The Mother Load that PMM would LOVE!

Do you read Potty Mouth Mama? She is one of my must-reads on a daily basis. You know who your must-reads are, they're the ones who you clear first from your bloglines when you have 200 posts looming to read. They're the ones that are like old friends, and they make you laugh and smile and cry.

PMM had a brilliant time during the hard rubbish collection in her area not too long ago. We were all tuning in eagerly waiting for the next haul in the covers of darkness. The expeditions were rarely fruitless, and only once did we cringe with her:

"This is where it gets exciting. So I'm checking out what I have scored. Old t-shirts (and y-fronts?!) still in their packaging. I was pretty excited about the prospect of vintage fabrics, so I went for the suitcase that was holding this treasure. The vintage fabric...? Well it was a pair of old man pjs. Poop. No - surely this is a bag full of treasure?! I delve further.. Hmph. Not the score I was dreaming of. Another pair of pjs. And you know what else?! An enema kit. Yes, that's right. An enema kit. No sewing paraphernalia. Just an enema kit. " - from Potty Mouth Mama post here

Rachel (mother of Miss M of the shoes and bib) recently saved an old suitcase from landfill for me. Her step-mum was decluttering, and getting rid of childhood items.


Inside I found a treasure-trove of delights in hankies (most soaking at the moment). Some are still in their original boxes. There are tins aplenty, a doll, leather driving gloves, books, sewing notions, all manner of great loot!


Consumption Rebellion came over yesterday and we sorted through it all, oo-ing and ahh-ing a lot. CR loved the driving gloves, but decided that she would need goggles to go with them... Maybe also a hat E!!??

Image from here.

Hankies galore!
Old Hoadley Chocolate box filled with hankies.

Tins galore! Two of them filled with hankies!


Driving gloves - soft leather and great buttons.


Lovely little doll with blinking eyes.


Lovely boxes filled with mint condition......


Hankies! Lovely Irish Linen in lots of pastel shades.

Old Golden Books - Annie Oakley and Ginger Meggs - brilliant!

More loot than I can use so: giveaway alert!

Miss 3 came in the other day from the car helping me carry in the shopping. She was confused why I fell about when she declared: "I carried the watermelon!" (Dirty Dancing, 1987).

To enter, please tell me your favourite movie quote!

And the winner is.....

Thanks to Random.org and the computer at work, the winner is TLK!

Please contact me to organise getting your parcel to you! Congratulations and thank you for all your support.

xx

Blogaversary and 300th post Giveaway!

Ok so I missed my own One Year Blogaversary... Relaxing at the beach and catching up with friends does that to me.

I can hardly believe that I who cannot keep a journal, I the queen of the UFO, has blogged regularly for ONE YEAR. Those who know me in person are perhaps picking themselves up off the floor in astonishment! I LOVE the bloggy/crafty world. The generosity, thoughtfulness, humour, sisterhood, support. Thanks to all who have popped in for a read (lurker!) and you fabulous peeps who have commented and encouraged me. Let me thank you with a celebratory giveaway!

I promise a giveaway to be proud of! There are oppy shoppy finds, vintage craft books, fabric bits, and maybe some handmade goodness from me!

To be in the draw, please leave a comment to this post, telling me your most memorable fashion moment from the 80s and/or 90s. This comes to mind having spent the weekend trawling through old boxes in storage, finding photos of hair, make-up and clothing that really should never have seen the light of day... Why don't your friends tell you when things look crap?!

Ah, fashion to talk about. The doyennes, Ms Bjork and Ms Cher.

I have had many a moment of the faux pas, from the white Ra-Ra skirt of the 80s with fluro yellow undies underneath, the white denim mini skirt in early 90s, and lots in between. Maybe you have photos of yours? Include a link to your blog and show me for a chance for a second entry into the draw for the hamper of goodness.

Time for an Iced Tea in this oppressive heat. Ah, it's good to be back!

J

Blog break

Health, blah, blah.

See you soon though - blogaversary coming up! You know that means a-giveaway a-coming!

j

Yesterday was ridiculously busy. I was up with the birds (before the kids!) making and baking for the school fair. I blew up the food processor making the five minute orange cake, (not good to see smoke coming from an appliance and not act on it...), made more gingerbread people (kids ate the whole first batch while they were cooling), finished off button necklaces, and a scarf, and loaded the car with toys and books and headed to the school.

