Palm Beach

Not sure what we were thinking when we agreed to take the girls to the beach this morning! It was only 12 degrees and a storm was brewing when we arrived at Palm Beach...

The good thing about the coast is that the weather very quickly changes and the wind had soon swept the clouds further out to sea and the sky cleared up. Literally five minutes later, it felt like we were on a different beach;

The girls sported a combination of winter and summer clothes... a fleece jacket, with skirts and leggings because I knew they wouldn't be able to resist dipping their toes in the ocean!


Livvie loves the waters edge, whereas Elly kept me company, making sand pies in the little foil containers we brought with us, specifically for that purpose;

The seagulls surrounded the girls as they tried to eat some popcorn, so they fed it to them, then raced around trying to catch one!

Then it was time for some lunch...

This little cafe can organise a picnic pack for you, which you pick up as you arrive at Palm Beach. Maybe next time we'll get a Family Hamper, so we can stay at the beach a little longer...

Hidden Gem

A friend told us about a park, unknown to us, not far from our house and today we ventured out to find it. (I honestly thought I knew every single park and playground in the area, but this is a hidden gem and I am so glad we were told about it!).

In between two houses is a {secret} little path, it goes down a big hill and is framed on one side by this beautiful wall;

We saw beautiful Autumn leaves;;

Interesting resting places;

A rainforest of ferns;

Beautiful trees to climb all over;

And Eucalyptus trees losing their bark;

Nick helped the girls make a little tee-pee for the forest fairies;

And yet another delight was a grassy hill covered in dandelions;

I can't believe this has been on our doorstep and we have only just discovered it!

At home, sick but still crafting!

I am definitely guilty of buying gifts for others that I would like to receive myself. Like this chocolat mug and spoon which I paired with some Toby's Estate Drinking Chocolate. It's a little gift for one of Elly's Preschool teachers, who is leaving on Monday. I think she definitely deserves to put her feet up the end of the day and treat herself to a hot chocolate, especially after this cold snap we have been experiencing. (I really can't think of anything better than a hot chocolate on a cold winter's day ~ hint, hint Nick!).

Meanwhile, Elly has been home sick for the past 5 days with fevers on and off, lack of appetite (which is strange for her) and has been unusually quiet (very strange for her!). I have barely left the house all week (only to buy more Panadol!) and despite her feeling quite unwell, it has not put a dampener on her desire to craft;

She wanted to build a house of sticks for the birds outside, but it started pouring rain. So she painted an ornamental bird house instead.

The girls also collected Autumn leaves outside and made crowns;

As for me, there has been plenty of time to practice my knitting;

I finally figured out the Purl stitch;

(After having to unravel mistakes three times!)

And most days, we even managed to take a little midday nap snuggled up together. It was lovely... and almost made up for the fact we haven't had more than 2 hours of continuous sleep for the past four nights! (Almost, but not quite!)

Festival

Last night I made two quick little skirts for the girls to wear today. I was inspired by the Simple Skirt Tutorial at Dana MADE it. Along with fabric, I bought two little buttons from Calico and Ivy last week, so I decided to use them together;

My Dad owns a 1948 Packard and he invited us to their Packard Run today;

It finished in the church grounds at Appin;

I had never been there before, but this little town was celebrating it's Bicentenary today!

The festival was in full swing when we arrived and the weather was beautiful;

The first thing we saw were the Scarecrows;

(My Mum was disappointed you couldn't buy a raffle ticket to win one of these. Never mind that she doesn't have a farm and he would probably be found lounging by her pool!)

Then it was on to the Ticket Booth for the rides!

First, the Flying Fish and then the Giant Slides;

Then the Jumping Castle...

Then 4 more rides down the slide!

Of course, by now the girls were hungry. I ordered them two small fairy floss;

(Cotton Candy to some) What a treat!

Then it was time to look around the stalls;

I love these beautiful, bright, beaded bracelets.

Lunch was more show-food... mini-pancakes;

The weather soon got really warm, hot even.

Luckily Poppy had brought extra hats in the back of the Packard;

Not quite a sun-hat, but very cute nonetheless!

Then it was time to visit the animals in the petting zoo;

Notice I keep a safe distance from the animals!

(I admit to, at times, using my children as shields! I am a little bit scared of animals)

Then we took a walk back through the town and saw a few historic sites;

A very old motorbike;

Original Survivor Malvern

And a 1928/29 Model A Ford Tourer;

More Packards;

My Dad's Packard;

(My hungry child)

And here we had a picnic for a few hours and enjoyed the festival atmosphere.

The girls loved it all, especially this carnival favourite;

Inside, a magic wand and a skipping rope;

What a day! I wonder what the Packard Club are doing next weekend?

Babies

For the first time in nearly five years, Nick and I saw a movie together. My parents were kind enough to look after the girls for us for a couple of hours while we went to see Babies;

I almost can't believe we spent very rare child-free time watching a movie about babies, but we did. It was so beautiful, I absolutely loved every second and it made me very nostalgic for my own babies and that beautiful time from 0-12 months when I was in la-la land, loving every second (except for the no-sleep part!). Nick enjoyed seeing all the babies in their cultural contexts but... didn't enjoy watching the babies crying! Don't you remember Nick? That's what babies do!

Anyway, it was great to have this little date together, but you know what they say... 'Blue and Green should never been seen...'

And we usually never are seen, 'without a colour (or two!) in between';

(We thought we would share the joy of the automatic car-wash with the girls on the way home).

Shoe Shopping

I don't think buying flowergirl shoes could have been any easier. The bride chose the shop and the shoe and off we went to get measured and fitted;

It was my best-ever shopping experience with the girls. It took all of 10 minutes and they came away with a beautiful pair of shoes each, in a pretty pink box. It usually never goes this smoothly, there is almost always tears (sometimes theirs, sometimes mine!). I wish we could do all our shopping this way... I wonder if Emma could source some winter dresses for us now?

Cubby

[Before]

A few weeks ago, we gave the old cubby at my parent's house a little make-over, dusting away the cobwebs, sweeping it out...

and cleaning all the play stuff;

We added a little birdhouse;

Gave their little house a street number on a piggy plaque;

And added all their favourite things;

Now they are all set in their 'little pig's house';