nesting

Our first bub is on its way!

My first trimester was hideous with  nausea and fatigue so I'm in action mode during my second trimester to be set for the worst when third trimester starts in a few weeks time!

I've had such fun delving into my op shop stashes getting creative and making our bub's room a place I'd love to hang out in at any time of the day!  Finished off a few things today and wanted to share it with you all...

Op-shopped embroidery frames and vintage sheet fabrics:

Op-shopped wooden photo frames; a cute pic from an old Frankie mag and a 'Father's love letter' from God to a child:

Op-shopped alphabet blocks, wooden pins and golden books. Love this old crate I got from my mum:

Op-shopped brown cut-out detailed cushion - it needed some love and care to be sew down again but for 50c I love the texture and interest it gives to the room; old cushion which I'd got bored of, but the blue back face of it is perfect for this room. And a rolled cane chair I've had for about 9yrs and my husband wanted to get rid of but I knew it would have a perfect spot one day.  Can sit here and stare out the window at the trees and weather rolling in. A lovely cosy corner.

Some of my favourite little creatures I've found at op-shops.  There is just so much more interest and warmth in oldstyle toys I reckon.

And the cot quilt/play mat in progress! Gender is unknown so I'm sticking to blues and greens mostly. Loving creating my own patterns for different projects and being inspired by the materials I have on hand.

Can't wait to introduce our little bundle me new favourite room in the house!

hello again my old friend

it has been a few weeks since i've sewed... a problem machine and changing my sewing table left it to be a dump zone for the past few weeks.

so lovely to spend some tidying it up ready to attack some project this week.

on the cards? cushions, dolls clothes and  cute pencil/whateva cases.  lets hope my self diagnosis and fixing of my machine holds up!

best buys

have come to the realisation i should perhaps share with you only my favourite bargin buys so as to not overload blog inboxes...

so here's this weeks best buys...

wooden pin toys - the lot $2 at local wellspring op shop
plans for these to line a shelf somewhere in my future bub's room.
we're talking years away... don't get excited just yet!



wallpaper sourced by my wonderful mum at her regular op shops
 in toowoomba. she's fabulous.
she knows how much i love green-ness. 
and my lack of luck in sourcing wallpaper for crafting.



$5 set of wooden kitchen canisters -
from yesterdays brisbane suitcase rumamge
i plan to use them for storage on top of my fridge.
got to be effective with storage in a small kitchen.
i like the use of wooden items to warmify and calm the use of colour
in my kitchen/dining room.

$3 indian decorative bowl from local wellspring op shop.
bit different to my latest 70s johnson of australia plate collection
added to my kitchen but i think it helps to be the decorative step
between my wooden pieces and colourful bowls etc.

and there is my spending ration done for the week! oh dear. :)

hello sadie

it seems i have a sadie house wife theme for this months brisbane suitcase rummage!!

yep... hear that johnny farhnem classic singing in your head now!!

have been collecting aprons, pot holders and oven mits to take up to brissy on the weekend.
here's some of my favourites....

and while we're on our sadie pieces around the house wanted to show you a favourite apron of my own...

this comes from a great aunty of my hubby. its still starched and looking fabulous. i can't bring myself to wear it while cooking as i never want to ruin it! love it so much.

i've come to wearing aprons while cooking and sewing lately. am loving feeling like a 1950s housewife. i'm coming round to thinking i would have loved to live in that era! but being home by choice, not because i have no other option available to me.  i've studied, worked. and now i'm ready to play house, build a big vegie garden and sew from home. i'm taking one day at a time stepping towards that dream! bring on hubby finishing uni!

wishing you some happy moments around your home this week. blessings, nais.

may days

a rural drive, learning guitar from my old hymnal, flowers and fruit - my favourite table toppers, and a glorious morning at the beach.

welcome to the start of my may days. :)

free living challenge - day 8&7... home days

goal... to abstain from spending hobbies - to focus on finding daily joy in no cost living.

today's joy...

was family dinner and nan & pa's.  the familiarity of family. the weekly ice-cream brand debate... the rare sharing of past memories from nan & pa's upbringing... such a lovely evening sitting round the kitchen table just sharing life. so good to be able to do this every week.

bit of a dreary weekend down my way.  indoor adventures were the order of the day.

my other joyous moments came from...

a spontaneous decision friday night to have a garage sale over the weekend while school holidayers were in town. the good old cardboard signs worked a treat! what a great feeling to sit back at the end of the day and have the bonus of a slightly emptier, clearer house and a few more dollars back in the wallet. i'm getting a lot  better of letting go of things and being realistic about what we need in the house.

these little guys kept me company... smarties were the treat of the morning...

we won't comment on the stereotypical gender status of these characters.... funny that my hubby is going to be a teacher and we had a female ambulance office stop by the garage sale. :)

did decide to keep a couple of things from my market boxes to grace my shelves...

got my rummage cases out starting to get ready for the may brissy suitcase rummage. took way to much stuff last time. decided next month's cases will be filled vintage sheet squares and clothing only. kiss. oh i find it hard letting go of some cute sheets! but i do oh so enjoy sharing the love with other crafters.

