Kids and home decorating- Do your kids do it?

Do you ever give your kids *free reign* on decorating?

Like...truly...free...reign?

We're just starting the process of renovating, with our gorgeous architect Bruce, our family dining /kitchen space.

It will be a simple, but truly life changing renovation- in terms of family life within the spaces of our beach house.

The children will NOT be making any decisions! ;-)

B.U.T....

We have a guest bathroom off our playroom and my little studio area, that was in total working order but not used as much as the family bathroom upstairs, and was pretty uninspiring in decor.

As it wasn't the bathroom of our house, we figured the kids could throw their hand in at some fun renovating, whilst we thought about the serious stuff, and choose it's colour and we'd just run with it...

There was nothing we wanted to spend on this room but paint.
It will eventually get an over haul...after the kitchen...and the dining room...and the family bathroom...and after school fees...and blah blah blah...
This could be years down the track- so for now, it was pick a colour and make it happy!

We. Love. It.

Thank you kids.

It's awesome

&

It's all yours!

Mum xxx

Vintage Hunting- memories from our Big Old House in the English Countryside {smile}

Morning All....

As Spring hits here by the beaches, my thoughts are wandering to English springtimes from our *other life*.

I've been reading over some of my *living abroad* posts.
My thoughts from our big old Country house in the UK...

I'm just so, so happy to have written them, and to have shared them here-this to me is the essence of blogging.
Being in the moment...recalling the experiences...recording them...sharing them and looking back at them.

I'd love you to grab a cup of tea, and to travel back with me to where a part of my heart will always lie...our English village.

This was written in August two years ago...AND just for the record, I still love this *I-can-spot-mum-a-vintage-treasure-a-mile-of-no-worries-kid*...

E.N.J.O.Y xx
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

vintage potato basket love & my thrift-hunting perfect kid...

mooorning....
this is what i'm shouting up to my babies all snuggled upstairs in their beds, windows open listening to the british summer rain...
so...mooorning across the countryside & globe to you lot...

i have a lovely story, with a wee make-over thrown in for y'all today...
i don't know if you have sons or daughters or not...
or if you just *borrow* little ones when you need an excuse to...you know...see Toy Story 3 over the hols...or to buy the giant sized pop corn *for-the-kids* ;) at the movies...
but i have both...& my boy just keeps on giving...
Sol is a well-trained-vintage-spotting-kid...
he spotted these two little gems at 50 paces in our village market last week...

potato picking baskets...
i'd alluded to them many times round the garden table...
i'd mentioned many times the one frenchy potato picking basket i had seen at a vintage shop up the road...
i thought no-one was listening...
well i was wrong...big time!
the kid was listening...
we were heading up to the weekly farmers market in our village square...
it's getting bigger & more varied as summer rolls on...
not that we gave two hoots about the blocks of farm butter or endless strawberries when we spotted these gorgeous things...

he bolted raced calmly up to the vintagey stall & nabbed those babies...
one over each arm...& grinned at me...
i honestly didn't care how much they were- he was so delighted with himself i would've paid anything...
{just for the record Ritchie honey- not really anything!}
the one i had been lusting over *up-the-road* was £50...that's a lot of potatoes!!
i readied myself...spotted the line at the bank...& nearly fell over when she said that he could have them both for £15...!

the kid is a up-cycling-make-mum-delightfully-happy-vintage-spotting-genius!
look at these lovelies....!

but...yellow is probably my least fave house colour & whilst i love red...it's just not me...
i lived with them like this for the weekend...
i moved them around & talked myself into the virtues of yellow & red sitting alongside our mix match of loved goodies...
but it wouldn't last...& again the genius kid suggested i paint them white...
i seriously love this trained up boy...
& then, to nail the decision, i came across this stuff...
Painter's Touch - multi purpose spray paint in *heirloom white*...{check it out here- Rust-oleum}

it is heaven & convenience in a aerosol can...
it's instant...consistent & perfect for fiddly jobs like old wire potato picking baskets...
i am buying shares in the company...
how brilliant is this stuff!!
you can spray wood, metal , ceramics- virtually anything...
it's my new household drug of choice...

the gals beds are up soon...
black to white wrought iron...
then that lovely little steel-legged school desk in the playroom...
those rotten photo frames tossed in a  box in my sewing room...
there is no stopping me...
all thanks to my gorgeous boy!

what d'ya think?
don't you adore a story of love, family, potato baskets & awesome time-saving spray paint...
a little make-over encouraged by a soccer-scooter-skateboard-park-mad-10-year-old-kid...
it made my day!

so...
next time you see a perfectly shaped-hideous coloured jug at a market...
grab it...& spray the little treasure...
stash that wicker basket -it's too easy to paint now...
throw that stool in the boot...
they can all be changed to perfectly vintaged & lovely in 10 minutes tops...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love reading over old blog posts from our time abroad.

