Portrait practise

I get so frustrated at Art Class - my finished piece never looks the way I imagine. And everyone is so much better than me!

Yes, I'm probably being hard on myself. But when you spend a whole precious Saturday morning doing something as frivolous as drawing, you expect it to not be a complete waste of time!

I've come to realise if I want to produce a masterpiece in class I need to get some practise in.

So when I arrived home from Art last weekend I started a portrait. Leaving it set up on my easel in a spot I walk past often and doing a little each day really helped the process. It's hard to know when to stop with a drawing - when to recognise it's finished....but I think tonight it's now at that point.  I see lots of flaws, but I have to say - I'm a bit pleased! What do you think?

Having a nasty flu this week gave me an excuse to snuggle in bed and read....and doze.....and read some more.

This book had me completely hooked.

If you like deep characters, smart writing and murder mysteries that keep you guessing to the end, give it a whirl!

Thanks for stopping by!

xxx

Happy List

Here are the things that gave me BLISS this week (better late than never!)

1. Appearing on the Charm's Creations blog!

2. Feeling healthy and renewed after my first 4-week round of Hayley Lewis's Low GI food and exercise plan (and joining up for another go cos I'm loving it so much!)

3. Receiving my personalised Style Guide (how posh!) from Bird's Nest. I totally recommend doing this girls - it's great! Next thing on my list - a mega wardrobe chuck-out!

4. This performance on The Voice last night. GO TEAM KEITH!!!

5. An impromptu family getaway 3 hours north to Stanthorpe to visit our good friend who works on a salad farm (they grow the salad leaves you buy in supermarkets - you know...baby spinach, mesclan mix, etc). This gorgeous little town is truly a foodie's paradise! We sampled olives, cheese, wine, fudge, jams, chutneys, ice cream and every fruit and veg imaginable. Yum yummy scrumptious!

Wishing you bliss this week.

xxx

Get messy!

How fun does this look?

image

I chose it as this month's Technique Challenge over at SHOW US YOUR STUFF.

Go here to join in!

Here is my DT example....

Lots of handmade goodies on here:

Heavenly Heart from Charm's Creations

Fimo cloud, scalloped tag and yellow doily from The Chip Chop Shop

Nellie G buttons (yellow flower and lime green)

Lil Red Rocket covered button (blue dotty)

Stacey Young's textured background technique

Lots of doodling and hand colouring!

While you're over checking out Show Us Your Stuff, see if you can convince your kids to enter Sophie's Corner this month! We'd love to see some more entries!

How do you feather your nest?

Is this your kind of house?

Then you're a COUNTRY CHIC nester like me!

Maybe you prefer Boho, Beachy or Modern?

Take this fun quiz and find out!

Don't forget to come back and tell me what kind of nester you are...

you know I love this kind of stuff!

Mother's Day Bliss

My Bliss List items for this week are all about today's special occasion - Mother's Day.

1. The way Beth (DD 9) calls it "Mum's Other Birthday".

2. The "secret" shopping expedition with Daddy while I was at Drawing class yesterday.

3. The non-existent sleep-in. By 6.30 the girls were full to bursting and could not wait a minute longer to pile on the bed with us.

4. The impeccably-coloured-in, written-in-neatest-handwriting cards and drawings made with care and love and presented with such pride.

5. Living gifts for our garden and vegie patch:

Potted Pansy

Tahitian Lime Tree

Raspberry Bush

6. A present that led to hours of fun, sharing.......and calories to work off tomorrow!

From the debut cookbook from last year's Masterchef winner, we made:

Honeycomb

and Chocolate Pots........mmmmmmmm!

7. Lovely long phone chat with my Mum (59:29 mins in fact!)

8. Time spent at our favourite spot on the farm....the Curly Tree

9. A cosy log fire on the coldest day we've had so far this year!

Happy Mother's Day to Mum's everywhere.

Hope yours was just as blissful!

x

Bliss List

I get so much inspiration from Liv Lane's Choosing Beauty blog and her Bliss List idea struck a chord...........

Liv says: "every Friday I share a list of the bliss in my midst, reflecting on moments over the past week where I’ve caught myself in a sense of wonder, contentment, and true joy. It’s like a gratitude list, but rather than just being thankful for the things I have…I want to be thankful for the way I feel – even if it’s fleeting – and celebrate whatever brought me to that bliss."

Gratefulness is a common state of mind for me. Perhaps it's because of the distress and hard times I see in my line of work, or that I never leave home without my rose-coloured glasses, but I tend to focus on the positives and not dwell on that which I cannot change.

I believe:

Life is a privilege not a right.

We create our own luck.

Good things happen when we live with love.

Beauty and joyful moments are all around us just waiting to be noticed!

So here's my first ever BLISS LIST...

1. I celebrate and praise the tradition of the Sunday Roast! Right now aromas of juicy baked lamb are wafting through my house as the wood fire crackles and the sounds of the girl's giggles carry through the window as they squeeze the last bit of playtime out of the day.

2. I thank my body for its slow but sure transformation - today I actually feel that my crosstrainer is my friend. Five minutes used to wallop me - now 35 minutes, 7 kilometres and 150 calories is not exactly a breeze, but manageable and....shock horror....ENJOYABLE! I never thought EXERCISE and FUN would exist together in a sentence spoken by me. How about that!

3. My heart did a mini-flip today while watching the fun Tim and the girls shared while building this dude....

Not very pretty....but hopefully effective at keeping the birds away from my struggling vegie seedlings.

4. Standing outside under the big bright full "supermoon" tonight and knowing it's closer to Earth than it has been in 18 years, just reinforces what a unique and wonderful world we live in.

5. Hubby brings me a cup of tea every evening after dinner without fail. A simple gesture that makes me feel appreciated and loved.......and that to me is bliss!

Why not join the Bliss List Party?

Tell the world what brings you bliss!

20 years ago...

I dressed up like a princess

I married my prince

And began the most wonderful adventure of my life...

And if I could do it over again
I would still choose him.

Happy Anniversary Babe

xxx