Lavender & Twill : December 2014

Monday, December 22, 2014

༺ Lavender Lace ༻

I only have one vintage maternity dress {they are fairly rare and hard to find as you can imagine!} and this is it. It’s a little too big for me ~ particularly across the shoulders, but beggars can’t be choosers. Plus, it’s such a pretty dress. (✿◠‿◠)

I really love the lace work that creates a square neckline around the v-collar, and that the little lace bands on the skirt help draw the eye down past your belly. I think that this such a cleverly thought out detail that gives this dress a more ‘slim-lined’ feel. And every pregnant lady knows that slim in the latter stages of carrying a baby is definitely a bonus!

I almost wish I could wear it when I’m not pregnant, but at the same time it is nice to have some special clothes that make you feel pretty when when you are at such a… shall we say limited?… stage of style choices. (＾∇＾)

Mind you, as pretty as it is, wearing vintage does have it draw backs. I think I have resewn all the back seams of the bodice in this dress because the cotton was rotten with age, and would simply pop when I moved. I had the whole back of my sleeve come away at one point! The rest of the stitching does seem to be holding up now though, which is very nice.

I tend find seams pop in vintage clothing fairly frequently ~ mending your vintage dresses seems to go hand in hand with wearing them. So do you have an handy tips for mending, repairing or preventing tears in your vintage pieces? I’d love to hear all about them if you do. ❤

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

༺ Currently: Keep Swimming ༻

‘Currently’ posts are a little snapshot of the events that are occurring in my day-to-day life. These episodes feature photos from my Instagram, do come and say “Hi!” if you are around. Also, if you would like to participate in this feature yourself, please feel free! I’d love to read your posts, so don’t forget to leave a link. ♡

READING:

I can’t believe I am saying this, but ~ nothing. I have no books on the go, nor do I have any desire to read any right now. I think I must be sickening for something! (O . o)’

WONDERING:

How long it is going to take for life to settle down next year…

Between the crazy rush at the end of this year, then the new baby coming along almost directly afterwards, I am seriously questioning how on earth we are going to cope with the continual pace of “all the things” happening. With my last two babies, Theodore and Isabelle, it took about six months for life to settle down and really feel like we were finding our feet as a family with a new addition.

I’d love for that adjustment period to be shorter this time around, but I guess we will have to see.

FEELING THANKFUL:

That we have a real tree this year! I’ve been wanting one for the last four years and this year we actually have one. Yay!

EATING:

Blueberries. Blackberries. Raspberries. Strawberries. Cherries… I love berry and cherry season!! Incidentally, so do my children. Theodore and Isabelle adore berries, and so does the Mexican Jumping Bean! Whenever I eat blueberries, baby always starts kicking and wiggling ~ it’s so cute. (＾-＾) ~ ♡

Oh, and I’ve also been eating a lot of Danish Salami. Apparently that’s my craving this time around. Strange, but true!

WATCHING:

All Creatures Great and Small ~ a BBC tv show that aired from 1978 to 1990, and is on Netflix at the moment. It’s based on the series of books written by Alf Wight, who wrote under the pseudonym James Herriot. I adore the books and while I feel that the show misses a lot of the subtext that makes the books so enjoyable, there are definitely still some great moments that make the show worth watching as well.

WORKING ON:

Mexican Jumping Bean’s quilt! You heard right! I’m actually super excited for this project; I finished Isabelle’s blanket back in early November, and started MJB’s quilt on the 19th of November! So far I’ve done three sessions on it ~ twelve hours all up. I have cut the fabric, pieced and sewn the patchwork centre, added an inner boarder, an outer boarder, marked the quilting lines, and attached the backing {the softest, plushiest, pale butter minkie ~ no wadding ~ ever… So cuddly!}. That’s a lot of progress and it’s so exciting! (≧ ω ≦)

I might actually have a chance of finishing this one before the baby comes if I hop to it!

LOVING:

All the thunderstorms and rain we’ve been having. It’s keep this summer on the cooler side which I really appreciate. :3 Riding Copper ~ we’ve been having some good ones, and it’s wonderful. My new pearl charm bracelet. Cups of tea… Acres and acres of it. My new Surface Pro 3 ~ thank you very much darling! Fruit Mince Pies ~ our favourite Christmas snack. Pretty fabrics. Play dates. Oh, and best of all, new friends! ꒰｡• ◡ •｡꒱ ♡

ATTEMPTING:

To get through one day at a time so I don’t collapse.

We are far too busy, and it’s really tiring me out, but I am glad for every moment I have a chance to rest.

And in the wise words of Dory ~ “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, what do we do, we swim, swim, swim!”

WANTING:

To decorate our Christmas tree! We have it sitting in our hallway, and I really want to see it dressed up in pretty ornaments. ⁎*✧♡✧*⁎

DOING:

All. The. Things! Numerous social events through the week, Christmas shopping, Birthday present shopping, quilting, travelling to Sydney, hosting friends, taking the children to the dentist for their first checkups, and on and on… It never stops!

(‘Currently’ post inspired by Danielle of Sometimes Sweet’s feature and Kaelah of Little Chief Honeybee!)

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

༺ Sassy Pants ༻

This is what I wore to take my children to the dentist for their very first checkups. Then we had to hustle around for some Christmas shopping, spend some time at the post office, and well, just generally bustle about.

Sometimes I feel that as an expecting mother, I shouldn’t be running around in heels and red lipstick. After all, I have one large bump and two little ones in tow. Somehow it just doesn’t feel like I *should* be wearing an outfit like that. Then I put on my sassy pants and trot it out anyway. Vintage style is always elegant, no matter what you look like!

But I must confess, even though these shoes look great with this outfit, they really weren’t the best choice for all that running about…

Oops! Ever done that before?

