anknel and burblets

We have moved

2007-05-25T17:26:00.000+12:00

Please visit us at our new home:
www.anknelandburblets.com

Blog move

2007-05-24T10:04:00.000+12:00

Just a quick note to say I'm in the process of moving my blog from blogger to wordpress and my own domain - so things may go a little awry while I do weird things to the database at this end in the hope of actually importing my entire old blog to the new one.

I have just learned though that the images won't be coming along for the ride, so I have to import them all by hand. Hmm so things may go quiet here for a bit! Hopefully all will be smooth sailing : )

I'll post a link here when it's ready.

------- UPDATE -------

I have done it - with the latest version of WordPress it does the images for you (phew!) and the entire operation took about ten minutes. Yay! Ready soon....

Seven things

2007-05-20T08:29:00.000+12:00

I've been tagged by Carson !
And I tag Tanja...

"Each person tagged gives seven random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write on their blogs seven facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag one other and list their name on your blog. You have to leave the person you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and need to read your blog".

7 random things about me. + 1 because I got a bit carried away.

{ One }

I met my best friend Polly when we were seven. we've somehow been best friends ever since even though she moved to London when we were 14. I visited her in 1990 when I lived in Germany and moved there in 1998. Polly has just moved back to Auckland. Yay!

This photo was taken in Hyde Park, May 2003.

{ Two }

I met Kevin through an online dating agency! Whilst reading TimeOut London one day I noticed they had a new site, TimeOutDating.com. I joined, put Kevin in my shopping basket, he contacted me. We didn't do that whole email me a list of... kind of thing. Neither of us thought that was cool.

We met on May 31st 2004 at The Garden Gate in South End Green just by the Heath. He texted to say he'd be late. I phoned him asking what he wanted to drink. He fell in love then. I fell in love about five minutes after that.

This photo was taken at Madrid Airport August 2004.

{ Three }

If I had to choose only one food in the world ever to eat again it would be carrots. I love them in salad, spag bol, as they are, and sliced on toast. I think they are best sliced on toast. Second runner up would be rice and salad. Third runner up would be Donna Hay's orange and poppy-seed cake made with spelt flour.

{ Four }

Astrid is named after Astrid Lindgren who is the author of my favourite book, The Brother's Lionheart. It's been my favourite book since we were read it at school when I was about 10. I went to the Auckland Steiner School from age 7 to age 14. That's where Polly and I met.

{ Five }

When I was a kid my Dad was into the teachings of a guy named Da Free John. He wrote a lot of books about, well, life, and attaining enlightenment. When I was 11 we went off to his sanctuary in the states. It was called Mountain of Attention and it was about 4 hours from San Francisco in a bus. Well, it was just so much fun for me - hanging out with heaps of girls my age, doing yoga, wandering around the manicured gardens, picking flowers, meditating... there was a zoo there with a llama, secret wells and springs hidden amongst little temples here and there. A girl I made friends with, Cairo - she and I got kicked out of the school for kissing under the mistletoe out in the forest one day.

{ Six }

I lived in Germany for a year when I was 17 on an exchange. I lived in a tiny village called Angfurten, near Wiehl, near Gummersbach, near Köln. I still keep in touch with my host family and I still speak pretty fluent German. I have also lived in Belgium - in a tiny village on the German and Dutch borders - called Gemmenich. I was an au pair. That didn't last long - only 4 months. I lived in London from 1998 until 2006 with a year back in Auckland in between.

This photo is of the house I lived in in Germany.

{ Seven }

I went to University for about 4 months and studied completely the wrong things - ie international business. Needless to say that didn't last long. My first job was as a calligrapher. I was 18 and earning about $80 an hour writing names on invites, table placings and name badges for the New Zealand Investment Conference. My second job was as a receptionist at a sharebroking agency where I got one half of my sharebroking papers. They changed their minds about training me as a sharebroker so I quit and got a job as a graphic designer. The rest is history.

{ Eight }

My ambition was always to be an interior designer then that changed to shoe designer at about 19. I was enrolled to go to the college in Melbourne but it closed down a week before I started. So here I am as a web designer with ambitions to be a fabric / fashion / accessory / paper goods designer with a skincare range.

- - - -

Right - I have to go and get Astrid ready, so I'll finish this up and tag my peeps later !!

Have a fun Sunday...

Time travel. Zips.

2007-05-16T11:31:00.000+12:00

Thanks everybody for helping me decide on the font for Little Orchard. The final logo design will be announced in the next few weeks!

Today's Vessel Wednesday photo is of the old milk and cream bottles I happily discovered on a bit of a nostalgia trip last Saturday. They're joined, on our kitchen table, by a Rosa Pomar print. Do you remember the old milk bottles? Wouldn't it be great if they brought them back!

For mother's day Kevin baked a sponge cake (albeit with organic spelt flour and unrefined sugar) which I decorated in true 70s style - with raspberry jam, whipped cream, mandarins and kiwifruit. Lucky I don't decorate cakes too often then : ) My mum thought it was pretty great though!!

Following my "Tickled Pink" post a couple of weeks ago Laura very kindly offered to do a swap for the Lotta Jansdotter book which I have been not-so-secretly coveting! Yay! Every time I think I've decided what I'll make I find another exciting piece of fabric. Don't worry Laura, I think I have now decided... (she says, dreamily staring into her pink label bowl).

On Friday night as I drove past my favourite fabric shop, Salvage (deserving of its own post one day), I spotted something truly divine in the window! A quick phone call on Saturday morning secured it - although after our big day of sorting I nearly forgot to go and buy it - but I jumped in the car at twenty to five and raced over.

