i heart pre loved

i am taking great pride in the fact that nearly all of the furniture in my home is pre loved.

my vintage obsession is proving to be very good for the environment and very good for my bank balance.

here are some of the recent pre loved furniture i have added to my little cottage by the sea...

{my lovely bedside table}

i found two of them at my favorite op shop a month or so ago 

i have been searching for some pre loved bedside tables for about two years now and i was so happy to find these two beauties

{wooden shelf}

i love this shelf

it sits by my dinning table and now display lots of my lovely vintage treasures

{wooden bookcase}

it is not fancy, just a little place to keep all of my crafting bits and pieces

it is also a one stop junk spot

i think every house has one of those spots

{vintage lounge suite}

this has to be my favorite recent find

it is green {love}

it is velvet {love}

it is vintage {love}

it was free {LOVE}

my friend gave me this sofa and two arm chairs which now takes pride of place in my lounge room.

they were cluttering up a room at the campsite she manages and she had no use for them.

she could not believe that i would want them

(she did not know about my obsession with all things vintage)

i feel in love with them instantly and they look perfect in my little home.

{the day after sunday}

monday has rolled around again, it is now only five weeks until the october school holidays. now that i am back teaching my life is organised in to ten week blocks. this past week my little boy has been missing me and it has been awfully hard to leave him in care while i go to work. it seems a little silly to have somebody else look after my little boy while i go and teach other children.

this weekend has been jammed packed once again. we even had to turn down two social engagements we were that busy.

my two cheeky chickens, bob and wendy took another little jaunt around the neighborhood on saturday morning. we found them down near the beach. they are taking the phrase free range chickens very seriously! however it was totally all my hubby's fault they got out. he let them out on friday afternoon and forgot to put them back into their pen so they were out all night!

my beautiful little niece halle had her baby dedication on saturday night. it is so wonderful that we can bring our precious little children to God, they are after all a gift from him. we kept will in for the church service and he loved it. he even broke out a few of his super cute dance moves during the worship songs.

i cleaned my house from top to bottom. we have a rent inspection on tuesday, i hate rent inspection but at least my little cottage is now super clean and tidy.

i dragged my hubby out of the house on saturday morning to help me pick up some more furniture. yes more furniture, my little place is over flowing but i could not resist, the furniture was vintage, in great condition and it was free. did you hear me? FREE! i will tell you more about it later.

i spoke the phrase "you don not pee on the coffee table!" this weekend. mothers of small boys will totally understand this. i spoke it very calmly, there was no shouting. there was however a lot of giggling. my little boy is still getting the hang of potty training, and i guess you can say he likes to experiment!

i found some great clothes at my favorite store crossroads. of course i did not really need them but they were just too good to pass up. at the moment crossroads have some great 70s inspired clothing in-store - flares, maxi dresses, crochet tops and silk wraps they all made my heart skip a beat when i saw it all.

i can not wait for life to slow down a little, to not be so busy or too tiered to enjoy the weekend.
bring on school holidays!

i am linking up here

hope you all have a wonderful week
xoxo

earth angel

sunday outfit
the details...

silk top - tree of life, black t and jeans  - target, gladiators - kmart, key necklace - diva, earrings - equip, clutch - op shop 

seize life!

eat bread with gusto

oh yes, God takes pleasure in your pleasure

dress festively every morning

don't skimp on colours and scarves

relish life with the one you love

each is Gods gift

make the most of each one

what ever turns up, grab it and do it heartily

ecclesiastes 9

i just love this!

this should be our mantra for life...

eating fine foods

dressing in fabulous clothes

and living life to the fullest with the ones we love

do i hear an amen?

if you go down to the woods today:::

my mantel has been overrun by little woodland creatures :::

as i have told you before i can not get enough of these cute little deer and i am getting quite a collection of the little critters.

my husband dose not understand my affinity for little deer or the vast number of cute little ornaments that are appearing around our house. i tried to explain but he just didn't get it.

there was a awhile there that my house had to be totally child proof because the little guy would be into everything, touching my precious stuff and playing with it when he shouldn't be. now that he is older and can keep his sticky little hands to himself all my little nick knacks have come back out onto display. 

but now i have to do more dusting!

