Packing, Packing And Pretty Roses....

Today it's Monday and so far the start to my week is going quite well (fingers crossed it stays that way) and this packing business seems to finally be under control. I'm surprised by how much stuff one house holds and by the amount we're culling before moving, we've been pretty brutal and really gone 'nope, can live without it' so there are a few items that have been listed on gumtree and others that have been delivered to St Vinnies and I even dropped a few things to my sister. I really do believe in, if I can't use it pass it on because there's always someone out there who could get use out of what I don't need any more. Now I know I've been talking about moving for a few months now and some of you may be wondering (like I have been) are they ever going to find somewhere....well we have found somewhere we love and are just waiting to see if it's ours...if it is then I will share lots more about it when I know for sure and then I won't be rambling about trying to find somewhere, I'll just be rambling about the moving, unpacking and how much I love the house....so be prepared.

While we've been busy packing and running around here there and everywhere over the last week my two rose bushes I planted a while ago have started blooming. Some of you have seen pics on Instagram and some of you will see pics here today. It may sound strange but I was glad when I saw the roses were flowering as it has given me something lovely to watch and enjoy and appreciate as all the chaos of moving has been happening around me. For those of you who read Just Breathe you know I'm a big believer in literally stopping and smelling the roses and just standing still and breathing deeply and feeling the earth beneath our feet....I really feel if we don't do these little things and take just five minutes a day to stop then that's when life's pressures can become too much. Any way.....I'm loving my roses and they will absolutely be dug up and taken to the new house with me, however I'm thinking of potting them and sitting them on the front veranda......that's right...if we get this house I have a front verandah...it's small but spacious.....now you really just want to see it don't you...?? hehe...hopefully soon.

Well being that I can't show you the veranda yet I will just have to show you the pictures of my beautiful roses...the red one is a French one and I have forgotten it's name and the white one is called Champagne....such an appropriate name for this household.....I hope you like the pics and I took these with my phone and believe it or not my phone is giving me much better pictures lately than my camera.....can't wait to get that DSLR Camera.....will be pics galore then....any way enjoy and let me know what your favourite flower is....Mine has always been roses....I've never swayed from loving them best.

 Champagne...was tricky getting the pic as it's very windy today

 There's something special about the way roses open..

 My French red rose...

 Big, Bold and Blooming

A beautiful scent from this rose

So there you have it, my roses that have helped me to stop and take five before I go mad from all this moving business...

Fridays Photography Post 12...

Today as was pulling into the car park at my beloved foreshore I noticed an eyesore looking like a crane coming out of the water. I was heading to the beach to get some wintery pics for todays post and to my utter shock I find there's development going on at the foreshore.....apparently the shire has given permission for four viewing platforms to be built.....totally gobsmacked. So, shocked and exasperated I went about what I set out to do....I got my winter pics....it was a very snappy day at the foreshore....everyone seemed to have their cameras out and we were all happily snapping away.

The eyesore I spotted pulling into the carpark.

I couldn't get a closer shot but for the first time ever in busselton that tiny sign out there says no swimming...can you believe it...

The information centre under a cloudy sky.

This guy actually let me get very close so I could get his pic....he might have thought I had some chips for him....but no..

This is our local beach restaurant called The Equinox and at the back they have a take away section for those who want to picnic....they make good chicken and chips there...

I'm always amazed by the colour that was used for these lamp posts..

Tourists bike riding....I love snapping people when they're not looking..

I spotted this old couple watching the work going on before them and while I couldn't hear them I'm sure they were discussing the idiotic decision by the shire to allow more development of the foreshore.....that or they were saying, 'remember when we were kids and the world was a simpler place...?'

One of the massive trees where the outside tables and chair are for eating...also this is where those crazy white parrots live...

I love these trees and they've been here forever.....you really need to stand underneath these trees and look up to appreciate the true size.....massive....and these trees are opposite each other and their very top branches meet and overlap......really is beautiful..

The information centre was a lot quiter today than usual....

The side of the information centre and if you look to the right that's the very end of the jetty...

The water was a strange green colour today under a grey sky...

One of the many boat ramps along our lovely beach....

Every mums worst nightmare.......a child who has discarded shoes to play and forgotten to pick them up before heading home......

So this was my observation of my beloved foreshore today.....it was a funny old day here in Busselton....it was grey, cloudy and wet but not too cold......winter is coming.....until next Friday enjoy the photos and let me know what you think....take care...xo

Winter Weather, Childhood Feelings And A Lovely Old House...

Good morning Home, Love and Life friends.....I'm hoping you've all had a great and productive week before the weekend starts.

