These boots...

After flirting with the idea of staying summery forever, I think Sydney weather has finally decided to reboot, refresh and turn on some Autumnal charm. 

Which turns my attention to these boots. That zesty orange, part citrus, part apiarist, I am loving that punch in a gorgeous boot - with a comfortable stacked heel. Perfect for Winter when you don't want to succumb to dreary all black. Well I don't, and it would be hard to given I own very little black clothing. 

What do you think peeps? Hot or what? I'm voting with my feet. HOT! 



Elk Hal Leather Ankle Boot  $210

Three Of The Best:: Coats

Things are cooling down, I've packed my summer wardrobe away and brought out my winter woollies. I am ready for the big chill.  Bring it on! 

I know. You're sitting there thinking: "What the heck PMM? How can you possibly love winter?"

I do! I defy you! I love rugging up. Well we can talk about that in the thick of the winter of discontent, but for now, roll on tights and scarves. 

I've been schlepping around the interwebs and found three of my favourites for this season.

from left to right: 

Bassike Cashmere Coat Black $895:: It's an investment, yes, but cashmere. Cashmere. Ah sweet cashmere. And fully lined with leather sleeves? And that shape and length? YES YES YES! It's a forever coat, classic cut, can't go wrong with black - and it has sass. Those sleeves say: don't mess with me, while the rest of it whispers - I'm hella cool, and definitely don't mess with me. 

Sussan Lady Coat $169.95:: I have this same cut from last year - different fabrication. I am here to tell you - it was worn almost every day of the season because I loved it so much. A really, really great length, and the cut is feminine and flattering. I love the shorter sleeve too - couple it with a bright, or a clashing pattern - et voila. Instant style cred. 

Gorman Untitled Mountain Jacket $299:: Have you ever worn a quilted jacket? It's like wearing a quilt, like wearing a hug, oh man, it feels so damn good. I love this simple, drop shoulder jacket, perfect for layering up - looks good for weekend and office-wear.  

Which is your favourite?

Tired and Elated, Blistered and Bruised. What An Ace Weekend.

We've just arrived home tonight from our brilliant weekend in Thredbo - all with great thanks to Toyota.

The four of us had such a great time, and I can't wait to share our weekend in more detail.

I'm sporting some really racy blisters on my shins - and a nice big blue bruise on my thigh, but I can't help but feel on top of the mountain.

Thanks for all your brilliant tips. I applied a lot of them and they were ace to the power of rad.

What was your best bit of the weekend?

Really Very Pretty

I've recently just finished making the Doctor's quilt. It took such a long time, and I have such immense respect for those who make things with their hands.

Which is why I love this Kantha range that's new-ish to Freedom. Hand made in India, no two pieces are the same. There are throws, cushions and bolsters. I love the look of them layered all together, the nuances in each piece, the stories that those stitches can tell. Plus they are perfect for Winter, for layering onto your couch, or over the end of your bed. There's nothing I love more than snuggling under the blankets - layers and layers of them, whereas Matt protests, I feel like I am in my cocoon.

In fact, our bedding is a constant tussle with us. A bone of contention in our marriage. I pile them high, Matt prefers just a doona. I like an old school bed. Matt likes just a doona. I like bunkering down under 87 layers. Matt likes just a doona.

Someone talk some sense into the man.



I've Got A Crush

On this Karen Walker Long Dress coat - but not in this green - in this green.

I'm not getting it, but a gal can dream right? She deserves to be warm this Winter, right?

A Punchy Gorman Winter

If you live in Sydney, then you know that the weather can't flipping well make up it's mind. It's hot then it's cold, it's up then it's down, it rains then it steams. Oh wait. Sorry, I got brain-washed by Katy Perry.

If you're like me and you love Winter for it's rugging up qualities, then just clap your peepers around Gorman's new Winter Collection.

How does Lisa Gorman do it?

You know I like colour. And pattern . And quirk.

She ticks all of these boxes.

And then some.

And even if we have a bitterly cold Winter, well - the brights will cheer up even the most bitter days, non?

How can you beat that citrus jacket in the top pic? You can't, my friends. So you might as well join it.

Click for more Gorman goodies here.

