A murder of crows

I feel the need to post this, as I don't know if crows will congregate at our new house and we don't have very much longer here haha. I feel like everyone knows this - and then I found out yet again that someone doesn't - a group of crows is called a murder. A murder of crows. There are often a lot of crows at the park across the road, so I constantly refer to it as an attempted murder - then when I posted that on my Instagram stories heaps of people were like OMGOSH thank goodness you're okay - WHAT THE HECK? What happened?! Um well, a lot of crows were at the park. That's all. There was about 15 of them this morning, just hanging out. A pretty good murder attempt if you ask me!

In other unrelated news, Chloe bought Madeline and I the most amazing socks and dropped them off on her way home from work tonight. Churro socks from her work at San Churros! One sock has mugs of hot chocolate and the other has churros. The best bit? She bought us a pair each, so my obsessive brain can still wear them as a pair haha. Doug is off in Brisbane visiting James again as he hasn't been well, so we are having some sleepovers in my room. While dad is away, the girls will play haha.

 

Our house is for sale!

And just like that, our house is officially for sale! FINALLY. But it was so worth waiting to list it. It took us ages to get everything we wanted done here, basically because we had asked the same painters to paint our other house first. Worth every single cent... I actually cannot get over what a difference a fresh coat of paint did for the place! I love it so much - and only now do I realise how gross the previous colour was! Yikes. It all just looks so fresh and airy and I am so so happy.

The photographer actually told me not to worry and that the house looked beautiful! Thank you Julia and Hayden for the staging experience with your house last year!

The blue strip looks perfect with the freshly scrubbed gutters - thanks to Doug.

So fresh, so clean.

(For my own future reference - paint is Dulux Manorburn - full strength)

With our beautiful theatre completed in the renovations

(Painted in Taubmans Knight Grey)

Cool side story - we own the blue bird cushion displayed on the bed - but it is at the new house somewhere not easily accessible, so I borrowed the exact same one from our lovely neighbour, who pushed her blue and white floral arrangement into my hands as I raced out the door. It looks perfect!

I'd also like to call special attention to the full length mirror. It is the only one in the house and hangs on the wall - which we bought and hung. How does anyone live without a full length mirror. I would love to know! Anyway... we took it down while the painting was being done and stashed it safely (or so we thought), but Alex managed to knock it over and it shattered in the frame. Just what we need, 7 years of bad luck when we are trying to sell our house. Haha. So that is a brand new mirror purchased specifically for the sale of our house. We will not be taking it with us, as all the wardrobes have mirrored doors. BUT the worst bit was, Ikea no longer stock the exact one we had, so after searching unsuccessfully on marketplace for a couple of weeks we had to go and buy the closest thing they had - which had different hang pieces on the back and we had to get my dad here again to hang it. He was less than impressed - as was I when I finally found the right one, two days after this was hung. Ugh!

Oooooh those new bathrooms. Perfection! Maddie is furious that we are moving to a house with old bathrooms. It's too funny for words. But Doug has assured her that it won't be too long before we redo them at the new house.

I am obsessed with this pelican painting from mum and dads house. I told mum I needed to borrow it - and now I have told her I'm keeping it. Let's see how I go haha.

That afternoon light is perfection. I am so in love with these photos - that I almost want to stay.

I've been over at the park cutting pieces off the olive and cumquat trees to give it that little something. I love it. I also, all of a sudden love the splashback in the kitchen that I have hated the whole time we have lived here. Who could have known that it was simply the browny coloured walls that made it look so bad. It is gorgeous with the light colour!

My new wooden bowl full of lemons? LOVE! 

We've been asked a few times why we chose to stay here while the house sells. Yes, it's a pain, yes, we will have to clean up like mad every time there is a home open, BUT as much as the kids rooms are a perfectly decent size, they look soooo small with no furniture in them. So we are staying until the house is under contract.

We also moved the furniture in each of their rooms and now they look huge! I actually wish we had had them like this the entire time. Maybe it's also cause they barely have anything in them, but they seriously look great.

I'm most sad about my new and lovely laundry, but that can also be done again!

I do love my teeny backyard with all my plants - but the new one will be even better! Give me time.

