Plates 'n Stuff

I came across this lovely plate in an op shop a few days ago. It has been nursing our bananas since it came to live with us. It was the right price, so I snapped it up. Can't go past an old, pretty plate for $5. I am quite sure it will serve me well. I don't even mind that it has a stain in the middle of it, or that the glaze is all cracked. I rather like that look. It's been well used.

This is the makers stamp on the back of it (sorry it's sideways). I thought the sailing ship was cute. Makers stamps really don't mean much to me unless it's something well known like Royal Doulton, Wedgewood, Noritake...you get the idea.

And then there's this bowl and jug set. It's a very cute set that my darling husband nicked from his cousins holiday house (he knows me so well). He also nicked some pottery stuff. Yikes!!! I didn't like that stuff in the 80's and 90's and I certainly don't like it now(he brought them home just in case I wanted them). I thought he'd stopped off at a pottery barn. I REALLY don't like pottery barns. So, I dropped them off at the local Salvo's store...they can have them. Anyway... 

The only stamp this one has on the bottom says JAPAN. That immediately tells you that it's a cheap knock off...made to look like it's collectable. It is a very sweet little set though, so I'm going to keep it.

I'm just not sure what to use it for, so for now it will sit atop my slowly growing collection of old plates. One day I hope to have enough old plates and bowls to be able to set the table with them. You know, shabby chic style. Nothing matching.

Well, better be off now. I have some curtains to try and sew. It's been a few years since I've sewn anything, so I have to go and use my brain to work out how wide to cut the fabric plus add on the seams...aarrrrgh, my brain hurts already. I will show you how I go when they are up. Until then, enjoy your day!

~ Ky x

p.s. The fabric that the plate is sitting on is what I am making the curtains out of.

First Time At The Snow

I have to blog about going to the snow yesterday. It was the first time my children have been to the snow! It's also the first time that I have been to the snow too! Yes I know, how does someone get to my age and have never been to the snow??? Weeellllll...I am a Queenslander. You know, sun, surf and sand(I hate sand!). Just never bothered to save the money to go on a snow trip. Buuuut, now that we live in Victoria, it's a different story.

It was so much fun! It was so cold! I've never felt that kind of cold before. It was great!!! We went with some friends who have children of a similar age to ours. It was lots of fun with friends there too. We had snow fights, sliding down hills, the big boys made a snowman. The kids loved it! We had to bring a carrot from home for his nose. Angel made sure of that!

Here are a few pics from yesterday. Just want to share cos I was and still am so excited about it!

It was very exciting seeing the snow along the road as we neared the top of the mountain.

Using the snow covered rock as a slide.

The snow man that the guys made. He was quite a hit with other visitors to the snow too.  He had his photo taken quite a few times.

Playing in the snow is hard work and Monkey needed some more fuel.

This is Monkey refusing to look at the camera or smile for the photo.

This photo was taken by Monkey.

So there you have it! Our first time as a family at the snow. Can't wait for the next one!

~ Ky x

A Fairytale Cottage...Part 2

When I posted the photos about this cute, little cottage yesterday, I did so without reading the article in the New York Times about it and how it came to be. It was one womans dream to have her own Victoriana cottage and she made it happen. She did it all herself. You can read the whole story here.

A Fairytale Cottage...Gorgeous!

How unbelievably darling is this place??? It's too cute for words! Not particularly practical, but a very sweet retreat none the less. I'd have it way up in the backyard as a my own little cubby, to hide away from the world. The lovely garden would have to be there as well. It's just divine!

   * from {this is glamorous}

~ Ky x

Bruno's Garden

Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful, crisp, sunny winter's day here. It was just too beautiful to stay indoors, so Mum, the kids and I drove out to Marysville to visit a garden that Mum has been wanting to see for quite some time. It's a garden that was destroyed by the Black Saturday firestorm. All of Marysville was devastated and destroyed that day.  Sitting in Bruno's Garden amongst the tall gums and looking around at the hills that are covered with these trees, one can only imagine the horror of the firestorm in all it's fury cascading down through the forests, claiming everything in it's path. The roar of the fire must have been deafening. A sound that could never be forgotten.

So, there we were yesterday, wandering through this garden that has been cleaned up and rebuilt. The work that has gone into restoring it is just tremendous. We will be visiting it again in a year or two. The plants will have grown back a lot by then and it will probably look a lot like it did before it was destroyed. We wandered through, enjoying the sunlight and the sounds of nature. Spotting the whimsical, beautiful and just plain weird sculptures that Bruno has crafted out of his imagination. We loved it and the kids had a grand time racing through the paths.

This is the entrance to the garden. It's also pretty much one of the only photos I could get of both the kids standing still and looking at the camera.

She is my favourite. I'm not sure why, but I really like her!

I actually really like this bloke too. He looks right at you and I can just hear him playing that didge like an old pro.

You can see the regrowth on the gum trees in this photo. I think this tree guy has been through the firestorm too. The branches look rather blackened.

I should have taken this photo further out so you could see that this whimsical character is standing on the upturned roots of a gum tree that has fallen over. It's like he has come to life out of the roots. Fantastic!

This is such a beautiful sculpture. I really like this one too.

As soon as I saw this man I thought to myself, "Now here's a man in utter contentment!"

This cute guy survived the firestorm too. Originally there were a few more branches, but most of them have survived, albeit a little blackened.

 

These are only a few of the photos I took of the sculptures throughout the garden. There are so many more! It's such a tranquil place, and in a year or two it will be spectacular!

~ Ky x