Chunk-No-Itis

Tiny has been welcomed into the exclusive and elite club where all members must have Conjunctivitis to join. I believe I'll be joining that club later tonight.

Yesterday her eye started mucusing up a storm, and we couldn't clean it quick enough. Disgusting, no?

She woke up in the middle of the night, her eye fused closed. Impressive Tiny. So in the darkness of night, we cleaned it again, and again. And again. And put her back into bed. When she woke it was a little better, and we've been dealing with the eye all day. It's so furiously red, I've never seen conjunctivitis so cranky. I think the other eye is going out in sympathy.

In the morning she asked why she had: "Chunk-No-Itis". She hasn't complained and just gone about her day. Delighted when she caught a ladybird, she made it a little home, created a slide for it, and told it it was going to join the circus.

Poor Tiny Pink Eye.

Universe, right about now, we'd really like to shake the shackles of Winter sickness. April - August? Enough is enough. We're officially: Sick of being sick.

Awww Man!

Conjunctivitis! Tonsilitis! Fevers! Runny nose! Blocked ears! General lethargy! The Doctor sure knows how to get sick when he gets sick.

He's miserable and holed up in a birdie's nest* on the couch during the day, early to bed at night. Oh man. I hate the smalls being sick. It makes me so sad to see them so sad. He even asked me to come home early from work so I could be with him. Break my little heart dude.

I'm sick of the sick. Roll over Winter, Spring and Summer need to make their grand entrance. I'm over you Winter. I usually love you. But April - August we've been sick. I'm over it. I'm done. Winter, you stink this year.

On the flip side of down and out in Beverley Hills *cough*, the Doctor saved up for a really, really long time to buy a Nintendo DSi. He finally reached his goal, and this has been a huge saving grace while he's been sick and I've told him he has to lay low and hang out on the couch. He's been playing 'Ready Set Grover' like crazy these last few days. Phew for this small grace!

* A birdie's nest in our house is when I plump up the cushions on the couch and tuck my wee little birdies in with a blanket, when they are feeling poorly.

Looking Forward

I have gots to tell you folks, I am so looking forward to Spring warming up. I am looking forward to Summer too. Not the searing heat, but the holiday vibe that accompanies Summer. That even if you're at work, it feels almost like you're on a holiday because everyone's in a good mood, skin is bared, you're living, you're sneaking off for mid-week jaunts to the beach. You're ALIVE people.

Imagine my disappointment when this shift in weather flung us back into chilly-billy weather.

I love layering and all. But I was looking forward to pulling out my scanty Summery things, people.

Yet the weather is just not ready. The crepe myrtle is leafing up beautifully. That is one of those things I love about our new abode. The crepe myrtle, and the small magnolia right in our front door. Big fat azalias that have finished blooming until next year. It's a pretty garden. It's a very small matchbox house, with a lovely old garden that someone loved. I love that.

I am still looking forward to Summer. Though it's playing hard to get. I can't wait to wear my Summer frocks and sandals. Dip my toes in the ocean. Play in the sunshine. Lie in the grass and read books with my small fry.

And because I am in the mood for lurve this week - check out lovely Sophie's sewing for her man. She's so cute I could bottle her.

Bakey Bakey: Time For A Giveaway

The other night we were driving through the back streets and I spotted a whole cache of treasures thrown out roadside. I reversed the car (such is the power of being the driver). There was a completely ace bar stool that I imagined would be perfect for when I was baking. I thought it would be ideal for the smalls to pull up, sit bench-side, have a stir, have a taste, lick the spoon, lick the bowl. Clearly Matt wasn't feeling it and commanded I drive on. 'Very good, Sir.' What kind of a mean spirited person makes me drive past perfectly good stuff?

Anyway, CSN stores has given me the opportunity to give away something to a lucky US or Canadian reader (do you know that every time someone says 'Canadia' a little Mountie fairy dies?). CSN Stores have over 200 stores where you can pretty well find anything you're looking for, including bar stools.

