LilyfieldLife Giveaway: Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint

One of my favourite blogs has a giveaway!

You must check it out and enter.

Fiona from Lilyfield Life is an avid painter of unloved furniture. Once she shows a piece the love, they always shine. She does some beautiful creative painting and restoration work on the pieces she finds.

The giveaway is for some Miss Mustard Seed Chalk Paint. It comes from the US and apparently is the bees knees!

I am a little over painting this house, so jazzing up furniture would be a break from staring at gray, gray, gray.

So, your task is to hop over to her blog and enter by following the steps outlined in the post.

http://www.lilyfieldlife.com/2012/12/lilyfieldlife-giveaway-miss-mustard.html?showComment=1354744712578#c6009862500475483129


Fiona is not only an awesome restorer of the pretty, she is very creative in everything she puts her hand to. And she helped me set up my blog when I didn't really know how to go about it, whilst she didn't know me at all. I was a total stranger and she was so kind and helpful.

So there you go....... clever and nice all in one! :)

Make sure you enter now, won't you?

Hot.

It was so hot here today.

It was hot yesterday too, and I knew we were in for a stinker of a day when I woke up at 3.00am and it was still stinking hot, and not a breeze to cool things down.

At 8.00am it was 35 degrees.

I started mowing the lawn and just had to stop once it hit 10.30am, it was really too hot.....

I jumped in the pool clothes and all, this was my first swim this season and it was beautiful!

Before we roofed this house we took the old evaporative cooler off the roof because they are completely hopeless in our climate. I was spoilt in our old house, we had split systems in every room. I love refrigerated air.con more than anything in the world.

We survived a freezing cold winter in our house with one wood heater, but I knew we would seriously need some air-con for our summer. Last summer when we moved in it was unusually cool and it rained for weeks, so we toughened up and didn't need it so badly.

We really do need it now!

I asked my electrician to come out to measure up for a quote. Ducted will cost a lot to install and to run, so we are going to get some split systems again. We can install the important rooms first and then next year do the rest.

Hopefully this week I will have some air-con! So excited!!!!

I don't want to put up with another 42.8 degree day without the air-con.

We made the news with our hot temp. Normally Bourke is hotter than us, but not this time....

How do you handle the heat, and do you have split systems or ducted all the way?



Link to hot temp story   http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nine-in-hospital-as-nsw-temps-hit-42c/story-e6freuy9-1226528093926

Animal prints

I have been too busy to fiddle about with my house (painting is firmly on the backburner right now). But I have been buying and collecting a few bits and pieces to pop into the house.



I am a little bit in love with these prints and I wish there were more available when I bought these.

I love them..... And the detail in them just kills me!

They were pretty good value too. Considering the cost if I bought the prints and had them framed separately.


Straight to the Lounge room!

They came from here -  http://www.novascotiainteriors.com.au/



Now, I was a very lucky girl to get a special Christmas present early from my beautiful Mother-in-Law. She gifted an antique mirror to me, and it is rather precious.

The mirror came out from England when her great, great, great grandparents arrived in Australia. They were upper-class people, and a few really beautiful pieces have filtered down to her. I feel quite special that she offered it to me to hang on my wall, as she could easily just hang it herself.

I told her to hang it in her house, but she insisted I love and enjoy it. So because I am a good girl, I will do what I am told, and I will love and enjoy it.

I am not normally a gold gilded person, but I am making an exception this time because it is stunning. It is probably too small for the spot I want to hang it,  I am sure I will be breaking some interior design rules this time.

I need to get a builder to hang it properly because it is so heavy and I really don't want it to crash down and smash on my floor.

Here is a taster....

Ignore that dust on it, and the fact it is on the floor under my bed too. It is going to look great!

I am still here......... I haven't run away from my blog or anything crazy.

I have had a lot going on in the last few weeks and it is fairly insane.

Firstly, my modem lay down and died, (a Telstra one of course).

Cue many long winded phone calls to Telstra to sort out a new one. Then the waiting game checking the mail and finally troubleshooting to get it going.

Then, my husband got kicked in the leg by a bull the other day.

We rushed into town and had it X-rayed. It isn't broken, but it is extremely painful and bruised to the max. We don't really know if it is ligament or tendon damage yet. We rushed down to Dubbo for a second opinion as I was quite worried about it.

I was mostly worried that if we didn't do the right thing by the leg from the get-go, he would end up with a hopeless leg that won't work properly forevermore. The leg seems to be healing up, but it is a slow process. At least he is off the crutches now, and he can get on the 4 wheeler to check the water for the cattle.


