Walking into my parents on Sunday and looking on their kitchen table I thought I must have walked into an antique store! They had just been to a huge Auction held in Mudgee and seemed to have bid on an awful lot of stuff. And the best part...most of it was for me. It felt like Christmas had come early. I got this lovely cup & saucer.

These beautiful glasses which I can just see some lovely desserts being served up.

And my favourite (as I am very partial to anything blue & white) are these. Don't they look lovely in my kitchen. Along with all the other changes going on around here, I'm also thinking of changing all the door knobs on the kitchen cabinets to chrome and also the power point covers...what do you think?

My very talented mother made me some place mats in shabby chic fabrics which turned out lovely.

Just came across another home to add to my "when I win the lottery" file!! This is located in the most beautiful suburb of Beecroft and was built in 1895. It is for sale by "expressions of interest"...!!!

www.realestate.com.au

Winter seems to have come early (ok only by 2 weeks) but it has been getting very fresh...makes me miss my fireplace! Snuggling up in front of it watching TV and with Ryan being a winter baby, having the fire was so lovely, my husband would make sure it was stacked up so that when I got up in the wee hours of the night/morning it would be roaring and I would sit in front of it and feed Ryan.

So I am on the look out for a "fake" fireplace (an electric one) to go in our new living room...one that looks like this...so if anyone knows where to get one please let me know.


Yesterday I finally got to Me & Mo's so I could use my gift vouchers...I could seriously have brought everything in the shop...there was nothing in there that I didn't like! I was so overwhelmed that I couldn't pick so decided to come back another time (but not before I got this little gem...I love these at the moment).

So yesterday I decided to start another project (yes I should learn to finish one before starting another!) but I was so sick of looking at the sideboard and decided to get started on it. These are the before photos and will update once finished (started sanding before I remembered to take photos). There are little drawers that fit into the little square holes. And you guessed it...it is being painted White Watsonia (did you guess right Mum?)

That then left a big empty space so I moved the kitchen hutch into the dining room for now and put back all my blue and white china which had been packed away since the extensions were started. The walls in here are yellow but will soon be painted the same as the living area. This is the original part of the house and was painted when we first moved in 7 years ago so long overdue for some freshness. I really do need to get started on these rooms as we are having the floors redone and it would be wiser to paint now.

Yep plenty of stuff happening around here...oh and we finished off the first full coat of our bedroom. One more coat to go and then all the trim work to be done, carpet...oh and yes - the ensuite (you can't rush these things you know!!)

Here's Ryan and his teacher at swimming on Saturday...

He has been coming out with the funniest things lately...yesterday when I was rearranging furniture and cleaning I discovered some marks on the wall so went and got the Gumption - he says to me "is that Gumption" and I say "yes it is" and he says "good 'ol Gumption hey"...like a little old man!

Also yesterday morning whilst taking off his nighttime nappy I rolled it up and he says "wrap it up I'll take two"...where did that come from? Maybe a little too much TV for this kid!

I know I'm a little late but Happy Mothers Day...I had the best day starting out with McDonald's Pancakes in bed followed by a wonderful picnic at Wisemans Ferry (even if the weather kept threatening us!). And shared it with the best Mum in the world of course....

Thought I would share this poem with you.

Before I was a Mum…
I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mum,
I slept as late as I wanted
And never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair & my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mum,
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words of lullabies.

Before I was a Mum,
I did not worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mum
I had never been puked on
Pooped on
Spat on
Chewed on
Peed on
Or pinched by tiny fingers

Before I was a Mum I had complete control of:
My thoughts
My body
And my mind
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mum
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests
Or give shots.
I never looked in teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mum,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I could not stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mum.

Before I was a Mum,
I did not know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I did not know how special if could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I did not know that bond between a Mother and her child.
I did not know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mum
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay
I had never known the warmth
The joy
The love
The heartache
The wonder
Or the satisfaction of being a Mum.I did not know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mum

(author unknown to me)

To me (well for last week anyway). We have had a birthday, Anzac long weekend and our 7th wedding anniversary just gone (although almost forgot the wedding anniversary which is a bit sad).

Of course I was spoilt again...the lovely card above is from my sister and she also gave me a gift voucher to a store I have been dying to do to since it opened.

This cute little card is from my niece Kaitlyn...got into her mothers scrap booking stash I think!!! Thanks Kaitlyn xx

My parents also gave me a gift card for this store...I can not wait! Mum also made me this gorgeous scarf (although a bit hard to photograph). Very shabby chic indeed...
Finally got around to painting the feature wall in my bedroom and absolutely loved it...so much so that now we have decided to do the whole room in it!!! We then started going through the rest of the original part of the house that needs repainting and decorating and decided to do the dining room in this same colour as well. It doesn't happen often but I love when something comes out the way you had planned it would look in your head!!! This photo really doesn't do the colour justice...

