Kitchen shelf re-styling

So last weekend Aaron removed everything off our kitchen shelves to oil and paint them. It was one of those jobs that didn't quite get finished in the big scheme of our renovation. We have a few little jobs like that around the house that need finishing off and Aaron is now going through each room and ticking them off one by one.

 

 

After living with it all cleared and empty for a week I decided I was tired of how it was before and it was time for a change. This was the perfect excuse for a total refresh.

I started by putting out everything that was previously on the shelf and piling it up onto the bench in front of me. Then I walked around the house and looked in my cupboards to see if there was anything else that I thought might need to go up there too.

 

It actually took ages. Lots of rearranging and changing my mind and stealing things from other places in the house. But it was heaps of fun! Now I want another shelf to do!

 

 

I reckon it looks a lot better than it did before. See the before photo below. I had just kind of added to it over time without really thinking about how I actually wanted it to look like overall. It looks a lot fresher now, less cluttered, and more balanced. What do you think? Or maybe it doesn't look any better but it's just nice to have a change of view!

 

 

Here are some detailed pics below - and of course most of the items are bought from the op shop, or otherwise they are gifted, or family hand-me-downs (mostly from my Great Granny I've just realised! She did have some very cool stuff and created amazing art!).

 

SMALL GREEN BOWLS - op shop. GREEN PLANT POT - op shop. PLANT - cutting from one growing wild. WOODEN PEARS - op shop (these used to be in the kids kitchen play set. PHOTO OF FORGET-ME-NOTS - taken and developed and printed in the dark room by me! LITTLE BASKET- op shop. POTTERY URN (which holds my eggs) - family hand-me-down from my mum. BLUE TIN - gift from my mum. KITCHEN AID - gift from my dad (which turned out to be the perfect colour for my future kitchen!).

PLANT POT - op shop. PLANT ON TOP SHELF - Mitre 10. ENAMEL FISH DISH - handmade by my Great Granny. LARGE CAT - hand-me-down from my Great Granny. SMALL CAT - op shop. BAG OF COFFEE - gift from my in-laws from the Philippines (I love the packet!). COPPER WINE GOBLETS - gift from my dad. TOY MEN - Aarons from when he was a kid. WOODEN OLD MAN BOTTLE STOPPER - family hand-me-down from my mum (I always thought of this as my Great granddad 'Puppy').

BLUE POTTERY JUG - op shop. GREEN MUGS - made by me, the remaining two of a set of four (I just checked the bottom and these were made in 1997. What! 20 years ago! But aren't I only 21 ?!). HEN ARTWORK - "Fowls" by Ruth Coyle (my Great Granny) family hand-me-down from my mum. NATIVE BIRDS ARTWORK - by Flox (free with Your home and Garden magazine). WOODEN VASE - op shop. POTTERY VASE - op shop (actually stolen from a pile destined to sell in my shop! It just looked so good up there, sorry).

BROWN COFFEE CUPS - op shop. (With two cool tea bag quotes that I needed to keep. "Be giving, forgiving, compassionate and loving." "In all things of nature, there is something of the marvellous. - Aristotle." LIGHT BROWN POOLE CUPS - I have a set of 6 of these, some are op shopped and some are family hand-me-downs from my Great Granny.

WOODEN BOAT - op shop (Liam has kindly lent me this from his boat collection upstairs!). ARTISTS MANIKIN - op shop.

ARTWORK - Oil on canvas. "The drink of milk" by Ruth Coyle 1950 (My Great Granny). Written under the title is 'My son Ewen'. GREEN POT - op shop.

 

And there you have it folks, all you ever wanted to know about my kitchen shelf! And probably more than you wanted to know! Ha!

And as a side note - there still needs to be an extractor fan fitted onto that wall above the oven, and a tile back splash - they're on the list! Oh and a big photograph to be hung on that wall on the right - I have one already bought from this amazing local photographer, just need to get it printed and framed!

Wardrobe clearout

I've been reading lately about simplicity, about slowing down, about creating 'space' in our lives. Life can get crazy busy at times, I'm guilty of filling my days up too much, especially with our home schooling - there are so many cool classes to do and so many people to catch up with that it's hard to say no and your days just get filled to the brim.

 

So I'm being conscious, I'm trying to pull back a bit, take a breath, enjoy time with my children without always rushing them to the next thing.

 

And this applies to all areas of life, not just time. I'm trying to simplify my STUFF. 

 

But honestly, In reality I'm never going to be a minimalist, (my creative design loving brain just loves too many things!) but I am inspired by minimalism, and I have always loved the quote from William Morris - "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

 

Well, when I looked in my wardrobe there were many things that I did not consider to be useful or beautiful! So why on earth were they in my wardrobe I ask myself! Agh, messy! Stuffed full! Look! Eeek! How embarrassing really!

 

 

I'm fascinated by the capsule wardrobe, the idea that you just have a set limited number of items, just a few clothes that you love, and that you enjoy wearing, and you only replace them when they wear out. Imagine how easy it would be to get dressed in the morning! Really we can become so over indulgent when it comes to clothes can't we.

