Loving, NOT Loving: At My House...

Loving the Weather... and the Garden...
It's meant to be Winter here in New Zealand. Ha!  It feels more like spring. We have showery patches, rainbows and sunshine, rainstorms and thunder all in one day. Occasionally the temperature drops and we need to light the fire and snuggle under rugs, sipping tea and listening to the rain. But it's hardly what you'd call wintery, most days.

My garden is confused, so warm is it still.

The Hibiscus thinks it's still summer. The jonquils think it's already spring. Only my poor neglected roses seem to have gotten the message, and stand bare waiting patiently to be pruned.

The rain has worked wonders for my poor dead herb garden. Did I mention that I killed it off in summer by forgetting to water it? I am a gardening saddo. Poor herbies.

They all withered and died: the coriander, the mint, the basil and the chives. But wait... some warm showery weather (which is meant to be winter but isn't really)... and my herb garden has come back to life, all by itself. A miracle! Gotta love that miracle of life.

Loving Home-Made Art
Who needs mass-produced printed art when you have kids who can draw and paint (and do mosaics)??

What better to decorate your walls with than photographs and paintings done by dear friends. I walk around the house and feel the love, enjoy the colour. I feel good knowing that nobody else has art like mine - they are all original and special.

(The framed photo on the left was sent to me by the lovely Cat from Canada; I have another one from her above my computer xxx)

Loving 60-Minute Makeover
I love my DIY programmes and (surprisingly!) so do my kids! There's a British programme which comes on every weekday called 60-Minute Makeover and the kids beg me to let them watch it with me (even the boy!!) Hee hee, love it! We snuggle together and rate the designers, rate their designs, guess whether they'll get all four rooms done in sixty minutes...

Dash sneaks out of bed and comes to cuddle on the couch and watch with me...

I hear Miss Fab in her bedroom moving furniture and blowing the whistle... she writes out a "KEEP ME" sticker and attaches it to her art...

It's given me a great idea for her birthday present.

She's turning six and no longer played with her lilac dolls crib, her candy-red highchair, her giant dolls pram. So last week we gave them away to some friends with young daughters to make space for.... a desk (solid mahogany bought online for $50) Then we'll combine it with... A gorgeous new quilt set (at 50% off!) ...repainted bookshelves, new storage for the dressups... maybe a feature wall??? I am thinking of painting her a Mural on one wall. Maybe with magnetic paint underneath... Haha! I'll let you know how I get on with that one...

A big girls bedroom, with space for creating. Our very own 60-Minute Makeover, just in time for a Rather Fancy Sleepover. Dunno if we'll get it done in 60 Minutes, but we'll have fun doing it :)

Loving Pretty Old Things
My Nana had a stack of old cut glass dishes and retro china. I never realised how gorgeous it all was at the time, and none of it came our way when she passed. Lately I've been grabbing little bits of old glass and china whenever I spot a bargain in the Thrift Shops. This my latest find; it looks so pretty on my dresser with old beads and bits in it.

Here's some embroidery done by my great-grandmother and framed by me. And my china collection... which gets pulled out regularly for afterschool-tea-parties.

My favourite saying: "Don't save the good china for a special occasion; make today a special occasion by using the good china!" Love that saying.

Not Loving: Reality
Dishes piled up, crumbs on the floor, piles of laundry waiting to be done. Sigh. Better get to it.

What are you loving/NOT loving lately??