Natures Playground

There was a time in my life when I could not imagine living anywhere else but in the city. The countryside held little appeal. I loved the bright lights, the hustle and bustle that the city life provided. In my 20s, I lived in an apartment smack bang in the centre of Melbourne. I loved that anytime of the day or night, there was always something happening, somewhere to go, something to do. 

After I had my girls, those thoughts and feelings slowly began to change. I wanted to take a slower, more gentle route than the usual roundabout many mothers step onto. Constantly engaging themselves and their babies in organized activities. Rather, I preferred the quiet, gentle rhythm of our life at home. Of simply enjoying my little ones company.

Living here, adjusting to a rural mountain lifestyle, has been an easy transition for us. I love how close our girls live to nature here. They don't admire nature from a far, rather they live within it. The lakes, the mountains, the forrest are all within our immediate environment. We wake to the sound of a bellbird. We know where and when the sun rises and sets. We appreciate it all and we are grateful that we are lucky enough to live here, in our little corner of paradise. 

My Creative Space- Rag Rug

This project has been stuck in the 'almost complete' basket for months, but finally, I got round to finishing  this one off. I am so pleased I did as I just adore the finished look of it and the girls are overjoyed to have it in their bedroom at long last.

It was made using old woolen blankets, platted and then sewn. A long, and at times tedious job but in the end, well worth the effort. It makes the perfect warm play spot for the girls as the weather starts to cool and they begin to play inside more and more. 

Simple Skincare

In my quest to simply my life, I have been looking at ways to reduce the amount of skincare products I use. So many people have a bathroom full of soaps, liquid body wash, scrubs, moisturizer for the face, the body, cleanser, toner... the list goes on. A few months back, as we where preparing to move house, I decided to part with all of those things and instead use a few simple multi purpose skincare products. I was searching for products which where as natural and chemical free as possible but at the same time effective. My solution came in the form of 2 simple products. A compressed olive oil soap and a natural oil to moisturize.

I used an olive oil soap, you can buy many different brands from any health food shop. The whole family use it as a face and body wash. Followed by an oil to moisturize both face and body. To many the idea of using oil on their face seems odd but in all honesty, my skin has never looked better. My skin is far more balanced and smooth . I doubt I will ever go back to using a traditional moisturizer. I am particularly a fan of busby pure tissue oil, which is a mix of avocado, grape seed and rosehip oils. Another draw card for me is it is affordable, meaning I can also use it as a body moisturizer, which I would not feel I could do with some of the smaller, more expensive oils.

So now, rather than a whole cupboard of products I just have two, good quality, multi use items. And that, in my mind, has got to be a good thing. 

Things I Am Loving Today

Don't you just love autumn? The mornings start cold but then the days are amazing. Big blue sky days, still and sunny and perfect. This was the view out my window this morning, just one tiny little cloud peaking over the hillside.

 And running with the autumn theme, my sweet girl made me this card at preschool yesterday. She stuck the leaves on herself, wrote inside her name and drew a ton of love hearts.... just for me!

Her drawing and writing skills seem to have grown exponentially in the last few weeks since she turned four. She is drawing people, flowers, fairies and rainbows that require no explanations. She is writing her name on everything too, and her sisters, and mine. It amazes me that this little person is becoming so capable.

Linking up with Paisley Jade for things I am loving. 

My Place And Yours- Whats Inside Your Kitchen?

The lovely Deb from Works in Progress gave me the honor this week of hosting 'My Place and Yours'. So, I spent a few days pondering over what part of the house to show you! In the end I settled on the kitchen, mostly because my kitchen is not your run of the mill kind of kitchen. Why you ask? Well it lacks cupboard doors and a pantry. This initially made setting it up a tad of a challenge.

Now though, I love it, everything is on hand, easy to reach. Whats more, I love having my beautiful thrifted finds on show.

We have three head height shelves. One houses my cups, another plates and glasses and the third, food I don't want the girls to reach like the biscuit tin, muesli bars and such.

Below the bench we keep two baskets. One has savory stuff like oil and tinned beans. The other is for sweet stuff- sugar, flour, baking powder... you get the idea. Below them we keep the gadgets.

In the adjacent corner, I keep tucked away jars and other lesser used items. I keep bread, spreads and breakfast condiments in two baskets and the dish rack below. We don't have a dishwasher so this last item is a necessity here. Beside the oven I keep pans, electric scales and an old biscuit tin that houses my teabags.

And the one cupboard in our kitchen with doors! Located under the sink. Home to the rubbish bin, pet food and cleaning products.

And our kitchen would never be complete without our mini kitchen. The girls spend a lot of time playing here, making me all manor of amazing play food dishes.

And the overall effect of our odd wee kitchen? Well I think it works out quite well. What do you think? 

What does your kitchen look like? How do you organise it? Why not link up below and show us?

My Creative Space- The Dress

So this is the dress I made from that vintage pattern. I made a few alterations from the pattern. Firstly, I removed the pockets and belt. I doubled the height of the cowl neck and reduced the sleeve width. And finally, as I made it out of merino, I opted for a rolled hem. I have to say, I am really happy with how it turned out. A big thanks to Nin for all her advice on altering patterns and a big thanks to Hannah for taking this photo for me!

And in a slightly different creative space topic. I spent last night altering the layout and look of my blog. What do you reckon? Like it? Hate it? How does it work for you?

Flea Market Finds

I saw a beautiful dress a few weeks back and had visions of emulating it for myself. But, I lacked a pattern. Maybe it is just me, but I find it really hard to find sewing patterns for myself. There are tons of cool ones for kids, but for adults... not so much.  After doing a google image search, I happened upon this vintage butternick pattern on etsy, and so, with the click of a button, it was mine.  

I have already made one dress from this pattern, and have plans for a second. I will show you the first dress soon I promise, I just need to find someone to take a photo of me in it. I would ask my husband but he is the worst photographer ever. So it may take me a few days to suss something out.