Given you're in Winter, and we're in Summer, I selected something that will give you a slice of Summer. So keep baking baby! This Le Creuset Stoneware baking dish in Caribbean (get it, get it, Caribbean - summer, get it?!) is something that I would LOVE in my kitchen. I'm imagining a piping hot lasagne, or potato au gratin, or maybe some kind of pudding..

All you have to do to enter is tell me what you'd bake if you won this Le Creuset baking dish (that also happens to come with a bonus baking dish).

For an extra entry you can Tweet or mention it in your blog. I'll draw the winner in a week (Saturday 23rd January).

Sorry folks this is for US and Canadian readers only.

NB: I have not been compensated for this giveaway.

A Petal or Two For You, Petal

Five of the best from our garden. Matt's grandfather was a mad keen camellia enthusiast. Winter time is as though the garden is alight with pinks, whites and fuschias of petals furiously unfurling in colour. It's tough to choose a favourite. So I choose them all.

This post is for Tania, who I seem to gross out all the time. Big camellia lovin' to you lady!

You Don't Know Unless You Ask

Remember when I was writing about good intentions, and the beautiful roses we walk past sometimes? Well today on our walk (this is a constant lately, yes?) Tiny and I happened upon the lady in the garden. So we started chatting. It's nice to chat to elderly people. I think so anyway. They hold such wisdom, experience and knowledge - that seems to come with age. Just last week I got chatting to a 92 year old war veteran who was blinded in Burma - told you I get chatting.

Back to the garden. She told me that she's not much of a rose gardener, but she keeps them going in her father's memory. He was an avid rose grower, and they had over 50 rose bushes one time. Now they're getting old, they're getting black spot, and she's afraid she doesn't really know how to grow them. But to me they still look beautiful, and my goodness, you've never smelt roses this rosey. She pointed out roses that were planted in 1921 and 1922.. I love learning little snippets of history, no matter how small, it paints a picture of people.

I'm enjoying getting out into the sunshine. When it's here. For the most part, I am bunkered down inside. I've been sewing a little, baking a little, sleeping very little, and watching Tiny do the zombie baby walk. It might be Winter but it's not for long.

The Paps Are Following: Less Talking, More Walking

Yesterday, before the sun left the sky, before my breath froze in the air, before my blood froze because oh-yeah-it's-really-bloody-cold, the Doctor, Tiny and I went for our afternoon walk. I've written before about my own personal cheer squad. It being - the Doctor. Well yesterday, he came out in force and told me that I looked like a rockstar. Kudos to you small man. Then he grabbed a few *secret* things and we walked out the door.

I urge you to enlist your own ego-leader, after the Doctor gave me my pep talk I could barely get out the front door because my head was so inflated. I just awaited the flashbulbs, alas they never came, so we just went walking. BUT - not before the Doctor quickly transformed himself with his *secret* sunnies and *secret* 'train-driver' hat and told me he was now a rockstar too.

Together we were going to rock the world.

Instead we went to the nursery, bought some seeds. And then it happened. The Doctor scammed me.

Feigning fatigue (we'd walked a grand total of 100 metres) he told me he was feeling very hot.

Impossible I say - yesterday was close to blizzard temperatures (ok not really, but it might as well have been). If I had left the Doctor outside too long yesterday he would have turned into a snowman. The Doctor then informed me that if we were to continue walking, he really would need an ice cream to cool himself down.

I say just stick your tongue out and you'll grow your own icicles, but that didn't cut it. So the Doctor scammed me. Tiny had a pink fit and wanted a bite. Lucky for Tiny, our little Doctor is a good sharer and loves sharing with Tiny. She scored too.

On our walk the Doctor crunched in the carpet of Autumn leaves. We looked and admired our long Wintery shadows. Tiny called the neighbourhood dogs. We played with the 'helicopter' seed pods for a while (I was still walking!). We admired two small boys taking out the garbage. Well, we lauded them at least. For me, walking is a nice way to end the day, talk about what we're going to do the next day. A sort of reconnection. And then whizz home and get dinner on the hob.

No paps, but some pretty snaps.

Knit-Picker

Last night I decided to cast on the Doctor's scarf. He wanted blue, and since I have a mean addiction to Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran (all thanks to Alexis at Knot Sew Crafty), so I sourced this pale blue. I like to think of it soft as a snowflake (and in fact, I think I will throw in some Winter white to mix things up a bit).

