Showing posts with label Thinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thinking. Show all posts

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Photo Challenge - Day 3

"Clouds"

The Captain and I love lying back on the trampoline and looking up at the sky through the leaves of the jacaranda tree.  We spot the sea plane flying to Cottage Point or back to Rose Bay, kookaburras, lorikeets, butterflies and the occasional cockatoo. The little guy just likes to run round and round in circles on it!

We have had so much rain in Sydney recently that I was fortunate to capture some clouds dancing across a rare bright blue sky. Even as I type this it is raining again...

Friday, June 3, 2011

Photo Challenge - Day 2


"What I wore"

Cardigan,  possibly my favourite item of clothing, frequently worn in the evening on the couch - Country Road

Peasant Blouse - Country Road

Singlet top, I love layering, (not that you can really see the singlet top in this photo, but for accuracy thought that it's presence should be noted)  - Petit Bateau

Scarf (our house is freezing!) - Country Road (can you tell I love their basics?)

Jeans - GAP

Shoes - very dusty Campers (have had this pair since university and they are still favourites!)

Accessory - the Captain's scooter (these scooters are so cool they deserve a blog post of their own one day!)

Location - the new living room (perfect for scootering in)

"What he wore"

Cargo's - Country Road (love their kid's clothes too....)

Vest - Baby Gap

T-Shirt - Hand me down

Model's own scooter!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Photo Challenge - Day 1

Two of my blog friends, (well Pen and I know each other in real life as our big boys are good mates), are doing this photography challenge and as I am a joiner (FF 2010) I am giving it a shot.  Nevermind that I know nothing about photography and don't even have an SLR or a DSLR!


I think it will be an interesting journey, and educational.  Today I discovered how to turn the screen around on the camera so that you can see yourself in-order to take a self-portrait.  There you go. Thankfully, husband didn't charge me the equivalent of a small countries GDP for this most recent tech call out. 

So, without further ado, Day 1's photo:

I am 38 years old and am practically blind in my left eye (hence squinty, not quite looking in the same direction, unruly left eye).  I rarely wear make-up, save for the occasional evening out! Make-up was one of my former job requirements so I am quite enjoying not wearing it now.  I usually wear my hair up, but have recently been making a bit more effort to wear it long.  I am trying to decide whether to cut it all off.

As the other girls are one day ahead of me, I will try and catch up and post a photo of what I am wearing today... if I can master the self-timer thingy!  Starting to regret not reading the camera instruction manual now as don't think husband will appreciate another needy phone call. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

A fabulous discovery on the Northern Beaches!



 One of my most beloved cafes, The Boat House at Palm Beach, which I adore because of it's fabulous garden/beach setting:



and the scattered lobster pots:


Hmm, lobster pots, I definitely  have a thing about them!   As a littly we often holidayed with my cousins at our grandparents house, south of Bateman's Bay at Circuit Beach.  One of our many school holiday traditions was to jump into bed with Gran in the mornings.  Grandad would then serve us all (6 of us!) breakfast in bed.  In summer it was always buttery vegemite toast fingers and freshly squeezed orange juice. In winter, porridge with brown sugar and cream. As we ate breakfast and fought, sort of good naturedly  about whose feet were coldest and who was taking up too much room, we would all simultaneously be keeping a weather eye out on the little beach and rocky inlet that was literally at the bottom of their garden for the lobster pot man. He would row out to the pots in a little white wooden boat that we could spot from the bedroom window and it was always a great thrill if you were the one to sight him first. This early obsession with lobster pots has had some impact on me I think! 

Back to The Boat House though:




Fresh produce and flowers are for sale and the way it is all arranged is stunning!




But!!!!  Even better is The Boat Houses' new sibling Armchair Collective, a very short drive from Pirate HQ.   It is in Mona Vale just by the SLSC for anyone interested in popping in (worth it):


Same styling and fresh produce:



Inside there is so much more though:



Am trying to convince husband that we need this lamp (on my side of the bed of course):


Because of this chap that hangs out on the deck at Depot:


A claw foot has been on my wish list forever (still haven't got my way on that one) so I spent ages admiring this one and it's tree of birds (hoping to make evil husband feel guilty):



Anyway, the coffee is excellent and we have now eaten there a few times, everything has been delicious except the burger, husband is a burger connoisseur and he only gave it a 5/10.  He is very burger fussy though so it was probably delicious as well.

