72/365

Grace in small things.

1. A beautiful wedding in Norway that got everybody a bit weepy.

2. A weekend on the seaside in Norway! Unpacking today, I had to shake sand out of everything. Grassy sand dunes on a breezy day are the best.

3. Dhari got to be a page boy at the wedding. He took his job so seriously - it was adorable (up until the bit where he didn't want to hand over the ring to the best man).

4. I sent Marcus on an underpants buying mission. He bought me a pack of GIANT maternity knickers. This cracks me up to no end. (bit ironic that this is in a Grace in small things post, when these knickers are nowhere near small - they put granny pants to shame) mwahahahahahah

5. My new bed is amazing!

66/365

Grace in small things.

1. I totally made Dhari a pair of bird wings (from this tutorial). It took me hours, but it turned out to be something truly special. And, as I'm a tiny-bit of a hippy, I really like that his first cape is bird wings and not a superhero one. Not that there's anything wrong with superheroes - I just like nature better.

I made it with some fabric my mom gave me ages ago. She used it as table cloths for some themed party she had, and thought it might make cute banditos. Sadly, while I love gingham for banditos, it was the wrong fabric. But I found a use for it finally! And I have loads more left over, if anyone else wants to make some matching bird wings. Or, if you want me to make them for you (or your toddler, whatever). But it'll cost you, because like I mentioned before, it takes hours. :) Pictures to come.

2. We had a glorious (and very busy) trip to the USA. Sunshine, family, friends, dinosaurs, legos, boats, pancakes...I could go on and on, but I won't. I'll just leave it with this:

3. Just found out yesterday that the twins are both boys. I will be totally outnumbered, but this is going to be loads of fun.

4. So far so good on the sale of our flat. Hoping it gets done quickly! I'm ready to get into that house!

5. Dhari let me sleep in a little bit today.

52/365

Grace in small things.

1. Dhari loves Where the Wild Things Are.

2. Sold a Raj bunting at the beginning of the week to a lady who seemed REALLY EXCITED!!!! about its impending presence at a party. Yay! I sensed the warm fuzzies in the purchase, so I threw in a little freebie. That's always fun.

3. Have had fun with this little up-cycle project:

So easy. I love a bit of immediate gratification. I did mine with the pretty decorative tape I bought at Renegade Craft Fair. Here's the finished product:

4. My mom and dad will be here this time next week.

5. Tenerife was awesome. I read a lot, laughed a lot, drank a lot, and basked a lot.

51/365

Grace in small things.

1. Been selling a ticky tock a week.

2. This time tomorrow, I'll be on a plane to Tenerife for Reegers' hen do! Bring on the sunshine and poolside cocktails.

3. I pretty much like my new job, for the most part.

4. Welch's grape juice is on sale at Waitrose. Yum.

5. Am tearing through the Millennium series. It's not my preferred genre, but the stories and the characters (especially Lisbeth) just suck me in.

The Big Countdown.

Dhari keeps saying, "Want to go see Grandpa and Grandma in July." I'm pretty certain he thinks July is a place, like Florida or Missouri. So to give him a better idea of when we're going to see Grandpa and Grandma, I made a little paper chain for him. Since there are 30 links to this chain, and that is FOREVER to a two year old, I wrote in little things for Dhari to look forward to on the links of the chain. Not that he can read, but at least I can show him the letters when he tears off a link and say "Look Dhari! We get to see Artie today!"

27/365

Grace in Small Things.

1. Sunshine.

2. Hanging out by the swimming pool.

3. Boat rides in the late afternoon.

4. Crafting, crafting, crafting.

5. Grits for breakfast!

26/365

Grace in small things.

1. A fab night at the Jazz Cafe, up close and personal with London's cool set (including, but not limited to, Boy George - oh, I will never get over this...)

2. Facebook friends may recall me saying something about being desperate for a bit of Moet and macaroons. Well, the other evening, Marcus came home from work with the telltale Paul box. Inside it was the tastiest, most delectable raspberry macaroon ever (that I know of anyway). Yum.

3. I finished my stitching rendition of waterpenny's Sunday Afternoon! I did it at the edge of a pillowcase, then finished it off with some spring green grosgrain ribbon.

There are two more playful tulips to the right. If you want to see them, visit my flickr stream. I loved doing this embroidery. Waterpenny's (aka DanaK) illustrations just make me smile (remember the gingerbread zombies?). And stitching them to life makes me smile even more!

4. The success I've had on ebay the past couple of weeks. It's amazing how other people will willingly pay for your old stuff.

5. Only one week now, until I'm in sunny Florida. Yay! I know I've already listed this one before, but it just makes me THAT happy.

24/365

Grace in small things.

1. So, I've saved up some monies, and have decided to go ahead and open Pandora's box. Or a can of worms. Or what-have-you. I am going to actually, really and truly, buy something off my favourites page on Etsy!!! The only problem is, I have THREE pages of favourites and I can't decide what to get? I only have £40. Please help me decide. Just have a look, and then in the comments section, let me know what you think. I need retail therapy, but I want to do it right. Handmade. Or vintage, of course.

2. Today, I stripped Dhari down to his nappy, cranked up the heating, and set him to work on some awesome little sponge-paintings. I'm going to cut them in half now and use them for his very belated thank you cards. He definitely had some fun painting himself and even tasting the paint once or twice.

I got the idea originally from an article at Rhythm of the Home by Jean Van't Hul, which I read ages ago. Then the other day, I saw something similar on Mister Maker (oh, CBeebies...), so decided to give it a try on different colours of craft paper. Next time, I'll most definitely use Jean's suggestion of a stretched canvas. Less likely to tear.

3. Dhari keeps pulling down the Serge Gainsbourg albums. This is fantastic because it means he already has excellent taste in music. "Ooh ooh ooh! Cha cha cha du loup!"

4. Cherry 7up.

5. Florida. Bring it.

17/365

Grace in Small Things.

1. Dhari's love of falling down. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh No! OH NO!"

2. Swimming pools on roofs. More importantly, reading in lounge chairs next to swimming pools on roofs.

3. Making time for breakfast as a family. We do this pretty much every single day. This reminds me that while my New Year's resolution is to work on the rhythm of MY home, some of it is already in place. Rad.

4. Finding sand in my handbag, pockets, shoes, et cetera when it's 5 C outside here.

Certainly not 5C there, though. *sigh*

5. Misfits Christmas special. Hee-larious and mentali.

On the road again (17 August 2009)

Take a butcher’s at the photo above. Apparently, this is what my mouth looks like when I’m being a smart ass.