It's 3.5 metres worth so I think we'll get a few bags out of this baby!! (note my glasses on the fabric for size).

The rest of my week has been zips zips zips zips zips zips... I am seriously quite zipped out.

But! I can now sew zips. And I am now good at making pencil cases / glasses cases / makeup bags / tailors chalk cases... Yes! Here are some getting ready to be lined.

I really wanted there to be a way I didn't have to hand-sew in the lining. But I didn't find one, and it's actually very satisfying and beautiful to have hand-sewn lining. Fabrics are Cath (how did I end up with 4 metres of the brown one!!) with Liberty tana lawn lining.

Angie asked earlier about where I studied aromatherapy...

Angie - I studied in London with ITHMA at Regent's Park College. The reason I chose that particular course was because it was in Regent's Park (what a joy every weekend to be there) and because they have a class trip to Provence for the chemistry module. Our teacher was Gabriel Mojay who's quite well known in aromatherapy circles - his method uses oriental medicine as a platform for aromatherapy. Rather tricky to grasp - but once you've got it it makes so much sense. Here's us in France. Yes it rained the whole time!!

And it's raining the whole time here in Auckland too. Which is good. Because I ♥ the rain. Lots and lots and lots!

Have a fabbo week everybody : )

Little Orchard

2007-05-09T20:20:00.000+12:00

I am very much loving Vessel Wednesday. I love how it gives me a simple task each week to complete. I have been really happy with the photos I'm taking for it. Thanks to Carson for thinking up such a brilliant idea! Today's image is of a lilac porcelain bowl by Mud Australia. It is my absolute favourite item ever. In fact I've never actually used it - just carted it around from one side of the world to the other and back. As of today it's officially a fruit bowl for organic granny smiths. : )

Thank you all so much for visiting and saying hello! I hope I have been and visited everyone who's left messages here - but if I've missed anybody I'm terribly sorry - please give me a prod!!

My new little label I'm working on is called Little Orchard. It came about because people simply cannot say, let alone remember, Anknel and Burblets. (try looking away now and spelling out anknelandburblets.com). For those of you who are wondering, Anknel and Burblets are my childhood fairies. I've many stories to tell of all the fun and exciting things we made and got up to - but that's another post altogether.

So, which typeface do you like best for using in the logo ?

Little Orchard is the chosen name because we are turning our place into a little orchard - with heaps of fruit trees and a (small) meadow out the front! We're also putting in a big vege garden and I'm going to grow aromatic plants for culinary purposes and making my own essential oils and hydrosols. It's so exciting being able to do all of this now. I think having children is such a wonderful thing to do at this time in life.

For the shop I'm beavering away on designing some fabrics, sewing things and finishing my aromatherapy diploma so we can officially dispense the magical Anknel and Burblets potions. We'll have hairclips and girly things by Lotte Lello too. And of course some yummy butterfly prints. Yay I can't wait till it's all ready - I am just brimming with ideas and excitement!!

Kevin was off work ill today so he looked after Astrid while I finished sewing our His 'n' Hers shopping bags - pictured above. Now, is it strange that I just want to line everything?! I am totally doubling my workload but I am not sure I could manage to have an unlined bag anymore. Now I have my wonderful new sewing machine I could just sew all day!

I will leave you with a photo of our back lawn early this morning in beautiful Autumn light. Hope you all have a wonderful week : )

Tickled pink

2007-05-07T20:41:00.000+12:00

My timetable went a bit skew wiff this week because I visited my mum on Friday so on Saturday I was going to continue craft day but instead spent most of it in hospital after falling out of the front door and dropping Astrid. Eeek. This is the same week we took her to a craft show where the music was so loud she screamed louder than the music. Cue one very fast exit!!

On Sunday morning I awoke to a very sore ankle and a flood of emails proclaiming new flickr contacts and blog comments. Hmmm. Something was afoot.... and that something was Yvonne !!

Ha ha ha ha ha!!! I just grinned and grinned for ages. How funny that my blog makes her want to do a little dance I chuckled away to myself. I'll have to let her into the secret of my happiness - and that's the ability to squeak (not hum) the song, "stop in the name of love" (and do all the moves at the same time) whilst outside admiring vintage hankies on the washing line. With your boyfriend listening.

Anyway, I thought, high time for a little blog update. There's bag-making a-going-on but here's a quick little tour of my day:

Oscar just generally being cute and happy whilst settling in. Rufus is being a bit of a big meanie still. But we love Oscar.

Some knitting. I've been doing this since last September. One day it will be a blanket for Astrid . It's taking so long I will probably have to make a single bed spread. My guess is it'll be done in three years. So far I've done 60 squares.

Current work in progress. Shopping bags for Kevin. These will be unbleached calico with applique bonsai prints on the front. I got the teatowel from a thrift shop. It looks like an old 70s one with three beautiful bonsai arrangements. Hopefully finished tomorrow night !!

Freshly arrived post + new pincushion. Yep, some yummy japanese craft books with dresses for little girls. Mmm full of lovely Liberty prints. Very glad I spent a lot of time at Liberty while I lived in London.

Currently reading - see above. I just love the library. Books are so much more expensive here, so I get everything I could possibly imagine out from the library and if something is a keeper I'll order it. ( The Practical Knitting book was $1 at the fleamarket. ) Out of this lot I would buy Cath Kidston's in print, stitch and the Florence Broadhurst one. But I won't because I want the Lotta Jansdotter one instead. Which they don't have at the library yet!!!