The day was wonderful and the school raised over $20,000. However I got home too pooped for Bloglines and forgot to post the winner of the giveaway!!!

Master 6 is in love with random.org and has been creating lists and lists of random numbers all morning. Aspergers' kids generally do love numbers, and he is certainly typical of the condition!

Anyway, here goes: Drum-roll.....

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

6 14

Congratulations Katie - please email me your details on
jess2jamesATyahooDOTcomDOTau so I can send you the sewing
stuff!

Congratulations also Bellgirl - please also email me your
details so I can send you the house.

The recipes are:

Toss baby spinach leaves and baby rocket together (or for the easy
option, buy it premixed),
Add some chopped up feta, cucumber and capsicum.
Then throw a small tub of sundried tomatoes and olives in with the
juice to dress it.

YUM! Easy and delicious.

#2 was a reminder of my dear, dear friend Wendy in Melbourne, who
always has a packet of Changs fried noodles on hand.

This is a Zingy Spinach Salad

Ingredients

1 bunch of spinach
1 packet of Changs Fried Noodles
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 packet slivered almonds or pine nuts – toasted

SAUCE
½ cup raw sugar
¼ cup vinegar
¼ Cup Fountain garlic soy sauce
¾ Cup salad oil
Boil sauce ingredients and cool.  Add salad oil and refrigerate.

METHOD
To finely chopped spinach , one hour before serving, add toasted
nuts and sauce.
Mix through (this is easier to do with your hands) – sprinkle
noodles on top.

Serve- YUM!

Thank you to all who entered - thirty of you came out of the
woodwork to share some recipes.  I would love to email you all
a copy of the complete recipes - email me on the above if you
are interested!

j


.

What's for Dinner??

Check here for some recipes, and while you are there, enter my giveaway, due to be drawn this weekend!

Sewing stuff OR Vintage Fisher Price?!

Or enter two recipes and go in the draw for one of each!

Happy Blogtoberfest lovelies!

j

Blogtoberfest giveaway reminder

If you haven't yet entered my little giveaway, please do so!

There are lots of yummy salads for you to try!

It's quite a Summer of Salads - maybe I can put together a little book when all entries are in!

j

Blogtoberfest Bloggerific Blog-away

Who needs an excuse for a giveaway?

(250 posts
Blogtoberfest
Spring
De-stash day
Need to buy chocolate
Feeling like it
Blah blah blah)

Not me!

Just to get any lurkers out of the woodwork, thought I'd offer up a choice of:

a box of some sewing what-nots, buttons, trims, fabric, patterns, books, vintage linen etc

OR

a vintage Fisher Price dollhouse (only accessory is car in garage) - photos at the end of the post -

to a person who can share the tastiest salad recipe! Either link to a post in the comments, or tell us the ingredients! Strange way to win a giveaway? Yes, but I like that you have to work for it! Don't forget to tell me which pressie you want!

Not limited to Aussies, anyone can join in, postage schmostage! Will be drawn later in the month - let's say the Twenty-fifth - good a date as any!

Lots of other giveaways listed with the Blogtoberfest office here.

j







It's just so damn cute.....

j

May I have the Envelope Please?!

I am old-fASHIONED. There are random number generators, and there are 66 scraps of paper in a bucket...

This old dog needs no new tricks, so the random piece of paper pulled out of the bucket by the under-age helper, was......

Ali!!

Please contact me to arrange delivery of your parcel, which I will take pics of and post once posted (!?!), ok, mailed.

Thanks for all the comments. I encourage the reading of them! They are most entertaining.

Ali's first concert was Johnny Farnham

Photo courtesy poparchives.com.au

and her first album was Crowded House's first album. This was quite popular. What an Aussie rock chick ;-P

Photo courtesy rateyourmusic.com

Back to regular posting, now that blogger is happy to upload photos again. Yay!

j

Going, going, gone!

The moved happened, the phone is yet to go on, the computer is still in a box (maybe befriending the as yet unseen mobile phone charger...?!). We are hoping that the internet gets connected this week, and I am missing my technology!

At least the knitting made it in one piece though!

