signature prints pop-up store

signature prints has opened up a pop up store down at docklands* and just look at all the gorgeous florence broadhurst fabrics used to make everything from doorstops to cushions, aprons, clutch bags, wall art & pendant drums. they also had lush bolts of fabric for those of you with the skills to do something with it. i loved the striking black & white drum shade with the cockatoos & monsteria leaves (bottom left in both top & bottom photos) and was very tempted to get the black & white horses stampede drum (top right in the top photo) for either ours or the guest bedroom. hmm, make that very, very tempted because as i'm writing this, i'm feeling the urge the rush back tomorrow & just get it. anyways, i went there on a directive from the husband to buy something nice for myself for mother's day coming up and mission accomplished. i'll show you what it is tomorrow, when hopefully the sun comes out and i can take some decent photos. intrigue.

*69 merchant street, victoria harbour, docklands. everything discounted until sunday 6pm

update: all your naughty comments encouraging me to go back & get the 'horses stampede' drum were too much for my will power & believe it or not the husband was even on board, but too bad too sad for me because it was sold by the time we went back today (saturday).. the problem is, it's never too bad too sad because once i've decided on something, i normally find a way. let the hunting begin. 

a little baby bling

one for a friend & one for me. 

update: a little birdy* told me that this post was too short with no follow up info or links. first up, let me just explain that i thought my posts were becoming a little long & wordy so thought i'd do one that's short & sweet. second, i'd already given my friend her singlet & thrown out the swing tag from mine, so didn't think i had the info to share.. but just for you little birdy, i've sleuthed around online & found the link. the brand is mi mother & child and i bought mine from melaniek in newport while out & about. there.

* read husband. my most loyal, supportive & critical follower. 

home again

we arrived on thursday arvo, dumped our bags & headed straight to the city. we weren't sure where we were headed, but just wanted to make the most of the sunshine & being in sydney.. and just as well we did because the next day mirka didn't seem herself, so we took her to see a doctor on friday & before we knew it we spent all day saturday at the children's hospital. poor little girl. it was heartbreaking to see her lying in a little hospital cot. by the end of the day we were all exhausted, but it was mirka who had the smiles, waves & generosity to blow kisses to all the doctors & nurses. we didn't have a lot of our weekend left, or time to visit all the design stores i had planned, but at least we made the most of our remaining time by catching up in balmain with my bestie jacq. not a bad view from the swings at the local park hey? now i don't normally like to put photos of myself on my blog, but i thought this photo could double as an update on my preggie belly. i'm 24 weeks now & it's quite the soccer ball, all out front at the moment. i guess that proves the old myth of predicting the baby's gender because we found out we're having a boy! ok.. where was i? mirka proved herself to be a champion little flyer on her first flight.. note the bose headphones which were plugged in to her personalised inflight entertainment on the ipod.. nothing's too good for daddy's little girl! in the short time we had to get out & about, we fell in love with sydney again, but having said that, it was so nice to arrive home to our happy little timber house in melbourne. home.

sydney long weekend

we're off to sydney for our long weekend. i haven't been to sydney since before mirka was born, but we used to live there & i'm qutie excited.. in a way i feel like i'm going home. there's no city in the world like sydney. sure, melbourne is awesome, but sydney is so damn pretty. i've written myself a big list of places to check out. yes husband, just for window shopping. let me know if there's anywhere you think that's too good to miss out on. the list so far.. shelf life, funkis, miljo, david met nicole, koskela, spence & lyda, top3, chee soon & fitzgerald, gardenlife and oh yeah, catch up with the husband's lovely mum, my bestie in balmain & some more friends in bondi. happy times.

