Eye Spy & lovely little things

This week's eye spy theme is 'something soothing' and after months of not playing as I've been flat chat (OK and maybe a little lazy too...) I thought I better participate! So currently for me, this is my 'something soothing'. I have been feeling a little 'off' lately and this has worked a treat :) Also hoping my acupuncture in 2 hours will also help - yay! Can't wait for that - plus the hour or so of kid-free time is just an added bonus.

Actually Kym went off bike riding last Sunday morning at Mt Tambo with the words 'I'll be home around 12pm' - so when it got to 2.15pm and he wasn't back and wasn't answering his phone I got worried and called Bec. Luckily Matt had the number of one of the guys who was with them and called for me and passed on the message to 'call your wife ASAP'. Apparently Matt misunderestimated my anger at only an 8.2 on the scale instead of the 10 I was feeling! I went from worried to angry pretty quickly! So after a few terse words he was on his way home - only to get lost and have it take him an hour and a half instead of 40 minutes. He got home at 4pm. I have every intention of being pretty pissed however when he walked in with a few scrapes up his arms, a couple on either side of his face, cut knees, and he couldn't bend his left fingers properly, I found that rather 'soothing' too. *insert evil laugh here* Karma bit him on the arse for making me worry unnecessarily and he fell off his bike - twice. I was even more 'soothed' when I watched the pain on his face as he showered and had to wet all the scrapes... he he. I know, I seem mean, but honestly, every week he comes off and hurts himself and/or breaks something on his bike that needs to be fixed. I think he sometimes forgets he's the primary income earner here!! But he knew better than to expect any sympathy from me and could see the funny side a little :p I wanted to video tape his pain while he showered but he drew the line there!

Anyhoo, back on track, I also had the pleasure of buying myself some very lovely goodies while the EEK sale was on. Check out my lovely brooch I purchased from the talented Rebecca from Edward & Lily - I got this one in olive green and it's just awesome. I also purchased this lovely pendant from Em at Up in Annies Room - I just love it. I just have to keep it away from Jett as he has a tendancy to try and pull it off my neck...Finally, after babysitting my niece for a weekend, Bec brought me this tulip brooch I'd had my eye on from the lovely Chris at Little Chrissy. Cool hey? So I'm feeling rather accesorised again :) Hope some of you managed to snag some goodies during the EEK sale too!! Would love to see them.

xxx

Eye Spy...something green!

The rains they are a comin'!

After a little spell of dryness in BrisVegas we've been blessed by the rain gods and I must say I'm loving it. I love going to sleep listening to the sound of the rain on the roof. And I think Jett sleeps a little better with the white noise - double yay! After days of bad sleeping I'm pinning my hopes on tonight being a little better...

As a result of the rain everything is becoming 'green' again. Kym was out in the garden all weekend mowing, whipper-snipping, and trimming our very pretty but very prickly Bougainvillea. Just in time! So this is my green pic looking out the front of our house.
I did also have to throw in this 'green' pic too. It's not the best photo as it was taken today with my phone. Jett is currently obsessed with balloons. I'm not much of a fan myself (hate the anticipation of the pop) but we still have a few floating (boom boom) around the house from his birthday, plus he seems to come home with one every time we get back from the markets... so this is Jett playing with his new favourite toy. How easy pleased he is :p I'm not sure we have a playpen full of toys when he's happier with this!

Thanks Trashalou for picking this weeks theme! Head on over to Cindy's blog to play along.

Eye Spy...what I am reading now

I feel the theme this week is very apt for me... the Beckybean sweatshop had been working pretty hard the last few weeks and we'd both been feeling a little worn so decided to put the brakes on a little - not too much, but just enough to get motivated again. This has given me some time to do something else I like to do in my spare time. Read. Escape.

I borrowed this book off Bec months ago and it's taken me some time to get into it as I was only ever getting enough time to read a page or so before I'd fall asleep. So last night and again tonight I'm curling up on the couch, with a cup of tea, TV off, and reading more of Raymond Feist's 'classic fantasy, the Magician'.

I love escapism in my books. After having Jett I was needing some easy reads to get my brain back into gear and was really into the Diana Wynne Jones books and the Artemis Foul series by Eoin Colfer (who doens't love a bit of teen fiction???). But after reading Tom Robbins' Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates (which with my post-baby brain took me a bit to get into but then totally loved it) I'm getting back into some adult fiction again and loving it!

Thanks so much to A Glass Half Full for picking such a great theme. Can't wait to see what everyone else is reading (perhaps I'm the only nerdy science fiction lover???). Head on over to Bugandpop to play along.

Eye Spy...a surprise!

