Did you happen to spot me over at Centsational Girl Blog this week? I know, right? Big League. Sent my traffic soaring.

My ikea hack Hemnes change table was featured.

Check out the blog post here

Meanwhile, what are you all getting up to this weekend?

I need to clean and finish baby girl’s room as a matter of extreme priority. The lounge room needs a spruce up as well. I lead one of those enviable lives that involve house cleaning and vomit cleaning. Be jealous!

I’ve got a thing for it and it just won’t quit.

Via

Via

Via

Via

Via

Yesterday I hit up the Westfields to spend my gift cards. I had $400 in gift cards from my birthday, Christmas and Mother’s day.

The baby girl was catching zedsssss in the pram and it was time to replenish my dismal wardrobe. The majority of it ended up in garbage bags sometime this month as a result of the big cull post pregnancy. It’s completion was conditional on me picking up my new car. No organised wardrobe, no car. 1 guess who imposed that. . . hmmmm

Here is what I came home with:

• Black double breasted coat from David Lawrence. This fits so good!
• Ivory knit, loafers and jeans from Witchery
• The jeans were free from a Witchery promotion.
• Dove grey angora knit from Country Road (I love it, but it sheds everywhere! My car looks like a group of cats has been inhabiting it for months)
• Stripe top from Country Road
• Maroon scarf from French Connection (My scarf is a maroon and black ocelot printed scarf, couldn’t find a picture)

Just need to buy a pair of black boots to round out my winter uniform. I am always on the hunt for a loose long sleeve blouse that I can wear under the sweaters with the collar and cuffs poking out. But I would like a silk one!! I COULD NOT find one yesterday. EVERYTHING IS POLYESTER. HATE. I just sweat in them.

The only other thing I envision buying in the next few months is an outfit for Audrey’s baptism.

Now that the contents of the wardrobe are all sorted and organised.

It might be high time to get onto the physical wardrobe makeover.

(Painting the doors, applying wallpaper to the interior, new hardware etc)

Crystal knobs from Mother of Pearl and sons trading in Waterloo

I styled it with glass jars (I like to pretend they are crystal too) from Adairs

I’m going to store hair ties and q tips in them.

Flowers, Real or fake??? Come on, guess!

Ok, fake. I know. WHO AM I???????

I mean, I would NEVAH!!!! never ever. but here I am.

I repeat, who am I.

Fauxlips *

They look real, they feel real.

So to complete this vignette (GOD! I am so getting over that word. It was nice to hear and use the first 5 times, but now. Gosh, It is so overused I am dead set sick of it. Stop it. ‘tablescape’. That’s another one.

Any way. To complete my vanity area, I need to purchase:

A mirror.
I’d love a venetian one, but it would end up being a faux-netian * one and I am over that. I want either the real deal in life or nothing. I would never carry a fake designer bag, so why would I put an imitation mirror on my wall? So I am thinking of just settling for a nice round one that I come across in the budget region.

Restore my antique french chair
I have 1 quote from last year, but best to contact a few other places to get ideas. I know I want it restored, I am just waiting to pick fabric for it.

Pick fabric for the chair!

(Mary McDonald for Schumacher – Image via)

I love cut velvet! This is the look I am going for. But instead of a geometric pattern, I would like an animal print.

Colefax and Fowler

This is it in the silver colour way. I am loving this!

Colefax and Fowler (Thanks Heidi)

Beacon Hill Cheetah velvet in Moonstone colourway.

But this is cool too

As well as this.

Time to order samples.

A lamp (Possibly)
I say possibly, because the bedroom is a small room (3.5 x 3.5) and I would like 2 lamps either side of the bed and then another on the vanity, but is 3 lamps in the 1 room a bit much? Plus a ceiling light. I don’t think there is a need for one.

* Yes, I got all the fauxnisms from Faux Fuchsia, I’ll admit it.

I forgot to add my favourite vanity to the last post

I have purchased and picked up my desk from Shack.

