Christmas 2013 is here……

Hi Vintage Lovers,

 I ABSOLUTELY LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME

It is the most wonderful time of year.

But I am the type of girl that waits till the 1st of December,

then it is CHRISTMAS. BRING IT ON.....

 

Santa, Elves, Reindeers, a sack of gifts and the true magic of Christmas.

Decorating, Baking and being with Family and Friends.

 

Christmas is not something that is bought in a store, or found under the tree. Christmas is magic, a spirit, and it is found in your heart...and not in your wallet or purse.

 
Soooooo, I have a challenge for you all if you would like to accept (that I try to do every year).
 

Really think about the person you are buying for this Christmas season:

 

Instead of purchasing a "cheap, mass produced, barcoded, made in Taiwan or China" present; that really only tells them that you didn't put a lot of time and thought into their gift.

 

I understand it is not always possible, but instead, try and find that unique and individual gift that tells them how well you know them. Show them that you put a lot of time and thought into it and that they really mean a lot to you and that you love them.

 
If you are anything like me you will be doing the latter, and finding that unique and individual gift to suit your loved one.
 
I also try to shop locally and support small business wherever possible.
Oh, and try to keep away from barcodes.  Eeeeek !!!!!!
Mel xx

P.S.  When you stop believing in Santa Claus you get socks and underwear in your Santa Sacks.
J
 

 

Moving In and an Open Pantry………

Hi Vintage Lovers,

A big Sorry, It's been a few weeks between posts.....

we have been rather busy around here and not taking it easy.....anything but!!!

 

 

After Agatha (I am smitten with her) arriving a few weeks ago we have been making the most of having an oven again and doing lots of cooking and baking. I cooked my first batch of shortbread in her last week. Lets just say they were delicious and disappeared very quickly.

 

We have also moved our leadlight cabinet into the kitchen and unpacked all of our kitchen bits and pieces. Everything has fitted in perfectly, like it was meant to be......although I did have a big cleanout and did take quite few bags to Goodwill.

It is amazing how much you collect.....without even trying!!!

We then had a decision to make.......what to do with the old kitchen window cavity that the previous owners had made in to a pantry (with doors).

We have been deciding which doors to pop back on that will suit the kitchen as we are planning to change the cupboard doors on the kitchen bench now also (they are just tounge and groove timber). 

 

 

I then had a thought - why don't we have an open pantry and make a feature out of the old window cavity instead of trying to hide it away.

 

We then attached matching architrave moulding (the same as the old door frames in the kitchen), sanded it down and stained and varnished.......and here is the outcome........

 

 

........We couldn't be happier with the result.

It matches the kitchen perfectly.

  I have a spot to display all my old tins and also an excuse to buy more old kitchen tins to pop food into to hide the modern packing.

 

 

Hope you are having a fabulous weekend.

 

Mel xx

 

 

 

Agatha’s Home for good…….

Hi Vintage Lovers,

The day finally arrived yesterday, I feel like I have been waiting forever, when Agatha came home for keeps and I couldn't be happier. It has been about six months in the planning and waiting (she spent four months on a ship traveling from our Mother England). I never do anything by halves!!!! I am one of these people that never take the easy option and visit a Harvey Norman or Ikea store. I haven't even ventured through their doors at all and have NOOOO plans to in the near or distant future!!

 

For those of you that are new to the blog Agatha is our new Aga stove. Who has travel half way across the world to be with us and I couldn't be happier now that she is sitting in our heart of the home. Yes, I name non living items in our home. I am a little unconventional or maybe unique and eccentric would be better words to describe me. J

 

 

We had the house full yesterday with all the tradies. Wayne had the day off of work, then we had the Aga Store guy and our electrician and plumber here also. A full house for most of the day. Wayne jokingly said to me last night that he now knows what I do all day now - have Cuppas and Tim Tams and long morning tea sessions with all the tradies that we have had at our Old Lady over the past six months!

The cheek of him!!! Or maybe he knows me oh so well, I love a good cuppa and a chin wag!

Agatha is gorgeous and looks perfect in our kitchen.

 As soon as she was unpacked yesterday, we knew we had made the right decision, and all the planning and waiting had been all worth while. She has two electric ovens and four gas hobs which is perfect for what we want.

We cooked a potato and leek soup last night. I know it's not a gourmet meal as it is mid week, but very yummy none the less. That will have to wait until the weekend as our youngest has cricket training and I have yoga tonight and then tomorrow night we have an under 10's cricket match to go to and support.

I am Soooooo looking forward to also doing some baking. I have missed it and can't wait to get back into it. One of my plans for over the weekend.

Hope you are having a great week.

Mel xx

P.S. I am now on Instagram, I would love you to pop over and have a look. I have popped a link to my instagram page on the side of blog for future reference. It's a great way to follow along between posts. Click here, if you would like to have a peek at it. J

Two and a bit weeks to go….

Hi Vintage Lovers,

The last few weeks have flown by and I know it's been a couple of weeks between posts.
So here is a bit of an update......
 

Last weekend we went away for a few days just to catch up on some sleep, take it easy, and see everyone back home.

We had a fantastic time but it's now time to get back to all the jobs and there will be a few over the next few weeks. We are having a cleanup and taking a few loads to the dump, the work in the garden will be continuing, as well as finishing some final bits and pieces in the kitchen before our stove arrives.
 

 

Agatha (our stove) is due home on the 6th November !!!!! Yay!!!!