I had been worried about this post as I didn't think I had any surprises this week - and couldn't think of any lately. But alas, Jett to the rescue!!!

Last night I discovered Jett has FINALLY got his first tooth. Yay! Given he's just turned one, I was beginning to get worried they were never coming... I mean, how long can you blame restless nights, not eating sometimes and bad moods on teeth? But ah, not to worry anymore.

Last Thursday was definitely one of the worst nights we'd had in nearly 6 months (I didn't get to sleep until 3am!) so I'm pleased we have something to show for it. I've been trying for the past two days to get a proper look at it but he just won't play ball - this is about as much as he lets me see. You can't see it, but trust me it's there :D

Thanks to Miss Muggins for choosing this week's exciting theme, and as always to Cindy for hosting.

Eye Spy...my favourite colour and other goodies!

My usual favourite colour is green - I don't mind which. Olive, khaki, tree frog, bottle, lime, and all the rest that live on the green spectrum. This affinity started as early as I can remember, perhaps because my name is Jade... who knows. I'm sure I was (and also still am) a big pink and red fan too...

However this week my favourite colour is 'Misty Blue'. Yes, it sure does sound like a porn name, but it's not. It's the colour name of my new Townie Electra bike. And I just love love LOVE it! With Jett's first birthday approaching in two weeks (where did the last twelve months go???) we decided to get him a Wee Ride. So of course in order for the whole family to go riding (Kym does have two bikes but they are way too big for me) I needed a newbie. So happy birthday Jett, mummy got a new bike!! Hooray!!

After much searching I was beginning to think I'd just settle on any old bike because none really grabbed me. Until I met Misty Blue at New Farm Bikes. And I fell in love. Sure, it was more than I wanted to spend on a bike, but then I rationalised that I am going to have this for a long time so I should get one I really love. And Kym being Kym told me to get it if it was what I wanted...He's a bigger shopper and spender than I am! So we took it out along the river on Sunday and it was as fun and comfortable and cruisey as it looks. Perfect! Kym even brought me a basket to go with it - how ace is it???

So I felt like we were the three bears of the biking world. Me on my girly mama bike, Jett on his Wee Ride, and Kym on his very expensive and 'manly' downhill bike - which looked extremely funny with a kid seat on it! It was a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

On other news, BrisStyle had it's first birthday on Sunday in the Roma Street Parklands and it was a fabulous day filled with crafty goodness, perfect weather, and even more fabulous and inspirational people. Check out the latest post on the site for details here. It's always great to meet new people and also put faces to the blogs and etsy stores I've been looking at and reading for a little while now. The day also consisted of a lucky dip - and look at my fab score from Little Diva crafts!! Some of you might remember back in a previous post I said I wanted to make myself a new apron, well now there's no need! And the pin cushion I'd been using was dead boring - plain grey and something I'd got out of a watch case many years ago... I'm too embarrassed to even put an old pic of it up. So as you can see, I could not have picked out a better present - thank you Christine!
Well I've been speaking of presents for Jett (well me really I suppose!) and presents I've received, so here are two little ones I brought for me as well. I just love getting mail! I brought some cool little buttons from Hayley at RE Read which arrived yesterday - the are so brilliant - she makes them out of old children's books. And today my beautiful fabrics from the lovely Melanie at Kimono Reincarnate. How gorgeous is the packaging? Melanie even wrapped them in an extra piece of beautiful fabric - thank you!!!Now that I have these I really should get off the computer and start making something for 'Me' I think before Jetstar wakes up :P

Eye Spy...something that makes me happy

Well lots of things lately have made me happy, but I think one of the best this week was getting a long overdue cut and colour. A good friend of mine works for a well-known hair product company but is often interstate working so I feel bad asking her to do my hair when she finally gets some free time, so I tend to go about 3 months or more between goes :P (Not great when you have short fine hair...!)

So she was back last week and was happy to do it in the studio on Sunday. Yay! Three hours kid-free time to relax and chat without interuptions - double yay! She always does such a brilliant job and makes me feel 'stylish' again :P

It also has the added benefit that it doesn't cost very much at all with mates rates and she often sends me packing with new hair styling products to boot, usually costing more than I gave her to do it anyway. Yay again! Here's the latest two products she gave after I said I thought I was pretty right for shampoos, volumisers etc!

So this week, Miss Kate made me happy :)

Thanks to Iris and Lily for choosing this weeks theme, and head on over to Cindy's site to play along.