 

So with all this in mind I decided to have a massive clear out! I pulled EVERYTHING out!

 

 

And I sorted and folded and made big wobbling towering piles of clothes that I didn't actually like! And then, I ironed! I ironed all the clothes that needed ironing (Yes mum I ironed!). Because I had all these things hanging in my wardrobe that were crinkly and I could never be bothered ironing them when I was in a rush to get out the door and so I never wore them. Haha! I know, it's taken me 38 years to work this out.

 

 

So now this is what my wardrobe looks like - and yes I have a scarf obsession and yes I probably should get rid of some of my scarves, but I do actually love and wear all these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the towering pile of clothes that are NOT going back in my wardrobe! Too many! I'm slightly ashamed. But also feeling very proud of my accomplishment. It pretty much took me all day, with exhaustion breaks. And... It inspired Aaron to follow suit and clear out his side of the wardrobe too! So then for the next day every time I walked past I had to open the doors and just have a look at the whole thing and be amazed.

 

Finding treasures for my home

I'd say that most of the things in my home are bought second hand, most of them come from the opp shop. In this picture I think the table and chairs, the black lamp and two cushions are the only things I bought new. I LOVE buying second hand, mainly because you can find cool unique stuff! But also because its cheap! And it's recycling at its best!

The side-board and the couch I bought off Trade Me, they took a bit of time to find, but everything else I just happened upon. I love seeking out hidden treasures in amongst the bits and pieces at opp shops. It's like finding a gemstone amongst piles of pebbles and rocks. Sometimes I think to myself how could anyone part with this? It's so awesome! One mans junk is another mans treasure aye!

Oh actually, the wooden face bowl (Freedom Furniture) and the grey/blue candle stick (For Keeps) were bought new too.

The only problem with opp shopping is sometimes there are so many good finds and you run out of room in your house to keep them all!

I have a little dream of one day owning a little craft/homewares/vintage shop near the beach, that is also joined to a little café that sells amazing coffee and healthy delicious food. - and then I would have a place for all my found treasure to overflow into!

A few treasures I found the other day... some of them have new spots to live in already.

The green vase has been added to the side-board along with the silver candle sticks.

 

 

Awesome big wooden bowl which is now on the dinning table, Liam has filled it with some of his rock collection, doesn't it look so beautiful! (Those brass bangles are from the opp shop too - of course).

 

Little wooden tray, now on the console table near the front door. It was a bit rough looking but all it needed was an oiling and now it's as good as new. (The two bowls are from the opp shop too. The dolls Isla made).

 

So what do you think of my little shop idea? Wouldn't it be cool. Watch this space, you never know, it may just happen one day! (Maybe I could just do an online version to start with??).

Plant love and growing basil in winter

We are having a very leisurely Sunday afternoon here. It's a BEAUTIFUL sunny winter's day, the sun is pouring in through the windows, but it's crisp outside, I think we even had a little bit of frost this morning. We hardly ever get frost being so close to the sea.

We spent yesterday morning planting olive trees out the front of the house, and I managed to squeeze in a good amount of time on Friday to weed the vege patch and give it some tender loving care.

 

 

So today it's time for my indoor garden to receive some love. Having plants is like having little pets. They don't need love and food everyday like a cat or a dog or a lizard, but they do need it still, otherwise they start looking a little sad, like this wee planty here. He needs a bit of a trim to get rid of his old leaves, a bit of a water, and a bit of coffee - yes coffee! I have discovered my indoor plants like a feed of my coffee grounds every now and again.

Also did you know your indoor plants like a spritz of water on their leaves sometimes, and the big leafy ones like you to wipe their dust off them. And sometimes, if you are feeling particularly loving, you can put your plants under a cold shower and give them a nice big soaky soak.

 

Back on his shelf home, looking happier.

Do you like my tea bag quote - appropriate when we are talking plants I think.

 

 

This terrarium needed a major overhaul, I find terrariums can get a little unruly if left to their own devices for too long.

 

 

 

Prime example of an unruly terrarium below, Isla made this one about a year ago, it's just bursting with life in there. I'm leaving this one be though as I like it's unruliness.

 

 

I replanted this one below as it was looking a bit sad, though it did have some amazing toadstools growing in it this week! I forgot to take a photo, so hopefully some more will pop up, fungi are fascinating! I find it's best to start small when you are planting up terrariums, plants often thrive in the enclosed warm space and quickly grow to fill it. The plant with the little heart shaped leaves was snipped off a plant in my other terrarium, so hopefully it takes to it's new spot. I like free plants! Actually come to think of it, I think all the plants in this one were free, snipped at some time or other from other plants I've walked by :) 

 

 

Speaking of free plants, have you ever grown a kumara (sweet potato) plant? Just pop a piece of kumara that has sprouted into some water. Before you know it, it will be growing roots and leaves, this one has been in a glass of water on my windowsill for about 4 months. It was starting to look a bit leggy and yellow so I decided to pot it up into some soil, hopefully this will help to resurrect it.

