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new in the store and naptime

November 7, 2010 By corrie 7 Comments

Righto, I’m trying to get organised this afternoon but with a baby on my shoulder, I’m not getting too far! I’m adding all the new fabrics to the store that have been sitting around including this very popular one….it sold out in 48 hours last time!

New magazines including ~~Cotton Time, the Christmas edition~~ and new books including some gorgeous baby sewing books. And then I’m going to try to catch up on orders by putting little miss in the ergo so I can get a few things done while enjoying some choc mint slices and peppermint teas. I’m too embarrassed to tell you how many of those biscuits I’ve eaten today…..I need my energy for the round the clock feeding!
But before I do that here is a little pic of miss elodie today….she is sooooo not an afternoon napper let me tell you! And she will last about 5 minutes in her bassinette before she ‘tells’ me it’s time for a cuddle or feed again.

and will you look at that finger and one eye open….I’m sure she’s saying don’t you leave me in this bed for a nap. I’m on to you and I’m gonna cry as soon as you walk away! And sure enough as I was uploading the photos she was getting my attention and out on my shoulder again.

Filed Under: cotton time, japanese craft books, japanese fabrics, retro mummy, store

knitting weather

November 6, 2010 By corrie 5 Comments

Brrrr………..we woke up to a cold, windy and wet morning in Sydney. Just the kind of morning you want to have everyone out of the house by 9am to take miss keira to dance rehearsals! No, not really. So once she was at her rehearsal with her little friends we had a late breakfast, bit of shopping, did the groceries, fed a hungry baby and came home for a spot of knitting. At the moment I’m doing a test knit for this lovely lady, I just adore her knitted tee pattern and am testing the baby size for her.

And before you say whaaaaat, she’s doing a test knit! Knitting is just perfect for me at the moment as I can do it from the comfort of the couch, can pick it up anytime, can rest a baby on my chest and knit at the same time and since it seems like winter outside it’s very comforting.

And yesterday this gorgeous book arrived in the mail. Oh my, if you’re a knitter you’ll love this book. I’m actually going to go so far as to say it’s better than the first book, Last Minute Knited Gifts. Yep, I said it! Loads of great patterns that range from hats to cardigans to blankets to jumpers and the cutest house toy ever!

It’s been a while since I bought a knitting book but this makes up for it, it will be one of my absolute favourites and I hope I get a bit of time before Christmas to make a few presents from it.

I need a manicure

Filed Under: bendigo, books, knitting, ravelry, shopping

and more new fabrics

November 4, 2010 By corrie 8 Comments

I was doing so well with the daily blog posts but yesterday things were a bit crazy as I took a last minute specialist appointment for Elodie and it threw my day out combined with the fact that it was retro daddy’s first few days interstate with his new job. Why oh why we didn’t prepare keira for this I don’t know because we had tears and tears about where he was and why she wasn’t with him and so on. And all I wanted yesterday was a nice hot shower but I got that this morning……..a good 36 hours since my last one.

But let’s talk fabric not personal hygiene! I can’t keep up with the fabric deliveries of late and earlier this week checked my phone to find 3 messages from one of my suppliers. See, so noisy at this house that I missed phone calls over 2 days. Oops. The good news is that my order of Sweet Broderie by Rosalie Quinlan is winging it’s way to my house and the latest Flower Sugar range is due to arrive at the end of the month. And then there are these fabrics to go in the store …..

and these ones too!

flowe sugar top up

And I’m seriously running out of room so have added and will keep adding fabrics to the Clearance section of the store so keep checking and be quick. I’ve reduced some fabrics by $4 to $6 a metre! Go crazy!

and you thought you had a fabric problem!

Filed Under: cosmo, japanese fabrics, kokka, lecien, retro mummy, store

I’m in Homespun Magazine

November 1, 2010 By corrie 12 Comments

One of the most exciting things I’ve done this year (apart from having Elodie of course) was to organise and host the Don’t Look Now workshop in July. And it was so much fun I immediately told Kellie I wanted to do it again….or maybe I committed to doing it again before we actually had the weekend. I can’t remember now but it was something crazy like that.

I hadn’t met a lot of the students in real life but everyone was so enthuisiastic and hard working all weekend and friendships were quickly made. And one of those lovely students was the editor of Homespun magazine, Catherine Sanchez. We were sitting near each other over the weekend and she kept us entertained with her little comments the whole weekend.

