Drop In And Visit

I think this will be my holiday home when visiting Sweeden. A girl can dream!

Large Christmas Icons

Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis will know how much I love the community I live in. Living over here in the West is like living in a country town. The community spirit is fantastic and it never ceases to amaze me. Sometimes it does get a little bizarre but that's part of it's charm.

A perfect example is what happened to us yesterday.

While out and about in Yarraville Village we came across these fabulous fellows - The 3 Wise Men, singing carols and generally entertaining all and sundry. They were gorgeous and how they walked all day in those shoes has me stumped.

Later that day we headed to Le Chien in Seddon and came across this gem -

Not only did Mr Christmas Tree stop and talk to everyone, he played an instrument and sang as well. the kids adored him and had a lovely long visit with him. We went back inside to finish our drinks when these two appeared -

Locals to the area, they entertained us with some wonderful Christmas songs and made our outing just that little bit more special.

This is not the end of our odyssey! On leaving the cafe we bumped in to this guy! -

He also had a song to sing and took requests from the kids. He also spent a long time finding out what they wanted for Christmas and making their faces light up.

I want to thank all these wonderful people for making Christmas Eve such a fun day and for making us all feel very Christmassy (which is of course a word) They made my kids day and I'm sure we weren't the only people who had a smile of their faces after encountering one of these characters.

It's been a long and exciting day so I'm off to scrounge up some left overs and watch a bit of mindless TV. (Guess who got seasons 1 - 6 of Dawson's Creek for Christmas??!!) See you on Boxing Day.

Presents And Sunburn

To those of you who are up late checking your blog rolls before collapsing into bed, I say a huge MERRY CHRISTMAS. I happen to know of a few people who are still up wrapping presents and baking Christmas delicacies, and I am sure there are many more. Have a wonderful, wonderful day tomorrow and I hope every ounce of blood sweat and tears are more than made up for by the joy that comes your way tomorrow.





This may be from the 50's but it is still very much what Australia is all about at Christmas, sun, surf, good friends and great food.

To those of you on the other side of the world, it may seem unlikely but Christmas day for us will be hot, and sunny with a BBQ lunch followed by sitting around under market umbrellas with a tall glass of something cold. Yay!!

Inspiring Women - Ms Rai

I sat down to change my 'Lovely Lady Lounge' and realised that for this woman I could not just leave it at that. She deserves a post of her own.

I give to you the beautiful Ms Aishwarya Rai.

At the risk of gushing, I think Aishwarya is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I could gaze at her for hours.

Aishwarya was born in Mangalore, India in 1973. She completed a course in Architecture before winning the Miss World competition in 1994 with the highest EVER score!

She knocked back multiple film and commercial offers in favour of completing her degree, finally succumbing to Bollywood's pleas and becoming the biggest actress in India. Aishwarya has over 40 movies to her credit in four different languages. She is the highest paid actress in India and has multiple modelling contracts in both India and the West.

For a lovely introduction to Aishwarya's work (and slightly shorter than her 3 hour epics) see 'Bride and Prejudice' by Gurinder Chadha of 'Bend It Like Beckham' fame.

Let There Be Light

Why can't my Christmas lights look like this? Maybe it has something to do with the house I live in!

This is my favourite Christmas tree this year.

You can't beat Martha Stewart for a good Christmas barn!

I know these are slightly 'wrong' but I secretly want them grazing in my front yard!

Lou vs. Scrooge

Seven more sleeps until the big, fat man comes to our house (And yours too if you've been nice).

I can't wait. I Love everything about Christmas. Lou over at Totally Innocent was talking about how much she loves this season too and it reminded me of all the Christmas Scrooges I've come across lately. You know, those people who do nothing but complain about the expense, the shopping crowds, the commercialism, etc etc. Why don't these people just change the way they celebrate Christmas so they don't find it so tedious. It's not like they don't know it's coming! They have a whole year to organise themselves so it doesn't give them a nervous breakdown. I have very little sympathy and am quite miffed that the whole Spirit Of Christmas thing has obviously gone right over their heads.

For me Christmas is - finding that perfect gift, even if it is March

- it's seeing my kids run to the window to see if there really is an Elf watching to see if they are behaving themselves

- it's making rumballs with Moondoggie

- it's watching as Gidget arranges the ornaments perfectly on the tree

- it's an extra Christmas Day every year so we get a full day with both sides of the family

- it's listening to 13 cousins sing carols together every year for the grown ups

- it's watching my Dad and Father In Law fall asleep after lunch even when surrounded by chaos

- it's a million things that make me so happy.

