I ain't missing you at all... well maybe A LOT!

It has occurred to me today how much I miss the energy and stamina from my youth!  Sheesh... I really hope these herbs kick in soon. 

 I have definitely noticed a difference most days... but it's not supposed to take effect for a month or so, so I guess I should stop being impatient and look forward to having some of it back again soon... Yipppeeeeee!

Apart from my youthful energy... I'm seriously missing "cuppy teas", and sympathy with my bestest girl friend, my beautiful Daddy and the company of my effervescent sisters and most precious Mummy!

Anyway, enough of the Melancholy blogging... I've got some 'blooming beautiful ' photos of my lovely garden to show you, so while your waiting, tell me what your missing the most... x

I LOVE SLEEP

OK,  1st of December 2010... the fun begins!  I have a list as long as my arm to get through before Christmas day, and today I have ZERO energy!  We have been such busy bears the last two weeks, and despite the concoctions my naturapath has given me to boost my energy and even out my hormones, all I really would like to do is jump into this beautiful bed... it looks soooo cozy!  Just an hour would be lovely xx

                                      (Blogspot:   Reese & Marie Shabby, Bohemian Inspiration)

Anyhoo, the reality is... I need to get going and maybe have an early night!  I have got two little girls to make Christmas dresses for and I really should at least take a little drive over to spotlight to get some fabric... I think these little dresses will be perfect for some inspiration!  Wish me luck :-)

Oh, and did you know, I WON something?  I entered a competition for the silvershop the other day and came away with the most delightful apple necklace... it's totally adorable, and I can't wait to have it in my hot little hands!   http://www.silvershop.com.au/large/735.jpg

Happy Wednesday Lovelies xxxx

"They're creepy and they're Kooky... They're altogether Spooky"!

We went to a Halloween party for a friends 40th on the weekend... I know... so last month,  but It was Sooooo Good!  The birthday girl and her family did such a great job of setting the scene! We travelled down to Bunbury and stayed the night at a gorgeous villa, and got all dressed up!  The girls loved getting their costumes on and having their make-done!  Layla was so excited!  She went on and on about it all weekend!  Very exhausting weekend, but so worth it!  What do you rekon?  I picked everything up from Vinnies except for the wigs and mustache... some things we already had at home. ;) 

I don't think I pulled off Morticia very well... My face is too round, and my nose and lips are TOO BIG... (for Morticia anyway), but I tried my best!  It was so good that we had that old dusty chair in the corner of the room of our villa... it was perfect for our creepy photos.

Scorpians tend to come out in November... SCORPIOS 4 EVA!

Check out the nasty little critter that was hiding under Mark's briefcase... Yikes!  He was so nasty and huge, we couldn't believe it!  We thought Mark must have brought him back from his last trip to the Pilbara, but apparently the locals say that they live here in the Perth hills, and... wait for it... they get even BIGGER!  Ahhhhhh!  I think it's time to get the pest man out!  We have heard of locals lately seeing big snakes out and about too!  It's only natural being spring and all, but I hope they don't take it upon themselves to visit us when we're having our afternoon cup of tea... x

Going Green. Our recent Green, Clean, Environmentally friendly efforts!

Lately, I have been really trying to stock the fridge, pantry, and laundry with as many organic and earth friendly products as I can... as you know it's so bloody EXPENSIVE to live green!  If nothing else it has certainly taught me to be frugal with my detergents and cleaning products.  I don't know about you, but all the laundry detergents I have tried lately have been really ineffective, and I have had to go back to the old faithfuls.  If you know of one that works please let me know!  I have found a product line that looks beautiful, I think they stock it at domayne of all places http://www.murchison-hume.com/  it looks beautiful, maybe I'll start stocking up as I run out of the nasty stuff. 

We have found that our general rubbish bin has been reduced to half- full at the end of the week thanks to our compost heap... and WOW, does it get the plants going! It's so liberating to be semi-self sufficient.  It's an incredible feeling to know that your doing your bit for the environment and your health.  We are loving the local organic honey, and chocolate, and we have been buying as many local products, (organic or not) as we can.  Organic Weet-Bix is a big one for us, as we eat so much of it.  I'm  trying to buy as many organic staples as I can now... I guess if you can afford to go completely organic, then buying organic for the things that you eat the most is the best option.

