A Packet of Chocolate Royals

Good Morning Picket Fence Fancy friends,
This post is pretty much about nothing .Well actually, it's about Chocolate Royals :) So it's about something. It was the end of my working week ( in my not so Picket Fence job) and I really was wanting to go out in my garden and play with my lensbaby but it was kind of cold and the Picket Fence children were home from school and feeling a little "Friday", so instead , we had afternoon tea with a shop bought packet of Arnotts Chocolate Royals.

The Picket Fence children played inside, think mess and play-station's and school shoes strewn in hallways. Baby Picket Fence watched ABC children's television with fifty or so of his favourite toys tucked in around him. Miss Teen Picket Fence had a girlfriend around and they disappeared into the bathroom with a bottle of vibrant purple hair dye, think giggles and mess with a capital M. I however, played with my camera and my packet of Chocolate Royals for a long long time and it was just plain lovely :) Think children and teenagers and mess and housework blissfully ignored. We were all happy!

   Mr Picket Fence arrived home (from his not so Picket Fence job) and shook his head, mess and Picket Fence children everywhere, some with purple hair; and a mummy photographing chocolate Royals . 

We've been married a long time now and Mr Picket Fence has witnessed many funny and somewhat inexplicable  things, but this was the litmus test. He paused, stepped over the discarded school bags on the floor, kissed baby Picket Fence and his fifty favourite toys on the head ( as you do with children's favoured toys)  and grabbed a handful of biscuits. "I love you" he said "I love this" he added. I realised then that we really do have a Picket Fence kind of marriage and that that was incredibly wonderful :)

Hoping you have a gorgeous weekend, that you can get out into the fresh air with the ones you love, I'm planning on painting the legs of a table. But first to tidy up this Picket Fence house. Chocolate Royal anyone ?

A Collection Of Bottles

 Welcome :) This is a quick post to say hello and show you pictures of some bottles Ive been playing with. Yes I hear you groan, "But we've all seen old bottles" but these have a story.

Mr Picket Fence does a lot of gardening type jobs and one of his very elderly clients became unwell and sadly, passed away. What was sadder, was that his son was too busy to go through his fathers meagre possessions and, hence paid Mr Picket Fence to dispose of them "Keep whatever you like and send the rest to the tip " :(
I'm sure you will agree that this was a difficult thing to hear, so when Mr Picket Fence arrived with the contents of this mans life in the back of his truck, a few things had to be rescued. Some picture frames and books, a few pot plants and several tea chests full of "Mason Agee" jars and bottles were pulled out. I could see this man had loved his collection and grubby as it was, it needed to be given the respect it deserved. It had to stay, and so, we welcomed his collection, mud and cobwebs and all, into the Picket Fence family.

So I spent two days washing and scrubbing and shining bottles. The Picket Fence children gave up on dinner and Mr Picket Fence just smirked a little as he came in to find I'd blocked the sink (again) with mud from the said treasure. But this was important, I wanted to give these bottles the show they deserved, I wanted to give this man the respect he deserved, and so, clean his bottles I would. I wanted to make things right. I was a woman on a mission ;)

So even though he never got to see the sun glint off his collection, you my Picket Fence Friends will get to ooh and ahhh and say how nice they look. There are a lot more to do, but this is their show. I dearly hope that you can read blogs in heaven :) I'm sure he's a follower xx

A little scratched up but lovely with carnations :)

I personally love both these bottles, lovely and big with gorgeous graphics.

Golden circle does babies breath :)

Beer and roses.

And this one is just for him...just a bottle xx
I feel better now, I'll tonight finish the rest of his bottles. I'm keeping the "Agee Mason" jars and the cordial bottles, the others I'm not sure of what to do. For now they'll sit all sparkly and clean in the darkness of my cupboard, perhaps dreaming of the day they got all spiffed up and had their show.
Thanks for sharing it with me , I'm sure he'd be proud. See you soon :)

We Love Australian Small Towns

 Hello Picket Fence Friends, I hope you had a fabulous weekend ? Hasn't the weather been just perfect ?
 It was a sunny day here, and the Picket Fence kids and I were feeling a little restless. We lured Mr Picket Fence away from his work and out on a day trip, and, with the promise of hot food in the sunshine, he was easily led :)   After some scenic country driving we landed at a gorgeous quiet little country town called Cobargo . Hot chips attended, we made our way down the prettiest street. Hard not to love a view like this.

