Den

My eldest son H turned FIVE last week! Seems impossible as to me it feels like he was only born yesterday and still is and always will be my baby boy :-) Anyway, in honour of the occasion I decided to finally finish the bunting I have been working on (not constantly you understand) since January 2009.

I had it hung up out on the deck along with balloons, streamers etc for his party on Saturday (30 kids, party games, a magician... he had a ball :-) Now it has a new home in our den / rumpus / play room...

Note the exquisite hand-stitching ;-)

Going to the huge effort of lugging the camera down to the playroom inspired me to do a little "location shoot" so here we go...

These corner-shelves were a very lucky street-find, literally a few doors from our house (thank God, I wouldn't have been able to haul them much further). They are now stacked with the boys' books, toys and some of our favourite vintage bits and pieces.

vroom vroom

beep beep

stuff

The little spice-rack I painted white and repurposed as a book-display for their tiniest books.

Robot chilling out.

A cosy reading corner - the boys do sometimes actually sit here and pore over their favourite books but it's actually also a great spot for me to occasionally curl up with my copy of "House and Garden" while they throw balls at me, climb on my head etc.

The playroom leads directly out onto our garden, great for indoor and outdoor play and the brown carpet which I would never have chosen myself is actually a blessing for hiding little muddy footprints.

And just in case anybody might ask if the playroom is always this tidy? I think we all know the answer to that...

I Found Fondue!

It's Autumn here in Sydney and heading towards Winter, not that you'd know it by the fab weather we've been having. Despite the warm days I am starting to think of Wintery food and what is more Wintery than fondue? The warm cheesy loveliness makes me dream of European ski resorts and 70s glamour.

After being on the lookout for a nice retro fondue set for a while I finally found two in the space of a few weeks!

This first one was $8 in Vinnie's, it's never even been used. I love the funky orange and white retro pattern.

This one was $4 in the same Vinnie's (they obviously price by whatever mood they're in on the day). Again, I love its retro look.

I can't wait to get these lovely wooden forks stuck into some nice gooey cheesy fondue. I spotted a recipe book in a shop the other day but had some screaming children with me at the time, I will definitely have to go back and get a copy.

Market Haul: The Rest

I'm wrapping up on my market haul in this post. It was definitely the best I've been to in quite a while, a carboot market where the sellers are keen to get rid of their stuff at low prices unlike some of the more expensive dealer markets.

I went with my friends M and L, usually I thrift solo, not because I'm an antisocial git but because I'm a horror to shop with and try not to inflict it on others :-) I randomly wander around, spend ages at one stall and seconds at the next, revisit certain stalls over and over, then when I've bought my lot I tend to hover while others pick out their stuff. I'm just as bad in retail stores and supermarkets. My aimless wanderings in Woolworths led my hubbie to very happily agree to me ordering our groceries online permanently to avoid having to ever shop with me again.

It was a lot of fun though and we had a lovely lunch after, can't wait for the next one and I'm looking forward to marketeering with Engracia when her self-inflicted spending hiatus ends soon. There were no catfights as we were all after different stuff, I was hunting for vintage items to use as decor as usual, M was looking at clothes and L was seeking to increase her enviable library of books and also had a car with her which meant I was able to make a couple of purchases I wouldn't have been able to otherwise because of weight (thanks L)!

I left these items with L until I see her next but firstly there was a gorgeous 6 drawer mini-filing cabinet, it will be perfect for storing lego, crayons etc. It cost $10, worth every cent!

Then there was my favourite find of the day (well joint-favourite with the vintage maps)!

I couldn't believe it when I spotted a gorgeous green typewriter and was given a price of $3!!! It's an Olivetti Studio 44, Tennessee Williams' typewriter of choice.

Alan over at Machines of Loving Grace very kindly let me use the above image from his site to illustrate (check out his unbelievable collection). The one I bought is in working condition, complete with case and instruction manual but is not as pristine as the above one, but with a good clean it will be just gorgeous again.

I got something for all the family, for the boys...

A cute little money box (still in its packaging) for H who is starting to learn all about the value of money :-) This cost 20 cents.

A couple of beautifully illustrated children's books. L spotted both of these, I was envious when I saw her holding "Rosie's Walk" but luckily she already had a copy and she very kindly bought the raucous "A Bush Christening" for my boys :-)

Great illustrations, great stories :-)

This playmat is perfect for S and D to play with their little cars and traffic signs...

...and folds neatly into a storage cube - $2.

This letter lego is great for H to make words and sentences - $2.

For me...

Last year I posted on another market haul including a large vintage paper-cutter. Well, I got this one last week for $2 at the market, it's mini, they'll look so cute together!

I love the old weathered wood and numbers.

I'm going to look so much more stylish turning up at BYO restaurants with my wine in this brand new Moet & Chandon cooler bag - 50 cents.

I got this little painting for the frame - $1.

I also picked up 3 Henning Mankell novels for my hubbie, a couple of books for myself, a Spiderman costume for S and a Batman costume for D.

Not a bad day's shopping!

Market Haul: Coffee Sack

Everywhere I look I see coffee sacks and grain sacks being repurposed in so many ways, just look on Etsy and you will find cushion covers, tote bags, teatowels... the list is endless. My absolute favourite though has got to be this gorgeous notice board I saw on the very lovely blog Maya Made

Isn't it fab? Ever since seeing it I have been keeping an eye out for an interesting old coffee sack to make my own notice board (copy cat) and at the market I finally hit the jackpot!

I picked up this huge gorgeous jute sack for $5 and love it!

I love the heavy black print...

...but I think it's the butterfly that makes it really special :-)

Ropey gorgeousness.

I'm going to follow Maya's fab tutorial once I find the right sized corkboard. Maya also very kindly gave me some great advice on freshening it up but NOT machine washing it, thanks Maya :-)

Market Haul: Cushion Covers

I have been looking for brightly coloured, hard wearing cushion covers to use in our playroom for a while now. Everything I have seen is either not suitable or too expensive so I was delighted to pick these up at the market on Saturday...

I really love the pattern, I think they have a Scandinavian look to them even though they're from Thailand. I got the 4 of them for a total of $5 making them only $1.25 each! A good soak in Napisan and a hot cycle in the washing machine should have them looking as good as new. They're a nice heavy fabric, so should be rascal-proof!

The back of each cover also has a pretty funky geometric pattern. Love them!

More to come from the market in my next post :-)