treading this way ...

This image is a a fairly apt representation of how I'm feeling about my life at the moment.
Not the smoothest path, nevertheless beautiful.
Can't quite see the end - and how I love to know what's going to happen! - but this period of my life is surrounded by beauty.


My life is filled with fabulous friends, vibrant colleagues, loving and supportive family, a terrific job - perhaps you remember I was particularly wanting that back here, and I'm feeling especially grateful. It seems to be panning out nicely. Now where's some wood to knock on?!

Y Cate

to baby with love x

A craft book review YCate

To Baby with Love

35 gorgeous gifts to make for babies and toddlers

by Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell

One of the major perks of my job is the hundreds of beautiful books that pass through my hands. 

"To Baby with Love" is gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

I want to make nearly EVERYTHING from this book. Mostly though it's a toss up between the yo-yo nursery decoration, the plump wise owl door stop or the wash cloths bound with vintage fabric.

Hope your day is filled with some beauty therapy too x 

Y Cate

p.s. If you HAVE to have it - find it here.

Otherwise visit your local library Y

flower for the library princess

I psyched myself up for work today...
A cup of fluffy coffee (you may call it cappuccino) with my school-Mummy friends before heading off helped.


You may or may not know I work in libraries.
I may or may not personally relate to this quote:

"But you want murderous feelings? Hang around librarians," confided Gamache. "All that silence. Gives them ideas.” 
Louise Penny, A Rule Against Murder

I was saved from my work-induced-funk by a miniature prince. A little boy came up to me in the Picture Book section and held out a bruised camellia that he'd been cuddling with both hands. Precious, precious, precious.
He'd picked it just for me Y.


So today I turned into the library princess under the spell of a kind hearted boy. Or to use Holly's terminology: He facilitated my beautiful paradigm shift. 




Y Cate




images
coffee bean heart
bruised camellia 

beautiful things

Beautiful things from today...

A blushing pear from the fruit shop and a 

camellia from my friend's garden.

A visit from a gorgeous friend.

And beautiful snuggle pyjama cuddles 

from my Little Bear.

What was beautiful in your day?

Y Cate

Hugging fingers Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/photo

live what you love

My little brother is 17 years younger than me. He was 12 days old at my high school graduation. I wish you could tell just by my simply typed words how much I love him.

Recently he was contemplating a career change. At 22 he had a secure job that paid decently, more responsibility than your average young adult and opportunities for advancement within the company.

Yet he wanted more. When he came to me his trusted big sister, I wanted to say: Don't! You have safety. You have security. You have something GOOD. But I didn't. I bit my tongue. I said: Go for it.

He did go for it. He has an AMAZING new job doing what he's AMAZINGLY good at. His job involves world renowned chocolate too so there are possibly some perks in it for me. And he's well on his way to living his dream - with a decent amount of hard work thrown in. I am so proud of him.

I am also reminded by my (now big) little brother - that living what you love is where it's at. I'm baby stepping my way there.

My co-conspirator Holly (of the awesome parenting tip posts) and I have BIG dreams. And beautiful dreams. And we're ready to make them start happening. Keep reading. Follow along. And live your beautiful dreams too.

Much Y Cate

love potion

http://www.heirloomroses.com/roses/love-potion.html#

It's nearly a year since we've moved into a lovely home. New house, a new community, new school, new jobs: and still I don't have the 'at home' feeling.

I haven't planted anything yet. Mr Blossom faithfully mows the weeds lawn but we have no gardens. Have I mentioned we live somewhere referred to as the Garden City of Queensland? Hmm, well I thought buying a plant might help us fit in and speed up the belonging feeling.

Hence the beautiful rose sitting on my back deck waiting to be planted. She's called Love Potion and I have acquired her as much for her divine scent as her glorious mauvey-pinkness.

This little jug stuffed with daisies is my other acquisition. The view in the background is from our deck. The large tree is a Ghost Gum and is home to a pair of beautiful parrots. We watch wallabies and kangaroos bound through that grass and tiny wrens twitter to us from the dark green scrub.

My pink flowery beauty therapy is working it's magic and with fresh eyes, I know I'm lucky to be calling this home.

Y Cate

blissfully blue

My pretty blue finds from today.

Feeling a little blue this morning and just impressed that I'd managed some essential grocery shopping and lugged it inside -such an effort! I was sitting at home and feeling so uninspired. Entirely lacking sparkle I couldn't think of a single thing I wanted to create, work on or blog about.

One fabulous text later I was on my way to have coffee with a pair of lovely women. Thank you friends you made my day!

We met for coffee in a lovely spot and explored the nearby shops. 

I love my new linen and blue-dyed lace pincushion. Found here.

My blue pearl beads and stamp are destined for some future creative beauty therapy. I am thinking a looong necklace with an embroidered blue felt pendant. 

And the stamp... well I couldn't leave it behind.

I have made some significant progress on my cowl since posting about it here. Loving sitting in the evenings and click-clacking away, so beautifully therapeutic.

My blues beaten by time spent with friends, a little beauty therapy. The creative inspired sparkle has returned.

