So Inspired

David Austins & Berries

Firstly, sorry to all who have emailed me about the items I was listing on my shop as announced in the last post. I am so snowed under over here, and am really struggling to get on top of it all. I am going to take a mini break from listing new things and just complete all my current orders and get on top of it all before I put the new things on. Please email me at renee@soinspired.com.au if there was something in particular you wanted. I will let you know when they will all be listed so you can look out for them. I have emails to reply to, orders to send out, so many things to wrap and put together and I just need a little longer to do this. And I am spending more time wih my family so there is a little less time to get these things done, I think I am starting to get the balance right. I'm just trying to take control of what I'm doing rather than feeling like its all controlling me. Sound ok? I hope so.

On another thing, I ordered some delicious David Austin roses the other day, I have been wanting one for sooo long, but they are fairly hard to come across in Australia. I ordered them online, love everything about online shopping! I'm so excited to get them. I also ordered some berries, I have been preparing a garden for a few months now to grow my own produce, and berries are a huge favourite of mine. I cannot wait to pick and eat these delicous things from my own yard. When we were little, one of the houses we lived in had the best strawberry patch, it was huge (or it seemed huge to us), and its one of the best memories i have of that house, each morning searching and searching the area for strawberries with my sister in our dressing gowns. It seemed like there was an endless supply, and finding them was just as fun as eating them. I want to provide the same fun for my children, and Ruby already loves gardening and seeing the flowers and fruit on plants she waters. Cant wait!

 

Raspberries, boysenberries, rhubarb, strawberries, blackberries.... how fun. I will have to try my very best not to kill them, I am a keen, but still learning gardener! Mum and Grandma are wonderful gardeners, so I'm sure I'll get the right advice. Any tips? Bring on summer!

Added: I bought them from here

Renee x

A Special Birthday and Little Preview

This will be a very quick post as I'm so very busy this afternoon and running late with too many things. Its been a weekend of celebrating here as Charlie had his very first birthday yesterday. It wasnt big, but definately significant and as a Mum, you cant help but think, 'where the heck did the year go?'. It was at Rubys first birthday that we announced to the family that we were expecting little Charlie, but no such news yesterday, thank goodness. We now have a 1 and 2 year old and my life is really all about toddlers/babies. Im so grateful and blessed, but they're enough for now. They had so much fun playing with the new gifts yesterday, Ruby especially was delighted with the 'boy toys' and it's really truck/car/bus/plane/crane/fire engine central here at the moment. For a family severely lacking in boys (in numbers), yesterday was about celebrating all the boy things for Charlie. Fun times.

Due to the festivities and a little family sickness, I am behind with everything else. Most items will go on the store tonight, hopefully, the rest tomorrow night. Here are some photos of things we have found for you that will be available this week here, hope something inspires you.

 Thanks for stopping by my friends.

Renee x

A little bit of new, and a sneak preview

Well I know lots of my Australian friends through ebay visit my blog, so i thought i'd start to give a little preview for you of whats coming up for sale each week on my site. You'll see it here first if i'm organised enough. Most of my vintage things are listed Monday nights, and the other stock is up for sale whenever i get the chance throughout the week. I would love to be more structured but its not possible at the moment. I'm sure there will be more time for the business eventually. Ok here are a few little things just listed, or going up later tonight:

 

I hope you'll pop over and have a look here if you have a chance. So much to clean out here, and ive got nicer things than I remembered having, its amazing what you find when you start going through the stock room! Well I hope you liked that little sample, and i'll hopefully be back soon. Feeling suprisinging organised today so you never know what i'll achieve!

Renee x

Cute Kids

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I havent had much of interest to report on recently here, each day is generally filled with a lot of the same and i'm overwhelmed by kids and housework and the general running of the family. Business is boring me a little, I like to get new things in very regularly, I get sick of seeing the same things around here. At the end of last year I made some bad stock choices with volumes and have been paying the price since then. Theres been a lot of stock here, but i havent been able to order much new stuff cause i have had to clear out these things and pay the bills first. Its all nice, I only buy the things I really love, but now its June, I am sooo ready to get some new things for my loyal, wonderful customers and for my own sanity! I am not completely there yet, but the end is near and I am getting so excited. Its actually been very difficult to motivate myself for so long and to keep it up. Hopefully I will have some new, fresh things to show you soon. In the meantime, there are a couple of things I found recently that I am transforming slowly when I get a chance. Think birdcages...

The only thing going on around here at the moment is kids, kids and more kids. So the kids are all i've got for you today. But I think they're cute... sorry for the poor-lighting photos, lots of rain and inside play.

