doc martens diva

Marlena



Darcie



Darla

When I was 15, I wanted a pair of docs but they were way too expensive so I saved up and bought a pair of tan Nomads instead. At the time Treks and Nomads leather shoes were the popular alternative. One time I wore my Nomads to school and they were stolen from the changing rooms while my class was at PE. I remember being upset that day and then ecstatic the next day when the shoes were returned by an 'anonymous' person. I never did find out who took them.

Now Miss15 has just gotten her first pair of black docs and is delighted with them. I tried them on (yeah we're the same shoe size). They're very comfy and look great but I'm not so convinced that these style boots are for me. Miss15 suggested that I check out the Doc Martens diva collection. I didn't expect to discover boots with strength of character and a heel to boot or a Mary Jane shoe that doesn't scream "goth" - maybe all perfect for connecting with my inner diva, don't you think?

demolition stage 2



ALL GONE

today Mr B, Sydney (the off sider) and Master12 made a day trip to the bach to complete stage 2 of the demolition. The rest of the lean-to was taken down. It was a tough job but they got it done in the end. Well done guys!

The plumber and the builder start work next week. Hooray!

modern vintage frocks

I'd been thinking about making myself a couple of modern vintage styled frocks. Then I came across these 2 patterns at the Spotlight sale. Finally I'm on my way to doing some happy personal sewing!

cherry blossoms

In 1998 we planted this cherry blossom tree in our front garden to celebrate the arrival of our second child. His placenta is buried beneath it. This year is the first time that it has had abundant blossoms. Welcome Spring!

demolition stage 1

BEFORE

AFTER

after much anticipation, work will be starting very, very soon on our new bach bathroom. Yesterday Mr B and Sydney, his off-sider, knocked down the awful back porch covered in artificial grass and a makeshift outside shower. That's stage 1 complete! Well done guys.

For Stage 2 they'll demolish and remove what's left of the addition so that a new lean-to can be built in it's place to house the new bathroom/laundry. There's a fair bit of drainage work to take place to connect us to the main sewage system. At the same time, we're having the roof replaced and the deck steps tidied up. All very exciting stuff!

lavender scent

my most economical project this year has been the making of these lavendar sachets using Whitebay lavender that I bought on Trademe and remnants of cotton fabric and ribbons. So far I've made 24 of these little beauties for the bach with about another 12 to go. They aren't much to look at however they'll do a great job of keeping all the winter woolies and blankets smelling fresh and pest free.

the winner is...

yes, our lovely daughter won the Designers Choice for Emerging Designers (selected by FourFontaine based on technical excellence). She is over the moon with her prizes which include a shopping spree at Sylvia Park, Specsavers prize pack and a FourFontaine prize pack and loads of extra goodies. Congratulations Txxxxx from your very proud mum!

so far, so good...

...

today I had my first annual mammograms and ultrasounds and got the results back as well. I'm happy to tell you that I got the all clear! So far, so good...

off the rack - young designers competition 2011

this is our Miss 14's entry in the Sylvia Park Shopping Centre - young designers competition. It's a full length dress made from stretch cotton poplin with lots and lots of tulle. Her inspiration was the idea of being sybaritic. There's 77 entrants in the competition and the winners are selected by popular vote, via Facebook and onsite voting at the shopping centre.

The more 'likes' her dress photo has, the better chance she has of winning. You can 'like' her dress here. Thanks!

retro magnolia print

From our kitchen window, I can see our magnificient magnolia tree in full bloom. As I work in the kitchen, I watch the petals fall in the ever changing breeze to form a lush pale pink and purple carpet on the concrete. With this as my inspiration, I was determined to find a retro floral picture to hang in the bach.

I was lucky to find this retro print by Wilf Walker on Trademe. It's a huge 64 x 80cms in size and still in it's original 1950s white/gold fleck frame. It will be on it's way to the bach shortly to take it's place of pride on the wall unless I have a change of heart and decide it looks better on our lounge wall here at home.

the big move

Before we could begin the big move to our bach, we had to do a big cleanup. The previous owners had left behind quite a bit of junk that needed to be thrown out. So that was our first job. Then Mr B had the task of transporting our furniture to the bach. He made 2 trips to the bach (2.5 hours each way) over 2 weeks, firstly with a fully loaded Chev and then secondly, in our loaded up 4WD and a single axle furniture trailer. He managed all of this with the help of Syd.

