Oh Hello Again

Hello, it has been a while....

But I promise I have not just been sitting around doing nothing... 

In fact I have been busy mothering, gardening, and as always making...

I have taken on a couple of new stockists and today finally decided to create a Facebook page so that I am a little easier to reach for customs. Gosh I feel all grown up in the Internet World now with a FB page! 

Please do me a favour and take a look, I would really appreciate you spreading the word.... more photos to come over the next couple of days... I havent even had a chance to show you my little ladies and giraffes yet! 

Promise to check in properly soon! So much happening on the home front I dont even know where to start... My babes turned 3 yesterday! wooohooo

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brotherly love

Today Little L was so happy to have Big L home. He spent the day basking in his big brother's love and attention. This photo was taken after Little L observed Big L for a while eating his apple in the rocking chair. At first he tried sitting next to him on the floor but decided it was not good enough so painstakingly dragged the rocking horse up the stairs so he could sit next to Big L and rock <3 Once he completed the task Big L simply said to him "Good job little man". And there they sat with Little L beaming up at him in adoration... There is something so speciaĺ about a sibling bond. One of my greatest hopes for my kids is that they will be good friends. Watching this exchange my heart felt filled to the brim, I am so blessed.....xxxxxxxxxxxx

Happy Weekend

After an immensly trying week with less than minimal sleep (there seems to be a virus going round with high fevers and a wicked cough- yay!) we all woke up on Saturday morning and the sun was shinning. Phew N and I both breathed a sigh of relief, we can do what our family does best, go bush! So we packed up some snacks, no need to load up the bikes because they are permanently in the car, and headed off to our favourite spot- Huia!

 The Rascals took their bikes as far as they could then set off on foot. Little S made me laugh so much! That girl just never stops talking! It felt like we were on a nature tv show.

 She particularly loved these "fluffies"!!!

 When we reached the end we arrived at a spot we had been past so many times before yet never explored, so we decided to stop for morning tea...

 The rascals devoured a feast of grapes, crackers and peanuts- yum! And we were all delighted to find a little peephole on the bridge to allow you to look directly down into the water overflow of the dam. wow was that trippy and strangely dr seuss like!!

 Then after stopping off for a coffee on the way home the Rascals collapsed into their beds for a well deserved rest before setting off to celebrate Littlè W's birthday. While they rested I frantically finished off this little dude for Little W. I was so pleased with how he turned out! Bright, friendly and oh so cute! Thank you for a great free pattern Emma from I love buttons by Emma

 And Happy Birthday Little W! What a full on first year of life!!!

Sunday started off with a bang- Happy Fathers Day N! French toast on the deck with presents. N was lucky that I bothered wrapping anything seeing as the Rascals had been consistently telling him what we got him since friday! The best present of all was that the Rascals settled in for a happy day at home. We hung N's bird feeder, he mowed the lawns and relaxed on the deck. I dyed some custom order yarn and sorted out our strawberry patch for the coming summer, while the Rascals gave the sand pit and trampoline a good work out. Mix in a few cups of tea and it was a great morning followed by a spot of tennis in the afternoon.

This year we are going to have two rather large strawberry patches- woohoo!!! Last year N and I didnt get any strawberries because the kids ate them so fast so this time we are hoping for atleast a taste!!!

So needless to say that the twins and I needed a quiet morning on the beach this morning to recover from that happy but crazy weekend.... Hooray for Happy weekends! Boy did we need this one... xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My very OWN Hand Painted Yarn!!! Wooopeee!!!

It was bound to happen sooner or later and this is a project that I have carefully planned and researched. 

I am fascinated by colour and different colour combinations, the way they make me feel and inspire me to create and since the day I discovered hand painted yarn I have been dye-ing (haha) to have a go myself. 

After months of waiting and finally it is done :)

And I am proud as punch! 

Watch out world of Hand Painted Yarn! Here I come!!!!

I feel all giddy with the possibilities! 

So so pretty!!!

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Baby Blanket :)

I was approached by the owner of Huia Cafe, my most favorite cafe in the whole world, and asked if I would make her a baby blanket for her baby (due any day now!), and of course I need no encouragement to knit so here is what I made her :)

I really really hope that she likes it!!

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Cowl-tastic Tadah!!!!

I have been bitten by the Cowl Bug.

After never having made any I have all of a sudden started producing a string of them! And what fun they have turned out to be to make. A short and sweet project that can be as difficult or as easy as you would like. And so useful!! Particular with our bush/beach lifestyle in New Zealand.

