To market, to market

Things have felt very busy lately and I'm only now starting to feel on top of things again. We've had a busy few weeks that I thought I'd recap for those interested (and for those who aren't, this may be a little boring!)... I can't believe it's been over three weeks since I last posted - what a slacker!I just received a comment from the lovely and talented Rebecca from Edward and Lily to say I have been nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award. Given how slack I've been lately I feel embarassed to receive this - but thanks Rebecca! I'll try to post more often! The rules of the Award are:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Now I don't think I could narrow it down to only pick my favourite 15 bloggers so I'm not going to... Can I please just urge you to check out some of the lovely blog links in my blog rolls. Perhaps you might find yourself another favourite :)

Urbane closed down nearly three weeks ago (hmm... maybe this is also why things have been different - new routine perhaps?) and we've been enjoying having Kym here - particularly at nights! He's doing lots of work for the restaurant still during the day but I'm getting more help with Jett which is cool for me. And nighttime company! Although we have become 'Storage world' for the restaurant (which initially I wasn't keen on!), they have left all its alcohol here... and some pretty cool equipment too. Dinner party anyone?? Just kidding. Sort of... he he he. We're also keeping some of the shelving apparently as its no longer needed, so I'm envisioning a new sewing area with better material storing space which is exciting.

Last week we also had a wonderful five days back in Melbourne for Restaurant 09' (like a trade show for hospitality). Although a little chilly compared to the Sunshine State, the sun shone and I had moments of wondering why I left there 10 years ago... luckily it was overcast and dreary the day we left so that helped remind me!! Although Restaurant 09 was fairly crap compared to the one we'd been to in Sydney last time, our time away was fabulous.

I can't remember it's exact name... but this was my dish from Cutler & Co it had mixed wild mushrooms, burrata (handmade bocconcini), bread pastry square, freshly shaved truffles, and truffled polenta - yummo!

We ate. And ate. And ate some more. To the point when it was almost (I say ALMOST!) unenjoyable to eat anymore. Eating around Jett's daytime sleeps meant late lunches around 2pm but still early dinners at 6pm before bed... so it felt like all we did was eat for hours. We went to (excuse spelling mistakes!) Lau's Family Kitchen in Acland Street St Kilda (ex Flowerdrum), Giusseppi Ronaldo & Sons in SouthBank, Ginger Boy in the city, Cutler and Co on Gertrude Street Fitzroy, along with pastries from Laurent and yummy dumplings in the city, just to name a few. And they were all pretty damn good.
Lucky for me there were lots of sales on and we got to do some damage to our credit cards. Yay! I will apologise now to anyone trying to walk around Melbourne Central on Friday and Saturday last week and kept being ran into by a 15 month old little man carrying his own shopping bag and going in every which way direction!!! I tell you, when he's been couped up all day either because we're in restaurants, or crossing roads, or on public transport, trying to contain him while he stretched his legs was an effort :p
A few weeks ago now Sophie Formica and the Great South East team from Channel 7 undertook some filming on BrisStyle featuring some key committee members. As Bec is one of the founders of the ever expanding group, and they decided they like the 'sisters who sew' angle, they decided to pay a visit to Bec's house and film us talking about our bags, our philosophy, materials and Dad's buttons!! Luckily for me Bec was the main speaker as they wanted to mainly talk about BrisStyle :) I'm not really one for public speaking... So anyway, if you live in the Great South East be watching this Sunday 28th June at 5.30pm on Channel 7. Bec and I have our fingers crossed we don't sound like utter twats! Bec had a cold at the time and is particularly stressing about how her voice will sound! I'm sure it will be fine Bec :p The above pic is how we set up the stock for the show.

If you watch the show and like what you see (how's that for a segue?), come along to the second BrisStyle Indie Designer's market on Saturday 4th July from 9am-2pm at St Augustine's Church Hall on Racecourse Road, Hamilton. Go check out the BrisStyle blog to find out more details. I probably haven't been as busy as I should have be in the lead up to this market, but my little holiday's are over and I'm doing some last minute sewing now. And loving it. We'll even have a few large and small pochettes that are 'new' to the Beckybean shop so come see. We're just so excited! Not just to showcase our bags, but to check out the other talented BrisStylette's and do a spot of shopping ourselves. Hopefully we sell a few bags so I have more spending money!!!