These flax baskets were a bargain at $10 each from Onehunga, and they fit all my fabrics in (except the huge cupboard full in the laundry) which is much better than squashing them into a big Liberty bag where they'd lived for too long. They're great and have totally improved my life!!

Today's timetable item: aromatherapy day. Yes! One day soon I will get my diploma! I am writing up all my case studies and then finishing assignments, so I'll be a few more Mondays yet... it was soo tempting to just make today craft day again, but that would mean I would never get my diploma. I just love the timetable for helping me be so disciplined about my tasks.

Oh yes, so the point of this post was that my timetable went out a bit on Friday - ah how could I possibly miss craft day.... so off I go back to my bag sewing and a nice cup of chai.

Time out

2007-05-03T09:10:00.000+12:00

Have had a bit of time out from flickr and my blog as I've just spent way too much time on 'the fun stuff' and not been earning my keep. So I've written up a timetable and got my teeth into some bits of client work.

I'm still beavering away on my new brand for my shop. In fact I have quite a few brands which will all fit in neatly under the main shop umbrella. Yes the butterflies are all part of the master plan, which has been hatching since 1999 - so it will be well thought out to say the least.

Also in the studio there have been ads designed, new websites being built for clients and aromatherapy case studies and assignments getting finished off so I can get my diploma.

I've started seeing clients for custom skincare and dispensing medicated preparations which is what I really love. I must confess I'm not especially interested in massage at all (although I do enjoy it at the time). Mind you I did only study aromatherapy so I could make products so that's all worked out then.

Friday is craft day which is the day I look forward to most. I made some cushions two weeks ago and gave them away before I photographed them. Last Friday I made a start on the bugaboo bag which took quite some time to complete. It was definitely the most ambitious sewing project I've undertaken. This is all now possible thanks to my new sewing machine of course. My lovely retro sewing machine might look cool but it was super annoying when the bobbin jammed up every two minutes.

Some fabric hoarding has also been taking place. The best news is that on a walk around the neighbourhood I found an old fashioned and cheap little fabric shop quite close by. Next time I go back I'm getting the bright yellow corduroy.

Kevin and I set to painting the interior at last. We managed one coat in the kitchen and the second part of the hallway. Anyway it's a major improvement.

I must say life with a timetable is great. Even it I don't achieve everything on it it does provide me with a framework for the week and I am getting so much more done instead of sitting around wondering what I have time to do or what I should be doing. Speaking of which, today is client work day.

Vessel Wednesday

2007-04-18T16:26:00.000+12:00

Every Wednesday I usually post a new photo at Vessel Wednesday on flickr. Today I was a bit lazy and put Monday's photos up and ended taking them down again... ah such is life!!

I was glad I did take them down because I went and found something to shoot just for today and I think it's one of my best photos. This has definitely got something to do with the new tablecloth. The Swedish tablecloth I had been so looking forward to turned out to be nothing like I had imagined it. The description said 1970s cotton so I had visions of it being a nice, heavy, cotton/linen tablecloth with a nice inky retro print.

Well... it is a very very lightweight dress fabric which seems more to me like early 90s and it isn't 100% cotton. Anyway - the good news is that because of it I have put on a plain piece of unbleached calico and I absolutely LOVE it!! I would never have thought of doing it otherwise, so thank goodness for the odd off-purchase.

But, more good news - the runner you can see in the background IS heavy linen with inky printing and the colours are divine. Once the walls are painted I will photograph the wall hanging. Can you all tell there are no photos of our walls anywhere!! Soon they all will be white and all will be well in my world. : )

Hooray for the post

2007-04-18T13:04:00.000+12:00

oooh this is what I've been waiting for!!!!!!

Need I say anything more ? : )

Easy top and pants + crochet

2007-04-18T10:22:00.000+12:00

I used a Cath Kidston jersey knit for the little top and have so far made 2 pairs of little pants - the kimono ones, and the corduroy pair. On the cord pair I used elastic to gather the waistband and ankles and kimono pair uses vintage silk ribbon.

Astrid's also wearing her new little hat, which was a nice easy crochet.

The wool is Kimono Angora by Louisa Harding - from Loop of course. The pattern is in the book How to Crochet.

The jumper is made of pretty heavy wool, but I wanted to make a warm jumper that she'll grow into, that will last the next six or so months.

I just did 2 straight panels: 22 rows of 50 stitches in treble using a 4.5 hook. The sleeves are 35 stitches, 7 rows before I started decreasing. Each row after that I decreased 3 stitches at the start and end of each row for 7 rows. The sleeves are comparatively short, but I will add to the length as Astrid grows.

Kaffee Klatsch. Pumpkin seed Pesto.

2007-04-17T17:27:00.000+12:00

Every day now at three o'clock I quietly sit down and have a cup of coffee. It's a wonderful oasis in the day. Time to quietly choose which cup I'll use, whether the tablecloth needs changing and to see if we've got any yummy biscuits or cake! Note to self: bake a cake.

The kitchen is getting tidier after the garage sale blowout. I did a load of washing yesterday and rearranged the cupboards to fit all the new stuff in. The swedish linens have also been attended to, this one had been cut in half and hand sewn - not very tidily, so I re-hemmed it and gave it a good iron. Astrid's having a nap right now and I think I need one too...

I was going to make a nice warming casserole for dinner but I've remembered we have the pesto to eat. The basil in the garden had done its dash so I pulled the entire plant and made pesto out of it. Instead of pine nuts I used pumpkin seeds as that's what was in the cupboard. Yes, so we'll be having this with pasta.