It’s like “Ooooh! My feet are killing me - (> O <)’… Aren’t these shoes fabulous though??”

Haha! (=´ ‿ `=)

To be completely honest, I tend to go for a medium heel a lot more frequently these days, and my flats collection is steadily growing larger and larger. I guess I just don’t have many places to wear super high heels too, so they’ve sort of fallen by the wayside in terms of placement in my shoe collection.

My collection is about 40% flat, 30% medium heel and 20% high heel ~ and I probably shouldn’t say how many pairs I have….

Oh, all right….

You’ve convinced me.

The count is currently at 47 pairs. This doesn’t include specialty pairs like snowboarding boots, riding boots, soccer shoes, etc.

But I love them all! ♥ ♥ ♥ Heehee….

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

༺ Bookshelf Challenge ༻

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I’ll keep this short and sweet. Kristin from Sew Technicolor answered this interesting book-related tag on her blog, and {needless to say as you probably already know, but any who…} I love books! So here I am, and here it is ~ the Bookshelf Challenge.

Lavender-Bunch
1. Is there a book that you really want to read but haven't because you know that it will make you cry?

No. There are movies I am told will “definitely make you cry!! You shouldn’t go see it in the cinema!” Haha! So I haven’t seen the latest “Les Misérables” movie because: all the tears. The book, however, I am about one third of the way through. I will read it all, but it is taking me a while as I keep putting it down and getting distracted. (*≧ω≦)

2. Pick one book that helped introduce you to a new genre.

Hmmm… That IS a good question. I’d say “Last of The Breed” by Louis L’Amour. That book introduced me to my favourite western novel author which was definitely a new genre for me at the time. I think I was maybe fifteen when I first read it?

3. Find a book that you want to re-read.

Is this supposed to be hard? …… (๑￫ . ￩)

Well, I suppose it is hard to pick just one!

You see, I am a massive re-reader. If I love a book, I commit to it like I’m in a long term relationship. ❤ It’s on my shelf forever, and I will always come back and re-read it at some point. Some of my favourite books I’ve re-read over ten or fifteen times, and my super favourites? Well, I read them so much they’ll start falling apart at the seams ~ literally!

Right now, I’m probably in the mood to re-read J.R. Tolkein’s “The Lord of The Rings” Trilogy.

4. Is there a book series you read but wish you hadn't?

Maybe not a whole series, because if I don’t like too much of any part of a series I won’t read it anymore. But there are plenty of books I wish I hadn’t read. And I really can’t remember any titles because I’ve tried my best to forget all about them…. (¬_¬)

5. If your house were burning down and all of your family and pets were safe, which book would you go back inside to save?

Ahhhh! This reminds me of the scene from “Inkheart” where they are pulling books out of a personal library and burning them… I was practically in tears along with the main character. It was just so tragic!

But I’d have to say my Bible. It’s the most important book in my life, and along with a lot of personal notes that I have in it, I know that I’d want to have the reassurance that only comes from hearing God speak through His Word after such a life changing ~ although metaphorical{!} ~ event.

6. Is there one book on your bookshelf that brings back fond memories?

Again, only one?

Let’s see….

I think my collection of Award Pony Books. There are six titles, and my Mom and Dad gave me the first four when I was eight or nine for high achievements in my schooling. I still remember unwrapping these books at our local park in Armadale; it was autumn and the poplars where scattering golden leaves everywhere.

I also remember I had to go play at the park rather than starting to read the books there and then! As far as I know, these where the first books I’d been given for my own, although we had plenty to share on the family book shelves. Or maybe it was just the fact that it was such a special occasion. I don’t know, but I do remember these as my first gift of books. (✿◠‿◠)

7. Find a book that has inspired you the most.

Fiction or non-fiction? This is an important distinction, because non-fiction is easy ~ The Holy Bible.

Fiction, now that’s a trickier beast. There are quite a few books that inspire me, and I love each one for different reasons… I’ll pick “And Love Forever New” by Dorothy Black though because of this amazing quote:

“And then, because Jacqueline was staunch and truehearted and young enough to be an idealist even if she hardly knew the word – she set up one of the voiceless cries from the heart with are the realest prayers the human heart ever utters…

…having already learned the first, the foundation lesson of loving…

‘Teach me Lord
To give and not count the cost
To fight and not heed the wounds
To toil and not ask for rest
To labour and not to ask reward’

Her fresh lips murmured the words half-aloud.”

What thoughts about love and life! It’s a constant inspiration to me.

8. Do you have any autographed books?

No, sadly. My own book doesn’t count right?? ԅ(≖‿≖ ԅ)…. Heheh.

9. Find the book that you have owned the longest.

That would be the ones I mentioned above ~ the Award Pony Books.

10. Is there a book by an author that you never imagined that you would read or enjoy?

“The Host” by Stephanie Meyer.

This one was a huge surprise to me. I never thought I would like this book at. all. But it’s really, really good! In fact, it’s become one of my favourite books.

“The Host” is one of the special books that it is really good to have an open mind toward before you decide you don’t like it. You can watch the movie on Netflix if you want a taste before you dive in ~ but believe me when I say the book is far better than the movie!

I hope you enjoyed this little Q&A, and of course, I tag anyone else who would like to play along. I would really like to hear about the books that have inspired you, or that you didn’t like, or even those that made you cry… ╮( ＾-＾)╭ I might just find a new favourite!

So please leave links to your posts in the comments down below and I’ll try to read all of your answers to this fun challenge. Or you can just tell me straight out ~ that’s good too.

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

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Pages

Monday, December 22, 2014

༺ Lavender Lace ༻

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

༺ Currently: Keep Swimming ༻

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

༺ Sassy Pants ༻

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

༺ Bookshelf Challenge ༻