merino/lace baby blanket

One of my best friends just had her third baby! This is a gift for her gorgeous little girl. I used two layers of merino and in one corner added a piece of beautiful soft lace. I love merino, it's such a lovely soft, light weight fabric and at the same time so warm, perfect for little ones! Hope you like it baby Ivy xxx

Also photo's of one of my favorite flowers, Hellebores (also known as roses of winter) which I picked yesterday. It hard to find any flowers this time of the year so they are such a treat and so beautiful!

chairs, chairs, chairs

I have to admit I am a little, well more than a little crazy over chairs. I have at least ten chairs (just in the house) a couple in the garage and a few out on loan to friends. So what do I do today, buy two more! I just can't resist when I see a bargain (even though I'm meant to be saving for my holiday) but come on... $15 a chair, who could say no to that!

They do need some work, I'm planning to sand them down then either stain a light wood colour or paint white. I wanted to put one in the lounge today, so to make it more presentable I've used two euro size cushion covers (just until I find some gorgeous fabric to cover them with.) So keep an eye out for the final result!

latest find

I was out walking on Saturday morning and came across this cute  little wooden cot at a garage sale, a bargain at $5.oo! I've been keeping an eye out for a wooden one because Olive is obsessed with dolls so you can imagine her delight, I think it's her new favourite toy.

no knead bread

The smell of freshly baked bread has to be one of the best aromas ever! I'd never made bread before, my friend Elaina tried this fantastic no knead recipe, it's from one of favourite blogs ivy nest. All you need is: 3 cups water, 1 tablespoon instant yeast, 1 tablespoon sea salt, 6 1/2 cups plain white flour (or 5 cups white and 1 1/2 cups wholemeal.) Go to ivy nest blog for the full instructions, 

It's delicious warm from the oven with butter and just as yummy toasted with marmalade and banana for breakfast! happy baking!

baking with mummy

I have great memory's of helping my mum in the kitchen, she was definitely my biggest influence with baking and cooking. We go over for dinner most Sunday's which is really nice, cooking together and spending time with the girls.

So the girls and I made orange muffins with a sugar glaze, I love to use friand tins, they are a great shape and the tins are heavy duty. I haven't made proper friands in so long, I never have ground almonds, I think it's about time I buy some, I might try whole almonds and grinding them myself.

I love having my little helpers in the kitchen, even though things take a lot longer to make and often leads to ingredients everywhere, I know they have fun and it's nice to make some special memory's for them (even if there favourite part is licking the bowl!)

letting go

This was my cot from when I was a baby, then my brothers, then Isla's and Olives (my mum was very sentimental and kept a lot of our baby things, lucky for me!) 

It's going to a new home this weekend (on loan), even though Olive has been in a bed for a few months I'm finding it hard part with the cot. I guess because my baby isn't really a baby anymore, she will be two soon but she's still so little to me.

winter walks & girly afternoons

I really can't wait until spring, the cloudy days and cold nights making room for some lovely sunshine, new growth and new life. I'm looking forward to seeing my tulip and daffodil bulbs transform my somewhat bleak garden into a lovely array of colour! 

I haven't let this winter weather stop me, I've finally got motivated and moving again! The double buggy has been dusted off and my walking shoes pulled out of the darkness. Braving the cold I've been for four long walks this week (about 20ks all together!) Which is a lot for me, I had forgotten how good it makes you feel!

So, after our walk this morning, we relaxed and had a girly afternoon, painted nails (pink of course), plaited hair (my attempt at a fish-tail) and made flower head bands...

diy girls cape jacket

Here's a really sweet 1950's pattern, it took me a while to decipher the instructions, I'm terrible at following new patterns let alone trying to understand a vintage one! This is my first attempt, I used a wool blend material, there's no lining in the pattern, I think I'll give it a try next time. I've been told by Isla (my three year old) the next one I make for her must be pink!

diy sweet little dress

I used the same pinafore pattern as the last dress post and added some cute little ruffles on the straps. Isla is getting very excited with her sudden rush of new clothing, she asked what I'm going to make next (while I'm still sewing her dress) and then she hang up both dresses next to her bed last night, girls and clothing, lol!

diy pinafore dress

I made this little cutie for Isla today, I have been saving this gorgeous vintage material for something special and I had just enough! My aunty sent me the pattern, it's from about the 1970's, it's a simple, easy to follow pattern, only took just over an hour to make!

flowers

I know I haven't been blogging much lately! I've been extremely busy taking photo's and doing photo editing, I'm loving it! We've also had family visiting from the South Island and Australia. Then to add to the mix we've all had a terrible bug the last couple of weeks, so lots of sleepless nights!

I'm planning to do some sewing for the girls, so fingers crossed I'll find some spare time (most probably when there asleep!) And I'm praying my over locker still works, Olive's new favourite thing to do is sneak into my sewing cupboard and play with every dial, switch and knob she can find!

So just a quick post of some flowers I have around my house, it's so hard to find anything worth putting in a vase this time of year, all the gardens are looking very lifeless and bleak, but I always make sure I have some colour scattered around the house (preferably roses and preferably a shade of pink!)

vintage shoes

How cute! I couldn't believe my luck when I found these little beauties at an op-shop today.... I know that girls like shoes and in Isla's words "oh I love them mummy, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She didn't take them off all day!

vintage bedside table

This is my find of the day! Another score from my favourite op-shop, the salvation army! I'm not sure of the wood type, maybe oak or rimu (it's very solid and very lovely!) We already have enough bedside tables but I couldn't resist, so this has found a home in the hall right by my door entrance (so I can see it every time I walk in the door!)

I'm such a sucker for vintage funiture but I've literally run out of floor space, so I either need a bigger house orz need to have another clean out! But how could I sell any of treasures?

i love cubby-holes

I'm always on the look out for cubby-holes of any size, shape of form but they're very hard to come across, I finally found some yesterday at the salvation army ($2). Very small but very cute! I've hung them in my room, now I'm on the look out for a couple more cute little ornaments to put on it!