Floating Away

Do you have some weeks where you want to stick your head in a cloud and float away?

To not worry about all the tasks, jobs, chores to be done?

To just be? Hiding, in your thoughts, in your own time, in your own little place?

I wanted to be this guy this weekend ...

You'll be pleased to know that this guy is not a real person. It's a sculpture and I found over at Anthology Magazine. Called 'Sentient Orbs', it is by Glasgow artists Craig Little and Blake Whitehead - or littlewhitehead as they call themselves (seriously!) - and was part of an exhibition called Grey Matter at a UK gallery, Talbot Rice Gallery, a couple of years ago.

I like.

Do you?

Progress & Kids

I haven't been down to the house all week. I haven't even sneaked a peek after-hours.

I want to wait a bit to be bowled over by the progress.

In fact, progress can't come soon enough.

I caught up with a friend who said she'd walked past the house the other day with her five-year-old boy. And he'd said, "Mummy? Why are they building a car park there?"

You've got to laugh. Well, I can see the resemblance ...

Don't you just love kids?

Don't you just love progress? Bring it on, I say!

I'm Dreamin Of ... Blue

Back in October I wrote a post which I thought would become a weekly thing called I'm Dreamin' Of ... But whether I was trying not to do too much dreaming or perhaps because I got distracted, it kind of peetered out.

So I thought I'd revive it.

Today, like many days, I'm Dreamin' Of all things Blue. Not because I'm sad but because I love the colour blue. All blues, actually. Robin's Egg, Duck Egg, Turquoise, Teal, Aqua, Sky, Navy, Indigo and everything else in between.

Here is a random selection of images I had on file that all feature blue - although I should add that that wasn't the reason I saved them (or maybe, unconsciously, it was?!) ...

What colour tickles your fancy?

Images via: The Design Files, The Zhush, Ferm Living, Belle Maison, The Design Files, House of Turquoise.

Building Progress: The Roof

Yes, indeedy, finally we have the roof going on! The gutters have been sorted (and look quite stylish I must say - although I never thought I'd say that about a gutter!). And we have a pretty productive schedule up until Easter, which includes: windows and doors, insulation, cladding, the planting of a large number of 2.5 m Lilly Pillies from one end of the garden to another, more brick work, the garage being built, plus electrical and plumbing work and, of course, the roof.

Phew, I'm exhausted just writing it down. But it's great to see the place humming with tradies once again and to find our end-target date has not moved much - it is closer to the end of July than the beginning.

A piece of roof sheeting. Boring, I know.

Oh silver quilt, keep us warm: roofing insulation as seen from inside the living space.

Not a lot going on here: some roof sheeting over the bedroom and the timber roof frame over the stair well.

Roof over the deck with an unhappy looking tree fern in the foreground.

 

Hugh the Digger in action.

Happy weekend!

Fabric Love: Ink and Spindle

Am feeling a creative urge coming on and have found myself oogling and googling online fabric stores with a view to making some cushions.

And I really love Melbourne-based Ink and Spindle's hand-printed textiles. These are some of my favourites ...

Wrens in Inky Blue

Gingko in Dusty Pink & Red

Kangaroo Paw in Charcoal & Sage

Birch Forest in Robin's Egg

But then they have all sorts of others in different colours, too ...

Little Forest in Sage & Lime

Lace Fans in Saffron

Bonsai in Deep Red on Unbleached

Birch Forest in Almond

The fabric bundles are tempting ...

Check it out for yourself at the Ink and Spindle website or follow their blog.

But that's enough from me! I have a deadline looming ...

Building Progress: Mr Water Pipe

Well, I'm feeling a lot better now that my pesky cold has gone and the good news is we seem to be back on track with the build and more action has been happening and is scheduled for the next six weeks. The roof will be going on, the windows going in, the gutters being hung and the cladding being clad! And I can't wait. Watch this space for concrete signs of productivity on site.

In the meantime, you'll be pleased to know that Mr Ginormous Sydney Water Pipe that appeared in our garden is on its way to disappearing into its own little house.

Mr Pipe has a nice little brick wall around it, is secured in concrete and will eventually be covered by a sandstone pier and lawn.

And here it is as seen here from the upstairs TV room with the retaining wall behind it which will support the timber walkway that will lead to the front entrance.

View to the right of the water pipe, showing the entrance to the laundry and and the concrete slab which will house the water tanks under the walkway.

So long Mr Pipe!

Don't Just Sit There Looking Pretty ...

...  do something!

Actually, I've been feeling rather like this wheelbarrow parked outside the guest bedroom. With a thumping head cold, I've not felt like doing much at all.

But it's the start of a new week, so I'm going to banish the germs and get on with things.

Enjoy your week!

A Dutch Kitchen

I can't decide if I like this kitchen or not.

I've always loved the idea of a clutter-free, minimalist, all-white kitchen (although how one can maintain this with kids, I don't know??) but this one -  a newly renovated apartment in Amsterdam by Hofman Dujardin Architects - seems a little too stark for my liking.

Yet I love that the large central island is the kitchen, plus the amazing floor-to-ceiling windows, the comfy looking dining chairs, colourful table centrepiece and the timber floors.

Images via The Contemporist

But I'm not sure about the light. It's as if some weird spider-like alien is about to land.

What do you think?