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!

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.

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.

Hi Everyone, I am still around.

Pushing 39 weeks el-preggo-relli. That is Spanish/Italian for up the duff. Or UTD for short.

In other news. Crazy mumma to be nesting has been in full swing.

See here! I made these 3 things in the same day that I went on a mad cooking brigade and whipped up a whole freezer full of meals!

It is a cushion cover, a door stop and a tissue box cover. Made from James Dunlop arabella fabric.

The door stop is a necessity. The door just seems to swing in the nursery. I filled it with a zip lock bag of expired rice (I don’t cook rice ever, Not sure why, I like it, but it is a bit hard for me LOL) then filled it out with stuffing.

The nursery door had been finished painting and hung by my husband all by himself! I think he got the hint from the last blog post LOL!

The cooking involved:

1 bolagnese sauce

4 lasagne dinners

2 cannelloni dinners

1 roast tomato sauce (made from all the tomatoes in my garden)

That is 2 kilos of tomatoes that we grew all by ourselves!

And a widdle capsicum! I roasted that too, I mean, why not!

Then blitzed it all up and this sauce formed the base for the other meals.

I also made:

96 meat balls divided into 4, 24 ball servings. (12 each)

1 meal of the meat balls in the sauce.

I had ambitions to cook up more, but there is only so much cleaning a husband can do. I already made him clean the kitchen twice!

This is the state it was in both times. There is not a spare inch of counter space or a clean item left in our unrenovated kitchen.

He obliged without the slightest hint of a whinge! That, that there is TRUE LOVE!!

See the fan just out of shot? It is $12 of saviour! I have been MELTING! Melting I tell you. I cannot cool down.

Meanwhile in the garden! Isn’t this pretty?

I love it!

The day before, she was still closed and goblet like. The next day I race out to see here and these little things have already fallen off!! Hmmphh! What gives?

I also cut another flower (this time before it had dropped any) and placed it into a vase and it turned brown so fast!

Don’t magnolias make good cut flowers??

Sometime last week (well week before now), my nursery change table was featured on Ikea Hackers. I forgot to state the obvious about removing the aesthetics when it actually comes time to use it for it’s purpose and was semi-slammed in the comments! HEHEHE jealousy.

IKEA – Glamorous girly change table

I also managed to high tail it to Coco Republic for a look-see. A lovely lady spent a bit of her time with me talking about my living room! I didn’t buy anything and she didn’t push me. She was a great help in gaining clarity and direction. It is abundantly clear that I now NEED this fabric!

Alexa Hampton for Kravet

To make 2 throw cushions for my orangey coloured settee.

I honestly thought the settee needed re-upholstering in a more pleasing colour for it to work in my living room. But she proved me wrong! I can see this working.

She told me to save my dough on that. And I am so happy. Because the upholstery on the settee is in PERFECT condition! Sometimes I just wish there was a big hole it in somewhere to force me to re-upholster it! But is perfect luscious velvetiness condition.

How do you even describe this colour? I was trying to describe it to the SA. It is a hard one.

Also at Coco Republic I need to buy this petite chair and foot stool for my baby girls nursery!!!

Too cute! I didn’t dare look at the price tags. It is Oly San Francisco branded. In other words, to me, that means, don’t bother!!

Talking about the nursery. I am NEARLY ready to reveal the nursery!!!

It may be before I give birth, but no promises!

They’re back again. They must love Tuesdays. I love Tuesdays too! It is my Saturday. I have just finished my my working week (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) and here I am trying to rest.

I am 37 weeks pregnant after all, but husband wakes me. “Can I tell you something?” Gosh, that is one way to wake someone up!!

Here I am running possible next sentences through my head before I answer “I want a divorce, I don’t love you anymore, I’m moving out. I just broke something!!!”

Ok, I’ll admit it. I am a little dramatic.

He just checked his phone to see a text msg saying the workers will be here TODAY at 7.30am!!

WOW! Way to give someone some notice LOL. I wasn’t too fussed though, because I was home anyways and I WANT THIS FIREPLACE!!