This weekend is the Craft and Quilt expo in Canberra. I am VERY excited. Very.

Will you be there?

The competition is still going for the giveaway, so keep going! It's been so entertaining! Have a read and a chuckle. Lots of INXS fans, lots of Julia fans, lots of confessions! Loving it.

Hopefully some photos soon - it's been a while! I will show you the giveaway goodies too!

J

A Little Giveaway...

I realised this morning, that very soon I will be reaching the 200 post-mark. Let's celebrate with a giveaway!

It's a giveaway of things I love, that I want to share with you...

YARN
VINTAGE PILLOWCASES
FABRIC PIECES
OPPY FINDS
CHOCOLATE
APRON
BUTTONS!

You will be considered entered if you comment on this post. Easy. Just to amuse me, in the style of Julia Zemira on Rockwiz, tell me either the first album you bought, or the first concert you went to!

Yours cannot be more embarrassing than mine. Trust me. Although the first album I bought with my own money was Rickie Lee Jones, a cassette from Brashs, which I am quite happy with, the concert some years later, was NOT Uncanny X-Men at the Nunawading Skate Ranch, as I like to think, but Bros (this is a youtube link I didn't want to embed!). At the Tennis Centre. There, I said it. Too awful.

I am happy to post to warmer areas, so this is not limited to Aussie readers!

Just wanting to share some lovelies. This will be drawn once we have moved house, so you have a week to rummage through the old brain and make me laugh or kow-tow in awe of your brilliant taste!

J

Tour de France - c'est fini!

I did it. It's wonky, it's dodgy, it looks little like the pic, but it's done. Miss 2 declares "No, no like it" and refuses to wear it. Shocking photo - but it's the best of 14!

Piggle complete, a project finished! (a novelty for me), house almost packed, mood calm.

There's snow on the hills, ice on the car, and all's well.

How are you?

Back soon, with news of a little giveaway...

J

Ms Curly makes me twirly and whirly!

Ms Curlypops recently had a naming competition, in which Miss 2 was awarded a consolation prize! To our extreme delight, a parcel came today from Curly land, containing THREE packages!

Both the kids pounced on their beautifully made, fully lined drawstring bags, ("awesome - dinosaurs and on the in as well!" exclaimed the boy child). Upon discovering they contained chocolates ("even better" said Master 6).


Miss 2 has placed hers in her handbag collection, and keeps looking inside and giggling!

I was so touched that both kids had received something! Thank you!

Then I opened mine. THE most beautiful, fully reversible apron (why don't you have an etsy store Cam?!)


Everything from the fabrics, the binding, the stitching, and the chocolate in the pocket! (Maybe it's a chocket?!) It's just beautiful, and screams ME!

Thanks! Our first pressie from the blogging fairies!! Must enter more competitions!!

j

Results of Swap/giveaway

I had a few respondents to the swap, and I think there are some of us up for a swap of pre-loved craft and sewing stuff.

I'll put the names together, and be in touch.

I have made a controversial decision though regarding the giveaway. I've kinda rigged it, as a woman in the community runs a craft group for young mums (like 12-20 kind of young) to connect them to others, make them feel like they are productive, and they are socialising, and learning skills, and she needs resources.

I gave her a box full of fabric, threads, books, patterns, etc, in the hope that these will be useful, and then kinda remembered I had said I'd send them to YOU....

Is this OK???!! I can rustle up some more if you are really put out but I kinda thought you'd understand...

:-)

j

And The Winner Is.......!!

100th post giveaway has been drawn from the lovely entries -

In the interests of fairness and friendly outcomes, I put the names in a hat (had to cast off and sew it up first!! - new beret -).

And here is the winner:

Bells!!!

Email me please Bells and tell me where to post your goodies - thanks for your entry.

So many good blogs came out of the woodwork - thanks for sharing.




.

And the winner is...!

Drumroll...

Thanks to all the eager bloggers who entered a comment for the wallpaper stash giveaway, namely:

janet
stephanie
kyla
curlypops
sherrin
orangeyoulucky
birdbath
leni&rose
and
kitty

I am thrilled that people are out there reading my ramblings - you lurkers really should comment you know!

Mr Button Beauty helped me draw this for impartiality.....

Sherrin

I hope you post your creations so I can see!

X