19 month portrait on the eames rocker

yep, she's my baby girl. i thought i better hurry up and post this before it's her 20 month portrait time. our little gracie girl is so much fun at the moment. play acting with her teddies & pretending to lose toys in the bath so we search the bathroom 'looking' for them. so many more words all of a sudden too. i bought her angelic piggy singlet over a year ago & she finally fits into it. my sweet petite.

grand plans

i took these photos yesterday. the sun was out. i mean it was unseasonably out for this time of year in melbourne. perfect for my friend's wedding that we were off to in the afternoon & perfect for some sunny shots of my new long preggie dresses. i'm so much bigger than i was at the same time while pregnant with mirka, but at least i look pregnant now & not just like a fatty-boom-ba-da. anyways, i had grand plans of taking some shots of my new dresses hanging in the tree, only to have the sun go behind a cloud & the breeze start up. oh well. you still get the idea. i ended up wearing the black & white dress (which reminds me of this one) with my new yellow bangle. the wedding was wonderful.. warm, romantic & creative. gotta love a new dress & having somewhere to wear it.

cwc talk tomorrow - nancy bird

kingsley & i farewell vivi back to n'arlins tomorrow. sad faces for us. at least we'll have something to keep us busy after the run to the airport.. we're off to another, sure to be awesome, cwc talk organised by tess.. this time it's emily wright of nancybird. only the most gorgeous handbags ever. and you know, i thought the style looked familiar, so i pulled out my favourite little clutch & yep, it's a nancybird. i bought it years ago & i've always loved how i can either fold over the leather flap or turn the top inside out to show the gorgeous lining. clever.

roses & new bling

ahh.. life's good when you've got 2 personal chefs / assistants / nannies for the little one. vivi has been entertaining mirka & kingsley has been cooking up a storm for  our dinners.. it's sure to always be tasty, but who cares what's cookin' when i'm not the one doing the cookin'. anyways, we took ourselves off to fitzroy last weekend & came home with paddington from the rose street markets & some bright enamel bangles from douglas & hope. turquoise for kingsley. yellow for me. i'm not normally a gold kind of girl, but i like it with the yellow. i likes a lot. nice long shadow in the last photo too huh? 

stripes.. skanky into swanky

you know i love a bold graphic, so it's no surprise that mr stripey box caught my eye while walking past the train station. yes, the scene is quite skanky in the first photo, but look how graphic it looks through the quad cam. it's amazing how a bit of repetition can make something look good.

make your mark

how great are these measure me growth charts by studio 1am as first seen on seesaw? so simple, modern & graphic, methinks they would look great in any room.. kid's or not. oh how i wish they were available in oz. afterall, there is a limit to what i can ask vivi to haul down to her local post office in the states to send to me & a 2m high stick might be it.

easter egg hunt

the husband snuck out early & 'found' the easter eggs & footprints left by the easter bunny in our garden.. mirka took a while to get in to it, but soon loved the easter egg hunt. kingsley is here on holidays from perth and vivi (mum) is here from new orleans. we were having a lovely easter morning, but it soon went down hill in the afternoon when mirka seemed to get tired, sick & cranky out of nowhere. maybe it was the chocolate easter egg she ate?? she's never had more than a lick of chocolate before, but her daddy wanted to get a photo of her with chocolate all over her face, so kept giving her little bits. but don't worry husband, i don't actually think that was it. luckily for us, gracie girl is back to her normal sweet & bossy self this morning & is eating rice bubbles with her aunty kingsley over at the table while i type this. i ordered her little peter cotton tail pants from tutus & muddy shoes and it wasn't long until they were covered in chocolate. messy.

happy easter

happy easter.. hope you're enjoying a relaxing long weekend, eating hot cross buns & making the most of it. smile.

easter goodies

mirka has finished up 'school' for easter & her teachers are so, so, lovely that i wanted to give them a little something for easter. i feel so lucky that we've found such a great place for mirka to be in childcare.. there are songs & cuddles all day. i don't know how they do it, but they do it with such joy, so i thought a little present to say thankyou would be a nice gesture. i made the cards out of one of mirka's drawings & ordered the gorgeous bunny boxes from pixels plus paper on made it. you wouldn't believe how many little chocolate easter eggs these little boxes can hold. yummy.