some lamps and some sweet roses too...

Hi girls, gee time flies!  Well apart from finishing the ceiling light and a bedside table lamp for a customer for her soon to be newborn baby girl....

ceiling light

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bedside lamp with pink crystal hearts and clay roses.. both to match the bedding I showed you in my previous post.

I am still concentrating on my garden and really making the most of the lovely autumn weather we've been having. Last week hubby and I finished our rockery but it's still quite messy as we had to install underground drainage pipes to solve our flooding problem at the front of the house. I'll show you pics soon of what we're up to...

but I thought I'd show you a few of the bare root roses I ordered online (about 15) and can't wait to get them in May or June..

pierre de ronsard

cloris

homere...this would have to be my favorite!

la france

lombarde

golden fairytale

home and garden

octavious weld

and while I was at it I thought I'd get some clematis, after watching an episode of Gardeners world where this lady had over 200 of them.. I got 5..can't wait to get these too!

 I will be plenty busy planting these when I get this lot but it will give me something to look forward to in the winter months instead of just the cold weather and I really can't wait for it all to come alive come spring!!

take care, Maryann

more sewing.. tilda fabrics nursery set...

Here are some pics of what I've been sewing lately... a custom made order for some baby bedding.

Most of the fabrics we picked are by Tilda plus a few others mixed in.

                                                               patchwork heart cushion

      train cushion, yes this is for a little girl as my lovely client (and hubby) wanted a few train accents in the room!

                               bought cot and cradle sheets to which I added some matching trim

craddle quilt

raggy ruffle cot quilt

this week I am working on a couple of lamps to finish it all off... will show pics when they're done..

I am really looking forward to next week. Hubby has a week off and we will be tackling the final stage of our rockery. We have already done one side and the front. We now need to do the side of the house that doesn't really get seen much, which is a shame as the garden is just lovely there with a winding path from front to back. We will be finishing that off too by adding crushed rock and hopefully if there is enough time we will be putting up something that I have wanted since forever! A GREENHOUSE! 

So, I'll keep you posted on that too... can't wait!

take care girls... Maryann

tradition...

Do you have a tradition in your family? Whether it's something grand or something very simple (like mine) I think it's great when you follow a tradition that is a part of who you are.

Well like I said mine is very simple. For nearly 35 years now, come Easter time, I have been making these 'figolli' (Maltese Easter biscuits) give or take a couple of times. I was so close to not making them this year as I have been very busy .....

but I realised that what is the point of living our lives and everything we do if we can't stop and celebrate who we are and our family traditions!

I know I'm only talking about biscuits here, but I make quite a few and hand them out to family and on the occassion I don't make them I am always asked ..did you make figolli this year? and I ALWAYS regret not making them...

I made about 19 of these plate sized bikkies..

and took the better part of 2 days to make as I bake on one day and ice them the next...

Unfortunately the decoration could have been better but they do taste great. A vanilla biscuit top and bottom with an almond filling.. I even blanched the almonds and made the meal myself. A first for me. Everyone was delighted come Easter day and made it all soo worthwhile!!

take care, Maryann

bulbs and roses...

Hi girls, sure has been a while since my last post. Well Autumn is here and we have been having some lovely hot summer days. Suppose it's making up for all the wet dreary weather we had in Summer!! Sheesh.. talk about confusing.

Anyhow,  apart from my sewing which I will update you in another post, my mind has really been on my garden. I am soo loving it right now. Sometimes when I'm weeding or planting I get glimpses of my garden from different angles and think 'yes, it's coming along nicely' or 'that would make a pretty picture' ....

So instead of thinking about winter, I am already thinking of next spring (which is like 6 months away) and for some reason it had never dawned on me till the other day that in the 11 years I have lived here, I had never planted any bulbs. How can that be? I already have some daffodils and jonquills  (paper whites) planted from the previous owner, but never thought of adding more.

So I soon changed that. I went online and purchased an array of colours of all different bulbs.

I also have a thing going on at the moment for old fashioned roses ..which I absolutely love. I already have a few but nowhere near enough. Eventually I want to have roses everywhere in all shapes and sizes...

it will be hard to pick from all of these ...

I am also obsessed with this new gardening show (well new to me as they are only showing it now in Australia) from the UK called 'gardeners' world' and would have to be one of the best gardening shows I've watched.
Well Easter is only a few days away. Tomorrow I will be making "figolli" which is a traditional Maltese biscuit, something like a massive cookie in the shape of a rabbit or fish or something else, with a vanilla biscuit and almond filling, then decorated with icing.  If they turn out nice enough I  might even show you.

 So, wishing you all a happy Easter, take care, Maryann

new year resolution & my dressing table finished...

Every new year I make some sort of new year's resolution.. and not long after it's totally forgotten about.

So this year I'm still making a new year's resolution and I'm going to try my damn hardest to stick to it!

So what is it? you may ask.. well it's actually something I read on Houzz.com
....... to follow your heart.... not trends, when it comes to decorating.

So this year I'm not going to waste time worrying if this style goes with that style.. or if this goes with that etc...etc...etc...!  Nope, THIS year if I like it...and it MAKES ME SMILE ... then it's good enough for me!

and THAT is why I ended up painting my dressing table pink! I followed my heart and I'm so glad I did...

I added the applique's either side and painted them gold with a little white wash over the top to match the handles (which I think I've put on upside down!) I think gold and pink look so pretty together and gives it more of a grown up feel...

please excuse the reflection of my wardrobe.. we still have to put doors on that..

I had purchased this little silver set to resell but I think it's definately a keeper  now!

well that's it..not for everyone but I just love it and it's the first thing I see every morning.... this is just the start of my bedroom makeover so I'll post about it as I go as it may take a while.

take care, maryann

ps.. if you scroll down you'll see the before!

joining Kim at Savvy Southern Style for 'wow us wednesday'

and Cindy at My Romantic Home for 'show and tell friday'