We just had to get the racecar & motorbike, as Sam races his own racecar & is a motorcycle mechanic. 
How cute is the dog... & the man wearing the cowboy hat.
Perhaps I'll gift it to a friend who is just crazy about owls.
Wish me luck for the next so many hours. If I'm not back here tomorrow... someone please come & rescue me.
Thank you for your sweet wishes yesterday. As you may have noticed, I'm a bit of a romantic & very sentimental. I wrote it for Samuel to read first thing in the morning, before we set off on our day.
Nothing too fancy, just a delicious antipasto washed down with some yummy pear cider (only 4%).
After lunch we took a short stroll, which absolutely buggered me. So we set off home, with a nap for me & the grand prix for Sam.
It was so lovely to have a special day, just for us before the baby arrives.
One year ago I said these words:
Samuel, I love you more than anything & I am so proud to be your wife. You give me constant love, support & inspiration. I feel happy & complete when I am with you.
I promise to love & support you in our life together. Whatever life may bring, I will be by your side.
I am lucky to be marrying my best friend & I give you all my friendship in return.
One year ago, I married the man of my dreams & haven't looked back. These words still ring true in my heart & will do forever. It was the most perfect day, a beautiful start to our journey.
Happy Anniversary my love. I am the luckiest girl alive.
I've made my pin cushion for the big swap that the lovely Kate has organised. I'm so daunted by who I have to make it for... she's extremely talented & everything she makes is so neat & perfect. I hope she likes it. I can show you a sneak peak, because I don't think she reads my blog... well I hope not anyway. Ooh, I'm such a risk taker. I still have to find a few more bits & bobs to finish it off & then it shall be in the post. Thanks to Kate for organising, what a mammoth effort.
I've been slicing the alphabet out of a vintage picture dictionary. When I get my DIY hat on, this shall turn into artwork for the nursery. There's just a bit of painting & glueing to do, which will have to happen in the shed. Better get my bum into gear then.
Lastly, I've finished sewing the nappies & they're just waiting to be trimmed. I used the soulemama pattern from her handmade home book, with flannel sheets from the lovely Christie.
Speaking of scissors... I may have mentioned in the past, once or twice that my husband is a hoarder. Yep, everything from cars to cassette tapes & beyond. The man struggles to part with anything. Every now & then we pop over to Mudda's house (his grandma's), to retrieve a car part from the shed. The shed which is full to the brim with a mini panel van, every falcon part from the 60's & 70's imaginable & various other unidentifiable items. Can you start now to imagine what our shed at home is like... it's eight times larger! Help!!! And he's only in his early 30's! Imagine it in twenty years! Oh my, I'm feeling faint.
Wow, two longwinded stories for you. I didn't think I had it in me... & then I got carried away. Thanks for reading.
This one below is so sweet. It's replicating a tattoo of a sparrow that I have on my back.
And how cute is this horse & rattle! Gee whiz... too cute.
You can see how ruley truley excited I am by the goofy grin on my face. Why is it so hard to smile nicely when I'm in front of a camera?
And here it is in situ. Our home is built like an alpine lodge... very, very dark. Hence the need for flash.
Yesterday was spent in bed with enough energy for crochet only. Today however, I've pushed myself. I managed to source some energy from somewhere deep within & get some stuff done. Which is good, because we were running a little low on groceries. Pea & pasta soup was made for lunch, 8.5 litres of toasted muesli was made & I've taken a heap of photos.
Crochet is definately my craft of choice right now. I can sit on the couch or curl up in bed & still be very productive. Top stuff.
The drive into Melbourne takes us about an hour & a half. Driving along the monash is extremely boring & to entertain ourselves we play a game. We both choose a car that we hope to see that day & then we keep our eyes peeled. One day last month, I said we'd see a Jaguar Mark II. All day we drove around, doing our bits & pieces & nothing interesting was seen. We were headed up Church st in Richmond in the late afternon, when Samuel exclaimed that there was a Mark II up ahead. It was actually a Daimler & just so happened to be the very Daimler we used to pass. By this time we were right behind her & for some mad unknown reason, we followed her. We stalked a car through the back streets of Prahran! The poor bloke driving it, I don't know what he must have thought. He eventually pulled into a carpark & started making his way into Lodge. We quickly pulled up & introduced ourselves, who does that? So strange! Anyway, we got chatting & found out that the car belonged to an old man who had recently moved into a home & was no longer capable of driving. The man we were talking to, was his power of attorney. We told him how much we loved the car & if the old fella ever wanted to sell, then please consider us as potential buyers. We exchanged numbers & over the next few weeks, it was decided to be sold & a price was decided upon. Samuel & I had discussed the maximum we would pay & when the old fella set his price, it matched ours. See, meant to be.
Last Saturday we went & picked up my new car & after doing all the paperwork & meeting the old man, we set off home... only for the heavens to open up & hail golfballs! I took this as a good sign as we sat in the car on the side of the road. The car luckily didn't suffer any hail damage as panels were made out of thick metal in the good old days. We waited for the freak storm to pass & set off home.
I've been stitching away at this little floor quilt too.
I purchased this cute vintage fabric a few years ago, knowing that one day it would be a quilt for my babe. The hand quilting is simply following the faux stitches printed in the design.
And finally, a sweet amigurumi lamb is slowly coming to life.
I haven't forgotten the story I promised to share on monday. I'll try & get a photograph today to share it with you soon.
This is Dougall, he's 11 months old & was a bit stroppy this afternoon. You see; as they grow, their horns will grow too. If they try to push you around & ask for pats, they must be told off. This is why I'm grabbing his horn, he has to learn that this behaviour is unacceptable. Do you like my stern expression? 
Samson is 14 months old & is definitely the leader of the two. He loves to be scratched on the neck right behind the ears. The breeder gave us a special comb to brush them with, as they realy like it when you pull the knots out of their hair.
I love it how they are so tame, you can walk right up to them without any issue. However, the cattle dog thought he'd come & introduce himself... only to be chased away. I don't think he'll be doing that again in a hurry.
And over on the bed, sit's a gorgeous little bear made by the wonderful Jess. I can not get over how amazing this little guy is. If you ever want something special to give to a little person in your life... a bear by Jess is definitely the go. I can't recommend her highly enough.
We've still got a bit to go, but progress is happening & it's really starting to come together. I'll have to post some photos when it is all complete.
Whilst I was working away, I discovered this little fellow hanging out on my pot. Isn't it amazing, so delicate & pretty.
Our woodpile is looking quite healthy for winter. Samuel has been working away at this for the past month. It's all neatly stacked near the door to the lounge so we don't have to go out into the paddock in the freezing cold. There is another pile to the right of this & a huge stack of kindling too. I think we should be pretty set. It does get bloody cold where we are & the coonara's get a real workout.
I do love Autumn, it's my favourite season. There's lots of change in the garden & the heat of summer has slinked away. These pretty flowers have popped up all over our front garden, the chesnuts & pears are ripening & the grapevines are turning a magnificent burgandy. Yesterdays rain has done our garden well & hopefully there is alot more to come. When it eases off though, we'll be back to the vegie patch as there is still so much to do.
How is your garden growing?
Benson is a Mastiff cross Irish Wolfhound (hence the beard), he's not quite two & weighs a whopping 45 kilograms. He's quite the buffoon & isn't very aware of his size or weight. We're training this silliness out of him so when he's fully grown he won't be such a menace. His nature is very gentle otherwise. The other two dogs have been sorting him out too, telling him off whenever he crosses a boundary. 
So now you've met Benson, another character from the menagerie.
