For the love of... VINTAGE clothing

A look around etsy today and I found a shop with gorgeous clothing...

Here is a peek.. but go and visit DOTTO's shop on etsy... with a 10% discount currently on lots of lovely goodies!

 Playful Peter Pan collar dress...

 Beautiful pink sequence dress .. I love this dress for a summer wedding..

 Won't you just feel like an everyday Princess with this gorgeous night gown?

 The cutest cute pilbox hat... I LOVE IT!

 Beautifully stylish brown secretaries dress!

 How fun is this cocktail dress?

 Pink bridesmaid dress... classical

 Very innovative reversible handbag.. AWESOME!

 I love this colour ... Teal bridesmaid dress

and how can you not love this Lace Peter Pan collar VELVET dress....

AAAAAAH... those were the days!

A Boy's Birthday :)

I have lived through a couple of "Girl" birthdays already, and they seem to get more elaborate every year! Will publish some pics of Jessica's last birthday soon...
Our next project though is Wardus' birthday.. and the theme will be tractors .... so this is some of the ideas my sister and I have been playin with..

HE IS TURNING 2 ALREADY!!

Another HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I Celebrated my 34th Birthday this week!

Can you believe it!

34!

I can't!

How did I get here so quickly...

 But, life is good again... seems to be back on track...

I have this wonderful man in my life that has helped me find my Joy again, helped me feel calm, happy..

and then there are these people...

Each one holds a special place in my heart... a little family.. somehow we have come full circle and we are a family again... we are happy ... content!

and of course the two little munchkins.... here with my Brother in law, Eddie...

my sweet, sweet girl Jessica and my nephew Wardus, little busy bee!

Our family could not be complete without the busy-ness and happiness that these two bring.. they have completed our picture!

 We had a lovely day filled with fun and all the people I love the most!!

Here's to many years with all the people of my ♥!

XXX

A little learning and a lot of Fun!

(Images courtesy of toddler-art-school on ETSY)

Jessica's Pre-School has a wonderful new teacher that has really gotten the kids engaged with all sorts of interesting activities, new learning opportunities and lots of time to be creative.

She is a real gem in a world where quality teachers have become so scarce!

They now have a reading corner..

a dress-up corner...

an area where puzzles are built and cards are laced..

They have a bake wednesday where each child gets his/ her own mixing bowl and utensils to create their own baking masterpiece!

The best part ... every other Friday they do something special! They have had a Dress-up Tea party, Pyjama Party and Pizza party so far! The kids of course love it!

A wonderful thing that has come from this is that New Teacher has gotten all the parents involved in their children's education. I don't know about the rest but I'm very excited about being a part in developing the abilities of my Inquisitive and bright Little Girl.

New Teacher has been emphasising how important it is that children are also receiving the correct stimulation at home. So this past weekend I went in search of some educational aids and activity books that are suitable for a four year old and focuses on fine motor skills (which is what we are currently practising).

For the South African parents I found a wonderful website with educational aids and toys and they deliver!

Please visit their website and delight in the variety that they offer:

Educational Toy Store

Have a wonderful weekend!!

She is Four!

My Baby Girl turned 4 in June!

It was a bitterly cold winter's day, but her smile warmed our hearts.

She had the cutest Princess horse cake I have ever laid my eyes on. And let me tell you it has a long back story...
Since christmas she has been telling us that she wants a Horsey party. But my girl is an extreme girly girl so it had to be more of a Princess horse than a Stable horse... if you get what I'm saying...
I think it worked out beautifully.. and the little sugar horse on top still sits in my fridge.. albeit half-eaten now!

The party table.. it was really pretty and so festive...
I made the party packs using brown paper bags, glued a printed picture of a horse on (also used on the invitations) and added "grass" which was just crepe paper snippered at the top to look like blade of grass. For some sparkle and flair we added stars and a flower to each party pack:

Girls being girls.....

Who has time to worry about shoes when there is so much fun to be had...

The Princess and her Pink birthday Scooter....

Her BIG moment... everybody sang Happy Birthday and then it was time to blow out the candles... but.... all the kids took a turn to blow out the candles and in the end we sang "Happy Birthday" 3 times and blew out candles until there was almost no candles left...

The cake was delicious!!

Happy Birthday Jessica Mae...

You are a delight to me every single day!

You are bright and witty and your smile lights up rooms.

You have the cutest little dimples and when you through back your head and give that cute little belly laugh I want to hold you tight and never let go of you!

 You forgive quickly and your tears are always short lived before you are off having fun again!

I love that you call your face your "fesig" (a mixture of the english "face" and afrikaans "gesig") and a knife a "knef" (again.. english "knife" and afrikaans "mes").

I love that when I correct you on the pronunciation of a word you will tell me "don't worry mommy, I just say it my way".

You love to bake and to help me with anything else in the kitchen, chopping mushrooms, grating cheese or just mixing stuff. When we bake we always have such fun and it usually ends up with both of us in stitches.

When you ride your bike you sit up so straight and I so enjoy the rides we have been taking around the neighbourhood lately.