Pesto with pumpkin seeds

The leaves off 1 mature basil plant (about a whole food-processor full)
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Juice of 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic, sliced
Many sloshes of olive oil
Maldon sea salt

Put the whole lot in the food processor and blend for a few minutes until smooth. Add more of anything if you think it needs it!

Baby steals the show

2007-04-17T11:18:00.000+12:00

Well we got the camera out today to take pictures off all the things I have made for Astrid in the past week. She is just so photogenic I was snapping away and ran out of battery - but fortunately not before she totally took me by surprise when she rolled from her tummy onto her back! Another big milestone!!!

So, now. I made the little leaf body suit by buying a pack of 5 bodysuits from Primark for £2.50. That out of the way we only need to make the leaf.

Now, technically one could print the leaf straight onto the bodysuit, but as this was my first go I printed onto a separate piece of cotton and hand sewed it on.

The next step is to apply some fabric paint to a leaf, put the leaf face down on the fabric, cover with newspaper and use a roller to roll over it thereby transferring the paint from the leaf to the fabric. And voila! My first ever fabric printing. For a more detailed tutorial have a look here.

Astid was so thrilled she thought she'd do a victory lap!!

The little pants are made with some really cute corduroy we found at Spotlight. They didn't actually have any on a roll though - we found it on a dummy made up into trousers. So we sneakily undid the two half metre pieces they had pinned onto the dummy to make up the trousers. When the lady asked where we got the fabric I kind of looked up at the ceiling and whistled while Polly invented a good story.

Here's Astrid doing her first ever roll in her fab news trousers!!! Look at me world!

They're lovely and warm. It's the colder weather that has brought about this sudden bout of sewing and crocheting. And Astrid has just had a mad growth spurt and outgrown all her clothes overnight.

Once that battery is charged it'll be another modelling session for Astrid.

A good post day and the joy of foliage.

2007-04-16T17:14:00.000+12:00

Today my much awaited parcel from Sweden arrived, brimming with vintage table linens and an embroidered wall-hanging. The postman also delivered the SylvaC vases from the Waikato at the crack of dawn. The vases, which I'd forgotten I had bid on, were $1 for all three. Such a bargain if ever there was one!!!! They are all absolutely gorgeous shapes and one is textured in hydrangea flowers. I couldn't believe my luck that nobody else had bid on them...

I've been doing a bit of household admin today, and at three I sat down for my daily quiet reflection and a cup of coffee when Astrid woke up and has been grizzly ever since. As the magic sling is good on these occasions I popped her in and went out to the garden to pick some flowers and foliage. It being Autumn we're a bit short on flowers, but the leaves and berries are just wonderful. The Japanese Anemones and Dahlias are also in bloom so we picked some of those in between the heavy bouts of rain. It's been dark and moody today and we've even had a spot of lightning.

So in we came and spent an hour or so putting the arrangements together. I really love foliage. I never really realised it existed until late last year when we were selling our house and I couldn't afford too many flowers so had to buy 'leaves'.

Wow - well what a discovery that was. They a so good at creating the structure in an arrangement and one then uses the flowers as decoration.

It makes life much easier - before when I had tried to create an entire arrangement just from flowers it would all just flop because there wasn't anything to hold them up. Now when I use just a few stems of foliage my arrangements are so much more professional looking.

With this arrangement I lay the leafy twigs down into the posy vase and carefully placed the flowers in and around.

oh gosh. more afternoon tea.

2007-04-09T16:59:00.000+12:00

Today I decided to make Boysenberry muffins. My way. And gosh, they were absolutely the best muffins we have ever tasted!!!

The rest are going off to mum and dad's this evening for dessert. A slightly odd thing to have for pudding, but I suppose it's pretty much cake. Isn't it? And it's the world premiere of the wonderful cake tin I bought off eBay only days before we left London. Hurrah!

Boysenberry Muffins

Makes 12 large muffins

4 cups plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup milk
4 eggs
zest of one lemon
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2.5 cups boysenberries
12 extra boysenberries

Heat the oven to 180•C. Sift the flour and baking powder into a big bowl and mix in the sugar.

In a smaller bowl place the ricotta, milk, eggs, lemon zest and oil. Whisk until smooth. Gently stir the ricotta mix into the flour mix until only just combined (if it is too dry add a tiny bit more milk). Add the boysenberries and stir just once.

Line a 12 x 1 cup muffin tray with paper patty cases and spoon in the mixture. Add an extra boysenberry on top of each one. Bake for 35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool on a wire rack.

Afternoon tea and Astrid's music dvd

2007-04-08T19:04:00.000+12:00

{ : May 8th, recipe added at bottom of the post : }

Made afternoon tea today. Tammy was coming around for coffee at three, and while I was scraping wallpaper Kevin kept on asking me when I was going to bake a cake or make the easter eggs. Hmm. It was 2:30 when I emerged from the front room covered in bits of paper and dust, so scones it was (sorry Kevin). I'd even bought gelatine especially to make marshmallow easter eggs. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

As it so happened Simon Raby texted asking when was a good time to drop around the music video that has Astrid in it so I called him and he said he'd come straight over. Now that we had two guests coming I thought it only right to really set the table up all proper-like.

Needless to say the scones went down a treat. I don't seem to be able to make them like I used to, but then I am using Spelt flour. Grandma always said the trick is to touch the mixture as little as possible and only use a knife to cut in the butter, don't rub it. Which is exactly what I did. I am suspecting it could be a very good job for the food processor although there's something about making scones by hand.

