the week that got away . . .

 Greetings all,

Phew, the week totally got away from me.  Last weekend we went to a family wedding in Sydney, which was an amazing experience - i'd never been to a Macedonian wedding before.  It was so vibrant, full of love & energy, really fun with lots of dancing & fantastic food.  We only had to purchase one new outfit - a dress for our eldest daughter, who would rather be in running shorts & spikes - so when she agreed to a patterned, layered, pink Alannah Hill frock, we were shocked & thrilled.  Needless to say she looked lovely & received lots of comments from family . . . she's quite statuesque & carried herself very well in heels. 

 The children were so well behaved, it was a very long day (midday wedding, 5p.m. reception) but by 10p.m. they were exhausted. We booked a suite at the Shangri-La in advance, so we were able to enjoy the room in the break between wedding & reception, relaxing in the complimentary lounge with cold drinks & afternoon tea . . . it was also a quick escape after a huge Sunday night event.  Amazing views of course!! 

We drove home to Canberra on Monday; the children went to school Tuesday, however my eldest had a moderation day - she stayed home to work on assignments while i ran errands (instead of shopping, crazy right??)  I picked up Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar & am reading it thoroughly before i too, quit sugar.  I volunteered as a time keeper at the primary school swimming carnival Wednesday & came home with a cracking migraine, spending Thursday in a heap . . . all the while watching a debate carrying on my Instagram feed - after posting this image!!  How can decreasing sugar & being educated about fructose hidden in food, be a bad thing??!!  This book is thorough, fact, interesting . . . & so far i haven't seen a negative remark which Sarah hasn't already addressed in the book - so read the book before saying ridiculous things like "Sarah says never ever eat another banana" as she doesn't, she simply explains the fructose levels in fruit & to reduce, be aware.  Sugar is sugar, not good (because it comes in fruit wrapped in fibre) or bad (because it is dressed up in a lolly) . . . your body doesn't care, it just senses sugar.  I'll be sure to write extensively on this topic as i start the detox in a couple of months.  Don't worry, Sarah even requests you don't become "a sugar bore" just clued in & enjoy your own personal journey.

So i spent the rest of the week sipping iced tea (FYI i never sweeten it, or drink caffeine, it's basically pretty water) curled up on the lounge.  Sigh.  

 Have gorgeous weekends everyone, it's my adopted city of Canberra's 100th birthday, so lots of parties, events & fun going on here + a long weekend, so i'm finishing off my studio & shock horror, might even sew a stitch.  I shock myself, it's been 18 months!!  Love Posie

Daily Posie updates are on Instagram, check them out at PosieShoots!!  We now have bunnies.

my Marimekko week & the school year resumes

Greetings all, 

Last Friday i finally made it into the Marimekko store in Sydney, wow, what an experience & boy did i wish it wasn't raining so so hard, as i was head down running, not able to soak up the experience - just the raindrops!!  I mean, look at these racks of print & colour, pattern & fun.  I've been collecting Marimekko fabrics for over a decade, they are sensational, coveted & beautiful to work with.  I'm going to make a glorious family patchwork quilt, two actually.

After cruising the entire store, upstairs & down, i managed to finalise my favourite 10 bolts & chose a shoulder bag in signature print Unikko, which my children can borrow too.  I certainly loved the cushions!!

I have been dreaming up what to make with my new prints, while clearing out my studio all week.  Life is always very different after 7-8 weeks of having my four children home on Summer school holidays, to them suddenly resuming school for the year.  My husband started his new job here in Canberra, a couple of weeks ago, so the house is very quiet, just the chatter of chickens & our puppy to keep me company.

My eldest daughter is now in year 9 & was very keen to get back into school, she is doing a triathlon this weekend to kick start her sports.  She has a variety of subjects, electives & non electives, with up to 10 different teachers.  

Finally, after a few days of a new 'organic' process of the children & teachers moving around the classes to discover what 'feels right' my 3 primary schoolers were advised who their classes & teachers were.  Girl 2 has the same teacher as last year, job sharing with her 4th grade teacher, whom she adored, so that is a nice mix.  These days in small schools, they are often composite classes with job sharing mothers teaching part time - we've experienced it all & while i prefer male teachers (as my husband is away so often) - the job sharing situation is often a really positive as the teachers are always fresh.  

Girl 3 has the same teacher as last year, if you could imagine Taylor Swift as a teacher . . . complete with guitar, beautiful singing voice & leg warmers, this is it, perfect for our ethereal little sprite, who feeds off a creative teacher.  So those twins are now year 6 & ruling the school, they will receive special Tshirts too & prepare themselves for high school.  

Finally that baby boy of mine is fast approaching his sisters in height, year 4, with a gorgeous young teacher & all his girlfriends from previous, he'll be just right.  While we've attended 9 different pre, primary & high schools as we've moved all over Australia with the Army, it's nice to be settled & know we just have one more new school - when our son commences to high school, as the girls go to a ladies college. 

All by myself . . . the housewife life . . . so what to do with all this new spare time . . . well i've organised 40kg of no-longer-loved fabric for our daughter's ladies college; middle daughter's piano lessons have extended as 'she's a natural'; sorted school stationery; piled up all the excess kitchen pots, pans, microwave, knives, oven mits, cups, bowls, plates, utensils from the bachelor pad for our primary school canteen; spare linen for charity; removed garbage bags of rubbish from my studio; booked hair cuts; organised lunch dates; delivered fresh lunch to my husband; animal entertaining; i resume a Michelle Bridges 12WBT on Monday so doing my fitness tests; hoisting up a new canopy over the chicken coop; housework; groceries; dinner planning & preparation . . . today i'm finally going to do some shopping, swim & run.

 We'll be back in this city next month for a family wedding.  After dining with Kim Pearson here last Friday night, it brought back all the happy memories of spending my 20th birthday at the ANA (now the Shangri-la) & it's where my husband proposed 16 years ago . . . we booked a suite . . . only this time with ajoining room for 4 children!!  That's my Valentine's Day present right there!!  Valet parking & breakfast for 6.  So excited!!  

Have gorgeous weekends, we're off to a triathlon, love Posie