To make things worse we have heifers heavy in calf at the moment. We have been watching them like hawks. Everyday, twice a day we check to see if there is any signs of babies appearing. Usually heifers who have their first calves get into trouble birthing their calves, so we wait and watch.

One that birthed naturally ended up busting the nerve in her back (the calf was stillborn). She was lying on the ground and my job was to water and feed her twice a day. I really thought she would get up, but in the end things looked bad for her. And she was on the verge of fly strike, so we shot her.

Another one went into labour and the calf she was having was much too big, so we had to help her out. My father-in-law put her in the crush so he could pull the calf. She lay down, so the calf pullers were useless to us as we couldn't get them under her. So I was told to get on the 4 wheeler and put it in low gear and pull this calf out with a rope tied to the motorbike.

I was truly worried that I would hurt her (bust her nerve), or pull the calves front legs off. I managed to pull out the most massive monster sized calf, and there was no way she could have had it on her own.

We had to get the cow out of the crush, so I pulled her out with the Toyota Tabletop. She looked interested in her calf so we let her lick and bond with the baby. As she was out in the open without yards to contain her we wondered if she would run away (if she got up). I thought I busted her nerve by the pulling, but she seemed to try fairly hard to get up. I had hope!

In the morning she was gone.

She ran away down to the farthest corner of the paddock and died of blood loss. The little calf was waiting there in the same spot he was birthed in. I felt so awful for what happened I rushed into town to see if the vet had colostrum. We don't have dairy farms out here, so it was a no-go. I was told Vets don't bother keeping it when it goes off so quickly. I was told to mix a couple of eggs into the calf formula to start it off. It has been a fussed over and cosseted poddy from the moment we fed her.

We had another heifer that prolapsed, the calf died too. And the other day another calved and it wouldn't take the calf. It was the crankiest thing that would eat you alive if if could. This little calf wanted milk, but the mother was just too cranky and had very little milk in her. So now I have another to look after. It is the smartest little calf around and took seconds to figure out that I am her new mum with bottles of milk.

So now we have Lurchy and Smarty.

Lurchy the Angus x Charolais with beautiful grey curly hair.

Smarty, the littlest one and the quickest.

Lurchy has a Angus mother with a Charolais father. Charolais are enormous, so no wonder she had trouble getting monster calf out!

Smarty had a Charolais mother and father, but is much smaller than Lurchy. She is rather cute and they are about 1 week old now.

So in between feeding animals, pulling calves with motorbikes, taking dead calves away and looking after things while my husband has been laid up, things have been rather busy with our "other" busy life with kids things in between. I have been desperate to get back onto the blog for sometime while all this has been going on. I have done things I have never done before, and I have surprised myself how much I can do. Even with my husband out of action for the hard stuff.

Fiddle Leaf Fig tree

 Fiddle Leaf Fig trees......

Or known by the botanical name Ficus lyrata. I am ordering one from my local nursery if I can, because my lounge room is devoid of plant life. I know I will probably kill it, but they just look so lovely. And they work with pretty much any decor style going. Love them!




http://happyhouseblog.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/ranch-style-homes-front-porch-planters.html

 They look so lush and tropical against this white brick home.

http://pinterest.com/

 Chinoserie with the fiddle leaf..... I love that turquoise colour. And the mirror reflects it, so it looks even more lush and green.






http://marvingardensusa.com/design-trends/caring-for-a-fiddle-leaf-fig-tree/

More casual here, but it would be a boring space without it I think.


 Apparently they are great as an indoor plant. From what I have read, they are fairly tropical and don't like sudden changes in weather. They don't like cold, but will die in a heated room too. I will soon see if it does well with me.




http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/

 Good God I love this picture.

It must be the combination of the white sofa, the green tree and the orchid that does it for me. The Zebra hide is a post all in itself! I loooove zebra hides, even if some people find them confronting.

http://www.houzz.com/Fiddle-leaf-fig-tree/ls=4

 They work equally as well in formal rooms as spaces with a relaxed coastal vibe.

http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/

Two is always better than one I say! Stunning.

http://habituallychic.blogspot.com.au/search?updated-max=2011-08-08T09:40:00-04:00&max-results=20

This one branching out to the side is different, looks like a beautiful spot to sit and read.


So, are we in agreeance that this is the best most lovely looking indoor plant going at the moment? I think so.