Now, just for good measure I'm putting in my second choice scone photo because it would be such a shame not to use it! Anyway, Tammy is coming over again tomorrow because we were going to talk skincare products, but of course that isn't appropriate for when one has boys in company.

Simon brought around a DVD of the music video Astrid is in - which is the whole reason he came over - to drop it off. Kevin and I are in it too actually! Once it's on YouTube I'll post the link. Astrid is so sweet in it - it's fab!

- - - - ~ - * - - Late addition - The Recipe !! - - * - ~ - - - - -

Thanks Thimbleanna for your request for the recipe - can't believe I didn't put it here in the first place!!! Here it is:

Scones

3 cups flour
6 teaspoons of baking powder (exactly 6, not heaped)
Sugar (um I usually just throw in a handful - say 1/3 of a cup)
75g butter
1 - 1.5 cups of milk approx
extra milk

Pre-heat the oven to 220C / 425F / Gas mark 7

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Cut in the butter with a knife until it looks like breadcrumbs. Sometimes I need to use my fingers a bit to rub in the butter. Or, you could use a food processor with the knife blade.

Add the sugar and 1 cup of the milk and mix quickly with a knife to make a soft dough. Add more milk if you need it. Do not over mix.

Knead it one or two times. The secret to this recipe is to handle the ingredients as little as possible.

Dust the benchtop with flour and press the scone dough onto it so it's about 1 inch thick. Cut into 12 pieces or use any size cookie cutter. Place scones onto a floured baking tray, brush tops with milk and bake for 10 mins or until golden brown and risen.

Once in a lifetime

2007-04-05T08:13:00.000+12:00

Hello !

Please note this blog has now moved - please click here to read the post on my new blog.

Thank you : )

---------------------------------------------------------

Well, I hope not. But I think the private garage sale we went to last Thursday was indeed a bit of a once in a lifetime event. Polly and I trotted over to her neighbour's house to go through an entire room brimming with bin bags full of retro fabric, sheets, towels, kitchenware, toys and wool.

I just took everything that looked good and ended up filling the hallway with my stuff! Polly and I were like little vultures and I did have to act fairly quickly each time a bag was emptied as Polly tends to be a bit faster off the mark than me. That said, we do have different taste (sometimes) and I was over the moon with all my new treasures!

This is what the living room looked like before the washing started:

It took three days to wash everything. Especially as I managed to break the washing machine in the process. The washing line did look very pretty for a few days:

I have yet to sort out the kitchen items which are currently all piled up on the kitchen dresser. A lot of this is going to be just perfect for kids parties!!!

I got four old style suitcases which are made of a kind of heavy cardboard. They're just amazing and will make quite a nice display once we've decorated the house. At the time though they were perfect for transporting my fabric haul.

Not forgetting the many balls of wool I picked up which were dated from 1962 and 1967. Did I mention many of the items had their original receipt and date of purchase. What I haven't photographed yet is all the toys. Most of them are still in their original packaging too. That's a job for another day.

This pile of sheets and pillowcases is destined to be cut up for summer hats and bags. I'm also going to make a little series of stuffed cubes for Astrid's ceiling out of these as they're lovely and colourful, and she just loves looking at the ceiling!

We did need some little towels for Astrid too so I picked up several - they'll make fabulous beach towels for her too when she's a bit older. They are just so colourful!

All items were unused and many in their original packaging.
Total spend: $210 (around £70).
Most items cost 10c, 20c, 50c or $1.
A few, especially the kids toys were $4.

astrid's ebay loot

2007-03-27T14:36:00.000+12:00

Well, we have been so excited all day. The Svan bouncer has arrived from the states - 5 weeks after we bought it off ebay and with an absolute treasure chest of free presents for it being late!!!

We got heaps of amazing little Haba toys, a sleepsack and a cute pink sheet with little brown bunnies, plus a litte organic doll. How amazing!! Anyway, we both danced around the house in excitement until leonie arrived and we had to do font things!!

It's fun having fun!!

2007-03-22T15:47:00.000+12:00

Gosh. What a week of blur. Astrid had her first virus - caught, of course, from the hospital. Yes, the respiratory ward. She's shaken it off very quickly clever girl.

We went to Salvage in Mt Eden the other day and picked up a bargain piece of barkcloth (now a tablecloth) for only $15. I love having my pocket money from skincare sales!! I actually found it quite exhilarating only having $21 in my wallet and I always end up with much cooler stuff than if I spent lots of money.

Astrid also did her first sleep-through today. She woke up at 6:20am and we went and looked out the window at the gentle rain and the lush tress in such beautiful light. I didn't want to photograph it because I just wanted to enjoy the moment. It's so nice being up that early with the quiet rain in the cool air. It is such my favourite weather at the moment!!! yay yay yay!!!

Yesterday Astrid dozed all afternoon in the lovely Autumn sun. Not too hot anymore and it's sooo relaxing and sleep inducing.

Gypsea delicious.

2007-03-08T21:38:00.000+13:00

Hmm. I believe I do not know how to spell gypsy. Ah gypsy. Not gypsea. Tonight we took Astrid out to the Gypsy Tea Rooms and got rather merrily happy on rosé - suitably called 'wooing tree'. Polly was certainly wooing after two glasses. Or did we have three? Astrid had a lovely time all cosied up in her new Nature Sway sling. Now we have the sling we can take her anywhere and she is one happy girl. Cosy, warm, cuddled and well fed.

Onwards and upwards to the top floor at Delicious where we had a delectable riesling, signature ravioli with buttered sage and pannacotta with biscotti and a flat white. Paradiso.