As for the renovation.  This is what our house looks like:


And, we are living in it.  Naturally, my dirt monkeys are adoring it, me though.... well, it is time consuming and overwhelming and the reason why I haven't been in here much or had time to catch up with all of you properly.  I don't want to jinx anything by typing into words here so will just say...  hopefully I will have more time to catch up with everyone soon!!! x

Friday, April 29, 2011

A holiday, a hiatus, the horror of living in a construction site and of course, the Wedding

Hello, not sure if there is anyone still to say hello to after such a long and unplanned break, but if anyone is still interested... I am back!

Firstly,  many thanks to the gorgeous people that emailed and left comments checking in on me.  I was so touched to hear from you, and Julia, your comments had me giggling (they always do though!).  We actually have been sort of at sea! We have been away at the beach house, a place so lovely but also so remote that there is no mobile service and also no internet service.  I know, it is kind of hard to believe in this day and age, but yes such places do exist!

The other reason for the lengthy hiatus is that our house is currently a construction site.  Anyway more about that to follow soon but for those that have asked, we are 99% sure that we are going to paint the house Dulux Oyster Linen, the same colour as the house in the first two images of last post, with chalk USA trims.  The front door will be either black or gunmetal grey but this is still to be decided, ...the  door knocker I have chosen is  black and is currently on it's way from France.  When it gets here I will make a final decision regarding the house/door colour!  More about the renovation to follow very soon! 

Meanwhile, here are some holiday snaps:








... and, despite the construction site it is wonderful to be home! I am currently watching the Royal Wedding (and typing this!)  in a room in which two of the walls are comprised solely of orange plastic.  The doors out to the backyard are nailed shut and the rain is slowly drifting in.  Nevertheless, I am curled up on the couch, cocooned in a blanket that my grandmother knitted for my brother when he went off to boarding school at Timbertop (where Prince Charles went briefly), enjoying a glass of champagne and reminiscing about the last itme I watched a British Royal Wedding.  It was 1981 and we were on posting in India.  I think my parents might have been out or away as I watched the Wedding with my Ayah (nanny) and all the other servants and their families,  in the servants quarters behind our house.  There were at least a dozen of us squashed into a tiny room, watching the wedding on an even tinier black and white television, but I can still remember how thrilling it all was to a little 9 year old.   It was the only thing that I saw on television in India and in English during the course of our posting to Delhi. 

Hope all are well and I will be along to visit you all soon. xx

edited to add:

Julia, this is the new spa:

Monday, December 20, 2010

It's been 6 years... and best wishes to the lovely Jane.

Recently I celebrated my sixth wedding annniversary.    In this relatively short time, together we have experienced the truly magnificent and also the one rather random and unexpected shock, it has almost all been magnificent though and I am truly grateful to my wonderful husband for the last six years.




It hardly seems possible that it was six years ago that we gathered all our friends and family together to celebrate our marriage:




and drank copious amounts of champagne and watched fireworks and celebrated till early the next morning:


at my favourite place in the world:



A special day, but it all seems rather insignificant though in the scheme of things when I think that today the lovely, dignified and courageous Jane undergoes surgery.   Best wishes for a speedy recovery Jane.




Monday, November 8, 2010

Mr Mischief (aka baby Pirate)


When your children are born you imagine that one day with your loving and nurturing care they will grow up to be Noble Prize winning authors, eminent surgeons, you know pillars of society types! Then gradually your ambitions for them start to disentegrate and you realise that all that really matters is that they grow up to be happy and in this one's case... we are doing our best to prevent him from spending some time at Her Majesty's Pleasure.  Yes we have a two year old delinquent Chez Pirate. 

Vandal?  Check!  Indeed, this one has a future career as a graffiti artist.  Most significant crime?  He walked up the hall with a purple crayon and left a line running the length of the hall and the very large, rather expensive painting hanging in the hall?  Yes, went straight over the top of that too. 

