Swimming Pool Update and a visit to Abode Bazaar

We have had a rather industrious weekend at Pirate HQ.  My parents have been up visiting, which has been lovely as R and I were able to complete various tasks around the house.  Often a challenge when small children are "helping" or feeling needy, so it was fabulous to have some extra pairs of hands!  One of the main jobs on my to do list was to source some pots similar to the one above.   My mission was unsuccessful unfortunately, however at Abode Bazaar in Willoughby (one of my favourites!) I found some other lovely pots that I decided were perfect anyway!


This is one of the new Abode pots with a lovely Bromeliad in it, I so love the aged, stone effect of the pots.  They remind me of the gardens in India for some reason.  Whereas, my blue and white china pot makes me think of KL and Singaporean gardens ( that particular pot was purchased years ago when we were on posting in KL though.):

Another to do list job was to complete the landscaping around the swimming pool.  R has been pottering away at it for the last few months slowly but having my Dad around for a few days, they both got stuck into it and I am truly impressed with the result.  The stone is from Eco Outdoor and is  the Random Ashlar "Clancy" one and they did it themselves!  In one day!  R also did all of the decking himself, that did take a fair bit longer than one day though!


In this photo you can see the pile of stone that was delivered.  They then stuck each piece of stone onto the cement sheeting, fitting the pieces together like a puzzle.  The more random the better it looked we decided!

My Dad hard at work,(R is cracking the whip somewhere in the background!):

The end result!  (Ignore garden and pool furniture for now, still working on those parts...).  Although, you can admire the lovely new glass pool fence!:

The Apprentice

There is a new apprentice working on the decking around the pool...  I so love his choice of workwear.

A new bedside table.

For a while now I have been using a stack of magazines and books as a bedside table and it was starting to irritate me no end each time I entered the bedroom and glanced at my side of the bed!  Clearly, I desperately needed a new bedside table and as we are about to renovate and my bedroom will be completely different once finished, I was reluctant to spend a lot of money on something that might not work in the room post-renovation.  I also didn't want to spend a medium amount of money on a stop gap bedside table that I didn't love.  Instead, I popped into our local Salvos store and picked up this rather ugly bookshelf for $15. 

I gave it a light sand and a new coat of paint and I am delighted with the end result.  After the renovation is complete and once I have found the perfect bedside tables I am going to move it to the future guest bedroom as a new bedside table where it will work perfectly next to my old black wrought iron bed that is currently stored under the house.  Well, I hope it will work anyway!

David Bromley's "Pirate"

For many years I have coveted David Bromley's paintings, in particular the "Childrens Series." My passion for collecting vintage childrens books, in particular first edition Enid Blytons probably led to my love of his artwork.  More recently, since the arrival of my two little pirates I have longed for a Bromley featuring "pirate boy."  Well, my wonderful husband just arrived home from work with a suprise package for me.

I recognised the painting immediately, despite the packaging and burst into tears!  I have long adored it, other bloggers have blogged about it!   I really can't quite believe that it is hanging on our wall!  Thank you to my lovely husband.

Cairns and Palm Cove

Some holiday snaps:

Exploring the parks and gardens of Cairns and Palm Cove has ignited a new gardening obsession...  I now NEED to have a tropical garden in the backyard and around the pool area!  Some of the extraordinary plants we saw:

Arriving home late last night we had a quick dinner at one of our favourite haunts and it was just so good to be home!

The Garden

The garden is just looking marvellous at the moment.  The lawn and the swimming pool are sprinkled all over with Jacaranda petals and just look divine. I used to have issues with Jacarandas, as when I was at university there was a saying: "If you haven't started studying by the time the Jacaranda in the Main Quadrangle blooms, then it is too late!"  I had Archaeology in that corner of the Quadrangle and had to pass the tree a few times a week.  Anxiously I would examine it for any signs of blossoms! University now seems like a lifetime ago and as I live in a house surrounded by four jacaranda trees I have grown to adore them!


The "exam tree" in bloom!  Aaaaaahhhh!!!  Image is from here:

The rest of the garden is looking fabulous as well!  I recently read (I think in House and Garden) that for every $1000 you spend on plants for the garden, the value of the house can increase  by up to $5000!  My planned New Years Resolution preventing future nursery purchases might be unnecessary, I am investing in the property!

Mr Mischief (aka baby Pirate)

When your children are born you imagine that one day with your loving and nurturing care they will grow up to be Noble Prize winning authors, eminent surgeons, you know pillars of society types! Then gradually your ambitions for them start to disentegrate and you realise that all that really matters is that they grow up to be happy and in this one's case... we are doing our best to prevent him from spending some time at Her Majesty's Pleasure.  Yes we have a two year old delinquent Chez Pirate. 

Vandal?  Check!  Indeed, this one has a future career as a graffiti artist.  Most significant crime?  He walked up the hall with a purple crayon and left a line running the length of the hall and the very large, rather expensive painting hanging in the hall?  Yes, went straight over the top of that too. 

