Rose at the OSCARs

I've been busy today covering the Red Carpet at the Oscars over at Stars Hollow and I thought I's share some photos of the beautiful Rose Byrne.  Possibly my favourite so far.

House Update - Roof Trusses Go On

 

 

Surfer Boy had a great day - he just happened to go to house to undercoat the windows and to his delight there was a crane in the driveway.  He ended up rigging the loads for the crane driver and thoroughly enjoyed himself.  Apparently we now have timber trusses and a kick-arse steel truss for our second storey roof.

Princess Watch

On Tuesday Kate spent the day in Oxford visiting two schools in aid of one of her patronages The Art Room.  I'm rather thrilled about Kate's outfit as it is an Orla Kiely dress - and being a Kiely myself I've always been interested in Orla's designs. 

While visiting the school, Kate revealed her cocker spaniel pups name is 'Lupo' to a classroom of excited children and then took him for a walk in Kensington Gardens.

Pink Lisianthus

The day the florist moved next door to CHALK was a great day - I now pop in to see Kimberley whenever I need to sooth ruffled spirits or just when I want to spoil myself - There isn't much point having cut flowers at home at the moment as I seem to rarely be there but work is a different matter...  not only can I use 'visual display' as an excuse but I can also get the business to pay for them - Win/Win!

Today's Crafting

Monday is usually a quieter day in the shop so I had a chance to make this today - my friend Kris lets me go through her fabric stash every year on my birthday and some of these lovely fabrics are from my treasure hunt through the Townmouse fabrics.

Peeping In - Sienna Miller

The stunning and endlessly stylish Sienna makes an impression whenever she leaves home - but what does that home look like.  I was dying to know, hoping it was as eclectic and individual as her personal style is....
I must say I was mildly disappointed.  What do you think?

The Passage Of Time

Windows/Doors

I'd like to introduce you to our steel doors (this is actually one of the windows)  This was the first thing I wanted in the new house and much of the planning for the interior revolved around them. We did without a few things in order to be able to get these beauties and now they are made and safely onsite - poor Surfer Boy now needs to work out how to install them.  In fact this photo was taken while he was doing exactly that - contemplating.  There are two panels like this one which will sit either side of doors in the same style.  They will take up residence leading from the dining Room to the deck and another set of doors will lead from the Living Room to the other side of the deck - that's the plan so stay tuned to see how it goes.

 

 All the windows have been delivered now and S.B. is undercoating them prior to installation which is rather proactive of him.
(Double hung sash windows for the front of the extension, up and down - opaque windows for upstairs.)

 

Surfer Boy trying out the window in the toilet..... and yes, it fits.

Wow - An Award...

Liebster in German means...

favourite, dearest, beloved

and it's for bloggers with under 200 followers.

 

 

Apparently I have been given this lovely award by Catherine at Mommies Are People Too 

 which is lovely of her and means that there is at least one person other than my mum who is reading this blog..

I am now going to share the joy and pass it on to 5 blogs that I particularly love checking in with...

 

First up is Kate from  Bean there, Read That for being my Young Adult Fiction guru and all round knower of things good.

Next is my beautiful 9 year old daughter Gidget who has her own Blog - AWESOME!  And we think it is exactly that.

My partner in crime at Stars Hollow who keeps me sane and indulges my love of all things Zac related!

Rach at Picklebug who often makes me laugh and delights me with her fabulous images.

Last is Whitney At Whit's End who was one of my very first 'blogger friends' many years ago when I started this weird habit.  Drop by and visit with her and her family.

Moving On Up!

After weeks of boring stuff like plumbing and welding we had something worth showing you.  We now have a second story.  Within one day we had flooring down upstairs and the framing went up like a house of cards.  Apparently there is a fabulous view of the city of Melbourne from up there but as there is as yet no staircase I decided not to scale the walls to confirm - besides I was wearing a maxi dress which is not ideal for that kind of activity.

As you can see the roof trusses are lying on the ground and I'm assuming it won't be long until they are up as well which will make the whole house look very different - at the moment the extension looks boxy and modern but it will in fact be in keeping with the style of the original with a pitched roof.

This is taken from the original part of the house looking towards the stairwell and living room on the right.

This is in the opposite direction looking back at the original, through the stairs.

Here I am standing in what will be the dining room looking through the, as yet imaginary, double doors to the living room and Surfer Boy's shed.

And finally from the same spot but looking at what will be the kitchen, laundry and WC.

Maybe this will actually happen and one day we may even move back in... it's starting to get exciting now.

Smörgåstårta

A Smörgåstårta isn't quite cake and it isn't quite sandwich. IT'S A SANDWICH CAKE!!!!

