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

i'm grateful for 'bargains'

Greetings all,

Thanks for asking Maxabella, this week I'm Grateful for BARGAINS, SALES, CLEARANCES & "70% off already reduced ticket prices".  I know it's harsh on big retailers & department stores but i think they're kind of being slapped with a turn away from mass consumerism/ made in China & thoughtless spending, instead, we're watching our pennies & choosing to spend our precious money where it counts . . . small business, local handmade, Farmer's Markets & the like.  I love designer gear & quirky things, but can't afford them at full price, so this is my big chance to buy things beyond my financial reach!!

I needed more of those wooden crates from Provincial, thanks to friends seeing them on my blog & saying "hey, next time you're there, pick me up . . . six", even the sales assistant said "we've had ladies in here saying they saw our baskets on your blog".  Yay!!  Anyway, between Provincial & the car park, i had to walk past TYPO.  Oh dear, how many $5 clearance tables can a store have?? 

 Keep Calm canvas, giant ampersand, wooden toadstool, bird peg stand - all $5 each; washi tape dispenser 50c (i got a few) + more $5 peg sets.

 Love Rules Without Rules canvas $5, mushroom pillow $10.

 Embroidery hoop picture $5 (i got a couple) + some $5 lanterns, 50c pencils, $2 note pads, $1 Mexican paper garlands.

 This Eiffel Tower print is HUGE, so great to find something for my son's bedroom . . . now he has this canvas, yep, $5.  You could cover over them - the frame alone is worth more!!

 Committing to 2 trips to the car, as i had a French washing basket, 6 crates, 4 canvases, a magnetic board (wooden frame had a crack so it was reduced to $25) & 3 wooden trees (er, um, $5 each reduced from $50) my arms were breaking.  On the way back to TYPO i spied Country Road - their outlet was closing down with "70% off already reduced ticket prices".  My bounty . .  . oatmeal track pants, grey track shorts, 4 scarves, 3 tops, a grey wool wrap, a peach cardigan + a black dress reduced from $249 to $27 & a few things for the children (skirt, tank, dress) including this purple kaftan . . . i just knew if i didn't buy it, i'd regret it, even though the ONLY one left was a size 4 & it was for an almost 10y.o. it was a $60 reduced to $12.50 risk.  Sure enough she loved it & it fits beautifully, this child can wear any style/ colour/ pattern - such is her amazing complexion. 

 I picked up these desert books from the regular Country Road store sale last week, my boy's feet are growing so fast!!  Love the laces.

After all that shopping, a girl's got to rest.  I was suffering the last of my head cold, i think it's gone now, it's really hard to blow your nose with arms full of bargain shopping & eyes streaming.  I really looked after myself with the right drugs, rest & healthy food.  Ok, so my Friday wasn't too tough, i caught up with a school mummy & we saw Bridesmaids at the cinema, loved it - quite a different movie to what i expected, very funny, with heart.  Then a sushi lunch & a tour of a local organic chocolate factory (stay tuned for that post on Monday) then an after school P&C party.  Now i'm curled up on the lounge in my woollie boots with some choice magazines, Skype'ing my husband & sipping hot chocolate.  

Have gorgeous weekends, i really should do some sewing!!  Love Posie