Eye Spy...Love

The thing I cherish most in my life is my family. My parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, nieces, nephews, in-laws. These are the 'loves' I have known my entire life (or a new additions that have enriched it) and wouldn't be the person I am today without them. Then there's the person I met and have grown to love, and yet still love more each day - Kym. Then there's the 'instant love' - the love we felt for Jett the minute we found out I was pregnant and is a love that will never waiver the entire time I breathe. It's such an indescribable and amazing feeling to be able to love someone unconditionally with whom you have just met.

Sure there's things in this life I say I love but I guess are really just 'great' - great food, great wine, great books, great movies. Not my true loves. Of course I love my friends too and they are super important to me, but whilst sometimes they can come and go, the people that always remain is family. And to these 'family' members (you know who you are) who are here in a heatbeat when I call and am having a bad day - a massive thank you!

Thanks to Cindy for hosting and picking this weeks theme - we all need a reminder sometimes of what truly makes us happy!

Eye Spy... my secret (food) shame

This week I was lucky enough to be asked by Cindy to choose this weeks theme. However when I actually thought about mine I realised I probably have too many... until recently, I did like to indulge in the occasional small cheeseburger meal, or chips and gravy from KFC... in fact Kym was quoted in the Courier-Mail a couple of months ago saying something similar with a chiko roll when asked what chefs liked to eat but hate to admit it. But I'm trying to be better. We're trying to be better. We're trying to be healthier. I'm not eating as much crap as I once did. Well I wasn't until last Friday when my sister and I did our weekly shopping at Coles (to help raise money for the 2009 Bushfire Appeal) I couldn't walk past the chocolate isle and not purchase a block of this... Now it's no secret to anybody just how much I love chocolate, but I've normally been buying Green & Blacks Maya in an attempt to not scoff. (There may have been a time only a few short months ago when I was eating 3 blocks a week). However I resisted and purchased this block of milk chocolate. Which was gone in its entirity by 10pm (I didn't even get home from the supermarket until 5pm...). What was worse though was I tried to put the wrapper in the bin (above pic) before Kym could see I ate a whole block in a day... which he saw the next morning and still enjoyed giving me shit for being such a little piggy :P So I guess I was a little embarrassed which is why this week it's my secret shame.

Head on over to Bugandpop to play along.

Eye Spy... something delicious!

What to choose, what to choose! What a great theme selected by Handmaiden. I decided I had to run with a range of icecreams in our freezer by my favourite icecream makers and personal good friends of ours, Grant and Mel at Lick!. They really do make the most amazing and creamy icecream - none of that rubbish that's made with milk and whipped to air to taste like nothing - nosirre! It's made with REAL cream and boy can you taste the difference! (never mind the calories, that's what the gym's for right?) I'm quite lucky that Kym often brings me home new ones to try. These ones are (back left to right) White Sambuca icecream and Orange & Passionfruit sorbet, and the ones at the front are Raspberry & Irish Cream icecream, Egg Custard icecream and Red Bull sorbet. Admittedly going from being pregnant to now breastfeeding has meant I've never really sampled the Red Bull one which Grant made especially for Kym and the kitchen team.

The lovely Cindy at Bugandpop has asked me to select next week's theme and hopefully it's not too close to this weeks... because I'm also a lover of food. So I'm going to run with

Eye Spy... my secret (food) shame!

I would love to see what other people LOVE to eat but are not so proud of. It could be a sneaky cheeseburger, a piece of 11 secret herbs and spices, chips and gravy, or just your secret chocolate stash! I look forward to reading everybody's secret indulgences :D

Eye Spy... a small object

This is one of Jett's many dummy's that now surround our house. It's about as small as things get around here (or try to be anyway!). Before Jett was born I was convinced he was not going to have a dummy - I wasn't going to give him one. When he was born I didn't even have one as a 'just in case'. I can't pinpoint my issue with it. I didn't think it was wrong for others to have them. I just didn't want Jett to 'need it'.

And then he hated the car... actually he's still not a big fan (how many 10 month old's do you know have their own DVD player since they were 4 months old???). But it and the dummy together seemed to ease the non-stop crying in the car. Phew, I thought I was bound to only go within a 10 minute radius from home. He really did just love being able to suck all the time (and it was not a feasible option to let him be permanently attached to my breast 24/7). Then it seemed to help put to him to sleep when rocking. Then I said he would only have it when he was going to sleep. Then it seemed to help him not need to feed every 2 hours at nighttime. Then he would hurt himself and it helped calm him down, or stopped him crying when he was getting tired.

Now I have just succumbed to the fact that he has a dummy and he really does LOVE it. He gets excited for it. He no longer has it at the times that 'I dictate it's OK'. And now that he's at the 'I must put everything I see in my mouth stage', it certainly helps reduce the amount of foreign objects that pass his lips. Oh and when we're out in public or eating at a restaurant, it often helps with the excessive yelling or crying.