My favourite part? Doug's car, parked at the next door neighbours, so it can stay a part of our house haha.

Our first home open is this Sunday - fingers crossed it doesn't take too long to sell!

 

Gardening

What do you do while you're in isolation? The to-do list of course! There are a few things that need doing in the garden before we can sell the house, which I had mapped out in my head already - so I got to work on them.

Here's how this side used to look, we've cleared the rocks and planted agapanthus in their place. The geraniums were pulled out and potted and eventually removed. The poinsettias were swapped into the front garden at Doug's mums house and the red leaved plants moved this week. 

There was some of the strawberry beds that didn't have any strawberries left in them, so I did a pull apart and re-position of all of them... they are now all full and even. After all the other plants were moved, these beautiful trailing leaves all look lovely, moving through the bed.

The back fence garden bed has been empty since we removed the fountain, so I stole these red leaved plants that have been growing in the side bed since we bought the house and replanted them in the sun, where I am hoping they will flourish!

They have wilted since, but I am very much hoping they will take and start to stand up tall again soon.

That's how the back fence used to look!

This plant in the large pot used to be in Doug's mums garden - and although she was not a gardener, since I moved something else into it's place and brought it home, it has flourished and bloomed... and it's a piece of her that I want to keep. Everything I want to take with us, is now in a pot. 

 

The grass has finally grown in well and looks lovely as you can see in the background here. Garden, sorted!

New years eve - at home

2021 is over - hello 2022!

It's been a rough year for our little family, losing Doug's mum, but we have made it through and we are ready to give 2022 a go. My absolute favourite part of Instagram is making the best nine collage at the end of the year and this one is no exception. My farewell post to Doug's mum, my parents 50th wedding anniversary, Madeline's birthday, Easter and other wonderful family moments all made an appearance.

The day after Christmas, gastro hit our house with a vengeance. I was out for the count for the entire day and most of the next. I actually cannot remember the last time I was that sick. We had to miss my family's Christmas celebration because I couldn't move. Then Madeline had a turn, and New Year's Eve ended with Doug. It was not a good week. So, we spent the night at home... put Alex to bed and then enjoyed this little platter with my two older babes before going to bed well before midnight.

Joseph woke us up in the morning having a spew, which terrified me, thinking it was beginning again, but as he told me later, "Oh it's okay mum, I just had too many biscuits." Classic Joseph. 

Let's hope 2022 is better to our family than the last few years have been... I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.

 

clackline post quarantine

we fiiiiiinally got to go and visit my family home in clackline over the weekend after zoned borders were listed a few weeks back. it was so nice to be home in the country, i love it out here!

we went over to one of the neighbouring towns - york to go to their rummage sale at the local salvation army, where we did great - i found some awesome stuff and walked away with 28 items for just $14. most of the time i am convinced that that the old guy who charges you gets sick of counting. on the way back we stopped off at the clackline lion to say hello.

seeing dad in his shed is the best bit. somehow (like every other dad in the world) he just magically knows where everything is and it's so funny. he's restoring an old ute in there bit by bit and it's absolutely his pride and joy. i can't wait to see it finished one day.

i love hearing their girls clucking away throughout the day. they've always had chickens as long as i can remember and it used to be my job to go and feed them, clean and fill their water and collect the eggs. can't say i minded actually, other than having to clean their water tub out, that was pretty rank.

my brother jareds first car, a hr holden sedan, is still parked undercover by the chook pen, waiting for the day that someone takes it to restore or it rusts away to nothing...

i love all the little details at mum and dads. like the water tower with a little house at the bottom. i am dying for the day mum sets it up as a cubby for the kids.

the farm house, which will always feel like home to me

so, funny story, i apparently left alex's bag in perth. we went to change his clothes when he got wet and discovered it wasn't there, meaning no nappies either, so maddie and i had to make another trip - off to northam to find him some clothes and supplies. he is wearing one of the jumpers i found in thi pic and i just love it!

everything at nannas is fancy. even bath rime. she ran little alex a bath then added some rose petals in. i swear the poor kid had no idea what was going on hahah.

i just love it out here. it's the most beautiful and peaceful place to run away to every now and then.