Text size - please help!

Would you mind please helping me out for a minute please?

I've been thinking the text sizes I've been using here on my blog are not quite right.  Those of you who use Blogger would recognise the text size options ranging from "smallest" to "largest" ... and you'd know that blogger simplify it a lot, and don't offer a numerical size option.

A while ago I was using this text size, which is called LARGE.  I just think it is too big when used for a whole blog post.... but kept with it because....

...the alternative was this sized text, which is what blogger calls NORMAL. To me, this is too small.... possibly.... I got tired of using the large text in the paragraph above, and switched over to this "normal" size a while ago.  It seems to be standard in blogging circles, but I just worry that it is too small..???

I've been wanting something sized in between.... "medium". {crazy that blogger offer smallest, small, normal, large, largest but no medium!?}.  .

Then tonight I started fiddling around in the code and just typed the word "medium" in the font size... and what do you know?  This is the size that came up!  {see how it's a tiny bit larger than the paragraph above?}

I reformatted my previous post to be all written in medium size.  Only problem is, it meant that I had to go back through every paragraph and change the size to medium umpteen times.... and that is really not something I want to do every time I write a blog post!

So the question is this....

What is the right size?

Is NORMAL ok, and not too small?  Is LARGE a better option?  Or should I go through the bother of changing the code in every single blog post paragraph to get MEDIUM? Is it worth the effort, if Normal is an ok option?

I've set up a poll on my sidebar, would you mind please voting?  I'm curious to see what you think!

Thanks!
Natasha xo

PS. If you have anything you'd like to add, tips or ideas, or an easy way to make things work, please feel free to leave a comment here, as well as voting!  It would be much appreciated!

Little white shelf

I mentioned back here the chain of events that seem to need to happen when one job needs doing.  In creating the play room, a few things in there have to find new homes.  Some of those things I am going to part with, and some, I wanted to try to find room for, somewhere.

The framed vintage wallpaper hangs by the bed in our room.  It was the perfect new position for the white shelf from the old spare room {now play room}!

The width is quite perfect and looks like it was made to sit there below the framed wallpaper.

And it became the perfect little space to put some of my most special pretty bottles, and the little {lost then found again} prayer book.

{not to mention, it freed up some space on the dresser where the bottles & prayer book used to be!}

The largest bottle was gifted in a swap by lovely Dara, the medium bottle a birthday gift from a friend, and the little bottle with pink dangles was the very first antique thing I ever bought.

It's still one of my favourite little antique-y things I've ever found!

Love waking up to this view now. 

I always knew this space needed something, and now it feels complete.

Love that feeling!


Natasha xo

forty

Yesterday's post was entitled "sixty" for my Mum's 60th birthday.  

Today's is entitled "forty" for my parents' 40th Wedding Anniversary.

My mum was 20 and a day when she married my dad.

I think they make such a handsome couple.  My mum was {and still is} so beautiful.  Dad has lost a bit of hair on his head, and gained it on his face, but other than that, he still looks the same.

His suit was so typical of that era, with the flared pants, big pointy lapel, huge bow tie & a carnation.

Mum's gown and veil was, and still is, gorgeous.  I always loved looking at pictures of my mum as a bride, while I was growing up.

What you can't see is that her gown was made of velvet embossed with a floral design. 

Her veil headpiece, cuffs and trim down her gown were marabou feathers.  A real departure from the lace styles that were common then. 

It was a timeless design....

...the sad part is, the actual gown itself was unpicked, pulled apart by my grandmother {Mum's mother-in-law} to make a cute and wearable dress or jacket or skirt or something... but it never happened. 

I'm not sure why my grandmother insisted on cutting it up... only to not do anything with it.  I feel sad that I never had the opportunity to be able to see that gown, or to wear it if I so chose {lol, it was probably 2 sizes too small anyway}.

My mum doesn't have a wedding gown stored away in her wardrobe.  So I figured, for their Wedding Anniversary, I'd give them a memory of their special day, forty years ago.

