the aftermath & getting tough & winning with positivity (blog style)

Greetings all,

Thanks so much for your support bloggers, you're all aces.  Quite the year of theft i've suffered . . . an entire basket of pencil rolls from a Mathilda's Market, then my phone/ coin purse in Venice, now a break in at home.  Promise i'm a good person, but geesh, what bad luck.
So looking on the positive & after a pep talk from my butcher (of course) who told me to "refuse to be a victim" you do start to get over such personal violations & get TOUGH, beat them with the positives in your life!!  Look at all the beautiful things i have had arrive in the past couple of weeks for me to play with, sewing & creating new things . . .

. . . patterns & prints from The Red Thread, thanks Lisa!!

. . . 80 yards of fabrics from the USA & Japan . . .

these beautiful screen prints from Thea&Sami in Qld Australia

. . . from Venice, if i can bare to cut into them, those 3 little pieces were 200E, ouch . . .

i have quite the collection of buttons like this, TOO cute, it's all in the details

. . . my new badge making machine, 57mm & fantastic, for screen printed prints to birthday badges, coming to Shop Handmade next week - seriously inexpensive brooches. . .

sigh, my old laptop, i miss you, my custom settings, ease of use, let me tell you - learning a new photo resize & rejig system for this blog post has taken me ages, these are the annoying things post-laptop-theft!!

. . . but how could i be sad when this arrived in the mail . . . check out this incredible blog win - thanks Heidi, i'm wrapped, love everything about it, from the necklaces to postcards & personal touches - friends, Heidi said the giveaway was for the Danish scoop, but look at all the additions, love her!!  Check out her amazing vintage loving blog.

On a final note, from my pal Brenda, all you do need is LOVE, burglars clearly have no clue!!  Yes, we're all safe & now our front hedge has a serious military buzz cut & the grills have been measured up for the front window, we'll feel a whole lot safer in no time.  Have great weekends, i feel a giveaway is in order, stay tuned, love Posie
PS just had Stacey over & a police officer came to my house to ask me about my neighbour being broken into 6 days before me, i was gob smacked, bastards, they've hit a few houses now, same thing, electronics, cash & incredibly neat!!  Just wish i knew so i could have removed laptops & left puppy IN the house!!  To think we live in such a low crime area, they're just after cash but what a way to go about it!!??

Finally - excuse the tiny print, i'm trying to work out why it's so huge my end, tiny on the internet, i think i have set up something on this replacement laptop, differently.  The IT guy i sleep with, you know, for free IT help - as i'd rather be sewing than learning computer technology thanks, anyway, he can fix it when he returns from war!!  This is my 'good enough' mean time computer skills, bare with me.

what's the point of deadbolts & large dogs when burgulars smash through your window??!!

Greetings all,

Yes, your mild mannered patchworking mummy here has said plenty of angry rude words this week, after we arrived home to discover some bastards had smashed through our front window (my studio no less) to break in. 
What a horrible feeling, laptops gone, watches gone, money boxes empty, pricks!!  So there goes my work laptop full of my life/ work/ images/ tax/ everything (sure it's backed up onto a hard drive, which they left, but man, so annoying & never updated as much as you need).  I've contacted Army housing & demanded (i was quite the non push over i tell you) grills on the front window, our German Shepherd can take care of the rest . . . after 3 levels of management said no, plus the house owner, someone high up said yes!!  So i'm spending my days off from Shop (sigh) meeting with hedge trimmers & metal workers, insurance claims, reinstalling software, oh & my accountant to see how much i can fudge my tax return to complete it!!  All friggen annoying, i hope they're not coming back for anything else, they even went through the fridge!!
 Argh!!  Yes, i tossed all the toothbrushes out, you never know . . . & needless to say my handsome soldier is furious, worried, annoyed he's not here to protect us.
They didn't seem to touch anything in my studio, so clearly, they have no taste!!  Losers!!
Have nice weekends everyone, we have the usual party schedule (not me, the children have the social lives) & i'm hoping to drown myself in sewing as a healthy distraction.  I'm leaving Posie on line on hold while i sort all this out too, then i'll re-open with a huge sale, that should make everyone happy. 
So add this break in to me losing/ someone taking my mobile, Visa card, coin purse with cash & my driver's licence in Italy last month.  I loathe my new cheap replacement mobile phone, i hate relearning technology!!  Love Posie

