The best things in life really are FREE!

Well, it's true. Look what I just got in the post from my beautiful Nan last week...

She is just a gem, my Nan. Every week, her and her friends go off garage saling. This is just the little booty that she has found so far - and the items are just beautiful. Two woolen jackets, with name brands, a couple of jumpsuits and the tiniest little dress! The plate and bowl are both Winnie the Pooh, immediately claimed by Ethan and I have to wash it three times a day for his snacks.

Garage Sale Finds from Nan!

Today I went to the op shop with Ethan on the way home from the library. The ladies that run it raise money for their local parishoner (excuse the spelling on that one possibly!) and also for the local Youth Emergency Accomodation Service. And guess what? It was One Dollar Day! The entire bounty in one shot

All I originally pulled in for was because I had a feeling that the $20 that my Nan sent me for my birthday would find good use in there. Well, was I right or what?!!! I spent $13. And I got about three gifts, as well as a sheet that is going to turn in to two sheets for Ethan, an outfit to put away for the baby, a tank top for me, a set of cups and saucers for Ethans playgroup, some beads and a 'special cup' for Ethan (his wording, not mine!), and a beautiful bedding set that I seriously don't think money could buy anymore! It is beautifully made, a bed throw and two pillowcases and I'll be making it beautify my ugly couch that needs a cover. Our bed will be too big, but I just knew if I didn't buy it I would kick myself big time!

Bedding Set

So my little adventure, sorry, Our little adventure, got me thinking about how Ethan and I have always op shopped. He knows that he's allowed to find a couple of 'special' things, and that so long as he behaves while hunting for them, and then tidies up after himself, he will recieve a special item or two, depending on how much money we have. He doesn't often throw tantrums in any shops (which I'm sure won't be the case forever!), but he certainly knows that the way to Mamma's purse isn't through throwing a hissy fit to get what he wants. Which is why I love op shopping with him. He is polite to the people, he helps me no end, and the staff are generally not at all precious about how he touches things, plays with toys, or tries to find things in the colour orange. They often also delight at his making them cakes and biscuits with the kitchen utensils as well - hey, he's a friendly guy!

I find op shopping to be the ultimate in thrifty-ness, because if a brand new item was available at a cheaper price, wouldn't you buy the cheaper one? It's also so much more fun looking for uniqueness among everyday items, and then taking those 'one off' items home to show them off! I hope you like the little items I found, because I certainly do! The bright pink trousers (Fred Bare brand) and the denim vest are brand new, and the white leggings, although home-made I'm sure, look to have never been worn. The little flower dish is going to be a gift for a friend for xmas, and so is the mini-milk jug if I can bare to part with it!

I hope you're enjoying your day's adventuring, where ever it may be. I have a feeling we'll be wrapping up our day with a trip to the creek over the road, seeing as though it's been raining a couple days. I don't often get to have a day of rain followed by a day of not going to check for frogs!

Are you busy?

It's always a busy day here on sundays. Kind of. Well, there's the obligatory catching up on folding and sorting washing, the putting away, the making of beds...you know, all that jazz. But then there's our regular outing to the farmers' growers' market. Ethan and I toddle (well, I'm closer to a waddle now) off there every sunday, even though now I get a lot of my fresh produce delivered. It's too hard to miss out and then find out, for example, that I could have bought strawberries for about $6 a kilogram, or got a box of apples for only $5 - like I did today with both of these fruits! The dehydrated apples were such a huge success with Ethan that I'm already dehydrating about a kilo of apple now, and I've preserved some lemons this morning that I bought last week for a dollar a kilo as well. The lemons are for my sister, as her and her partner are in to Indian cuisine and I think they'll make a lovely gift at Christmas. I will take some photos of them in the next couple of days, along with a few other pictures that I want to share of the presents I've been making and storing for my friends and family.

I wasn't sure about making people gifts, and my partner isn't really over the moon about it either. He comes from a family, like me, where it's usually just the size of the wallet that counts. But this year I'll be trying to stay afloat with one income and a family of four to feed and keep sheltered, clothed and happy, and I figure that the sewing machine was a gift to me, meant to be used, and if I can make a little boy or girl happy with a new library bag or a nan happy with a heat pack full of lavender and orange oil, then so be it. At some point, my friends and family are going to have to realise that just because my partner works away, it doesn't mean we have a huge expendable income. I feel rude saying it, but that's just how it is this year, and has been before but we've blindly gone in to credit card debt to pay for presents.