As you can guess I am just a little bit excited.

Only two and a bit weeks to go!!!!

 

So, there are plenty of little jobs to do before then.

The staining of the skirting boards being one of them,

that was last weekends job.

 

 

After planting the Irises (I have trimmed them now so they look a little different after the last photo of them) the other weekend, I have been planning the next stage of the garden bed.



I am going to create another garden bed around the Irises with a rosemary hedge that will highlight the store house and Irises. Down near the new shed I was thinking of planting a pittosporum hedge to hide it.

 



I then decided that my two iron gates would look fantastic in the garden bed as well. One at the front of the store house and the other at the back between the store house and the new shed.

 

Sooooo.........after poisoning the grass over the weekend and grabbing some rosemary clippings from Mum and Dad today and potting them up this afternoon. The garden bed is well and truly under way.

 

Hope you are having fabulous week.

 

Mel xx

 

 

 

A "How to attach Skirting Boards" Tutorial

Here is the tutorial on "How to" attach skirting boards as promised.

1) Cut the end of the skirting that fits into the corner at 45 degrees. Measure the length required and cut to fit.

2) Pre drill the nail holes to prevent the timber from splitting. Use a drill size approximately half the diameter of the nails to be used.

 

 

3) Sit the skirting board in place and gently tap the nails into the plaster wall to mark the position of the plugs.

 

 

4) Circle the nail marks with a pen or pencil to avoid losing your place and drilling in the wrong position.

 

 

5) Drill to the required depth using a masonry bit on the "Hammer" setting. The depth is easy to set by pre measuring and marking on the drill bit using tape. 

  

6) Remove as much dust as possible from the hole.

 

7) Measure, cut and taper the ends of the dowel plugs. 

8) Hammer the dowel plugs into the wall ensuring a firm (but not too tight) fit. Liquid nails can be used if the fit is a little too loose.

 

9) Sit the skirting board in position and hammer the nails into the dowel plugs until just the head of the nail remains.

 

 

10) Using a nail punch, bury the nail head of the nail about 2-3mm below the surface of the skirting board.

 

11) Cut the matching skirting board and repeat the process. 

 

 I hope this tutorial is helpful and has given you a few tips as working with old houses can be tricky sometimes, but certainly not impossible and well worth the extra effort.

Mel xx
P.S. I have created a 'how to/tutorial' tab on the blog for future reference. J

 

 

 

 

 

The very busy long weekend….

 Hi Vintage Lovers,

Just  a quick update post.

 We have had a long weekend here and it has been a very busy one at that. My bones are aching all over tonight and I think I need an Epson salts bath and then my bed. 

We had a list of jobs for the weekend........and a perfect weekend for it.

So the first job was to plant the bearded irises around the old store house. These are the ones that I kept from our old home and they have multiplied beautifully. I have decided to dig out the gravel from in front of the store house and pop them all in there for now until I am ready to plant them in the front garden.
 

I  had more than enough irises to fill the two areas either side of the little path and still have some left over for another area in the garden. 

 The two terracotta pots contain pink geraniums that I rescued from the front garden; they were covered with weeds the poor things.

They are much happier now and they have even given me a couple of flowers already.

 I am so happy with the area.

The irises look fantastic and I will not want to move them back into the front garden.

We also moved the last of my vintage collections  home from Mum and Dad's.

 

My favourite piece that came home was my 1880's church pew.

She is about 4 metres long so the perfect spot for her is along the long side of the outdoor entertaining area. 

The kitchen went back to looking a building site this weekend while we attached the skirting boards. My Dad helped (A very big big big thank you, Dad) us today and we couldn't have done it without him.

Now, it was a bit of a different process to pop the skirting boards on due to the old bluestone walls and the plaster. Hence why it was fantastic to have Dad on hand. His wealth of knowledge is invaluable when it comes to old homes and renovating them.

The skirting boards are yet to be stained and varnished, we will tackle that after a few days away next week.

I will post a helpful tutorial on "How to" attach skirting boards in the next day or two.

Mel xx

 

 

A sheltered spot…

Hi Vintage Lovers,

This week has disappeared way too quick as holidays always seem to, don't they???? 

This is the first beautiful spring day we have had for the school holidays. The rest of this week we have had gale force winds and huge downpours of rain.
Certainly not spring weather at all!!!!!

We have had a chance to do a few outside jobs in between rain showers and gusts of wind. Not as many as I would have liked to do. But a few is better than none at all, right?????

I have planted the hydrangeas that I bought a few weeks ago in a sheltered spot at the back of the garden.
 A perfect spot for them.

This garden bed was empty and with the over hanging tree branches from the neighbours yard it is the ideal spot for them. I went for five different colours - red, pink, white, purple and blue. I can't wait for them all to grow and flower. They will certainly hide the fence eventually which will be fantastic.

I have also been given a few more orange clivias from a friend, so I decided that the perfect spot for them would be in front of the hydrangeas. The lawn in that area was not growing due to the beautiful over hanging branches, so I decided to create a new garden bed and pop the clivias in there.

I then decided a touch of vintage was needed to finish the job off. So I popped my old iron tulips in between the hydrangeas. I found these at a vintage garden shop a while ago and couldn't resist buying them.
Aren't they just gorgeous?????
I just love them.......
 

 

 

.......and just perfect for holding tea lights.

 

 

 Enjoy your weekend.

 Mel xx