Short Takes

I found this picture at housemartin, a gorgeous blog with all kinds of lovely, pretty things on it. I don’t like the keys hanging on the wall, but everything else – bliss! From the dried flowers above the picture to the leather case holding loose paper, from the display of portraits to the antique chaise lounge.. I love chaise lounges, day beds, window seats – any small nook where you can sit and read, with a soft throw rug (I have the most gorgeous felt ones from baines) and a few decorative pillows which have plain fabric on the back so you can rest on them without getting sequin and lace marks on the side of your face.

Modular Garden is a garden design company based in Britian and there are some fabulous photos on their new blog. Although we want a huge yard at our dream house I can see the benefit of blocking up the garden to create mini-rooms, like the smaller scale gardens shown here. Is it wrong that I’m planning to lay out my harb gardens with the bed titled Lamb, Chicken, Beef, Vegetables, Salad, etc? I can’t wait to have meals outside at a little table setting and be able to simply reach out and pluck a garnish for whatever meal we are having.

While I don’t agree with everything that Self Made Chick has to say, she does have some great ideas. I really like her take on targeted marketing vs mass marketing and on how you really have to push yourself to work for yourself (ie: It’s not as easy as some people would have you believe to work for yourself and earn a bazillion dollars).

Moose in the Kitchen is the best, funniest thing I have read all year. Seeing as it’s only January, that is not saying much, but I’m pretty sure I’ll still be saying she is the funniest thing I have read all year in December, so go check her out

Short Takes

Today I am loving the smell of vanilla, especially vanilla jar candles from Magnifi Scent. I have five of these small candles in my study and the smell is just amazing!

In this weeks wrap up, I visited Dumb Little Man’s Meditation Techniques for the Busy or Impatient (Thanks to Gala for the link). This post is great for people like me, who find it hard to fit meditation in or get into the mood.

How Does Your Garden Grow? has just gotten a new button making machine – How I want one of these. I have a million political and funny buttons on the side of my handbag, but quite often I see a little scrap of something and I really want it as a button… I guess I’ll have to track down one for myself. Or someone could just buy me one for christmas. And a flickr pro account too please!

Greenpa has updated! Hurray.

And that’s about all I have – Being at work every day gives me a lot less time to fool around on the internet. I’m not working again until wednesday though, so I can finally have the time to write a decent post I am also reading Creating Handmade Books by Alisa Golden, so I’ll being trying to create a journal tomorrow, as well as finish my desk (It’s been raining over here so I haven’t had a chance to varnish it yet) and finish off The Awakening by Bevan McGuiness who is a perth author (and professor at Wesley College) and absolutely brilliant in my humble opinion.

Happy Sunday All

Short Takes

I hurt my back at work this week, so I haven’t spent much time at the computer (I sit on a fit ball because I have problems with my back normally, but this week more than 15 minutes and I’m in excruciating pain. Must go to the physio on Monday). I did come up with these little gems for you to look at though.

Have a wander around the pretties at Organic: Natural Body Jewelry. It will make you want to get something pierced.

Paperiaarre is a lovely site by a girl who specialises in hand bound books. This is a craft I really want to get into and her pieces are very inspirational – just look at this and this.

I also looked at some lovely fabrics at Kirin Notebook this week. It will be her geese fabric that I use to cover my travel book as soon as I get around to using one.

This study which was pointed out by the lovely Bob Leckridge of Heroes Not Zombies blog, demonstrates that being a nice person really does make you more attractive. Gives you another reason to be gracious and kind as a general rule. Adam and I are watching Geoffrey Wright’s MacBeth, and noticed how Lady MacBeth would be so pretty, if only she wasn’t a scowling deviant. The film is awesome by the way – the only good modern adaption I’ve seen of Shakespeare in a long time.

Victoria Hill as Lady MacBeth

 

Sam Worthington as MacBeth, surrounded by Kate Bell, Miranda Nation and Chloe Armstrong as the most delicious witches ever.

Finally, How to get where you want to go from Dumb Little Man outlines some steps I’ll definately be encorporating into my goals journal.

As for me, my tomato crop is coming along wonderfully. There were more on the plate, but Kaidin got to some before I could photograph them.

Momo was missing for 4 days this week, insighting small heart flutters in me, but he is back now. I am smothering him in chicken pieces and mince with gravy in the hope that he will feel extra appreciated and not wander off again.

Short Takes

It is a full moon tonight. Watch out for werwolves!

Kevin Rudd is now the Australian Prime Minister. Congratulations to him and the Labor Party. The Greens did get a good number of votes too, especially in my electorate, which is a very good thing.

I am in love with this Japanese Chiyogami paper from Monograms Fine Papers. I can’t wait to start making and printing my own paper, but I could easily be talked into buying some of this to decorate candles with when I head up here next week to buy some supplies – it’s divine! This picture is from abitblue, who makes absolutely gorgeous art out of different papers. I’m hideously jelaous of her talent.

I heart Cutex Nail Recovery – my normally chipped and broken nails are actually long enough for a manicure next week when I go for my massage at Spoilt Rotten (Chloe is an angel I swear – if you are ever near Mandurah you must go and see her).

How to Build Intimacy in Any Relationship over at Think Simple. Be Decisive is certainly a new habit that I will be starting with Adam (hehe Tina’s man is also called Adam). I am really working at the moment on listening and paying attention to other people – actually putting down my book or the computer and making it so whoever wants my attention feels like they are the most important thing in my life. It makes everyone feel so much more appreciated and usually takes less time than going ‘Uh huh. Yep. Uh huh…. what did you say again?’ when I am only paying half attention. The Intimacy post goes a few steps further, focusing on what the speaker experinced that day.

Finally, Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who celebrated it this weekend – here in Australia we don’t have Thanksgiving, but I still like to take a moment this weekend to recognise everything I’m thankful for – here is an abbreviated version of my list: I’m thankful for my family and friends, especially those I haven’t seen for a long time, but who still make time for phone calls and impromptu visits, for the wonderful people in my community who are part of freecycle and the wonderful things that I have recieved, for my pets who snuggle me on cold nights, for my health and the continued health of my little family, for my new job and for Adam getting more hours so we can start saving for our land, for everyone who reads and comments and encourages me with this new blog and for everyone and everything that has made a diffence in my life, positive or negative, because that has helped me become the wonderful person that I am today.