The most magical time of the year...

Can somebody please hit the pause button?  My little baby is growing at a rapid pace.  She can sit on her own for ages.  She has two teeth, waves goodbye and holds out her arms when she wants me to take her.  Those arms held out to me melt my heart every time.  And she's just realised that kicking a ball is loads of fun.

I'm running out of time and energy to tick off all the things on my to do list between now and the beginning of the new year.  I am looking forward to a blissful 3 week holiday but between now and then I have a house to sort out (will this ever end???),  workshop some outfits for my immanent return to work, I have gifts to finalise, holiday packing to do, Christmas cards to mail out, a Christmas menu to plan and most importantly a child's room to completely redo.  I never did a proper nursery so I'm compensating and doing what I hope will be a magical "big girl" room - complete with a reading/play corner and a big world map.  Although we lack space in our home, we chose to live in this part of town for the lifestyle and the things that are easily accessible to us outside of the house - parks, cafes, beaches and good schools.  I grew up in a very small apartment and my favourite memories were cuddles in my bed (which was in fact a fold out sofa in the lounge room) reading books and watching animal kingdom documentaries with my parents.  There was no second TV.  I hope my new little family can foster the same closeness and time spent together, rather than running away from each other.  Granted we all need our own space but I hope that the bedroom offers plenty of privacy and quiet time.  Ariana is growing to be a very intelligent, bright and placid child who already loves books and puzzles and quiet play so I have been very aware of creating an interesting and varied environment for her to help foster her interests, regularly updating toys and age appropriate activities for her and creating a stimulating environment.

I'm putting up some Ikea picture ledges at a kid friendly height and loading them up with books and some interesting toys.

I have a Mocka kids bean bag making it's way to us. 

How incredible are these heart shaped wooden hooks???  Perfect to have by the door for hanging library bags, backpacks and coats.  LOVE LOVE LOVE!

We're both loving Bajo wooden toys with Melissa & Doug running a close second.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week... wish me a productive one, please xx

"we all want to take our lives in our own hands and hurt them out among the starts" - David Bottoms

It took me a few days last week to adjust to the new routine.  Yes I didn't turn off my Blackberry immediately and yes I kept thinking about what was left behind, but I am starting to ease into it slowly. All the while my body clock was still waking me at 6:52 AM. 

I continued to distract myself by cleaning and ironing and continuously de cluttering. Towels, books and linen have been discarded and not replaced.  Pantry is organised and clean.  I have filed years of bills and paperwork, thrown out a box of cables that don't seem to belong to the myriad of electronic gadgets that we have.  I have dusted every corner and and finally made a good dint in the pile of delicate/handwash items in the washing basket.  I took for granted how good a week at home can really be.  A week not spent in the office, was usually spent travelling or doing activities not afforded to a 60 hour a week job.

This week I'm finally going to organise and functionalise the study (who doesn't love stationary shopping??) and clear my head, before getting into LMFF later on in the week.  The event gets better each year and I'm looking forward to reporting back about this years events. 

Spring cleaning my life!

Thank you for all your lovely words and well wishes.  You're all way too sweet :)

I was born an autumn baby and while living in Europe my birthday usually marked the first day/week back at school.  Shopping for new books and stationery and clothes (no school uniforms!).  In Australia, my birthday marks spring and the onset of some sunny days (although Melbourne isn't following the rules at the moment).  I am well and truly sick of all my winter clothes and sick of the weather requiring them to be worn, more than anything else!

At the moment, my apartment is resembling a war zone.  B and I have been looking for a home for the past year and nothing has caught our eye or ticked the boxes.  And believe me, not much is required to tick the boxes either!  We just want a nice, light and bright place with lots of sunlight.  It's amazing how poorly so many homes are designed.  Why have a tiny window facing the court yard?  Why not maximise the sunlight and let some warm rays in?

To be honest, at this stage of the game, we'd be happy with even some POTENTIAL for sunlight to be allowed in, but nope, it's not to be just yet.

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I guess an upside of all this is that we will most likely spend the summer where we are, a stone throw from the beach (a location we haven't really utilised the past few summers we've been in our place) and walking distance from our favourite cafe! 

So back to the flat we currently call home and my urge to begin to declutter at 9pm on a Monday night.  The sheer lack of storage space is driving me mad! And when you have nowhere to store things, you need to get rid of them.  By the end of the weekend, I plan to have decluttered every draw, every shelf and every cupboard.  I will dust every corner, clean every nook and clean the tiny bit of carpet that magically becomes filthy far too quickly... all ready for summer.

I've found a new throw for the bed and will finally frame the paintings from New York, just to freshen things up a little bit. 

Birthday and the onset of spring is like the new year - a chance to start fresh and be organised!  And some cute new stuff from Kikki K always comes in handy to help plan out my day.  There's just something really rewarding in ticking things off a to do list. 

via kikki-k.com