Ooh-la-la!

I la-la-love these handmade shoes (made with vintage kimono fabric), from Hetty Rose in the UK ....






Thank you Taska for pointing them out!

Transition

My brain hurts a bit at the moment, and I'm feeling rather apprehensive.....
I've just finished up at work to become a student yet again. One of my subjects actually started a month ago. I missed the first 3 classes and because I've been working too I feel that I'm really behind already. Not a good way to start the semester!

I've had ongoing problems with the administration of my enrolment (which meant I couldn't access the online class materials), and this week my internet connection has been almost non-existent. Argh! Definitely not the best situation when trying to write essays as part of a global seminar (together with students in four other countries)!

sorry - just in a bit of a mood today.

Better get back to my study!

This is ..... my favourite accessory

For this week's This is.... meme (hosted by Three Buttons) we're to post a picture of ourselves showing our favourite accessory in the mirror. I wasn't able to take a picture in the mirror tonight but I have been thinking about my favourite accessories.
Most of them are beautiful items of handcrafted jewellery given to me by my husband, and I love them all because they remind me of him and of special moments.

These scarves are fun to wear too:

























... and I adore this stunning Spanish compact ( a Christmas present from G last year):













Last month I bought myself a brooch and necklace from the wonderful team at Klei....













I wonder though, if this little fella might be my absolute favourite accessory?!













(here posing with G's knees during a train ride to the Sustainable Living Festival in the city last weekend)

Mary Evans - Prints Online

This site makes me wish I had oodles of cash (and wallspace!) to devote to vintage posters .....

In the garden

Hellzapoppin!

How would you describe this routine?















Pic: Shubert Foundation

This is ..... what makes me laugh out loud

..... hmmmm.... you know, it's a funny thing ....
I often feel very happy and bubbly (and I'm a big ol' chatterbox), but I very rarely laugh out loud. It's not that I don't like to have a chuckle or a giggle on occasion .... I'm just not a 'peals of laughter' kind of girl.

My dear husband will often fill the house with roars and guffaws when he's watching a funny TV show or reading something amusing, and my father is also known to for his frequent, infectious bursts of laughter.

I tend to laugh 'on the inside' (*wink*).

Ooops!

This is the second time I've let a Sunday slide by without posting my 'This is .....' contribution (as part of Three Buttons' game).

I'll get onto it tonight...

sfgirlbybay

.... I don't know how I could have missed this site in all my blog meanderings - it's so wonderful!


Thank you sf-girl (and thank you Jacqui for pointing me in this direction)!

Paper cuts

Skinny laMinx just keeps on producing amazingly beautiful stuff. This girl is so talented! She inspires me to change my life and dedicate more time to creative pursuits.

......I wonder if I'd ever have the patience to attempt something as delicate as this? (!)


Check out her Papercut ('Cut tut') post from February 12, and her Flickr photo sets...

Special day

Today is an extremely important day for the people of Australia.


This morning I viewed some heartbreaking reports about the Stolen Generation and the darker side of Australian history .... it makes me so sad.


At least there's room for hope as well. I hope that today marks the start of a new era.

This is ......

... an example of poor time management.
Another week has rushed by, and I completely forgot to check the theme and post something for last Sunday's 'This is...' game (hosted by Three Buttons). I will join in again next Sunday!

On a completely different note, I was thinking the other day about beautiful alphabet blocks,


when my sister sent me this link to some mystifying examples of translation errors. Check them out for a chuckle!


(Pic: Back to Basics)

Eggy

... Continuing the theme from the previous post (very tenuously!) - I noticed again today the wonderful golden eggy yellow colour of our Graham Thomas roses. Luscious!


Our garden is battling through the hot, dry weather (and my lack of thoughtful planning this season), but I still dig it!

Eglu

How cute are these little hen- and bunny-houses from Omlet in the UK?!

Even the food and water bowls ("grub'n'glug containers") are designed to match ....

This is ..... my collection

Most people with children have a lot of beautiful picture books at home. I don't have children, but I collect children's books - I love the combination of simplicity, imagination, humour and inspiration that brings their pages to life.

I still have many of my favourite picture books fom my childhood - they hold so many memories! The photos I've posted here show a small part of my newer collection - books that I've fallen in love with and purchased as an adult. Most of them are in English, German, or Japanese, but I'm sure I'll probably also end up buying books in languages that I can't read .... often the pictures alone fire the imagination enough to make the words redundant.

Sometimes the words are cheeky and clever silly and fun, or quietly thought-provoking.



This collection makes me happy and it'll keep growing for a while yet I'm sure.

I wonder what other things are being collected by members of the 'This is' group....

Why not drop in at Three Buttons to have a look?

Sunprints

I played around with photosensitive paper and snippets from the garden to make these (amateur!) sunprints.




Although the weather was windy and overcast some of the prints turned out OK, with slightly dreamy 3D effects. I hope I might be able to screenprint my sunprints onto fabric eventually.

February foliage

Luckily things are still growing strongly in our little garden, despite the drought....

The green leaves are so soothing in hot dry weather.



Gus' waterbowl is being subsumed by a hop plant!