I painted their outfits on mannequins, in a frame that belonged to my grandmother, the one who cut up the gown.

Three generations in one gift!

Happy Ruby Anniversary Mum and Dad!  Here's to another Ruby!

Natasha xo

sixty

She turned sixty yesterday ~ can you believe it?  Isn't she beautiful?!

{Hoping I get those great skin genes when I'm that age!}

That was my mum in the first pic.  Some of her friends and I went to High Tea at the Langham Hotel in the city yesterday to celebrate her birthday.

It's such a beautiful hotel.  The foyer is gorgeous.

{this was once called the Sheraton Towers}

I walked around taking photos most of the afternoon.  So much was photo-worthy!

High Tea included a chocolate bar....

yes....

a chocolate bar...

Lemon, Lime & Bitters curd tart... I dreamed of it last night!

Everything was as delicious as it looks!

The traditional silver stand with scones {soft and to die for} with {fat free... ummm no...} cream, cherry jam, and sandwich fingers.

Chocolate Soufflé freshly made.... oh my....

It was a wonderful afternoon.  A day where Mum could be waited on, for a change.   She is always so busy, active and moving!  I guess, that's what keeps her so young!

I bet you don't believe she's old enough to be my mother!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful Mum!

xo

One stone, many birds

Does it ring true with you too? ~ when I have one thing to do, I have a hundred things to do, all waiting for that one thing to happen before the next thing can happen.

Our back room has been a spare room, a catch-all for the past 12 years. It was a room with a bed and a dresser and a wardrobe for hubby's clothes. Only, the bed was the home for most of the clothes, strewn about all over it, layered and layered.  

I hated this room. I closed the door and didn't look.  I was waiting for hubby to sort through his clothes, work out what was to keep and what wasn't.

As soon as that could be done, we could move the bed out, move the sofa bed in, assemble the cube storage units, move in the desk, set up the PC... basically, make the little guy his own little play room!

And here it is!

It was done on a shoestring budget.   Sofa bed from eBay, desk from someone's nature strip (I asked if I could have it!), storage units on sale, rug on sale, desk lamp on sale, artwork free...

The whole transformation was around the $350 mark, including a new little oil heater.

I know it's not the most beautifully designed room with beautiful new furniture ~ but it's a great fun space for him, and we'll get around to re-plastering and painting and it will be nice one day.

Only one thing left to do in there ~ I want to put up a wide shelf above the sofa bed, to put all those big soft toys, out of the way.  Maybe another shelf above that for cushions....

 Oh and did you notice, my boy is fine with pink and chandeliers :)

So now that a play room exists, the bedroom was able to get spruced up and cleared out.  Decluttering happened on top of the chest of drawers ~ which was a catch-all for any little special rock, feather, paper, car, note, ball.... it got crazy out of hand.

I love how it looks now, all clear, and like a bedroom!

The excess toys that he needed easy quick access to, got their own canvas boxes inside the cubes in the play room.

And the chandelier with blue clay roses I made can shine on a room that is a pleasure to be in!

Until next time,

Natasha xo

Lazy Saturday

The biggest perk of Australia still being a Commonwealth country, is that we get a public holiday on Monday for the Queen's Birthday {even though her actaul birthday is April 21... go figure?}

Anyway, it's just so nice to have three days off, with no real plans, other than playing, "family movie nights", organising a room to be a playroom/study, and finally getting around to visiting a whole lot of blogs.

Lots of sitting around, just taking it easy.... aaaahhhhh, bliss!

I took some pics of our beautiful furry boy I wanted to share today ~ he's just the most wonderful dog and we love him to bits!

He's very spoiled....

He's affectionate, cuddly, loving, lovable, and always wagging his tail {it looks like it has Energizer batteries, it just keeps going and going and going!}

He's not young either ~ turning 11 this week

He has selective hearing.  He can hear the fridge opening, but can't hear me shouting his name to come inside from going out for a piddle!

He taught himself how to play soccer ~ we throw a ball for him to fetch, and he rolls it back to our feet, with his front feet. It's hilarious!

