line, as & i quote "that blanket is only in the city stores in states where it gets cold" i.e. not Canberra which is not only Australia's CAPITAL CITY but we're the most likely city to get snow, um, thank goodness shipping was free. 

 23. vegetable - fresh from my sister's garden: onions, carrots & celery.

 24. something you're grateful for - oh bless my gorgeous Papa, he said he popped a little cash in my bank account & demanded i bought myself something nice, for me, not the children or the house, but for my heart. So i did exactly as i was ordered & picked up the Rachel Ashwell book i spied over Christmas but couldn't afford, a craft & invention book (which i can enjoy with the children) + a little egg cup holder, a love heart hot water bottle . . . just because + that divine felt cabbage which makes me smile.  There were also a couple of pear purchases too.  I'm forever grateful for my father, the most powerful influence in my life, possibly why i married such a similar man - right down to the military & bad back!!

 25. looking down - glorious right, a beef ragu on a cold night in a Bison bowl & quirky cutlery.

 26. black & white - could i possibly go past our baby Speckled Hamburg chickety chick??

 27. somewhere you went - Berrima, near Bowral NSW Southern Highlands.  Have to say, most shop owners in this town loathe children, physically blocking doorways & snapping at children for daring to LOOK at their wares.  My sister & i have really quiet know-how-to-behave-while-shopping children, as we both taught them how to care for precious things at home & actually supervise them.  Really left me with a sour taste in my mouth.  The only place we felt welcome was the Ice Creamery & even there it wasn't particularly friendly (hello, 7 children on school holidays wanting ice-cream??)  Lighten up Berrima!!  Your little village has a prison you know, you're not that fancy!!

28. 1p.m. - stunning Autumn skies & embracing the sunniest city in Australia, yes, it's Canberra folks (you other cities might be gloriously coastal & we're inland, but we get less rainy days)!!  Also love sun kissed blankets on the line.

 29. circle - oh dear, this is how my son stores his crayons now??  We'll be repainting this room before we move (that's the royal 'we', i really mean my husband will be painting.)  Whatever makes a child think to do this??

 30. something that makes you sad - oh the heartbreak of losing a baby chicken has left this one lonely & apparently, i'm her new best friend & she chirps until i let her out of her coop to sit with me.  I can't wait to get more baby chicks to keep her busy, she's getting bigger & bigger, louder & louder about wanting company.  Oh, you might spy the Kikki-K mood board i bought with my Daddy's money too.

So there you have it, a-photo-a-day challenge April done & dusted.  I think i'll play in May, have to say, this totally made me camera ready & it was very enjoyable.  Thanks for hosting FatMumSlim, love Posie

a photo-a-day challenge with FatMumSlim April #2

Greetings all,

Voila, the middle part of the photo-a-day challenge with FatMumSlim for April.

 11. where you ate breakfast - school holidays = lazy breakfast of porridge at the computer.  The magazine is on the key board of my laptop as it won't start up, so i might as well read a magazine instead.  All i'm trying to do there is download email, it can take 24 hours!!  An Apple Mac has been dispatched.

 12. stairs - we live in a single storey home, only stairs here are in the dolls' houses.

 13. something you found - OMG, i was cleaning out my studio & found a beautiful Oilily handbag which i deemed fit for charity, but as i tossed it across the room into the 'charity bag' it made a jingle.  I had to make a small incision in the lining of the pocket & dig out what this puzzling rattling noise was.  I gasped, i thought i had lost it, an identity bracelet my parents gave me on my 17th birthday, as per inscription, 20 years ago.  The clasp must have broken while my hand was in my bag & was almost, lost forever!!  Even more precious to me considering what they mean to me now & how lucky my siblings & i are, to still have them.  I'm getting it fixed & back on my wrist, immediately.

 14. how you feel today - wishing i was on a farm, eating our own produce with my husband in the Adirondack chair next to me, surveying our homestead, together.

 15. sunset - bugger, stunning Autumn sunsets every evening until the 15th where it was overcast.

 16. flower - walking through a nursery with my sister, she said "look, Grandad flowers".  Our grandfather was a professional gardener & would bring clippings out from England (imagine him on Border Security, being padded down & arrested now, pockets filled with buds & seeds.)  Apparently, as little girls, we used to call these 'Grandad flowers'.  I didn't remember, i'm so thrilled she reminded me.  Here's to my fuchsia loving ancestor who LOVED Australia so so much.

 17. something you don't like - um, my filing system, next to the filing cabinet.  Bless my husband for trying to encourage me, i frustrate him so much at tax time. 

 18. hair - oh my ethereal child.  A family walk with my sister & our collective 7 children, we stopped for lunch at a cafe to discover my 3rd girl sporting this spectacular headdress, she & her sisters made it as we wandered about.  People kept stopping to comment, my squeaky girl, always a show stopper & angelic.  Needs a fringe trim, note to self. 

 19. orange - i hope i never grow up & out of the appeal of purchasing something like an orange wedge children's suitcase.  It has sisters - the watermelon & lemon.

 20. something you drew - a quick little scribble of a bird, add a sequin headband & it's a disco!!

Thanks for looking, April #1 was here.  I'll do #3 on the 30th of April.  Have gorgeous weekends folks.  Love Posie

a photo-a-day challenge with FatMumSlim April #1

Greetings all,
In my effort to blog every other day, i've combined the first 10 photo-a-day challenges with FatMumSlim for April.

 1. your reflection - the buffet project is painted pink now!!

 2. colour - washi tape addiction anyone??

 3. mail - love letters to my husband.

 4. someone who makes you happy - my boy, ready for school camp!!

 5. tiny - this girl is 13 now & about to pass me in height!!

 6. lunch - smoked salmon & garden herbs.

 7. shadow - tissue fans make awesome patterns.

 8. inside your wallet - i use a filofax (gift from my husband, Christmas 1994) & really should update that picture of our 4 children, from 2004!!  Yikes, was a wonderful & busy 10 years.

 9. a younger you - i guess 1976 with my big sister.

 10. cold - i prefer snuggly, leather lounge & knitted cushions, with hot chocolate.

Thanks for reading folks, are you joining in too??  Love Posie