Australia Day

Today was Australia Day, what does that mean for you? I love Australia but I don't feel like I need a special day to appreciate it. We didn't celebrate but we did have a lovely day. Perhaps today was more a celebration of our Australian/Swedish/American family in a way, and our life in a small country town.

There was buttermilk pancakes for breakfast, a big hit with all of us! Then the kids set up a stall just down from our house, with Ruby from Nextdoor. They sold eggs, herbs, plums, jam and flowers.

Inspired by Kate, who is always whipping up beautiful dresses for her girls, and Charlotte, who threw this little number (see below) together this morning, I made an attempt at a dress for Sunday.





We were in Ballarat yesterday & went to a great opshop where amongst other things I bought two white singlets.




I sewed a part of this pretty pink & yellow flowery sheet onto one of the singlets & suddenly it was a dress! Sunday was so excited and looked so pretty in it. I really enjoyed making something special for her.



Ok so then Rosie wanted a big of the action. Lucky I had two singlets!




A sweet cotton nightie was cut into two and hemmed, and the bottom part sewn onto the singlet no.2.

You can see that they were both pretty simple but it was satisfying, fun & quick.

Rosie loved her dress too & danced in it till she was exhausted.

One day I'd like to learn more about how to sew from a pattern & I'd love to be more confident & make more clothes for the kids, and hopefully myself!

Charlotte has started packing to go back to school. It's a tricky time for us all as we feel the sand disappearing under our feet, the water dragging her back into the big ocean of Melbourne & school. We've had so much fun together, this summer, it's been the best. I hate her going away and last night I found myself crying in bed, anticipating her not being around. I know I'm a big sook & prone to crying at the drop of a hat, but it's just hard. I'm not great with change & always have this difficult time when Charlotte leaves.

It's a good thing she was being silly today because that really cheered me up! The girls played dolls, yes even Charlotte, and sat on the back steps being funny.

Then it was back to more sewing, Ruby made a book cover & Lucy started on a softie from the Meet Me at Mikes craft book.

While they got crafty I got out the new family calender & chore charts that we bought in Sydney. I'm hoping they will make life run a little more smoothly once school goes back. Anything that gets me more oganised can't be a bad thing. I'm half looking forward to returning to school routine & half terrified that I'll sleep in, or forget something important. I'm really going to miss the relaxed pace of the holidays & having lots of unscructured time with the kids, but I will enjoy having some more time to myself & hopefully I'll get some sewing done too!

What's happening in your world this week? Hope you're having a good one, see you soon xo

My Space & Yours, Five Minutes Peace

This week I'm playing along again with Pip and Pilgrim and what an appropriate theme this one is. Five minutes peace, doesn't that sound good? It's music to my ears right now, what a busy time of year it is. Besides my bed, which is one sanctuary that I love, I also crave some regular peace and quiet in the bath. Through my bathroom window is a lovely old apricot tree and the white wall of the very old house next door.

I love to lie in the bath and just DO NOTHING. Yep, nothing. (There should be more of it!) Well I try to anyway. A bit of lavender oil and a candle or two....bliss. Of course there is usually a steady stream of visitors but they are not encouraged to stay for lengthy conversations/accusations/salutations!

Besides just trying to relax and not think too much in the bath, which I seriously need to do sometimes, then I might have a look through a mag or maybe a book. This is a bit fraught however as I have dropped a book in the bath once and the library weren't too impressed.. Have you read The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas? I have just read it for our Book Club and really enjoyed it. What a thought provoking read it is. It has launched many conversations amongst friends lately...but not in the bath!

Anyway, I think we all need five minutes away from the hustle and bustle don't we? Have a look over here for more spaces xo

ps. have you entered my giveaway yet? x

My Place & Yours - Wherever I lay my hat...

Here we go again gang, it's time for some fun with Pip and this weeks fabulous Theme Queen....Tania from Myrtle & Eunice! Yay!!

