Blogtoberfest Day 31 - BOO!!!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

so today I get the 'bad mother of the day' award - I dropped Neo off at Preschool this morning and all the kiddies were dressed up in very

scary outfits....far out!

my poor kid...i didnt know, I was not notified they were having a halloween party!

maybe I should have just guessed huh?

here are some Halloween cards I made last year...didnt do anything

Halloween-ish this year

but here is my first Oriental stitch book I made at book binding class. Now we're working on an A5 scrapbook, i made my first hinged cover - cool! its so fun!

a few weeks

back i gave a little gift to my friend Daphne's baby, Genevieve... today Daphne emailed me a pic of baby's cot...she's put all the ribbons and gift tags at the end of her cot - she says Genevieve loves to stare at the colours - so cute now that she doesnt move much!! such a sweet baby too and its so lovely to see my friend as a new mum!!

Have a fun Halloween everyone!!

Hugs

Anastasia

x

Blogtoberfest Day 30

Where has our sun gone?

on the weekend we were in T-shirts and today Im wearing a cardigan?! whats going on?

I sometimes think it would be nice to live in a beach suburb - casual laid back atmosphere, cafes, late night walks at the beach, constant buzz of people...it would feel like a year-round vacation wouldnt it?

Im sure it also has its negatives...like trying to find a parking spot, on Sunday at Bondi Beach it took us over 20 minutes!!

...still, a little cottage

on a remote beach would be perfect - not many of those left...water and property development (ie high prices) go hand in hand!

whilst I was at Bondi Markets

i spotted a stall that had

really cute softies...so I

had a little chat with the seller and she gave me her card, turns out she's a blogger too and reads some of the same blogs as i do and also plays 'This is...' what a small (blogging) world!

Top image by

Sugarpie

Honeybunch

Middle - Mary Engelbreit's

'Home Companion' magazine

Bottom - SMH good weekend magazine

Time for Some crafting....
Where does time go?
i always have so much planned but hardly get time to do 'my stuff' !
Its off to the school in 45minutes for pickup then its afternoon snacks, cooking dinner, bathing boys and the night will almost be over!
My little Peter had a fall at school yesterday, nothing major but he was very upset and has a very scraped & swollen elbow and two grazed knees - I gave him extra cuddles for being a brave boy especially when we had to remove band-aids last night to clean up sore wounds!

Ive slowly been crafting and adding to my handmade paper goods inventory - I hope to list in my empty Etsy store soon!
I then need to make more for Lollishops which opens end of November!
my 'To do' list is growing!
i have fun making these so dont mind...its just the time thats an issue! we'll get there....






i like these tags...
'Where shall we go next?'
1967 girly sewing pattern images with 1970's world maps...cute!!

This is what Im suprised I like....

a hard one this week! im going to say,

Bronzer - ive always loved the pale look and shyed away from the sun for years but ever since trying bronzer last year, i am now a fan - it does make you look much healthier!

as for fake spray body tans I still cannot get used to those...

Las Vegas - (dont hate me Veronica) but before I visited Vegas for the first time in 2001, i thought it would be tacky town - tacky, tasteless and more tacky ( i think ive watched too many 'late night cab confession' shows) but i had such a good time...pleasantly suprised!
so Ive learnt not to stereotype and generalise!

i was trying to think of a food too but im not so fussy with my food!

i like to try things all the time, i bought some Labnah cheese yesterday from our local deli, salted yogurt cheese, its really good...i had some with dates and almonds this morning!

we spent the day at Bondi Beach today having lunch and walking along the coast to see 'Sculptures by the Sea'...i even found time to paint my toe nails this morning! no more closed toe shoes for me...bring on the sandals!

Thanks to Earl & Cookie

for this week's theme!

* top image from Beauty-and-makeup-tips.com

Blogtoberfest - Day 25

Madonna's recent marriage crisis made me think of her book 'The English Roses' - i had a look on Ebay for the 1st book and found a copy for 99p...guess its that other Madonna book that is demanding big bucks....anyway it arrived yesterday and I really love the illustrations by Jeffrey Fulvimari
he's also featured in another book I have and love, 'The age of Feminine Drawing'
his girls are so colourful and his illustration style is very perky!! sweet!!
hope you're all having a fun evening...i just finished a load of ironing so ready to just chill!

Blogtoberfest - Loving Fridays....

Happiness is...good mail days!

look what the ever so sweet Gracie

sent me the other day...a FAB

'Milly Molly Mandy' book just because she knows how much i love her!! plus two of her handmade note cards...such a kind gift, a lovely suprise - you'll have to check out her

newly opened Etsy shop...such lovely papergoodies!

Happiness is....organising my craft supplies!

all my embellishments are now neatly sorted, not sure how long this will last but for now

it makes me happy!