Here's a list of who'll be there:

Made by Maisie
edward and lilly
RE-read Design
little chrissy
Sharlzndollz
Flight Industries
Prettyhead Designs
Epheriell
PretaPawte
Raspberry Pink
SM Boutique
Shelley Berelli
Designs of the Heart
My Girl
Creative Arty Facts
Little Diva
Beckybean
Hot Fudge
Why Not Street
Blossom Child
Rellesh
Elvin Hair
Create and be Happy
Shazzabeth Creations
Hot Toffee
Denim Days
Up in Annie's Room
Scampsville
Kitty Boo Boo
Jellygnite
Little Jellygnite
Mimoo
The Seamstress and The Daughters
Ruby Red
Ruby 2 Go Go
Strat Designs
Bubbachenille
Lemon Ink
Jetta's Nest
Vintage Cherubs
MJ Mosaics
Ogekko
Willows Heirlooms
Vintage Visions
Wicked Child Designs
Red Seed Studio
Bellabijoux

Thanks to those of you who hung in there and got to the bottom of the post. Pretty poor PR person aren't I? Hopefully people didn't read using the inverted pyramid where I should have put the most important info (our market and tv) at the top and my waffle about my holidays at the bottom. Woops. I'm so out of practice. OK, over and out :)

Eye Spy...A morning ritual

OK I'm well late with this one, but here I go anyway :p

Co-sleeping with our little man means my morning's pretty much start the same everyday... generally it involves having him climb onto my head to let me know he's up! Occasionally I get a kick to the head but these aren't as common as they used to be (thank goodness!). Lately he's started clapping his hands when we wake up which is very cute. Either way he wakes us, I still cherish this time as I know there will come a day when he's not going to be caught dead cuddling with his mum in the morning anymore. And I will be sad. And possibly even miss those kicks to the head... :p For right now, even amongst the strewn DVDs and opened cupboards with contents emptied on the floor, life is bliss and I wouldn't want it any other way :)

Thanks to 3 Red Buttons for choosing this week's theme and of course to Cindy for hosting.

Everybody needs a Colin

Dad does and always has done so much for all us kids. Fixing up cars for us, houses, any kind of repairs, you name it - he's probably done it for us. I feel very lucky to have a Dad like ours.

Even last week when the storms wreaked havoc in SEQ and my downstairs area was flooding a bit - Dad was out in the rain with Kym digging a trench to stop a repeat happening that night. When Matt and Sarah needed a house renovation for three more rooms before the arrival of my third nephew, he did it with my uncle in only two weeks. When Bec and Matt needed another air conditioner installed for the kids or a cubby house, he did it. Yep, Dad's pretty handy!

I find it impossible to recount all the times he's gone above and beyond, but have a few that are impossible to forget - my Mini breaking down in Melbourne at 5.30am and him leaving home straight away to make the 4 hr drive to come and bring me another one, or the time I crashed my car (in Queensland!) and he drove up from Victoria with another... It sometimes seems I cannot make any home decision even now without first consulting my Dad - this probably should annoy Kym more than it does, but it doesn't - he knows his limitations most of the time in this area! I joke with Dad about it and he says he's happy to do it as long as Kym cooks him lunch!!

Why am I talking so much about my Dad at the moment you may ask? Well he's done it again. He's helping Bec and I once more. This time he's helping us at the Beckybean shop.

Dad has so many tools in his shed and after talking about it with Bec and I he got to work and experimented with making some buttons for us. I love how each seems unique and special when I know that Dad has carved out each one and put the drop of linseed on with his very own hands. Even some of the wood he's used is red gum from the Nyah Forest in Victoria where we all grew up. Very special indeed. And check them out!
How totally awesome are they? They just go perfectly with our coffee bags and market totes! I've included a few pics of the latest ones that just got uploaded to the shop.This little tote was sold on Friday to the lovely Teneale from Wicked Child Designs - she currently has a blog giveaway on that ends midnight tonight so you better hurry up and check it out to enter!!


I was telling one of my best friends, Jodie, about how Dad was making these buttons for us, just after I'd finished telling her he'd fixed our flooding problem. "Everybody needs a Colin" she'd said to me. Yes, I think she's right :)

Thanks Dad!

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.

From the catwalk to the pages of a magazine...