And she's come up with a beauty. So many things make up our home. It's hard to nail down one or two things that say home to me. I suppose home to me is family, the ones I love. I'm lucky to live in a snug little house in a great country town but none of that would mean a thing without my lovelies. We could live in a tent and cook on the fire and cuddle each other all night to keep warm and that would be home. But of course there are also many old and new familiar things that really make me feel comfy and happy at perfectly at home so here are some...

I am a bit of a cuppa queen. Being at home means lots of hot cups of tea...

and a bit of smooching. This photo of Mark & I outside my old house in Moor St,

lives on our fridge.

Mark was born in Sweden and moved to America when he was five, so he has had quite a few different homes. We have alot of Swedish things around our house and they remind me of his mum who moved back to Sweden shortly before she died. The Swedish culture, colours and folky images, the memories & photos of Mona are a bit part of our home.

Home is also about making & creating...

and a hall full of family photos...I love to look at the baby ones and think about how they have changed, how much they are the same.

Home is special things like this jewellery box than my nan gave me.

Full of treasures from past lives.

I love the number five, for some unknown reason.

Five is homey, makes me feel good.

Home is very much about ritual, being together, sharing our lives...

....and eating chocolate cake of course.

I love being at home, I do sometimes wish it was a tad tidier and occasionally a more peaceful one but there's plenty of time for that. Right now I couldn't be in a better place.

Thanks so much to Pip & Tania,

for more home action pop over here xo

My Place & Yours - My Collection(s)

I love this week's meme, MyCollection, hosted by lovely Kate from Foxs Lane. What an interesting theme, Thanks too, to Pip for hosting, I'm loving this weekly fun! I can't wait to see what collections are out there.

When I started to think about what I collect it took me a while to define one thing/group. In the end I realised that I collect collections! I won't try to list them all on this post but here a few of the things I love.

I've always liked old photo's and I adore my group of 'lost people'. Why and how these sweeties ended up in the op shop I'll never know, but the mother in me gathers them up and brings them home to be looked after and loved.





The War boys are so special and they become like great uncles who we've never met. The two little girls with their dear little hair cuts and toys will always be children, they make me smile.

I seem to have collected a few of my own children along the way too. They are my most prized and loved collection. As far as collections go they are the least predictable, most argumentative, definitely the most diverse, the funniest, most loving (and at times the most challenging). An extremely treasured, colourful and ever changing collection.

Ok then there is the dog thing. I've always loved doggies. I've had a few real ones (Ruby, Jem, Toby, Jack, Spud, Gidget and now Max & Daisy). I've also managed to gain quite a few china dogs and assorted other dog paraphernalia. Although I don't actively collect them anymore I still love to look at their sombre expressions and their lovely shapes and colours.



Bed covers, blankets, quilts...yep, I collect them too. Along with an extensive collection of vintage sheets and linen. Probably too many to show today but here a few special ones. The bedspread on top is my favourite find. $5 at Savers and it's the most BEAUTIFUL vintage piece of prettiness I've ever found. Ahh.......



Little weeny cups are fun to collect. They don't take up too much room and are good for storing baby teeth!

I haven't even got to the kitchen where lurks....

...more collections. I'm starting to worry about myself. Is this collecting business healthy?

I haven't even touched on my Daylesford collection, or the box of snow domes out in the shed, or the pet collection, the vintage sewing books, the teddies, the wedding cake toppers, the shells and special rocks, the rubber bands...oh someone stop me!!! ahhh!!

Kate, you asked some great questions of us collectors and I don't know where to start to answer them. I do know thatsome of my collections are ongoing, some will stay as they are, gathering dust, the group of five will be ever precious and are growing every day, and all of them make me happy! I really can't see that there is a limit to collecting, it's seems a very natural hobby.

Collecting quirky bits and looking for specialness in the world are two of the best things in my life.

I hope you have you enjoyed looking through some of my collection. Now I've shown you mine will you show me yours? I'm popping over here for a look xo