And he loves our two-legged little guy.  

If he leaves his PJs or coat on the couch, the furry boy is straight up there and making himself a cosy bed out of it!

I love our boys!

Winner!

We have a winner for the Lollishops Summer Design Team Foofy fan I created two posts back HERE

Random.org selected:

So the winner is Jenn of Sweet Eye Candy Creations!

Congrats Jenn! I'll ship off your fan really soon :)

Thanks for entering, and don't forget to follow the Lollishops blog to check out each new design team project!

Natasha xo

{Cool Tips #1} Greener, Cleaner and Way Cheaper!

{Please share your tips - read through to the bottom to see what I'm talking about!}

A while ago I decided to get rid of all the chemicals in my home that I could replace with cleaner, greener and cheaper alternatives.  

I started cleaning with bicarb soda & vinegar, lavender oil & water, eucalyptus and tea tree oil.... 

and got rid of toxic things like oven cleaner, Mr Muscle, Domestos...

I noticed a change immediately.  My eyes didn't burn when cleaning.  There were no toxic fumes.  Everything got just as clean as it did before.  If I got it on my hands, I didn't have to rush and wash it off.

So here's my Cool Tip for this post...

VINEGAR.

Plain regular white vinegar.

• In the bathroom use it with a toothbrush to clean tile grout

• Use it in a spray bottle and scrub scum off tiles

• Great for porcelain basins

• Great for cleaning windows & mirrors {for streak free finish, use paper towels}

• In the toilet bowl - I flush, then sprinkle bicarb soda, then spray vinegar over it. While it's sizzling and fizzing, I scrub the toilet bowl with a brush - no more bleach or harsh chemicals!

• Put it in the washing machine in the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener - it works as a softener, and DOESN'T make your clothes smell like vinegar! It makes them smell clean and fresh! Really, it does!

• It's great for brightening clothes too - put it in the washing machine with detergent and away you go

• I wash my floors with it, diluted in hot water.  I just go by eye, no strict measurements.  Fill the bucket with warm or hot water, then pour in some vinegar.

• Great for removing tomato sauce stains {apparently!} - spray it on the stain on your clothing, then hang that out in the sunshine - I heard the vinegar does a better job at removing the stain that way.  Then wash.

• I wipe down benchtops with it - diluted with water in a spray bottle first. {often I use lavender oil diluted in a spray bottle too, it is a disinfectant too!}

The even more wonderful thing is - it's dirt cheap!!!

{I found more great vinegar tips online here and here}

 

{I buy mine in a huge 5 litre bottle from Costco here in Melbourne, for a whole $2.59}

I'd love for you to share any special tips you might have, in the comments - to do with saving time, saving energy, organising around the home, food preparation, art/craft products you love, things that have more than one purpose.... basically ANYTHING you'd like to share that helps in your day-to-day life, family life, art, creating... anything!

So leave your tips in the comments section if you have them - they could be as simple as you love the homebrand detergent at Costco, or you buy a tray of 12 croissants and freeze them in portions, or you use chipped cups and glasses to hold water for your paintbrushes when painting..... anything!

Hopefully you'll leave a comment for us all to read!  I hope to make this a great way we can all learn and share things that help us!

Natasha xo

Lollishops Summer Design Team - Reveal and Giveaway

*Update* Entries are now closed, winner announced two posts up!

I'm so lucky ~ I got to be part of the Lollishops Summer Design Team!

You can read more about it, and check out the other Summer {and Spring} designers by clicking HERE.

The goodie bag was sponsor was Gumball Vintage ~ we were sent these cute elements to make whatever we wanted.  {Thanks Sadie for giving us the wonderful Lollishops ~ and for the cute elements from Gumball Vintage!}

I decided to make one of my foofy wall hanging fans.  I managed to use every single element, plus some of my own like feathers, tulle and pleated fabric.

I'm giving you the chance to win this fan ~ I'll ship it anywhere in the world!

Just leave a comment on this post, and a random winner will be chosen this Friday 4th June.

Have a great day!

Natasha xo