Camellia - you're breaking my heart...

I love love LOVE this enamel saucepan I found at the Vinnies in Kew last week. It was such a satisfying thrifting fix. It, and its handle and knob, kept me happy all week.

The husbandido found those wooden canisters in the hard rubbish a few years ago. He is well-trained.

I have fixed this serving tray to the kitchen wall. The first in a series entitled 'Fixing Trays to Wall - Facing Phobia'.

$3 Vinnies Kew (a couple of years ago now...)

And the second in the series:

'I'm not quite sure it works, Big Ears.'

I will keep you updated on this work-in-progress.

Here's what we saw on our walk this morning:

A small Saskia in her stroller.

The first of the beautiful Camellias - one of my favourite flowers. They look like they should hold the most divine scent on earth, don't you think?

But you can't have everything.

Hundreds of little baby Charlottes.

I'm playing along with Sophie and ApronThriftGirl.

It helps if you have the right outfit

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I don't get much of a chance to exercise, other than walking the streets, so Saskia and I have been dancing to this quite a bit:

She bops up and down on her buttum.

I look to this man for inspiration. As I'm sure you already do. Or will. Very soon.

These crystals make me happy on sunny days.

Pretty.

Miss Saskia Abigail is ten months old today.

She wants to RUN. In a vampiric fashion. And not just on the weekends.

She likes to be awake. Like every couple of hours during the night and has also decided she need only nap for half an hour during the day. Somebody please pass me my eyeballs as they have fallen out of my head and rolled under the table.

Ha ha hee hee!!

I am so, like, totally back in the land of thrifty recluttering.

Ha ha, hee hee!
Ha ha, hee hee!
See / how happy / it makes / mee?


A friend showed me a couple of new ope shopes last week, tucked away in suburbs I'd only vaguely heard of. We ran out of time but the one we managed to have a quick look in was very exciting and the one we whizzed past - attached to a church, I find these to be the bestest -  was full of promise!

I found those wellingtons for Zig for $3.

And I popped in to Vinnies in Kew with my MIL on Friday and, despite her protestations, brought this 70s stationery set home:

It reminds me of this:

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Or a Flake ad:

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Expect a letter!!

And these toowowsers for Saskia:

(Does she look like a boy? She has recently taken to wearing a hair clip to keep the fluffiness that is her hair out of her eyes, wears an amber necklace and clothes with frills, yet men (and it's mostly men) stop and greet her with 'You're a cute little fella' etc. It could be her deep-pitched growling/gurgling, but really - she's wearing a flowery hair clip!?)

A soft leather belt pour moi.

And a set of 'Superior Quality' cotton sheets. It was rather handy having the knowledge and experience of my lovely MIL to handy hand. I kept running over with silly questions for her. 'Do you think these really are of superior quality?' &c.

I'm playing along with Sophie and ApronThriftGirl.

Already?! That's. So. Unfair.

This is remarkably similar to what has been happening around here recently.



'That sux.' 'What.evah.' 'That's so unfair.'

And much rolling of eyes and mimicry of mother and father.

I've started saying things like:

'You're skating on very thin ice young man.'

and

'Do you really want to find out what happens if I get to 3?'

Yes. A phase perhaps. Lucky for him he's my favourite son.

Ope Shopers Anonymous

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I've fallen off the wagon. I can't help it. Not visiting ope shopes was sucking the joy out of life.

We're still vating, vating for the official word from the Minister of Magic (as Zig likes to call 'the Minister'). The entire 'new life in foreign country' may be scrapped by the new government. Think 'Yes Minister' - it's a bit like that.



Meetings. Meetings about meetings. More meetings. Oh well.

We have a new computer which is exciting.

And I've been ope shopeing!! Which is even more exciting. Refraining from compulsive thrifting was tedious. I'm a much more interesting person again.

I'm the only person in this house who likes bubblegum. So my dentist will be relieved to see that I've filled this with blocks not gumballs. 

I've eased myself back into the habit with toys. I'll be back on the hard stuff soon.

Saskia is very keen to walk. She's tearing around like a little tearaway.

 I'm playing along with Sophie and Apron Thrift Girl.

Goddamn right it's a beautiful purse

Do you like my new purse? It's made from soft soft eel skin. Yep. Yurghy! But it's also made from yellom. I have been waiting for this to arrive in my life for quite a while now.

Getcha eelskin here.

We're still in LIMBO.* I'm so frustrated I could cry. At least I really am decluttering though instead of just talking about it.

Everything in this bowl got hoiked.

So satisfying. (Small steps.) Do you have receptacles around the house holding an array of useless stuff which really should be in the multi-purpose drawer? Do you have a multi-purpose drawer? Do you call it a multi-purpose drawer?

Here's another receptacle, this time in cut glass:

Saskia likes cheese.

As does Ziggy. As do I. This cheese in particular:

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Surprisingly, consuming large amounts smeared on wahfus is helping with the limbo frustration.

*I know I've been linking back to previous posts a bit recently. I'm postmodern like that. Self-referencing &c. Or maybe that's post-postmodern. Or maybe we're back at whatever was the beginning.

We don't play favourites

Here is Ziggy, my favourite son, at around nine months.

And here is Saskia, my favourite daughter, at around yesterday.

So strange for me, as someone without full siblings, to see two little people so similar, yet so different.*

Little peeeples. Love them.

*I have, of course, come across other people who have siblings in my life's journey. And have, on occasion, even met their siblings. But you know what I mean.