Big Love, Tam x

Vintage Girls Toys x

REMEMBER THESE GORGEOUS LITTLE THINGS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? 

I HAVE BOUGHT MYGIRLS A CABBAGE PATCH DOLL EACH FOR CHRISTMAS, ALONG WITH SOME STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE STUFF (which Evie loves), AND MY LITTLE PONY, (which Layla collects). IT BOUGHT BACK SO MANY MEMORIES... I LOVE THAT ALL THE OLD VINTAGE TOYS ARE BACK. 

 I HAD A CABBAGE PATCH CALLED JASMINE... UNFORTUNATELY JASMINE WAS GIFTED TO A LESS FORTUNATE LITTLE GIRL WHEN I REALISED IT WAS TOO HARD TO KEEP LUGGING MY OLD THINGS AROUND WITH ME FROM THE COPIOUS AMOUNT OF MOVES I HAVE HAD IN THE LAST 10 YEARS... I'M GLAD SHE IS LOVED BY A LITTLE GIRL WHO MIGHT NOT OF HAD A CABBAGE PATCH DOLL ANY OTHER WAY, BUT I WISH I HAD OF HAD A CRYSTAL BALL AND KNOWN THAT I WAS GOING TO HAVE TWO LITTLE GIRLS OF MY OWN THAT WOULD HAVE LOVED HER!  IT'S SO CUTE THAT THEY HAVE THEIR OWN LITTLE BIRTH CERTIFICATES, PERSONALITIES, AND STYLE. I JUST CANNOT WAIT UNTIL CHRISTMAS... THESE LITTLE GIRLS OF MINE ARE VERY LUCKY! XX

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE TOY WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE?

Pretty Thrifty

Evie and I found some hand painted, Japanese, ceramic Saki

glasses... I rekon it was a really fantastic find... perfect for our beloved sushi nights.  Now to buy some Saki x

Some gorgeous timber chairs... can you believe they only cost $8 each!  They are going into the Cubby house that Santa is bringing this year... Shhhhhh!  Pappa Bear is going to make the girls a table to match! 

We found an adorable suede and braided leather satchel... I'm going to use it as a jewellery bag for when we travel xx  Soooooo Medieval.

A very whimsical biscuit tin, perfect for Layla and Evie to store their crayons in. I love the old deciduous trees on this, it's very frosty and wintery.

Have you been thrifty lately?  Tell me... x

Jakob Dylan...

Image found from Vogue May edition 2008

Loving Jakob Dylan and his band, "The Wallflowers" lately... any son of Bob Dylan I'm a fan of!  You might remember the song, "One headlight", if you don't have it on your ipod,  (I have one now... yay, thank you Papa Bear), get it NOW... It's one of my favourites, and a perfect summer BBQ song.  He started off as a bit country I think!  I love his style too.  xx

Found my gumboots x x x

I have found my Gumboots for next winter!  They are a brand called "Hunter".  I think I'll wait until after christmas to order them... Oh they are devine!  I'm sure i'll get away with wearing these babies to school to drop Layla off too! 

We heart ROALD DAHL!

At the moment Mark and I are reading Roald Dahl stories to the girls at bedtime... and every other chance we get too!  It brings back so many memories.  My favourite Roald Dahl stories are, "The Witches", and "The Twits", (which we finished reading today after a mad dash to do our morning chores).  We just couldn't wait to finish it!  It's so good for the girls, it has a little bit of whimsy and gives them enough of a scare, without them having nightmares.  Layla in particular loved reading The Twits.  It brought back so many memories for me.  I remember sitting in my grade 5 class room listening to my teacher, Mrs Penningh read out to the entire class... I was mesmerised!  Can't wait to start reading, "The Magic Finger"! xxoo

Who was your favourite author as a child?  What were your favourite or most memorable books?