The desk isn’t perfect. I would have loved a really streamlined, modern desk that would be a contrast and be a juxtaposition to the really ornate antique chair and crystal knobs. But, for $295, I was happy to make the compromise and I can reassign it to my daughters room when the time comes to upgrade.

The new car passed the test

Picking up bulky items (even with the car seat still in place)

My girl and I went to visit my friend in her new bachelorette pad in Manly yesterday.

I bought her a bunch of flowers. I love hyacinths. They have the strongest scent and last long as well. Totally got ripped!! Super inflated Mother’s day prices.  I wanted to go the flower markets but I was scared off because I assumed it would be incredibly busy, but my friend went instead and she confirmed it was can of sardines. On one hand, I can’t deal with crowds and on another, can deal with being ripped off.

It was a no win. At least the flowers were delicious and fresh. My friend deserves them.

Mother’s Day!

Too exciting!! Husband has completely out done himself.

Brand new car, amazing bunch of flowers, gold class tickets to The Great Gatsby 9pm session, so we can have dinner beforehand. Who wants to babysit the gorgeous Audrey?? He did the night shift with baby so I had a sleep in and lastly, delicious hot breakfast.

He is querying how he will ever top it. (Like, hello, brand.new.car!) I said I don’t think he can, but then in my next thought, it came to me. A HOLIDAY!!!!!!
(I’m a bitch who can’t be pleased! Anyone think they are worse then me? At least I admit it. No, seriously I was truly spoiled and very grateful. I am constantly pinching myself, I mean, Is this the same man who use to take 2 weeks to respond to my text messages, if at all, 8 years ago??? Ladies, if you think you can’t change a man, I will tell you, you are wrong. Today he wrote me a card that brought me to tears!)
I have been planning a holiday to the US with google maps. It has driving routes saved, airports, and loads of sights to see and shops to visit. As I am browsing around the net and American bloggers talking about shops/sights, I add it to my google map and to the driving route. He has access to this map. . . . . .

BAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA

Honestly, For that trip to come to fruition, I need a massive amount of spending money for it to be worthwhile. So I wait.

Asleep on my shoulder. A baby just needs their mum.

Today was FULL ON!!!! My husband, on top of all the material gifts, single handedly organised a family picnic/bbq. Not only is it my first mother’s day, but it is still mother’s day for his mum and mine and their first as grandma’s. So he brought everyone together to celebrate.

P.S I think I am finally getting somewhere with the calligraphy name commissions for Audrey’s photo album. I have contacted nearly every calligrapher on Etsy. I also contacted other calligraphers from the internet. Had quite a few knock backs. . .

Toodles

The little reverie is 1 month old today!

It feels like a lifetime ago that I was in agony and in a delivery room. Certainly not 1 month ago.

Since I have been blessed with the world’s best baby, I need to get back into the reno’s and the house!

But not before I pick up my new car!!!

This Sunday is Mother’s day! I am so excited. What a total spin out. I am still in shock that this little girl is mine. Right now, as I type, She is near me, but I can’t see her unless I get up. She is as quiet as a mouse and I often forget I even have a little offspring. Bizarre.

Tomorrow I will pick up my Mother’s Day present. My new car.

The husband is quite chuffed at himself. Thinks he is delivering the mother of all mother’s day presents! HEHE I am dork. Well in my eyes, he is.

I am totally spoiled rotten to the core!

So back to renovating. I flip between wanting to work on the living room to wanting to work on our bedroom.

(Plus I totally have to tidy up the nursery and attempt to take some nice pics of it so I can finally do a room reveal, a la the block, budget styles in the burbs!!!)

In order for the living room to progress, It needs me to make some big $$$ purchases, and well, I have just had a baby and now bought a new car, so no!

Back to our bedroom!

Here is a pic of her the other day.

It needs a jaw dropping light fitting, bedside lamps, a vanity, mirror above vanity, my antique chair to be restored and re-upholstered.