Hooray for Astrid's first night out. And hooray for the Nature Sway sling. A certain life changer.

Rain. Favourite weather.

2007-03-07T16:56:00.001+13:00

Today is my favourite weather. It's rainy outside.
My other types of favourite weather are:

Cold and still with a blue sky and frost on a Winter morning
Heavy heavy rain after it's been hot and humid
Crisp Autumn mornings with rich yellow light
Evening sun on the beach just when the sand has cooled down
Balmy evenings when I've just had a shower

To do. Birkenstocks.

2007-03-07T10:01:00.000+13:00

ach. I am spoilt for choice. There are too many things for me to do. Too many fun things. And I now am officially working again. Hmm. And I did promise I would do my assignments this month so I can get my qualification. Right o. Then here is a list of things I must do - preferably in March but I'm not sure that's possible:

The Square website
Meta website
Do my assignments and hand in
Finish case studies and hand in
Business Plan for Anknel and Burblets
Branding work for new client
Copy for Anknel and Burblets - this week to write up the stones' properties

And here is my secondary list:

Sew camera bags
Contact clients and tell them I am back working again
Put all of last years photos in my photoblog site

That lot should see me up to May I reckon once some more bits of work have come in. Polly and Steve gave me a pair of pinking shears for my birthday - they are fabulous and I can't wait to make some stuff! Next project is camera bags for me and Kevin. They'll be denim with a bit of Japanese fabric.

Can you tell from my craft table that I'm ready for some sewing action?

Shoes of the day are my Birkenstocks on my magic carpet which I bought in India. The Birkenstocks were bought when I was pregnant and my feet had ballooned up so much they were all I could wear. I secretly wear them every day. And everywhere. I definitely heart my Birkenstocks. Nailpolish is pink, by Anna Sui and smells of Roses.

March 5th not 1973

2007-03-05T08:20:00.000+13:00

34 today.

These shoes, well, I should have known better. Bought: Cologne, around 1996. They're made by Casadei. And at the time were on the back cover of Vogue Pelle. I've worn them twice. Once to seduce Kevin and the second time today. I am not wearing them now.

Sunday sketch day. Cheltenham.

2007-03-04T14:01:00.000+13:00

Got up at 9:30 today. Was so tired - no idea why. I was going to shoot blue slippers today, but I ran out of time because we needed to go to Ponsonby to get my birthday present. We went to il forno afterwards for chai latte and croissant - the only bakery in Auckland that gets it right.

It was Astrid's first trip out in the baby bjorn which she was pretty happy about until it came time to sit in the cafe and she continually banged me with her head until I took her out of it and sat her on my knee. So there goes the idea of hands free in cafes without the bugaboo.

Was going to meet Tammy at the eco show this afternoon but it hasn't quite worked out. Which means I can now open my birthday present early and play with that instead. Silly thing was though the entire reason I have bought this pen (Rotring EF Sketch) was so that I can use my own coloured inks in it - but we forgot to buy the empty refillable ink cartridge thing for it.

We went for a walk on Cheltenham beach this evening. Well, no, we went for a walk up the main street in Devonport, had an Amstel (on tap) at a cute European type cafe. I was so easily lured in by the Amstel on tap sign!! We sat at a rustic table and chairs, while Astrid slept in the baby bjorn, and sipped beer. She woke up and started headbutting me so we had to drink up and leave. Then we got hamburgers and potato fritters and went and sat under the pohutukawa at Cheltenham. It was pretty windy and Kevin's serviette blew into someones property. He went after it and then gave me his rubbish to look after.

babies and coffee / dare digital

2007-03-03T09:17:00.000+13:00

This morning we're off to babies and coffee with the remaining few of us from ante natal classes who have kept in touch. So for the occasion I am donning my, sorry to say, relatively new, Converse. Purchased in Carnaby Street when I was working at dare, so around January 2006. Gosh that's only just over a year ago. I wore these shoes just about every day I was there as most of my time was spent running up and down their three floors, organising stuff. It was there I took a wee break from designing and became traffic manager - it was actually quite fun spending all my time talking to people and fitting the pieces of work together with the people. Especially when there weren't enough people to do the work, or enough desks to sit freelancers at.

Today there is dew on the grass and the light is lower than usual. I am excited - it will be getting cooler soon and it's strange to think that other parts of the world now are entering into spring. I take my mind back to our garden in London and imagine it being very cold there right now, but the days getting slowly longer and lighter...

faeries. fashion

2007-03-02T10:08:00.000+13:00

It was a slight bugger my two best photos of the day are vertical. This one is of Astrid's pohutukawa faerie - a lovely gift from Sandii and Jared and Mercedes. It's very lovely indeed.

And in the shower I was thinking about my daily photography ritual and concluded I may photograph my shoes, each morning, and see how many days I get seeing as I seem to have started yesterday. Which led me to thinking about how we are supposedly defined by which brands we wear, but it really goes deeper than that as to which items of a brand we wear, and how we wear it.

I sometimes have thought, for example, "I am wearing a miu miu skirt and shoes, a versace cardigan and an M&S t-shirt, swinging my little mandarina duck handbag and still look incredibly scruffy." I secretly enjoy thinking that. I especially like wearing my green nylon raincoat with my camper boots and a knee-length skirt.

Which reminds me of how I decide whether or not I'm going to get a coffee and pastry - only if there is a carpark on the row right outside the bakery can I go in. I like that rule. Some people I know are terrible at making decisions. Like Caroline. She is utterly incapable of deciding anything at all, which she freely admits. But when she does decide or know something she is, according to her boyfriend Lars, like a little dictator. Which I find incredibly funny! Because he is totally right. And she freely admits that too!