Gorgeous old buildings.

Loads of signage( Did you guess I have a font fetish ? xx )

The Picket Fence girls shared a laugh with a local lady. I think she enjoyed our visit !

I loved these old apothecary jars. They sit in an old "Pears" advertising cupboard  proudly in the window of the town pharmacy .

More signage :) Did someone say font ?

This shop sits empty, long closed, but as far as shop names go ...it takes first prize. Love it :) "No Wife No Horse No Moustache" (I'm told based on an American film "Flirtation Walk" )

We made our way home and I was pleased to squeeze into the car, some new additions to the Picket Fence Fancy home. Some more enamel  to add to my clutter and this pretty sixties stool , love its swirly iron legs xx

 This week, thanks to the magical talent of my friend Happy Loves Rosie, I have gathered some new bits and bots for my page, I hope you take a look around and please feel free to leave a comment, because I do love comments xx
  Oh and please join me on  Facebook  I,d love to chat to you there ! The Flickr thing is a work in progress...bare with me on that, I'll get to it, I promise :) Have a great week, take care and looking forward to catching up   soon

My Camera Lens Protector (Stubby Holders Go Shabby)

Hello gorgeous Picket Fence Friends :) How are you?
This week I've been busy doing all sorts of bits and pieces, but today I thought you might like to see my latest idea. I seem to have collected a lot of camera lenses. I love them, they are useful and not to mention expensive, but they kind of bang together in my camera bag and I was worried that they would get chipped or scratched or worse :(

After some mulling I came up with the idea of stubby holders. Perfect to insulate against the hard knocks of camera bag jostling, they are pretty much the right size for most of my lenses . Hmmm but they're not classy are they ? With a few in my bag, I'd risk looking like a total party girl huh..? So rather than let my secret party habits out of the bag per say :) I thought I'd cover the offensive foam with some pretty fabric and wool.

 Here's how I started..... I felted the top to make it hard wearing as this is the area that gets rubbed as your lens gets put away.

As you can see, a simple blanket stitch does the job ( forgive my atrocious sewing ... I'm so much better with a staple gun !)

And the bottom ( the Picket Fence Girls were so supportive "Don't worry Mummy , It doesn't need to be Perfect!" lol )

I think it looks pretty awesome.....I really want to do a red one now....but Mr Picket Fence has hidden his stubby holder so I'll have to buy my own :)
 Oh and I think these would look rather nice wrapped around a cold tin as well ! I'm off to try and learn a decent blanket stitch ;)
Be seeing you xx
  

Mothers Day At The Beach With The Picket Fencer's And My Lensbaby xx

Well Hello Picket Fence Friends :)
I'm hoping you had a gorgeous Mothers Day and got to indulge in a little sleeping in,some chocolate tasting and loads of "Warm as sunshine" cuddles from those you love :) Yep this includes you non mothers as well because as I mentioned before in my gorgeous-pink-camera-strap-cover review, Mothers Day is kind of a feel-good-lovely day for all.
Well, this Picket Fence Mother did rather nicely even if do I say so myself :) Hand drawn flowers covered in crinkled up coloured tissue paper and the obligatory "Best Mum Ever" coffee mug, some yummy  chocolates from Miss Teen Picket Fence and... wait for it... a lensbaby muse lens for my camera.... Wow Mr Picket Fence ;) However did you guess ??
With 4 children under foot, Mr Picket Fence, as much as he adores the said young ones, feels very grateful he doesn't have to do the bulk of the work with them....therefore on  Mothers Day I usually do rather nicely .... No need to change things yet !

So, as it was a fine day and unusually warm for Autumn, we took ourselves down to the beach to try out our new baby.
My real baby Picket Fencer decided today was his day to be clingy, so much of it I spent with a lurch  ( as you do when you have a two year old attached to your leg.)

 The lensbaby (lensbaby.com) takes some really arty shots, you kind of squeeze and tilt it to choose your focused area and associated blurred bits (Kind of like real life really, don't you think ? Wishing I had a lensbaby in my mirror now !)

I was pleasantly surprised with the effects, had loads of fun, and with practice I think I will use it for taking the Picket Fence family portrait. (Of course the Picket Fence children promised they wouldn't get wet ;)

 It was a beautiful day,full of love and laughter and after all this fun, what more could I want but a warm bath , hot fire and you betcha
"God bless him" Mr Picket Fence ordered takeaway for dinner. He's a keeper xx

It's a busy Picket Fence week ahead ......our little town has its annual Oyster Festival Narooma Oyster Festival  ( think food and wine ) and my youngest Picket Fencers are in it's lantern parade ...Promise I will catch up soon xx
(Linking up  with Sarah from A Beach Cottage for her Wednesday link party)

Pink Camera Strap Heaven aka I love Etsy !