I look huge. Remember I was pregnant, people!

And it’s now so lovely to see a wrap up of the weekend in the latest Homespun issue for November. Mind you I wish I could put a photo of myself looking less pregnant or tired, or maybe it’s because I’m standing next to someone as pretty as Kellie. But anyway, thank you Catherine for the great article, thank you again Kellie for agreeing to come and do a workshop for me (because I had no experience in that department and was learning as I was went along) and of course to all the gorgeous students who came and made it the weekend that it was. It must have been great because I’m doing it all over again next year (more details to come once I’ve started planning it).

You’ll find the article in the latest Homespun issue which is the Special Collectors Edition 10th Birthday Celebration Issue and there are some gorgeous patterns in there too. My favourite is the sweet cushion by Lisa of A Spoonful of Sugar.

Filed Under: don't look now, homespun, media, retro mummy

crochet + cupcakes

October 31, 2010 By corrie 14 Comments

moving on from yesterday’s dramas……I decided to pull out the crochet last night and de-stress. And nothing says I’m de-stressing like sitting in your peter alexander pj’s with a spot of crochet, a peppermint tea and chocolate wheatens. I’m on the biscuit diet at the moment, if anyone asks.

But back to the crochet, I’m making a quick pram blanket for miss elodie. Her snazzy pram basinette comes with a cover but it’s a bit too warm for her and also a bit too black for such a pretty little girl. So I’m using my pattern here (gotta love the no sewing together of squares) and bendigo cotton which is currently on sale. I am just in love with one of their latest colours blush….so in love I went back to order another 4 balls just because. But with 3 girls I know it will be used………..eventually.

And it’s halloween tonight and this year I’m taking a break from handing the lollies out. And considering the lolly aisle was almost empty at my local supermarket, I think there will be plenty of neighbours with sweets for halloweeners. But to keep Keira happy I baked some cupcakes (before you call me super mum I used a packet mix, people!) and let her ice and decorate them. It was all that was needed to distract her from the fact that I wasn’t doing halloween.

I made one and she did a great job decorating these babies and I love how she did the cross eyebrows! Clever girl. Definitely a great activity for sunday afternoons.

Filed Under: baking, bendigo, crochet, retro mummy

another great mathilda’s

October 30, 2010 By corrie 27 Comments

Last night at about 10pm I was having doubts over whether I’d made a mistake committing to a market with a new bub. I hadn’t finished packing and knew I’d be up all night feeding little miss. But somehow I was up bright and early at 5.30am and it was go go go from then until the market started and there was no time for last minute doubts. I had prepacked all my baskets which made for a quick and easy set up and having Liss (Frills in the Hills) and retro daddy (he doesn’t have a blog!) meant we were set up in no time. I just love to meet customers and blog readers so much (read: talk a lot to them) and it was fun to be showing elodie off to everyone, oh yes and all of the new fabrics of course. Musn’t forget the fabrics.

we took little miss for a walk and late breakfast and were saying how lovely it was to just have 1 little person with us. So relaxing and we actually had a…………..conversation! I went back to the market for the last hour which was fun as I love to chat to everyone and there is always a familiar face at mathilda’s to chat too. So all in all we had a very successful market day and I couldn’t have done it without Liss or retro daddy, such good helpers that I’ll be retaining their services next time!

matching hairstyles!

So we came home feeling happy and it was lovely to see our other ‘babies’. And then Keira started telling us how cool it was to travel in the babysitter’s car to the ocean. I’m starting to panic and trying not to freak out so I can get the whole story but am doing a bad job…….a really bad job as keira starts crying and thinks she has made a mistake. Cut a long story short and my precious babies were taken out by a p plater without my permission for a little drive for an errand and left in the car. Oh my………..what can you say. If I think about what could have gone wrong I want to throw up and then cry. It was wrong on so many levels and a huge breach of trust and she’s an experienced nanny too. It has only been a few months that I’ve had the confidence to leave my little ones with someone who isn’t family…..so back to the drawing board on who minds my little ones. The most important people in my world. And so I’ve let her go and am so glad Keira tells her mummy everything.

