Saturday 26 November 2011

Mr Kammel's Modern Steam Engine

Any excuse to share a gorgeous picture of my hubby.



Take in the Engine room of the Steamboat Wattle, moored at Docklands. Photo taken by the very talented Kerri Valkova.

Friday 25 November 2011

Christmas for Cats

Life has been a bit full on, but we are through our first two "Open for Inspections" on our house, so I can almost feel that a sense of normality is returning (except for the fact that now my house is sparkly clean and has to stay that way!).

I've started to start thinking about Christmas and found myself looking for things for the kittens. Most of these finds are "in an ideal universe" presents because most are incredibly expensive!

I hope you enjoy my finds!

There are lots of cat drinking fountains around, but this one is quite stylish and also comes in stainless steel.


This sleepypod cat bed is gorgeous! I love the fact that you can buy a warmer. When the furballs are in the cattery you can unzip the bottom for them to sleep in it. It is also a lot less bulky than the cat carriers that we have at the moment and comes in some lovely colours!


ModKat vertical litter box is so cool! Not sure if this would work, I would be tempted to hack one from an old plastic box to see if my furballs would use it. The design is lovely with not too many corners for the dust to settle. Looks easy to clean and I love the idea of a washable liner.




Cool Cat Climbing Tower

I like the fact that this one can stack together if you needed to put it away. Cool concept.






Hollywood Franklin Cat Tower

I love this concepts and there are a few hacks around that have tried to do something similar. But this one is so stylish and I can imagine it in my backroom! The tower uses ikea parts, Stolmen components. You could probably buy components like this and attach them to the pole as well.


Saturday 12 November 2011

Finished Backyard .. my creative space!

We have been very busy at our place clearing out and getting things ready. The backyard is done and I can't wait until the pumpkin takes hold and makes the backyard look look luscious.



I am so pleased with how it has come together, especially the $13 glazed saucer under the tap (below next to the garage) that works well as a bird bath. In the morning I often come down and look out the back windows and see a bird washing itself in it. The cats love it.



My wisteria has taken off as well. There are still a few things to do here and there, but we are pretty much done.

And if you are wondering why the pictures look so swish, that is because our house goes up for Auction on the 10th of December. We had the "official" brochure pictures done the other day and the house scrubs up quite well! It was interesting to learn all the tricks that they use when taking pictures and the techniques that they use to do dusk photography.

We are moving closer to the parental units across the other side of the city. It should make the commutes each week easier and also provide Tori and Nicholas with more contact time with their grandparents. Even though I am sad to be leaving Northcote, I am looking forward to re-decorating another house again as I have caught the bug!

So I might not be around much over the next 4 weeks, too busy cleaning! I have been doing lots of crafty things, but not much time for blogging and even less time for projects that don't enhance how the house looks.

Friday 4 November 2011

Through the eyes of a four year old

My daughter has claimed my old battered digital camera and spends lots of time taking pictures of odd things. But every once in a while she takes some gorgeous (in focus) shots of Nicholas.



On the change table, the picture previous to this one was a close up of the inside of Nicholas' nappy ...



In the high chair.



Then mummy had to grab the camera and take a picture of the both of them. It is true what they say that you take less pictures of the second born. Not because you don't want to, but because you are so bloody busy running after the first born!

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Zen and the art of painting

I am trying for a Japanese inspired garden outside my bathroom window. We had an interior designer do a walk through of our house the other week. The most interesting 2 hours I have ever spent.



One thing that she recommended was to paint the fence a darker colour so that the green plants "pop". And so, I did this afternoon and I am rather pleased. I still have to go over it again to get the gaps, but at least the first coat is done.