Creative Lull.

You think you haven’t done anything much. Nothing worth writing about (literally!) And then you think, oh well I’m gonna write anyway, it’s been a while, something will come to me.

And then you realise how creative you’ve been all along. It’s in your blood, you know.

For example…

…I’ve been creating easter boots with chicks AND ears for the Year One easter boot parade.

…creating a diversion to bust my boys out of the back of the divvi van (just kidding, they were enjoying the thrill of being arrested at the local street carnival).

…creating order out of chaos in my pantry (and yes I did take a picture because it’s never looked that good!)

…creating a beautifully styled and somewhat unrealistic representation of the tidiness and clutter free-ness of our life while putting it on the market to sell.

…and most importantly creating another person to assist in my plan for world domination. It’s really been rather exhausting.

Greek food and bike rides.

Another lovely Christmas gift from my husband was the latest Tessa Kiros instalment. I wonder if he’s trying to teach me how to be a good Greek wife? Not so bad if I get to dress like the super cool Kyria above!

I think who better to teach me the ways of Greek cuisine and home life than a Finnish/ Cypriot born in London and raised in the UK and South Africa, who married an Italian and lives in Italy? That’s got to be some delicious food. Looking forward to making him Skordalia and Keftedes. I hope I make them as good as yiayia.

Last night we took the boys for a run/ ride along the Yarra. The big one got to try out his new wheels- a proper big boys bike, this one will do him through to his teens. Scary thought.

Wishing you a Happy New Year. xx

One last Christmas post.

Our lovely tree which I wanted to document as we have to take it down soon. Christmas seemed to fly past super fast this year- the fake tree was a bit of a bummer as I love the thrill of going out and purchasing the real one and the gorgeous pine-y scent. Not to be this year with a new kitten in the house who is a leaper and a climber. My husband forbade it on the grounds of possibility of electrocution. (According to him, flying kittens + water + electricity= dangerous mix. I guess I can’t really argue with that! )

I love the handmade decorations we try to add to each year. In particular the paper chain we made last Christmas and the stunning angel my little preppy brought home from school this year.

Not quite as professional as the gorgeous gingerbread house gifted to us on Christmas Eve is the one we made ourselves. This is a great activity to do do in the lead up to Christmas as it takes two whole days to make!

We made the dough on the 23rd, refrigerated it, rolled it out, cut the shapes out with our templates, baked and cooled on a wire rack. In the evening I made the royal icing and piped the walls together, then left overnight to dry. (I have a metal piping gun and just wrapped the end in glad wrap so that the icing wouldn’t harden). Morning of the 24th I iced the roof into place, propped up with glasses to prevent slippage and left until the afternoon. By late afternoon we were ready to pipe the rest of the icing on and add lollies. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar “snow” and it was ready to take as a very impressive dessert present on Christmas Day.

All the better received because it had been completely made by the grandchildren. Who were so excited to eat the lollies and so proud of their achievement. Personally, this kind of activity sings to the Queen of Kitsch lurking inside me. A not very cunningly disguised one at that!

Merry Christmas.

It’s a funny old thing, Christmas. I’m not little anymore so it’s not quite so magical. There’s been some tricky stuff going on in the past 12 or 18 months too. The kind of stuff that takes the shine off things. Still, sometimes things happen that make you realise life can still surprise you. In a good way. And that just because nice things arrive from unexpected places, it doesn’t make them any less special.

Like the doorbell ringing on Christmas Eve and someone you don’t know , but who knows you- bringing you and your boys a gingerbread house. Just because they thought you might like it.

And spending the afternoon making lemony cupcakes with lemon frosting to take for Christmas day with your four year old who loves to bake.

Or the same four year old who’s over the moon with his new sewing machine (the one he asked for I might add!)- although a little dubious about the fact that santa bought him a girl’s sewing machine. So excited he went to my sewing room and helped himself to the Japanese kei spot fabric. Expensive taste, my child.

And finally the husband who knows you well enough to know how much you love Kirstie and her homemade home. And how you’ve had something of a creative blockage recently and maybe a crafty self help book might assist to get everything moving again.

These are the little things that make tricky stuff better. I hope yours was an awesome Christmas, but if not I hope you had lots of little things to help make your tricky stuff better too. xx

European Vacation.

Six countries in four fun, stressful, exhausting weeks with two small children. The big highlight for the big one was seeing the first home he ever lived in. For the small one, it was noticing how traffic lights are different in different countries! For me, it was revisiting familiar favourite things.

E man, we love you.

This is a picture I’ve had sitting on the desktop for a while and been meaning to blog it. Our funny old cat Elliot who decided that the handbasin was a good place for a nap.

I had the fright of my life when I went to wash my hands and there was a furry thing sleeping there! Poor old E was hit by a car last night and died straight away. It seems even more important to remember him like this now and not in the fug of panic and shock and grief as I tried to get him to the vet.

Nigella’s number biscuits.

Today we had a playdate at a little friend’s house. There was one 6yo, three 5yo, a 4yo and a 3yo. 5 boys and one girl. It was loud, rough and a bit boisterous. It was a perfect morning to take along a batch of Nigella Lawson’s iced biscuits. I used the number cookie cutters from her range- I think the numbers are fun.

mine.

As you can see from the photos, mine aren’t as tidy as hers, but what I lack in neat I made up for with embellishment. The sprinkles were just the thing to draw your eyes away from the messy edges!

Nigella’s.

They won the taste test. An empty plate dotted with a few sprinkles were all that was left, although after all that sugar I did have to peel my boys off the ceiling to take them home.

How to make a Wizard Cape.

This is a very basic tutorial- almost embarrassingly easy. But if you have (as I did) two small boys who had to get to a Harry Potter party first thing Saturday morning and you hadn’t thought about it before school pick up on Friday night, then this is about as complicated as you want to get!

