I wouldn't be a very convincing "Maria" if I didn't have some Favourite Things!!
So I've made an executive decision (love making those) to put together a monthly post to bore you senseless with some of my most favourite 'things'.
In doing so, I shall endeavour to give you a better idea of what our little world looks like. If you turn into a stalker, I'm warning you now, it won't be pretty!!
I hope you enjoy these gems when they appear on your blogroll (hint hint, I'd loooove a gig on your blogroll!!!!)
This month, I thought I 'd share some of my favourite 'things' from around the house...hope you don't think this is shallow and pretentious, if you do then now is the time to jump ship.
As I confessed
here, Saint Mike and I are self-confessed 'failed renovators'.
We are quite at peace with this decision as it was in the best interests of our little family unit and recognised that although doing our renovation would have met lots of needs (for more space and a fancier abode it would have been MORE about how we wanted (or more truthfully) how I wanted people to perceive us and wasn't really essential to do at the moment....we love living in cramped conditions with one living area and one toilet! Simply put, the BIG reno was ditched, the MINI reno (kitchen & bathroom) is 'in train' (another cool corporate-speak expression)
Anyone who knows Sydney (the city not a person, I'm about to mix metaphors and more) would know that she is a tad on the 'aspirational' side - loves whipping out her bling and dazzling everyone (cue the gorgeous sunny spring day that was today). But she can be an honest to goodness cow when you can't meet her expectations of what is required to be in her inner circle. Truthfully, living in Sydney and keeping up with the Jones' can be soul destroying if you let it rule your decision-making!
For us, our 'jewels' are our KAT's and each other. We are happy in our little home and in the last few months once I stopped putting off all the 'little things' til the big reno happened, our home has truly begun to shine in the best sense!
One of the things we did was put up new clocks above the entry into the dining area adjacent to the kitchen.
I love my new clocks! I went with a bright and cheery Karlsson clock which I had admired for a while in a homewares shop...and I've paired it with the decal's which I found online in the US and they are in a vibrant orange (which I love). Our clocks help us keep track of the right times to be calling Saint Mike's family in Canada and my sister and brother who live in the UK...so they are quite functional and not just decorative (although they are pretty funky decoration if I do say so myself!!!)
I'm so pleased that I let my color instincts go wild...I had purchased three boring black and white clocks from Ikea for this purpose and decided to return them and splurge the extra on these beauties!
The next spot that was ripe for the picking was inside our front door. I got this gorgeous print from one of my fave online stores,
Brown Paper Packages and had it framed...I think it looks really sweet and speaks to the heart of our little family!
It also sits above my chair which I re-upholstered in one of my "urges" as Saint Mike calls them!! It was a stained timber with an old needlework seat cover (I'll post about the story behind it another time)...I gave it a coat of paint and did the seat in a lovely linen with pale blue upholstery tape (that was a learning experience let me tell you...me and the staple gun have a love-hate relationship!!). Also, I want to make it quite clear that this coatrack is RARELY this clutter-free!!!!
Last but not least, the thing every home should have - a decent porch light and their street number on display! Can you believe it's taken us four and a half years to get it done and now I can't stop looking at it!! I know, I really need to get a life :)
There you go, a few of my 'favourite things' that are making me smile!
Last but not least, one of my most favourite things...our littlest KAT, contemplating 'Life at Four' on the hammock recently :)
Photo credit at the request of my bossy sister - image captured by the very clever and talented photographer Sara Levesley (that would be my sister!!!)