{five friday faves}

let's be honest boys luck out a bit in the clothing department, so i like to keep an eye out for unique boys' clothes.. i especially like the casual - almost handmade - feel of NZ's own Minti range for this summer (esp those shorts on the left, ohyeah.)

how sweet is this penelope cat? by In My Backyard on Felt. She has a matching dude-cat too... :)

i have a friend with fantastic taste and who is genuinely talented. she is having a giveaway on her facebook page, you really must enter. 

i have been loving Bec's instagram pics as she sets up her new home, 'the sugar shack'. follow along too: @naughtyshorts 

i'm sure you've all seen this floating around facebook, but i think it's kinda fabulous.

this is Flight of the Conchords' song for Cure Kids (with lyrics suggested by kids). buy 'Feel Inside' on iTunes and/or make a donation here at Cure Kids.

happy weekend!

x

{sawyer's seat} 6 months

 Sawyer is back in his seat - and half a year old!

he is having solids once a day, is sitting and has cut his 2 bottom teeth. he is a perfect cuddly koala baby, happiest when being carried. he is definitely our LOUDEST child. thankfully he hardly makes a peep but boy, that voice is powerful when he uses it!

(oh, his hair may or may not be reflecting the orange of the chair...time will tell!!)

 

and the reason i couldn't get many forward facing photos?

 ...a particular crazy-haired brother.

of course.

 

five friday faves

a couple of weeks ago miss geishy introduced herself and invited me to look at her dolls. ummm, *jawfloor*!! she takes custom orders also! follow miss geishy on facebook here. (see, it pays to introduce yourselves. so go on, don't be shy!)

 

 did you know Felt sells more than just sewing/knitting/crochet? i've been eyeing up this baby pack by Mushroom Lane for awhile. amazing value at only $20!. 

[includes: Baby bottom balm 60ml//Baby bottom spray 50ml//Baby soap 50gm//Natural cotton muslin wipes x8]

 

 do you know what this means? Tim Coulson is bringing his photography workshop to NZ next year is what this means!! go, book NOW!

  

 

we're spoilt to have two birth centres here in Hamilton and i find it astounding that our capital city doesn't even have one. Proceeds from the screening of the Freedom For Birth film in Wellington on Thursday 20th September will go towards building Wellington's first birth centre. so, if you're in or around Wellington then it's a worthy cause and an informative film - reserve your tickets here.
 

this insightful post by crafter-extraordinaire Emma of Emma Makes on how she maintains a comfortable work/life balance. it's a good read!

 

happy weekend everyone!

x

  

{a letter} to those parents...

 

who are choosing the more difficult road of training your children to take care of their belongings - regardless of whether they cost $2 or $200 - i commend you.

who take the time to teach your children to put away their belongings - when it'd be much more peaceful to follow behind and just pick it up yourself - i encourage you.

who show your children that taking care of their belongings is a ultimately an expression of gratitude and thankfulness - i honour you.

who teach your children to know that, although most belongings can be inexpensive and easy to replace in our heavily disposable culture, not everyone in the world has the same privilege - i admire you.

who make sure your children understand that every single cheap plastic toy that is discarded has a long lasting environmental impact - i respect you.
...
and you, and your children, will be welcome in our home any time because i know your children will also respect our belongings.
stick at it parents, it's worth the hard work.
remember, you are raising adults - not children.

x

home

we're home again.

it's weird. i knew it would be.

our house smells like strangers and things have been moved around. 

so far, i haven't unpacked one bag - i've spent the last two days moving things back to where i like them to be, and being distracted by rearranging bits and pieces in my kitchen.



it's kinda like we're getting reaquainted.

and taking our time about it.

but i really need to unpack those suitcases...it's not good look when JR is hosting business meetings!!

xo

farewell

our house sitters have long gone and we've already stayed here longer than we'd planned. 

it's time to reunite with reality (and icy temperatures, booo~) so we're (finally) saying the brave good bye to our little shed up north.
here are some snippets of our shed life:

1. the washing machine cleaning the clothes of 12 people // laundry tub come 'kitchen sink'.
2. the proximity of the water pump to my pillow.(for the first couple of nights i actually thought there was a car coming through the wall every time the pump switched on!)// Sawyer had his 2 hour morning nap like this every day, with only a blanket separating him and his siblings while they did their school work less than a metre away!