Scalamandre Zanzibar

I love love love this pattern by Scalamandre.

I love the yellow with the zebra stripes, even though it comes in some other stunning colours, I still love the yellow best.

It can really pack a punch in a small space. It is pretty overwhelming and not for the faint hearted. I am a fan of yellow, and zebra's too. So it gets the tick from me.

Funny though, the only one I am not mad for is that beige colourway, I think if you do the Zebra's you must use one of those jewel colours.

http://www.houzz.com/scalamandre

It looks amazing in a bathroom or powder room. How gorgeous is that marble sink too!

This is by Diane Bergeron, stunning!

http://www.bgcustomwindows.blogspot.com.au/

This is combining two of my loves......Yellow Zebras and blinds with a Greek key trim. Ahhhhhh......

I would love to do it one day, but I have a feeling my husband would not be able to live with it, way too bright for him!

Here it is in The Royal Tenambaums. Margot's bathroom is just too cool in the red colourway.






http://www.villa-bisono.com/2011/04/hunting-for-zebras.html

This black room with loads of pattern somehow comes together.







http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/garden/kips-bay-show-house-reinvented-in-a-high-rise.html

The Kips Bay designer show house for 2012 shows us all how it's done. The red gives a sumptuous and luxurious feel.






http://indulgy.com/post/HYMyQa8fN1/kate-spades-guest-bath-green-scalamandre-zebr

Kate Spade's guest bathroom.

Lovely with some black and white for contrast.







http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2012/03/south-coast-collection-oc-mart-mix-.html

If you can't afford a whole wall of zebras, you could make do with a cushion to bring that amazing pattern and colour in to your home.

It is so gorgeous......



Lots of other beautiful fabrics and wallpapers on their website.

http://www.scalamandre.com/

I am warning you now......If you click, you will loose a lot of time due to drooling.

Weekend

I have been flat out on our weekend......

Painting verandahs, mount Everest pile of washing  to do, kids stuff.....

We went to a swimming carnival on the weekend too. That was a big day, the little one is one tired boy going to Preschool today, but he insisted on going.

Lots of good swimming times. A third in backstroke and a fun day out was the order of the day.

We caught some yabbies too in our nets at our dam.

After we got them out of the nets we purged them of the dam water by placing them in my laundry sink with some fresh water. (So you don't get a muddy taste).

This one was a feisty one.

After about 8 hours I put them into a container and placed them in the freezer to put them to sleep.

Once they have about 20 minutes in the freezer, they are good to chuck into the pot. Once red, they were ready.

Sorry no pics of the result, but you can imagine it!

They have tough claws too, so to break into them I use a meat cleaver to crack them open to get the meat out. You just shell them like a prawn and eat them while hot.

Even H ate them. I told him he is now officially allowed to eat lobster as I know he will appreciate it.

And I know Jamie Oliver says no to freezing lobsters and to just chuck them in the pot, but I like to do it the humane way putting them to sleep first.

I thought this was apt.

Hope your weekend was good! x

Happenings

 



 

 

 Loving the Hippeastrums in my garden....

So bright and vibrant!

We have been busy selling cattle too!

Excuse the crappy picture with clothesline in foreground. I shot this through my window as the truck drove past. These truckies are really good, best drivers in Australia! They know to drive past your house really slowly so they don't create a massive amount of dust for me to get cross about!

Three decks of cattle going to the abattoirs in Qld. Not a huge amount, but we are getting ready to sell more in the next few weeks. Lots more ready to go in trucks. busy times!

Then we will be into our harvest after that is done.

And we are getting a few little fellows from all over the place, as they get cheaper as it gets hotter and drier. Lots of cattle to mark once we get them off the truck.

Will post some verandah progress tomorrow.

Nova Scotia Interiors

My closest regional town is Dubbo, so I probably make the trip about once every two months. I haven't been for ages, due to online shopping being so convenient and hassle free.

My air-con in my car broke down and we suffered the heat for two weeks until I could lock it in for a service. This usually requires an early morning dash to Dubbo to leave it at the mechanics as early as possible. The worst thing about it is leaving my car is
a.  not having anywhere to put my stuff.
b. lugging it around with a cranky toddler all day until it is fixed.

I have used taxis in the past when I had important appointments, but it was a pain as Dubbo is a really spread out town.

This time, I asked for a courtesy car.

I thought it would be money well spent, as the pain of only doing a quarter of my jobs and rushing once I got my car back is just not worth it.