Thief? Check!  Twice now we have found him harbouring stolen goods in his pram.  He lunges for anything in reach and then hides whatever takes his fancy.  We now have to search him and the pram before leaving any shops.

Identity theft?  Check! He raided my purse and ran off with the drivers licence.  Who knows what he was planning to use it for?  When we finally found it, he had somehow snapped it in half.  The mind boggles just thinking about it!

Here he is perfecting his break and enter techniques.  Note the collection of tools at his feet:


Hmmmm.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

A Tag - Thank you Sarah!


The lovely and always thoughtful Sarah at One Perfect Day has passed me a getting to know you tag.  One day I really hope to sit down and have a coffee and a slice of her raspberry cake with her!

What is your favourite time of the day?

It used to be the morning,but since I have had children I love the end of the day.  After everyone is fed and washed and the boys are in  bed I do a final tidy up of the house and then sit down and have a chat to my husband.  Sometimes we will have a glass of wine together, often I have a peppermint tea.  A brief moment of peace and quiet, knowing that the boys are safe sleeping and all is well in the world, before bed!


Where and when did you meet the love of your life?

In 1997, I was at university and had a part-time job in a big law firm in the city.  One day a bicycle courier walked in to the mail room in head to toe lycra ... and I will have to do a blog post one day with the rest of the story!


What three words would your friends outside of the blogging world use to describe you?

Loyal, clever, fun (from Veronica who I met at Girl Guides when we were both 12!)



What country would you like to visit and why?

India.  It was my favourite posting (my father was a diplomat) and I would love to go back to see my Ayah (Nanny) and introduce my boys to her!  I have been lucky enough to travel the world, both through my job as a flight attendant and my childhood travelling with my parents and India was the most magical and wonderful place.  I still dream about it and I haven't been back since I was 10 years old.


What is your favourite dish to cook?

Scrambled eggs, made properly with cream and buttery toast. 

 
Salt or sugar?

Both.  I love Asian cuisine (having grown up in predominantly Asian countries...) and both flavours are fundamental.


What are your must have make up or beauty items?

Jojoba Oil (love it as a moisturiser) and Moroccan Oil (hair),  as I had to wear make up every day for work I quite enjoy not wearing it now. If I am going out at night though, a bit of bronzer (Nars Laguna), Mascara (Covergirl Lash Exact) and Lip Gloss (Mac) always makes me feel groomed! 


What are your favourite flowers?

Do I have to choose....?  I adore so many, favourites include peonies, blossoms, singapore orchids and roses.



What are your worst vices...honestly?

Champagne and coffee.



At what time of your life were you happiest and why?

When we found out that the hole in The Captain's heart didn't require surgery.  I was so grateful that my tiny and precious little baby would not have to have open heart surgery.

Thank you Sarah for tagging me, I feel very honoured!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Captain and his imagination.


The Captain has always had an extraordinary imagination.  Mostly we have encouraged it.  (We did get a bit fed up with Pup and Dink though!)  I was doing the shopping a couple of days ago. Kids in the trolley. The Captain was in the main basket sitting facing the front and pretending to drive the trolley. He was steering an imaginary wheel, braking and grinding through the gears to his hearts content. I pulled up at the Bakery to pick up some bread and a little boy appproached about the same age as the Captain.  With a withering glance, he scathingly said: "you're not driving."  The Captain's little shoulders slumped and he turned to look at me, confusion and hurt in his eyes.   I just felt and saw his spirit crushed.  The lioness protecting her cub roared!  Loudly I announced to the Captain to take no notice, an imagination is a wonderful thing, drive on.  He didn't do it again though. 


I have thought about this incident a lot over the past few days, then we visited a playground on the other side of town.  The Captain  befriended  a little boy that was a carbon copy of himself. Wavy dark hair and eyes. Both in green t-shirts and board shorts. Is that why they started playing? I don't know, but it didn't take long for them to start playing fire engines, explorers, dinosaur hunters... they had a fantastic time together! When it was time for Tom to leave his mum approached and commented that Tom struggled to find playmates as they often don't seem to understand imaginary play.   We swapped numbers and despite the hour long drive between our homes have organised to play again.  I guess when you find like minded people you snatch the moment. 

