Please, may I boast?

 At the tender age of 14 my niece, Meggie-Mu (recently signed by Vivien's no less, and first introduced to you HERE) has done her first ever photo shoot. This is one of the photos selected for a Canadian publication. I am so proud of the maturity she has displayed in achieving this.

Her younger sister is equally as beautiful.

If you need a reminder of me; here it is...

 

No wonder I'm proud! I call them my 'Glamourzons'.
So much like their aunt, really. LOL!

x KL 

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General update!

Sorry for the infrequent posts, life here has been so busy lately!

We have just returned from an extra long weekend in Tallebudgera Valley, Queensland where we celebrated my gorgeous sister-in-law and wonderful friend's 50th birthday.

I loved the card above so much I snapped a pic. It pretty much sums up the weekend perfectly!

Of course all this partying means little progress here but just to prove we're not totally idle, I can show you a wee development. (LOL!) The Geberit buttons on our in-cavity toilet cisterns were so in-your-face big and shiny that they drove me nuts. And who wants to make a toilet push-plate a feature? Complete with God knows what fingerprints!

 Definitely not me!

 So these more tasteful buttons were installed today. At $1064.80 for four (Thank God for trade prices), they were a big investment but I'm much happier with them.

 

 

 What do you think?

I've been missing all your news too. Looking forward to a glass (or two) of wine and popping in to see your updates now I'm back and my Mount Everest of washing is under control!

x KL 

 Thank you for stopping by my blog. You are very welcome and encouraged to comment. I love receiving feedback! I also love watching a new pretty picture box added to my followers - would love you to join me so I can get to know you too!

Shopping again....but this time it's business!

Quirky 'roll-out' drainer mat sits over under mount sink.

I've been busy shopping again, but this time for clients. Everything needs to be selected for the Terrigal Project from sinks, tiles and light fixtures to roofing, soft furnishings and paint colours. (And a kazillion other things too!) For the past two days I've been focusing on the P.C items. There are always new products to be found and tried and true favourites to revisit.

I'm always impressed by the quality / style of Franke and Oliveri sinks who also seem to have a reasonable price point. I love these two examples of 'rounded' square designs because they are easy to clean and maintain. Practicality is always a top priority, particularly when the clients are a time poor professional couple with a young family.

A well laid out showroom always makes selection easier however I was surprised to find that in all but one bathroom display showroom that I visited, there were no sales persons available. Not busy with someone else. Not at lunch. Just not there. For the day. 

The plumbing supplies boys were helpful, (a few were impressive even) and could take my list for quotation but how very disappointing if you've got questions or need advice. I'm still extrapolating what this might mean fiscally and regarding the economy....

I particularly liked being able to 'play' with some of the products that were plumbed for use. Water flow, spray patterns and water reach were easily understood.

Our previous building clients have either provided their own personally sourced vanities or we have had them custom made within the joinery component of the building allowance. I have not shopped for redi-made vanities before and OMG! What an eye opening, jaw dropping experience this was! They are soooooooo expensive and the cheapies are just plain ugly! The best I found was the simple one pictured above. It comes in the sizes I need; 750, 900 and 1200 mm, can be wall hung, skirted or supplied with chrome legs. Straight from China of course (I need to do more research re quality)  but with a nice modern look, reverse mitre finger pull drawers and as the 1200mm wide unit was $499 R.R; (I should get these babies with trade pricing and negotiating my toosh off, for much less!) they're a immediate contender.

ADDED NOTE: 3/3/12

 I received the formal quotation from this supplier and prices didn't match the ticketed in-store items. On further enquiry it was discovered that the prices were incorrect. Drastically so. The seller was very appologetic and grateful that I had made her aware of the error. Sorry if I gave anyone else a bum steer!

Of course, with all this busy-beeing I failed to post a Happy Valentine's Day message to you all. Hope I'm forgiven and that your day was filled with lots of love as it should be. My darling children + the  residing boyfriend received a very quickly hand drawn card and sweetie treat and Hubby got the card below:

David's Valentine 'bah, hum-bug' attitude was resurrected with another annual soap-box performance. The day, according to him, is for young lovers who are either trying to bed or wed the object of their affections. Us old married cronies have no right to participate or waste precious money, energy or passion on this commercial trick. Excuse me?????

So.... this is where I booked, we dined and he paid, on Tuesday night. A sweet, romantic, seafood water front restaurant. Perfect! LOL!

And who knew that garden clippings could look so good? Murraya (Orange Jessamine, Mock Orange) branches, palm fronds and seed pods. I'll be reproducing this one at home!

x KL

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Run, don't walk my friends!

Peter's of Kensington

 Nothing more to be said really...

x KL

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Isn't Sunday a 'Day of Rest' ? I must be wicked...

In order to gyprock the three remaining rooms upstairs we needed to shift the many storage boxes that have been residing there (quite comfortably) for two years. My other half decided (quite sensibly) that rather than simply shifting, we should open, cull and downsize our stored matter. 

My first 'sealed' box was quickly sobbed over and instantly repackaged 'as -is'. 22 year old velvet, lace and silk baby dresses are not on my cull list. No. Not. Ever.
(as an aside I must mention that my ex-mother-in-law's hand made velvet creation is my most sentimental possession ever. Thank you Edith.)