all you need to know about fashion for next Summer, from Europe

Greetings all,
This will be my final big-time-bragging-post about my trip to Europe earlier this month.  Now i'm a long time fashion slave & i can't wait until my girls are tall enough to done a Pucci frock & rock some high fashion ensembles.  Of course my investment in their style will be economical as they'll ALWAYS love eacher other, share their clothes & never fight over fashion, right??!!
The most beautiful word in the Italian language is 'SALDI' which means sale.  I paid full price for my Miu Miu sunglasses as they were fresh from Paris Fashion Week (i haven't had expensive sunglasses since i was a teenager & my then boyfriend/ now husband accidentally broke them!!)  These i treasure like gold in the giant hard velour case.  Even with the weaker Australia dollar, when Europe is on sale, designer shopping is affordable. I went a tad nuts in Guess on blouses, but this time i didn't buy shoes. Benetton is a no brainer for children's fashion - there's one on every corner in Italy!!

So here goes, my eye witness street wise account of . . . Summer European fashion - the wearable version for we mortals!! If you're leggy & slim, you have an edge on any fashion trend, congratulations.

Shoes . . . gladiators are still in, so i hope you didn't throw away last Summer's strappy sandles, ditto for wedges & don't be afraid of patterns or colours; NEW are flat ankle boots which are open sandles on the foot with leather boot covering the ankle (follow??) 
Accessories . . . either go the huge, colourful, chunky, mixed gems/ beads/ metals on a long or multistrand necklace direction, or minimal to no accessories. These ladies don't often adorn their clothes with brooches or jewellery, they let the clothes do the talking.

Clothes . . . to put it simply DRESSES!! Patterned silk (Pucci) or plain cotton dresses - strapless or shirred (rows of elastic around the bust) are totally in, or strappy, with high belts or waist ties. Jersey dresses are also still in, not shirt or wrap style though, more the fitted bodice to A line simple style above the knee. All these dress styles can be teamed with leggings just below the knee, in monotone colours. The ONLY pants to wear are belted, white & tailored slim with a fitted patterned blouse tucked in. There are plenty of ruffles getting around - on blouses, tanks, skirts, in different fabrics (from chiffon to silk to cotton) & they are flirty fun. If you must wear a T - make it stripes, wide, narrow, red or navy on white, a bit of nautical chic.

Hair . . . neat & short or long hair slicked back to perfection & touseled - like you're at the beach & both at the same time, nothing inbetween. As it's Summer, everyone is wearing panama, fedora or trilby style hats, worn low with big sunglasses.

Bags . . . Louis Vuitton reigns supreme, especially the beige on brown logo style (i got one for my middle girl so she'll be hip for life).

Bras . . . the shops are selling neutrals & monotones, but stores aimed at young & fun, leopard print never seems to fade!! Alas, it's Europe & bras are optional (as pointed out by my husband over & over). I'm not taking the chance though, i've breastfed way too many children!!

Nail Polish . . . found the awesome Kiko Milano cosmetic shop, bought gazillions of nail varnish here in every colour (i can cheat by 'sharing' with my daughters) but i haven't noticed coloured nail polish on fingers or toes on the locals, but we like colour in Australia so i say go for it regardless!! Tourists are still into their dark nail polishes, but i say bright Summery colours instead, especially if you're young, or young at heart.

Now for the men, i'm afraid if you're built like my husband, 32" waist & 45" chest + he's over 6' tall - absolutely nothing in Europe fits this shape, no idea where their rowers or rugby players shop.

Clothes . . . I've never seen so many slightly built & narrow chested men in my life, really slim cut fitted shirts & tiny boy jeans. I can't quite get past this uber tailoring. Those who have some bulk in their build still opt for cargoes or Ralph Lauren trousers. All shapes & sizes are wearing polo shirts, wide grey & white stripes are de rigeour.

Shoes . . . sneakers seem to be huge, trendy expensive types or outdoorsy style, something you'd find at Merrell.

Watches . . . my husband & father are classic Omega fans, have to say it's a once-in-a-lifetime super expensive purchase & the SeaMaster Professional is hard to beat (like it better than the George Clooney!!) Best prices in the world (outside Switzerland & the UAE - we did our research) are in Omega, Via Condotti Roma (on your way to the Spanish Steps). All the guys here are wearing big faced, flashy, expensive looking watches.