Filed Under: retro mummy

win a $100 westfield gift voucher

October 28, 2010 By corrie 41 Comments

Mathilda’s this Saturday

October 27, 2010 By corrie 7 Comments

Well I’m not making any progress on packing for Mathilda’s this Saturday. I do promise that you’ll find the retro mummy stall there at Paddington Town Hall from 9-1pm. I have the gorgeous Liss from Frills in the Hills running my stall. I’ll be there from 9 for a bit and back after 12 but decided Elodie was a bit too small for her first market! And that Liss is quite the saleswoman so I know I’m leaving it in capable hands!

I’ve got the biggest range of fabrics I’ve ever taken to market as well as some huge sale baskets clearing out everything from earlier in the year, plus a basket devoted to Christmas fabrics so you can be the first to get these lovely fabrics before they hit the store next week. And of course my dresses, 40 in all ranging from 0 to 6 just in time for the warmer weather!

And I’m turning this gorgeous retro christmas fabric into an apron for myself this Christmas. It will scream hostess with the mostest! So I hope to see you there at Mathilda’s this Saturday………………..

Filed Under: fabrics, markets, retro mummy, store

two weeks

October 26, 2010 By corrie 31 Comments

time flies when…………..you aren’t getting any sleep! Well I do get a bit, little miss gives me 2 hours before midnight and an hour or two after 4am when she snuggles next to me, so I can’t complain too much. Especially as I’m getting more sleep compared to when the twins came home….. any sleep is better than night time with newborn twins!

But I’m still not really living in the real world as retro daddy is home this week but next week it’s official….I’ll be flying solo. He’s off interstate in his first week of work and I need to get used to it as he’ll be away each week. I hope the twinnies learn to sleep through the night everynight and everyone behaves themselves! Oh behaviour…..it’s all gone downhill since little miss elodie came home. But look at this photo….butter wouldn’t melt…………WRONG!!!!!!

My biggest fears are leaving the house with all 4 and dinner/bath/bed time. So being the planner that I am, I have another nanny coming in midweek so I don’t have to take everyone to ballet and I’m getting my dinners delivered so I have a nice dinner to look forward to at the end of the day and the kids can have their favourites (pasta, pasta and more pasta at the moment!).

thank you Aunty Debbie for this gorgeous knitted outfit!

But somehow in this busy week I found the time on sunday to make a cheesecake from last month’s Super Food Ideas …. it was delicious and proved a great snack. Tell me it’s low fat and I eat twice as much!!! Tell me I’m not the only one.

And somehow this week I need to find some time for market preparations and packing for Mathilda’s this Saturday…..don’t ask me how but I’ll get there! I have another 10 bolts of fabric arriving today so at least I don’t have a problem with stock levels!

Filed Under: baby, baking, recipe

quick cushions

October 24, 2010 By corrie 19 Comments

I dusted the cobwebs off the machine (ok, well there weren’t really any cobwebs but it’s been a long time between sewing projects) and whipped up 4 cushions today. This is one of the reasons I love sewing! Take 2 metres of fabric from my store, 4 x $3.99 cushion inserts from Spotlight and in under an hour I had 4 cushions to freshen up the lounge room.

nothing fancy for the back just to keep them simple

and what an improvement.

I feel another 4 cushion inserts will be coming home tomorrow with me to fill out the rest of the couch! I should also tell you that we had a huge tidy up today as I was asked to send in some photos of my house. This is not how it normally looks on a sunday morning, trust me!

Filed Under: homes, japanese fabrics, sewing

six years

October 23, 2010 By corrie 19 Comments

Six years of marriage and four children later and yep we’re still in love. We’re on the same page about most things and married life is pretty easy at the moment. I must admit that yesterday’s anniversary could have easily slipped by as we’re in baby land.

I entered marriage hoping for lots of babies and suburban bliss and I’d say we’re doing pretty well. I love being able to stay home and raise our family. We started out as a married couple in our little flat by the beach and now are in our big family house that will one day be perfectly renovated. We have lots of dreams and aspirations for our family and I can’t imagine going through life with anyone else.

Filed Under: marriage, retro daddy, wedding

I love my new braun!

October 22, 2010 By corrie 8 Comments

So the night I went into labour I was madly making hamburgers and testing out my latest kichen gadget. Oh how I do love a good kitchen gadget and the very kind people at Braun sent me their latest hand blender, The Multiquick 7, to have a play with. How lucky am I?