This place has become my online diary of the time we spent exploring the world with our kids- it makes me so happy that we trusted ourselves to follow a dream...our shared dream to work and live abroad with our children at ages that they would recall, and love in their own way, the entire experience.

Happy Monday...

Melissa x

a moving from the English countryside to the beaches of Australia up-date x

evening lovely bloggy gals...


it is soooo nice to sit  with you...glass of wine in hand...mince pies & pistachios beside me...

in the wonderful *once-was-victorian-old-now-new* apartment we have moved into...

a little moment to ourselves...after a massive day of helping removal men start to move us back to the 


beaches of Oz...it feels good...it feels exhausting...

it feels like the end of something wonderful & the beginning of something deliciously familiar...

so the apartment is on our village Green, overlooking the Irish Sea...


it is the P.E.R.F.E.C.T place to finish up our 4 years in the English Countryside...

it's simple, beautiful & very different to the *gathered, loved, collected boho* of our house...

i need different at the moment...i need simple & laid out & organised...

the apartment is a big old house divided into 12 huge, individual apartments...

we are a family of 5 living in 1/12th of a house...i cant quite get my head around how one would live

in it's entirity....but people did...

anyway....aside from space & simplicity...according to Miss.A we needed a tree...


i do love me some doilies...{see here, here & here }

& i do love me an instant *god-what-have-we-not-packed* Christmas tree...

we had not packed a packet of doilies & a set of Christmas lights...

the *trunk* was to be binned...one can't take random Scottish drift wood back into Ox apparently... :-(

but i grabbed it outa the bin on my upteenth trip to the apartment from the house today...

ceeeeute huh!!??

so with the *tree* up...i set upon my usual *go-to* packing snack- mince pies...


if you've ever had a virtual Christmas coffee with me {see here & here}...

you'd know that mince pies are my *between-every-meal* sustenance...

i have lived on them for at least the last week or two...

i'm ok with that...the local mince pie makers are ok with that...

i'd send you home with a batch if you popped past the apartment...

i pulled out a fresh batch last night to do a bit of Santa letter writing with Miss.A...


she's 6 & very concerned that Father Christmas may not know of all our moving...

i assured her that 12,000 miles, 5 days before Christmas by a family of 5, does not go un-noticed by

Mr.Claus....she's not quite so sure...

so we cracked open a mince pie & sent him a little reminder of our movements... :-)

super gorgeous sweet...all done with very intense concentration & a lot of photo moments...

the kiddos have been amazing...


the changes are by the hour now...we have moved out of our family home...

but they are ready...they are soo wonderful...

we've had moments...but they all seem on track today...they are all soo excited today...

& let me tell you sweet friends- if you ever move your kiddos across the world, you will know that

you take it one day at a time...

we did that to get here- & we are doing it going home...

Santa has a very special...this is where we are at...letter heading his way...


we have a seriously cool...made out of what we didn't pack doily Christmas tree...

we are having dinners & drinks with all our beloved local friends...

& half our big old country house is packed in moving crates...

life is good...i feel settled tonight...i needed this moment....

& i need a few more this week...

it's lovely to have a moment to *check* in with you all...


to centre myself...have a little *me* time with you here...

i am loving all your messages, emails, comments, tweets...all of it keeps me happy...

all of it gives me a moment *away* from what i have to do each day to get us home...

i love you for that...if i haven't replied- i'm hoping to...but i need to prioritise & have a serious time

frame...

i know you'll be here for me...the boat won't wait...the crates need sorting!

see you over the weekend...love to you all....

xoxox

december 1...advent pockets to fill with love...

morning lovely bloggy friends...


we had a mid week teacher's strike here yesterday & therefore a house full of extra's...

so not all my boxes were ticked- which i'm needing to do each & every day now that we are *in*

the month of our huge {move back} to the beautiful beaches of sydney...


so...after a morning of balance (you know those mornings- & it wasn't the kids!)...

the ever patient, every gorgeous husband took all the kids to school...