media engine

my hubby and 3 of his mates own a business called media engine. they provide branding, graphic design, web development, printing and marketing. you should check them out they are totally awesome.

on the weekend media engine won two awards at the Rockingham Kwinana Chamber of Commerce 2011 Regional Business Awards.

they won small business of the year and business of the year!

i am so proud of my hubby and his awesome team at media engine. they work really hard and all their hard work has paid off. they are such a creative bunch and they do amazing work.

congratulations guys!

you can check out their website here and follow them on facebook here.

simple kitchen

i am not a fancy cook and there are not too many fancy gadgets in my kitchen but one gadget i have and absolutely love is my pie maker. i use it all the time to turn left overs into master pieces, to make sweet mini apple pies and to knock together quiches for a quick weekend meal.

the hubster is out tonight so it is just me an the little guy for dinner so i needed to prepare something quick and easy. also something reasonable nutritious. i always struggle to get the little guy to eat all the healthy stuff so i fooled him into eating it all packed inside a cute little quiche.

i always keep pastry on hand in the freezer for some quick pie maker meals. my pie maker came with a special cutter that cuts the pastry to the perfect size.

i always have eggs on hand thanks to our cheeky chickens and then i just raid the fridge for some interesting ingredients.

tonight's quiche included cheese, tomato, cucumber, feta (for me) and avocado, yum!

while i was busy in the kitchen this afternoon preparing dinner:::
i was listening to the musical genius robert pattinson (love that guy and love his mad piano skills)

hubby was doing the ironing (love him for that) watching some random reality tv show involving shooting guns (don't really appreciate this one though!)

the boy was using the bin, kitchen stool and a variety of pots to play the drums

and the chickens were picking their way around our backyard in the beautiful sunshine.

just a regular weekend here in the land of the blessed
hope you are having a lovely weekend
xoxo

{LOVE}

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.  

 

this week i am loving...

{the wonderful women i work with}

 

they are kind and compasionate

they put a smile on my face everyday

they are loving and supportive

and they even spoil me with special little gifts...

{thank you danielle, you made my day}

{once again i am thankful for my wonderful mother in law}

this week i have been sick

i have the flu complete with chills, fever, aches and pains  

my mother in law not only looked after my little boy for me but also taught my class at school as well

she is my hero in my time of need 

{i am loving rainy day slash sick day games}

it is hard occupying a little one when you yourself are sick

there was a lot of sleeping and tv watching this week

but we also found some toys that had been packed away and forgotten about

when the little guy discovered them it was like having new toys all over again

it was enough to keep him busy while i was having a rest

{i love when friends gift you something for no special reason at all, simply just because they were thinking of you}

my dear friend amanda made this alphabet wall hanging for me and the little guy

i love it

she is just the sweetest gal to think of us

i am also loving...

friends who send you get well wishes on facebook

cold and flu tablets

tea that warms you to the heart and makes you feel a little better

reading in bed... all day long

the chickens coming to say hello to me at my back door

sunshine that comes out just in time to dry my washing

and a hubby who brings me cake to cheer me up


i am linking up here

hope you all have a fab weekend
bless
xoxo

spring is in the air

spring i heart you and i am eagerly waiting for you to arrive.

don't get me wrong, i love winter but i am eager for a little more sunshine and a little less dark grey days.

summer time can stay away a little longer, i am not ready for blistering heat just yet.

but this spring i am looking forward to...

more sunlight hours

wearing jeans and tshirts

being able to wear my gladiator sandals again with out my feet turning blue

daises and butterflies

walking in the sun instead of the rain

the new spring time fashions that are currently in store... floaty floral fabrics, weird hem lines and colour

the october school holidays, the last little break before the end of year and christmas madness begins

spring time come on in and stay awhile, we welcome you with open arms
xoxo

{the day after sunday}

me and the boys had a little getaway this weekend

we packed a bag and headed down south for a few days of rest and relaxation

there was lots of yummy food

plenty of chai lattes

and cuddles under our new blanket

we watched movies together

played in the park

bike and scooter riding

jumping

climbing 

walking

and a tiny bit of shopping

{check out this cute little woodland creature i found in a gift store...}

but there was also lots of 

crying

coughing

and complaining

all from the boys

the little guy is a little sick

and the big guy has a broken toe

so we cut our weekend short and came home on saturday night
but still it was lovely to take some time out to chill out and spend time together