Lo and behold, I had completely forgotten how to cast on. Well I thought I remembered. Did it, cast on 40 stitches, started knitting - and uh oh - it all went wobbly. So I had to pull it all off the needles and start again. And again. And again. I googled a few casting on videos but man, do they think I am Inspector Gadget with go-go gadget fingers?! I can't cast on that quick - that's why I am watching a video via the interwebs peeps! Slooooow down.

And then I came across this pearler. Super simple, easy to follow, I didn't even need to watch the whole thing because I got it. So easy!

New knitters, come, watch this video and cast on without shame!

Going Great Guns

According to the Doctor, I am going great guns on the scarf. His scarf. That I am only just casting on. I've only cast on 10 stitches, yet, I am going great guns. How's that for your own personal cheer squad? Pretty damn good. Perhaps I should make him some pom-poms that he can use in his cheers. I wouldn't say no.

Can you imagine doing the mundane jobs? Hanging the washing out? Supermarket shopping? Trying to find a park? With your own personal cheers squad all of this becomes interesting. Exciting. I could even start wearing my hair in pigtails and wear a short flippy skirt. On second thoughts, I know about my moon tan, let's scrap the short skirt.

I know you've been wondering what I've been up to. Racking your brains you have been. Twiddling your thumbs. Doodling on notepads (pottymouthmama, potty. mouth. mama. pottymouthmaaaaama). Don't worry. I'm just psychic like that.

Well here's the big news. So listen up. I have been incredibly busy. So incredibly busy. So incredibly important. Doing nothing. Yep. That's right. Nothing that I think anyone would be interested in. Not even my husband. Not even me. That's right. Things at home have been booooo-ring. Well I could tell you the trivial things. Clothes washing. Cleaning the kitchen. Playdough-ing. Clearing the floors. Mopping the floors. Oh my life. It's oh-so-glamorous (please imagine me reclining on the couch, hand to brow in a silk-satin dressing gown, hair in rollers, false eyelashes and some spectacularly stupidly high stilettos to totter around the house in. Truth is, old t-shirt, pyjama pants and high - oh-how-I-love-them ugg boots). Did I mention my nails are splitting from all the washing up?

Oh Groundhog Day. Release me. Release me. Send me something exciting. The highlight of my day lately is Masterchef. Is there something wrong with me? I may need to start singing Gershwin (out of tune of course).

Another highlight, walking to the park. To the shops. To anywhere. It's so great to be outside in this chilly-billy weather. Winter, you're early, but oh how I adore you.

Cold Feet

french knot sheep

Every Winter is marked by my cold feet.

Matt's solution last year was ugg boots. I wear them. But I still put my cold feet on him when we are in bed.

Ugg boots are not to be worn out of the house a la Pammy Anderson. If I did this, I'd just look like some housewife loosing a war with bad fashion and lack of sleep.

Want more Cold Feet? Looky here.

PS - Pammy is a spokesperson for PETA, right? Well what's she doing wearing uggies? Uh oh.

Another Grey Day

It's another one of those grey days here. Too cold to venture beyond our four walls. We're getting into some indoor activities. My big boy and I made up a list of activities to get through today, otherwise I feel like we just float through the day without really connecting for long periods of time. How can that happen? He goes into his room and plays trains - I try and get through some work, feed the baby, put the clothes in the wash. Sure we touch palms every now and then, but not enough. So this is our plan. To really connect.

Our list today:

• set up a new train track - together


• go to playgroup (he vetoed that, so it went by the wayside for today)
  
• craft (we were going to make a snowman out of some of his paintings he made yesterday, but he decided he wanted a 'snap-snap' instead - crocodile, but that's also turned into this collage which I think looks quite cool) - together


• baking (we're still to do - biscuits or cake, not sure yet - but better get cracking!) - together


• books (we picked up a fresh batch of library books over the weekend, so it's nice discovering new stories together) - together


• Muffin Tin Monday - check out Sycamore Stirrings for more ideas!

I had a separate list for myself. I've not done too badly either. I love a good list! But I love ticking things off even more!