Mrs Eliot Books

I stumbled across this cute little Etsy store.

I think these are a quirky way of saying what most people really think when it comes to camera brands.

I'm definitely a Nikon girl. I have three Nikon cameras, and I would never go to the dark side and buy a Canon.  (ha!)

Whenever people ask me my opinion on a camera, I always shriek "NIKON!!", it's not that I don't like Canon, well, it's just that I'm a Nikon girl.

Which one are you?

*If I had enough coin to drop $10,000 clams on a camera, I'd probably say that I'd be a Leica girl. Shhhhh!

Keeping it cool checklist

I got the brand new Country Road catalogue delivered today, and it excited me very much, not just because I love getting mail, but because it was All Things Winter.

Chunky knits, leather panel jackets, faux fur vests and many more fabulous and fashionable pieces to cocoon yourself in for the chilly months ahead.

Yes, I know it's only the first day of February, but, nonetheless it's getting closer and closer to March, which means Autumn, which means plenty of peeps will be starting to stock up on their winter woolies.

There are a few things that I'm loving for winter:

1. Sweaters

via here

via here

2. Colourful Jeans

via here

via here

3. Snakeskin print

via here

via here

4. Knotted scarves

via here

5. Peplum jackets

via here



6. Oh, and Chris Evans (but that has nothing to do with Winter).

What is on your checklist for Winter?

P.s I love this

Wowsers.

I stumbled across this blog today - just today - when it has been around for years.

P.s I Made This, is amazing. I love it. I can't stop browsing it.

I can't choose a favourite D.I.Y project that has been dreamed up, designed and blogged about, so here are a few of the incredibly creative ones that I'm sure everyone who viewed them thought to themselves afterwards:

"Hey, I'm going to try that - get me my pinking sheers, some hot glue and sequins."

Brilliant.

All images via here

Fairy Bread Blanket

Remember this post? 

Well, that mum-to-be is now a beautiful mum to baby Ava Belle - and my, is she gorgeous! I cuddled her for over an hour the other day, and couldn't stop looking at her perfect little lips, and brown-peach-fur-like-hair. 

I love fresh babies, and was so excited for little Ava to arrive.  I worked with mum Cathie everyday at my old job, and saw that belly grow until full term, feeling the mighty kicks, and hearing plenty of stories about morning sickness, nursery's and baby bloomers.

When she arrived, it was like one of my sister's had, had a baby - pure excitement!

A much overdue post here, but this is the fairy bread blanket that I made for Cathie for her baby shower.

It was lovely to make - and I learnt how to do french knots - thank you Pip from Meet Me At Mikes, your craft books are fabulous, and I have made lots of little baby gifts from all of the pages for all the mother's I know.



*I've also made baby Ava a quilt for her arrival - using beautiful fabrics.  I was too excited to give it to her, so I actually didn't take any pics before I wrapped it - whoops.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and.... sorry?

Yesterday I got a text message from my sister:

Why have you not blogged for 2012?????

Whoops. I guess I have just been super busy with starting my new job (which I love, love, love) getting over the festive season (plenty of travelling) and my time on the web lately has been dedicated to online shopping.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, Meghan, what happened to the New Year's resolution: Stop onling shopping.

It certainly wasn't resolved, in fact I think it got worse in January because I started to look forward to Winter and thought:

"Heck, I better buy some new jeans, accessories and morrocan pouffes, because they're so practical."

Not to mention that I was buying these jeans on January 3, this pouffe on January 10, this ridiculously cheap shirt on January 15,  this new sweater on January 16 and this ring on January 20.

I am stopping as of today I promise.

But to fill you in on what's been happening (other than the over-purchasing) here are some pics.

* Lazing by the pool over the holidays.
* Gingerbread for Bird.
* Herbs in watering cans for a Christmas present.
* Christmas day croissants
* Chocolate truffles for friends.
* Colourful bunting strung high.

Secret present buying? Yes.

For the last three years our family has tried to cut down on present buying.  I'll admit, we used to go bonkers at this time of the year - purchasing $100+ gifts for each person, and well that quite frankly adds up when you have sisters with partners, kids and sister in laws etc.

So we all decided that we'd only purchase for the little ones, and just do a secret santa gift of a $100 voucher.  (Everyone would write down their name on a piece of paper with the name of a shop we'd like our voucher at, and then we'd all draw one out from some type of festive hat/bowl).

This year, we decided that we wouldn't even do that.  We'd just buy for the kids, and seeing as we're older, and our whole family is spending Christmas together holidaying at the beach, we figured that would be a beautiful enough present.

This is what I thought, until, yesterday - yes, yesterday one week before Christmas - I had this conversation with several people in my family.

Mum: Don't go into the spare room, Meghan.

Me: Why not?

Mum: Because there are things in there I don't want you to see.

Me: Did you buy us Christmas gifts?

Mum: I'm your mother, if I want to buy gifts for my daughters I will.

(Then, mum continued to show me all the gifts she bought for my other sisters, whilst hiding mine underneath a towel).

***

Sophie: I'm really looking forward to Christmas, I can't wait to just relax at the beach.

Me: Me too, I'll be kaftan-ing it up. Ah, did you realise that mum bought us all gifts?

Sophie: I knew she would, she always does.

Me: What happened to the no-gift-buying-rule? Everyone does this every year. We get to Christmas morning and there are all these little 'secret' gifts under the tree. I feel so bad if I haven't bought anything.

Sophie: Well, I may have bought you and Sarah something really small each.

Me: What? Sophie, we said we weren't buying gifts. We are ridiculous....luckily I  bought you all something small last weekend.

***

Me: Sophie and Mum have both bought everyone gifts for Christmas.

Sarah: I know.

Me: Have you?

Sarah: Yes - just small ones though.  $30 each tops.

Me: Did you buy everyone something?

Sarah: Yes - but they're all really small. I got Justin and Jake really little things, nothing over the top.

***

Oh, sheesh kapeesh. We'll never learn.

Does your family do this?