 

 

And speaking of resurrecting plants... I'm very proud of this beautiful big specimen I have growing in my plant stand. I found this guy half dead in that sad corner of the plant nursery where they put the sad half dead plants, honestly he looked real bad, he was tiny and broken, but somehow I saw his potential, and for only 50c I was willing to adopt him and give him a second chance. And just look at him now! Go you good thing! Owning it!

 

Also going for it is my cyclamen, for some reason it has decided to forget about growing leaves and put all it's energy into flowers, weird. That doesn't seem like a healthy scenario, but it's been going for at least two months like this, churning out the flowers with no sign of stopping. They smell beautiful.

And my basil, I have discovered the secret to get it flourishing on my kitchen window sill. I feed it with coffee grounds and raw chicken juice, I know, that sounds gross aye. What I do is when I'm cooking chicken, I keep a bit of the raw juice and mix it with water and feed it to my basil, just every now and again. I have grown these from seed, and as each plant gets going, I plant a few more seeds into the soil, just make sure you keep the soil nice and moist while the seeds are germinating (a small spray bottle is good for this). Some of them don't come up, but I find if I plant a few seeds I'm guaranteed to get at least one sprouting. Basil year round! So good! I love the flavour of basil.

 

Ahh, feeling good, happy plants, happy plant mum.



Friday wind down

Ahh... Friday afternoon, ... cup of coffee, ... a comfy corner to sit and read, ... an AWESOME new book to peruse thanks to my lovely sister. After a busy week, this little sit down is well deserved if I do say so myself.

 

 

I got interrupted, one child playing minecraft to my left, the other child talking in my right ear... so I had to sneak away to another quiet corner (with lovely afternoon sunlight. I love afternoon sunlight).

Happy Friday everyone, may you have a beautiful weekend and may you have the opportunity to find a quiet corner. xo

My kitchen

I'm in spring cleaning mode (even though it's Autumn). My terms are so busy teaching the kids and running them here and there, so I enjoy having some free time during the holiday that I can use to get on top of things, things that get ignored during the busy term. I also spend some time in the kitchen making bulk meals for the freezer - which are SOOO appreciated during the term.

 

 

I printed off a very thorough spring cleaning list from the internet and spent a morning getting the kitchen all spick and span. The kids gave me a hand, they happily get busy if I give them a spray bottle and cloth of their own. (By the way, use this recipe to make your own natural spray). 

 

It felt so good to give the kitchen a deep clean, we even tidied and wiped out all the cupboards and drawers. Isla even cleaned the toaster and the kettle for me. Every single surface got cleaned and polished and the lights were wiped of all the fly dirt, ewww!

 

 

 

I took the opportunity while it was clean to take some photos of my new (90%) finished kitchen. A bit different from my cute little old one person kitchen - (which I did love for it's funny little ways). I say 90% because there still a few cupboards that need to be added - one above the microwave and one above the oven which will hold the extractor fan. Plus we need to tile the wall behind the oven.

 

 

 

I've also managed to give the bathrooms a 'spring' clean and the laundry. I've cleared out a whole lot of stuff too and taken it to the opp shop, it's so therapeutic! But now I have a cold and my energy levels are rather low, so I'm not sure if I will get to the bedrooms and lounge. Pretty happy with what I achieved anyway, the other rooms can wait till the next school holidays!

New couches

A really really giant parcel arrived yesterday, too big to fit under the Christmas tree. Our new couch! A Christmas present from us to us.

I think the kids were more excited about the giant box.

I've been on the hunt for another sofa for quite a while now. I had my heart set on a green velvet couch, I've always wanted one. But who knew it would be such a mission to find one in little old New Zealand! I went down every avenue you can imagine. Basically in the end it was just a bit too hard, perhaps if I had more time, and didn't have two children in tow everywhere I went I may have persisted longer.
I came across this new sofa during my sofa hunting mission and it ticked enough boxes for me to be happy about giving up on my green sofa quest.
I like the modern, simple Scandinavian styling, I like the neutral grey fabric, I love the wood detail around the bottom and that it's oak so it ties in with the flooring and also our dining table.

We had been living with our old black leather sofas for far too long and they desperately needed replacing. They were all saggy and the cushions were always falling off, not comfy at all. We bought them second hand about 10 years ago for only $200 so they had served us well but they were well and truly ready to retire.

 

We bought the grey leather couch recently off Trade Me and it's SO COMFORTABLE. It's only a few months old, the people selling it had brought it home and discovered it was a bit too big to fit into their lounge so we got ourselves a bargain.

It's looking so much tidier and fresher without those big black monsters in the room.
Because the leather couch is chunky though I do feel like I could do with a chunky heavy side table beside the oak couch to kind of visually balance it out. Do you think? A nice wooden stump one would be great (see my favourites for Friday post). Or I've always loved the Eames stools, bit out of my price range though, (I'm sure Freedom furniture used to do one similar, but I can't see them on their website now). But anyway, not spending any more money at the moment! Might have to have a look at my fabric stash though and make some nice new cushions :). And I've just had a light bulb moment now imagining some nice green velvet bean bags! ooh yes, that would be a lovely way to get my green velvet fix!