Coming Clean

I seem to be putting on a bit of weight around the midriff. Have been for 19 weeks in fact. Due date June 27!

Do please ignore the mess in the background. I have a rotten head cold and it's 37 degrees here. I had a sudden urge to spill the beans (although a few of you already know) and house tidying hasn't been high on my priority list this week.

The cardboard boxes pictured do have a purpose. I want to make this and this. One day.

The dress on the boxes is an op-shop linen blend destined to become small person's dresses. Again, one day.

So, for anyone who wondered why things have been pretty quiet at Black Eyed Susie for a while now you know. I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself because last weekend I suddenly realised I was feeling great, lots of energy and brimming with plans. Next day this cold reared it's head.

On another note completely, if a certain person fiddles with the tension on my overlocker one more time I may have a minor breakdown. You'd think I'd have learnt to check before sewing by now, but no, just spent an unenjoyable 10 minutes unpicking.

Blue Jeans

Katie Jump Rope Halter top with a pair of matching jeans made to order and winging their way to the US now.

We spent a lovely long weekend in the south of the state staying with my in-laws. Lots of trips to the beach, a little shopping and lots of catching up with relatives. We visited some good friends to meet their 1 1/2 week old little girl Ellie. Just gorgeous. I'd totally forgotten how small Chloe was.

We also attended a beautiful wedding of an old uni friend. It was held south of Hobart in Stonehouse Gardens. The bride looked stunning and they both looked incredibly happy. I got teary as soon as I laid eyes on the bride! Most amazing was the 16 course feast. All prepared by the bride and groom with a bit of help from a chef cousin. I can safely say it was the most stunning wedding meal I've ever had. Perhaps I'll scan the menu to show you - to make you envious!

Badges

These sold like hot cakes in Cocoon (George St, Launceston) in the lead up to Christmas. Totally amazed and thrilled me - it was my first Christmas in business! They are still available and still selling well. The prints are Japanese cottons and I'm on the lookout for more all the time.

Warmth and Water

We're having some warm weather at last. Chloe has really been enjoying paddling. We are lucky to have a great, free, outdoor pool in our town. It's at Cataract Gorge and is next to a river surrounded by parkland and bushland. A lovely place to spend some time with the little one.

That is me pre-haircut. Thankfully it's much better now.

This is what we do on car free days. The pool is just a bit too far to walk to so we get the paddling pool out on the deck. And don't worry, we reuse all the water for our plants in the evening.

This is a belt I made for a friend. I'm really happy with how it turned out and luckily she likes it too. The fabric is from the American Jane Wee Play range and is one of my favourites.

I've been beavering away at the sewing machine with a bunch of orders today. It was very satisfying to get a big chunk of work done as I've been feeling pretty lethargic lately.

Finally....

....something new in store!

Ladybird pants. Chloe wore hers to childcare the other day and got so many compliments I was starting to get embarrassed.

....I got a haircut.

Thank goodness. Everytime I vow not to leave it as long next time. On the upside though, being a bit slack in getting haircuts mean that when you do it's such an amazing and exciting change! Last time (and this is embarrassing too) was September.

Anniversary

Wednesday was our 3rd wedding anniversary (it did take us quite a while to get around to getting married) and Sam surprised me with deep red roses and dinner out. I didn't find out until my parents turned up to babysit. We went to the Gorge Restaurant in Launceston. It's been an age since we last went out, just the two of us. Lovely!

Edited to add: You may recognise the beach from all the news coverage in the last two days. Scarey!

Bring on some more holidays! Please!

Christmas morning was bright and sunny and we had a lovely breakfast and opened our pressies at home - you can see the joy of discovering presents on Chloe's face - before heading to my mother-in-law's shack at Binalong Bay on the east coast of Tasmania on Christmas Day.

The weather wasn't so good on the East coast but we had a great time with Nana, Poppy, Uncle Robba and various cousins of Sam's and their family. Aunties Gen and Pip and Chloe's only cousin (so far) came for a few days later. There wasn't much beach weather but Chloe had a wonderful time playing with her friend Maya and cousin Hamish and getting to know all her relatives better. Unfortunately we don't get to see them as much as I'd like.

I'm ashamed to admit we only made it to about 10pm on New Years Eve. Pretty lame but we did have a good night with friend Bec, Ross and Maya. The girls played chasings and giggled hysterically until poor Maya clocked her head on the wooden sofa you can see above. Not good!

We had brekkie at Angasi (scene of our wedding reception) on New Year's Day and then I spent the day working on a big order only to find out on Friday that the post office was closed!

Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year too.