So I guess I have learned my lesson - at the end of the day you can't control everything as a parent. They have their own personalities and there's only so much you can do. Oh, and I guess never say never right?

Thank you to the Crafty Librarian for selecting this weeks theme and head on over to Cindy's site to play along.

Eye Spy... something beginning with 'J'

I'm beginning to think my Eye-Spy Sunday is really my Eye-Spy Wednesday. I keep being super busy on the weekends that it seems to take until today to do my post.

So I seem to live in a house of 'J's - me (Jade), our boy Jett and my husband's middle name is John. But trying to find a pic I want to put up proved quite difficult...
But here it is - Jett having a sleep yesterday. I love the way he curls up with his legs and looks so small in our big king size bed. Always gives me the warm fuzzys to see him looking so peaceful.

My other something beginning with 'J' is joy - the feeling I had when my lovely husband gave me this beautiful orchid this morning for our 3rd wedding anniversary. I just love it. Pre-Jett we often would buy orchids for home, and it was the flower of choice on our wedding day, so I'm well-happy he gave me something so thoughtful and simple. He's a keeper :)

Thanks Lauren for picking this weeks theme, and head over to Cindy's site to play along.

Eye Spy... a taste of Summer

Most definitely my favourite time of year! Kicking off with the 'crazy Christmas' season, the 'wind down and relax' of January, and then the 'back into the groove' February where we savour the last dregs of Summer. Well maybe that's not entirely true - we do live in Queensland and the season does last a little longer here but hey, it's not 'technically' Summer is it?

So what reminds me of Summer? Definitely most things water. Swimming with my niece and nephew (and now Jett) in my parents and aunty and uncle's pools. Cranking up our outdoor spa and relaxing after a busy day with Kym (and now Jett...). Kym and I talking about how we really should go to the beach given it's only an hour away... As you can see by my pic above, we finally made the trek down last week. And of course, RID for all the lovely mozzie's and midges that frequent this part of town.

A close second is Summer food and drinks. Christmas parties, birthday parties, mangoes, peaches, grapes, fruit smoothies for breakfast, chilled Champagne, iced tea, green papaya salad, fish, cold beer... I could go on but I won't.


Lastly, but no less enjoyable for me, are the '5pm thunderstorms' of the wet season - well, what we still have of a wet season because of global warming :( Those stinking hot and humid days followed by a massive downpour are always so welcomed, provided you're not one of the unlucky ones driving... This pic is of a golf-sized piece of ice that landed at the back of Kym's work at the start of Summer.

Thanks so much to Anastasia for picking this weeks theme, I really enjoyed it! Check out our host Cindy's site to play along.

Eye-Spy : Something Id like to try in 2009

Wow, there are so many things I'm wanting to try this year. Where to start, where to start...

- I want to learn how to make PJs for Jett (actually I'd like to know how to follow a simple clothes pattern for that matter).
I have this great fabric I found at an op shop that is still in it's original packaging. It was a single sheet set and I plan on using this. My last attempt at a clothes pattern was nearly 15 years ago in textiles at school and it was for a skirt made from some horrible synthetic material that I really thought I would wear (shudder to think what it would have look like had it worked)... but the waist was so big it wouldn't even hold up. I have my fingers crossed that my next attempt will be more successful!

- Make an apron for me - my sister has some lovely homemade ones that I'm always envious of when I go over and we cook, so I'm determined to try my hand at one. Being married to a chef and waitressing many years ago, means all of my aprons are the super practical - black with a pocket at the front, or plain white that come nearly to floor.

Oh hang on, we do have one that was given to us - it has a print of 'the only gay in the village' (David) from Little Britain... Not really one I want to parade around in when we have people over for a meal. It's certainly up there with the aprons that have boobs on the front... So a new 'girly' apron for me would be grand!

- Learn how to paint some simple kids pictures on the blank canvases I brought nearly two years that lie around the house begging to be used... (I have mentioned previously I'm a big procrastinator right?)

- Oh and I think one that I continuously have to tell myself to do - try to learn how to be more patient :P

I'm sure there are many other things which right now I cannot think of. Write a cook book of 'homestyle' foods we know from our generation before the recipes are lost in our minds, figure out what's going to make me enough money so I can keep being a fulltime stay-at-home mum (I think this is where sewing with Bec will come into it), learn another language - something other than the few Italian words I know - 'Mi chiamo Jade' and 'Dario non e sempre in ritardo'... (Bec I'm guessing you should get this last joke??). Ah, so many things and not enough time to do them in :P

Thank you to Red Chocolate for picking this great theme, and of course to Cindy for hosting.