Paint It White

A friend asked me the other day what colour white I would suggest for her home and it got me thinking about our own house.  Painting your home white seems like any easy decision but as you can see from the Dulux card below - white is not just white.

There are cool whites, warm whites, whites with a mauve base, blue base, yellow base, off whites - and all of these change the look and feel of a home quite dramatically. 

Dulux whisper White

Dulux White Duck with Whisper White trim

Dulux Antique White USA

There are lots of articles to found on the subject so I won't go in to it suffice to say I dragged out my paint swatches and nailed down the white I want to use at the house.
Previously we had slathered the whole house in painters white (white base paint with no tint added)  and this was more than fine in our small fairly dark home - it is a very glarey white with no softness but this did not matter back then.  Now that the house is bigger, lighter and more open I needed to find a white that was a lovely bright white but one with some warmth.  I definitely didn't want yellow undertones or grey so I narrowed down my choices to these soft whites ...


Dulux - Lexicon 1/4 strength


Dulux Whisper White  (tends to be a little grey)


Dulux White On White


Porters China Doll


Taubmans Snow Cap

Dulux White on White

I think I  have decided to go with Dulux White On White as it is a clean bright white that has a softness to it.  Hopefully I won't feel like I'm in the middle of a science experiment like I would have with the painters white.

Farrow & Ball - Slipper Satin

Dulux White Duck - full strength

Dulux White on White

A Stirring Reminder - Mother's Day

 I was going to do a warm and fuzzy post about Mother's Day but then I read this this morning and the day took on a whole new meaning for me.  I was unaware of the history behind Mother's Day and was fascinated and stirred by this post by 'left side jane' and reposted by Joseph Gordon Levitt.

Julia Ward Howe

'Mother’s Day began in America in 1870 when Julia Ward Howe wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation. Written in response to the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War, her proclamation called on women to use their position as mothers to influence society in fighting for an end to all wars. She called for women to stand up against the unjust violence of war through their roles as wife and mother, to protest the futility of their sons killing other mothers’ sons.
Howe wrote:

 Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly: “We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies, our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”
From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.” Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed …to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.'

What a wonderful call to arms and fitting beginning to a day that celebrates the strength and selflessness of Motherhood.
So to my gorgeous Mum and all of you who are Mums I salute you and hope you had a wonderful day.

Princess Watch

Will and Kate attended a fundraising Gala this evening at The Royal Albert Hall in their first joint role as Olympic Ambassadors.  What a nice change to see Kate with her hair up!

 

Kate wore - a teal Jenny Packham dress from the bridal collection, and her Jimmy Choo sandals (see previous Princess Watch)

The Deck!

Surfer Boy came home last night and asked me what we were having for the deck. The DECK!!! Holy crap I haven't thought that far ahead - I assumed we'd do this a some distant point down the track.  Apparently not!!  (Lots of exclamation points in this post to show my total surprise)  Turns out we really need to do it ASAP as the house is so high off the ground at the back that it has to be done or the house won't get signed off.  We could add temporary steps but that seems a bit of a waste so now I am feverishly trying to decide on deck timber.   

The deck will be a large square pretty much, and wouldn't you know it - every picture I pointed out to SB proved to be astronomically expensive.  At this end of the build we are trying to be as careful as possible with money and of course the timbers I keep showing him are far from the cheap end. 
Ideally I'd love large, recycled timbers that are untreated.  According to SB there are 2 problems with this - price for recycled timber and maintenance as untreated timber apparently will warp and rot out eventually.  Bugger bugger bugger. 

There has to be something out there that will look like this (below - my perfect deck) - but be cheap and resilient! Any ideas???

Princess Watch

I'm not a huge fan of sharing Kate's unofficial moments as I feel we should allow them a little privacy - but having said that and completely ignoring my own advice.... how cute are these shots of Kate volunteering with a scout group near her home in Wales?

 

  

Reno Update

This post is really only for my parents who are on the other side of the world for a couple of months and are patiently waiting for us to vacate their house, having moved out in October so we could move in!...

Dear Mum and Dad,

The house is finally at 'Lock Up'- bet you never thought that would happen.

Roof is finally finished to Surfer Boy's satisfaction,

All weatherboards are on,

All external doors are on although the shed doors are only temporary (SB will make his own)

SB has been working onsite all week furiously painting the top storey before the builders removed the scaffolding,

So.... upstairs is now fully painted with 3 coats and he's working his way down.

Yesterday the electrician marked out all our lights/powerboards/phone jacks and today the heating ducts are being marked out.

Surfer Boy has finished the bathroom bench and he has also made a gorgeous top for the sink in the second toilet. 

Apparently all the precut timber for the bathroom/Kitchen cabinetry is ready to be delivered so it looks like he will be able to start on that next week.

I think that is it for now....

You never know - you may actually be able to move back in to your own home when you get back!  (but it might be safer not to hold your breath)
Hope you are having a fabulous time
Love you heaps
Jen xoxo

 

 

Princess Watch.

Will and Kate attended a dinner hosted by the Thirty Club at Claridge's Hotel in London.
Kate's dress is called the Lombard Dress (named for the divine Carole Lombard) and designed by Roland Mouret.
According to 'Strictly Kate' - This was a members only event with some of the world's most powerful media people in attendance. The monthly event  allows key players in the industry to network and seal deals. Prince William was the guest speaker.

Friday Night Eye Candy

The beautiful Mr Paul Walker

Crochet

Two of my lovely and talented friends have wonderful Pinterest boards that highlight the beauty of the art of crochet.  I am secretly hoping that one (or both) of them are using these images to design a blanket for ME!!  So Kris and Lou - if you are reading this - here are some of your images that I love, just in case you need some ideas.... Love Jen

Happy Birthday Babies

Yet another cake!  Thank god for Grandma who had us over for dinner and made sure there was a big chocolately cake to share.

More Princess Watch...

Aren't I in Princess heaven this week - Will and Kate are out and about again today, this time at a reception at the Imperial War Museum.  And check out Kate's hair!  It's been a while since we've seen her wear it up.

Kate is wearing - a dark grey dress by Amanda Wakeley