The OP SHOP Makeover

So in a previous post I bragged about my first op shop experience and the most gorgeous dolly bed that I happened upon.

Well as part of my nesting/sewing phase I have revamped the bed to suit the Ruby Red theme we have going and will tie in nicely (though of no where near the same standard as Emma's quilt).

So here is the finished result.

What I did was recover the pink ribbon trimming on the canopy. I also made a little red gingham check fitted sheet and 2 quilts and a pillow case using up all of my red fabric scraps. The black contrast is actually dotted but it doesnt seem to show up all that well in the pics.

Oh and guess what...I have packed my hospital bag..........finally. YAY for me.

In the mail

yeterday I received two parcels. The first one was my order of books to read whilst on maternity leave from Amazon. Will talk more about those in a future blog.

The second item was from Emma who has made the most beautiful quilt for Ruby's bed for me. I am yet to actually put the quilt on Ruby's bed yet so I have hidden it in the baby's room at present so I can just take it in, in all its newness and amazing quality and design.

Watch this space for an update on the red room.

p.s I still haven't packed that damn bag yet.......

Tomorrow

I will make some kind of effort to pack a bag that should resemble something that people call a 'hospital bag'.

I promise I really really will.

A Multiple Update

Aren't long weekends the best.

So much to catch up on...

First up Snr Hillbilly must read my blog as he bought me home a jumbo bucket of Juicy Fruit. He is a sweetie. Pity the juicy fruit memory did not meet the current product they sell. My little experiment went something like this:

a) initial bite - the memory of a nice sweet crunchy shell - 6/10 - shell still crunchy but not in the same league as it used to be

b) flavour - 10/10 - still the same tasting Juicy Fruit from my childhood they obviously haven't messed the recipe.

c) longevity - 1/10 - after 1min 45 secs (yes I timed it) all flavour had left the building and I was left with this tasteless rubbery thing in my mouth.

Overall the memory of juicy fruit did not pass the test and all up I was very disappointed.

Oh well moving on after all it is only gum.

This is the first Easter where Baby Hillbilly kind of got it. So all up our weekend was jam packed.

Good Friday was spent at Grandma & Poppy's where we started the day with Eggs Benedict (smoked salmon for the fish lovers and baked beans for the non smoked salmon eaters) we then ate for lunch lovely fish, prawns, salmon pate (which Baby Hillbilly loved) and smoked salmon. We then tuned into Max (on Austar) and kept an eye on the Top 1000 songs countdown as well as the timer (my brain really is shot took me over 10 mins to figure out when the countdown would end.

Like father like son - both desperate to try on Baby Hillbilly's new jewels. A queen and his little princess in waiting.

Easter Saturday we did a bit of shopping and looked into bikes and bike trailers for Snr Hillbilly. We also bought Baby Hillbilly a copy of the new Dorothy Dinosaur dvd - which she just loves and actually watches. The kids also made their Easter Baskets (aka noodle boxes with stickers stuck on them artistically by the duo.

Just a random photo of the girl smiling (not straining)

Easter Sunday was an early start with the discovery of what the Easter Bunny bought - one egg and an electric toothbrush. I decided to go with the theory that it was best to eat the egg now and be done with it rather than trying to reason and ration. Surprisingly they hardly ate any of it. They were more keen on the Easter Egg hunt. We then made Rabbit shaped gingerbread cookies to fill in the time until it was a decent hour to head back to Grandmas for a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs and ham. The Easter egg hunt was also conducted which they both loved. We were still keeping an eye on Max and the Top 1000 where I discovered that Peter Andre (yes the one married to that page 3 girl in the UK) made it twice with the same song - Funky Junky. Now I hear you ask how do you know this because I sat mesmerised to the first showing of it trying to figure out if the dancing girl in the clip was Livinia Nixon or not. Then I saw it again on Sunday. Was it not bad enough that we had to witness it the first time..tsk tsk tsk.


Easter Monday was very low key with breakfast down at our local cafe on the beach with friends then into town sussing out new lounges for our front room. I also managed to get abit of sewing done - a fitted cradle sheet (rather disasterous but no one will be the wiser) and 99% completion of another pj set for another birthday girl who is turning 3 in April - just need to sew the matching crayon roll and I can tick a few things off my to do list.


Just as an update on the pj set I did a few things different this time.

• instead of making the contrast a cuff I just made it a hem which has a nicer finished effect, pity my measuring was a bit off and one contrast hem is a bit wider in one spot.
• I added a contrast pocket to the pants
• I think these ones wont be so baggy and will fit the recipient better as I used a pair of Baby Hillbilly's pj bottoms as a guide.

More fairy claps to those who got to the end...

When was the last time

you had a piece of Juicy Fruit the chewing gum not an actual piece of fruit dripping in natural goodness.