As I'm sitting here thinking of you all and about what I have to get done today I can't help but look out my window...you see Winter is making a big effort to get started here in little old Busselton to the point where I've noticed some have already got their fires going in late afternoon. While it's not too cold this morning it is grey, cloudy and wet but that's ok with me....I actually really happen to love the weather like this before Winter really hits with full force. This weather always reminds me of being at my grandparents place either on the weekend or school holidays in the winter.....they always had their wood stove going and me and my sisters used to help bring the wood in in a special metal bucket my grandma kept just for the wood....we'd fill it up and then carry it in together and then watch as either grandma or pop stoked the fire. Yes I was one of those kids who spent all her school holidays at her grandparents house and loved it.....they built their house with their own two hands from the ground up and it always had a special feeling about it. It was always warm and cosy and inviting and I could just spend all day there and be happy and content to watch the rain from the sleepout doorway. It is hard to describe exactly the feeling that house used to give me in winter....while it hammered rain, thunder and lightening outside I was safe and warm inside and it just made Winter more enjoyable. I also think this is where my love of older houses started.....growing up we knew and had heard the stories of grandma and pop clearing their block of land and building the garage which they lived in before the house was built...(thank goodness my grandfather was a carpenter by trade and I think it's from him I get my love of wood and refurbishing) and I think this is why their house was more special to me than any other house....I spent almost as much time at their house as I did my own growing up.

This pic would have to be about 57yrs old...before fencing went up and gardens were put in...the gargage is in the background and the house in front....I miss this house...it's been knocked down now and the block developed...

So yes, today is making me wish I was a kid again on a winters day spending time colouring in at the kitchen table while the woodstove heats the house and listening to my Pop shuffle around in his slippers in the morning and watching grandma sit in front of the fire making toast in the fire on a fork. The joys of childhood...why do we want to grow up so fast...?

How does the change into Winter make you feel? It's funny how seasons changing trigger memories and make us feel certain ways.......Were you all like me and spent lots of time at your grandparents house...if so I think we were the lucky lot.......Oh and don't forget to keep your eyes open for Fridays Photography Post a little later today......Au revoir pour l'instant......Goodbye for now.....xo 

A Maddening Start To The Week.......

Apologies for the absence Home, Love and Life friends and thank you to those of you who have continued to visit my blog even though I was Awol for a few days....much appreciated...

Monday

Did you ever have one of those days where you said to yourself, 'I'm getting all I have to do done and nothing's going to stop me, even if I can't walk at the end of the day.' Well that's exactly what I said to myself last night. You see being that we're still in limbo and things are half packed, (though checking out a house Friday morning, here's hoping) everything has gone a bit haywire...my usual  motivation left for a while, my desire to want to garden all but disappeared and the frustration of not being able to decorate the house to the full extent I want has become overwhelming!!....Yesterday though was breaking point...I couldn't take looking at the ensuite any more and thinking..'I really need to clean it' (not that is was gross it just needed a decent scrub...you know the sort where you actually have to get on your hands and knees to clean the shower floor...) and decided that today I was going to get it sparkling clean even with a sore back and leg.....and sparkling clean it is....

Cleaning the ensuite I threw my back out but it was worth it as it looks so good now..

Now before I started my cleaning frenzy I took a moment to take a picture of the beautiful sunrise that was coming up over the backyard and it was beautiful....we should all stop and enjoy something lovely before our day gets busy and time gets away from us..

I had to stand on one of our outdoor chairs to get this pic being as I'm oh so short...lol 

So the cleaning went well until my back gave out on me and I could barely stand upright....it's something I'm used to and has been happening for years but still just a tad painful when it does happen...So I was forced to abandon the heavy cleaning and do light jobs for the rest of the day, which really just involved folding washing (something I never seem to stop doing), preparing dinner and messing around with Instagram....hey a girls got to have her photography fix for the day....and as I was going around taking pics I happened to notice my rosemary is in full bloom and my daisies are just starting to flower...there was just one lone daisy all on her own so I thought I'd take a snap of her....

She's almost finished blooming but I just had to take a pic..I think I'll definitely be digging up a couple of bushes and taking them with us when we move...

Oh how I love everything there is about Rosemary, the colours, the scent, the taste...everything..

