snack

My little man is not one to sit still, he likes to be on the move and not tied down. This makes most mealtimes (and shopping in the stroller) a bit of a battle. Breakfast and dinner are fine with company close by he seems quite contented, but lunch and snack times are a no go. So I decided to stop fighting it and come up with another solution. This week I made a snack mat, a vintage sheet that I was finally brave enough to cut into formed the top and a towel looking past it's best became the batting. I had some striped denim fabric that I thrifted a while ago for the bottom layer an old pair of jeans for the border. It's a big hit! He seems to love sitting down on it with a little bowl of snacks and stays sitting on it till finished (but not when mum is trying to take a photo). Now just to make a few more as I imagine this one will get dirty quickly enough!

book luck

There seems to be lots going on here this week, mother help duties at preschool, helping friends out, thinking ahead to some little presents that need to be made in the next week, trying hard to get the washing dry on the line (not easy in this Auckland weather) and all the normal motherly duties that come along with two children under 5. I have however been sneaking a few moments here and there to delve into some books that I've picked up at some local fundraising sales.

There is; The country diary of an Edwardian lady by Edith Holden that melissa wrote a little bit about here (I was ever so excited to find this one, a bit worst for wear but oh so beautiful inside), Stewart Island plants by Hugh D Wilson. Now my husband questioned the purchase of this one, but it not only contains plants found on Stewart Island but most of plants are found here on the mainland. It's beautifully illustrated, mostly black and white line drawings but there is the odd colour plate too.

I have picked the children up some new reads too, along with the new (old) golden books I found a copy of I can read more by Dick Bruna of the Miffy books. It has the sweetest inscription and to be honest I bought it for the inscription, now I know that there was a John Constable Exhibition on at the Auckland Art Gallery in 1973. I love to read the inscriptions in children's books to see who it was for and who it was from. I hope Julian and Grandma would be pleased to know I'm going to look after this book.

at the shore

We made a quick stop at a local beach for an ice cream on the weekend, although it may have been a better idea to have some fish and chips! It was cold and we were about the only ones there, definitely the only ones eating ice creams. We hadn't planned on going to the beach so we were a little under prepared for the cold (we had just been to a local secondhand book sale) but the kids were so into it. We decided that we will return on the next sunny winter weekend more prepared for the cold and have a longer stay. I vote for fish and chips next time too!

cold

It's cold and wet and the rain just hasn't stopped all day so to warm our tummies tomorrow I plan to make soup to fill a set of 5 soup cups with handles (with matching saucers) that I got a few weeks ago at the local Salvation Army. They are Green and beautifully retro and fit my collection perfectly. Today one sits on my windowsill filled with foraged pecans ready to shell. I'm hopeful that the rain will ease in the morning and we will make it out of the house over the weekend.

Happy weekend where ever you are.

button on

I love to find aprons at the thrift store, especially the ones that look like they have never been used. The fabric is often fabulous and it always makes me wonder if it was left over from some other project then fashioned into an apron or bought especially for an apron. I find lots of "new" old ones so many that they have to be pretty special to come home with me now. The one at the top is one of those, I nearly didn't get it, then I noticed that it had a removable portion of towelling buttoned on! (and it was in perfect condition) How cool is that, it's now my mission to recreate such an apron as that is exactly what I need when cooking. Normally I end up with a tea towel stuffed into the pocket of my apron to use as needed, makes much more sense to have it attached (yet removable) on the apron. It makes me sad that it never saw much use as it seems like the perfect apron to me.

