Meet Violet Sadie Trotter

Here she is!

Our lovely little girl arrived on the 24th of June. She looks just like her big brother Elias as a newborn, it is quite uncanny how similar they are.

The last month has flown by, and we are slowly settling into our new life with a newborn in the house.
Sleep is a distant memory but we couldn't be happier.

Toybox mini makeover

There's nothing like a Baby on the way to get motivated to get organised! The new bub will be bunking in with Elias, so there is quite a bit of decluttering, organising and rearranging to do.

We bought this little toybox when Elias was little. Like most things we had plans to fix this up years ago, but apart from a quick coat of paint and  some cushions popped on top it remained as is for the last 5 years.

This is how it looked in the harsh light of day sans cushions. Yikes!

We had some high density latex cut to size, and I sewed up a quick box style cushion cover on the old Janome. I attached the fabric to the underside of the box lid with this fantastic electric Ozito Staple and Nail gun. I have to admit I keep making up excuses for new projects so I can use it again. I love power tools.

I bought the super cute Elephant print fabric by Kokka on my last trip to Japan. They have the cutest prints. I also bought the reverse colourway in the same print which I've sewn into a cute baby blanket.

It's not perfect, but I'm pretty happy (yes, I know the elephants are not in a straight line which kills me a little), but not bad for a first attempt and certainly more practical.

Angry Birds 5th Birthday

A few weeks ago our Elias turned 5! It is a complete cliche, but I really don't know how the last 5 years has gone by so quickly. One minute a baby, the next a School Kid, Crazy stuff!

We had his party at the SA Aviation Museum, a fantastic venue with loads of planes for the kids to climb on and explore. It's run completely by volunteers who are all very knowledgeable, and were very keen to tell the kids about all of the different planes.

Our Iphone obsessed boy wanted an Angry Birds theme which ended up being pretty easy. A bit hard to see from this pic, but we downloaded the balloon templates here. We also printed a smaller version of the red bird template for the goodie bags (but forgot to take photos).The fans are from Morning Glory, super cheap at 7 for $5. They came in very handy as it was about 36 degrees that day.

Doing a strange Monkey dance.

Rebellious Angry Bird ignoring the rules 

I found this great Cupcake idea on this The crafting Chicks blog. They were pretty easy to make and went down a treat, the kids loved them.

As usual we were too busy running around to get too many photos, but we had one very happy birthday Boy at the end of the day.

Hello again and some lovely news

My poor neglected little blog has not seen any love since late last year. Wow, how the time flies. So much has happened in the last few months, but the main and most important thing I have been doing is baking this little one.

We are almost 20 weeks along and just found out today that we are having a little Girl. I am beyond excited that Elias will have a little sister, though he will take a bit of convincing. He is coming up with all sorts of hilarious crazy names like Bassy, Poopoo and Boston Terrier to name a few. It's all looking good so far, so we are crossing fingers and toes for a happy, healthy little bundle to arrive at the end of June.

Pregnancy and I are not the best of friends, I get hyperemesis pretty much up until delivery, so I have been laying pretty low and trying to get as much rest as possible. 

Exciting times are ahead!

Inside Out Magazine Nov/Dec Issue

I'm not one to normally post about Magazines, but this arrived in the post today. It's one of the most beautiful covers I've seen in a long time.

You can get a sneak peak of the current issue at the here at the Homelife blog. It makes me want to redecorate the house, such a fresh modern look!

Computer says "no" and Moon Lantern Festival

I have been MIA as my laptop has died. It had a huge crack across the screen that was slowly getting bigger and bigger. Elias knocked a glass of  Red wine into the last one which then expolded, so this the second one in about 3 years. I want a shiny pretty new one, but computer nerd Husband is practical as ever and is trying to hunt down a good (read cheap) deal online. I'm crossing my fingers we can meet half way and get something that is shiny, pretty and reasonably cheap.

We went to the Oz Asia Moon lantern festival last week, a fantastic event in Adelaide. There were lots of new lanterns this year, and the biggest turn out so far, about 20,000 people which is huge for Adelaide.

Fantastic fireworks after the parade

Smiling boy before burning of beautiful lanterns

Elias was devastated when they set some lanterns alight on the river this year. He kept saying "but they were so beautiful they should have kept them for next year". Poor little boy, there were tears. 

Cute little You tube video of the event below:

They had great food stands and I had delicious Sakura Mochi, one of the best I've ever tasted. A great night all round.

Remerching the kitchen

After a week of the 3 of us being trapped inside with gastro, cabin fever led me to repaint the kitchen. I used leftover paint from our lounge and hallway, and diluted it with white to make a half strength coffee/stone colour. Our kitchen is pretty small, long but narrow. I would have liked to used white to maximise space, but it would have made the cream coloured units and tiles stand out even more.This colour seems to lighten them somehow. 

We can't get a front on shot in here, way too narrow, but you get the general idea. Think cream laminex units, cream splashback tiles and the horrendous 70's (bad 70's) floor tiles. I think we have around 8 different floor finishes in our house, nothing like continuity! One thing I do really like is this wooden shelf unit the previous owner put in. Such a simple affordable idea. It gave me a chance to do a bit of remerching, one of my favourite things.

I repressed and rehung my map handkercheifs and wooden cities that I got from Muji a few years ago in Hong Kong. Muji is quite possibly the best store in the world ever.

Pretty handmade ceramic bowls from the last Jam Factory sale at our fantastic local pub The Wheatie.

The middle bowls are a gift from a lovely student in Japan when I lived there many years ago. I've been collecting vintage Japanese bowls over the years and I'm always on the lookout when I go op shopping. These have the most amazing patterns and where about 50 cents each, crazy.

More Japanese cuteness, Miffy salt and pepper shakers, another gift from Japan.

Little Sake cups from another lovely Japanese student. Elephant chopstick rests are from IDEE, the most beautiful Japanese furniture and home ware stores in the stunning Tokyo Midtown. I love it so much, I managed to fit a side table in my suitcase on a work trip last year.

This is by no means our dream kitchen, but it is just fine for now. I am feeling so energised from this lovely weather and the end of the plague, I might finally get on to remerching the rest of the house.