A girlfriend of mine and I were talking about it (we've both agreed to op shop for each other, and I'm soooo excited about her present I've already shown it to her!). It occurred to me that in years previous to this, when I've bought presents from shops and poured my thoughts about them for hours in to hours more of shopping for family and friends, the presents are often not really any better recieved than if I had just given them a card. I think that in life, we all think that the salutations we'll receive for something should be much higher, and the anticipation for times of year like christmas are too severely waited for, even as adults.

So that was what helped me come to terms with what many in my family (and my partners' family) will probably find a bit mortifying, if not humourous. But oh well, I don't care if they laugh behind my back to be honest. It's the thought that counts, right? Well, how much more thought in to a gift is there than when you've spent nights up sewing beautiful things, knitting, or preserving fruits so that people can enjoy a beautiful gift from your heart or a special treat on top of their morning toast or a late night treat on top of their icecream? Sounds pretty good to me!

So that's where we've been today and yesterday. Although I can't sew when I've got Ethan up, I can certainly do things like preserve lemons, make jam (although that is waiting until my partner is home!), and prepare other special treats. Ethan has loved the lemon preserving today, and the making of jelly for him as a treat, so it's been a busy day, well spent. And the total cost? About $15 all up for two kilos of lemons, 3 kilos of apples, and 4 large tubs of strawberries. The rest I already had, or was free!

Happy days, unless you count being asked if the "jelly is ready yet?" every ten minutes!

It's busy here today...I hope.

Ok, so just a quick one today as it's already 6.50am and I've been awake (but not up) since 5am thanks to Ethan and his new sleeping habits! I did get him to lay in bed with me and talk for about an hour, but I'm still up, we're still here and we've still got our pj's on....!

Today should be a busy one. I've had a couple of party plan things lately; a liquor tasting night (without tasting any, which was an achievement considering I still bought stuff!); a clothes party (posted about a few days ago); and I did an Enjo demo a couple weeks ago that I've just taken delivery of. The first two I am actually receiving items from, and they should be here today, in the arms of my friend Sam. I'm very, very excited about them, because I get to finally show my partner what I bought him as a bit of a surprise. We don't usually do presents unless it's actually celebrating something, in fact, buying Crunchy Nut Cornflakes for him is a bit of a celebration around here, but next tuesday when he arrives home I'll be presenting him with a lovely bottle of bourbon as a gift for just being great (most of the time, anyway - he's not the messiah for goodness sake!).

I've got an ante natal appointment today, as we are at week 36 (or is it 37?). Hopefully the doctor will be able to give me some sort of indication about how the bub is going in terms of delivery, which I'm very nervous about. My partner is due home only 2 days before our due date and if he's away when the bub decides to arrive, I could be in a bit of a pickle. So fingers crossed all's going well and the baby will get to stay in the dark until then at least!

I've also got to go and get an apple corer. I don't have one, and I'm about to try my hand at dehydrating some apples today. So that's a job for first thing this morning, Ethan and I are going to grab some fresh milk and an apple corer to start up the dehydrator I borrowed from my friend the other day.

So a busy day here today, and hopefully all will go well and smoothly. We might wrap it up with a trip to the creek, and give Ethan what could be a last chance at wearing his gumboots before the heat arrives and dries up all the water over there!

We're just not trendy....

Good morning blog-world! Well, just a quick one to say good morning (done!) and let you know that Ethan and I are off on an adventure to Pinjarra today to see a fantastic friend of mine. I love going to my friends home, because her and her friend are artists (must remember to ask if I can share the link to her husbands website!) and they just have a 'knack' for turning ordinary things in to the home and garden of their dreams. Ethan will enjoy a day spent with chickens and their dog, and their daughter will happily play with him as well.

So I'll update you with some photos, and maybe a link or two when we return. I've been a busy little lady myself these past few nights, as I am making a very large bag to take to the hospital with me when I have the baby in one month from now. It's huge. It's monumental. It's the first bag I've ever made that wasn't just two panels folded in half and sewed up the sides (and I've only made one of those too!). I managed to get shipped around the country in my first year of highschool, so after four different schools I found myself in cooking and woodwork for the first year of highschool, and until my partners' grandparents bought me a sewing machine I'd never even ever turned one on. So stay tuned, there WILL be brag photos for my first 'big' creation!