& i'm sitting here, with a strong cup of tea...thinking bout filling advent pockets...

not life altering i realise ;) but about all i can manage this morning...one of those mornings people...!

for our three kiddos, age irrelevant, the *advent calendar* is a special lead up to the big day...


they've all gone off to school this morning anticipating the opening of the first advent goodies

this afternoon...


some years we've had little fabric squares on string lines across the windows...


some years we've done the desperate easy quick-it's-the-flippin-first-of-december-store-bought 

chocolate calendar boxes, with the flip open windows...

you know the ones...awful, loud, disney inspired {!!??}...yet do the job...

this year we needed something simple...that could survive a mid-advent flight {home to Australia},

whose daily pockets could be filled with more than chocolate coins...& that was made with love

by me, for them, in the house we have loved in the english countryside, for so long...

so...the squares were cut...the french numbers stamped...the pieces sewn together...


& this morning i am going for a quiet, simple wander to fill those pockets...

english sweets...some little english souvenirs...little reminders of our time here together...

by Christmas day we will be sitting in the sand, drinking smoothies & wondering what the cold

felt like...

so taking this advent calendar home on December 20 & opening one day in Dubai & the

remaining days in the sunshine just makes this year's calendar all the more special...

at this time of year- life can be a tricky balance...

remember the simple things are often the loveliest memories...

~~~~~~~

a shared thought: yesterday an incredibly brave mother from our little school lost her long fight with cancer...


her two beautiful children were blessed to have had her guide them for as long as she could...


today please just take a moment to look at your children...
& to love them that little bit more...


Karen will always be an inspiration in my mind & though there are many tears- her smile is what i will recall each & every time we passed with school bags, scooters & *good morning's*...


thank you for the small *moment* of time in which i knew you Karen- your children will continue to be loved & watched over at school by their many gentle friends...

xoxox

A Giveaway- Christmas Ribbon & Ikea love...

morning from ol'Blighty- where it's getting chillier as the days roll on...


i've got my ikea stash all ready to show & tell...

Christmas decor inspiration i hope...

& also a Christmas *loving-red-&-white* ribbon giveaway...

when i started raving about the BB & my visit to ikea {here} i hadn't actually opened all


my ikea bits up & snapped them for you...


all my pickies of gorgeous ribbon were not from ikea, but a shop in our village...

they were the start of my love affair for all things red & white this Christmas...

but- since you were all so in lust with the ribbons- i've got a pack to give away this week along


with some other {Miss Sew & So} Christmas bits...


{be a blog friend here & on face book {here} & of course let me know what you think of my


ribbons...}


so...here's my swedish Christmas stash....

the lead up to Christmas is always full of extra's...


extra people dropping by...& inevitably extra meals thrown between the standard one's...

these napkins are totally Christmas with no effort at all...


white tablecloth...greenery in jars up the middle of the table & these gorgeous paper napkins...

& yep the BB & i bought a few...

i'm not a massive tinsel lover...our kiddos are...


i try- but it just doesn't ever do it for me...


too bit-sy...

too shiny...

too tinsel-ey...

then we found this...

white...sweet...perfect...my kinda tinsel...

the other thing the BB & i wanted was reindeer...


they are huge pretty big in Christmas decor over here...


since we moved here from Oz, we've seen plently of wild deer & stags in our trips to the Outer

Hebrides off Scotland {here}

the kids truly fell in love with them in the wild...

& i want to take that love home with us to the beaches of australia in all shapes & forms...

these are divine... & the paper print is gorgeous...

now...as you know we are packing to head home to Oz after nearly 4 years here in the english 


countryside...


this means no more unnecessary purchases- i get that...

but these Christmas glasses were soo flippin lovely & so cheap inexpensive, that i figure we'll just use

them to keep the kiddos feeling Christmas-ey here & then add them to the BB's stash later...!

the perfect 6-pack ;)

&...lastly these little hanging peace doves that i've bought each year we've been here in 


england...


they are beautifully simple...light to take home...& one little miss.6 loves making their wings for

me...

i don't really need any other reason to throw these in my hand luggage back to sydney...

so...i'm hoping...thinking...that there may be some ikea-love from some of you here...


i'm gonna send out the ribbons below just to get you started...

leave a comment...be a FB friend...& i'll draw the Christmas Ribbon Giveaway at the end of the

week...

leave a comment each day for extra entries...every day counts...

little miss.6 & i spent an hour in front of the fire on sunday afternoon hanging & tying 


& talking Christmas as only kids can...


i felt inspired- bless her...

go get yourself to ikea if you can

&

if not...get into this giveaway to start your inspiration for christmas

...ikea is my *favourite & best* at Christmas...

xox

