Our New Whare

Let go back in time to about this time last year (has it really been so long since I have blogged??!)... 

Once again, our Landlord told us "Im selling", why do they always do that?!

And so we were pushed off the plank into finding a new home. 

We had spent years in the rental market, assuming that buying our own home was impossible.

Instead, we saved our pennies, week by week, we increased our Kiwi Savers and made voluntary contributions in to them... And over the years it started to add up. 

We couldn't believe it when we started to house hunt for our own home and that it might just be possible!

I found this little gem while Graeme was visiting family out of the country. I called him and said "We're putting in an offer". We did, we got it, and we love it. 

When I visited the open home I walked up the driveway underneath these sunlit trees, the sun was peaking over the house and I was sold already before I even went inside.

When I saw that little red stain glass window I fell in love (even more!) with this 1929 bungalow.

Sure, it's got its limits. A tiny section mostly, which makes me a little sad on somedays, and happy on others (we came from a rental with a great yard). We're hoping we can make it useable for the girls for this summer so there will be lots of things to draw them outside to play and explore.

But for now, it's home for the next hopefully many years. I'm so glad to be paying our own mortgage. Just today I paid the next rate installation and I felt so relieved by it. No more landlords, house inspections, unmet expectations, surprise visits, and stresssss.

What seemed impossible 6 years ago became possible!  

I'm so glad to be here and feel so grateful for our home. It suits us so well and we are doing little things to make it more ours.

Birthday Dress

In November I had a fantastic time celebrating my birthday! I had a few friends over for a Mexican lunch, we ate yummo food, there was a donut cake, and lots of wine and sunshine. It was practically perfect in every way.

That week I also treated myself to a new birthday dress, with soft and delicious fabric called Tencel, which looks and feels like linen, but is actually made from sustainable wood (!!). It's more expensive than anything I would usually buy, but it was exactly what I had in mind so I splurged and blamed the birthday for it.

You can find the FREE link to this pattern and instructions here if you scroll down:: Free All Dressed Up Pattern

It was a great pattern that needed no adjustment except a little sway back pinch in (usual, for my curved back). All of the pieces fitted together, and the instructions were easy to understand. This pattern comes highly recommended by me!

(Why designers go to the trouble of creating a lined bodice, but then don't give instructions for an enclosed need zipper i'll never understand)

DRESS DETAILS:
Fabric: Tencel, sustainable wood fabric (looks and feels like linen). Navy, grey and cream stripes.
Pattern Links: All Dressed Up - Issue 24
Design Details: Princess seam bodice on front and back, front cut pockets and side zipper.

Happy days!

xxx

READ MORE:

Mexican Embroidered Dress

Jungle Dress

Dining Table and Chairs DIY

Towards the beginning of the year I bought this table and chairs set off trade me. The chairs have "Yugoslavia" stamped into the wood underneath and they were bought from someone in a rest home, so I guess the family bought them to New Zealand a wee while ago? 

They are sturdy, solid and in great condition, and were a dark brown when I bought them (below).

I spent months sanding these back, painting and varnishing to get it looking this good and I'm so proud of my work.

The table top is great and is a huge step up from the table we had before, which had a glass table top and would always collect spilt weetbix and milk in the cracks between the wood. 

I'm really happy with the finish of this! It's so easy to keep looking nice.

The chairs are a dark navy, although they look a lot darker in this (terrible) photo lighting than they usually do (more accurate colour photos below). 

It took me a long time to decide on my colour scheme. 

Originally I wanted all different colours (green, yellow, blue and pink), but once I finished the table and had it in place I loved how grown up it looked. 

It's probably one of the nicest things we own, and I wanted my chairs to reflect that. I'm on a bit of a navy blue bender right now, so that was the next most obvious choice for me.

I love having my friends over for a cuppa now that we have somewhere nice to sit to enjoy my great view.

Also, the table extends out, so we've had a few dinner parties with everyone squeezed in our tiny dining area. Once you're in, you can't get out! I kind of love it. 

Next up on my project list, I'm thinking a mini wall quilt to adorn the wall in the dining space...

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Tall Boy Duchess DIY

Tall Boy Duchess DIY

Earlier this year we met our new neighbours, a lovely family direct from Australia. They ended up moving out a month ago to return home and told us to come over for some pickings at their furniture they weren't shipping back to Aussie.

I've been wanting a tall boy for a while now; Our clothing storage was in a dire situation and our room isn't big enough to accomodate much else. 

And! They had one to give us! So we quickly nabbed this tall boy that had been their parents, it was in great condition, aside from the varnish needing a spruce up so I rubbed my hands together and went straight to Bunnings! 

A week spent sanding, varnishing, painting, spraying and watching in every spare moment, produced this! 

I am so happy with the results! The wood has a beautiful satin finish to it that looks SO great up close.

And now Graeme and I have enough space for all of our clothes, rolled up the KonMari space saving way.

Kia ora Lavender whānau xx