Excitement plus!

This is a phrase my husband uses to describe me when I am over excited – like today.

If you do not already know about the Five Languages of Love then I suggest finding out about them. It will totally revolutionise your relationships. For those that do, my language is ‘Gifts’ so today was very high on the Excitement Plus scale because my advent swap parcel arrived!

Look at all that lovely wrapping!  I can’t take my eyes off that unicorn and I really can’t wait for Saturday when the fun really begins.

[And then of course there’s the little worry that I hope the gifts I gave stack up with what I receive, but I try and convince myself that it’s the thought that counts.]

You can also see my latest book review here.

Wardrobe Heaven

Today I’m sporting two looks. The first is what I wore to work, and is a summer trench coat I made with this beautiful vintage linen that I found in my sister’s stash. The pattern is Simplicity 2311. I wouldn’t recommend this pattern wholeheartedly because of the Project Runway element that gives you so many options of how to customise the pattern that it includes the fabric required for the sleeves separately on the back of the pattern. Some VERY clever cutting was required. There was also a lot of “Follow instructions 3-9 for view A” which means a lot of toing and froing with the instructions – not the simplest Simplicity I’ve ever used. However, I’m happy with the result and can see myself using the pattern again now that I’ve worked some of the bugs out.

And the second look is me unpacking our suitcases that just arrived from Holland today. Yes, I’m wearing a gnome hat. I felt a festive accessory was needed! (And it’s a La Chouffe gnome hat – a very nice boutique Belgian beer – s0 it’s not without it’s creative merit.) It was so nice to see my clothes again, and a great relief to find everything was in one piece, except the shoes which were in two pieces as God and fashion intended.

Outfit breakdown: Linen coat – handmade; jeans – Vila; pashmina scarf – Cambodia; pohutakawa earrings – Little River Gallery.

The Spice Draw

This last line of this scene from an episode of the Simpsons is one I use a lot. I find it useful when describing those moments in life when you realise how fundamentally different from someone  you can be.

Marge: So… you want to go on tour with a traveling freak show.
Homer: I don’t think I have a choice, Marge.
Marge: Of course you have a choice.
Homer: How do you figure?
Marge: You don’t have to join a freak show just because the opportunity came along.
Homer: You know, Marge, in some ways, you and I are very different people.

I have these moments with my husband often, particularly when he wants to explain things like ‘how the moon works’ to me. This time it was organising my Mother’s spice drawer that made me think of it. Here are the before and after shots.

Satisfaction levels: high and rising from all parties!

African print trousers

I’ve been applying for lots of jobs and am finding that writing a CV for each is making me less inclined to want to spend time on the computer, so I’ve been a little lax on the blog front recently. So here’s a nice photo to take you into the weekend. It’s of a friend, Jurriaan, wearing pants and a waistcoat I made. He chose the fabric of the pants and had input into the design because (in his own words and said with respect) he wants to dress “like a proud African man”.

The next day was Gay Pride in Amsterdam. He wore the pants and sent me a text later in the day which read: “You are a phenomenom. I got so many compliments today it was really tiresome.”

It’s my party

It was my birthday this week. I’m a big fan of birthdays, mine and other people’s.

It was particularly good one this year (although last year wasn’t too shabby either). Drinks and morning tea with lovely friends, a family lunch with my the family where the nephews wanted to know what games we had planned. We played Musical Statues and then they popped 40 party poppers!

On the actual day my lovely husband took me out for lunch in the sunshine and gave a beautiful necklace he bought for me in Cambodia. Instead of a card he made  an acrostic poem of the entire alphabet about me. *LOVE*

Outfit breakdown:

Silk dress – second hand; belt – borrowed from Mum; tights – birthday present from one of my GFs; shoes – Number 1 (very old); necklace – birthday gift; birthday high – stylist’s own.

(Considering the need for more makeup after seeing these photos. I am getting on a bit I guess!)

Joining in over here:

A few of my favourite things…

I’ve spent some time this week getting ready for the advent swap. How exciting!

And pop over here and check out my A Suitable Boy review for 1001 Books.

Wardrobe Blues

It’s nice to be able to finally join in with the new host of Wardrobe Wednesday, my lovely sister.

My clothing is currently on a ship wending it’s way back to New Zealand. How I miss my special friends! Consequently I’ve been wearing the same two pairs of jeans for the last four weeks and occasionally raiding my mother’s wardrobe when needed. Another perk of living with my parents. She also has one or two items in her wardrobe that I have made so they are a guaranteed fit.