~~~

pop over to my gorgeous friend Maureen's {here}

she's got some more fave & best goodies she's sharing...

~~~

going home...from the countryside to the beach...

after almost four incredible years in the English countryside


we're going home my friends...


the emotions are running wild...

our hearts are soaring & then stopping...

our family together...the experiences so precious...

the love for two countries so heartfelt...

the time is right...


it just feels...right...


i know i'll get on that plane shedding bucket loads of tears...

i know that i'll have every emotion under the sun between now & then...

BUT...

i also know we wouldn't change a moment of these emotions... 


they're all evidence that what we have done, has been so perfectly right for our family...


it just feels right...


there's so much to share here...

i hope you'll be with me here...for my daily fix...

& for our friendship all the way home...from this gorgeous english countryside to the beautiful beaches

of australia...

we've a long haul ahead of us...

moving five people 15,000 miles across the world, with almost four years of life under one's roof

is not a simple task...

but we're serious list tickers...we're feeling good...

our focus...as always...is that the kiddos are happy...


that our family is together...


that we are doing this together...tied up with a lot of love...


wish us luck...& so happy you are with me on this journey home...


xxx


PS- & to my BB {british bestie} -blessed friendship every day no matter where we are...

all these images are from our beach life at home

sigh

xox

a husband, a camera, a boy & fresh seafood...

this is what happens when you give your husband the camera and your son loves seafood...


you end up totally surprised with the results!


sent out to capture the evening with my camera- i figured he just needed time alone with my camera to

really bond with it...

thus in time, taking some photos that may have me- the mama of the household feature in them...

just sometimes...you know for the kids...so they know i was there...

look at the results gals...


sunset taken by husband on big learning curve left on own...


he did G.O.O.D...

i think he was totally a little chuffed with the results too...

i even think he may go back for more...on his own for now....

one day he may even get me in one of his photos ;)

so...the hubsters first photographic effort on his my blog...

i'm happy to share the space for these...

now...back to the *son loving seafood* part...

we have a beautiful estuary that runs the length of our Village Green...it runs from a larger river & 

brings with it endless perfect delicious cockles...

we have a son who adores seafood...especially shell fish...& perfect delicious cockles...

so here he is...filling his pockets, a block from our big old country house...sand & cockles- bless him...

if you are a seafood lover like we are...you can imagine collecting your own only adds to the 

experience...

for a child that will not eat sausages & spuds- an english fave- he amazes us with seafood...

collecting cockles is wonderful for kids...collecting *food* straight from nature's garden...

he scooted home laden down & we googled a few recipes together...

throwing them in a colander...washing of the sea water...counting our haul...all memories...

for a simple delicious simple-let-the-flavours-speak-for-themselves-go-to-recipe see {here}...

eat them like Sol....maldon sea salt...fresh bread...straight off a board on the kitchen bench...

10 year old heaven...

a lovely end to a sunday afternoon...a sunset & fresh seafood...

so...the hubster caught a perfect sunset...on his own...in focus...great foreground...depth...colour


& we got a gorgeous salty local snack outa the experience...


yep...he's going back...

one day you may even see me just there...wandering along the shore...in my Hunter's...bucket in hand...

& he may even get all of me in the picture :)

happy monday gals

i have seafood recipes to google

&

photo challenges to come up with 

enjoy!

xxx


~~~


today i am linking up with a wonderful writer {here}

celebrating monday's together

cool crafting for sweet rock chicks...

ok..so i never thought i'd say *get your tie-dye on*...!


seriously gals- for me...*tie-dyed* is the kinda hippie i never channelled...

sure i hoped for a little hippie-cool- you know sandals & beads- when i was travelling round

thailand...

i hoped for a little surf-hippie-cool when i rode my long board in my teen bikini...

but i never went tie-dye hippie!

suffice to say the hippie tie-dyed tees of the 70's were best avoided...


i thank my mama for never putting me in anything remotely swirley & fluro...& well tie-dyed...

in my case- the hippie in my parents living on the then remote {northern beaches of sydney}- saw me

skipping 'round in crochet bikini bottoms & eating home-made muesli...with bare feet...

never a tie-dyed skirt or singlet top in sight..

so i now find myself , some years later ;) standing righteously in my skinnies & ballet flats telling

you all to *get your tie-dye on*!

i blame it on my gorgeous friend {simone} - yep the simone of all things lovely & stylish from

{the bottom of the ironing basket} ...

she had a stash of dye- given to her- so popped a few in a box & sent them to my kiddos to play

with over the half term hols...

my kids of course didn't see tie-dyed-mung-bean-eating-hippie- from-the-70's that i saw...

they saw rock star...

what we achieved was what i would call *pretty-grunge*...

they googled tie-dying...ooohed & aaaahed at the simple one-coloured options...