This a cordless blender which comes with it’s own little chopper bowl (you can see it in action here). This baby blends, purees, chops and dices and being cordless it’s great to use in the kitchen as it’s safe. Nothing worse than trying to blend hot soup in a saucepan with the cord trying to get in the way – I usually have to wrap my cord around something to keep it out of the way. Not anymore! It comes with it’s own stand and unlike my current blender which is hiding in the back of the cupboard with the cord wrapped around it, this one can take pride of place on your kitchen counter because it looks so smart.

There were a couple of recipes to try out and a delicious big hamper delivered with my new Multiquick 7, so here is one we made (before I went into labour) and enjoyed…………

Grilled Beef Burgers with Tomato Salsa
I love the vegies snuck into these burgers and the kids ate them all up as did the big kids of the house! You could substitute chicken or turkey mince and they’d be delicious too.

750g minced beef steak
1Tbsp each of rosemary, thyme, dijon mustard, tomato paste
2Tbsp grated parmesan
10g chopped parsley
30g fresh breadcrumbs
1 carrot chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 stalk celery, chopped

Chop all of the vegies, onions, garlic, herbs, parmesan and bread using the Braun Multiquick Cordless chopper.

Combine all ingredients for the burger together and form into mixture, Shape into discs and chill for about 30 minutes till firm. Preheat a heavy pan or BBQ and lightly oil the surface. cook for about 10 minutes turning twice and allow to rest for 3 minutes before serving.

Tomato Salsa
750g fresh tomatoes, blanched and peeled
1 spring fresh thyme leaves
1 clove garlic
2Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

my low carb version!

Chop the tomatoes using the Braun Multiquick Cordless chopper. Warm olive oil in a frypan and add the garlic and thyme. Add the tomatoes and cook gently until they have broken down and the excess water has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and add a little sugar to taste. Blend to a smooth consistency with the Braun Multiquick Cordless hand attachment.

You’ll see me using this baby on my blog a bit more as I’m having so much fun with it and it’s available in stores now with a retail price of $249.95. Definitely one to add to the Christmas list!

Filed Under: cooking, recipe

friendship + fabric

October 21, 2010 By corrie 8 Comments

Sometimes I tell retro daddy I am so blessed to have such lovely friends around me. Whether they’re from church playgroup, old friends, new friends, ballet mum friends, blogging friends, crafty friends – I’ve been truly blessed with some wonderful people in my life……..and some of you I’ve never met but consider you my friends. Yesterday, one of my sweetest friends, Francine, came over to cut fabric………..for 3 hours!

Francine was my old neighbour and we’re kindred spirits. We love to bake, sew, cook and be mummies. The day we moved out of our old house she came over with hot soup she’d made and buttered toast all wrapped up. She’s just that kind of person. We go to each others parties and have shared the ups and downs of having our babies.

So yesterday she came over and cut and folded and cut and folded some more and filled a box with fat quarters for Mathilda’s. What a lovely thing that was to do for me! I paid her in fabric and everyone was happy.

Filed Under: fabric, friendship, store

fabric storage

October 21, 2010 By corrie Leave a Comment

My personal fabric stash is in no way ready to be shown off…..it’s a bit all over the shop. But this week I spent some time arranging the store fabric and love it.

According to the house plans this room is supposed to be study but it’s really a room where there are stairs upstairs, loads of storage cupboards, a baby’s change table (saves me doing the stairs) and the perfect place to store fabric which I cut on the bar in the next room.

Filed Under: fabrics, retro mummy, store

When you’re not done!

October 20, 2010 By corrie 38 Comments

So I was waiting for this revelation, this moment after Elodie was born when I’d know that I was done having babies. At the start of the pregnancy I knew this wouldn’t be my last pregnancy, that I wasn’t ready to call it a day. Then in those last few weeks of the pregnancy as I was getting bigger, more tired and the little people were starting to drive me a little crazy I was thinking ok this is it.

keira

But then I had Elodie, and cuddled her and realised I didn’t want her to be my last bub. And we used to joke, retro daddy and I about how we could go for number 5 but now he’s not joking. It’s official. He’s done…………….no more…………but I’m not!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the twins

Four babies in four and half years has really taken it’s toll on him! He misses his long runs, overseas holidays, dinners out, a nice car and has seen enough nappies to last him a lifetime. Me, well I don’t mind the nappies or lack of holidays. I just love my family so much………….

elodie

so that’s where we’re at. I’m going to make the most of every baby day I have with miss elodie and just see what happens.

Filed Under: large families, parenting, pregnancy