Similiar to the Oprah Show

If you are an Oprah fan you would have seen some thing similar to this on one of those "cluttered home shows". This is my dirty little secret, well actually its not so little, or so secret to those who visit my home.

Its the double garage of our modern day apartment home, you know a garage, a space where it has been known to store a car!

Not this one, whats so very scary is this photo is taken from the bottom of my stair well, a space between my grown up living room and the entrance to my kitchen/dining/family room. Which means that if the door was open, as it frequently is because my laundry is also in here (somewhere) this particular photo is what guesta's (as the Princess calls visitors) walk past . . .


This is like one of those panorama shots that you join together, I am taking photos of the 'garage' in an anti clockwise order . . .


that's actually a automatic garage door, its a traffic stopper on the rare occasions we pluck up the courage to open it!!!!


Quite challenging really . . .


but a little frisson (my new word for the week) of excitement is running through me . . .



watch this space!!!


Literally!!!!

Rachaelxo

p.s. if I don't post in a week or two you may need to call a search party . . . I may have got lost . . . in there . . . somewhere . . .

Celebrate!

Ages ago, like months ago, I joined the Celebrate Banner Swap hosted by Tamy at GA GA for Garlands. My partner was the very talented Susan at Creative Destination. Poor Susan, she drew the short straw with me, not so much with my crafting abilities but my ability to actually get the thing wrapped and posted on time, or even a little late, not months late.

I lost the plot completely, first of all got stumped for inspiration. A banner, I know, should have been able to whip one up reasonably quickly and nicely. But oh no, had to wait for divine inspiration, you know as if I was Michel Angelo or someone and was painting the roof of the Sistine Chapel, not that Susan is not deserving of a piece of work equal to the Sistine Chapel but you know, it was just a banner at the end of the day.

Well anyway to cut a long story short, inspiration eventually came, however it still took me ages to complete and for some bizarre reason even longer to wrap and then to post.

Meanwhile Susan's parcel had arrived in time and sat wrapped in its box gathering dust until such time as she got her swap parcel from me. See I felt way too guilty to open hers!


Until this morning, when she emailed and said she had my parcel and could we open them together, like ready, set, go!!! She in America and me in New Zealand!!!

The Princess was off sick from school so she was my trusty unwrapper assistant. There's always a price to pay for that, like sharing, like me having to share my cool new stuff with her!


Beautifully wrapped in snowy white tissue paper . . .


was the most divine banner ever. Look, how me can you get. Roses, velvet, pearls, velvet ribbon, white frillies, GORGEOUS, CELEBRATE!!!!



It is so me, me , me and the colours are perfect for my green dining walls with my red curtains and accessories. I was going to put it in my bedroom when I first saw it but I think above my desk where I spend a lot of time so that I can glance at it and remind myself to celebrate my beautiful life!


Susan also tucked in some 'extras', velvet millinery leaves, drool, I am fighting The Princess for them, beautiful 'shabby chic' ribbons, an amazing Key Plate scrapbook album to play with and a card she made with a sachet of coffee cleverly tucked into it!

Susan, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart, I love it!!!


Here is what I made Susan, mini tussies. Susan has a brown and celery green studio so I tried to stick with that colour scheme. The tussies actually gave me a lot of grief, trying to get them to seal at the back and stick, there was quite a lot of weight with the vintage wall paper on the outside and the insides lined with sheet music.

And then of course you can't do a tussie without filling it so I had to make (mostly), nine little goodies to put in each one!!!


You can't see it here but each letter has glitter outlining it. Got to have a little sparkle!


Bits and bobs I made to fill the tussies . . .


Little heart on the end I blanket stitched and filled with lavender from my garden. It was when stitching it, that I realised my eye sight is not what it used to me and now I wear hobby glasses over top of my contact lenses if doing close up work!!!! And really I am not even that old, truly . . .

So there you have it, Celebrate!!!!

Now, I just want to say that I have been tempted to delete my last post, the "Struggling with Juggling". I was trying to achieve a heap of things in that post, reasons for my erratic blogging and just some observations I had been making about my life, that I was putting out there and trying to be funny about it and didn't pull it off. I think I came across sounded whingey and whiney and discontented and really I am not!!!!

Its true I do struggle with the juggle sometimes but I know I am so very blessed with my life as it is now!!

Thank you for all the lovely comments and support though, blogging is such an amazing world to be part of!

Anyway, I am off to watch something called Army Wives, we have got some great looking new programmes starting like Army Wives, Cashmere Mafia and a new series of an old favourite of mine, The Bachelor!!!! I confess I love it!!! And of course my old fave, Project Runway.

Celebrate!

Rachaelxo

Struggling with Juggling!

I aspire to be an 'on to it' domestic goddess/business woman, to have an immaculately clean and spotless home, provide tasty, imaginative and nutritious meals for my family while looking glamorous at all times as I whip out the door to volunteer at The Princess's school, help in the warehouse at Babes work, wrap and post Internet shop sales, craft, complete swaps, blog, maintain family and friend relationships and so on and on and on.