Swimming . . . speedos of course, it's Europe!! I had no idea it's a hygiene thing in countries like Spain, it's the law: speedos only (who'd complain if their world cup winning soccer team rocked up to the local pool in speedos??) I hope it's law in France & Portugal too. Personally i don't care, my husband has to wear speedos for water polo at work, but chooses board shorts for play.

Bags . . . again, a bit androgenous for me, lots of men carrying large Louis Vuitton satchels. If you're travelling, The North Face have an amazing selection of sporty luggage, buy on line from America, good luck finding a company who ship to Australia.

Hair . . . either short or slicked front & messy at the back, that overdue-for-a-hair-cut look but not too long & certainly not like a boy band (small mercy).

Hats . . . like the ladies, range of monotoned or natural coloured fedoras, some with striped bands, they look great on the right guy. Please no more boaters, we're not in Venice anymore!! The guys are also wearing large sunglasses, or thin rimmed Ray Bans, the big Aviator style, even mirrored ones (best left for actual pilots me thinks).

So good luck recycling your last Summer Seasonal fashion. I've ruined my white trousers by sitting on sticky resin THEN i dripped chocolate gelato down them, nice combination!! I have new jewellery, shoes, clothes, make up . . . just realised i've not mentioned yet that i had to dump about $200 worth of Clinique at Sydney airport!! Argh - even though i had less than 100ml of anything, if the capacity of the container is greater than 100ml, you have to toss it (Australian Customs rules are so tough)?? Cruel irony, the Duty Free Clinique counter was 10m away, so i restocked the essentials immediately (imagine 27 hours fly time without moisturiser??) THEN on the ship, make up & perfumes are 25% less than US RRP, which is like 65% off Australian retail prices. My husband actually said the words "you're losing money by not shopping" so while in a state of shock as that man loathes shopping, i armed myself with a swipey card that charges everything back to the cabin (read: husband's credit card) i stocked up on make up, moisturiser & facial products for the whole family. Even the birthday boy got the brand new Gucci Sport aftershave for his birthday!!
So now very much resettled into reality, children, school runs, children's parties, grocery shopping, P&C BBQ fundraisers, Shop Handmade & tomorrow a school Athletics Carnival . . . i've finally gotten over my jet lag & deep sadness of having to start missing my husband all over again.  A week in, i've replaced my driver's licence, Visa card & mobile phone, life is back in order.  Have lovely weekends, love Posie

it's over so quickly . . .

Greetings all,
Thanks for the great comments, i feel like i'm home with friends, love you all!!  Coping much better today, with sleep + the concept of children resuming school & me returning to Shop Handmade in the morning.  I have a new focus, ideas & energy for my work.  For now, while i get my act together, here are some more images to gaze at, ahhhh . . .

So glad i had Italian tags on my luggage, i was waved through DIY customs with the big boarder security question of "do you have any cheese in your bag??" 

Crystal clear waters of Croatia, chandelier from the Duke's Palace in the Old City & that square paver is the ONLY square one - marking the centre of the Old City.

More glorious sites about Greece - check out the insane colours against the pool at the Olympia Resort!!  Little side story about the few remaining columns at the Temple of Zeus, the Persians took 90 marble columns from here, ground them to dust to lime wash their mosques - OMG, how short sighted are these vandals!!??

More sites around Rome, the Palace, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum & authentic Roman Gladiators on their mobile phones??  Special mention that we went to the Vatican, did it for you Corrie from Retro Mummy!!  My husband was stopped over & over to take photos for people, he had our big Nikon around his neck so looked like a much better photographer than me with the little camera.  Either that or i look like the kind of person who would run off with your camera??

The horse statue is from the Palace in Rome, but i couldn't move the image from the rest of these snaps of Venice.  A peek at some woodwork, gelato & Murano glass around San Marco.  Just for Brenda of Red Stitch Design - some more tassell porn.  Very hard to resist but extremely expensive, that helped me part tassell-less.  I have my fabrics, ahhhhh . . .

Have lovely weeks, the Euro Fashion blog post will be next, bring on Summer, i have quite the tan already!!  Love Posie