I am Australian...??

I was born in a tiny public hospital in Perth, WA a loooong time ago. So I am Australian. Somedays I wonder though, as I seem to relate to all things Italian.

The Italian Boy's family are from Frosolone, a small mountain town in the Italian area of Molise.
Whenever we visit, I love all the day-to-day things that happen as though completely irrelevant.

Washing clothes in the town fountain on washboards.

The van driving over the cobblestone streets with a loudspeaker 'Banananananana cinque milllireeeeee'. The Church bells that toll every few hours. The pizza dripped with tomato sauce and oregano. The old boys sitting in the town square, playing cards.

 The Italian Boy's family, who hand make scissors and knives.

The market that appears on a Monday morning in a suburban street as though it has always been there...and disappears.The fact that the town greengrocer has no idea what a pumpkin or a squash is.

Life as it should be.

But then sometimes, I wish I was American. Actually, not an American, but an Italian living in America. I have serious 'availability' envy. All the good stuff just seems to be only available in America!

A machine that bakes cake pops! Ingenious.

Pottery Barn...every time I see a picture of a beautiful room, stunning furniture - credit is to Pottery Barn.

M&M's in any colour??? WOW.

The most stunning Viewfinder Bangle...yep ...you guessed it.

Mountains and deciduous trees...Colorado.

but....

A few years ago, I travelled to Tokyo...love the Cherry Blossoms and trees....

I don't know....I'm a bit of everything.



King Auction

Over the past few months, I have been following the story of The Kings.

Lisa is an inspirational photographer, mum and friend to a friend of mine. She has suffered some enormous challenges recently, with the passing of her ten year old son, Noah and the sudden loss of her husband, Aaron, at only 39 years old. As Lisa says -

I never imagined that before I even turned thirty eight I would be a widow with three boys.

As a keen blogger, Lisa has been followed and admired by many in the blogging community. Naomi from Seven Cherubs organised a donation system and managed to raise over $30,000 for the family.

 Tonight, there will be an online auction, with goods donated from businesses across Australia. All funds raised will go to the King Family. Make sure you 'Like' Seven Cherubs on Facebook, and join in the auction.

Isn't it inspiring when people come together for such a worthy cause?

Project Life

I have a garage full of scrapbook paraphernalia...all sorted into little drawers, files and containers. All labelled and organised. All waiting for me to begin my scrapbooks.
Which I will.
Any day now.
It's only been stored there for 5 years.
Not much longer now.

I think the problem is the choice. There are so many embellishments, fonts, papers, stickers and photos to choose from, that I struggle to decide as I want it to be perfect. Usually choices are easy for me, but the OCD Chelsea just can't bear the thought that I will complete a page, file it and discover months later I could have done it so much better!

So I was very excited yesterday to see the Project Life range from one of my favourite scrapbookers - Becky Higgins. What a fabulous idea!

 Pre-arranged pockets to hold all of your photos.

Photo from Becky Higgins Project Life Website.

 Printed cards and cardstock that is all colour co-ordinated ready to go.

Photo from Becky Higgins Project Life Website

Simply write on your journalling, put it all in the pockets and done.

Photo from Becky Higgins Project Life Website



And affordable! About $130 for the entire kit - binder, box of cards, cardstock and plastic inserts. Definitely will be going on the wish list!

And as for the garage scrapbooking supplies?
I'll get to them...soon.

Favourite Things

One of my favourite songs is about favourite things. Obviously the Italian Boy, S, H and G are at the top of the list, along with other family and friends. But as they don't fit in with the theme of the song (Brown paper packages, tied up with S...nope), these are a few of my favourite things.

DIARY: I can't live without it. I have tried using an online version, or a mobile phone, but the dinosaur in me keeps coming back to paper and pen. I keep it very neat and carry it with me most places I go. This year's diary is from Kikki-K.

SONY VAIO: I should have this little laptop permanently installed on my lap. Whenever I sit down, I jump on it and check facebook and emails. I purchased it about 3 years ago in Hong Kong - where they pronounce it 'wow'. It's been dropped, banged around and yet it's still going. Fingers crossed it continues to do so until I get an I-pad....years away yet!

BLUE AND WHITE CHINA: I have adored and collected blue and white china for years. I like small, fine patterns, new or antique, and have them all displayed together in a cabinet. Last year I made the decision to use it all regularly. LOVE a cup of tea from these cups.

PHOTOS: I heart photos. I love taking them, displaying them and giving them as gifts. I do not like being in them! Here is a collection of baby pics and a wedding shot.

BED: We love our bed. Every night when we both hop in, one of us always says 'This is the best bed ever'. Still. After 5 years. It's so comfy and high. I also love quality sheets from Sheridan. At the moment I'm into the coffee/chocolate look.

KINDLE: Can't live without my Amazon Kindle. I've had it for three years, when the Italian Boy ordered it for me from the U.S. as a birthday present. I have over 120 books in the library, mainly crime and thriller. It's a sleep cue for me - I can't sleep until I have at least read a few pages.

MAKEUP CASE: I received this as a gift a few years ago from my parents. The OCD in me loves that all the MAC cosmetics are all organised and stored away from little girls fingers!

STATIONERY: I just love pens, pencils, staplers, paper, notebooks, rulers, paperclips...the list goes on. I keep a special stash away from the kids that I admire and touch. My weakness is Kikki K, Smiggle and Office Works. I also love scrapbooking supplies and card making and have them all stored away in labelled containers. I just don't like to actually use any of it...it might get ruined!!

CHOCOLATE: I couldn't take an actual photo of any, as it's banned from this chocoholic's house! But I lurve Cadbury...so much so The Italian Boy thinks they may run at a loss this year without me purchasing their ranges.

VIEW from my WINDOW: I love lying on the bed on a cool winter day, looking out at the roses and parkland. It's so relaxing.

CAMERA: And finally, my camera-  Canon DSLR EOS 550D. I picked it up in KL about 2 years ago. For Christmas, I got a zoom lens and a portrait 50mm set lens which I have started fiddling with. I'm an amateur photographer, but with my love of photos, I'm endeavouring to teach myself more about it all. And I have three cute little models!

I'm still here!

Day two and I'm still 'blogging' away, attempting new gadgets and photos. Thanks to my lovely friend Kylie who has helped me out.

I've also managed to list the blogs I follow. Now to figure out how they do it so well!

Blogger or wannabe?

I have begun the journey. Decided to join the 'blogosphere'. The blogging community. The Bloggers.

Strange word, blog. Not entirely flattering, but part of everyday language now. After following and 'stalking' so many fabulous writers  bloggers, I feel it's only fair to put up my own effort.

Inspired by photos, posts, ideas, life events, words and the Blogosphere, I've begun by customizing my template, choosing some basic fonts, and I'm off and running! Scarey really, to think that anyone can read this. Shall I share my blog address? Or shall I just keep it QT until I see if I can maintain it all??

Note to self - THINGS TO DO-

1. Find out how to make a photographic mosaic header
2. Think about what to 'blog' about
3. Try not to compare my effort to the AMAZING bloggers I already follow...

Hmm....not an easy to-do-list! Stay tuned.