It was a little hybrid Camry.

Yeah, you wouldn't miss me hooning around Dubbo in this thing with the many advertising stickers.

When I turned it on I couldn't even hear it, and this one had a button start too. Excuse my lameness, but I had to get a quick lesson on how to turn the car on!

So once we figured out the car, I got on with buying cricket gear, joggers, special swimming gear. (Who knew swimming was such as expensive sport )!

Anyway, I found this lovely shop downtown.

Nova Scotia Interiors

There is an absolute drought of beautiful homewares and furniture shops in Dubbo, so this is a treasure!

Lets take a look inside.....

Love this mirror, can see it hanging over my fireplace.

Gorgeous furniture, great homewares.

Lots of black and white with touches of silver. Love it all!

The lights are to die for.

Christmas display in the window, lovely!

Plenty of Villa Maison furniture. This cabinet is awesome!

Love a black library with ladder. The styling in this shop is really well done too.

Squishy comfy lounge.

Loving the white wicker furniture. I think it would look great on my verandah when it is done!

Sigh.......


I think I love everything in this shop. I did buy some choice items too, I will post that later. I think I know what I want for Christmas..... Everything in this shop!

Pineapple lamp!

I love it, but there was only one in store and it didn't have a shade yet.

As I was lapping the shop while the little Grub was happy in the playroom, I spotted my accountant coming in from out the back. She is a part owner. I told her how awesome I thought it was, and how Dubbo was in desperate need of a beautiful shop like this.

There is a website...

http://www.novascotiainteriors.com.au/

I think I might be popping in again next time I go that way again!

Progress and procrastination

Things are pretty busy here at the moment with kid things taking a lot of my time.

I spent most of Saturday prepping and priming the bits and pieces on my enclosed verandah. I am going to paint the strips before we put them up over the top of the gauze now, because I realised what a painful job it would be if I managed to get paint on the new gauze.

I will paint as much as I can, and then I can touch up later.

Also I realised that I should paint the insides of the frames too, so I don't have the paint-on-gauze problem again.

So off I went to the hardware shop to choose a paint colour.

I went with my gut, I have been agonising over a colour for the verandah interior for ages. But, in the shop I picked the colour in 5 minutes, so I hope my gut is right on the money now!

The interior is going to be a Taubmans paint "London Fog". On the fan deck it is a bit lighter than "Iron Gate" which is my exterior colour.

I am pretty much in love with the Taubmans endure paints. (And this is not sponsored). I love the feel of it, and it is super top quality. Beautiful to paint with and it is so silky and thick too. Their primer is textured like custard and I love it too!

Yeah, heaps to do and lots of fiddly stuff.


I am taking my boys swimming most days now. Older boy trains 3-4 days a week and younger one does twice a week. Older boy is in the hardcore group and he will probably be doing 5-6 days once it gets hotter.

The little one will be learning how to swim once the pool warms up a bit too. I can't stress how important is is to get your kids swimming while they are young. And you do have to put the hours in, otherwise they lose it and find it hard when they want to keep up with their mates.

If you have kids, do yourself a massive favour and get your kids swimming early - it is so important for us, when there are dams and rivers and so much danger on the farm.

Enough of that rant..... On to the procrastination part of the post.

The garden is pretty at the moment.

Love my avenue of Chinese Elms (trampoline in the middle).

I transplanted these Hippeastrums from my old garden. Only planted them in Feb and I thought they were dead. They were my grandmothers, and she was a champion gardener. She gave me 6 bulbs and they have multiplied lots over the years. Love them!

Ignore the weeds!

Tidied up my arch so you can actually walk under it. It is a white potato vine.

The Cattleman decided to mow the yard for me, it makes everything look awesome! This plumbago is in desperate need of a trim too. The aggies need some weeding love, but the thing I am most surprised at is the lawn.

The whole yard had a bobcat levelling it all last year and I didn't plant a single runner. It is the toughest lawn in the world as it braved 6 years of total neglect when no one was living in my house. Amazing!

This is what one fat spring lamb look like in esky form.

We did one yesterday and one today, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world that we have the yummiest lamb on tap whenever we want. And I feel so lucky that the Cattleman is such a good butcher too, it's a real dying art too - not many people know how to do their own animals.

I keep telling the boys how lucky they are to have yummy lamb to eat whenever we want it. I know how much everyone else pays for it, so we are lucky, lucky, lucky........


Hopefully more progress soon as I stop procrastinating so much on the mammoth painting task.