Fruit and Nuts.

I love the intricate carving of this wooden pineapple
(above)

This one (above) is a favourite hiding place for Easter eggs!

These ones (above) were at the bottom of a box of "junk" that I bought at an auction for $2. They still had the original price on the bottom...$25 each.

We were driving through a small town on our way to Auckland for the day and stopped at an intersection when I spotted these in the window of the homewares store on the corner. I thought about them the whole day so my hubby kindly stopped in on the way home for me to take a look. I don't think he was surprised to see me walking back to the car with 2 boxes!

I met a lady in Wagga Wagga a couple of years ago and when I saw this lamp in her home, I commented on it. She told me she was going to get rid of it so I did her a favour and took it off her hands. It was originally a glazed mustard ceramic until I took to it with the black sray paint.

I have this fledgling collection of finials made up of acorns and pineapples. I just love them all. I don't know what it is but I have a strange attraction to these shapes, and my heart skips a beat every time I see one?!?!?

Each of my finials has a story of how it came into my possesion. I could go out to a decor store and just buy them but part of their charm is the memories they evoke for me.

I am toying with the idea of painting them all one colour (white,surprise,surprise,) and grouping them together. At the moment they are scattered around the house and don't really make much of a statement as far as a display goes. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Supermarket table desk!

I am noticing a worrying pattern here... I recently mentioned in a post about my 99 dollar camera which I purchased from the impulse aisle at the supermarket checkout and now I am revealing the 2 side tables I bought at the supermarket and remodelled into a work station...HAVE I NO SHAME?!?!

Actually, no, I don't... if I can find something that I feel is a bargain and it suits my purposes, then I'm all for it!

I assembled the 2 tables (love kitset!) and remembered some timber laminate that was wasting away in the garage so I screwed it to the 2 tables, ironed on some edging to the raw edge and added 2 baskets that I had lying around...can you believe they fit perfectly!

Last night I took to one of the baskets with a white wash and am pleased with the result....but it was late and I ran out of steam so the other basket still needs to be done.

Anyway...here it is ....my supermarket work desk...voila!

Post Script: You obviously have already viewed the pictures as I posted in the wrong order and don't know how to move my text above the pics! Any help in that regard would be appreciated :o)

Note to self ......"a lap-top would look so much better!"

2nd note to self... "finish painting those stripes!!"

The Glory of Grey

There are many people, myself included, who love the look of grey painted furniture, especially when it has a distressed effect and the newness is knocked off the piece with a few dings and scratches...nothing is more pleasing to the eye than a surface with grey chippy paint that speaks of age and longevity, memories and experience....

So what do we do to a brand new peice of furniture like this?

We reach for the paint and get it to look like this.

From this.....

....to this....

so why....when THIS happens......

do we react like this....

or this........

or this.......

or this.......

or this......?

Maybe because it conjures up images like this......

or this........

or this......

so we reach for this......

because we desperately want to look like this.......

and this.....

and this......

Sunddenly words like character and distress take on a negative connotation, antique becomes ancient and yes, we've had some scratches and the paint is chipping off but how is that a good thing???

Maybe if we reframe our mental image of grey hair to something more like this...

or this......

or this......

or this......

we will be more relaxed about the visible signs of aging and remember that ....

"Gray hair is a crown of splendour; it is attained by a righteous life" Psalm 16:31

On a different note..I wanted to mention a blog that I have been really enjoying and was particularly taken with her August posts. Can I recommend that you pop over and take a look at Stella and Pearl if you haven't already visited.

FYI , I have a modicum of grey hair that I am debating whether or not to cover up so not actually sure where I stand in relation to this issue ;o)

Before and not quite after

I had a laugh over at Andrea's blog pink-poodle the other day. Some of us were expressing our chagrin at having to learn how to operate new technology, namely digital cameras. My hubby has bought me a beauty for Christmas this year whilst on his travels overseas and has offered it to me prematurely...I think he has had enough of my strong expressions of disdain for my current camera, which, by the way, I grabbed off the impulse aisle at the supermarket checkout for $99...I can hear you all now "that explains those photos". I have refused to accept my early Chrissy pressy but not for the noble reasons you might think (ie saving it for the proper occasion), but rather because I am delaying the inevitable feeling of complete incompetence that I KNOW I will experience upon opening my new toy! Anyway, I have mentioned all of this in order to apologise, yet again, for the sad quality of these photos.

