this is... my next splurge

I have been eyeing this for a while, and then when I saw it at the Melbourne Design Market I decided it just had to be mine. Made by the super-talented Victoria Mason, it will be a reward to myself for all the hard work I've been doing lately... Now all I have to do is wait for my next pay cheque and it shall be mine!

Head over to Three Buttons to check out more random "This Is" posts.

this is... what makes me happy

Image originally uploaded by Lori Joy. You can see some more of her very cool work here.

At the moment I am extremely happy (and lucky) to be able to work from home. It's taken a year or two to build up the business but it is at a point where I am working on some really fun jobs for some great clients (yes, it is possible!).

Thanks to One Little Acorn & Three Buttons for this theme & meme... I'm a few days late (again).

on my desk...

On my desk this week are SIX granny squares! They are for my very first crochet blanket so lots more to go... 

Check out more desks-in-action here.

this is... what gives me goosebumps

Image originally uploaded by Mergemind.

It's true, the sound of cutlery scraping together gives me goosebumps! I've had this problem since I was little and when asked (or more often, told) to dry the dishes my mum knew not to expect me to go anywhere near it. To this day I allow cutlery to drip-dry for fear of the scraping sound!

Thanks to Flightless Boyds for this goose-bumpy theme and also to Angela for all the fun of "This is...".

meet kenny the cowboy

Kenny likes gun-toting action at the local saloon, and line dancin' with the ladies!

oh my goodness, i can crochet!

Since Brown Owls quite a few weeks back, I have been attempting to crochet. There's been tears, tantrums and now FINALLY triumph! I finished my very first granny square last night and if you can't already tell, am very proud of myself. Now will have to take a trip to the wool shop and pick up some pretty wool (unlike the one above) to make a crochet blankie. 

a chance encounter

Image originally uploaded by james cg.

A few weeks back I posted about my favourite travel memory. It was a trip to Venice where we met a delightful old barber called Umberto. As I had mentioned, my parents were travelling there in the coming weeks and I've just received an SMS saying they met the man himself! Mum said he was as lovely and friendly as ever, and had received our photos we sent him. Not sure if they made it into the "show and tell" album but when I chat to them in the next couple of weeks I'm sure we'll hear all the details. I did a search on Flickr for a photo of Venice and look who I happened to find, mind you I had a few photos to choose from... Someone is far more famous than I had thought!

this is... my most treasured childhood possession

It wasn't too hard for me to think of what my most treasured childhood possession was. For my very first Christmas, Santa gave me a stuffed pig. This photo was taken on that Christmas morning and I'm (the one with the mohawk) with my brother and sister.  I called him Bobby but I think that must have happened a few years later when I was actually able to talk! He was named after Bobby from Young Talent Time and as you can probably guess I was a big fan. 

A year later I was still very much attached to Bobby the pig as you can see above. Throughout my childhood I didn't go anywhere without him and on a family holiday he was sadly left behind... After an hour of driving and many, many tears later, my father (who was not known for succumbing to his children's tantrums!) turned the car around and an extra two hours was added to the journey. I couldn't sleep without him by my side and after many years of cuddles he began falling apart but I of course still loved him the same. These days his head is falling off, he has been re-stuffed with stockings, his ribbon is badly frayed and his fur has been worn down, but my mum has promised that one day she will restore him to his former glory. I can't wait!

I've had lots of fun choosing this week's theme so a big thanks to Angela. Head over here to see some more treasured childhood possesions... I know I will be!