Right now

Ok, this is the fourth attempt to write this post in as many weeks. Firstly, before I forget (and I reminded myself with this photo) THANK YOU all for your wonderful, kind, inspirational and nagging comments on my last post. They have most definitely helped me to get back here again ( I respond well to nagging but we'll ignore the fact that it has taken over eight weeks).

My last attempt at a " Right now" post dragged on over about four weeks and became completely confusing so it is sitting in drafts while I pretend it does not exist. This attempt is going to be done tonight and I am absolutely not going to fall asleep doing it.

Right now it has been almost a year since we moved back home after the renovation. There was a flurry of renovating activity back in Summer and then after Easter it stalled pretty much through all of winter. Now that we are coming out the other side of months of winter illness the motivation is coming back. Right now there are six completed rooms in the house, four that are half finished (undercoated) and another four that are untouched.

Right now, for the first time in as long as anybody can remember, my house is no longer blue. Yep, just yesterday, after seven long weeks of scaffolding and drop sheets and sanding and dust, a lovely painter finished giving Betsy her long awaited new frock. Here is a sneak peek, with some mulberries from my garden.

Right now we are all enjoying the beautiful spring weather and spring blooms.

Right now I am enjoying popping back to a few op shops ( there has been a bit of a hiatus there too) and finding some colour.

I love this pin case as it reminds me of the one my mum used when I was a little girl ( I think hers was the same but pale blue)

Right now these two curbside finds are lining up to get painted. The big one is a boot rack for the laundry, the small is going to transform into a stove for the sandpit.

Right now my girl is super excited to have won the prep prize for most bling'd up scooter on walk or ride to school day. We obviously know how to do good bling in this house.

Right now the kitchen art wall looks like this.

Well, look at that, an entire post written and I am still awake.  I very much hope to share some befores and afters of the last year but for now I am just thankful to be back, even if it is just in the moment of right now.

Vintage florals and Tropical fish

This is how we kept miss Liongirl happy at her brother's party. Her own little vintage sheet cubby house to host a tea party or two. Right next to the tap for an endless supply of cups of tea.

It's lucky our washing line ( or washing LION as miss Liongirl calls it) is the perfect size for an outdoor vintage floral cafe. A few pegs, a few sheets, a tablecloth and some pilfered cubby furniture. She even managed to lure a few unsuspecting boys in there mid party.

And what did Roboboy get for his birthday? The gift that keeps on giving? The one that he wanted even more than LEGO? ( To test his dedication to this particular present we told him the week before his birthday that he could either have this present OR lego.) He remained steadfast. So look what came home to Betsy's.

Yep, they would be tropical fish with their own miniature glow in the dark coral reef.  And you'll never believe where they have taken up residence. Remember the original curbside find?

We always thought that the top section had been designed for a fish tank. So we turfed out the top shelf lego and brought the old girl back to her glory days.

And the gift that goes on giving? Well let me just say that we have plans for the current fish obsession. Evil sneaky parent type plans. More on this soon.

I have had some lovely oppie finds lately but the light has been atrocious with all this rain so no decent photos except this one I forgot to share from ages ago. This little birdy houses all my safety pins in my sewing room. Like always it was the colours that lured me in.

For more thrifty finds pop over here.

On the side of the road today

Today was one of those days that cemented my belief in op shop karma. You know, that positive force whereby if you declutter and donate to worthy causes, the goodness just finds you. Liongirl and I took three bags of books and toys to her childcare centre today, for their baby room. Then we trotted off to a lovely playdate. On our way home via a suburb we don't normally travel through, council cleanup was in progress so I just did a little slow driving to scour those piles of stuff destined for the dump. And look what I found.  It has had an unfortunate spray-makeover but it works well and fits both my children. Would you believe I had actually been looking  for one on ebay for the last few months but these vintage trikes are like hens teeth and when they do come up they are either needing structural repairs or cost a fortune. I'm picturing it red with white wheel rims and seat but suggestions are welcome.

As I was happily zooming home, something caught my eye under a pile of detritus. Poking out the end with grotty mattresses and junk piled on top. Lucky I have beady little eyes and superhuman strength when excitable.

Can you believe that someone would just throw this out? Solid wood school desk for two? Very minor rust on the legs, a few nasty Bratz stickers to remove and some gorgeous wood to sand and oil. I think I just flung it in the boot with one hand. That superhuman strength and all. Legoman could not believe I lifted it by myself. Dammit. He will now expect lack of whinging next time we have to move the TV.
The kids were all over this like a rash. Roboboy likes to order and organize. Liongirl is happy to just fling it all in.

A quick clean, then inside. Work to do. Yes, I know that wall is STILL custard. Look away quickly.

Linking in with Sophie to peek at everyone else's finds. Still cannot believe this was the SIDE OF THE ROAD. Anyone else had a roadside find that generated superhuman strength?

New curbside find and garden colour

Look what was propped up on the side of the road on the way home from school the other day. Luckily I only had one child in the car at the time or I would have had to leave one of them on the footpath in order to get this baby home. Don't ask me which child, that can vary from day to day.  I thought for sure it would be wonky or broken or missing something structually important, but no, it's perfect except for being a bit grubby and needing sanding in a few spots. What really caught my eye was the beautiful rising sun pattern at the top and I can already imagine if stacked full of vintage sheets. I can't wait to get the paint out and give this a colourful makeover. See if you can guess which colour I'm leaning towards. I promise this makeover won't take anywhere near as long as my last curbside find.

Check out this gorgeous rose. Last year we started a new tradition of buying  a special tree for our garden using the excuse of a wedding anniversary. (There is also the longstanding tradition of a piece of art every year as well but that is a whole other post).

This year, I was a little uncertain about choosing another tree and so these gorgeous roses came home instead. While I love having functional trees that produce fruits to be eaten, I am equally fond of trees and plants that are just there to look decoratively gorgeous. So nice to have some more colour in the garden.

My bougainvilleas have all burst into bloom and the kids just keep picking little branches for me.

And miss Liongirl is still very happy with every dandelion she stumbles across.

Just not sure if she is going to puff this one or eat it.

No, I think she's worked it out. And if you are wondering why there is a derelict car in the back of this shot, that would be because we are geocaching of course, the cache was in the boot, or what was left of it.

Curbside reveal and a whole lotta pink

The start of the whole lotta pink this week was this glorious miniature crochet bouncinette found in a tub at the oppie for $1. Luckily within Miss Liongirls veritable family daycare of baby dolls, we had a baby just the right size and desperate for a bounce. While she was tending to the posse of dolls, who largely seem to be called "Baby", I snuck in to Roboboys room to take some snaps of the curbside find in all it's shiny white glory.

Remember this glorious piece of unwanted furniture snaffled by me from the curbside on the school run a few months ago?

Flipped around the other way and vigorously sanded. Nasty damp vinyl padded door coverings removed.

Well, take a look at it now, 4 coats of white paint and about 4 months later.

Roboboy loves it. So good for lego display which is frankly essential around these parts. He intermittently pesters me about getting a fish tank for up top which I think would be fantastic if I could trust him to actually keep them alive. We still need a knob for the door. I haven't yet found any funky boy suitable fabric to recover those padded doors but they have come up quite well just with the white paint.

And the other treasure this week was the remaining  factor responsible for the "whole lotta pink". This fine specimen of a tutu was $3 from the oppie and had never been worn. Liongirl wishes to make known that Spring fashion still includes beanies but gumboots are so last season and  gold flats are in.

Here she is attempting to indoctrinate one year old friends in her playgroup into the world of pink fashion.

Is everyone feeling all the Spring in the air?