Lavender & Twill : 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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Wednesday, November 19, 2014

༺ Mother & Daughter: In Prints ༻

This wasn’t supposed to be a regular thing, but… (=◠。◠=)”

She’s too cute not to take photos of, and then too cute not to share the photos taken. She’s so cute she even gets away posting outfit photos without any shoes on, or her hair done!

I love the little white flower print on Isabelle’s denim dress, and yes, she likes to twirl the skirt around when I put her in it. Full skirts are very popular with both girls in this household!

So are purses, shoes, and pretties for your hair and…. We have a lot of fun together.
♡｡ﾟ.(*♡´‿` 人´‿` ♡*)ﾟ♡ °・

Speaking of fun ~ I do so like the plaid fabric of this vintage maternity top. I generally tend to feel plaid is more of an autumn or winter print, and gingham is for spring and summer, but I just love this cute piece with the little bows and lace at the neck, so of course I’ll wear it anyway!

Isn’t it funny though how you can associate certain prints with certain seasons? I mean, there are some that just make sense ~ like a print with autumn leaves all over it ~ but I don’t know where I get the “Plaid = Autumn/Winter” and “Gingham = Spring/Summer” thing from.

Maybe it has to do with the strength of the pattern, or the saturation of the colors. Because a pastel plaid would definitely be a spring or summer thing!

What do you think about the “Plaid = Autumn/Winter” and “Gingham = Spring/Summer” fashion philosophy? Yay or nay? Maybe you can shed some light on this particular style “do/don’t” I appear to have picked up.

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻
Isabelle wears ~

Dainty Daisy Dress | Kmart, Current
Blue Peasant Top | Gifted
Strawberry Fields Purse | Nikki B’s, Milton

༺ ♡ ༻

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Friday, November 7, 2014

༺ Mother & Daughter: In Stripes ༻

I don’t know if I want to make this a ‘once-in-awhile’ feature, but just this one time at least I couldn’t resist snapping a few shots of my daughter Isabelle to share on the blog. It’s partly an ‘little girls’ outfit look, but mostly because, like all mothers, I happen to think my daughter is the cutest thing out there, and if I can’t resist her, how can anyone else? (≧ ω ≦) ~ ♡

Plus, we’re both in stripes, so you know… : P

I wanted to stick with a strictly casual vintage vibe for this outfit. It’s hard to resist the temptation to dress an outfit up ~ you know, add heels or a strand of pearls, but I felt like this was a good opportunity for a more comfortable, casual maternity look.

Let’s face it, there are some days where the thought of nylons, heels or belts is just beyond an expecting mother and you just want to be able to be comfortable as well as presentable! Hence my nautical themed 1950’s-ish look.

The jersey tunic is the star of this style, and combined with stretch denim capris has the ‘all day’ comfort factor that makes this outfit so wearable. Just because it’s simple and cozy doesn’t mean it can’t have a vintage flair though; I love how the navy and white stripes add interest and of course, the peter pan collar wins at all the things. I adore peter pan collars!

Add some cute boater-style canvas flats and an adorable daughter, and you are good to go… ꒰｡• ◡ –｡꒱

Don’t have an adorable daughter? Borrow someone else’s for the day ~ I’m sure they’d love the free babysitting, and you’ll look fabulous! {Haha, jokes you know!}

xox,

bonita

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Monday, November 3, 2014

༺ Pink Petal ༻

Spring style of pink and roses | Lavender & Twill

Maternity style in a reproduction 50's tea rose dress | Lavender & Twill

Baby bump at 26 weeks along | Lavender & Twill

Straw hat, lace, roses and pink gloves add a touch of vintage accent | Lavender & Twill

This fabulous 1950’s reproduction tea rose dress never fails to brighten my day with it’s perfect profusion of petals and pink fabric! I wore it to church this Sunday, and I’m so happy it still fits over the baby bump. Not many of my ‘regular’ dresses do any more, but that’s hardly surprising I suppose! (*◠。◠*)

What I am also loving are all the wonderful roses I have blooming in my garden at the moment. That’s why you are being treated with lots of different angles of my front yard ~ rose bushes included. (- ヮ •) ~ ❤

It also means I can wander out my front door whenever I choose and cut as many roses as I please to sprinkle throughout my house.

This makes me even more sure that I am a ‘flower’ gardener, and not a vegetable gardener…

So the story goes that for my birthday last year I was given a vegetable garden from my in-laws. They helped dig, build and plant the garden for me as well as supplying the vegetable plants.