for keeps

I was recently very lucky to win a "keep cup" from this lovely website Mokita. They sell an expanding range of eco water bottles, BPA free stainless steel. I love mine, gone are the plastic bottles I used to drink out of. But back to the keep cup, I was so pleased to win one as I had cut back on my coffee intake once mr A came along deciding to have the odd coffee out but none at home. I have however been having a coffee a once a week as treat while at playgroup with mr A, but having one in a paper throw away cup was annoying me a little ( I had been saving them for miss E to play "coffee shops" with up till now) so it's so nice to have a reusable cup. When a new little cafe opened in town I noticed that they sell them too! Keep cups even have a Flickr group . So if you enjoy a coffee on the go (or know someone who does) it might be worth investing in one. By the way, sorry about the bad photos I'm really quite shy about taking photos in public so they were a rushed hope no one is watching effort.

for the birds

Last year we made these feeders for the birds but this year we thought we'd try something a little different and probably more traditional. We took a container of lamb and beef dripping and melted it over a low heat, added a packet of wild bird seed and some stale bread all broken up into little pieces. Miss E did all of that herself, with my supervision for the melting part. We then spooned the mixture into some moulds, some into some ice cube trays and one into the plastic container that the dripping came in. We put a skewer down the middle so we had a hole to hang it with. I had planned to skewer the little ones too to hang on some wire but I tried that when they had firmed up and they just kept splitting so I put them in one of those plastic net bags that oranges sometimes come in.

We waited and waited for nearly two days before the birds found them. Once they had found them though it's been a different story, there have been so many birds all many a bird fight has ensued. It's been so much fun watching all the comings and goings on and miss E is certainly delighted at all the excitement over her little feeders, especially as we found out that over winter some birds can die if there isn't enough food for them. I only wish I had a digital SLR instead of a little point and shoot, then I'd be able to get some better bird shots.

for warmth

A while ago I made these mittens when the weather was much warmer and frosty mornings seemed so far off. But now we have had two mild frosts under our belt and I thought it must be time to get them out, with some trepidation to be honest. The things I make can be met with delight or disgust by my four year old miss E, hats, pants and skirts always go down well, cardigans not so well so I wasn't sure how these mittens would be received. I shouldn't have worried as they were snatched up and put straight on and they kept her hands very warm while out on an early morning walk. They were taken off briefly so she could pick some manuka flowers though.

wings

A small break in the weather over the weekend let us pop outside to take some photos of these wings I made last week for miss E from this pattern by tiny happy. I used a pretty vintage tablecloth for one side and a thrifted cotton skirt for the other. Nice and light for flitting here, there and everywhere.

a few

Just a few shots that never made it to this space over the last few weeks or so. It's been a funny week weather-wise and I haven't been able to photograph some finished projects yet. Fingers crossed that the weather improves next week.

Happy weekend to you!

for warmth

My miss E doesn't seem to want to wear anything warm. I am always worrying that she isn't warm enough. Yes we live in Auckland where the weather is mostly quite mild over winter, but it can get cold on our walks to preschool in the morning. I am hoping that this cardi will change her mind. I made it from a thrifted jumper, added some needle felted flowers and a snap to hold it closed hidden in the middle of one flower. I didn't have much jumper to play with so the sleeves ended up shorted than I had hoped but it's actually a good thing for preschool where sleeves just get in the way.

a bit of blue

The long weekend has seen us tucked up inside for most of it, with rain, rain and more rain pouring down outside. It has meant that I've had a chance to do a little crafting, finishing off some projects that have been half started and working on some that I have been meaning to start. Like the blue rug for miss E, when she saw this one that I made for my room she wanted one for hers. I chose some more of the factory off cuts for hers but it's much softer on the feet than mine and it worked up really quickly. For any crocheters out there, I worked in the back loops for each round creating more of a ring look.

I finished this beanie off for my sister who has a cold head in Wellington, I used a thrifted merino jumper so it's nice and lightweight and finished it off with a small patch from umbrella prints. Doesn't my hair look like a scarecrows? I probably should have got someone who had brushed their hair to be my model, ahem.

I started some of these for miss E, I'll share the finished product soon, I ran out of elastic and couldn't quite finish them much to the annoyance of a housebound 4 year old desperate to try out her new wings.

this moment

"a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week - a simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, saviour and remember." Soule mama