The reality is that if I can keep my bathrooms and floors clean, keep up with the washing and provide my family with endless, boring but nutritious casseroles cooked all day in the slow cooker as I dash out the door to do all the above mentioned in my faithful blue jeans and a dash of lipstick on a good day, then I am doing ok.
Why is it that this year I am really struggling with juggling the demands of everyday life? Why can't I be the successful 'on to it' domestic goddess/business woman I want to be?

Well as my best friend Mary Thistle said while she was visiting this weekend gone, its because people like her and I and many, many, many others, are perfectionists and control freaks! How true!!!

This control freak is feeling ever so slightly out of control, a lot like the queen in the picture below, except I am crownless and wearing blue jeans!


The sickness in our home continues, Babes has had a head cold/chest infection for 8 days, Tom our Korean son has had it for 6 days, The Princess now has a sinus infection and me, well just the usual ongoing sinus and chest infections. I truly do feed us well but with two kids at school mingling with other germy kids and a change in temperature, now very cold and wet in Auckland it is all to be expected. Neurofen and Antibiotics are now a regular addition to our diet!

But among all this sickness we are doing things!!! The Princess had her first school disco on Friday night, what a crack up. Babes and I both went, too cute watching the junior school boogying away with their glow sticks!!!


She also has her first school trip. I was a Mummy helper, it was mammoth. 90 five and six year olds who travelled on a bus, a ferry, lots of walking in downtown Auckland City, a train and another bus all within 4 1/2 hours. We managed without loosing anyone!! The Princess is sitting here on the school steps with her friend Amy waiting for the first bus.


I have been doing lots of work at Babes work, quite a bit of volunteering at The Princess's school and a lot of Internet selling so I haven't had much time for treasure hunting. This urn is the only thing I have managed to 'acquire' recently. My Mum thinks its hideous, I love it!!!


I would have loved to have joined all the different parties that have been going on in blog world recently but just too busy. Anyway I have come up with some 'Blue' for Sara at Sadie Olive's , Shades of Inspiration, 'Blue' week. Its funny because I didn't think I did much blue anymore until I bought Victoria mag and remembered I have a whole collection of blue china . . .


in my living room cabinet . . .


which shows how often I dust these days if I am forgetting what is before my very eyes!!!


I am going to try to be a better blogger and post and comment more often than I have in the past few months. I do visit you all but haven't been commenting due to time constraints. However, I have dusted off (see I do dust occasionally!) my red diary to become a step closer to that more organised, highly in control person I am looking for!!!

Rachaelxo

A little update....

The very talented Sara at Sadie Olive held a "I see red" show and tell last week, it was so successful she has decided to follow it through with "Shades of Inspiration". This weeks colour is green, to participate all you do is post pictures of green things in your life on the flikr she has set up for "Shades of Inspiration" and if you want to on your blog as well. This gorgeous button is enough to make you want to join up!

My poor Princess is sick this week, she has a bad ear and throat infection and is off school and staying home with Mummy.


To soothe her soul and her throat I made her this green jelly which is my green contribution to "Shades of Inspiration"!


Now for a little catch up, you may recall that back here I made the grand announcement I was taking a blogging break because I needed to de-clutter, reorganise, catch up etc.

Well in between my on going chest infection (since late February), working at Babes work and the usual house tending, wifey, mummy stuff, I have been de-cluttering and reorganising and catching up.

I caught up with my swaps and posted them, caught up with the yukky tax stuff and reorganised the paper work, will show you all that in another post. I did the ironing, actually Mum might have done that, thanks Mum and tidied The Princess's wardrobe.

I also cleaned and reorganised my pantry.


And miraculously it still looks like this!


I am also in big selling mode. I sold all The Princess's clothing that was too small and am now working my way through excess shop stock.

I am selling it on Trade Me and like to play around creating 'scenes' with the stock for sale such as this one. Aside from the bed and drawers everything else is listed for sale on the Internet. I normally get really good prices if I do a 'scene' I must be good at making scenes!!!


In this photo only the chenille bedspread is for sale. I really wanted to keep it as it looks divine on my bed and picks up the colours in my precious print. However, Babes has been known to sleep in this bed with me (if he is not away on business like he is now) and while I can push the pink and shabby chic a bit I think he would draw the line with this, he has a rare and strange aversion to vintage chenille!


So that's a bit of what I have been up to recently.

See you around!

Rachaelxo

p.s. sadly the garage still looks like this...

I saw Red

Sara at Sadie Olive is hosting a "I saw Red" show and tell from June 2 until 8 June. You can post something RED on your blog each day or like I am about to, just do one big RED post!!! I'm doing the one big RED post, because as usual I am late or running late to do the daily one as planned!

Anyway, I love RED . . . my daily glass of RED wine, for my health you know!


My big girls RED bag and my RED diary, the diary of course to keep me on track and organised . . . did you just see that flying pig . . .


My sad little collection of RED transfer ware, I think you have to have three of something for it to be officially called a collection!


My gorgeous RED portieres in my grown up room,

and my RED glass collection.


Just to prove that I am health conscious here is a snap of some RED food in our home!


Sara has a list of other RED players on her blog at Sadie Olive, do go visit them.

Thanks Sara, that was fun!

Cheers!

Rachaelxo