This week I made a cute wee jacket. I wanted to make it from stonewashed denim but couldn’t find it ANYWHERE! Quelle horreur! So I found some nice denim-ish cotton in a somewhat checkout-chick blue and lined it with some very cute 80s fabric of my gran’s that had been languishing in my sister’s stash. Win-win. (It’s a trial run for a version I plan to make in raw silk that I bought in Cambodia. Watch this space.)

It’s not my best work as an overall outfit but I’m very happy with the jacket and my first ever lapel! Not an easy job.

Outfit breakdown:

Jacket – handmade; merino dress – handmade; longsleeve white t – secondhand; blue ballet pumps – trademe; jewelery – vintage; perky attitude – stylists own.

Blog awards!

My lovely sister nominated me for two blog awards. I’m very excited as I’ve only been at this for a short time!

The Liebster Blog Award is for showing off bloggers with 200 or less followers and giving your readers an insight to other great blogs.

The Sunshine Blog Award is for bloggers for their amazing style, their engaging writing, or their inspiring attitude… or all three!

This means I have to answer the following ten questions, which as a lover of surveys of all kinds, I am more than happy to do!

1. Why the title for your blog? I’m just going to link you to my About page as it’s all answered there.

2. What piece of clothing works the hardest in your wardrobe? Jeans most definitely.

3. If you had to choose only 3 pieces of clothing to wear for the next month (underwear excluded) what pieces would you choose? (Firstly this is a mean question that makes me feel a little sick just answering it and especially as most of my clothing is currently on a ship crossing the Pacific so my life feels like this anyway at the moment) Jeans, a big cardigan, and a black dress – not as an outfit you understand.

4. Which blog do you find consistently inspires you? Grace of Autumn. I just love every post I read here. A great combo of slow living and creativity. Sandra also writes beautifully and acknowledges your comments which is a lovely personal touch.

5. On a menu what can you never resist? I love food so much that this is too hard to answer with a dish or flavour in mind, so I’ll take a tangental option and say a glass or two of red wine (or champagne).

6. If you could choose 3 words to describe yourself what would they be? I’m assuming we’re talking about nice words here so I’ll say creative, dynamic, funny.

7. What colour can you never go past? Bright, lapis lazuli blue.

8. City Apartment, Country Mansion, Beach House, Wild Wilderness – which would you choose for a holiday? That’s difficult. I would probably choose a hybrid of beach house and wild wilderness.

9. Best piece of advice you have ever been given? Be yourself. By nature I am quite a chameleon and I find myself often adapting to the environment or people group that I am in to make my company more palatable for those present. My husband always tells me to Be Myself and it’s good advice in general. We can only be second rate versions of someone else, but we can always be the best version of ourselves.

10. Collections – did you have one as a child? Do you have one now? I did collect books about horses from second hand fairs and for a while I collected stamps and sea-shells. Now I don’t collect things but always look out for 70’s style second hand ceramics. I also have a few small wooden boxes but it’s not something I’m consciously trying to collect, it just happened.

As I’m relatively new at this whole blogging thing, I’m going to nominate only three people for the award. (Most of the blogs I read I found through my sister and she’s already nominated them.) I’m nominating these ladies for both awards too (pending the number of followers they have.)

So I’m going to nominate two blogger friends from Amsterdam: Inge from Thuis Met Ingeborg, and Rebecca from Make My Grass Greener. And of course Sandra from Grace of Autumn.

Now I have to come up with 10 questions of my own for these lovely ladies to answer:

1. Why did you start blogging?
2. Where is your favourite place to be in the whole world?
3. What’s your favourite quote?
4. What dish do you always have the ingredients for in your pantry?
5. What’s your favourite song?
6. What blog(s) inspire you?
7. What actress would play you in the movie of your life?
8. What quality do you value most in relationships?
9. What personal characteristic are you most proud of in yourself?
10. Describe your ideal day off.

That was actually harder than I expected, so I look forward to reading the answers ladies!

Cushions for Mum

My mum had a stack of sewing requests when I got home and one of the jobs she requested I do (nicely, in return for free accommodation) was make her some cushion covers.

It was the first time I have made a concealed zip and also the first time I’ve piped on a large scale like this. I’m really happy with the results.

(They are going to get a little more stuffing in them so they are a bit more inviting.)

Advent swap

I’m joining in with this cool Advent Swap organized by Cat. The idea is you make, or buy (second hand is fine) 25 lovely treats for your partner and they do the same for you. FUN!

This is my advent partner Zara’s blog. Ah-ma-zing!

Any cunning ideas for gifts I can include?