Happiness is....receiving blog awards!!

the lovely 'Vegan & Vintage' has given me an

'I love your blog' award...im so touched!

ive met such wonderful people through this fun blogging community, im so happy to be part of it all...!!

happy Friday to you too!!

Blogtoberfest - Sweet Marie....

so i finally got to see the movie last week, its only been like close to 2 years that everyone was going on and on about it....

what can I say, it was pure eye candy!! im going to have to watch it again just to absorb all that beauty!

my favourite scene was the above - what a backdrop!! that wallpaper is stunning! can you imagine the task ahead for the props team working for Ms Coppola....amazing visual artists! they turned the old into new!
I made a flickr mosaic since I was so inspired by the colours and textures....

I wanted to watch the movie to get inspired for a collage book swap but I ended up finishing my 'Sweet Marie' collage before I even saw the film - i dont think i would have added polka dots...not a very french revolution look...

the collage is tiny, 2.75inches x 3 inches - I was worried that once I made the 28 copies for the swap, I would lose her clear blue eyes but they turned out okay....

Blogtoberfest - Eye Spy....

what a busy week so far, i havnt had a chance to sit and think!!
i started my book binding course last night, it was a great start to what I think will be a really fun course....I'll have to show you what we make in the coming few weeks!
tommorow I'm home so I'll get a chance to visit all your lovely blogs, and hopefully put aside some time to play with paper & glue!

Continuing on with Kathy's Blogtoberfest - its been great thinking of what to post each day...here are some images that made me think about how curious we are as humans.

Quote:-
The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.

do you ever wonder how other people live, what they keep in their draw, what's behind the curtain?

*images
Top image - Blumarine advertisement
Middle image - Italia Vogue
Bottom image - stunning Paris apartment by MissPomPom

Bon Voyage....

Arrivedeci...

my sister and her family are off to NY today...

im so excited for them and a little sad as well as we were meant to be going too, well that was the plan a year ago but Andrew is contracting right now and couldnt get away.

We figured our boys are still very young for such a busy trip...big cities are meant to be walked and explored...full days, long nights - a little much to ask for from 4 and 6 year old, maybe it will be our turn in a couple of years!

My sister has also organised to meet up with our

Great Aunt whom she hasnt seen since she was 5...should be great fun!

*metropolitan backdrop of New York's Chrysler Building from Vogue 1958 - Conde Nast*

This is ....my favourite film(s)

its so hard to pick a few...back in January this year when I turned 37, i did a birthday post listing 37 favourite films

and they all still apply....

I could watch 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' over and over and over again...same with 'Amelie' and

'Love Actually'...(Colin Firth = one hot man!!...actually lots of hotties in that film)

more recently i really enjoyed 'The Darjeeling Ltd' , sang along to 'Mamma Mia'

and was glued to

'There will be blood'...how good was Daniel Day-Lewis in that??!!...

i also loved 'Sex & the city' movie, it wasnt as smart as the TV series but still it was so wonderful to see the girls and NY again - i loved that it showed that a wedding should not out do a marriage and saying sorry and forgiving can be a good thing...i laughed and cried too...!

Thanks to Hokey for this week's topic and to Angela for hosting 'This is'... each week!

Early Celebrations.....
Miss Vanessa is hosting a Halloween bash over at her blog today...she's one great party hostess and Im sure the party will keep rocking until the 31st October!
there's enough food to go around thats for sure, hypnotic music, fun games to play and scary stories to tell!
Since we dont celebrate Halloween here in Australia I just had to join in on the fun!
i made some bitter orange and chocolate cupcakes to take along .....and i have my ghost outfit ready or maybe i'll pop on a fancy eye mask!
see you there!!

Loving Fridays - A Garden party...

we're having an outdoor BBQ tonight...

8 adults,

4 children,

good food, casual atmosphere and hopefully balmy weather (no strong wind please)!

ive spent the morning tidying up the house and now Im off to prepare some rice, peel potatoes and get the garlic sauce made!

Hope you have a splendid Friday night too!

*Image from SMH Good Weekend magazine

Blogtoberfest - Day 16

Anne of Green Gables....

Does anyone else love the story of oprhan Anne Shirely?

the book celebrated its 100 years of publication this past June!

last week my friend Helen gave me a cute travel brochure on 'Prince Edward Island' which she picked up whilst in Japan.

The island is where the author of the book Lucy Montgamery was born and where the story was set....we both found it so cool that the Japanese organise 'Anne of Green Gables' tours... I guess there are Anne fans everywhere!

*Anne's room - image from travel brochure*

Blogtoberfest Day 15 - Tagged...

the lovely Bec
has tagged me for 6 things - so here are my six random things.

*Breakfast today was toast with jam and tahini paste - really good!

*Ive had my braces on for 9months now but im so sick of having to make sure there is no food stuck between my teeth ...oranges are the worst....i need to eat though, its unavoidable!