For the fabric, I would like a pattern. It needs to take my breath away! I’d love a cheetah animal print in a blue/seafoam colour. So I am on the hunt.

In between the wardrobe and the curtains, that is the area I would like to put my vanity.

Set up an area like those inspirational pictures.

I did have aspirations of designing the vanity myself and have it custom made, but again $$$

and then I was reading the current issue of Belle magazine and see this:

It has that piece of furniture credited and not only is it the perfect proportions, but is $295!! Yep, $295.

That’s some ikea pricing there, without being ikea. Then thinking of changing the knobs out to crystal ones

What do you think? I think, for 295, she’ll do.

Also need new bed head and the wardrobe doors need a face lift. I want to add mill-work and new handles and the whole thing be painted white.

Enough jib-jabbering. I’m tired.

Out.

How are all my darlings?

It has been a while, hasn’t it? Apologies.

Darling number one has just been perfection. Please don’t think my absence is directly linked to my daughter, because it isn’t. In fact, I could just gloat. She is an eating and sleeping angel! I am so blessed.

Life with a baby has been great! She is 3 weeks old already!

P.S, should I share my labour story? Or is that just a bit OTT, a bit much? you know, vagina talk!

Yep, I went there!

Meanwhile, I need a new career! Retail Buyer. I’ve obviously got the eye for it!

Above $8 vinnies urn. Purchased before becoming aware of this.

Oscar De La Renta home wares range.

$350

Same handles! The only differences is it has a fluted pattern and an extra square base.

$350 v $8

I’m a winner!

In other home wares related news.

Here is a proper pic of my push present! The flowers are from my lovely friend Jen. I just finished up her save the dates. They turned out beautiful! Pics soon!

“Audrey” Vase from Waterford

Doesn’t everything look better on Wedgwood?

The pastries are from my friend Erin who came to visit the baby. She is madly coming up with clever ways to get her Manchester UK located boyfriend over here, married to her and making babies asap.

Car shopping this weekend! The time has finally come to trade my beloved car in before she is well and truly worthless.

She is 11 years old and has had a few love taps to the front. I barely service her and she just keeps going. She’s been a trojan for me. Standing up to all adversity. Never let me down, bar the only time she got a dead battery, which is to be expected due to her age (and that small issue of never servicing her)

We’ve traveled 100,000 kilometres together visiting, I could confidently say the vast majority of Sydney suburbs. Honestly, we’ve been everywhere together! I will go anywhere, doesn’t matter where you are located, The civinator (her nickname, she is a Honda Civic) and I will go there.

I’m going to miss her. I lovingly branded her with my name!

There is not a piece of furniture or oversized item that I have attempted to put in her that hasn’t fit! But now that I carry a car seat (I hate the EFFING car seat!!! God I hate it to the high heavens!!!!!!) and a pram with bassinet, it doesn’t leave much room at all for anything else.

Time to be a wanker with only one kid and get a 4WD SUV.

I’m really liking the Honda CR-V. I love Honda’s full stop.

But need to find some other models to compare too.

I’d LOVE a Volvo XC60! But yeah rightttttttt!!!!

I’m in the middle of making a custom photo album for my little girl. I went to the shops to buy a photo album, but left disappointed and as per usual. No, to be fair. I did see some gorgeous books, that were leather bound and had gorgeous hand marbled end pages and the page edges were marble as well, but they were journals and not quite what I was after. So I’m going the custom route. I purchased black and white paper for the inside and floral handmade paper for the end pages. I’m going to take it to my favourite book binders and get them to whip me up one (or more!! I have a few ideas for others and thinking to get a few made up at once, so that and I can keep adding pics) Thinking of hot foil stamping the spines with VOL I, VOL II, VOL III!! ohh bless. How special.

Should I cover them with velvet?

Coveted Velvet Raptor albums for a long time. I was going to purchase one of these but they don’t have the pink colour stocked and the inside pages are white. I’d like some black pages too.

