Happy birthday, sweet boy.

Four years ago today this little boy was a newborn baby in a humidicrib in special care. We were naive first-time parents, anxious but optimistic about the future.

Four years down the track and what a ride it's been so far. It's taken us all the way to New Caledonia, where we arrived this week, for the next chapter of our lives.

Jack, you are truly adorable, clever, brave and all we ever wanted.

Happy birthday.

Guilty pleasures - handmade goodies via laptop.

Hello! I thought I'd confess to all and sundry that I have been spending lately. Shops of choice? Among others, Etsy and Madeit.

It's no secret that I'm a fan of such websites featuring lovely handmade goodies. I've been e-browsing for some time but lately a little more - possibly because I've been quite time-poor and these sites have been hitting the spot with my retail needs.

Here's a peek of some of the lovely things I've been spending my pennies on, for myself and others:

DIY bracelets - with or without a needle.

Picture the scene: you've got somewhere to go, you know what you're wearing, but the accessories just aren't going to work. What you need is a bracelet. But wait - there's no time, and anyway, you're broke. What to do?

Settle down, honey. You can do it yourself. Yes you can. And here's three options.

Okay, so can you knit? That's right, knit! A bracelet! Check out this beaded beauty from Jezze Prints, which takes just a scrap of yarn and a few leftover beads and a cup of tea and a Tic Toc:

The Essentials: How does your pantry compare?

In The Age today, foodie Charlotte Wood revealed the staple ingredients contained within her pantry. Naturally, whilst reading it I was mentally comparing each necessity to my own kitchen stores. Here's my take on Charlotte's list:

Knit and put your feet up - the Knitted Pouf.

I have a bit of a pouf obsession. There, I've said it.

I like nothing better than the idea of a colorful, comfortable bally-type ottoman which I can rest my feet, book or bottom on, which also is a stylish addition to virtually any room. I hover over them and admire whenever I spot a spiffily crafted pouf. Alas, to date, I do not own one. And my feet end up on the couch every night. Not ideal.

Books, shmooks.

Hello. How are you? Today I would like to talk about books.

Over the last couple of weeks, books have come to mind many times for several reasons. In any ordinary week, I think about books a lot. I love books. New books. Old books. Kids books. Craft books. Crime books. Cookbooks. Travel books. So nothing unusual there.

But several topics have come up in the news in recent times which keep taking me back to how important books are, not just to me, but in growing great kids, remembering and discovering who we are as a nation, and in keeping the fires of literacy stoked through educating the nation to not just have an ability to read and write, but to read and write broadly, and to be passionate in doing it.

Swing it with DIY saddle shoes.

Well, hello there!

It's been another hiatus from posting, what with one thing or another - but don't think I haven't been thinking about you. Quite the opposite!

Today I discovered this excellent DIY saddle shoe project via Craftzine, one of my all time favorite crafty sites due to the diversity of projects it showcases. It comes from an uber-cool gal called Morgan who blogs hip stuff at Panda Head.

Go ahead and fake it!

DIY peonies via Creature Comforts

Do you like peonies? I do. Can you believe these peonies aren't real? I think they are very gorgeous. I love me a bit of fake flower. Ergo this craft is right up my street.

Unleash the inner seamstress - Must Have This.

I am a sporadic seamstress. In truth, I am sporadic with many things - knitting, cleaning, keeping in touch with friends - but particularly sewing.

Movin' Right Along - Kermit and Fozzie

Well, I have been remiss! A couple of very busy weeks have passed and I just have not had time to put fingertip to keyboard.

In honesty, I have also been very tired, which can get you down after a while. Which is why Fozzie and Kermit seemed so appealing right now. I like their mantra: "Movin' right aaaloooooong....movin' right aaaaloooong..."

Enjoy.

Lachlan Bryan - Whistle & Waltz (featuring Kasey Chambers) AUDIO ONLY.m4v

A few nights ago I was idly listening to ABC 774 in my usual style when this song was introduced as a new release.

Baby Nellie turns 1 - and we eat good food.

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By now you may know that my daughter Nellie turned one a few weeks ago (in case you missed it, I've posted here and here on Nellie's party). In this final installment of the goings-on I thought I'd let you know what we ate.

My new heroes (and why Melbourne needs to get real about it's architectural heritage).

I have just two devoted periods in the week of television watching now. Mandatory, Green-Guide-highlighted, kids-in-bed-and-dishes-done, steaming-cup-of-tea-in-hand-and-pass-me-the-gingernuts idiotbox viewing. I refer, of course, to my Melbourne television heroes, Phryne Fisher and Frank Woodley.

Dear February - 9 good things you brought me (and why I love you).

My dear February,

You're a funny little month, aren't you? Always a bit of a tricker with your fickle number of days (can we ladies propose to our fellas this year or not? Yes? Yes!).

You're the toughest of the summer months, having a stronger constitution than all-party-no-discipline December, what with his boozy Christmas breakups, puerile muck-up days and wanton schoolies week. And don't talk to me about that slovenly January, with her too-busy-with-my-New-Year-hangover and you-kids-don't-go-too-far-while-Mummy-works-on-her-tan haziness.

Nellie's first birthday party (for which I make pretty things to look at).

As posted previously, we celebrated Nellie's first birthday a couple of weeks ago. I posted a couple of updates on some of the decorations I made in preparations but thought I'd post a round up of what decorations I used for the day.

Our baby is 1.

I've had a bit of a hiatus from blogging this month. February was always going to be busy, so I decided to delay my next course of French until March when it had all blown over. And thank goodness I did!

Watching now :: Zen.

Meet Aurelio Zen.

Good Things #6/366 :: Pompom garlands.

We're having a little party for our Nell-bell in a couple of weeks - one already! - and so I've begun organising.

Moments :: A hot & productive day.

Today in Melbourne it was hot and humid. The temperature was not extreme, at just 34 degrees, but the humidity has been growing all day.

Moments :: Images of an Australia Day.

Today is Australia Day. I'm proud to be Australian. We are proud to fly our flag and celebrate our nationhood. It's the best place in the world to live, and even though it's not perfect (yet), I think, on balance, that it's pretty darned close.