Thief? Check!  Twice now we have found him harbouring stolen goods in his pram.  He lunges for anything in reach and then hides whatever takes his fancy.  We now have to search him and the pram before leaving any shops.

Identity theft?  Check! He raided my purse and ran off with the drivers licence.  Who knows what he was planning to use it for?  When we finally found it, he had somehow snapped it in half.  The mind boggles just thinking about it!

Here he is perfecting his break and enter techniques.  Note the collection of tools at his feet:

Hmmmm.

Look what I found!

After dropping the Captain off at pre-school this morning, the baby and I raced around a few of our local op shops and look what I found!

This divine vintage pyrex bowl, which is going to be used to house the rest of my boring and non-vintage pyrex bowls! Four dollars!!!!

And the discovery of the morning, this lovely unchipped, immaculate (and genuine!) Cornishware vase... Five dollars!!!!!  (Flowers from my mother-in-law, thank you Pat!) The stack of books, yes picked all of them up this morning... 50 cents each!  I am so pleased with my mornings shopping!

A Tag - Thank you Sarah!

The lovely and always thoughtful Sarah at One Perfect Day has passed me a getting to know you tag.  One day I really hope to sit down and have a coffee and a slice of her raspberry cake with her!

What is your favourite time of the day?

It used to be the morning,but since I have had children I love the end of the day.  After everyone is fed and washed and the boys are in  bed I do a final tidy up of the house and then sit down and have a chat to my husband.  Sometimes we will have a glass of wine together, often I have a peppermint tea.  A brief moment of peace and quiet, knowing that the boys are safe sleeping and all is well in the world, before bed!


Where and when did you meet the love of your life?

In 1997, I was at university and had a part-time job in a big law firm in the city.  One day a bicycle courier walked in to the mail room in head to toe lycra ... and I will have to do a blog post one day with the rest of the story!


What three words would your friends outside of the blogging world use to describe you?

Loyal, clever, fun (from Veronica who I met at Girl Guides when we were both 12!)



What country would you like to visit and why?

India.  It was my favourite posting (my father was a diplomat) and I would love to go back to see my Ayah (Nanny) and introduce my boys to her!  I have been lucky enough to travel the world, both through my job as a flight attendant and my childhood travelling with my parents and India was the most magical and wonderful place.  I still dream about it and I haven't been back since I was 10 years old.


What is your favourite dish to cook?

Scrambled eggs, made properly with cream and buttery toast. 

 
Salt or sugar?

Both.  I love Asian cuisine (having grown up in predominantly Asian countries...) and both flavours are fundamental.


What are your must have make up or beauty items?

Jojoba Oil (love it as a moisturiser) and Moroccan Oil (hair),  as I had to wear make up every day for work I quite enjoy not wearing it now. If I am going out at night though, a bit of bronzer (Nars Laguna), Mascara (Covergirl Lash Exact) and Lip Gloss (Mac) always makes me feel groomed! 


What are your favourite flowers?

Do I have to choose....?  I adore so many, favourites include peonies, blossoms, singapore orchids and roses.



What are your worst vices...honestly?

Champagne and coffee.



At what time of your life were you happiest and why?

When we found out that the hole in The Captain's heart didn't require surgery.  I was so grateful that my tiny and precious little baby would not have to have open heart surgery.

Thank you Sarah for tagging me, I feel very honoured!

Happy Halloween and out first Jack-o'-Lantern

This weekend was rather frantic,  on Saturday I drove down to Canberra to attend my 20 year school reunion (yes, I am that old!).  On the way down, just as we were passing through the Southern Highlands there was a serious car accident right in front of me.  Literally, the car in front of me lost control and ended up swerving across both lanes twice and crashing into the median barrier.  Fortunately, the driver was uninjured and I was able to stop in time and thankfully the car behind me also managed to stop in time.  I was driving with my oldest and dearest friend who is pregnant with her first baby and also my not so little baby and I am so grateful that we are all okay!  Anyway, the school reunion was fabulous and it was a lovely opportunity to catch up with friends that now live overseas or that I had lost contact with. 

After a wonderful night out, including dinner at Ottoman!  I then got up early on Sunday morning to drive home as I had promised the Captain that I would be home in time to help him celebrate Halloween.  Halloween, although not typically an Australian celebration, is taken very seriously in my neighbourhood.  A letter was deposited into our letterbox, instructing as that Halloween was appproaching and that if we were interested in participating to please tie the attached balloon to the letter box.  The Captain was entranced!  During the week we had purchased a pumpkin with the anticipation of making a Jack-o'-Lantern,  never having made one before I was not sure how difficult it would be.  Luckily, it was quite straightforward!

We started by carving a hole, to make the lid, in the top of the pumpkin.  Once the "lid" was able to be lifted out we scooped out all the seeds and excess pulp.

We then used a pencil to draw a face onto the lantern and I then used a small paring knife to carve along the lines we had drawn.

A candle popped inside and it looked fantastic!  The Captain was delighted with our efforts.

Sitting out on the front porch.

The Captain  Bat waiting anxiously for Trick or Treaters.

Happy Halloween!