Camelia Display

Happy Monday! I hope you've all had a lovely weekend. Ours was a perfect mix of morning tea with a friend while Paul spent the morning with Grace, an enjoyable evening at our house with good company, a trip to the local farmers' markets and flea markets and a bit of gardening.

This morning I thought I'd share with you some photos I snapped of our pretty red camelia which is putting on a lovely show outside our front window at the moment. I've been eagerly watching the many buds on this plant and am happy to now be able to enjoy their colour each time I head out the door. It was only after I downloaded these images that I noticed myself in one of the shots :)

What has made you happy this weekend?

Treasures From Nanna

Last week, my 89 year old Nanna moved out of her unit and into an aged care facility. While her mind is still active, sadly her knees aren’t what they used to be and several falls have led to this move. I’ve always been close to my Nanna and when I was teaching in the same suburb where she lived, I’d often call in on my way home from work to have a cuppa with her. These days she looks forward to my visits even more as I have Grace in tow who always brightens her day.

We visited my Nanna last weekend in her new home and I have to admit, I left feeling a bit sad. While the new place she’s staying at is lovely (it’s a brand new facility), I knew that our visits wouldn’t quite be the same again. Grace didn’t seem to mind though and discovered Nanna’s stash of lollies within the first few minutes. I’m hoping when we visit her today, she is more settled in.

My sister and cousin and I have each chosen a collection of pieces from Nanna's house. It is my Nanna who I like to think I got my love of all things homely from and I’m very excited with the items I’ve inherited as they are all pieces I love and will use and which will all bring back memories of happy times.

Do you have any pieces from an elderly relative that have sentimental meaning to you?

At My House

Today I thought I'd join in with the 'At My House' topic over at Buttons by Lou Lou. Grace has been enjoying spending time outdoors lately, so I've been trying to spend some time in the sunshine each day (when it's been around). She loves her little watering can and toddles up and down the backyard, showering all the plants and then picking flowers and leaves to fill up her bucket with. I'm really looking forward to setting up a little vegetable patch this spring so Grace and I can potter about in the garden each day when the warmer weather arrives.

Pop over to Buttons by Lou Lou here to see what others have been up to at their houses this week...

New Quilt Cover

Monday again! Hope everyone's weekends were lovely. Here in our little household, I'm looking forward to a healthy week with Paul and I over our colds and Grace doing much better too.

As I was flicking through some photos on the weekend, I realised I hadn't shared my new quilt cover with you all. Our main bedroom has remained virtually the same way since we bought our house and is long overdue for a fresh look (you can see a 'before' shot on the right in my sidebar and on an old post here). After months of talking about wanting a white quilt cover, I finally bought one from Ikea a few weeks ago along with a lovely new doona insert from Target which is so much cosier than our old one. Our new carpets and white skirtings have also made a huge difference to this room.

As with all my homely 'to-do' projects, this bedroom update won't be an overnight transformation, but gradually I'd like to do the following:

replace the wall lamps and main light fitting

sew a runner for our dressing table

add some small pieces of artwork

decide on some new softer looking curtains

find some lovely bits and pieces to display

As for my little stools I blogged about here, I'm much happier with the shade of aqua paint now that we have our new carpet and skirtings so I've decided to leave them for now.

I'm on the hunt for some inspiration so I'd love to know what is your favourite piece of furniture or decorative item in your own bedroom? ...

Standout Staircases

When I was a little girl, I used to envy anyone who had a set of stairs to run up and down. Nowadays, I'm more than content with our single storey home but here are some different staircases which have nonetheless caught my eye lately.

Which set do you prefer?

Image sources:

#1 and #7

#2 unknown

#3 #4 #5

#6 and #8