It's a Swedish staple - Smoked fish, tender seafood, fresh veggies, creamy binders and soft fresh baked bread; Layer it all together and there you have it  — it's a cake made of sandwich! How did I not know of this earlier?

I personally prefer my cakes made of things like chocolate but I guess if you have to go savoury then what better way to do it.

Thanks to kichn.com for the beautiful images.

Be Still My Beating Heart

Oh my god - look what I just found!!!!

Mattel will soon be releasing Will and Kate Barbie dolls for the upcoming first year anniversary of the Royal couple. I so have to get them.  Birthday's in June....unlikely to get them from Surfer Boy....may need to be a gift to self.  
They can be pre-ordered at £99.99/$150.00  on Mattel's Web site. They are 11.5 inches tall and the dolls are very similar to the gown and Irish guard colonel uniform that were worn by the bride and groom. *sigh* They need to be mine.

Princess Watch

Kate didn't get to spend Valentine's Day with Will but she did share a little of it with us - looking beautiful for her outing in Liverpool where she visited with some of the charities she is involved with.

 Kate wore a chestnut coloured Hobbs coat which retailed for £369.00 ($540aus) and has of course now sold out!  Under the coat Kate wore a black knee-length polo neck dress with gold belt from another high street store, Oasis. Anyone hoping to buy one is likely to be disappointed – a source at the brand confirmed that the figure-hugging £60 (around $88 aus) number is ‘years old’.

CHALK At The Yarraville Festival

 

 

Prince Watch - For a Change

William is thinking of extending his military career so that he and Kate can finally start a family of their own away from the media and royal spotlight. This would give William and Kate more privacy for the next 4+ years as he would not start his public duties until after this time.  I vote yes if it means we get to see more photos of Will in his military uniform!!!

Are You An Ebay Fan?

My daughter put me on to this song by Weird Al - THE EBAY SONG - Surfer Boy and I are avid Ebay users so I can see why she thought we'd appreciate it. Enjoy....

Princess Watch

Duchess Catherine went solo to a private viewing of a new exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in London--her first public appearance as a representative of the royal family made without Will by her side. 

Kate wore a grey tweed coat dress by high-street label Jesire.  Recently retail experts have calculated that Kate has boosted Britain's economy by more than 1 BILLION pounds!  Women are spending an average of £250 each a year to snap up products and fashion that Kate has been seen in.  What a fantastic by-product of her popularity.  Kate's ability to wear affordable fashion and pull it off is inspirational for the rest of us.

The Small Things

I'm not sure why, but this door gives me pleasure on a daily basis.  It is the door to our outside toilet at CHALK and I absolutely love it.

Princess Watch

Kate's been a little quiet of late - hubby's left for the Falklands and we may see some solo outings from her as she represents them both but for now all we have is a lovely picture of Kate out shopping yesterday.  

Fabulous Yarraville

I can not tell you how much I love my town!  Yarraville makes me proud to be a trader and a resident and I would not live any where else if I had all the money in the world.  I'll admit that there are some negatives to living in Melbourne's inner west - the trucks, the car pollution, the lack of leafy greenness, the tendency towards criminal activity BUT..... what Yarraville also has is an amazing sense of community, a creative heart and a bohemian attitude of 'be and let be' which is refreshing and relaxing.  You don't just say Hi to the shopkeepers of Yarraville, you know their name, their kid's names and probably where they live.  It's just that kind of place.  I have friends in Yarraville ranging from their early 20's to 70 years of age and it makes my heart happy.


At a Traders Meeting a couple of months ago our local Councillor talked to us about the idea they had for developing a Pop-Up Park in the Village - we were all intrigued and keen to give it a go so before we knew it it was underway and last week it was installed to the great excitement of everyone involved.  It is the first of it's kind here in Melbourne and it is an absolute joy...
(note - pop-up park = closing off part of Ballarat St to create a pedestrian only park, fake grass, picnic tables and all)

 Early morning story book reading by the girls from The Younger Sun Bookshop

 

From the time I arrive at 8.45 there are Mums resting in deckchairs while they sip their take-away coffees and their kids play on the grass, by the late afternoon there are people of all descriptions lolling on the grass, sharing a champagne and a chat, and on Saturday night we wondered down to see a movie and the place was buzzing - it was 30degrees at 9pm and there were large groups of people with eskies enjoying a few drinks.  What I found amazing was that at midnight when we left everyone was still there, still drinking, but still very mellow and they were even cleaning up after themselves!  Fabulous.  I have never been more proud of my town. 

The Pop-Up Park will be in place until the end of April and hopefully if it continues in such a positive manner it will be back for an extended period later in the year.  Drop in and visit - it's ace!

A Different Princess.....

Happy 40th Birthday Mary