 

 

 

 

I'll get started on some new things this week, check back soon!

x

Mums

Happy Mothers Day to all the Mums! Motherhood is the best and hardest thing thats happened in my life, and i imagine that will still be true when I am much older and the kids are all grown up. As my little ones are small, life is very rushed and busy, and i dont often have the time or energy to take time out and think about this time in my life. I enjoy them everyday, and i do know how quickly its all going and just how precious they are, but its nice every now and then to stop and think, and be grateful and thankful for the blessing that they are. I have always felt a richness of blessing in my life, always think of myself as extremely fortunate for what I have, my family, my friends, my husband and my faith, but since having these children, there is a new joy in my life. I dream of what they will become and feel honoured to be the mum of Ruby and Charlie. My own Mum has played a huge 'lead role' in influencing me as a woman and a mother. She has so much passion for life, Godly values, integrity and her positive outlook on embracing the good and the bad life offers has to be her best quality. She truly lights up a room, and is such a pleasure to have around. I'm so happy my kids have 2 amazing Nannas in their lives, I could not have chosen better role models than my own Mum, and Mother-in-law. My Mum is just like her Mum, who is in her 70's, and has more energy and enthusiasm than all of us put together. Such strong, courageous, Godly women in my family. I am so thankful to share Mothers Day with them.

Yesterday I held an Afternoon Tea at our place and it was truly beautiful. Here are some photos of our Mothers Day.

My sister went very early to the flower markets and bought huge bunches that filled the whole verandah. The scent of the David Austin roses filled the backyard and Mum and Grandma took armfuls of flowers home as a gift from us. The husbands and my kids were there too of course, thats what makes Mothers Day so special, everyone being there to share it with you. Pretty vintage tea sets, beautiful home magazines, decorated birdcages, old pastel chandeliers, galvanised watering cans, pretty cake stands, and an old church pew - all filled the tiny space to create the loveliest afternoon tea I have ever had here. What a lovely way to celebrate Mothers Day. Wonderful moments to cherish.

Inspired

I have this page from a magazine as the cover to my current 'Ideas & Inspiration' folder, and I love it everytime I look at it. Hydrangeas would have to be in my top 5 flowers, some times during the year they are at the top of that list. This photo in particular has such gorgeous photos, and its so fresh. I think the hydrangea is such an old-fashioned flower, so romantic and blousy and full, and these fresh, vibrant colours just contrast this or something, i'm not sure why I love it so much. And of course, I love the title  'Be Inspired'. How lovely to have this in view while i am working, the only thing nicer would be if they were real. I have 6 hydrangea bushes in my garden, they have just finished up for Winter, so this picture will have to do until they bloom again.

Autumn-ness

  I love everything about Autumn, and my kids and I have been enjoying lots of time outside recently as we make the most of the fading warmth before Winter is upon us. The air is so crisp at the moment, and the gardens are nice, everythings still and cool. I spent some time today outside in the sun, it was just warm enough to enjoy and i loved sitting there for a while watching the kids playing together. I havent posted photos of them for sooo long, boy they are growing up fast. Here are a few recent ones.

Arent they getting big? Ruby is 2 1/2 now and Charlie is 10 months, so much fun.

Hugs

More ribbons and binding

Here are some photos of the trims and ribbons and things i have been accumulating recently. They all look so lovely together. I have a few things in mind for them, the French monograms are amazing, each little box filled with an endless supply of initials for the lucky person who happens to have those initials. None for me, but i'm sure some of my friends will be happy to find theirs. They have been very popular here in Australia already. Also, the seam binding is so pretty i cant stop looking at the colours, and more French ribbon just arrived in to replenish the supply in the stockroom. I love sending these pretty things around the country and beyond... actually its funny how the ribbons etc are sent to me from France and then someone from UK or France buys them... its a small world. Enjoy!

Delicious French Ribbon

I have got some new ribbons here, and i'm just so delighted with them. I bought them as a trial, and they make me so happy just looking at them! Is that strange? You know when you get so excited and inspired by something, it all seems so much bigger than it actually is? Really, its just some ribbons, but its given me so many fresh ideas for my store, i feel refreshed in a funny sort of way. Anyway here are some of them. They are all from France, and then i got some lovely seam binding also. Wow, its just delicious!

The quality of these is really beautiful, I am so happy with them. I feel like tying ribbons on everything around here! Thanks for your emails and comments, gosh there are some lovely people out there. Kisses, Renee.

The treasure hunt

This will not be of any interest to my friends in the Northern Hemisphere... something only those of us down under will appreciate - the lack of good antique markets and flea sales around. Nothing, zero... usually. Occasionally i find myself in a sale that has some good things, and this is always with my Mum. Its the thing we do, its our secret treasure hunt. We often get lost getting to these places, we laugh a lot, and we gasp and dream together at all the wonderful things, and love to take something back with us. I wont go to these places with anyone else.
There is lots of rubbish in the sales we have over here, but recently we found a good one. Here are some of the photos i have to share with you. I bought a few things, lots were more than i could afford, but what a lovely day we had looking.

Thats just a little peek - I will show you what we bought in another post. Also, i will have to share some photos of the kids next post, boy oh boy they are growing up fast!