Is the lack of imaginary play amongst kids now the result of watching too much television or spending hours in front of computer games?   Love to hear what others think!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Bangkok!

I am feeling a bit in need of a holiday.  I don't know if it is because it is school holidays and I feel like I am supposed to be on holiday or if I am missing my old life a fraction.  In my former life I was a flight attendant, a job I absolutely loved! Plenty of opportunity for travel,  suprisingly generous rest time and holidays, plus the very unique bonus of an ever changing workplace and workforce.  I don't miss those carts at all or the occasional tedious passenger.  I do miss the people, the lifestyle and the travel though, in particular Bangkok!

I have a bit of a passion for Thailand, probably because I was born there and also because it is such a wonderful place to visit. 

Some of my favourite things about Bangkok include:


The unique gardens!
                                                     
                     


The Markets.  The photo above is of the Suan Luam Night Bazaar.  Lots of small shops and some fabulous outdoor restaurants.  Nothing like the notorious (and horrid) Patpong Market.  For daytime markets either travel out of town to the Damnoen Saduak (the floating market) and a must is the Chatuchak Weekend Market.  I have been going to Chatuchak since I was a little girl and am still in awe each visit. 




River life.  Never take a tuk tuk or a taxi if possible. Travel on the river taxi's.  It is the best way to see the city and so much faster and cheaper.  The average fare is less than a $1!  Bangkok is built along a river and is interlaced with canals so it really is a marvellous and scenic way to travel. 




Yes, Bangkok is grimy and corrupt but there is also a remarkable beauty in this unique and dynamic city if you look for it.  I am longing to return. 

Friday, September 24, 2010

Pirates, and a pool update.


I have always been fascinated by pirates, ever since I can remember. As a kid we used to go camping on remote islands off the coast of Malaysia and I can still remember my parents and the friends we often travelled with discussing what to do if we were attacked by pirates. We would travel out to the islands on rickety old wooden fishing boats and all the kids would be crowded around the bow, scouring the horizon, desperately hoping to spot an approaching pirate ship. We really had no idea of the the true dangers associated with a pirate attack! Now as an adult and the mother of two pirate obsessed boys I wonder who the pirates employed to do their PR and marketing? What is it about plunder, pillage and rape that is so glamourous? Is it simply the idea of the individual living outside of society's constraints? Seeking their fortune and sailing the seven seas? Hmmm, it does sound glamourous when you omit the villainous aspects!

Number 1 pirate attended a pirate party on the weekend and also celebrated International Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept 19th if you fancy celebrating next year) at pre-school. He LOVED it! His birthday is approaching and he has asked to have a pirate party, of course!





Meanwhile, the swimming pool renovation continued. As the Captain was off at pre-school, the little one sat by the pool mesmerised:



Or if the tile cutting machine got too noisy, he relocated to the chatterbean:

The coping is now finished:



Tiling has begun:

Hopefully photos of us swimming in it to follow soon!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Hmmm, 6 things...

The lovely and inspiring Sarah from One Perfect Day has tagged me as part of the Creative Blogger Meme. Thank you Sarah!

So six things about me...

1. I collect vintage children's books. Obsessively. The majority of my collection (it is in the hundreds!) is made up of first edition Enid Blytons.

2. For my 25th birthday a friend gave me a palm reading as a fun birthday present and rather alarmingly, everything that the palm reader has said has come true (so far anyway....). He even predicted the two boys correctly. I scoffed at him at the time as well.

3. I was born in Bangkok and spent most of my childhood living in different parts of Asia. I attended school in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, France and Australia. Best. Childhood. Ever. Thank you Mum and Dad!

4. I am an optimist and try to always look for the good in every situation and the best in people.

5. I am almost blind in one eye. My mum had dengue fever when she was pregnant with me.

6. I was quite the tom boy as a little girl. (I blame George from the Famous Five for this!). I insisted on having my hair short, loved dressing up as a pirate, was always up a tree (if not reading a book!) and loved playing with all the boys! Good preparation for playing with my two pirates!

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