I am reading this murder mystery (it is actually scaring me a bit to be honest) and in it the detective ate a piece of Juicy Fruit. Now being 37 weeks pg for the past ummm 37 weeks I have indulged all my food cravings and now that I have read those 2 words I really want a piece of Juicy Fruit.

I would have to estimate it would be hmm maybe 10 years since I have had a piece of good ol juicy fruit. Since the invent of those sugar free extra gums etc Juicy Fruit and PK (ohhh the memories) have all been but relegated to sugar heaven.

So how long has it been since you ate Juicy Fruit?

I Lied

Yeah sorry about that regular reader. I said I was ready to have this baby and was ultra organised blah blah but truth be told I just realised today that I am still yet to pack my bag for hospital.

Damn is that not just the worst job. I still need all my fat clothes and my man jocks to wear on a day to day basis and I know if I try to pack it whilst in labour it will end in disaster.

Oh well shit happens hey..

On a side note Baby Hillbilly could be in for her second round of black eyes. Had to pick her up from daycare today (3 days of work left and I chuck a sickie on one of them...tsk tsk tsk) as she slipped while running (which she does on a regular basis) and went head first (well nose first it would seem) into the wall and she has a swollen nose. Poor mite. She was fine but once she saw me I had no chance of getting back to work without major tears and tanties.

Will keep you updated on the bruise outcome.

A Catch Up

This post will be a disjointed mishmash as I have had a few things I wanted to blog about but either hadn't got around to taking a photo or finishing it.

My First Op Shop Expedition...

A few weeks ago I had to buy a cradle for this new baby (just had too... you know when you get a bee in your bonnet about something - well this was my bee) anyway next door to the place where I wanted to buy this cradle was a Salvo's so I thought what the hey I will go in anc check it out and as I walked in the door this is what I spied with my little eye.

It is a white iron canopy dolls bed. Now what little girl wouldn't go ga-ga over this I know my inner little girl did. Now for those who know me, know that I have a love of all things RED know that in the coming weeks the bedding for this bed will have had a red makeover. I am going to try and time it so as it is all finished for when the new baby comes home so she has something for her to focus on. At present the bed is at Grandma's so it will feel like new when I have finished the bedding.

It cost me $25 and came with a doll which (not being a doll expert in the slightest) we think is a Baby Born (zapf creations????) and was wearing a 000 Osh Kosh dress... so how cool was my first op shop experience.

The Gift

Now this next little pic is of a gift I have made for my Best Friends little girl who is turning 7 on Wednesday. She is a bit of a ladybug fan so I am hoping she will love her new pj's and matching crayon roll. I just hope and pray that when K washes it for the first time it doesn't fall apart. I obviously bought the singlet but made the pants with contrasting cuff and pocket on the singlet. This was my first attempt and I am hoping that the next ones will be better as I perfect the cuff and pocket. I also hope to put a matching pocket on the pants next time as well.

Bringing Baby Home

Now what has become a tradition (aka something I like to do which also involves spending money - which for those who know me really well will know I love to do...) is to buy the baby a new outfit to come home in. Being #3 this was especially important to me because well this poor child will affectionately be known as Second Hand Sam. So now we are pretty much just ready and waiting for this baby to arrive. The room is clean, the fakuilt finished and washed (it didn't fall apart...yay for me) the clothes are washed and sorted, the baby capsule has been installed and now I can happily say the coming home outfit has been purchased. Again for those who know me will know it will probably be red...and well guess what, it is. So here is a pic of the outfit and a close up of the colours.

It has to be unisex as we do not find out the flavour and also I am also charting new territory with having a baby in April because for those who know I have only given birth (twice) on the same date, so this newborn in Autumn/Winter is all new to me.

So anyway this is a mammoth post and you all probably flicked to some other station half way through but for those still reading fairy claps for you. Mwah xxxx

Best Friend

This is another challenge for Shannon and I to keep us motivated with our blogging. This months challenge is to blog about our best friend and we can't be lame and say that our best friend is our husband. So that is the only rule and we are also going to tag some fellow bloggers so we can read all about their best friends. Also none of that best friends forever sappy shit stories either. (I love the fact that I make up games and the rules as I go along) As for last months challenge on Monday Memories we both did 3 not the 4 as originally planned but I think we both just ran out of inspiration but 3 was a damn fine effort from practiced procrastinators me thinks.

So anyway about my best friend...we shall call her K as I am not sure if she would like to be outted on the www as my friend..maybe I am her secret friend. But anyway how and why K and I are friends.

How we met.

We met at work. I had already been with the company for a few years. I am a very hard person to get to know as all my friends will attest to I think what I would term as shyness people might interpret as aloofness, rude and ignorant. When in actual fact I am quite shy and afraid of meeting new people. (I think a fear of rejection - I don't know why but I do).