they didn't grab old greying singlets to colour...

they went on the hunt for clean, white, cooler looking tees to *design* upon...


that's what they said- *hey let's all design some t-shirts*...i LOVE that...

so...my-rock-star-grunge-pretty-gypsy-travelling kids made me love a little tie-dying...


only in support of true design, self expression & a love of fashion of course... ;)

when the kids want a little crafting over their holidays...grab a bucket, a bag of elastic bands & a couple

of fresh white tees...

get them out doors creating rock tees for christmas...

 ~~~

get your tie-dye on baby 'cause


"it's all in the way you wear it"

happy hippy thursday

melissa 

xxx

~~~

PS- don't forget my *mollie makes* giveaway {here}


i'll get those little rock stars to pull a name outa their guitar case over the weekend!


~~~

a virtual coffee in the english playroom...

morning sweet bloggy friends..time for a virtual coffee....?!


it has been too long since the last...

summer kept me outdoors...travelling...kiddo organising...thinking...creating...
so it's now time to take stock of what is a new school year here in ol'Blighty...& to share with you a long awaited virtual coffee....

i've been struck with the spring cleaning bug...so grab your coffee & head with me, if you will, to the kiddos domain...the playroom...


not the season to clear out...i realise...but for me, having grown up down under where the start of a new school year is january...clearing out is what i do when they all go back to school!

(a gorgeous gift from the lovely anna to our little vegemites)

i'm starting a fresh new school year with organised cupboards...clear under beds & a full re-cycling bin...
just as i would in january living on the beaches back home...

you can sit in the sunny bay window whilst i tell you about this playroom...


when we first moved from our sandy-toed life in sydney, to our *horse-riding-football-mad-milk-from-the-local-farm-country-inspired-life* here in ol'Blighty...i had my check list in hand...

my own personal *what-i-want-english-house* check list...
&
right up at the top was a playroom...

not a rumpus room- as friends had had in australia when we were growing up...
not a family room- where the toys were dumped & everyone ate round a coffee table...

i wanted a real mary poppins playroom...where the kids had their games...the girls had their doll houses...& there was a drawing desk...

a playroom where they all snuggled down in winter to watch movies...
& where in summer, we opened the windows & let the air in...
& where kids could climb in & out from to the garden with their friends...

so when we looked at big old english houses...i just held my breath for a playroom...

& we found...on the edge of our little market town...a perfect playroom...with a bay window...& high ceilings & lotsa light...

aussie kids need a lot of light & a lot of space...suddenly our outdoor life was about to become indoors and this playroom was the perfect mary poppins inspired answer...

so for three & a half years we have lived in...& so loved this playroom...


but just because i wanted it so desperately didn't mean it was my space...
chippy was not high on the kids list of decorating...
nor was a sense of calm white or jugs of flowers...

this playroom was for kids...& toys & colour & dancing & wii & karaoke & lotsa fun...
so we met half way via ikea & some very special vintage car-boot, thrifted finds...

i must admit...i don't usually share a coffee in here...it's only cause i'm on this cleaning thing that i'm giving you the bay window seat...


you've not had to side step any little animals living in castles...leggo scooter sets...i-pods...art supplies...drink bottles...tents...cubby houses, sweet rappers or soccer boots...

the floor is clear...
the kids are at school...

come 4 o'clock & i'm back on my chair in the sitting room...
pretending the floor hasn't been covered in up-ended baskets of kid crapola special bits...

so...if we were really having a coffee today...i would ask you if you've ever dreamed of a real life mary poppins playroom....


i'm not into the singing birds...or the ordered shelves...or the links to a world of children seen but not heard that a playroom used to represent...

but i do love me a space to hold all the kid stuff...

everyone always harps on about the long nights, the broken sleep and the constancy of having and rearing kids...

i just wish someone had told me about all the stuff !

(the daunting after-summer-before-cleaning-out-very-used-playroom!)

so...coffee drunk...playroom seen...i'm either pushing you back out into the wind with a bag of pre-loved toys under your arm...or you're coming with me to attack my sewing room & office space...


totally up to you...


but from here on in...it's pots of tea...garbage bags...a ruthless edge to the day...perhaps a little cursing thrown in for good measure and a promised sense of satisfaction at the end of the day...

let me know if you're in...

&

you can still take the bag of toys...

&

we may even find you something special in the sewing pile...

tempting i'm sure ;)

~~~~

yep...i thought you'd be away...thanks for the coffee...

(there's more coffees to share here with my sweeeeeet friend amy)

(disco ball + world globe + vintage map + doilie bunting = playroom heaven!)