this little house

this little DIY - these little plimsolls

well for a start who knew the spelling was plimsolls and not plimsoles, or was that just me?! ah you learn something new everyday :)

i don't think you can beat a good plimsoll in the summer and there are some really cute designs out there, but armed with my new 'can pretty much write on anything' permanent marker from doing my friend's hangers i was itching to try it on fabric. so when i saw these white plimsolls in tesco i knew they were going to be my next victim...i mean project ;)

the plimsolls were £8 so i knew it wouldn't be the end of the world if this project didn't work, though i still did a test patch inside to make sure the pen didn't run when wet, which it didn't. very impressed.

can it withstand a scottish down pour on a summers day though? only time will tell ;)

what i like about this design is it doesn't matter if you don't do it exactly perfect as the pattern tricks your eye when you see the end result, and here it is...

i'm really pleased with how they turned out, and it took less than an hour.

so now what else can i use my pen on.....

Thursday, 27 June 2013 Comments: 11

life really can deal you some low blows. it's easy to get lost in those lows and loose sight of all that is good.

this little smile here doesn't allow me to do that, and god does it make me love him all the more (if that is at all possible)

that smile makes me thankful for all i have, and learn to deal with the things i don't.

i already have more than i dreamed of and that's two amazing men in my life. i'm smiling as i type that. i am one lucky lady and i will always work hard to remember that.

Monday, 24 June 2013 Comments: 9

this little DIY - this little hanger

ah remember the days when you met up with your friend and all you talked about were boys, crushes, outfits etc etc. don't get me wrong that still goes on, especially when you've got a mutual crush on robin thicke (shh don't tell michael, but seriously...wow ;) but now we find ourselves talking about some pretty serious stuff over here. like for example, hangers.

yes. hangers.

do you know how hard it is to find a decent looking hanger for a stand alone clothes rail? bloody hard people. ;)

so not one to leave a friend in hanger despair, i nabbed some of the gorgeous swallow wallpaper she had left over from doing up her spare room (that's were the rail is) and told her to leave it with me.

so armed with some ikea hangers (8 for £4 so total bargain) i got to work...

other items i used which aren't pictured were paint (similar colour to the paper) and ribbon.

i painted the hanger first, then while it was drying i cut out two of the swallows from the paper.

once the paint had dried i glued the swallows onto the hanger...

i then wrote a quote on the hanger (permanent marker) which i knew my friend would love.

'if you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing' - coco chanel

i then gave the hanger a coat of mod podge (the BEST matt glue) to seal it.

and here is the end result...

so that's one down the rest to go ;)

when i've finished them i'll take a picture of them in my friends spare room.

for now here's the hanger in mine...

does this mean we can go back to talking about robin thicke now, sam? ;)

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 Comments: 30

first steps! and some non-related pics ;)

try a boy who took his time to crawl and then quite satisfied with that showed no interest in walking, took his first steps today! lets just say i thought we'd be in for a bit of a wait for those first independent steps. how wrong i was. they came, just out the blue, like 'yeah mama so i took a few steps, no big shakes'.

no big shakes, are you kidding me?!

the fact it happened so nonchalant took me by surprise. then it was like wham my baby boy just took his first steps, and then of course there was lots of squealing (from me) and a quick scramble to find my phone to tell michael.

that was this morning, since coming home from a lovely day with friends, the boy has been on a roll. he's been doing quick bursts of a few steps everywhere and then joining in with my cheers (nothing wrong with a bit of self-congratulations, my boy ;) for his big finale he took a few steps in the bath...yeah mama wasn't so thrilled about this!

so did i get a picture of these specials moments? hell no, of course not. that would have been too perfect. instead i did take these, behold the camera kidnapper and aspiring gardener....

well done our clever boy. we are so proud of you ♥

Monday, 17 June 2013 Comments: 14

remember when you were a kid and the best place ever was to be on your dad's shoulders? to you they seemed like a giant, stronger than you could ever dream to be.

well my dear husband, that is now you. you're caleb's giant.

have you seen his face when he looks at you? the boy is in serious awe (i'm not jealous...promise ;)

easy to see why though, you are an incredible dad.

and not forgetting two other incredible dad's out there, you know who you are and we wouldn't be the people we are today without you. thank you, our giants.

happy fathers day everyone!

Sunday, 16 June 2013 Comments: 2

thrifty finds

oh this is my perfect type of thrifting haul. things to wear and items for the house :)

i don't know what the charity shops are like where you live but the ones here in edinburgh are very savvy now. they know their stuff and it's usually reflected in the price, but not all the time. after all, one person's trash is another person's treasure, and that is why i will always adore a good ole hunt in a charity shop. you never know what you're going to find...

i love everything about these plates, the pattern, the colour and the fact they were only £2 each (and i got four :)

i'm a bit jar crazy at the moment, and loved these two beauties. hmmmm now what to do with them...

the beading on this top is beautiful and very great gatsby. now all i need is my leo ;)

i love it when you go to a charity shop and literally walk away with a full outfit for less than a tenner. this is a great (slighty grannytastic) midi dress. i will look forward to donning this number when the weather gets a bit colder, which in scotland could be like tomorrow.

Thursday, 13 June 2013 Comments: 11

oh it's that wonderful time again (heavy on the sarcasm here)...teething.

lets just put it out there teething, i hate you. hate you.

you make my boy miserable and you test my patience to the point where i need to have a word with myself before i turn into a crying mess too. we've had two straight days of caleb whining. whining because he's confused and in pain, but my god is that whining like nails against a chalkboard. and breathe.

as teething took its toll this afternoon and we'd exhausted every teething medicine and trick going, it was time for a team cuddle on the couch. i think we both needed that cuddle. just like when he was a tiny baby he fell asleep on my chest. my baby.

so come on teething lets be having you. cut the teeth and get the hell out of here. i want my boy back. feel free to leave his cuddlier side here though.

oh and a little teething helper that's been a hit with caleb (and his mama), frozen blueberries.

Wednesday, 12 June 2013 Comments: 6

everyone say 'CHEEEEEEESE!', well except caleb you keep chomping on that finger of yours.

after my nana's funeral i was so pleased to travel back up with my mum, sister and the two tinkers and have some much needed family time.

the one thing i miss most about not having my family near is the every day things. the little moments. the moments you wouldn't think to necessarily talk about on the phone, but to me this makes them no less important. it's the beauty and at times the mundane of everyday life. that is what i miss the most.

so we were in our element having a full house, especially caleb who took on the role of nathan's shadow. seriously nobody really gets a look in when another little one is around, especially if it's one of his cousins.

it was a lovely few days, of fun, sunshine, laughter, perfecting the art of sharing (the kids not the adults ;) and of course the zoo. i didn't realise with our pass it gets our family and friends 25% off their ticket which was a total bonus.