Little Love for Friday or Saturday

This week I've been loving

how much good stuff is happening in Christchurch and how so much of it is about making connections. I think the silver lining of all the quakes down here has been the feeling of community it has created.

These amazing trains on every Sunday afternoon and so reasonable to go on (and perfect for celebrating boys who have turned 4!)

There is this new crafty awesome cafe

This cool clothing swap with a stylist that another Chch blogger highlighted to me

The Atlas spent some time last night joining in with volunteers who are creating a pallet pavillion

This amazing retro clothing evening coming up (which I happen to be MCing - whoot!!)

... and the rest

Sewing time

And my little boys who are all that AND a box of crackers!!

I'm also loving announcing my October giveaway winner - congratulations to Juliet Cameo Brooch coming  your way!!

Also if you've ever wondered what I sound like and the kind of stuff I talk about when I'm talking about my faith this is me - speaking about Belonging. Let me know if you have a listen :o)

I'll be launching my November giveaway this weekend too

Are you having time to relax and enjoy the Spring or is end-of-year-crazy getting in the way??

Make My Week #45 - The November Dress

So... I challenged myself to make a piece of clothing each month this year and this is the latest.

I made this from a 1950s reproduction Vogue Pattern that I had made once about 10 years ago.

This version looks so different but I guess that is the joy of how fabric can alter the entire look of a garment.

These photos were taken by the lovely Nin and feature the delightful Juliet. We were at the opening of The Make Cafe - a very exciting cafe which includes a fabric shop, classes and sewing machines you can hire by the hour in store.

I call it my road cone orange dress. Course it will mean I don't need to wear high vis when I bike the boys to school!

joining in with our creative spaces - click on the blue button down on the right.

Wardrobe Wednesday - Why Do You Dress the Way You Do?

I'm not sure I've ever been 'in fashion'. Certainly I've struggled and lost my way from time to time (hello spiral perm and braces at the same time!) I haven't always had a strong sense of what my style is. However I've had a few compliments this week (I do love a good compliment!!) that have made me think a lot about how other people perceive the way I dress.

Let's just start by saying that I don't usually dress like the average mummy in my circles - when someone is describing me to someone who doesn't know me but would have seen me around at school/church/other they describe me by the way I dress ....and then the person pretty much always knows who they are referring too.

As an aside I hang out with a lot of very stylish mama's it's just that I seem to have a unique approach to dressing.

This week 2 different people have said to me 'I love that you wear the things you love all the time. And you don't worry about what other people think.' It really stopped me in my tracks -certainly, I'm not always dressed exactly how I want to be - but it made me think are there people who are dressing in ways they don't like or not dressing the way they would like to?

and if they are, are they doing that because of other people???

I get that we have codes for dressing for work and events but are some of us dressing down for life or dressing more conservatively than we'd like because we feel we can't just have fun with our wardrobes??

Are there times you want to wear your red Dorothy shoes but you don't because other people will disapprove or do you look wistfully at them in the shop window but not buy them because you'll never wear them - even if you'd actually rather like to wear them every day?

The thing that constantly surprises me about the days I dress like I really want to is that although I get the 'I could never wear that' kind of comments from time to time usually I get overwhelmingly positive feedback. People seem to love that I see getting dressed as an occasion. When I turned up to school in my black jeans and a t-shirt the other day one of the dad's made a comment to me about it being out of character. Today someone opened the car window to tell me they loved my shoes.

My clothing does not make or define who I am but it says a lot about how I feel about life and that I have decided to try and dress up and celebrate every day. All around us we observe the quickness and complexity of life. So, if not for yourself, then for the others you share the world with and for the ones who had too few days here to dress up for - let's dress up! :o)

I have a quote on my fridge that says, 'Life is too short not to have a little umbrella in your drink' but today I'm changing that to this:

Thanks for joining me on Wardrobe Wednesday, I so enjoy a peek into your closet and your thoughts. If you are on disqus and you haven't received a comment from me - apologies I find it seems to work for me some days and not others but I do promise I came and read and tried to comment xx Miriam xx

What holds you back from dressing however you'd like to??

My outfit:
Shirt - $ 5 Melbourne op shop tour
Chiffon Scarf - $3 Salvation Army Melbourne
Skirt - $50 on sale Catalyst NZ, about 9 years old
Brooch - had since I was a child
Earrings - Homemade
Shoes - No.1 shoe warehouse (I think $30 had them for about 6 years)
Jacket - $3 Matakana op-shop

Tune in tomorrow for my November dress

So what is Wardrobe Wednesday?