Two words.... seaweed YUM!

www.buzzle.com/articles/seaweed-salad-recipe.html

We recently stopped in at a little boutique fish monger and fresh seafood store on the way back from Freo, and I decided to try a pre-prepared seaweed salad.  Oh wow!  It was absolutely delicious... it kind of makes your tongue do back flips and has a strange texture when your chewing it (made my teeth feel funny), but it was so full of flavour and goodness.  Maybe one day I'll try and make it.  I found the recipe online and thought it looked simple enough, the only tricky part is finding the ingredients!  xx

Dining room before and after

Kitchen before and after

Goodbye rainbow coloured house!

I just thought I'd add a few before and afters of the dining room and kitchen.  We still have another coat to go on a couple of areas, and although the changes are only superficial, it has made a BIG difference.  The dining room needs a new chandalier light fitting, New window treatments, and we need to fit the timber flooring and skirting boards.  We also have a strange exposed brick cavity in the dining room that we aren't sure what to do with yet.  We're thinking lots of glass, mirroring, and down lights to make a pretty alcohol and crystal display cabinet.  The dining room will eventually become a sitting/family/bar/extended foya.  Can't wait to get to the pretty details... totally love the fussing part at the end.

The kitchen, although it looks much better, is going to evolve into something completely different,  we have big plans, but it's nice to give it a coat of paint for a freshen up for the time being anyway.  I hope you like! 

LOVE TAM x

Mr Wilfred Montefiore gets social!

We decided that Wilfred should experience the beach for the first time last weekend.  The day started off dreary, but once we got down to Fremantle, the sun shone down and there was so much fun to be had!  We ended up staying for almost 2 hours, just watching Wilfred make some new friends and playing with him... it was the most fantastic morning! The girls loved seeing all of the different sized dogs, and all of the different breeds... I even tackled Wilfred at one stage, playing with him... Mark was rolling around with laughter, it wasn't the most glamorous tackle, I'm sure my knickers were visable to all!  Ha hahaha!  Good fun!  Wilfred had the best time, you can't half tell with the smile on his face.  Everyone commented on how big his feet are... I'm wondering how big he will get.  We had such a big morning that Wilfred and the girls slept all afternoon, while Mumma and Pappa Bear watched a movie... oh bliss xx

Ahhhhh... The pantry gets an overhaul x

So, I realised after my recent fortnightly shopping trip that I STILL hadn't properly unpacked from the fortnight before!  I decided to overhaul the pantry.  I have ordered some tupperware and cleaned, and organised... I even got a little creative with some old broken fridge magnets!  We have sooooooooo many paper plates, napkins ect. left over from Mark's 30th!  At least the christmas dishes are covered!  I'm shameless I know... a messy pantry should never be made public, but hey, we're only human... (sometimes disorganised ones)! xx

PRETTY FINDS x

Evie and I found some treasures on our little trip out to the secondhand shops last week... Man I love finding little treasures!  We found an old wooden toy which Evie is loving, some vintage fabric perfect for sewing a  little "something" for a little girls.  We found some pretty gold edged china and an egg basket for our trips down to the vegie patch and chicken pen.  I'm loving it when I can add to my collection of glazed tea and jam jars...  They are perfect for stuffing some garden herbs in and putting on the window sill, or for putting makeup brushes or little bits and pieces in.  I am on the prowl for some old -school timber frames to start my black and white gallery wall in our dining room... Looks like monday is my day for some waxing and thrift shop browsing.

Miss Evie Montefiore peruses the fridge for her morning tea options xx

Love the door opening... and holding technique.

Mission accomplished!  A smiley little girl with a GIANT pear!

I LOVE MY EVIE BUBBLE!!

Din Dins x

Evie and I decided to get stuck into pre-cooking dinner this morning,  it makes for wonderfully relaxing afternoons with the girls, especially now we have so much more daylight.  We made pot pies with baked crispy potatos, and baked and squished carrot and pumpkin. YUM.  I do it every chance I can get, the only trouble is... we have to stop our selves from eating it for lunch!!!  <3