Step 1:

Rush the kids up to Spotlight on a Friday afternoon with two grumpy, tired and hungry children (check).

Step 2:

I have a 3yo and a 6yo- so for me, 3metres of fabric was fine. I just purchased plain black cotton poplin at about $4/per metre. Now is a good time to purchase some ribbon to tie at the neck- I used grey grosgrain ribbon I had at home.

Step 3:

Cut fabric into 1.5 metre lengths. Along each of the short sides of the rectangle, make a hem by folding and pressing twice at 1cm intervals and then stitching closed.

Step 4:

Take your iron and press a 1cm wide fold down one of the long sides of the rectangle (see Fig1 below).

Step 5: Measure in 10cm from the same edge and press another fold into the fabric, making a hem (see Fig2 below). This will be the collar of the cape.

Step 6: Sew closed (along dotted line in Fig2.) so that you are encasing the selvedge edge inside the hem, all nice and neat!

Step 7: Sew a parallel line approx the width of your ribbon above your first. This creates the casing for your ribbon.

Step 8: Pin a safety pin to the end of the ribbon and guide it through the casing. Rouch up the fabric to make the collar ruffle and stand up. Drape jauntily around your small child and tie loosely at the neck in a big bow.

* I didn’t bother to hem the cape at the bottom as I figured these were one hit wonders and the selvedge edge is enough to stop fraying.

Accessorise with pointy wizard hats (simple enough to make, but I was really pressed for time- so I got hubby to pick them up in town) and wands and you’re ready for the party!

Did you remember to get the present?

Happy Belated 4th of July.

The intention was there- to do this post yesterday as a July 4th salute, but, dear customers, your parcels came first. I hope you are excited to have your delectable sale goodies winging their way to your door!

Incidentally, there’s not much left in the shop at all now- so scoot on over the grab the last of the goodies! Last week!

All items are from my favourite U.S. store, Anthropologie. Seriously fantastic vintage-y boho-ey delights all in one place.

Gorgeous kid’s products. I love the antique colours of the mini “Nigella-esque” apron. But my personal favourite is the “Manners can be fun!” Someone please tell my almost-four-year-old who thinks it’s more fun to belch like Barney from the Simpsons!

Aprons I’d be happy to wear out of the house (the blue one with the rosette perhaps even out to dinner!)

Bits ‘n’ bobs.

Here’s a little of what life’s been serving us up lately.

Recently in need of a little nostalgia I dug out my grandmother’s enamel pie dish and baked a Jamie Oliver Apple pie, which has seriously the best pastry ever. It’s short, buttery and has this wonderful aroma of lemon (from the inclusion of lemon zest- encompassing without being overpowering). A delightful pie, a little sad that the Greek men in my life have no appreciation of my anglo roots. Translation: I ate most of this myself!

Every girl should have some animal print in their closet. When I wear them, I feel a little Mad Men. Martini anyone?

From the book that started it all- for me that is. Crazy bus toy from the “Make fun stuff! by Aranzi Aronzo” craft book I received from my lovely mother in law for Christmas 3 years ago. Now I know she really does listen to me when I rabbit on (off she trotted to the super cool “genki” store in Flinders Lane and chose this out for me all by herself.) Isn’t she awesome?

This is the book that reawakened the textile junkie in me- repressed from years of new motherhood. This is the book which spawned the bus, the blog and the fabric shop.

Super delicious, you really must try this yummy chorizo soup from Jamie Oliver’s “Dinners” cookbook. It’s been such great soup weather lately- read “super freezy”! Now I hesitated before adding this photo, as it’s not the most appetising looking dish- and then I remembered that I had added a photo of Sheperd’s pie not so long ago. Another dish which tastes a whole lot yummier that it photographs. N’est-ce pas?

I love these photos. Now, a vineyard, some cyclists, a week old calf. Guess where. Rural France? Rural anywhere, right?

No, Collingwood Children’s farm. Only about 3km from the city. It’s quite surreal to feel as though you are somewhere quite rural, to turn around and see the city skyline at “reach out and touch” distance. We were lucky enough to see this beautiful doe eyed calf, born in the same week we visited. There’s a lovely outdoor cafe and we had a lovely al fresco breakfast in the chilly, watery winter sunshine. Resplendent in scarves and beanies.

6 ways to stuff the blues down to your shoes.

Having a bad week? Can’t remember why you didn’t stay in bed? Do some stuff and then at the end of the week you can at least  write yourself a little mental list and say- “But at least I did some stuff”.

It helps.

Number 1.

Have a bake off with yourself- then you’ve got home baked goods to send to school with the kids. You get a Nigella buzz baking it and feel like a bona fide super mum packing their lunch boxes.

Number 2.

Take up a new hobby. Embroidery is something I’ve longed to be good at but didn’t dare try because it looks so hard. In reality, it’s really fun & easy and I’m working on something that’s suitably aggro to suit my mood. Which makes me smile. Which is good.

Number 3.

Take said hobby and give yourself a little budget blowout. $30 on embroidery floss was in actual fact- a little excessive. But it felt great.

Number 4.

Get a little mothering by getting someone to make you a hot drink. Even if you have to pay for it. The good feeling lasts as long as the drink stays warm.

Number 5.

At the end of the week, write it all down while listening to your favourite “sad feeling” CD.

Number 6.

Hug your pet. For the same reason pets visit aged care homes. Mine’s just come in from outdoors and smells like Melbourne in the winter. He’s purry and soft. He makes me feel better.

Totoro.

Some days I just want a Totoro just for me and a cat bus to rescue me when I’m lost.

“…there was a little one, and a bigger one and a HUUUGE one who kept on falling asleep!”

*image first viewed on iamdns.wordpress,com.