I asked the book binder if it was possible and he said yes, but not sure!!! hmmm. . . it is starting to become the world’s most expensive photo album if I have to order in 3 different colours of velvet.

But, I am thinking to just keep things simple, I will just choose a cloth cover from their range at the book binders. (If they have nice pastels. I’m a pastel girl at heart, always have been, always will be)

I had our wedding guest book made at this book binder

Top Left.

I’ve also contacted several calligraphers to do a card with her full name and date of birth for the front page of the book.

I love keeping arts like this alive!

Oh and another GREAT thing is that my favourite art shop is open till 8pm Mon to Fri! How amazing is that? I didn’t know that till today. You cannot take a kid or a pram into this store, so I was starting to feel a bit of pressure as to when I could do a return visit to buy the supplies for the other 2 albums, but now I can just wait for hubby to come home from work and I can run off to the store!! OHHH YEAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! More stores need to have extended trading hours.

Let there be light!

Reed sconces, Visual Comfort from Laura Kincade.

The mantle isn’t attached properly. Just leaning there.

We just put the 2 wall lights on and chill out. Such lovely mood lighting.

Today was a fabulous day in Sydney for the fire!!

It is so close yet so far!!! Lots of painting still to be done.

I am on the hunt for an oval convex mirror for the centre.

The electricians also fixed our door bell!!!

It has such a lovely ringer/dinger. I have no idea how old it is. The dinger is inside a cabinet in the kitchen and has 2 dingers. One for the doorbell at the front door and the other for the doorbell at the back door. The back door one works perfectly. But we have no need for that. The front one works intermittently. It keeps getting stuck. Everyone was telling me to just replace it. But I was adamant on keeping the old doorbell!! It has mercury in it and they just don’t make things like they use to. Let me ask you, how many houses have you been to where the door bell doesn’t work?? I have been to heaps! They just have those crappy wireless ones that just stop working after like a month! Or they are mp3 ones. My one has such a lovely ding to it!!

Anyways, I was the genius that suggested to all the men, can’t we just change the wires over, so that the front door is connected to the dinger that works??

HUZZAHH!!!

Perfection.

Finally, our brass button has been put on too,

It matches the front door handle with the rope detail.

In other news, my friend came over to meet our little girl and she gave me a bunch of flowers! I had just the right vase to put them in.

Waterford fleurology crystal vase!!

The vase is called “AUDREY” and was my push present!!!

My husband was sooooooooo against push presents. But Tah-dah! He couldn’t resist when he saw this vase in our little girl’s name.

I just love it. It is so special.

Any other mums get push presents??

Oh my, mother’s day is just around the corner! How exciting. I am excited.

I pinch myself. I can’t believe I am a mum!!

The first part of the massive cornice going up!

The 2 workers were here from 7.30am till 6.30pm!!!

They were seriously irritable by the end of the day! Totally over it.

Both their wives were calling them asking about the kids. One of them had to pop out and come back to pick up a kid.

Tah-Dah!!!

Do you like my urn? $8 from the salvos.

The Electrician is coming tomorrow to install the wall lights that have finally arrived.

I am thinking of moving their location (Now that the cornice and mantle are in place) I think they need to be brought into the centre a bit more.

I told the husband to paint the ceiling and the chimney breast before that happens, but isn’t sure when that will happen.

He unfortunately has to paint the mantle again. He has to scrape off all the paint on there and start over.

He over thought it too much (didn’t listen to me) and it didn’t work out.

So there is still a bit of work until it is complete. But till then, we are enjoying the heater.

Normal blogging will resume soon, but for now I am baby gazing.

I am awe consumed with this little being and it will take a week or two.

I have updates on our fireplace to show you and the possibility of my birth story. Not sure if I want to share it in its entirety or just a quick synopsis.

Thank you for your congratulations.

One week old today!

My, they grow up quick.