The drive from Auckland to Thames and then on to the Coromandel is very picturesque. Leaving the main road in Coromandel, the last 12kms to the bach are the most hair raising. The mostly gravel road weaves up and down through the Coromandel Forest Park and requires a confident driver to navigate it's many bends. That's probably the main reason why this part of the Coromandel remains so pristine and unspoilt.

With our furniture, crockery etc now in place, the bach is giving off a definite retro vibe!

flounce and frou frou

now that Spring has officially arrived, I find myself negotiating with Miss 4 about making her some dresses for the warmer weather. Sadly she's outgrown last years sewing and despite my best efforts to steer her towards 'practical', she's determined to incorporate flounce and frou frou to this years spring/summer wardrobe. So we've compromised by choosing this pattern - New Look 6309. With pink as her favourite colour, I'm planning to make 2 versions of this dress (with and without cap sleeves) and then go on to make her a couple of  'practical' dresses too.

sunrise

from the bach deck we're able to enjoy the most spectacular sunrises (and sunsets too!). As the sun rises, the water sparkles and glistens and the bird songs lift. This time we discovered the cockle beds (which are plentiful) and met some friendly neighbours who gave us a big bucket of fish and a bag of puha. We got the new curtains hung, Mr B managed to get some more maintenance and cleaning done, and the children had the beach to themselves. All in all it was a great weekend, the down side is that I came home with a cold.

3rd blogoversary

yes it's been 3 years - thanks to everyone who've taken the time to visit here!

chevrolet

A month ago Mr B (my dear hubby) bought a 1991 Chevrolet Suburban (it's an 8 seater) as our bach transportation for our family of 5. It's worked out to be a good buy. We've travelled twice to the beach in the Chev so far and it's been a comfortable trip both times. The children have been able to relax plus there's plenty of room to stretch out and snooze. Best of all Mr B has been able to transport our furniture and other bits and pieces without a problem. I haven't got the nerve to drive it yet!

  

it's curtains for you

there's a pale pink kitchen cabinet in our bach that has some open shelving under the work bench. I've made a pair of curtains in this funky retro kitchen themed fabric ($2 a metre at Spotlight) to hide the contents of the shelves. It will be a huge improvement on the old flimsy net curtains that are hanging on the cabinet right now. 

I'm working on replacing all the bach curtains with new ones made up in this floral fabric in muted beige, browns and corals. There's 3 big windows and 2 small ones to do. The new curtains will be lined with calico and have tie backs. Once I've finished, it's time to go hang them. Any excuse to go to the beach eh?

floral cascade

here's a peek of the floral cascade that Miss 14 created to adorn her dress entered "In the Pink" section of the local schools wearable arts showcase and competition. This is a fashion section where designers create couture style garments using the colour pink to promote the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation.

Her garment depicted "the journey that our family went through...last year" and the cascading floral embellishment "represented hope, courage and strength in the face of adversity".

This was the first time that she had entered this design competition and although she didn't win her section, she gained a lot of personal positives from the experience. Thanks for sharing my proud mummy moment!

mid century instead

the retro dining suite that I blogged about here has been onsold and replaced with this mid century suite. The suite consists of an extendable formica table in a warm honey shade and six stylish chairs. I'm looking forward to putting the suite to good use when we head off for holidays.

winter beach

I love the beach, whatever the weather. Our few days at the bach were filled with rain, wind and more rain. On the only fine afternoon, we took a nice long walk along the beach. Apart from the birds and the odd fisherman, the beach was mostly deserted. Then we headed indoors for hot chocolates hmmm.

ticky tacky is back

after exploring various options and facing numerous difficulties, we find ourselves back at the beginning with our ticky tacky bach. It's looking to become a big renovation project. To start with the roof, spouting, deck and water tank all need upgrading. An inside bathroom is a must. Can't imagine the children putting up with the long drop and cold outside shower for too long.

retro red

I've always loved the retro reds of the 1950s and this melamine set by Noritake is a great example of retro colours and patterns. Another great retro find!

building blocks

today whilst I'm going about the usual kitchen chores of cooking, dishes and cleaning up, our youngest is intent on building the 'dream' bach for our family in the middle of the kitchen floor. As I move around her building site (trying hard not to knock anything over), I'm amazed by the depth of thought and inspiration that she's poured into her work. If only my granny squares crochet grew as fast... 

