oct, 9th - graffiti artiste....

day 969 / 68:

there has been serious drawing-mania in our house since Limi started school......the blackboard doors in the Shoebox are covered in family portraits.

in some, i have a thunderhooves (depicted by a spaghetti of squiggles) in my tummy {see day 785} and in others (like the one above) i'm more svelte and thunderhooves is out. when i asked her where Claya was in one of these images, Limi told me that she was in a different room.

i could honestly watch her draw for hours...i find her head-people with legs completely fascinating.

aug, 15th - kidivist in situ....

day 918 / 17:

the beautiful Kidivist mobile {see day 909 / 8} installed over Claya's crib in her small nook in our room. thanks again Anne. it is already capturing her attention.

the teddy bear was given to us before Limi was born. it is filled with sari fabric that was blessed in a temple in India. i love the idea that the insides of this bear have this adventurous history.

the last pic is of the antique sheet given to me by a good friend at my babyshower. she lives close to this market and manages to find the most amazing things.....bet this sheet also has a tale to tell.

thank you again for all the kind comments. we're slowly finding our way with two and appreciate all the encouragement.....it certainly makes things interesting now that we only have one pair of hands per child.........especially at bath time.

jun, 5th - jubilations at home....

day 849:

since we missed most of the Jubilee weekend, i thought it would be good to bring some of the festivities into our living room for the week so that we could celebrate in our own way. i constructed some cream and navy paper chains (very therapeutic) that i bought online from here, included some of heir distressed union jack flags and created my own bunting from some Jubilee doilies.....

it makes me smile every time i come into the room......although, i'm always keen on a bit of ceiling drapery {see day 363 and day 384}.

may, 13th - glimpses of the weekend....

day 826:

a fairly quiet weekend......breakfast with friends at this favourite spot {see day 773}, plenty of park time and some Spring cleaning......

here are snippets of what caught my eye inside and out........

my roses in a smoky vase that i picked up in a market years ago. can't even remember which market it was.

Limi's table and chairs.....still trying to decide whether to paint those chairs.....

some beautiful tilework spotted on the stroll home from the park.

ball time in the park.

loving the fresh herbs in our Spring window boxes. we have mint, thyme and rosemary.....need to think about adding some basil.

blank canvases.......taunting me. i'm desperate to get painting again.

our collection of kitchen tools in the Shoebox.

a pony-bank that we picked up from this great store {see day 677}

and finally, my favourite place to work.

hope you had a lovely weekend. x

may, 11th - lightness of being....

day 824:

my sister has taught me many things {some of them mentioned here on day 185}, including cultivating a love of huge messy bunches of fresh flowers. i once had a conversation with A. about fresh flowers....did they also make him feel all light and blissful inside? he said fresh flowers were pretty but no bliss....so it must just be me then?

today was the most gorgeously Spring-like day in London and one where you want to throw open the doors and windows, let the light stream in and be surrounded by blooms. i normally go to this market {see day 230} when i have the urge to fill the house with flowers but today i wandered down to the local stall and bought a huge bunch...and then, because he knows me well, A. arrived home with another big bunch. so i am happily sitting filled by lightness and bliss.

.......well, as light as you can feel when you're 28 weeks pregnant (it's flying by....)

have a great weekend and see you on Monday. x

jan, 25th - shoeboxes....

day 693:

found these fantastic, original soda trays at The Old Cinema in Chiswick {see day 188}. they make ideal shoeboxes for Limi and fit perfectly under her cot.

p.s. Limi's sweet dress is from my sister and by Stella McCartney Kids

dec, 3rd - book advent....

day 640:

i can't remember where i discovered this idea last year (so if it's yours....thank you and leave me a note so that i can give due credit). it's brilliant and has stayed with me throughout the year, just itching for Christmas to come along. it's a book advent calendar.

i was able to cheat a little as we will be away for nine days between now and the twenty-fouth but the idea is that Limi gets to open a book every evening for us to read to her. we never debate about adding to her book collection.....on the other hand, the blow up Dinosaur.....that would have needed its own room in the Shoebox, had to stay in the shop

i used paper that we already had in the cupboard and we've re-used a couple of her existing books so it's not crazily expensive....anyway, it's all about practising ripping paper and counting down to Christmas Eve. there's also a special book to start a new tradition on the twenty-fourth (although it's currently caught up in Amazon's Christmas post).

so far, it's been a big success with the Limster. so bring on the festive season.

p.s. i also got to use my new Bodie and Fou Japanese MT masking tape. think that i might  be cultivating a tape obsession.

oct, 9th - green eyed monster....

day 587:

the Shoebox is getting decidedly squishy with the three of us....we have a plan for more space but we will only make the change next year. in the interim, while we try and keep the plastic toys from reaching the roof (hmmm....not true, plastic is banned), friends are snapping up 4 bedroom + garden Shoebox Palaces across London.....

on friday night, we caught up with some friends for dinner......their new house is a gorgeous work-in-progress........in fact the faded, stripped back parts (in preparation for their renovation) are my favourite type of background....

dismantling fake walls and pulling up floorboards has revealed unbelievable treasures.....original cornicing, floorboards, tilework and fireplaces....honestly, this house is my kind of heaven....

we enjoyed a delicious dinner but even more than that, it was fantastic to see our friends again after busy lives have kept interrupting our catch-ups..... 

and boy what a beautiful home they have.....jealous....me....YES! most definitely.

mar, 9th - limi's first house: part II....

day 396:

following this introduction to the Shoebox on day 376 here are a few more glimpses.......

our very plain and simple bedroom. 

after the clutter and vibrancy of London during the day, i love the idea of a very plain room to rest my whirring thoughts.....in fact, this approach probably applies to the entire house......we're not necessarily minimalist, monochromatic people.....but London's noise dictates a desire for more simplicity at home.

although, there is still debate out on adding artworks and more colour.....for me, the picture view of the changing seasons out of our bedroom window is enough for the moment......

one of the best decisions we made was to get a customised, raised bed (for extra storage). we didn't think this far ahead, but it works really well with dressing Limi after bathtime......no back-straining bending over.

oh, and i love our built-in, bedside lights......something so satisfying about lights that just work without digging for the switch in the dark and then having the whole thing fall over on the bedside table and hit you in the head....been there.

another glimpse of our ensuite......i laugh when i see this pre-Limi pic....as that alcove is now full of brightly coloured, rubber ducks, fish, a collection of sponges, different soaps and stick-on-the-side-of-the-bath shapes.....again a happy accident that we have the alcove to store a whole menagerie of bath toys (every child-friendly bathroom needs an alcove)......(i'll include a pic of the bathroom post-Limi soon)

our shower room.......which gives me joy every day. a surprising London fact is that most small places don't have walk-in showers. after growing up in the Southern hemisphere both A. and i craved a proper shower......

in this pic (from the last post), the coffee table is made out of a wooden pallette that arrived with our bathroom tiles.....we attached some casters and now it's a magic-carpet sized, skating platform for Limi to whizz across the floor on......i love all the instructions and written scribbles.....

um *clears throat*.....so that's the Shoebox.....it's not an ironic name......besides Limi's nursery and a few more views of the living space and little nooks and crannies, there's not much more to it. although, it does look a bit different now that we have blocks, chairs, buggies and toys adding some new design statements......i will include a 'post-Limi' insight soon.....