Wednesday, December 1, 2010

The joys of boys...

As the only female in the house I feel a little outnumbered, especially when I come home to find...


A tadpole on the dining table... (plus random peg)


Alongside, a very furry caterpillar...


Just in case you couldn't see the little guy (yes, everything is male around here I am sure of it!)...

and... that would be a bike in the background.  Apparently it needs to live in the dining room until it is added to the insurance.  Hmmm.

Monday, November 29, 2010

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!:







Thursday, November 25, 2010

The Apprentice

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






Tuesday, November 23, 2010

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!





Monday, November 22, 2010

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.


Friday, November 19, 2010

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!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

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!




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