That was Monday and then Tuesday came round and my day went all over the place.....poor Chris came down with a stomach bug Monday night so he was home from work which led to me sleeping in because we didn't have to get up at 4:30am....woohoo....but no woohoo to Chris being sick. However, because of my sleeping in I felt as if I was running behind with everything yesterday....have you ever had that?? Where you sleep in and then feel you've lost time.....annoying isn't it...?? Now I never used to be a morning person but since these early morning starts with Chris I have just gotten used to it and rarely do I go back to sleep after he's gone to work......Anyhow I finally got the casserole in the slow cooker (two hours later than usual) and made the bed and then remembered I had some important phone calls to make on top of trying to get everything done in a house that's driving me mad.......So what did I do.....I made the phone calls and then stopped and had an oh so lovely much needed and I might add deserved coffee.....you know the ones....yep..the ones that help keep your sanity....

I'm so glad I rediscovered my love of coffee...

While enjoying my coffee I thought I'd jump online and see if any new rentals have been listed and of course there had been but most say no pets...hmmm...this is becoming a dilemma for us....for a country town no one seems to want to let you have pets or you're forced to pay ridiculously high pet bonds....(I'm really not liking this private rental market business at all)......So I thought I'd see if maybe there were any rural properties to rent as I've always longed to have space to roam around on (must be the American Indian blood in me...thanks Pop)....Now I'm not quite sure how this happened but I found all these listings of rural properties at really good prices with lovely houses and lots of room to move....yey...I was thinking and then I noticed what had gone wrong....even though I had selected W.A for the search it brought up listings in Victoria, N.S.W.....!!! Now I was not happy because here I was thinking finally we can find somewhere nice and peaceful but noooo it was all the way on the other side of the country!! And then I got really annoyed (not with you lovely  eastern states people though I must say) because the rents on these properties were very, very reasonable and one lovely 4 x 2 place was on 2 acres and only $300pw...!!! Now let me tell you...apparently there are no properties like that for rent here in W.A where we are and when they are available we're paying up to $450 pw for a 3 x 1 house.......would someone please explain to me how the rents can vary so much from one state to another because I really don't get it.......I was ready to pack up  and head straight for the Nullabor yesterday......but that just is not a feasible plan while the girls are so young and we have access issues to worry about......so it looks like we'll be taking whatever's available, paying a ridiculous amount so I can keep my dogs with me and still stuck in suburbia.......Don't get me wrong...I love Busselton, it's a great town (even though the shire doesn't appear to know what they're doing) and we live on top of the beach which I love....what I don't love and haven't for sometime now....is living on top of people....I so want my own space with just peace and quiet and the sound of birds in the morning and the wind blowing in the afternoon....but seeing as that's not going to happen just yet I'll get back to reality and check out this house on Friday and hope to hell it's well looked after and we get it...and yes I'll have to pay an exuberant amount of pet bond...

Now here we are and it's Wednesday and I'm not feeling so stressed today (thank goodness for meetings at the hall on Tuesday night...always feel better after being with brothers and sisters, thank you Jehovah) and that probably has a bit to do with the fact I have a customer for nail refills this morning and the fact my hubby is so wonderful.....he knows I've been stressing to the max and that the whole rent N.S.W vs W.A really ticked me off so what does he do this morning from work (yep he's working today) ........he sent me this pic....

No he's not making a mess at work, this is the cleaning stuff they use....for those of you who can't make it out it's....I Love U....he's such a sweety....I'm Blessed...

So enough of my rambling of a maddening start to the week as I have a customer to set up for (she's my hairdresser) and I'm looking forward to catching up with her.....So go out and have a great day and do something exciting and take lots of pics....yep I'm still in love with Instagram....and show me what you snapped along the way today.......oh and keep your eyes posted as the blog is getting updated as soon as I find a background I like.....take care xo

Fridays Photography Post 11...

Happy Friday....Home, Love and Life friends......as I mentioned the other day I have neglected my Fridays Photography post (unintentionally of course) of late simply due to forgetting about it...how could I forget it?? Seriously!! Well no more....I'm back with my camera and phone and there have been lots of pics taken this week, especially with the discovery of instagram!! (still loving it) So not too much rambling from me, (until later hehe) I hope you all enjoy the snapshots of how my day went in brief and I'm hoping to get out over the weekend and find some really interesting shots for next week.

 The best carrot cake for morning tea is here in Busselton.

 My amazing son Luke who has Autism doing his food shopping.

 My gloves from H&G Magazine, made my day.

My lovely Jacaranda tree, it was not much more than a stick and almost dead when I moved in. Now after much tlc it's doing really well.

So what did your day involve today? Picture, recipes, cleaning, visiting?? Feel free to share how you day went, I'm hoping you've all had a great Friday....I certainly have. And I've just had an idea!! (light bulb moment) So keep your eyes open you never know what I could be up to....have a great night.

