Kids update

Well, I might as well huh? Some of you might not be so interested in the house, but maybe you want to know what our little monkeys are up to...

Well, tahi's into making things, he makes all sorts of crazy things. Lego of course, but paper and tape as well (lots of tape) mainly for making airplanes. He also loves using these cool little pastil shapes my mum sent him.

Alright, I know I might not be very objective, but hey, isn't he amazing? I mean look at that plane/ rocket/ space ship thingy. It's quite complex and notice the symmetry in shapes and colors... When we go to playcentre at the moment he likes to make stuff. So we sit at the craft table, and I ask him what he wants to make. Then I suggest a way to do it. He says "no, not like that" and tries to explain how he wants to make whatever he has in mind. This is where I've got to remind myself not to be too bossy and actually let him do it his way. Because you see, most of the time I'll think to myself "his way will never work, I'm going to show him how it should be made". But this boy is stubborn. I finally give in, follow his instructions, and once I see the result feel like a complete dick. He actually is way better than me at conceptualizing ideas and working out a way to make them.
He has this thing at the moment of asking us to make him a paper plane. We diligently spend a minute or two doing all the proper folds (I only know one way of making them, I know, lame). Then he grabs a pair of scissors and starts cutting it all up. Then he gets the tape (he loves tape) and tapes it back together but differently. Then he flies it. And you know what? It flies better than the original one (Even though it seems it would fall under the weight of all the tape straight away). Yep I know, amazing.

Miro is right into motion and wanting to ride a bike, a scooted, anything Tahi's riding. It can get frustrating at times, but he is very stubborn (as well, joy) and bold.

Josh gave me a bundle of his old tee shirts a while ago, I made a long sleeve shirt out of one of them for Miro. Groovy.

The (french) pout

Both of them get on like brothers. Sometimes great, sometimes not. Most of the time is feels they do get on like a ball on fire though, and I love watching them play.

Tahi wanted me to take a photo of the two of them, Miro wasn't so keen.

Then Tahi tried to talk him into staying next to him for the photo. Ha ha.

House interior update

We've had a bit of time to make some improvements on the house front. Mostly cosmetic but oh how nice it feels. Not mentioning how good it must be for the feng shui. Surely it must be.

Feature wall in the lounge! Josh brought back a whole box of 70s and 80s wallpaper from his job. Of course there was never more than a roll or so of each pattern (at least the ones we liked), so instead we went super funky and wallpapered a wall in the lounge with two different patterns. We like it and think it looks cool. Even though I would never do that on all four walls of a room, one wall adds more texture and color to the room without enclosing it too much or darkening it too much. It's great for framed paintings and pictures too! (more photos in this post).

Then it was the turn of the wall in the master bedroom, this time with a slightly different pattern. The alternating of the two patterns chosen creates a stripy effect that I quite like, and the colors are warm and light, perfect for a bedroom!

Since we have no wardrobe, I use this frame I found at a garage sale to hang dresses, skirts and cardigans. It's got hooks on four levels which I use to hang coat hangers. I like the layering effect of the shit load of clothes I've got. And that's just the ones on that wall (the rest is in the chest of drawers). Believe it or not, we just had a clothes swap and yes I did get rid of more than I scored.

 I've also recently rearranged my most precious shoes (the ones I don't want the dog and/or kids to play with, throw in the mud or use to decorate the plant pots) underneath my hanging clothes in the bedroom. This is when I realized I may have a few too many.

 the bathroom now has a door! (and a bathtub, a shower and a vanity). The elegant puppet you see on the door was a birthday present Josh got many years ago that somehow survived his many moves and tidy nature (most probably hid at the bottom of a box, smart man).

The paper banner is made using pages of a picture book and now removed (Miro took a liking to hanging from the string and tearing the pretty pictures. tut tut)

 The asian corner...

 Somehow this sideboard is permanently cluttered with all sorts of stuff that has nowhere else to go (or temporarily got lost).

The shelves in the bedroom are in the middle of a revamp. I used some of the wallpaper Josh brought back and pasted it to the back. Next I'd like to paint the whole thing, maybe this summer when I can leave it outside. Watch this space!

Josh found the cute little couple in an op shop. I wish I could say we got them on our travels to some exotic places. Maybe I will.

In the making

Look at this cute little woolen top...

Some pants and a merino singlet for my brother's first child, another boy! Yay! A few more and we can start a team of some kind.

Welcome cards for new babies

And a dress for a friend's daughter...

winter bouquets

As mentioned in some previous posts (as seen here, here, here and here), Tahi and I like to gather flowers while walking around the neighborhood. We end up with beautiful bouquets, full of colors and superbly fresh. Obviously we're spoilt for choice in spring and summer. Winter not so much. But we still managed to pick a few blossoms. Mainly camellias. There's lots of camellias in Gisborne.

They must have been really trendy a few decades ago. Like "don't talk to the neighbors honey, they've got no camellias in the garden" kind of trendy. A bit like the rose mafia, in the days where a manicured garden was good practice. Nowadays it's all about lawns. There's rhododendron too, which I think I prefer, but not as widespread. Must have been second choice. Either or, both trees produce flowers whose colors range from white, pale pink through all the shade of pink up to bright deep pink. It's a pink fest.

I'm not a huge fan of pink, but camellias and rhododendron have made it acceptable in my view. Luckily not many gisbornites (people from Gisborne) walk, otherwise I would have been caught more than once marveling and talking to myself in front of a particularly beautiful specimen of camellia. And picking a few branches off (only the ones over the footpath side mind you). I know where the prettiest pink ones are, and I know which itinerary to pick depending on what shade of pink I feel like. The only bummer is that they don't last very long once cut. Any tricks anyone?

Old fish, new fish

Been updating the shop... Slowly. A few exciting new items, like the women's cardigans. I'm exploring the up cycling universe and am getting more and more inspired.

 As you might have noticed, I still haven't found myself a decent model. haha.

Sleeve pants.

Tahi never wants to model my clothes.  Usually.

 And surprise surprise, I've got some more coming!