• It's a chance to take some time once a week to peel off the polar fleece trackies (I have a pair too!!) and put on something that gives you a chance to have a 'play' in your wardrobe, to make yourself feel pretty/ stylish/ like a woman. 
•  It's a time to celebrate and hopefully to embrace your body however you find it - post baby, young or old your body is lovely and functional and precious and I want this place to be a place for you to see other women (ordinary, beautiful women) who don't live in designer homes on designer budgets with designer bodies.

How to play?

1. Link in your specific blog post not just your general blog

2. Link to a post about clothes - that's what we're here for

3. Please add a link back here so other people can come over and see people's clothing posts too - the old fashioned way or grab a button

4. Be encouraging and visit people - leave a comment now and again too everyone loves to get encouragement

Here's the button copy and paste away

<center> <a href=" http://createhopeinspire.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/Wardrobe%20Wednesday"><img border="0" src="http://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o516/CreateHopeInspire/WWbutton.jpg" width="160" height="160"/></a></center> Thanks for your input and making Wardrobe Wednesday something I look forward to every week.

B.M.W.B #45 - In The Planning

I am an anticipator - I love to look forward to things, to know something exciting is around the corner. I feel like this every time I go to the mailbox and often when the phone rings too - I imagine something exciting waiting for me in there or some wonderful news on the other end.....perhaps it is a little odd after 34 years I still have this but hey it makes life exciting right??

The other day I was sent a link to this awesome post of Treena-Marie's where she outlines all the cool advent activities they do and I decided to pirate it for myself (with some changes to suit us and because I am too lazy to make a gingerbread house - just sayin!)

This is going to be a surprise for the boys but I also wanted to get them anticipating special things we can do together so when some of them happen they have that lovely 'It's just what I had thought about/wanted to do feeling'.

So today we just sat and chatted together about some fun things we had done over the last couple of years and also things they wanted to do. I took notes - I think that adds importance and makes them feel honoured and heard - nothing like seeing your brilliant idea written down in Mama's special notebook to make you feel good.

Do you include your children in planning or do you take them by surprise? I think there is room for both myself and if you have a child like me then just let them know a surprise is coming up and you'll be ticking both their boxes!!

This year I am making more of a conscious effort to have quality moments with my boys. B.M.W.B (becoming the mama I want to be)  is my way of recording and hopefully inspiring other mama’s too. 

Simple. Achievable. Intentional: becoming the mama I want to be.

I Love

Boys who have seen advent swap presents for them!! Oh the excitement - let's just say there are 2 boys really looking forward to December!!

Cupcakes with someone who is 4

Breakfast brunch with my sister - I love that I have the kind of sister where we can both cry talking about a lovely picture book one of us has never even read. Yeah - we're 'emotionally gifted'.

finding my boys on our bed reading their baby books before school one morning

Photos from the athletics day Daddy went to

Fabric bargains - marked down to $7 a metre - rung onto the til for $3.50m (so then I went back and got some polka dots as well)

Washing on the line - 3 loads, no line space left and no pegs...love those days

Pop over to Meghan's and fill your heart up with things to love too!

Make My Week # 44 - Black and White Houses

These are the latest in my little houses thing.

The larger one was for my sister's birthday and the other is just a play to see how it looks when  the colours are reversed.

I'm quite pleased with these.

Happy November!

Click onto the Creative Spaces button down on the right to see other people making fun stuff.

Today You Are 4

Dear Bounce

You are a delight to my heart. I couldn't be happier or more blessed to have you in this family. You are funny and you are a great entertainer.

This year you have grown up but you have also grown so many skills - you have been biking to school and kindy for a long time now. You are gaining swimming skills. You can write and read your name. You know my name is 'm then another letter then m'.

You laugh so much and it's the best sound in the world. You have a great sense of humor. You talk -all.the.time. There is a constant stream of gorgeous chatter that goes wherever you are. You love to be included in everything and you really, really don't like going to bed earlier than your brother.

You love to play 'the old house game' (where we pretend you are a baby and snuggle you up in a quilt) and the hiding in the washing basket game - for which I am given very specific instructions!

You like kindy but you've told me actually you'd rather just be home with me.

You are strong and you have awesome dance moves. Your 'daddy bear' is still almost permanently at your side at home and he often goes other places with us too - but we leave him in the car so he doesn't get lost.

You love machines with a passion and there are always so many to look at in Christchurch.

But most of all, just as you always have, you love your brother. So much so you don't want to have a special night at Ma n Pop's if it means being away from him. You include him in everything and often save special information and things to show him each day.

You are articulate and you are clever but you are also kind and supremely helpful. I can always rely on you to respond quickly when I ask you to do something for me. You like kisses, but just on the cheek at the moment, thanks. You are so huggly and you are always moving.

I love you little Bounce. I have loved the last 4 years together and I look forward to this very special year we have together at home before you start school.

You are a gift to my heart and to us all.

Happy Birthday baby boy. xxxxxx