MY CHRISTMAS HAS BEEN FULL OF WONDERFUL SURPRISES!!

Hi ladies.....hope you all had a lovely Xmas and New Years is just around the corner...

I am quite fortunate?? in that i live on the water overlooking Melbourne so we get to see all the New Year's Eve fireworks without having to leave my front door..we all just sit on the balcony.....& watch it....

BUT the downside is that sooo many people park along my street to watch these fireworks..that is fine...but with NO toilets provided by the council..

GUESS whose front yard (and my neighbours etc)..becomes the local toilet??...

MMMM caught several "gonzos" urinating in our gardens...so that is the down side ...

ANYWAY thought i would share a little snippet of my surprises received at xmas.....

okay...provided Xmas Eve dinner for about 15...was cooking all day & just HAD to go to bed at 10.30 pm...THE OLD GIRL HAD HAD IT!!

just dozing off & the door bell rings...WHO IS THIS??? GRRR GGRRRR!!! GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hubby answered and the NEXT minute BYRON is approaching me to give me a big KISS...

YES!! my 22 yo so who lives interstate..finished work..caught a plane...flew home..TO SPEND XMAS day with us..

WELL that was AWESOME....(hubby knew about it but kept it under wraps...now I know why he kept saying to me ..."dont go to bed just yet..stay up for a while")..

BUT he had to fly out Boxing Day morning (early) as he has a part time job during his uni studies...

WELL he rang me at 7.00 am..(from the airport as he went to buy some newspapers to read...AND my gosh..he got such a "SHOCK" seeing his grandfather on the FRONT PAGE)....

and he said "GUESS WHO IS ON THE FRONT COVER OF THE AGE"...???

(the age is a melbourne newspaper...about 150 yrs old...an institution in Victoria).

YES !!! MY 86 yo DAD...!! byrons GRANDAD...

i knew he was going to be written up as my dad swims every summer...ALL the BAY swims...HE is the OLDEST competitor in the well known "LORNE PIER TO PUB"...swim...

we had a reporter at my house interviewing dad last week..BUT THOUGHT it would be ON the BACK sports page.

BUT MY DAD was on the FRONT PAGE of SATURDAYS AGE...

awesome feat for the OLD FELLA!!!

(other son said it must be a slow news day!!! smart ??????....he was joking)...!!

SOO I have had a lovely Xmas...

Lots of surprises...

Lots of perfume as well!!!

yes!! i DO LOVE my perfume..

xx andrea

MY VINTAGE FLEA MARKET FINDS..& HAPPY XMAS!!

Hi ladies.

well obviously the last post before christmas...as I have Christmas Eve at my house with about 15 people...

sooo have been frantic getting it all ready...

will be MORE stressed tomorrow with starting to cook cakes etc..

BUT...I HAVE been trying to get my upstairsEBAY area organised for about 3 MONTHS!!!!

SOOOOO did a BIG effort today...ONLY half way through...well a bit less!!

BUT getting there.!!!

Organising my material....linen...lace..hanging on lines for me to remember what I have stored away..

Old lace...vintage cross stitch??/embroidery...

AND LOTS/ LOTS MORE...TOO MUCH TO MENTION!!

(this is why my hubby is pressing me to get A SHOP AGAIN!!!)...

thinking about it???!!

MMMM !! I did have a shop for 10 yrs which was a great success....

This one would be totally different...with the VINTAGE HAT BOX theme...to go with my logo...

I have enough goodies NOW to open a fantastic vintage shabby flea market junky shop???

I can picture it now...

BUT paying BIG RENT/LAND TAX..RATES/ETC ETC..

IS A BIG COMMITMENT??? & A BIG RISK??

food for thought over summer....??

have a lovely xmas new years everyone...

xx andrea

MY CHRISTMAS DECOR..KIND OF UPSTAIRS & DOWNSTAIRS!!

Hello again ladies..

OKAY...suddenly realised Christmas was just ONE week away...i kept kind of thinking it was a few weeks away at least!! completely LOST track of time..

SOO the "old girl" had to get her little..(well maybe BIG BUTT into gear)!!

So i am kind of like the old tv show "upstairs/downstairs")...younger bloggers will NOT know what i am talking about..

ANYWAY...upstairs is my white/french chic type kitchen area ...I HAVE SHABBY PINK type decor featured for xmas....

Downstairs is the MALE DOMAIN!!! (yukky poos)...is the PROVERBIAL table tennis table..drum kit..brick walls......OKAY...this is the TESTOSTERONE centre.

where i have all my CHRISTMAS pressies wrapped under a little tree..

AND some chocolates..shortbread...mints...napkins...