A few months after K started we both had to travel to another town together for a training session. We had to drive (300km away) now we really did not know each other that well and I was dead nervous about spending 3 hours in a car with a virtual stranger. So I took a magazine to read in the car (which she later told me she thought was highly rude). So anyway the car trip I can not remember all that well but it cant have been too bad. Anyway we were staying in this motel (separate rooms) and a colleague left a note for me (knowing that I was a young gal in town and probably looking for something to do) telling me that it was O Week at the uni and that there was some function on at the Uni bar. So K and I decided to go... About 8 hours of solid drinking, dancing and drunk behaviour we bonded.

We were then pretty much as thick as thieves at work and socially (we lived in a small town).

OUr friendship blossomed and K and her partner and me and Snr Hillbilly all became firm friends. We all spent about 5 years I think together in this small town living the DINK lifestyle.

I love that K is brutally honest and will call a spade a spade, gives good advice and is a good shoulder or ear for me. We have similar philosophy's but are very different. Also our shared love of good food and good wine helps...

Eventually K and her partner split up (not married) this was a big shock for us all but I loved K and supported her decision. This was a tough time for her as lot of people thought these guys would be together forever.

Anyway K left town and met someone else. Snr Hillbilly and I got engaged and then married. K was my maid of honour. K and her new partner also got engaged and married 3 mths after us. I was matron of honour at her wedding (where I was the dud bridesmaid - don't ask but lets just say, dud dress, dud hair and broken jewellery all formed part of my duties)

We then moved to the same town as K and her husband.

Now

K is still married with 4 beautiful daughters living in a beautiful home and family life.

Me well we have since moved again (we are now over 300km away) with 2 + 1 on the way (I will not, I repeat not be attempting a 4th to keep up with K). We have irregular contact due to busy lives with kids and work but when we connect it is like old times.

The future

We are planning a big trip next year (both of us celebrating 10 years of wedding bliss) with all our kids as well as another friend (K's friend who I have inherited - dont you love inherited friends). We were all married in 1999 and between the 3 couples there will be 10 kids and 6 adults attempting to fly overseas and travel together somewhere. Should be a laff.

An old 'family' tradition was that every easter we would go camping. This has been a bit hard over the past few years due to kids or one of us being pg at the time but hopefully in the near future (even next year) we will be able to resume that camping trip tradition.

We still have a shared love of good food and wine and I can't wait to catch up with her. Maybe once I finish baby stuff we can go away for a girls weekend. Now that would be good.

I think we will be friends forever and that our next big milestones will be celebrating our own 40ths then our kids 21st, weddings and grandchildren.

So now I am going to tag Mothership , Emma and Shel to tell us about your best friend.

The Birthday Boy

Snr Hillbilly turned 37 today. He is nearly at the top of that much talked about hill and ready to start the decline.

Well in true me me me style I shall make this post all about, well me of course...

Well I spoilt the boy today. With a lovely dinner, dessert, opened one of his favourte bottles of red (Wolf Blass Gold Label Cab Sauv - 2003) which we purchased at the cellar door when we were at the Barossa. And lots of pressies.

To say I am exhausted is an understatement. The fact that I am even sitting upright is a small miracle but I think I am too tired to move.

So here are some pics of our celebratory dinner.

The table laden with beautiful roses and gifts

Everyone ready to eat

The birthday boy

And always the party girl Baby Hillbilly

imbibing in some sparkling mineral water in the 'good' crystal

It's a Fakuilt

That is fake quilt for the unitiated. Couldn't go giving it a name like a quilt when I truly am not a quilters butt hole.

Anyway it is neeeeeeeeearly done. The front is finished I have 'quilted' the wadding to the front and I would be finished but the piece I bought for the backing is not big enough so off to buy more fabric.

Anyway not bad for a novice if I do say so myself.

Also a pic of Baby Hillbilly thinking that her dad's smelly work socks are the latest fashion must have. With her cheesy cheeky fake smile for the camera.

Bloody Hell

I think I say that word a lot. Seems innocent enough doesn't it. But when you hear your 2 yr old playing in her room and she yells out "Buddy Hell" time to stop saying it me thinks.

What can I say now..

By Jingoes
Holey Moley - umm a bit too 60's batman
Strewth - ergggh Alf from HOme and Away - butnot too bad as long as I dont finish with stone the flamin' crows.
oh dear - a bit too 50's housewife
bite my tongue - may end in no tip of tongue or loss of taste buds
Bugger - hmm nope dont like the sound of that either much.


Feel free to offer some alternatives.

p.s - Monday Memory is a bit late this week I am still searching for a photo.