kitset instead?

the second hand building idea has turned into a fizzer. It was shaping up to be a logistical nightmare to move, so the idea had to be abandoned. Instead we're now contemplating a 60 square metre kitset house. There's a few minor alterations to make: add a second entry/exit door off the kitchen and put in a large sliding door to replace the front door/double windows combination. This has real possibilities.

retro kitchen project

the replacement house that we have in mind to be the 'new' old bach is a promising structure with great bones. Of all that needs to be done (which isn't too much), the kitchen will certainly be the most interesting challenge of all. Check out the dated orange cabinet doors, it screams retro, doesn't it? The space is small and in need of a desperate rethink.   

bach changes

the original ticky tacky bach that I blogged about here is due for demolition. It's compliance issues are too extensive to be realistically repaired so it's got to go. In it's place possibly is this 1950s ex state house that we've had in storage for a few years. So bach changes are on the way!

granny squares

nothing echoes the retro kiwi bach theme more than the granny squares blanket/throw. This blanket is destined for the bach. As a child in the seventies, the first thing I learned to crochet was a basic granny square. Thinking back, it seems that granny squares were everywhere... clothes, hats, bags, cushions, throws, blankets... 

On the bach 'to do' list is cushions for the lounge. Inspired by the granny square I've started work on a  selection of granny squares to piece together for cushion covers with a licorice allsorts colour theme. This is a good mobile project to take to volleyball.

what's up?

June already? since our daughter started playing club volleyball, I haven't sewn a stitch or done any crafting. It's been a fine balancing act trying to keep our household running and taking her to 2 evening practices a week, weekend league games and extra coaching as well. Hopefully I'll get the chance to get some sewing done this long Queens birthday weekend.

Apart from that I'm still slowly collecting items for the bach. Here are my latest Trademe finds: a $10 retro coffee table complete with a wire magazine rack and a retro inspired stripey dinnerset.

easter

hope you all have a safe and happy Easter!

retro dining

here's another Trademe furniture find for the bach - a retro formica dining table and padded vinyl chairs.   

volleyball

with our daughter switching to play club volleyball, the days of attending outdoor netball games whatever the weather are well and truly over. I'm glad as it rained a heck of a lot last season leaving this hardy supporter feeling very low. Anyway the volleyball games are all indoors (hooray!) and the club supporters are a great bunch to hang out with too. Go team!

a gift of poetry

That beautiful life you have.

I wasn't watching when it happened,
or not so much you might have noticed that
I was mucking about, kicking my toes in dust
and staying close from far away.
I was far away when your beautiful life happened,
over there, near where I see you walk with your love intact,
no love could I steal from you with my broken and wanting ways,
no love I could steal and not give back for
the way you walked and held your beautiful life together
with mine.

take a seat

1970s Airest Armchair



1960s Retro 3 piece lounge suite



In keeping with the retro look for the bach, I've scored some great furniture buys on Trademe (our local NZ equivalent to ebay). The first is a very comfortable Airest armchair from the 1970s with the star design spring base. I'm planning to have this armchair recovered in some upholstery fabric that I bought from Designer Fabrics, Panmure, which was $10 a metre. Not a bad price considering that upholstery fabric is usually $50+ per metre retail.

Next is an original 3 piece 1960s retro lounge suite complete with a fully functional sofa bed. There's a few loose buttons on the sofa and a small tear at the lower back on one of the armchairs which I'll repair. Other than that and adding some retro inspired cushions, this suite is destined to stay in it's original fabric for a little while longer.



vege greens

while autumn well and truly settles in, the vege garden is in the last stages of summer production. Bok choi and cardinal beets have been picked while young and tender (I'd given up battling the white cabbage butterfly this time round) along with peas and brilliantly red banana shaped chillies, all ideal ingredients for a stir fry.

for Japan

our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been affected by the terrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan. 

stuck

while all my favourite craft and sewing bloggers get on with all their successful projects, I'm stuck in a zero motivational funk. Apart from the grandest of intentions at the start of 2011 and a couple of mending projects I haven't kicked off my sewing and crafting for this year. So in a bid to get unstuck, I'm off to the museum today for inspiration. Hope to get back to more regular blogging very soon!