About a month ago, I realised my little blog would soon turn one. Today. Today this little space where my thoughts spill out onto the keys either poetically, clunkily, or somewhere in between, turns one.
I wanted to let a post flow freely about how blogging has affected my everyday, what I've learned, what I've gained, what I've lost. I've had a big day, I'm so tired. I'm solo parenting, just for a few days, but boy do I miss him when he's not here. So that post can wait.
{As with Eliot's room tour, I must preface this post by saying these photos were taken months ago too, and the quality is below par. And just to make them look even worse, I have added some of Tim's photos (images 1, 3, 4, 5, 11, 17).}
Seeing these photos again makes me feel a little nostalgic now that Cole's room is no longer, and he is sharing a room with his sister. Ruby had been asking to share with him for a while, and then Cole started getting out of bed in the wee hours, coming down to creep in beside me. Then Ruby started doing the same, for the first time since we brought Cole home from hospital. We thought perhaps putting them in together with settle both of them. It worked instantly for Ruby, it took Cole a week or two and then he settled really well.
As with Eliot's room, again, I just tried to furnish the room using what we already had, or for as little cost as possible. I do enjoy a little project, picking something up cheaply and giving it a sand and a coat of paint to bring it back to life, or just tweaking it a little to suit our needs.
:: Hardwood bed, bought on ebay for $80.
:: 3 tier wooden garage we gave him for his second birthday, purchased from an elderly gentleman at the Flemington Market who actually lives very close to us and makes them by hand in his garage. He also makes log trucks, doll cots/highchairs/bassinettes, kiddie kitchens among other things, all at very reasonable prices.
:: More cheapo art with canvases covered in fabric, cars by Alexander Henry. Cars and apple fabric from here.
:: Scrabble C canvas from Typo, C is for Clown print from here, New York City Subway map poster collected by hubby on worldly travels.
:: Cole's Quiet Book was a birth present from a very dear friend, handmade by a lady in Adelaide, South Australia, who has since retired - in her retirement! (When she retired, she made the books for ten years because she enjoyed the craft, eventually she had to stop taking orders because she was so flat out and wasn't enjoying her retirement! I just crept in before she stopped taking orders, to get one made for Ruby after she took such a liking to it as a toddler.) I have seen many similar styles on Etsy but, just quietly, none quite as wonderful.
:: Frog backpack from here (though I'm not sure whether lovely Germaine still stocks them).
:: Little table and chairs picked up on ebay as a full five piece dining setting for $5 (yes - $5!) which I cut the legs off to become kiddie sized. I also cut the tops off the chair backs as they were too big and then made little fabric scrap covers to cover edges.
:: Cube shelving (not pictured very well, similar to the Ikea Expedit range) bought on ebay for $30 from an ex-office furniture store. It was beech melamine, upcycled using griplock primer and leftover front door paint.
:: New York Yellow Cab came all the way from New York, a Christmas present from his aunty and uncle.
:: Hand knitted clown on bed was a beautiful gift from a relative, with Mr Bean's Teddy, who was mine as a kid.
:: Duck cushion on bed, by me.
:: Vintage sketched Pooh & Christopher Robin print is a beautiful card from a dear friend following Cole's birth.
:: Walt Disney's Peter Pan print (which I block mounted) bought at Eumundi Market when I was pregnant with Ruby.
:: Elephant and Dinosaur Craft Panel in frame, from here.