OK, so this possibly isn't as glamorous as my title makes out to be, but it's probably as glamorous as things might get for me :PThe Stitches & Craft Show has been and gone in BrisVegas and Bec and I got our first glimpse of some Beckybean bags on the runway for the Wardrobe Refashion Fashion Show. Sure I'm a few weeks late with this post (it was nearly 3 weeks ago...). And being the consummate business professionals that we are (not!), we forgot our cameras to capture this moment in time... thank goodness for iphones! Actually I think we were too excited to get shopping that we didn't even think of it...oops. These pics aren't great as the phone has no zoom (grrr...) but you get the general idea. I can tell you, I'm sure I looked a right twat taking pictures of our bags with a camera phone :D People probably thought I was a relative or something of some of the models! But it was pretty cool to see some of them teamed up with some fabulous fashions.I umm'ed and aagh'ed about putting in these next pics...but I'm going to do it!
So this month's issue of Vogue Entertaining and Travel is out and Kym and I are in it (from our trip to Hamilton Island for the Vogue Produce Awards I mentioned previously), along with a few other chefs and partners.

I was really really REALLY hoping they night airbrush me but no such luck. And it was a side on pic - aagh! That's Kym and I in the bottom righthand side of the page. Very paranoid about this angle of me since having Jett - I miss having definition between my face and my neck... Bec tried to make me feel better by saying she thinks it is the light and thinks Kym has a shadow there too but I think she may just be being the nice big sister and trying to make me feel better! I also think I have a mis-conception in my head of how I think I look and how I actually look and don't realise this until I see it on paper...hmm.

Anyhoo, it's out, so if you want to learn how to make Kym's 'Holy Luna Goat's Cheese with Danish Pastry, Fruit and Cumquat Puree', check it out :) Actually it was originally for a croissant dough I think, but they deemed the recipe a little 'tricky' for us mere house novices, so it was simplified!

Photo taken from the Vogue E&T June/July 2009 issue

Photo taken from the Vogue E&T June/July 2009 issue

Photo taken from the Vogue E&T June/July 2009 issue - this was Kym's dish!

Now I must finish writing my tales of high fashion and magazine spreads (he he he) and get back to my oh so glamorous life of unstacking the dishwasher, putting away Jett's toys, sweeping the floor and putting away the clean clothes. Sigh :(

Warm fuzzies anyone?

Pic of my flowers from mother's day

I was feeling a little jealous and perhaps slightly jaded (boom boom!) yesterday as we drove Kym out to the airport so he could go to Sydney for the night to attend the Vogue E&T Good Produce Awards (he was a state judge). He was going to get a full day looking around some of Sydney's best restaurants, check out some of the bars, attend the awards, then get a FULL NIGHT'S sleep with no little man to wake him up... (see where the jealous part really kicks in?)
I was cheered up though when the postie arrived when I got back from our drive and had this little guy waiting for me. He is one of the many cool things Hayley from RERead sells in her Etsy store. And I won him! Yay! Thanks Hayley!

Hayley, another BrisStyle talent, awesomely (is that a word???) gives away a little item each week on her totally cool blog so it's worth checking it out (if not for the freebie but for the always amusing and often crazy things she writes about!). It's definitely one of my favourite blogs to read :) And for all the hopeless romantics out there, read this post and help bring two lovers together by supporting Hayley's shop!!

I should say I was also cheered to speak to Kym this morning and hear that he still woke a few times through the night (partly out of habit and partly because he would wake to noises and think they could have been Jett!). I'm ashamed to say that did make me feel a little better to know he didn't sleep awesomely :P
Another BrisStylin' girl, Eliza from Elven Hair is also hosting a giveaway on her blog - go check it out! She is also currently having a sale on some items in her Elven Hair Etsy shop to raise funds for her furbaby's (thanks Helen, I stole this one from you!) veterinary operation which happened yesterday. I hear the operation went well and wish Gem a speedy recovery.

OK, only two more hours until I get to go and pick Kym up from the airport - I should probably make a token 'tidy up' effort and get off this machine that I sometimes feel consumes my day. Perhaps I need to go find an Internet Addiction Anonymous rehab centre? I wonder if one even exists... if it doesn't already I suspect there will be a need for one in the not too distant future...:P

I'll finish with a few pics of my mother's day with our extended family. Perfect day. Beautiful flowers and a massage voucher, followed by an awesome sunny day in the park, breakfast BBQ with sparkling wine, bike ride, yummy morning tea, afternoon nap, another bike ride, lamb roast with one of cellar red wines from NZ, massage and then early to bed :D Couldn't ask for anymore than that! Hope all you other mother's had a great day too.

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.