AND this rooms opens OUT to the BBQ area...given this another little xmas makeover...(per 3rd/4th/5th photos..soo hard with water restrictions to make anything look good..BUT tied xmas decs around .... decorated the table a bit??_

soo think it looks OKAY???........ little lanterns to light for xmas eve...

I am quite happy with the wrapping scenario AS i have NOT been really TOO motivated..i think the photos show what my theme is??

mixed red/white..brown paper...PLAIN thick STRING!!

gave SOOTY his christmas bath yesterday...and a GOOD GOOD brush..

(in amongst the biting teeth...what are you doing to me ?? look!! he kind of says??)...

get over it SOOTY!!!

He has come up a treat...put his collar on with XMAS ribbon tied around..

(funny bit of an aside...sooty is 11 yo in feb...was going quite grey in colour...BUT he has suddenly come back with his original BLACK hair??? all over his back area...head is still greyish?? what tha?? not quite sure why..any answers are welcome)..

is it the TUNA??? which i feed him ? & which he loves...

anyway...I am having about 14 people over for Christmas EVE...getting ready for that..

MAY do a post on my XMAS tables?? whatever...

have a great chrismas...

xx andrea

JUST LOVE MY STASH OF VINTAGE LINEN & LACE...

Hi ladies..

Probably my last post...well maybe?? before Christmas...who knows??

SOO if soo..MERRY CHRISTMAS & great NEW YEAR to everyone..

OKAY..this post is about my TOTAL OBSESSION with VINTAGE LINEN & LACE..

I have collected vintage tablecloths for many a year..with my gorgeous "nanna" embroidering them for as long as I can remember...(she died aged 86 yo some 22 yrs ago)...BUT i can still remember her sitting in her rocker...knitting...sewing..

I was always at NANNAS house....watching her cook/sew..& WHINGE about everyone!!! and when she had a headache..she always tied an old STOCKING around her head?? not sure how that worked...??

I used to curl her hair...tease it up...style it..and give a little spray to hold...

the good old days...!!

anyway...I guess this love of STUFF stemmed from my nanna...& of course my MUM has sooooooooo much STUUUUUFFF ... of everything...

soo i have been busy putting together heaps of my VINTAGE linen/doilies/runners etc to sell on ebay...

I have also bought a lot on ebay & oztion...so have amassed quite a collection.

& OF course had to dye some gorgeous edgings PINK...

hanging on line to dry..

PLUS an awesome lot of little crochet flowers etc...also dyed pink...

with the water restrictions in Melbourne...my garden is ... well!!!

THERE IS NONE really....

BUT look at my little patch of hydrangeas....how lovely are they?? with NO WATER...they just keep blooming each year...

I am soo very proud of these guys...(OR GIRLS)...

I cut some today to place in a little glass jar in the kitchen as I had a little "tea party" for my mum & dad's OLDEST FRIENDS...they are both 88 yo..!!

so with my mum & dad...& them...& me...OKAY...aggregate age was...

401 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay....off to watch Kylies Christmas show on foxtel...LOVE her shows...!

xx andrea

AWESOME WEEKEND VINTAGE FINDS..VERY HAPPY!!

Hi ladies....

I have had a WONDERFUL weekend finding BITS & BOBS.

PLUS having BYRON home for 24 HOURS!!!!

Anyway...will keep it brief...whilst down "the street" on friday...I saw a cupboard just LEFT outside the back of shops..?? MMMM when going to my car after shopping at 2.30 pm..thought it was a beauty...

When hubby came home for us to go out to dinner at 6.30 pm..made him drive past..just to see if it was still sitting there unwanted...AND YES!! it WAS...

AND as hubby just happens to have the car to fit it into...YES!! so it is now mine to makeover!!

And yesterday ventured to one of my favourite FLEA/JUNK market HAUNTS & found LOTS of lovely goodies...from POODLE STUFF!! to soo much linen & lace..

vintage suitcases....plastic 50's dolls heads...dollies...gorgeous BARKCLOTH material...GREAT tin for $5.00!!..gorgeous ROSES TAPESTRY.....

PLUS lots of LOVELY VINTAGE SHABBY CHIC CARDS...I LOVE OLD CARDS..especially with roses etc on them...& FOUND one with the OLD 21st CARD still attached.. how gorgeous is this one???

I have just dyed LOTS of this gorgeous linen PINK...hanging on the line to dry...

SOO i have to say I have actually HAD a quite productive weekend...

as WELL as having eldest SON home for a little bit!!

sorry photos are OUT of sequence AGAIN...but I dare NOT try to change as I will probably LOSE them all!!

xx andrea