Our bathrooms are the bane of my life. With all due respect....who chooses orange/pink two-tone floor tiles and a lighter toned orange/pink for wall tiles????? I guess they thought they would compliment nicely with the brown/pink floral frieze/border tile in the shower box. To date, my reno budget is running rather low, so I will have to save up in order to tackle the tiling problem, however, I did manage to replace the old vanity tops, basins, fixtures and splashbacks (my first ever attempt at tiling) and paint the cupboards. One day I hope to be able to share with you the completed bathroom and ensuite in all their glory but until then...here's a snippet of what's been done so far.

Ensuite after (above), before (below).

Bathroom after. I have yet to paint the cream woodwork of the sliding door.
Those are the new handles but I have gone off them already so will probs replace them soon.

Countdown!

HAMILTON GARDENS

I am counting down and it's only 6 weeks until our holiday back home in New Zealand. One of the places we will definitely go back and visit is the Hamilton Gardens. All of the above images are of the Hamilton Gardens. We used to enjoy a picnic tea and a wander through the gardens and I always felt more relaxed after these outings. The gardens are rather impressive and besides a designated rose garden there are also the following gardens; Chinese Scholars, English Flower, Japanese garden of Contemplation, American Modernist, Italian Renaissance (my fav.) and Indian Char Bagh.

After the heat we have had here today I am reminded why the gardens here are mainly gum trees, native shrubs and palm trees. Oh how I miss my flower gardens!

7 Things About Me

I was very excited yesterday to receive a Kreativ Blogger Award from NM at 5minutesjustforme and very honoured, (thanks so much NM), and yet at the same time realised I was going to have to brush up on my computer skills as I had yet to do a "link" . Now that I have done my first link I'm wondering why I was feeling so anxious!

There are 7 Kreativ Blogger Award Rules to follow;

1) Thank the person who has given the award.

2) Copy the logo and display it on my blog.

3) Link to the person who has nominated me for the award.

4) Name 7 things about myself that people might find interesting.

5) Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6) Post links to the 7 blogs I've nominated.

7) Leave a comment on each of the blogs to let them know they've been nominated.

So firstly a huge thankyou to NM, your blog is most inspiring!

7 things about me that you might find interesting;

1) I have been married 23 years and have 3 great kids

2) My worst subject at school was Maths and my husband lectures at University in Maths Education (see, opposites DO attract). In my defense, he was training to be a Physical Education teacher when we got engaged!

3) I love to sing and have been doing so since I was little (solos, small groups, choirs).

4) I love slap stick movies.

5) I am petrified of spiders.

6) Favourite flower is a peony (or preferably a whole bunch!)

7) I love God with all my heart and can't wait to see Him face to face when my time comes!!

I would like to nominate the following 7 Kreativ Bloggers;

Jackie @ mycoastalhome

Marsha @ chandeliermagic

Sandy @ pinkshabby

Donna @ donna-jenkins

Mel @ melsroseplace

Tracey @ frenchlarkspur

Ashley @ thedraperhouse

New Addition

A new addition...to my book shelf that is!

Hubby recently came home from the library with yet another upholstery book for me to garner helpful hints and useful information to aid in my upholstery projects. Up until now I have found the books to be a little frustrating as they use jargon that I don't understand and directions that I simply can't follow...so what a delight it was to finally find one that is clear, concise and really well illustrated. "Matthew Haly's Book of Upholstery" is a gem. I can't sing it's praises highly enough. To top it all off, the opening sentence mentions that Matthew grew up in Hamilton, New Zealand, which is the last place we lived in NZ before moving to Australia. Now he lives in New York, has an upholstery studio in Manhattan's NoHo district called The Furniture Joint and his work has featured on The Oprah Show and in Oprah's O at Home, Domino, Elle Decor and Interior Design.

I shot an email off to Matthew expressing my delight in finding his new book (which I have ordered a copy of and eagerly await it's delivery!), not really expecting a reply and yet heard straight back from him. He was delightful and more than happy for me to mention him in a post including pictures from his book. I mentioned I was holidaying in New Zealand this Christmas and he told me not to eat all the sally luns, peanut slabs or milk bottles as he wanted some when he was back home in February, haha (kiwis will get what that means).