Miu Mius from Bath

2007-03-02T10:02:00.000+13:00

Today I have chosen my miu miu heels. Bought in Bath when Ben Seymour and I spent a mad weekend there one Winter. We went there in, 2002(?) I would say, or was it 2001? These are probably my favouritest heels. Their heels are high, the leather cracked and distressed. On purpose. Some people don't get that. They look fab with jeans. Right now they hurt a bit to wear. It was hard taking a photo as standing in them was a bit wobbly. I am definitely out of practice in shoes, let alone heels. Unrelated: Astrid is totally in love with her dummy. So am I. Back to the shoes: They look amazing with beige fishnets. Mmmm. I love these shoes a lot.

my birthday wishlist

2007-03-01T14:26:00.000+13:00

Just for fun here is my imaginary birthday wish list:

This necklace
a glue gun ($2.95 from TradeMe)
a lomo holger camera and some film for it ($99 from TradeMe)
some new sewing scissors that are never to be used in the kitchen ever
a pair of pinking shears (as above)
a reel of red cotton
some polaroid film
a trip to a west coast beach
a babysitter for the night and dinner at the grove,
or...
fish and chips on cheltenham beach with family and friends
the rotring sketch pen I have on hold at the french art shop ($44)
a selection of fluidine (especially purple and green and dark canary yellow) from the french art shop to go with the rotring sketch pen
a trip to the French Art shop for a selection of coloured paper for use as photographic backgrounds for my skincare products

March 1st

2007-03-01T08:41:00.000+13:00

Well hooray. I have been inspired to start getting up early again. Astrid has only woken up once in the night the past 2 days so I actually feel able to get up at 7:30 again. It's very exciting - I love the mornings - 6:30 is better as it's so still, peaceful and clean, but for now 7:30 is good for me!

I have also been inspired by the 3191 site to take a photo every morning, so for the 1st of March here's my first morning photo - my favourite ever shoes, which must be nearing six years old now, plus some of Astrid's stuff on the floor of her room.

Another benefit of getting up early is there seems to be time to do those things one has been putting off for such a long time, so today the rosewood spoons got their long awaited oiling - hurrah! Lucky little spoons. I so love them.

I am drinking a cup of tea and I think it is time for me to realise I am totally allergic to caffeine. One sip of my earl grey and I want to be sick. Oh dear. That's it for tea for me. Boo hoo.

new new new

2007-02-28T15:32:00.001+13:00

Unbelievable how time flies - it's been absolutely months since I last wrote here. I put my back out not long after my last post and spent weeks knitting little squares for the baby blanket which I still haven't finished.

Then we moved house - yes we did end up buying the big family house in Mt Albert - it's absolutely wonderful although we do need to paint the interior white which is a job I'm not quite ready for yet.

I passed my aromatherapy exams with flying colours and now I need to hand in my assignments (watch this space soon for more time wasting when I'm supposed to be doing those).

And then of course we had a baby, little Astrid, who is two months old today and I now finally feel ready to actually do things other than simply feeding her all the time.

It's been rather odd having two months off work and I am definitely feeling ready to be starting to do things again. Although I turned down a photography job today as I suddenly realised I know nothing about childcare - what would I do with Astrid!

My skincare range is coming together with my midwife Luise being my first paying client. I've just made her a big 250ml pot of amazing Lavender body lotion that smells of caramel. This time it's got moonstone in it. Moonstone is good for all things to do with women and children so it's certainly appropriate for the midwifeness of Luise.

It's been a week...

2006-10-17T08:24:00.000+13:00

Well, look at how a week can just go when you don't charge the camera battery. Yay, my exams are finished and I haven't quite worked out what to do with myself yet. Looks like work though. Bought some cool fabric for $2 this weekend which I'll photograph later today. I'm not sure if I dare commit it to paper, but we are trying to buy a big family house at the moment. Fingers c.r.o.s.s.e.d.

Bought a wacom graphics tablet which is going to save on a lot of scanning - it is though like I have to teach myself to draw and write all over again sort of - there's definitely a bit of mastery and practice required till I'll be able to do calligraphy or my little line drawings.

Here is my very first attempt at anything!

And this is an embroidery idea I've got for a cushion. Might do it in green on denim.

Still waiting for my big parcel of Cath Kidston fabric to arrive from the UK. Yet more fingers crossed as it's been 2 weeks now.

Knitting and Stitching Show - London

2006-10-11T10:05:00.000+13:00

Just got an email from Loop that the Knitting and Stitching Show is on in London this weekend at Alexandra Palace.

Just when we are getting a wee bit homesick for London! We did think though if we could have London in Auckland that would be good. But then it wouldn't really be London now would it. Oh to be able to travel between the two instantaneously.

Moo cards

2006-10-11T09:23:00.000+13:00

Got my free Moo cards yesterday - hooray! They are really cute and cool. And, the good thing is they are cheaper than getting them done here. They're about half the size of regular business cards (good, saving paper) and it's US$20 for 100 for double sided colour printing, and laminated. Compared with I think NZ$200 to get 200 printed and laminated. Plus I don't have to fiddle around with the artwork - I simply select my images from flickr and do the rest online. Easy peasy.

I had a look through one of the Moo creators, Richard Moross' flickr pages and they've also done a v. cool book on business cards which is worth a look too.