You love painting.. drawing.. cutting... stickers..movies (your current favourite is TANGLED). Of course you want your hair like Rapunzel's... "all the way to the ground mommy"

I love that you miss your cat JJ (Jessica Junior ... giegiegie) when you are not at your Daddy's home and how you told me with your face so animated and your arms waving about the "babies in her tummy". The way you told me about how you and I will go walking with your little girl one day.. while she is riding her bike.. my heart almost burst.. but I knew .. you will also grow up and have your own beautiful babies.. and although it will be bittersweet.. I will be even happier then.. for my family would be even bigger!

And mostly I love how you come to me and ask me for a Kiss...

You are the joy of my life and the sparkle of my soul.

Friday Finds....

First of all a blog I love, love, love..... Dress, Design and Decor... please click and enjoy..

...and then some really gorgeous bits I found on etsy today... have a look:

I adore this rustic red shelf... with a jar! how brilliant..

Then there was this... Words to live by...

 and more red... this time enamelware...

a little bowl and mug..

and then the best advice....ALWAYS kiss me Goodnight....

Vintage Goodies...

To end the week off I will leave you with these gorgeous vintage clothes from jessjamesjakes on etsy:

Aren't those dresses to die for?? And the red boots are such a show stopper!

I love it!

Please go and browse her shop for more Vintage Goodness!

Have a lovely weekend!

   

The round table

(A beautifully restored family chair - from 33 Shades of Green)

I am living in a small-ish Townhouse that fits me perfectly but there is something missing...

I need a table to do the things I do.. you know.. the creative things that I'm slowly wanting to do again.

Due to space constraints I will have to come up with a really clever plan to make it work though..

What I really would like to do is to get a medium sized round table with a few different vintage chairs that can serve as dining table as well as general craft table. They are scarce as chickens teeth.. let me tell you.

I have been trawling 2nd hand shops and websites.. to no avail. Square tables are a dime a dozen, but rounds ones... nooo...

I have seen one or two around, but then mostly the big dining type tables that takes about 6 chairs. I want... no.. need something much smaller... 2 to 4 chairs max.

There is the perfect little table at a Vintage Coffee Shop in our local Mall.. do you think anyone would notice if I dragged a small round table out the door?

Patient Parenting

Since the end of 2011 my load at work has steadily increased.. and as this load increases, so my patience decreases. I have never been very good at handling heaps of stress, and it seems I haven't been getting any better at it the last 10 years or so.

But, I want changes.. to be more aware.. more available.. to live in the moment.

I want to be more patient, a better listener, calmer, less irritable!

I found a wonderful website... a type of life coaching site.. I like it..

.. this week I'm trying to be a more Patient Parent.. you can read about it here.. you might also need it. It's practical and I'm going to try it out.

We are halfway there and the weekend is around the corner....

Hope the rest of your week is Filled with Precious moments with your loved ones

xxx

Pretty Pictures

We had a family photo shoot just before the new year.
These beautiful pictures were taken by my photographer aunt.

She took all these photo's using a green background and then edited the backgrounds in.

 

I love this pic of Jess and me... in our "dance dresses"

Jessie putting on her mischievious smile..

Sisters and cousins....

and a beautiful pic of my sister and her adorable baby.. Wardus...

and he has the exact same blue eyes as his cousin..

Look at those smiles.. and Wardus looks like he knows something the rest of them don't!

Hope your week is filled with joy..

20.....e.l.e.v.e.n....

.....breathe in..... breathe out...

2010... turned into a monster year....

If anyone out there still pops in here from time to time... I'm still here...

I've had to deal with things that where way too big for me in 2010.. the end of a 10 year relationship.. a marriage that lasted 5 years.. I've had a difficult time keeping it together...

but now...

I feel better ... lighter... I'm starting to re-focus now... to gather myself...

and...

2011 will have to be better.. friendlier... less sad...

I've stopped sewing, baking, cooking, crafting... but I'll get back there... I still have a list of things I'd like to do and make.. the scope and the landscape has just changed...

But, i'll be back here.. posting ... on life and whatever else I get done!

[frame it]

A couple of years back, my friend gave me a Large frame that she had no use for. It has been wrapped in bubble wrap in my garage for near on 3 years, and it really has been one of the things on my list of things to do.

As this is the season of public holidays in South Africa, I have had a few extra days at home to tick some things of this to do list, and the frame was one of them.

It was an old gold wooden frame with fabric on the inside of the block, pretty old fashioned, but I knew I could work with it.

Enter a can of white paint (regular PVA), a piece of sanding paper (with a fine grain), a soft cloth and one of hubby's new paint brushes (oops).

I painted the entire frame white (including the material piece on the inside) and then started sanding...

A close up of what it looked like when I was finished. I lightly sanded the entire outside rim of the frame. I rubbed the paint off the golden part just inside the thick border with a soft cloth to bring the gold back up. The innermost border I left very white to set off against the gold.

Now I just have to put a backing on and I am going to make a collage and hang it in our front portal.