An Angel At My Table

Some images from our house... this is how we spend our weekends x

Photography by Andre & Angela Steyn

Vintage Tin Magnets

Take a couple of vintage tins, some magnets and hey presto... an ingenious idea for the fridge from Martha Stewart.  This is so simple and clever and practical.  Why have I never thought to do this I wonder?

Birthday Girl

Today is my friend Emma's birthday... and so, today I'd like to make a list of all the reasons why she is so very, very special:

1. She is the embodiment of a sunbeam
2. She giggles all the time... which makes me giggle all the time
3. She is my 'life coach' and 'mothering guru' all rolled into one
4. She lets me cry on her shoulder when I'm sad
5. She is seriously talented... WAY more so than she likes to let on
6. She likes pastel colours and paints everything white... just like me
7. She is humble and gentle and caring
8. She is the most beautiful mother on the planet
9. She is like a grown-up fairy... all sweet and pretty but with a wicked sense of humour
10. She is just like a sister, only better

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EM!  I love you x

Vintage Hunter: Comic Books

While ambling through Vinnies the other day, searching for a 'new' desk for my husband ("must be old,  must not be a desk, must be oak, must be an orphan, must be precisely 1500x750mm, must have character"... I could go on with his list of criteria...) I came across a pile of old comic books lurking in the shadows.  Hiding in there was this 1968 Superman Annual for $1!  I couldn't resist it... literally... I walked away but then went running back like a filthy addict.  My poor little boy is in danger of growing up thinking his bedroom is a portal to 1971!  

Pretty cool though, don't you think?  I love the colours, the smell of the pages, the use of fonts, the brilliance of comic strip formation.  Maybe all the vintage paraphernalia that crowds Leo every night as he goes to sleep, will be an antidote to the hideous techno-worship I'm terrified he'll contract upon his 3rd birthday?  Fingers crossed!

P.S. I found the perfect table (cough, "desk").  Photos to follow x

Images by me

Quirky Decorating: Little Girls Bedroom

I've been really intrigued lately with the idea of creating interiors that ooze individuality and authenticity, that break the rules a little and spark imagination.  There are so many elements of this crazy circus bedroom that I adore - the mismatched rugs, the fancy sun umbrella, the child-height blackboard, the flapping bunting (I particularly love that it's not hung against the wall, but has been left to float and flap in the room like proper little flags), the wildly patterned bedlinen.  It looks like a haven of fun for a tiny tot, where fairies and sprites might just pop out of the cracks!

Image from here

Lament of the Neglectful

Neglect is a terrible, terrible thing and neglect is exactly what my poor blog is suffering from these days.  It's like a beautiful old cabinet that's been left to gather dust in a forgotten room of a deserted house.  I pine for the time when I could sit and pour over images of homes and feel my heart fill up to the brim.  Soon, very soon, I will be back with a bit of lick and polish and a story or two about the cutest kitchen reno imaginable... all done on a shoestring and a prayer.  Until then, I shall look lovingly at this old beauty and dream of a studio big enough to fit it!

Image from here

A Walk In The Woods

Today was frantic, too many hours spent inside, busy working, mind overflowing with endless possibilities and ideas, desk covered in fabric cuttings and paint swatches and cups of half-drunk tea... am in danger of being drowned by my own creative intent!  Wish I was outdoors, roaming a damp path, wearing green gumboots and humming a little tune.  Want to come walk with me?

Image from here