Thought I'd drop by and show you something that came in the post this week. For those of you in the loop, you would have heard there is a serious photography bug in the Picket Fence household. Since buying my camera, I've been snapping away, playing paparazzi, desperately wanting to learn how to take a good photo and working with the logic that "practice makes perfect"..The Picket Fence children are nearly immune to the flash bulbs (they're a patient lot, in sunglasses) The camera comes everywhere. It's part of the family. However, I have found, that the strap kind of rubs on my neck and I longed for something a little soft and special, a camera strap cover. Something trendy or maybe a little shabby, or maybe a little of both..... A hunt on Australian  eBay left me high and dry. I had to look further. Cue http://www.etsy.com/ stage left :) That place is something else, Wow ! I'm planning on spending hours there when the Picket Fence children are asleep, maybe not buying, but looking and lurking and dreaming about buying and maybe just having a little splurge here and there if you know what I mean :)

 My first etsy purchase , this  parcel came all the way from  USA and I was so excited because as you know a package addressed to yourself from overseas is always exciting xx This little number came from Katelyn Svancara of SwankyCameraCouture.etsy.com and it's gorgeous. I was so pleased to see the quality of same, impressive :) I picked this fabric because it's very Picket Fence, Katelyn has so much to choose from I suggest you drop by and have a look...tell her that Ava in Australia sent you ;) I'll be getting another I think , maybe some thing more graphic in a black and white ?

So I had to show you a photo of how it looks in use and eek  that meant a photo of me.....wearing bad hair and a very stylish sweat-shirt :) Camera placement is EVERYTHING in a good photo...see I'm learning.

 Hoping you all have a beautiful Mothers day tomorrow, a day about mothers, and not necessarily about being a mother, so go out, and enjoy the fact that you either have once had, or still have, a lovely mother, and, if you are like me and are a mother to a bunch of Picket Fence children, sweep them up and hold them tight, for they grow oh so quickly :)  Oh and Mr Picket Fence, my favourite, most darling reader of Picket Fence Fancy...hint hint lensbaby.com hint hint  xx

The Must Have White Book Shelf :)

 Hello all :) Hasn't it been a glorious week ...This blog post is about the latest project on which I've been working. One of my friends was having her carpet removed and floorboards polished. She wanted to de-clutter at the same time. Obviously  being the obsessive furniture hunter that I am, I could see potential. Here's the book case at her house, just perfect for my bits and bots ,after all , I do love clutter :)

 Yes indeedy, all lovely in varnished pine, nothing to be done.Truth be known,  I heard some friends beg, "Just leave it alone" but of course couldn't , I'm just not that way inclined.....it needed paint. So, before several coats of Dulux antique white USA, this is how it looked....

 It stayed looking this way for a few weeks, because, it seems  Picket Fence life  got in the way, duty called, family get together's , school holidays, a broken iPhone (gasp), teenage fashion crises , work in my real "not so Picket Fence" job, some bubble blowing :) some newly found first grey hairs ( mad rush for Clairol ) and a very gorgeous royal wedding meant the book case had to sit and wait.

 Fortunately I found time to finish same and I was pretty darn happy. This being despite the fact that I had to rearrange pretty much the whole house, I had absolutely no room for a new book case ( something I pretended to have all sorted, rather than admit to Mr Picket Fence that I'd bought in haste) The house looked like a church hall jumble sale and I admit things got a little tense. I was a little indecisive and Mr Picket Fence was a little impatient but..eventually we got there.

 This how it looks now, it still needs some paint removed from the glass ( I am not the queen of cutting in ) and it has some lovely old handles to go on, but I need Mr Picket Fence to lend me his drill and he's distracted by the nightly news ...the finding of Osama Bin Laden ( hmmm priorities darling!!!)

Next project involves weatherboards, hooks and white paint, something to keep the towels off the floor ! But first to get that paint off the glass and then Mothers day,  this mummy's hoping for a" lens baby muse" camera lens. Fingers crossed :)

   I promise I will catch up soon, thanks again for stopping by...

                         Linking up with  Sarah from A Beach Cottage