Lovin' Instagram....Finally...

Today I discovered (at last) I can use instagram on my phone!!! Now I know some of you have been using instagram for a while and are loving it and I have been watching all your beautiful photos being posted but for someone who doesn't have an i-phone I wasn't able to join you all in the fun....until today that is....woohoo!! I have a lovely Samsung GalaxyS phone which I love by the way and it uses android, so for a while unless you had an Apple phone, ipad etc you were left out of the loop. What is it with Apple seriously....like they  don't have enough money and can't share apps they come up with..go figure.

Any how I'm not here to complain about Apple just simply to share a few photos I've taken and zooshed up with instagram. It's definitely making photography alot more interesting for me now until I can get my new camera. Speaking of photography, I just realized yesterday that my Fridays Photography Post has been neglected of late and to tell the truth I've just had so much going on that I completely forgot about it.....but...no more! I'm back on the ball with things and I will have a lovely Fridays Photography Post for you this week....hope you'll enjoy it.

And now here are a few of those photos I took and zooshed up. Feel free to share with me whatever pics you've taken and transformed using instagram or if you really feel like it you can follow me on instagram.

My most favourite bag of late...

Must go make another one soon

I caught this just this morning as I was heading out.

My lovely french rose that's just started blooming.

So what do you think?? All photography tips are welcome as that's how we learn, by helping each other out and I love to learn new things and I've always loved photography.

Revamp Thanks...Crazy Kid Holidays.....And A Throw Together Dinner....

Well today this Home, Love & Life girl is a little tired and not feeling a hundred percent....personally I think it's something in the air, the weather is cooling down and the breeze is starting to become chillier in the afternoon lately. Isn't it funny how the weather affects our moods that way??

I would like to thank everyone for all your lovely comments on Chris' bedside table revamp, it was amazing how many of you asked me where I got the fabric from and for those who don't know but would like to know...go to the-rose-room on e-bay and you'll find lots of lovely french fabric at good prices. I thoroughly enjoyed revamping Chris' table and the funny thing about it was I bought the material not knowing exactly what I was going to use it for, then just before I fell asleep one night the idea to recover the seat and white wash the table literally jumped into my mind. Now I'm looking forward to starting on my bedside table and white washing it....I've also got a few other things laying around here that will be getting a coat of white wash too...will show those in time.

A successful revamp...love...

Now on a slightly different subject, what is it with kids and driving you crazy on school holidays?? Do they store all their craziness up and wait to let it loose on the holidays or is it just we notice it more on the holidays?? Now don't get me wrong the girls have been pretty good for the most part but the last few days...I swear Bec is trying to see how fast she can get me to check into Greylands (for those over east it's a well  known mental facility here). hehe.....No she is just being herself but definitely having a last run at the trying threes before she turns four in a few months.

Finally quiet and watching Ice Age...

Being as I'm not feeling my usual upbeat self today I threw dinner on in the slow cooker at ten this morning and I have to say, that lovely chicken casserole is wafting through the house quite nicely....have I mentioned before how much I love my slow cooker?? Well I thought I'd just mention it again...hehe....It's one investment that is earning it's keep that's for sure. Tonights casserole was one of those throw together ones...you know the ones where you really just use what ever's left in the crisper and cupboard, throw it all together and hope for the best.....if it's a hit I'll post the recipe but I have to say it's smelling good.. 

Slow cooker hard at work cooking tonights dinner...

Well I hope you're all having a great week so far and it only gets better for you, I'm off for a much needed coffee while listening to some great country music....

Oh and I thought I'd let you all know that All About Nails is taking off....had my first customer last night (was my sister but still a paying customer...love her) and have another customer booked in a few days time....I'll keep you all informed as to how the business is going......have a good night Home, Love & Life friends...xo

Revamp Success.....

Well I have to say I love white washing furniture!! Revamping Chris' bedside table took me a little longer than I planned as I left Sunday afternoon open so we could take the girls out for ice cream and a swim at the beach. Once they were in bed though I got started on the first coat of paint (I did all the sanding Saturday afternoon) which I have to admit as I started the white washing process I was a little apprehensive and thinking to myself, 'hmmm not sure if I'm going to like this after all..' but as I persisted and kept going it just kept getting better. So now I have a real love of white washing and I can't wait to get started on my bedside table and revamp that too...

Saturday afternoon, completely sanded and waiting to be painted.

Sunday evening, first coat on. I decided to wait until today to do the second coat as the light inside wasn't too great after a certain point.

This morning with the second coat applied....just sitting around drying.

Front view and completely finished...yey!!