with only one more week to go of this challenge i am stoked and excited.  i miss my op shop adventures and think the goal of finding a better balance of my shopping hobbies and finding some free adventures through my week will be a natural progression after these free living days. 

how's this for timing... forget the wallet, this could be my reward!! there is a vintage market being held in a community hall down the road over the easter long weekend! i might limit myself to one dress or skirt to practice the self discipline and balance i aim to keep for my future. :)

free living challenge - day 12

goal... to abstain from spending hobbies - to focus on finding daily joy in no cost living.

today's joy... came from...

lunch. brown rice with greens (all from my garden!) salad with honey/lemon/soy dressing. yum. so great to be starting to reap the rewards of my first 6months of vegie gardening. i've been off work for a few weeks recently and have had fun getting creative living from my cupboard and garden instead of buying lunch or dropping to the shop for more exciting ingredients in the spirit of this challenge.

and one of my favourite things to do which we never do enough... picnic in the backyard chilling with hubby in the cool of the evening waiting for the stars to come out. where ever my rug is, a picnic can be.

i have great plans for my rug and me. pulling it out and sitting in the peace of nature always clears my head and brigthens my day. being still can be such a challenge in our busy lives.  i've noticed i avoid being still by distracting myself with tv, dvds, gardening, sewing, organising... and previously shopping... to avoid thinking through some tough things on my mind.

i challenge you to take a moment out sometime this week to be still and settle your mind in a favourite spot in your world. sit, breath, enjoy. :)

free living challenge - catch up... day 34-13!!

goal... to abstain from spending hobbies - to focus on finding daily joy in no cost living.

joy from past days...

got a lot to summarise in today's free living post.

have to confess... i visited my mum a couple of weekends ago and our favourite thing to do is op shop together. so we went to 1 store... only 1!  i'm now 27 and she still treats me with 'just coz' spending money to make me feel special. love you mum.

so what have i been up to?

i organised up my sewing space...

love watching the weather out the side door...

the space is about 2.5ms sq... have all ready decided this is not enough space! i've already filled 3 lots of shelving with materials i've had around the house.

have had a play making my own pattern for some of my own softie creations... hmmm... need more practice for consistency!!

and started making some quiltes... discovered i love sewing much more than hand needlework!

 

and made some practical things like bread bags from old linen tea-towels. very impressed with these. we go through a home-made loaf of bread in 2-4days. it stays moist in these bags for that time. they would dry out and be only good for toast after 2days using our old recycled plastic bag method. definately an improvement.
(yes yes, i'm a queenslander through and through!! squeezing a bit of QLD love into our very NSW dominant family!!)

have enjoyed the growth of my peppermint plant being able to pick a few fresh leaves and make my own peppermint tea. so lovely.

and of course there have been many bike rides to the beach...

the other most fun adventure was my sister-in-law's wedding where i got to play with flowers and decorating... could do it every weekend!  as i said in my flower joy post a few days ago, so lovely being able to go to the farm where the flowers were growing, pick them with a group of great girls and play with them the night before the wedding for bouquets and vases for the reception. here are some more pics for you...

such a lovely location. yamba shores tavern.  if you're ever in the area, i recommend a look-see. its a lovely spot on the river.  we were there at sunrise (yes ohmygoodness) on the day of the wedding and then there at night for the reception. just as good feel at night.

phew!  great to be able to share my adventures with you. 

would love to hear of some of your free-living adventures.  we can't always achieve it but i think there is a greater sense of fulfillment when we are able to fill our day with nature, with family and friends, with simplicity and free joy. i challenge you to look for a way to simplify your adventures this week. then share it with others and maybe you'll inspire another one or two. blessings, nais.

free living challenge - day 35... home of homes

goal... to abstain from spending hobbies - to focus on finding daily joy in no cost living.

today's joy...

was enjoying my parents garden in a misty toowoomba morning.

growing up in this house from the time i was about 13... my sister and i helped with renovations, painting, gardening... i have such fond memories of coming home from school, sitting on the back steps and chatting to mum and dad as they gardened.  a piece of my heart will always be with this house.  have taken some pics to share with you of some of my favourite corners of this home of mine...

and my most favourite corner of all to visit... my brother beau... the son my dad never had...

home is where the heart is. and visiting my folks and my old puppy dog gave a lift to my heart that nothing else can.  hope you can visit those places that fill your heart sometime soon. blessings.

weekend joy

being away from home for most of this week made me yearn for little things from my home that brings smiles and heart jumps of joy. the things that just make home what it is:

the new members of our family - shark and blossom.
shared naming rights in our family.

 and yes. shark is the smaller of the 2. :)

our old school, mis-matched stereo which my husband loves and i have come to love also.
and my mum's fab pic of evans on a misty morning.
dad and sam are out there in the surf if you look real hard. great memory of a lovely beach morning with my family.

my $10 ebay bargin drawers.
the style matches our late 1960s couch. love sitting enjoying the breeze in my retro lounge room.

my sewing table. 
can't wait to wave the magic unpacking wand to create a sewing space in our massive laundry but until then this is my corner of joy.

oh its so lovely being home. next week i hope to bring you pics of my favourite times of day round my beautiful town.

blessings for your week.

nais.x