So we both had to haul ass into the living room and tidy up. No leisurely breakfast, no sleep in, no gazing into each other eyes.

The weather was a little nippy and it was making me excited for the fireplace even more.

First thing that was done was the honed granite hearth was put down.

Then the fire box was put in

And the flue was connected to go outside the wall.

See the flue pieces on the ground and the sunlight streaming through the hole?

Then the skirting boards

Then the black fascia surround of the fire box.

And lastly, the mantle. It is just leaning there for the moment.

My husband has set up a little spray painting area in our garage. Him and his wagner spray painting machine have gone to town.

He has also been painting some interior doors. Mainly focusing on the nursery door, so that it is ready in time for the arrival of our bub.

So he is going to spray the mantle white in the garage before fixing it on.

We tried the heater out last night. She is a dream come true.

The cornices still need to be completed and put up.

The electrician will come soon as well to put power cables and install my lights.

New improved fireplace mock up!!!

A little photoshopping for you my dears.

Not too dissimilar??

What do we think!

So there is still one more day of work (well most likely half day) to install the cornice. Then my husband needs to WASH THE FLOORS!!! Wipe the walls, prime and paint the chimney breast and cornices and the mantle. And the lights installed.

What are we thinking for hanging on the mantle? A mirror, a photograph or a piece of art?

Ever since getting the coffee table

I need coffee table books!

Like, duh!

But they must serve a dual purpose. They can’t just be a prop, they need to be inspirational with it’s content.

I need a little help with interior design, hopefully these can assist me in decorating.

I have purchased these 4 books

The first book I have had my eye on for a little bit, but then Tina from The Enchanted Home sealed the deal with this blog post.

I love Barbara Barry! I want this lamp (or two) So bad, I have been coveting them for quite a while.

They are from her collection for Visual Comfort.

The last book I have also wanted since I first laid eyes on it. Now that I will have a mantle, the arrangement on the front cover is exactly what I aspire to put on the mantle.

Where to find nice urns for flowers???

And while we are talking about fireplaces, what do you think I should above the mantle on the chimney breast between the 2 sconces?

A photograph, an artwork or a mirror??

My goal is to be a super amazing, can do all mum with an impeccable home. I would love to go to the flower markets on a fairly regular basis and do a floral arrangement that will sit on the mantle.

So I don’t want the colours in that to clash with the picture. So I am leaning more towards a mirror, However, I don’t want to be greeted with my own face every time I walk in that room, or past it in the hallway, when I come out of my bedroom. Because that is what will happen due to its position.

So possibly thinking of an abstract mirror, like a convex mirror. But then that is looking like $$$$. Lovely. More expense.

Also I have NO IDEA why I didn’t purchase Suzanne Kasler’s book!!

(Oh well, hint hint to anyone if you ever want to get me anything!! LOL)

She has done a fantastic collaboration with Hickory Chair Co!

Like hello???

Come to mumma!

I want this quatrefoil chair so bad, possibly two.

This cabinet drives me bonkers!!!

The geometric fretwork. It says it is reminiscent of the 1930′s which is the era of my house. I love that. It reminds me of my cornices in the living room!

She is just a beauty. Please point me in the direction of anyone, anyone at all that makes furniture to this detail in Australia. I would love to meet them.

On Tuesday the 12th, the builder came back to do some more work. He patched up the screws/joins and made everything tidy.

He also cut the hole bigger to accommodate the firebox

As well as put the hole through the brick wall for the flue.

And that is where we are at. I am not sure when they are coming back next. There is a bit of a cornice issue apparently. He didn’t realise how big they were and he hasn’t received the correct quote. So they are just sitting around. Errggh. Hopefully something will happen soon.

Basically what is left to do is, install the firebox/gas heater. Run a new gas pipe by a plumber. Put the mantle on. Put the skirting boards around the chimney breast. Get electrician to run the power cables for my sconces.

AND! Install the new cornices!!!

Then hubby will have the delightful task of painting everything ready for the baby to chill in front of.