charlie's 6 month portrait

charlie's 6 month portrait time. such a happy, happy little boy. always ready to crack a smile or his funny big laugh.. at anyone really. 6 months marks a big milestone for me. i really wanted to breastfeed charlie up to 6 months & we've made it. just. but we made it. what else? he loves feeling like he can stand up when we hold him. got quite the shock the first time he stood up on my lap. we're off to a slow start with solids. he loves sitting up in the highchair & mimicking us chewing, but he coughs and splutters most of it back on us. whatever is good enough for charlie is good enough for mirka's coco & grover, so the minute charlie is out of the highchair, rest assured that you'll find coco & grover sitting pretty & waiting to be fed. siblings.

and now because i know how you all love the out-takes.. first up we have mirka almost tipping charlie  out of the rocker & how could i not share charlie doing the worm. enjoy!

the truth

this is what my desk looks like in it's natural state. pre-tidy. please, as if there's a post-tidy photo gonna happen any time soon. but if you look closely, there's lots of goodness waiting for me to photograph & share. i've been thinking about work lately and have found myself missing that feeling of rolling out a nice stretch of paper to sketch out designs on, which in turn had me trying to remember where i had seen a beautiful timber trace holder. it was a long time ago, but where, where? well don't ask me how, but somehow i remembered. the 'place for trace' is from merchant-4. yes, at $76, it's quite an expensive object for your desk, but what a nice place to rest one's trace. a beautiful addition to any messy desk.

happy valentine's

happy valentine's day. it seems small artworks on timber are, so, hot-right-now. this one is by alexander girard. love.

and just in case you're suddenly wishing you had organised a little something, you could always send a good old e-card. i like this one from kate spade's b-mine collection. smile.

cubby house

our funny gracie girl loves playing in the end cupboard. puts herself and favourite guests, coco & grover, in there then closes the door and yells out "mirka gone!".. who knew hiding in a cupboard could be so much fun? anyways, in an effort to not look like the world's worst parents who-put-their-child-in-a-dark-cupboard, the husband was keen to build mirka a cubby house. he marked out his design with masking tape on our joinery, 1:1 scale, complete with mirka's outline in the corner 'window'. yes, his design.. i may have some skills, but i was told to butt out! the plan was to build it out of marine ply with the sizing to work with standard ply sheets. however, it was originally going to be built for her birthday, but when that came & went, the deadline soon became xmas & since we're now well in to the new year, i'm wondering if we shouldn't just order a phoyo playhouse or modern playhouse. the phoyo seems particularly clever in its construction.. designed by a new zealand architect in the 1970s for her own kids, it simply all slots together & i'm in love with the rounded 'door'. while i can never imagine designing a round window in one of my buildings, it seems to really suit a kid's cubby house. i also love the modern playhouse for it's end wall of mini circle cut-outs and it's groovy corner window,  uncannily like the husband's design. except we would do away with the corner support in the window & build out a boxy window surround to accentuate the corner.. oops there i go architecting up the cubby house. so kill me.

more junk shop treasure

i picked up this sweet little table and chair set from my favourite, can't-seem-to-walk-past-without-checking-out-what-potential-treasures-are-out-the-front, junk shop. they are probably the most beaten up, weathered kiddyliwink furniture to be found in greater melbourne, but they've got spunk, no? and that colour.. let's be honest, that's what sucked me in. 

p.s. in case you're wondering, the artwork is by nicholas goodwolf. we bought it from pg printmakers gallery in fitzroy, but i believe he is represented by a few different galleries.

update: the address of my favourite little junk shop is on the corner of ballarat & simpson st, yarraville.