Baby Knits for Beginners

2006-10-10T13:28:00.000+13:00

Here's a book I got out of the library by Debbie Bliss called Baby Knits for Beginners. Project one is a simple garter stitch scarf and project two looks like I can tackle it - a patchwork baby quilt. I'm using some cotton DK I bought at Loop in London although I realised I only have two balls of it which I've almost used up.

Fortunately someone in NZ does sell it - a lady called Cait who's in Herne Bay. She sounds great - when I called her up we chatted for quarter of an hour about fabrics and Japan - so I'm looking forward to meeting her next week when I go and visit her studio.

Yes, so I have found joining the library excellent and saving me a lot. I simply cannot order books like I used to in the UK as it's nearly double the cost here. So I just order what I want online and pick it up from Grey Lynn library. Cool. Am eagerly awaiting the Shibori book to come free, but I do have waiting for me one of Jenny Dean's Natural Dyeing books. The brilliant one that Mel lent me, Wild Color, appears now to be out of print and difficult to track down at a reasonable price.

In between the Nervous and Endocrine systems

2006-10-09T16:34:00.000+13:00

Oh god I am really getting over study. It's been a month now of it full time. I promised Kevin I wouldn't get distracted today, which I haven't really. It simply takes a whole day to do one system. And unfortunately I don't have enough days left to get them all done so I am not learning them as thoroughly as I would like to. Never mind. It seems to be sticking. And of course I have an evening of study to look forward to as well.

Anyway, I cheated about not doing any blogging and took some photos of my study area just for something fun to do.

Had acupuncture this morning. Was too scared (or too lazy to be brave) to have needles in my sinuses as I currently have weak Defensive Qi and excess Heart Yang (stress, disturbed sleep) and phlegm. Humpf no cheese for me then this week. So I have promised to eat more brown rice as I haven't been that interested in cooking much lately with my life so utterly filled with essential oils, oriental medicine and anatomical systems. I have however been very interested in Beetniks from Burgerfuel. Small sized burger with chickpea, mushroom and kumara pattie with beetroot and salad. Yum. They really ought to do something about their website though. If you want to see the menu you have to download a PDF. Why? Why why why?

The state of New Zealand websites however is the subject of another post. And on that note I think I shall go and make a nice cup of Earl Grey tea.

Presents for Londres

2006-10-08T16:35:00.002+13:00

We sent Polly and Steve some presents last Monday and they got them yesterday - so quick. Lucky I was up knitting until twenty to eleven because Polly phoned to say what a lovely civilised morning they had just had, sitting in bed, drinking tea, unwrapping presents!

Steve was very pleased with the hula girl duster and Polly loved the bag I made her. Yay!!

Avondale market loot

2006-10-08T13:03:00.000+13:00

We got off to a most excellent start today when we found a free parking space just outside the market. I was a bit worried as I only had $25 in cash - what if we saw something really good that was expensive!! The first thing we saw was $45 - an old magnolia painting which Tammy would have loved. Oh well. On we went until we found a stall with lots of really good stuff - Johnson Bros etc but it was all chipped, but I bought an old midwinter saucer that needed rescuing for 50c.

Then we came across a lady and her daughter with a huge stall selling old bits of fabric, a big jar of knitting needles, an art deco birdcage and a collection of cat books. They were eating mussels and chips out of newspaper. We unearthed a rather peculiar Japanese cat photo comic strip book which I knew Kevin would like!! He's now taken it to Simon's to show him.

And I just get a mysterious text message this minute: "miaow help your evil friend has stolen our clothes and now we are just naked kittens again". hmm!

That was only $2 and the knitting needs were 50c a pair. Yay for the massive wooden ones!!!!

Onwards ho to a man with the Albert Williams print. I had actually bought this exact same one but in a different frame a few weeks ago. Today's one was half the price at $5 and the frame is much nicer so I bought it anyway.

We also got some very sweet little books with lovely illustrations by Joan Walsh Anglund.

It started to rain at that time - something I had anticipated but not prepared for. Fortunately it didn't last as I was worried Kevin would want to leave. Next up was a very sweet little Pallisy rose tea cup - it's crazed and cracked but I love it to bits!

And at the shop next door were some sweet little white espresso sized cups - a similar finish to my lone Habitat mug. There was a carlton-ware-esque egg cup which I wanted too, so I offered a dollar for the three and the guy wanted $2. His partner said 50c so we were back to $1 for the lot - and as he agreed his hand somehow caught one of the little white cups and we watched it fall on the grass - and spray in shards everywhere!

So, time to go home now - there couldn't be anything good left - we were nearly at the end. I had to get up on tippy toes to look at the next stall as there was a guy in front of me and some stuff in front on the ground. What a sweet little set - the sugar bowl and creamer. To my amazement it was only $5 and the next plate I turned over was Midwinter at $1. So $5 for the lot. Yes.

Wrapped and paid I decided not to leave and asked after the unusual cup and saucer and pineapple plate. Again Midwinter. And this time $4 for both! Yay! I paid, wrapped and ran away before he could ask for it all back! Kevin didn't say anything and walked quickly. He knows that look. hehe!

So, with about a dollar twenty left out of my budget I can't remember what I see at the next stall and we wander off and then I go back. Sundae glasses. We'll need those then. Yes, we can afford 10c for 5. Cool! Nearly buy a chrome teapot, creamer and sugar pot for 10c but can't be bothered, opting instead for 5 little sherry glasses - or fairy cups as I think I shall now call them. The guy had had a good day he told us and we were doing him a favour. So, all nicely wrapped thank you and in tiny plastic bags our loot, off we go back to the car swinging our arms in delight!

Total spend: $25 (about £8) !