So thank you Lou for being full of the Spirit Of Christmas, may yours and everybody's Christmas be merry and bright.

Christmas Gorgeousness

Thank you to various blogs for these yummy shots.

The Death of Homemade!!!

I was sent this today and thought I would share it as it affects so many of my wholesalers and friends -

Below is an excerpt from 5 Minutes for Mom, (http://www.5minutesformom.com/5127/cpsia/), and a link to a petition. The CPSIA is a very real situation that will cause an unthinkable number of companies to cease business. Mine is one of those companies. I did the math, and in order to continue offering my current collection I would have to spend far beyond $52,000 in testing. Beyond this, it will destroy the creativity and uniqueness of our industry, forcing our children to be surrounded in mass produced factory products.Please do what you can to spread the word. Post to your blogs, send emails, write letters, and please take a few minutes to sign the petition.

I am a mother.

Nothing matters to me more than the safety of my children and other children. But I can also recognize when a flawed, reactionary law puts countless responsible, business owners at risk of unfairly losing their businesses.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) may have been drafted with good intentions, but along the road it became a law that is impossible to fairly implement.

If it is put into action on February 10, 2009 as it currently is planned, it will have devastating repercussions to both large and small businesses and basically end the handmade goods industry.

The CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys (obviously a good thing) but it mandates enormously expensive third-party testing and certification for all products intended for children under the age of 12.

It’s the ridiculous expense of the third-party testing and certification that will close businesses and make it illegal for work-at-home moms and dads to sell their handmade goods.We will all be affected if this law is not changed.

As parents, consumers, business owners and employees we will all suffer from the economic mess that this law will trigger. Not to mention we won’t even be able to buy handmade baby blankets!February 10, 2009 is already being dubbed National Bankruptcy Day.

We must all take action now to stop this law from destroying responsible businesses.

How to Help:

If you are an American, write to your United States Congress Person and Senator and the CPSC to request changes in the CPSIA.

You canfind your Congress Person here and Senator here.

Write to the CPSC here.

Find a sample letter at The Handmade Toy Alliance.Sign the iPetition for the CPSIA Impacts on Children’s Apparel Industry

Post your concerns on your blog, Facebook or Myspace page.

Send an email directly to the CPSC or contact chairperson Nancy Nord at 301-504-7923Twitter: Search using the #CPSIA hashtagJoin the CPSIA Facebook Group

Join these Etsy folks and send a handmade toy to Congressman Rush.

Learn more about the law and how you can help change it. Here are a few of the many blogs that have helpful resources: National Bankruptcy Day, The Smart Mama, Cool Mom Picks, Z Recommends
Thank you
Susan

Warm Regards,Jesseca Bellemare

Owner and Designer

Quilt Baby

www.quilt-baby.com

Twilight Candy

Last night I went and saw TWILIGHT with a group of friends. We all loved it (apart from Carlisle's hair) and the discussion turned to casting, and to the relative 'hotness' of the characters. We decided that 1. Edward grows on you and we all now LOVE him. 2. James was HOT for such an evil bastard. 3. Jacob is going to be hot and 4. Charlie was not hot but perfectly cast.

So to celebrate the ultimate teenage love story here is ...
TWILIGHT EYE CANDY

Number One - Cam Gigandet as 'James'

and Cam as himself....

Number 2 - Robert Pattinson - 'Edward Cullen'

Number 3 - Taylor Lautner - 'Jacob Black'

and as himself .....

and finally Number 4 - Billy Burke - 'Charlie Swan'

AUSTRALIA

Mum and I had a lovely night last night at the Sun Theatre. We went to see Baz Lurhman's 'Australia' and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We had a special task for the evening which was to come up with some trivia questions for a group going to see the movie today.

Here are our questions and the first person to get them all correct will get a prize!!!

So cut and paste the questions into the comments box or just number the answers and the prize could be yours. Good Luck!!

AUSTRALIA TRIVIA QUESTIONS

1. Who was framed for Lord Ashley's death?

2. What was the name of the cook at Faraway Downs?

3. How did Nallah's mother die?

4. What island were the children sent to?

5. Why was Drover ostracised by Darwin society?

6. How did Drover's wife die?

7. Who was Nallah's father?

8. What was Lady Sarah Ashley called throughout most of the film?

9. What was the name of the pub in Darwin?

10. How much did Carney bid at the auction foe a dance with the Lady Sarah?

11. What was the name of the dance that Sarah tried to teach Drover?

12. What was the tune playing during the charity dance?

13. Who did Sarah change shifts with just before the bombing of Darwin?

14. Who killed Carney? And who was blamed for his death?

15. Does Hugh Jackman look good with his shirt off?

Tarry Turns 70!