My veggie patch looked so grand and well organized for a least a month or so, but then…

The weeds came!

This happened while I was away for two weeks in a row, so lo and behold, I come home to a veritable jungle.

Then I was saying “Okay, I need to weed the veggie patch” for about five weekends in a row, and well…. I gave up before I got there…. (#￣Д ￣#) *mega embarrassment*

A combination of having no idea how or where to start, plus having let it get so far away from me, meant I never really got into the veggie garden idea and discovered that I’m much better with bushes, trees or flowers.

Give me some secateurs and I’ll prune all the things, but weekly weeding is beyond me apparently. After all, you do only need to trim and shape maybe once or twice a year, so there is the whole time factor, not just “Weeds are scary!” (¬_¬)

So what are your favorite things to grow? Flowers, pot plants, herbs, plastic plants? A little bit of green is such a nice thing to have around I think…

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Pearl & Pink Bow Headband | Old, Woolworths
50’s Tea Rose Dress in Pink | eBay
Floppy Straw Lace Band Hat | Kmart, Current
Pink Summer Gloves | Vintage, Etsy
Lace Petticoat | Thrifted
Summer Straw Wedge | Old, Big W

༺ ♡ ༻

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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

༺ Sewing for the Home ༻

I thrifted this lovely 1967 Woman’s Weekly Home Sewing Decor Guide, and had to share by converting it to a .pdf. I personally love looking at these fantastic booklets, as I often learn some housekeeping trick or titbit that turns out to be quite useful. While this one is aimed at the home sewer, I hope there are some decor ideas in here for everyone. ♡

It has lots of instructions on how to sew just about everything you could possibly need for your house; everything that that can be sewn that is ~ and it also tells you how to make interesting window dressings like pelmets, valances and cornices.

I like these examples of window treatments ~ although I think that all that floral wallpaper in the photo on the right is a bit overpowering for me. (> . <)

The instructions for the table clothes seem simple, but with a nice variety of trimming styles from the normal square. I also like the thought of layering two clothes on a round table for more textural interest.

I love the color palette in all of the photos above ~ the soft pastel tones and ivory cream tints really seem to lighten and brighten the spaces, don’t they?

French Provincial mixed with a kind of Country Victorian look is one of my favorite decor styles, and I adore the feel of carefully crafted solid wooden furniture with brass or gold accents. I also like it if it looks a little worn and shabby, but as my husband is not so fond of that particular style, we try to meet in the middle!

There are of course, tons more inspiration pictures out there. Pinterest is a mecca of shabby chic! If you combine your favorite styles with this handy little guide, your own vintage inspired home decor and furnishings shall be easy to create ~ download it here. (✿◠‿◠)

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

༺ Cherry & Rose ༻

Blue jeans and baby doll dresses for a cute maternity look | Lavender & Twill

Fun mint nails with a spring touch of pink blossom nail art | Lavender & Twill

Rockabilly inspired with cherry print and scarlet | Lavender & Twill

This mint satchel purse is my new favourite handbag | Lavender & Twill

I love rocking a short baby doll dress when I’m pregnant ~ the empire waist, floaty skirt and shorter length {that I only wear with capris or jeans for modesty’s sake} are perfect for feeling feminine and cute when you are ‘increasing’ ~ as they used to say!

Actually, ‘increasing’ sums it up perfectly. I’m feeling rather large and well, larger{!} these days, and that makes it hard to do much in the way of taking photos.

But fun odds and ends like my new mint satchel purse, and matching mint nails with pink cherry blossom nail art are the very thing to give me a kick in the pants and snap a few shots.
・° ♡ ✿ ✿ ✿ ♡ ° ・

I’ve had my satchel for a while now, but still think of it as new because every time I pick it up to go out the door it makes me smile! I’ve been yearning after satchel styled handbags ever since they started to make a come back, so finally getting my hands on one ~ and in such a gorgeous color ~ only makes it that much nicer.

Funny how little things like that can make you so happy. What’s a sweet little thing that’s made you smile recently? (≧ ◡ ≦) ~ ♡

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Cherry Red Baby Doll Dress | Kmart, Current
Mint Satchel | Typo, Current
Blue Jeans | Kmart, Current
White Plimsolls | Woolworths, Old

༺ ♡ ༻

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Monday, December 22, 2014

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Friday, November 7, 2014

Monday, November 3, 2014

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Wednesday, October 22, 2014