Y Cate 

a necklace named Sofiá

Do you ever name pieces born out of your creative efforts? I love words and finding just the right name to fit something is an enjoyable part of the creative process for me.

Meet Sofiá. A necklace made from hand-carved wooden beads,  threaded on a lustrous golden brown ribbon with white stitched detail. The ribbon is knotted between each bead. 

My favourite element of Sofiá is the finished ends. Each end of the ribbon is rolled and hand stitched with a brass charm: 

Queen Nefertiti on one end...

and a disk with concentric circles on the other.

You can peek at more of my necklaces here.

And too see more beauty therapy in action pop over here for a visit.

Y Cate

beautiful blue ball of yarn

I have pulled a beautiful blue ball of yarn from my stash. It is a soft warm denim coloured blend of aplaca and wool from the Bendigo Woollen Mills. Australia no longer rides on the sheep's back [do you remember that saying?] but we certainly still make amazing first class yarn.

I have cast on to circular needles and have made some fair progress on my cowl. I am writing up the pattern as I go so I can share it if it works out. Y

The little raspberry scrap of knotted yarn is my marker. I get a little excited every time I work my way around and it comes in to view. [yay - another 289 stitches completed!]

I am working an all-over simple seed stitch pattern and I'm really happy with how it's turning out. It almost gives it a spotted appearance.

This beauty therapy is so soft and warm and gorgeous. It's like the comfort food of knitting. Autumn is already a little chilly so I'm industriously click-clacking away to finish in time for winter.

Y Cate

ok goodish good

ok - goodish - good are my current descriptors.
3 little words that I use to describe my photos [ok], my mood [good], the health of my children [ok], the state of my home [goodish], last night's chicken soup [good].


I have left out hellish and fantastic. Descriptors belonging on opposite ends of the scale. Words I would need to use if I was describing work or lovely Chocolate Cottage cappuccinos with a praline chocolate on the side. 


I have been indulging in a decent amount of beauty therapy at the moment. The the kind that requires the softest wool in graduating shades of blossom pink to raspberry to plum.

It's the kind of therapy that lifts me from my work induced [hellish] mood to that of a more serene-happy-mummy [good] mood.

I am using Attic 24's simple Teeny Tiny Flowers pattern to crochet a multitude of happy daisies and then stitching them together. I am envisioning a pretty scarf with lovely loooong woolly tassels at the ends. It's not the first time I've used this pattern with beautiful results.

Y Cate


p.s. I'm working on the work thing. Aiming for good.

green is my happy colour

http://www.kootoyoo.com/2012/05/the-little-engine-that-could.html

Blue is my favourite colour. Pink I love but have to be in the mood for. Red is my power colour. But green is my happy colour. 

[More collections here.]

I love this mint green scarf...For sale here.

One of my necklaces. 

Green wooden beads interspersed with heavy Tibetan Silver Russian Doll beads.Loooong for lots of lovely wrapping.[Sold] 

More necklaces here and here.

Y Cate

Creatively Beautiful

I love having flowers in my home. Sometimes the budget doesn't stretch far enough to buy a bunch and I don't have a garden yet. 

So my beauty therapy today is a beautiful big fresh bunch of mint {$2.50} sitting in my old silver teapot.

Also making me smile is this pile of passion-fruit sitting in my blue bowl. A just-off-the-vine gift from my husband's colleague. 

Thank you! 

Passion-fruit {and raspberries!} are my favourite fruit.

Y Cate

Grandma's Pin

Zillions of French and Colonial Knots stitched with embroidery thread onto a circle of black velvet. Beautiful glass seed beads stitched on too and then gathered around a large bead.

Terrible photos - I have since learned NOT to use my flash. But this pin is very pretty in real life. I'd like to make 

a few more in different colours - 

and keep one for myself to wear on my winter coat.

Grandma loves this one I made for her. 

Y Cate

Wednesday

My day so far...

A little bit of beauty therapy. 

I've started a scarf wrap using the softest, prettiest bamboo yarn. When I'm finished I'll write up the pattern and share.

My friend has safely delivered her much anticipated, miraculous baby daughter. Welcome to the world baby Jane.

Have enjoyed the morning with Little Bear who has every Wednesday at home. He enjoys a four day school week: an arrangement with his school that suits us all perfectly.

Now off to work, alas I'd rather not but it pays {some} of the bills. 

I'll leave you with Tori Amos' Wednesday song.

Y Cate

first Little Blossoms workshop

Yesterday I held a workshop 

for Little Blossoms.

We used pretty things...

In gorgeous colours...

{Oh if you'd like to make some of these head over here: http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/teeny-tiny-flowers.html }

To make these.

Twigs hold materials and examples 

of what we're about to make.

Everything ready...

for Little Blossoms to start creating.

A work in progress.

A pendant ready to be threaded.

Morning tea included pretty 

musk flavoured cupcakes...

And yummy fruit skewers!

  

We shared our morning tea outside on the lawn, 

sitting on a quilt while we waited for the paint to dry.

One Little Blossom wearing her 

finished necklace.

Thank you to all the lovely Little Blossoms and their Mums for a lovely morning of being beautiful!

   

Y Cate