Top view and I love this fabric....

Back home on Chris' side of the bed..

Looking oh so French and Coastal...

Ahh I'm so in love with this piece of furniture now....

Ok so I know this is a lot of photos for one bedside table but I'm just so happy with the way it turned out that I think the rest of the house better watch out because you never know when I'll be by with a paint brush...

So what do you all think....do you love white wash as much as I do??

Bedside Table Revamp....

Well ever since the desk revamp/debarkle, depending on how you want to look at it (though I now am happy with the way the desk turned out) I've been a bit off fixing anything else around the house but lately the creative juices have been flowing and I've found a project that should (in theory) be easy enough to revamp and keep me busy for a few hours over the weekend. Chris and I don't have matching bedside tables and that used to bother me but I've gotten used to what we do have because it works for us and also it just makes our room a little more unique than the standard matching bedsides everyone else has. As most of you know I have my Grandfathers cabinet he made with his own hands.

My bedside table soon to be white washed.

Chris has an old telephone table with seat that I picked up in an op shop for about $5 many years ago now. The idea has always been to recover the seat and I originally intended on staining the wood to bring it back to life but being as I've been making the move to beach/coastal/french decor I've decided to white wash instead. I got some gorgeous french fabric off ebay this week and that will cover the seat, I'm on the hunt for a new handle for the draw and I already have some paint laying around from some older projects so I really just need to invest in a new paint brush and I can start.

Chris' beside table, a slight coastal theme so far with the shells in the jar. He made me promise I wouldn't 'jazz' up his side too much. The fabric will do most of the jazzing up for me any way.

So with the weekend fast approaching I'm looking forward to getting started on this revamp as I need something to take my mind off moving and looking at houses....it's becoming a nightmare I can do without. So have a lovely day for what's left of it and I'll put pics up on the weekend when the revamp is complete...

McCarthy Designs & Occasion....My Friend Nellie...

A few weeks back I was reading my dear friend Nellie's Blog over at McCarthyDesign and saw these French Market Baskets and fell in love with them immediately. I asked Nellie where I could get one and after a few hiccups of the internet not working properly I sent her and email and asked where she got them, Nellie promptly got back to me and explained she was opening her online store soon McCarthy Design & Occasions  and would I like to be her first customer through to give the store a run and see how it works and make sure all is working well from a customers point of view. Now as a woman who likes to shop I'm not going to say no to the wonderful offer Nellie was offering, so I informed her I would love to go through the shop and test run it for her.

As soon as the store was ready Nellie sent me an email and let me know I had free run to go into the store and buy whatever I liked...lol..(I was only after the French Market Basket this time). Everything was so easy and well categorized so it was easy to find what I was looking for. Nellie has done a wonderful job putting the store together and she has an amazing range of products all within reasonable pricing too, there isn't anything in Nellie's shop I would consider over priced, she really did well in making sure everything was affordable.

Nellie has also gone to the trouble of giving the history of certain products which I think was a wonderful idea as it tells the buyer exactly what they're buying and the work that's gone into it. (French Market Baskets for example)

I purchased my French Market Basket (Made in Morocco incidentally) as well as a french bottle and let Nellie know I thought the store was a smashing success and it worked perfectly, no problems what so ever. Then I just sat back and waited for my parcel to arrive in the mail.

Being that I live all the way over in W.A I think it took about three days to get to me from the time Nellie posted it which I thought was very good. Nellie has even given alot of thought to the packaging and presentation of her products. The Bag was wrapped beautifully (I forgot to take a pic of it before I unwrapped it but I was excited.....) and even though I bought the bag for myself it was wrapped as if it had been a present sent from one friend to another and that just made it all the more special.

As you can see the French Market Basket can hold quite a few things, including a bottle of wine.

The French Bottle will be used for my lovely bath salts given to me by a good friend.

I am in love with my new Bag and it has been going every where, it is very comfortable to carry around and there is plenty of space to put all your shopping goodies.

So if you haven't been over to Nellie's store McCarthy Designs & Occasion then I recommend you do and see just what Nellie has that can spruce up your home, I'm sure you'll love all her products and if you love the French Market Basket then make sure you check it out because Nellie has four different styles and believe me it was hard to choose just one.

So shop, spend, enjoy and have fun roaming through Nellie's store......And to my wonderful new friend Nellie, congratulations on your newest adventure and keep going strong, you're a hit!!

Friendships are like flowers, you never know where they'll bloom ~ Michelle Lisle

Amitiés sont comme des fleurs, on ne sait jamais où ils y fleurissent ~ Michelle Lisle