i love my little family

and i love little weekend getaways
however little they are

i am linking up here

a whole lotta LOVE

i have loved the little bursts of sunshine we had this week. you appreciate the warm sun so much more after grey wet days. while it was sunny i enjoyed walks along the beach with my little guy in tow, i enjoyed eating my lunch at school in front of the window with the warm sun pouring in and warming me to my very soul. i enjoyed letting the chickens out for a run in the sun while i watched them an hung out my washing to dry. who would of ever thought i would love doing my washing, but this week i have because now i have a new washing machine.

i love the school at which i work and in particular i absolutely love the teacher assistant that i work with. she is so much fun to be around and she is fab with the kids as well. she sees the potential that each of the little people have in them and she is so good at drawing the best out of them. the art work she has been doing with the kiddies is so good, i just love having her with me at work everyday.

i love when my hubby calls me during the day with a seinfeld trivia question. when it comes to the tv show seinfeld i pretty much know everything there is to know and now the hubby has employed a guy at his work that is also a super seinfeld know it all. so hubby likes to test us both out to see who has the most knowledge, so far i think i am winning... just.
this weeks question was: what is the name of the store that is owned by george costanzas dads look alike? most people wouldn't have a clue about this question but i know exactly what he was talking about, except i didn't know the answer, but neither did anybody else so i was safe! the answer was costanzas imports and exports.

i love that my hubby came home the other night and said lets go away for the weekend. he was sensing that i was unhappy by the lack of family time we have not been having these last few weeks and suggested we all go away together, just a short little trip. i don't mind where we go or for how long as long as we are all together, the three amigos!

i love coming home after having an exhausting day at school and finding some lovely gifts from my very talented mumma waiting for me. she made me these beautiful crochet cushions and chevron blanket.

i hope you get some time in your week to stop and smell the roses and find something simple to feel happy about.

i am linking up here with the wonderful paisley jade.

have a great weekend

bless

xoxo

unfinished business

i have unfinished business :::
with the{WORLD}

there are still so many places i have not seen yet

so many places that i want to revisit and do it all again

what is standing in my way :::

money
commitments
responsibilities

my {gypsy heart} aches
i want to be free and exploring once again
one day we will pack up and journey the {WORLD} again

i want to backpack through italy
spend time some more time in my favorite cities, paris and  
new york
i would love to do a mission trip
go on safari in africa

until then i will dream of all the lovely things i have done and are yet to do ....

and when we go again this is what i would love to wear :::

ecote canvas rucksack

urban outfiters

urban outfitters

urban outfiters

beaded fadora

gladiators

scarf

i shall keep

dreaming

planning

saving

{play room}

here is a sneak peek into my home, the little guys play space :::

wills play room used to be at the back of the house but we have since done a little bit of shiftin and a little liftin (remember that advert? i can not remember what it was advertising but i remember the shiftin and liftin part!) and now his play space is on the front enclosed verandah.

i love this space because of all the windows and the natural light that they let in, when the sun is shinning the room is wonderful and warm.

there is a lot more room for will to move around in this play space then in the previous one and when he gets going he has a mess from one end of the large room to the other, but the more mess there is the more fun he has had, right?

his space is broken down into little play zones. he has a table which is useful for when he is drawing, doing puzzles, playing games or playing play dough.

he has a little home corner area where he likes to cook up a storm for me and his dolly's and he also has a little shop where he makes me go shopping with his little shopping cart and he rings everything up on his little cash register.

he has a transport corner where all his favorite trucks and cars are kept. he loves using his fire truck to race around his car mat and rescue his little wooden dolls off the shelves.

he has construction sets, lots of tools and tool boxes and a little red wagon that he loves to pile all of his things into and wheel it around the house 'fixing' things with his tools.

he has animals and farm sets, train tracks and mini trains galore, musical instruments that he loves to play while marching around the house and books, books and more books.

since arriving back in australia from canada in february me and the little guy have been scouring op shops and flea markets looking for second hand toys and furniture for his play room and we now have  a great collection of things for him to play with.

it is amazing how resourceful you can be when you are working with a very small budget and we also had a great time treasure hunting in the op shops together.