My Life - My Loves: July 2009

Friday, July 31, 2009

House tour :: Part 1 :: Front Entry

I thought it was time I showed you around our home. What better place to start than the front door .......

Love my front porch. I'm slowing adding pots of colour.

Bench seat purchased on eBay, restored and painted. So happy to have found one with the cross detailing.

Cyclamen

Calendiva - from the succulent family. Very hard to kill (perfect for a beginner like me)

Anduze pots from D.I.G. in Brisbane. I would love to install a timber swing seat at the end of this porch too.

Whilst I absolutely love my home, I'm not under any illusions that a beautiful house automatically makes a beautiful "home". I love the people inside our house and together we we have made our house the perfect home.

Ready to step inside? Be my guest ....

American Oak timber flooring. Had trouble finding this flooring, but months of searching finally paid off. I love the grain.

Gallery wall. I purchased all of the 100 year old original antique lithographs on eBay and Black & Spiro had them framed for me. I'm thrilled with the matting Anna chose.

I have a thing for birds and nests

The colour of the eggs work beautifully with the entry lamps and bench seat upholstery and cushions

Bench seating and storage that holds kids shoes and school bags. All cushions from Black & Spiro.

Antique Italian table was purchased from Michael's Antiques in Brisbane.

Glimpse of our staircase.

Custom lamp shades from Black & Spiro, as are the blue and white ceramics.

Detailing on the table

I love this details, looks just like a bow.

We moved into our home in late October 2008 after 19 months of building. I lived and breathed the entire process and loved every minute of it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I certainly helps if you have a quality builder. Couldn't say a bad word about ours.

I hope you enjoyed the first edition of my house tour. I plan to show you through the entire house over the coming months.

I'm taking the kids to the beach to spend the week with my Dad tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited all at the same time. See you all back here soon. Fingers crossed I have internet access, not sure what I'll do with myself after the kids go to bed if I don't have the WWW available to me!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Party favour bags

When planning Olivia's party the first thing I tackled were the party favour bags. I had in my mind exactly what I wanted.

At the moment Olivia loves to write her name, letters and lists. I thought this theme would make a cute favour.

In keeping with the colour theme I found little notebooks, pencils, erasers and the sweetest little sharpener for each of Olivia's guests.

I collected different fabrics and sewed the bags and found some cute little tags on etsy.

I love the way they turned out and our little guests enjoyed them too!

Image Sharnel Dollar 2009

Big thank-you

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to both Sara at Party Perfect and Amy at Amy Atlas Events for showcasing Olivia's 5th Birthday photos. You both made my day year!

Monday, July 27, 2009

My little girls magical day

I am so excited to share with you these beautiful images Leanne took of Olivia's 5th Birthday party. I couldn't recommend Leanne more highly. She is a gorgeous person and this shows in her work.

The dessert buffet was inspired by the one and only Amy Atlas

All images Leanne Stamatellos Photography

Sunday, July 26, 2009

What a day!

Only one photo to share with you all just now of Olivia's party. I didn't take one photo myself, instead the super sweet and talented Leanne from Leanne Stamatellos Photography spent the entire party making sure each and every detail was snapped.

Photo courtesy of Leanne Stamatellos Photography

Friday, July 24, 2009

Yay, my husband is home!

Image from Sarah Gardner's flickr

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Sneak Peek

Just checking in to show you the party progress. Yes, my life is all about a five year olds party at present. Well, just until Sunday at around 1pm when the last guest will float our the door!

Here are a few (poorly taken) photos of the preparation in progress.

Treat bags for the candy/dessert buffet

Two tiers of a soon to be three tier birthday cake

Toffee apples - YUM!

Party favours

Candy buffet sign

A few of the candy jars

I had some all-day suckers custom made in the party colours!!

Martha Stewart pom-poms (she's my sista from another mother!)

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

All systems go

I've been a bit distracted of late. Husband is away, I'm sick and Olivia's birthday party is this weekend. It's been a blur of pick up's and drop off's, sewing, fondant, tulle, lollies and menus for me this past week.

In between this all, many many phone calls to my Dad to see how he is doing. I can't visit him while I am sick for fear of passing on germs. I think once next week is done and dusted we might rent a holiday house at the Sunshine Coast for a week so we can visit him each day. He doesn't have much energy so short regular visits might work better for him.

I still can't get my head around what is happening to him. And then I start thinking about what he is going through and I feel guilty for feeling my feelings. Oh what a wicked web we weave for ourselves.

Throughout these past weeks I've been on the receiving end of some warm and giving gestures. People that I didn't expect it from either, which made it all the more special.

If you can find it in your heart to pray for my Dad, I would be ever so thankful. His name is Gary and he would love for you to pray for his remaining time here with us be as pain free as possible. Also for him to be able to walk a little longer, for him to be able to take his daily walks that he loved so much. To have the energy to play his guitar too, another of his hobbies.