My first attempt was for my Dearest Mummy. I had found some amazingly soft merino wool and decided it was just what she needed for the foggy cold winter area that she lives in. The first is a smaller red one using this pattern, a fun easy knit, I whipped it up in the car ride down to see my Mum. And it turned out quite sweet :)

The second one I made for my Mum is a 'wear it long or wear it twisty' one. I actually made one exactly like this in black for a Fellow Twinny Mummy and Dear Friend. She loves it and assures me that I can't even have it back for a photo! I used this pattern. It was a fun lacy pattern without being overly complicated and a quick steam block brings out the detail beautifully. And speaking of cowls I will never get back to photograph, I made this for my Brother-in-law and it has been keeping him toasty warm :)

 The next one I made for myself :) Do you remember a while ago I won some fabulous rainbow yarn from the lovely Jodulbug? Well I finally found a pattern deserving of this to die for yarn! And here it is :)

The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief

Fantastic Pattern! I did find it a bit small so made it bigger and gave it a different trim and have worn it non stop ever since. It is so hundreds of thousands of perfect!

What do you think? The yarn couldn't be any more perfect could it!?

 And now of course that I have one nice cowl I just NEED another one! 

Luckily I have some very nice and fancy yarn in my stash at the moment thanks to a particularly amazing score on Trademe and then going halfsies on it with My Knitter Extraordinaire Mother in Law, which made the purchase feel a wee bit less cheeky :)

Knitch- Scratching the Knitting Itch.... I like to just go look at that website and drool sometimes...

But must do less drooling and more knitting seeing as I actually have some of their divine yarn in my hot little hands! This is what I have planned for it :)

Love that rich plummy colour! 

Well there you go. 

I have confessed to all the cowls I have made in the past few winter months. 

Im sure there are worse things I could have been doing :)

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A City Experience

Today's excursion was pretty much the opposite to our regular outing. We traded in our Quiet Bush Life for a Bustling City Experience. The day started with much excitement yet no one going anywhere fast. How do kids just seem to know when you have a deadline and have to make it to the train by 9:24am!? Once they realized that we were on a tight schedule they promptly engaged their brakes and made every minute leading up to the exit from the house feel like a year-ugh. I could feel my own excitement fading fast, but a few deep breaths in the car and I was back on track. Voyager Maritime Museum here we come! 

I would like to say that the train ride was more relaxing but alas I cannot. Thoroughly enjoyable for the Rascals but not relaxing for The Mother. So much to see and so many seats to bounce around. It certainitly reminded me that to the Average Inner City Worker my life sure does seem bizzare. Walking around town we dropped more than a few jaws. (My dear friend and fellow twin mother joined us so we did have four 2 years olds and Big L- pretty spectacular!)

Once we arrived in town I felt a desperate need to search out some refreshment and lucky for us N had a break in meetings so he came to join us. Yum. Caffeine in and ready to roll again! 

Feeling refreshed we made our way to the Voyager Maritime Museum (free to all Auckland Residents- not bad!) admiring some fabulous Sail boats along the way. The Rascals were suitably impressed with all the 'Pirates' that live in the City. The trip through the actual Museum was fantastic but brief, the Rascals sure do not allow time to read anything, bouncing from one exciting thing to the next, including an actual ship to play on! Another delightful discovery at the end was a wee sandpit and rowboat. Splendid morning indeed. 

Coming home to this morning's 'rush out the door mess' was not pleasant and it took most of the afternoon to get on top of house cleaning, but the reward was some lovely friends for a play this afernoon. 

Can't complain really.

Tonight's glass of wine was a bit larger than usual and my body feels a bit more tired than usual. 

Looking forward to heading back into our quiet familiar surrounds tomorrow. 

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Today's Excursion: The Secret Playground

Today, despite drizzly rain, we took ourselves off to the Secret Playground at Armor Bay.

'Secret' because for a long time we could only spot it from the Bay but then one day a clever friend of mine made her way through the bush determined to find its resting place. What a fabulous discovery!

 

A short bush walk, a hop over a stream and tah-dah! a secluded playground with fabulous views! 

 

I can never get enough of seeing Little L and Little S's heads bobbing along as they chat and make up stories while we walk. They really are such good friends.  

 

So combine a pleasant walk, playground discovery, throwing sticks into a stream and a spot of morning tea, and I think it is fair to say that a great morning was had by all! 

 

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One for the Biking Bank

We made a happy new Local Biking Destination Discovery this morning thanks to a lovely friend :) 

Huia Dam

I can't wait for it to be weekend so we can take Big L and N! 

(And if I am really honest, so that I can ditch N with the kids and have a go at running this track!)

Huia even makes winter look good :)

Here is to my Ever Increasing Love Affair with Huia!

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Pinkies in the air Ladies!

High tea is one of those Special Indulgent Treats and who better to share it with than my Mum and Sister as a belated Mother's Day treat.

 The setting was perfect, The Olde Creamery just outside Hamilton.

 Tranquil, smell of delicious baking in the air, pots of tea brewing, conversation and laughter, it was the perfect mixture of High Tea and coziness.

 

 Beautiful table settings with lovely flowery cups and plates :) Love Love!

 Yummy blends of tea to choose from. The best was that we each received a big pot of our chosen tea and shared it around. My favourite was the Jasmine and Rose tea.... so delicious! And of course it would not be High Tea without cucumber sammies and scones with jam and cream :)

 

 Lucky to have been able to enjoy such a lovely afternoon.

Lucky to have been able to spend it with such Lovely Company.

Aren't they gorgeous! 

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