A soak in the bath

I have been dreaming of having a long soak in a gorgeous freestanding bath a lot over the past week.Now with our ensuite complete we have a wonderful shower but we won't have the new family bathroom and therefore a bath for at least another three months but more likely four (or actually when you talk builders time-lines five).


It has been a difficult week and I haven't been on the blog for over a week. Last week I came down with a awful virus early in the week and as I was getting better got the sad news that my Grandma had passed away. It was very unexpected even though she was 91 but she did pass away peacefully in her sleep which is good. We had the funeral a couple of days ago. It was a beautiful service with lovely speeches, very fitting for the strong, inspiring women she was, a woman well ahead of her time. To give you an idea we shared a love for the TV show Sex in the City and she worked as a high school teacher even after having children, in a time when this was almost unheard of. Later in life she became a librarian and has passed down her love for books as I read to my children every day.

Also on another note my heart goes out to the people of North Queensland. I was happy to hear a friend of mine who had only just moved up there was safe and not too affected in the end but I am certainly thinking of all of those that were.

So over the week I have been longingly looking at some of my style file images and many magazines, trying to work out just what kind of family bathroom we want, it has been a great distraction. All the images I love are of white very calming spaces.

Love Rachael's bathroom for Room for Everyone blog

And some good news, we had a meeting with our building manager yesterday and they are going to start again late this week, so excited.

Fairies in the garden

For my daughters fifth birthday just before Christmas I set up this little fairy garden. I always imagined that fairies would be attracted to lavender like this one in the background.

And here is my own little fairy out playing treasure hunt at her party. This was the game the kids enjoyed the most, running around the garden collecting gold chocolate coins in cups with the child who collected the most winning a prize.

Summer colour a great distraction from the build

Already mid way through January, so by now was hoping to have a build date for stage two of our renovation, our rear extension - but alas we don't. I was told yesterday by our Building Manager that he hasn't confirmed a carpenter yet, the first trade we need on the job. Others are lined up but can't do anything until the carpenter has started. I am assured though it will be sometime soon, whatever that means!

Good thing is every time I go to the fridge I get a glimpse of the calendar my kids gave me for Christmas and it instantly cheers me up. The picture for January is of a Provincial market in France, love the colour and the gorgeous terracotta houses that surround the market square.

A wander in the garden in its full Summer bloom also helps. These beautiful Saliva's greet me as I come in the front gate......

and this gorgeous fuchsia hangs over the iron railing on the front porch.......

a wander around the back garden and I smell and admire the Lavender.....

and love the tall Agapantha flowers against the green backdrop of the Canadian Maple and Jasmine.

A house with kids

I love to look at houses in magazines and there is always at least one in every issue of Home Beautiful or Real Living (my two favourites) that I think is close to perfect, a dream house and more often then not they are family homes with young children. So I wonder when the photo shoot is over how long does the house stay looking that way?


A friend recently posted the following on Facebook -

The Movement to Restore Children’s Play Gains Momentum

www.nytimes.comAdvocates are reaching out to parents, who are not always comfortable with the chaos and disarray caused by unstructured play.

And even though I am not a big fan of mess and like things just so, I love my kids making up games and setting up their imaginary Worlds, so much fun to watch. I often even leave it that way until the end of the day and then we have a big clean up (as long as my bench tops and dining table are clean I am happy).

These boxes bought from Go-Lo in the Christmas week are great for toys

So these photos of my house today, having fun and enjoying being with my kids. These are the things that make a house a home.

Drawing mermaids and fish in the mermaid cave underneath the dining table

My thoughts are with you

As so many of you have already expressed in your blogs the devastation that the floods in Queensland are causing is horrific. I am glad to see a number of my blog friends in affected areas are safe.

My thoughts are with you all. Stay safe.

Gxx

New bathroom with a splash of red

Well the ensuite is fairly much finished. We still need to put in hand towel rails either side of the vanity and the toilet roll holder. Minor things so thought would share some pictures with you with my new red towels bought especially for the ensuite.

Those of you that read this blog regularly will know that I am a blue girl but do love splashes of red here and there.
Loving the walk in shower and the new gooseneck showerhead. Certainly appreciated it even more after not having a shower in the house for over seven weeks!

The kids are missing their bath as this is our only bathroom at the moment. The builders will be starting again with the rear extension which includes the family bathroom at the end of January. It is nice having these few weeks with just us in the house and not having to deal with builders mess.

Hope you are having a good weekend.

The Owl and the Pussycat

The Owl and the Pussycat collection (all from Freedom) that my daughter got for her 5th birthday and then Christmas looks great in her bedroom and she loves it. A nice change from all the plastic toys my kids got.

My daughter has already put money in this gorgeous money box and turned the lamp on and off many times. This year I plan to teach her how to read the alarm clock.