3. breakfast in the shed // doing dishes camp-style.
4. bedtime stories only became more creative and more exciting as the weeks went on!

we're so grateful for this amazing opportunity we've had up here, it's been the best time ever.

seriously, you should all need to get yourselves an awesome sister and brother-in-law who live in a warm climate and go live in their shed for 10 weeks over winter.

the.best.ever.

x

restyle on the road::bleach dyeing

so i DID go op-shopping for more new things to wear on the orchard and i found this cute pink cotton dress. the trouble was, it was a little too cute (think baby-pink) but i didn't mind because i was overdue a restyle anyway...so i had a go at bleach dyeing the lower half of it.

 it's kind of hard to tell from the photos but from the chest up it's (baby) pink and the lower half gets increasingly whiter.

 

it didn't quite turn out exactly as i'd hoped but i still like it better than it originally was.

bleach dyeing or painting is a great way to freshen up old or thrifted clothes while away from your usual stash of craft supplies. 

 for some more easy bleachy-ideas from moi head over to Stella's blog today! (thanks for having me Stell x)

xo

{giveaway} on pinterest+kiwiness

do you love pinterest?

i love pinterest.

i love looking over my boards and seeing a whole bunch of my fave things all together in one place. it really inspires me.

But sometimes all the ways my house should look and all the cute vintage dresses i should be wearing seem both overwhelming and irrelevant.

and i end up feeling like a pseudo-american, completely saturated by international influence. being up here has been refreshing - grassroots and genuine. no pretence or posturing. and totally inspirational.

so i guess, what i'm trying to say is, sometimes i need to remember to celebrate my kiwi-ness...
less yellow chevron and more retro tea towels.

 less red clogs and more redband gumboots.

less peanut butter choc chip cookies and more vegemite toast and fish n chips.

less photo-shopped celebrities and more friendly locals.

basically, less pinterest and more real-life.*

and in honour of our inspirational kiwiness, i'm going to give away the tea towel pictured above that i found in an op shop in Kaitaia.

just leave a comment and tell me which letter of the NZ alphabet resonates with you the most - or cracks you up the most!

x

....

* but because i'm a realist, i've added a new board to my pinterest account entitled, "kiwiness". a place for me to be inspired by nz ideas, architecture, interiors, art and fashion. (follow along, or join in with the hashtag #kiwiness if you're feeling me on this)

transition

i recently said to JR that this will most likely be her last year of being all-little girl.

 

of being completely delighted by jumping waves.

of carrying her doll on her hip and pretending its really real.

of pony tails and pig-tails.

of pretending for hours that she is Laura Ingalls.

of an imagination not yet constrained by "cool". 

of playing 'olympic show jumping' with plastic horses and wooden blocks.

i feel it - sense it - the shift. our All-Little Girl will soon be the Sometimes-Little Girl and then, the Rarely-Little Girl. and i know that with growing up comes new, wonderful attributes but i really want to treasure this time while, at the same time, being sensitive to her maturing.

I've realised that my role needs to transition with her - less an instructor and more of a guide.

less, do this, do that. less you shoulds, you shouldn'ts.

and more actual communication. (which honestly makes me feel a little nervous - isn't it much easier just to tell a child how they should behave?) 
so i want to get a head start now. building an honest and open relationship of communication is top priority. i want to be intentional now, and not be caught on the back foot in a few years.

so, tell me you wonderful mamas who are a further along the road than i...

what are the essentials for great communication with your tween/teen?

how have you intentionally developed your communication?

what has worked? what hasn't? 

what would you do differently?

PLEASE! TELL ME!!

 

print available here

 thank you, in advance xo