*i dont have a tattoo but I really enjoy watching 'Miami Ink' and 'LA Ink'...some of the stories are very inspiring and the artwork amazing - I love this floral tattoo (tres chic) that was featured on the Sartorialist!

*Growing up i was really embarrased about my mum's handmade doilies and her desire to cover every single table in the house with them (any Greek girl will know), but now I really love & appreciate her handcrafty skills and i think they are just delicate and very beautiful...as you can see she has made quite a few for me - i have more in my linen cupboardl!!

*Doris Day movies make me happy!

*ive just bought tickets to see 80's music icons Paul Young and Tony Hadley (singer of Spandau Ballet if you dont know!) at our local RSL club...Yep, Im hanging out at RSL clubs (where the average age is what?? 60?? ) these days haha!.

Anyone can join in and list 6 random things if they like!!

Blogtoberfest Day 13

Reflecting on the today.....

Karen posted this on her blog last year and I loved it so much I emailed it to everyone I knew!!
so thought Id share it with you too....

We have bigger houses but smaller families,

more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees, but less sense

more knowledge, but less judgement

more experts, but more problems

more medicines, but less healthiness.

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back

but have trouble crossing the street to meet the neighbor.

We built more computers to hold more information

to produce more copies than ever…but have less communication.

We have become long on quantity but short on quality.

These are fast times of fast foods but slow digestion.

Tall man but short character.

Steep profits but shallow relationships.

It is a time where there is much in the window

but nothing in the room.

~ The 14th Dalai Lama

This is ...my current reading material

Thanks to 'My Champagne dreams'
for this week's topic....i find a great level of comfort in being surrounded by books, it drives Andrew crazy as he hates the clutter haha but i dont mind having stacks of books everywhere and I always have this pile around
My favourite papercraft books
*Vintage Paper crafts
*Collage Lost and Found
*The Foof-a- life
and two Craft help books,
*Craft Inc
*Crafting a Business
which I have yet to read - so little time!!

Im also reading 'Henry and the Clubhouse' by Beverly Cleary to the boys

....also on my bedside table is Jodi Picoult's
'My sister's keeper' and 'The Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint.
Happy reading everyone, and here's to a great new week!!

for more This is....posts visit Angela's lovely blog!

Blogtoberfest - Day 11
its been a busy couple of days with my boy...a visit to Chinatown & then the Imax Theatre
to see a cute 3D animation 'Fly me to the Moon'...Peter's first 3D film!
today we had one of his school friends 6th birthday party which left me tired and I have no idea why because all i did was sit, eat & chatter with the other mums....

so here is my flower show...ive been suffering from Hay fever so badly lately but the boys cut some lavender sprigs from our garden today and gave it to me as a little gift...cute!!
im always inspired by floras - i have floral teacups and boxes, lots of floral scrapbook papers, and look at this sweet floral plate I found at the local Salvos for $1.00....its so pretty as are my purple rose earrings that I recently bought from Hokey's cute Etsy shop...





i totally love this image from Rita Konig's NY town house that was featured in this month's Domino magazine.
A wall cluster of vintage floral prints....bloom-ing beautiful!!

11 things....

last week the lovely Bell Girl tagged me for My favourites so here are my answers.

1. Clothes Shop: i hate clothes shopping....really! whoever thinks all woman love to shop is so wrong!

i wish i knew how to sew, Id make all my clothes A-line shaped and a nice fitted waist...i love Ebay for vintage though... ( i missed out on this skirt for 50cents!!! not fair!!)

2 Furniture Shop: Its not something I buy everyday so have no idea but Im think a vintage chair for my bedroom would be a nice addition to our home....

3. Sweet: Peppermint Crisp

4. City: London (UK), San Sebastian (Spain), Larnaca (Cyprus)

5. Drink: Lemon lime bitters

6. Music: lately its been 'Stevie Wonder' and

'The Carpenters'...yesterday I had this song

in my head all day...not sure how it got in there?!!

7. TV series: Project Runway, Anthony Bourdain -No reservations, 'Sex & the City' repeats
8. Film: Sound of Music, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Saturday Night Fever

9. Workout: Jazzercise twice a week

10. Pastries: Apricot Danish or Apple Turnover

11. Coffee: Lite Soy Cappucino

My friend Helen just got back from Japan bearing gifts....nice!!!

the magazines and I had a great time together this afternoon!

*top image of me aged 7 or 8...when phone cords could only be stretched a certain distance and when it was cool to team Dr Scholls with socks...oh really? it was never cool

to do that? um...okay...

Im tagging:-

Katie Crackernuts

Kathy - Big Cat's Emporium

Leni & Rose

Gracie Bella

A creative home-Blogtoberfest Day 8

Photographer Debi Treloar's home was featured in last months' Real Living mag ...its so colourful, not too precious but very creative!

Do you remember my post here from 18 months ago when her daughter's bedroom wall inspired my Shabby paper quilt tags....i wish I was so daring with paper quilting walls...love the effect!