I have also managed to talk my hubby into painting our bed white (I'll do the painting - he just had to agree)...

Another project almost completed is the frame below...I'm going to try something I found on this lovely blog Romantic Home...although not as ornate as her mirror but this might be a good little starting project to see how it turns out. I was planning on putting this frame on the wall and placing some plates inside? Will see how it goes once the dining room is painted.

On Saturday we took Ryan to the Sydney Aquarium which was a whole heap of fun...we could have spent hours in the underwater tunnel watching the sharks and giant sting rays. It was very hard to get any decent photos through the glass, especially with my camera playing up, but managed to get these few.

I love the first two photos...hard to believe but there was actually a glass wall in between Ryan and the Seal.

OK here is an update on what has been going on around here...not much really!! Have been stuck in a rut the last 2 weeks or so as so much needs to be done I've been totally overwhelmed. I need to go back to my basics and concentrate on one room at a time. Only problem is that I keep coming up with ideas for other rooms that are yet to be started on...so here was my saviour...my mother made me a "padfolio" shabby chic style and it has now become my ideas journal so whenever I'm in the shower and come up with all these brilliant ideas (which is when I do my best thinking!!) or lying awake in bed thinking way too much I can just jot down my thoughts/ideas etc. in this...pretty neat hey?

I have managed to complete one door!! Yep you heard right one door only...each coat takes about 48 hours to dry so needless to say this ONE door has taken a long time...but certainly finishes off that side of the room...now just to get the blinds and the family room is finished.

I won this little gem off eBay a few weeks ago but it had wallpaper glued to the top which was just a lovely touch!! So that came off, sanded it back and a few coats of paint later...taa daa...

I have been looking for one of these for ages and was so happy when I won it and all for only $24.

Some photos of my gorgeous little man...I have been trying to take more photos of him as he is just growing up so fast (and also getting cheekier..if there is such a word?). I can't believe he will be 4 this year. We have also started talking about having another one but might wait till this one starts school (and I get my drivers licence!!).

I must be bored!!

98 words

Speedtest

Hippity Hoppity

The Easter Bunny definitely came to our house...and we have the photos to prove it! The look on Ryan's face when he saw these footprints was priceless.
He had his first Easter Bonnet parade on Thursday at preschool and they put on an afternoon tea and Easter egg hunt for the kids. Unfortunately I forgot to take the camera!

The Easter Bunny turned up and upon closer inspection by Mr 3 year old he informed me that it was a "fake Easter bunny" so I asked how he could tell and he said "it has man eyes"...I couldn't stop laughing...I didn't even notice that you could see right through the gauze to the person inside the suit. He refused to go near it after that.

Last Sunday we visited my parents for Dad's birthday and had a great time painting some eggs, feeding the kookaburras and jumping on the trampoline with the hose on. My adorable nan and pop were also there and had such a lovely day with the whole family.

Nan has been diagnosed with mild alzheimers recently which has shaken us all up a bit. She had a really good day on Sunday. Mum and Dad have taken them away for the long weekend to Melbourne to visit my brother (who is stationed at HMAS Cerberus) so I hope they have a lovely time.

This past Saturday saw us venture into the city to see the Dinosaur exhibition at the Australian Museum. It was such a great day and Ryan had an absolute blast with all the skeletons and dinosaurs they had on display. They have a fantastic kids space with so many things to touch and feel, although he kept asking who had shot all the animals and why. We then headed over to Hyde Park for a picnic lunch. Catching the train was the best way to go...no stressful city driving or trying to find a car park!

Absolutely nothing has been done to the house the past few weekends but will hopefully get stuck into it soon. I did manage get some sample pots of the paint for the master bedroom though.

Help...I'm stuck in two minds...the colour on the walls in this picture was my original idea for our bedroom...what do you think - go for the lighter colour (which will blend in with the family room) or go the slightly darker tone?

How cute are those little beds??

Just a quick post today...I have found the inspiration for my new bedroom (thanks to http://www.chriskauffman.blogspot.com/). Chris discovered this wonderful site http://www.chicshack.net/. They have the most beautful pictures in their gallery section so go and check them out...

The walls are basically the same colour as my family room but I think this should be ok as they will seem to flow as the bedroom is off the family room. My bed is currently black wrought iron so will be attacking that with some white paint very soon and my chandeleir is already hung and I painted my bedside drawers white some time ago! Can't wait to get stuck in and finish it off now...