a secret garden gift

i was given this gorgeous candle a little while back by someone who gets me. one of the other girls who volunteers in the school canteen is also a book lover, with an obsession collection of her own - alice in wonderland. the candle is from a company called spark + sparrow who name their candles after classic books, she ordered herself an alice candle and grabbed me a secret garden one. i love it so much, it looks perfect in front of my book collection, but i don't know if i will ever be able to bring myself to burn it! up to 31 copies now and always hunting for the next. ♥

coles mini shops

look at that face! this is the face of a child who is almost finished collecting the mini shops from coles supermarkets. yes. the major supermarket chains have struck again and created a "must have" collection that our kids are going crazy for. i must admit, when the promotion started and i saw what was on offer, i didn't even think about collecting them and thought oh that's nice and left it there... then the craze struck our 7 year old daughter who insisted she needed to collect them. insert eye roll here... thankfully i had the mum brain to think ahead about the fact that i have a 4 year old as well who would jump on the bandwagon and started two sets at once... turns out he loves them more than her!! 

grandma got on the case and told the girls at her work that her grandkids were collecting them and they started arriving by the dozen... and with some swapping and haggling with friends, family and the girls at church - we are so close to our goal... two sets, and two happy kids. woo!

to be fair... they are so adorable! i mean seriously who wouldn't want teeny replica groceries?

(sample from the good old internet, so that one day 10 years from now haha we can look back and remember this ridiculousness)

a trip to clackline

there have been massive amounts of bushfires north of perth this past week. it's been awful, with so many homes threatened and people having to leave with a risk of never coming home. my poor husband has been out helping with the problem that come afterwards, that the wooden power lines need to be replaced. not that we have anything to complain about, our home is safe and we are well, but when he comes home late, covered in ash, i am certainly sympathetic.

i felt like a night off from climbing (often whiny) children was in order, so last night i took the kids to my parents house in clackline, where they played with nanna and grandad and i sat back and enjoyed the surrounds. (...would you believe they even have wireless internet now?! this is new)

it's the first time we have been to visit since they came home from their mission a month ago and to be totally honest, it's like they never even left. there are little bit of mum everywhere, and it's so nice to come home to.

i wish i had have taken my actual camera with me and not just my iphone, but i couldn't resist taking some snaps as i walked around with joseph hanging on my side. there is just so much to see!

dad made this little chair and as it's perfect madeline size, she has decided it must be her designated chair.

a gorgeous wire bird cage my mum made years ago... if you look carefully, there is a twisted wire dragonfly on the side closest to the camera.

their newest bird bath

outdoor sinks, some of which actually work i believe.

a little man made from terracotta pots that sits under their trough filled with fish and water plants.

a fountain in the car port, pumped through an old water pump. so cool.

the people who were renting the house whilst mum and dad were away left this gorgeous mat for my parents... so suits my dad!

and... my newest disovery, filing that away, for next time i need some vintage items. so cute, right?

i could spend days looking at everything and probably still not see it all, i love mums collections... she can find anything a home - and she has certainly passed that trait on to me! 

back from europe!

mummy and daddy came home from europe on monday after almost 6 weeks away... and of course mum bought me a little giftie, rosary beads from the church of the madeleine in paris, france. needless to say I was stoked, considering i do collect rosary beads (yes i am a closet catholic sigh...) and i am obsessed with the madeline books, so they had a special double meaning. i am so happy to have them home - missed the pair of them bucketloads! :)