Compromises did need to be made though so my magazine collection, that has broken many a removalist's back, was a key target. I quickly calculated $4 000 + of magazine expenditure being thrown away.... Eeeek!

The prospective WIR looks a bit better though...

As does the main bedroom en suite!

The main bedroom still needs more clearing out before gyprock and I'm running out of storage space!

The Playroom (above) is being a storage host, as is J's bedroom below!

 There were some funny surprises in the sorting....

WTF? Despite the mould, they were C.F.M. shoes in their day! Why did I keep them?  Letting go of the past....umm.....  it's definitely time!

Anyone need 'hairy-hat' lanterns; Bali style? Thank God for E-bay!

This is the 'throw-away' pile, humongous analogue T.V.s must be the 'dinosaurs' of this generation.
Any hoo...better get back to it.... still need to tackle the lounge and dining room areas!

x KL 

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There were lots of highs to this adventure!

The school birthday parties have begun! Today J went to the Treetops Adventure Park in Wyong Creek to celebrate a school mate's 9th birthday and what a great day they had! Although wet and muddy, the rain held off for us perfectly!

There were a few tears at the start from some of the more timid children but by the end of the three courses all were racing through without any fear.

 They all loved the flying fox!

J had only one major slip on a suspension bridge and once he realised he couldn't fall to the ground (all participants are harnessed to a safety wire), he gained more confidence and flew through the challenges. 

There is an adults course too but I don't think you'd get me even on the kid's one! They all loved it though and I'd thoroughly recommend it for a birthday celebration. I'm guaranteed that J will sleep well tonight too!

A storm is rumbling out to sea at the moment and the rain has set in again! Maybe I should ask David to get started on that Ark?

x KL

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What did you do today? We were Home & Away!

Palm Beach Wharf

J had a school staff development day today so a couple of girlfriends and I decided to make good use of a rare fine day and took the children to Palm Beach on the Ettalong Ferry. Driving there would take us over two hours but this way we were there in 20 minutes. Yay!

Lion Island

 Whilst the children took in the sights, I told my friends of my dramatic 'getting there' story. It involved a petrol station taking 20 minutes to replay their security cameras to verify that I did not receive my moolah in a $100 'cash-out' transaction. This is after said transaction in which I left, drove to destination, realised my cash-less state, returned and was made to feel like a just released con artist from Silverwater Correctional Centre. The money was ultimately thrown at me without apology and then I sped to the wharf with 30 seconds to ferry departure spare! (To find that the organiser had misread the timetable and we had another half hour to wait!) Whew!!!! Time to catch my breath!

The most exciting part of our trip there was hearing the children's squeals at seeing the fictitious Summer Bay from local television drama 'Home and Away'. One of my girlfriend's husband has a minor role on the show and Davo is a huge fan (of the show, not the husband, though they are friends. LOL!) so J took a gazillion snaps for Daddy.

THE Summer Bay Diner!

Summer Bay Light House!

Fish and chips fed the hungry tribe (oysters, calamari and smoked salmon too!) and hand feeding the sea gulls delighted J. Simple things are often the surprising hits of a day aren't they?

The adults discussed the merits of the local architectural styles on display. Modern verses Coastal? The jury remains out on this one still...

The trip home was wet and stormy (including very loud claps of thunder) and huge swells that resulted in many shrieks (my god, little girls are LOUD!) and laughter from all the children who declared the wild ride was the best one E.V.E.R.!

Rear ceiling speakers

 Whilst we were having fun, some small progress was being made at home with the installation of surround-sound speakers in the family room. They were bought over 12 months ago and now have discoloured edges which David assures me will be able to be painted white successfully.

 One of the front speakers was installed before this exciting step forward was rudely interrupted by....none other than the 'Home and Away' programme. Damn! Hope it's not another 12 months before the right and centre speakers are actioned! 

Another job half finished. 

You've gotta laugh!!!!

x KL 

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Why am I in the dark with lighting?

Assisting with the planning and implementation of ideas for someone else's renovation has made me want to see some progress here. I thought that if I finished the downstairs rooms, one at a time rather than tackling the enormous upstairs area, I might make some quick progress. (Visually at least!)

Starting with the main bathroom, I needs a custom vanity (I already have the 2x sinks and tap ware), a mirror wall and two wall sconces. Easy Peasy eh?

 I measured and sketched, then Davo got involved and he re-measured and then I re-sketched (LOL!) how the 'floating' vanity was to be constructed. Off I went to our joiner and....he's closed down!!! Now I need to find someone new, get quotes, etc...Grrrr.

OK, not to be thwarted (mirror can't be actioned till after vanity installed), I thought I'd purchase the wall sconces for either side of the heated towel rails.

This is what I chose:

Ordered, brought home and Eeeek! they looked really wrong in the room! Back they went and now I've ordered these:

And of course they were 4 x the price! Not feeling too confident if truth be told!
And the major bummer with all this? Still not one room finished!

 

 Couldn't even be bothered with tidying up the mess that the temporary arrangement is in so I've returned to my Mantra (or a variance) yet again.....

x KL

Thank you for stopping by my blog. You are very welcome and encouraged to comment. I love receiving feedback! I also love watching a new pretty picture box added to my followers - would love you to join me so I can get to know you too!