A sweet day.

Yesterday was my birthday, I turned 36.

I have decided that birthdays become sweeter with age.

At 6.30am I was woken by Jonathan who had made me some raisin toast all by himself and proudly carried it upstairs on a tray. What a sweety. It was soon followed by my morning coffee made by Dave.

They gave me a beautiful pink diary from KikiK, my favourite shop, and the final book in the Inkheart Trilogy I have been reading. (Matt wants me to hurry up and read it so he can too).

My Mum sent me the above book. She is so encouraging of my artistic pursuits and always finds the perfect book to fit where I am at. Thanks Mum.

6 of my best girlfriends came over for lunch and I was spoilt with cool pressies like this huge pile of fabrics and book from AnnieB. I also received a Kiki K calender, flowers, journal, T2 tea and a cute outfit for the baby. I am so grateful for my beautiful friends.

Then last night Dave decided to crack open our combined Christmas present we had bought each other, after we had eaten Thai takeaway with some friends.

YUM, and a great way to end a perfect day.

Pity we won't have anything to open on Christmas Day, oh well...

Secret Santa

The little bit of sewing actually going on here at the moment is for my Secret Santa recipient (and her kiddies).


Here is a sneak peak.

Next on my list of things to do will be something for the baby, maybe a playmat like one of these. The strip piecing looks so good, but is so simple.

Not much sewing going on here at the moment, I have been so busy.

On Friday I went to the Good Food Affare which was on not far from where I live. My girlfriend and I had a lovely time wandering around sampling lots of yummy foods, and had a delicious lunch in the french cafe.

We came away with a few edible purchases, but by far my favourite item is this.....


It smells divine and is much needed in a house full of boys and their mates.

It is from this company, and they had a range of other products I plan to try in the future.

On Sunday I went to the Mathilda's Market that was held at Lane Cove.

There were lots of lovely handmade goodies and I got to see two blog friends, Cass and Ingrid in person.

I bought two gorgeous printed muslin wraps including this one above from The Hip Infant.



And as I have renounced most housework due to my growing size, Dave decided to clean the bathrooms on the weekend.

When he got to the one that the boys mostly use I heard a shout of terror when he lifted the toilet seat. He then proceded to pull the whole toilet apart to scrub it, then one by one invited the boys in to explain their "technique" (aim, stance, etc...) to see where they were going wrong. I was giggling to myself the whole time....

And if you want to have a really big toilet/potty related belly laugh, read this post from Is there any mommy out there?. I seriously almost wet my pants reading this!!

Re-fashioning

I have been wanting to try this re-fashioning tutorial for a long time.

It is to turn a men's shirt into a girl's dress.

I think it worked pretty well for a first go.


Sarah loves it and I think it will be a great summer day dress.

It is a very clever idea. The yoke from the back becomes the bodice at the front, and the buttons from the front do up down the back.

It feels very weird to start cutting up a perfectly good shirt (that is a little too small for my big hubby) but I think it has become a perfectly good dress now.

Everyday life...

My budding Chef is producing his own cookbook, "Yummy Cooking".

Some of the recipes are traditional; pancakes, muffins etc... but some are new and innovative like 'Dessert Delight'. This involves layers of pancakes, marshmallows, choc chip muffins and ice-cream. YUM!!


This makes me smile. Matt made it for me when he was in Kindergarten. If he succeeds in playing cricket for Australia one day, he can thank me and my 'funny bowling' in helping to prepare him.

A belly shot taken yesterday. I am 30 weeks.

A smile after homework is done for the day and you can lie on Mum and Dad's bed to watch telly.

The face of one who wishes his homework was finished.

Weekends...

This weekend we started to move Sarah into her new room, the boys old room (they have moved into Aunty Lisa's old room which is much bigger, confused??).
This is as far as we got.


Some photos of my new sewing area...

A pile of Dave's old shirts he culled, I am wondering what I can turn them into? I am sure I have seen a tutorial to turn a men's shirt into a dress for a girl, will have to google that one.

We minded a friend's daughter on Sat night and were rewarded with this, my favourite tea, YUM!!

And on Saturday night my wonderful husband sat down and watched Othello with me to help prepare for my English exam on Wednesday. Shakespeare is not really his thing so he was very brave, thanks honey.

I am so going to do this...

This looks like so much fun!!!

Wanna come??

Lovely.

It is so lovely to be sewing again. I am happily set up in 'my space" upstairs and am loving not having to pack up between sewing bursts.

Here are the fat quarters I just received from Belsizesquare. Aren't they divine!! Sarah is most dissapointed that there is not enough of one for a skirt.

This morning I whipped up these pants and matching bib for a GF's new baby, Bronte. (love the name!!) They will be heading off to the UK this afternoon.

Another Lazy Days skirt for Sarah. This one is a bit chrissmassy (is that a word??)

I am really keen to start planning and making some Christmas gifts, this blog has inspired me to get moving.

There is also the small matter of an English exam to sit next Wednesday that I really need to prepare for......

EB Secret Santa answers.

Here are my answers for my Secret Santa.

Would you like something handmade as a gift?

Yes, if my SS is not too busy, but I don't really mind.

Do you have a favourite Christmas Colour?

My DH said it is "chocolate" LOL, but I like the traditional red and green.

Do you decorate the whole house or just a part of it?

Usually just the front door and the lounge room where the tree is.

Do you have any Christmas Traditions?

Sadly, not really as we are never in the same place 2 years in a row, all our family lives out of Sydney and we rotate around. This year as I will be heavily pregnant, we are not budging.

What sizes are your children?

Boy size 10
Girl size 8
Boy size 8

Do you like quick projects or things that take a little longer?

Both.

Is there anything that you like to collect?

buttons, ribbons, vintage patterns, yummy cake recipes

Hope this helps.