Show and Tell

Here are a few recent secondhand store/market scores. It's no wonder I feel surrounded by clutter - I have this need to collect.

1970s huon pine armchairs. They have leather backs and bases. I will eventually cover the cushions with charcoal or maybe a more modern chocolate brown fabric. Eventually. The old fabric goes well with yoghurt spills! From the Launceston Salvage Centre.

Original and pristine (we'll change that) 1960s saucer chair swapped for 5 ugly wall lights and our two old wall heaters! Brilliant. Launceston Salvage Centre again. The cushion was a Niche market purchase from Red Wren Designs.

We really didn't need any more canisters but how could I not buy these. They were only $15 for the lot. I can't go past a bargain like that!

Breaking free

I've barely worn a skirt or a dress since I got pregnant with Arj. I've broken the dress drought now and it feels good. I always feel a bit free when I wear a dress and the beautiful Spring weather is helping too.

I dress quite differently since I had kids. Lots of loose floppy tops - for fairly obvious tummy disguising reasons. It's not that I necessarily want to hide it from others - it's just that I feel better if I hide it from me! And I love wearing long tunics or short dresses over jeans. My Asics tiger sneakers (red suede with silver trim - second pair) are almost worn through from practically living in them but I did that before I had kids too. I'm starting to wonder if I can get a third pair exactly the same - boring maybe but they are so great.

Did you change your dress style? I know some people who dressed more formally before for work. That wasn't me. I worked in a stinky microbiology lab. What with the smell and the attractive (not) blue surgical gowns there was really no point. I think I have nicer clothes now I don't work!

I'm quietly lusting after a few dresses or tunics on Etsy too. Check out Emily Ryan and Pamela Tang. I like Emily's gathered front tunics and dresses (and wow, I've just seen this, it got sold right when I was about to show you!) and Pamela's centre pleat dress.

Have you noticed I seem to have a bit of a shopping addiction going at the moment?

Nest

Black Eyed Susie sewing kits can now be found at Nest in beautiful Penguin. The perfect place for a day trip on a sunny Spring day. I love visiting Penguin. There are always great, smooth, multi-coloured pebbles to collect on the beach. Nice coffee and food to be had at Wild and The Groovy Penguin, markets to visit and now gift shopping to be done.

If you get a chance drive to Penguin along the old coastal road from Ulverstone. The scenery is stunning and you'll know you're almost there when the road verge becomes a riotously coloured flower garden. We once rode along the NW coast from Boat harbour to Devonport stopping in Penguin for the night and now I'm wondering if we could do it again this Spring. Would the kids handle being in the bike trailer thingie for long enough? Maybe if we make lots of beach stops.

Pressies for bike loving Dads

I've always got my eye open for things Sam might like. He's not the sort of person to covet things or buy much for himself so I do like to try to surprise him every now and then.

These are a few things I've noticed recently.

This jersey from BA Gear is almost perfect for him. It even says I am Sam on the side! We read this book a lot at our house given that we have one very fussy eater.

Cute tee set from here

More bike related tees. Found here.

Groovy bike tool roll. This might be the Father's Day pressie. More here.

Dotty

Cute shoes from Walnut. They've got a few on sale just now (cute hot pink with chocolate binding and very, very cheap) and I'm tempted. If you are too, just be careful about the sizing - I has to get size 41 when I'm usually 39 or at the most 40. There are also some very cute patent leather ones. I'm trying to keep myself to "need" only buying for a few weeks - it's amazing what I can convince myself we need though!

Today I lost my temper.

Properly I mean. Not just a little bit. I didn't yell or shout or kick anything but I did feel shakey for about half an hour afterwards. Not nice. This has maybe happened about 6 times in my life.

I wasn't going to blog this as I sometimes think bitchy blog posts can come across pretty badly, but well, this week has been a bit of a shocker and I maybe just reached the end of my tether but I also think I stuck up for my kids and myself in a way that was completely reasonable. I'm pretty tough on my kids in shops, I don't like them touching and playing with things, in fact I sometimes think I'm too tough on Chloe. So, shop owner, if you don't want young kids in your shop don't have a crate full of toddler toys for them to play with. My kids were happily playing and Chloe just brushed her hand along some merchandise that was right next to the toys. The shop owner (who has been rude to me a number of times in the past) told her off, I said "I am watching them," then she backchatted me to another customer. Needless to say we won't be going back there ever again.

So, it sounds like a tiny thing now it's written down. It didn't feel like it at the time.

Poor little Arj has been sick for what seems like weeks now. He's been going up and down with an ear infection that is proving difficult to shake and probably a virus on top of it. He's on his third lot of antibiotics for this infection. The last one took three lots too. Have any of you had experiences like this? I think he's teething too and the doctor said that some kids have this trouble until they stop teething. I really hope he doesn't. He's so, so miserable.

Poor little Chloe got her thumb stuck in a door this week too. She's OK but it was horrible anyway.

Now, that's the bad things out of the way. Time for the good things. We had a lovely Brown Owls meet up last night in the Wood Design Centre. It's the most beautiful building with the most beautiful collection of furniture. I met one of my old flatmates from Uni there for the first time since Uni - a long time ago now - and it was so nice to see her.

On the work front, I've got an exciting stockist lined up for the sewing kits. Considering how little time I've had to do anything this week that's amazing!! The GIVEAWAY is still open. Make sure you enter. Go on, you know you want to.

Splish, splash, splurge.

I had a minor splurge yesterday. Chloe and I go to swimming lessons once a week and our bathers are starting to get very tired. In fact I worry that mine may disintegrate in the not too distant future! Anyway I saw these and just couldn't resist. It is nice buying bathers for someone you can be sure they'll look good on. The hunt for some for me will not be so easy!

Sometimes I think that starting Black Eyed Susie was just an excuse to do more shopping. One of my main reasons for creating Black Eyed Susie was because I wanted to buy fabric, lots of lovely fabric. Then I joined Etsy and discovered all the other lovely things I could buy!

I coveted a Moop bag from almost the first time I went on Etsy but I was tough and waited until I'd sold a few things myself (although, if I'm totally honest it was just that I had trouble deciding which bag to buy). Now here it is. It came about a week ago and I just love it.

The badges are not from Moop. I got them at Cocoon in Launceston and I can't remember the name of the designers. If anyone knows please tell me. They are gorgeous and the perfect colours.