My wonderful mother (far left) turned 70 on the weekend!

She had lunch for 30 of her oldest and dearest friends at Number 3, Station Pier, Port Melbourne.

It was a lovely day and it was so nice to see Mum surrounded by such wonderful friends. I think it is a testament to her and her enormous talent for friendship that such a wide and varied group of women celebrated her birthday with her. I hope by my 70th I still have such a fabulous circle of friends.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM.

We Breed Them HOT In Australia

Some of you may have noticed the absence of the Eye Candy section..surprisingly no one has commented though!

Thanks to 'Kellie' I just have to post this fabulous eye candy.

Some of us will remember him as Vinnie Patterson on Home And Away, some will remember him as Jay on Summerland, and if you've discovered 'True Blood' you will know him as Jason...... yes, it really is RYAN KWANTEN

Feast your eyes and never say I don't do anything for you!!

Drop In And Visit

We did Little Women for book group this month and discovered this gorgeous home.

This is where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women and it is the inspiration for the home the March Family lived in! I love finding treasures like this.

We Used To Be Friends - Dandy Warhols for Veronica Mars

A great song for a ripper of a show. Enjoy

Drop In And Visit

My Mum and Dad have just returned from 8 weeks in France, Spain and Portugal - bugger them - and this is the castle gatehouse that they lived in while in the Loire Valley. Bugger them!

Love Ballet, Hate Ballet Concerts

Only three more sleeps until the Ballet Concert, and only four more sleeps until the Ballet Concert is OVER!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

(I do a mean bun though!)

Drop In And Visit

I'm starting to think about lighting up my house for Christmas. I love the up-lighting on their second storey.

Funnest Night Ever -or- High School Musical Premiere

I haven't had time to blog as I have been way too busy attending Movie Premieres and walking red carpets!!!

I know - how fun!

I am a virgin at the red carpet and what better movie to lose my virginity to than High School Musical 3? So appropriate really.

My equally sad and daggy friend (you may know who I am talking about) had two tickets to the Melbourne premiere and knowing just how much I would love it, took me along to share the joy.

I can not even begin to tell you how much fun we had! In fact I get all smiley just thinking about it... This is the red carpet. Screaming fans, flash bulbs, screaming fans, etc etc. For a brief and shining moment I felt kind of famous.

On entering the theatre we scored the two front row seats, smack in the middle. Not so good for movie viewing you may be thinking, but Oh so good for star viewing!!!

Here are Ashley Tisdale (Sharpai) and Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella) literally 4 foot from us. It was surreal.

The best was yet to come!!!

Within lunging distance stood THIS MAN....... The delicious Zac Efron (Troy, or Link if you are a Hairspray fan)

I really think my dear friend was concerned that I may try to make a grab for him! I took this photo without a zoom so you can see how close we were. Sigh!!!!

It was a fabulous, hilarious, night and to top it all off the movie was everything it should have been.

And for those of you who aren't sharing the Zac love - here are a few shots to give you an idea of why I was fairly pleased to be sharing the same air with him. Enjoy.

And All That Jazz...

It's taken me a week to recover from Halloween and I've just realised all the Christmas decorations are up in the supermarket!!! I think I'll give poor Surfer Boy at least a week of a decoration-free home before I go nuts on the Chrissy lights. (I did pick up the cutest santa shaped cookie jar yesterday which had him rolling his eyes and sighing. Oh well)

I went to the most amazing performance on Saturday night. It was at the Collingwood Town Hall, and it was the Body Electric Dancers!

My lovely friend - let's call her...Miss Sassy - joined an adult Jazz dance class recently and Saturday night was their big end of year extravaganza. Now these dancers are a whole lot more than your average dance troupe, they are in their 30's and 40's, they are artists, teachers, jewellers, hairdressers, they are anyone and everyone and co-ordination and rhythm do not seem to be prerequisites.

They attend weekly classes to learn the routines and come November they break out the sequins and spandex to perform to those of us not gutsy enough to do it ourselves!

As soon as the first group hit the stage I knew I was in for a treat. With tears of laughter on my cheeks I cheered and woo-hooed with an audience who fully appreciated every step and jazz hand. Some of the dancers were completely unko, stiff and travelling regularly in the wrong direction but gee they were having a ball. Some, such as Miss Sassy, were actually very good but hammed it up just enough to let you know they knew their limitations.

I applaud each and every dancer and thank them for an absolutely brilliant and joyous night of dancing.

'Miss Sassy'

Halloween