Dreaming of Vintage Treasures

 Hello! I'm one week into my work holidays and I can't believe how quickly time passes. We're still in lock-down, so I've spent the week at home, doing the usual: reading, crocheting, watching TV, cooking. All week I had been hankering for a picnic and it was scheduled for Friday, when my sister had a gap in her work  schedule. Nevermind we're in lock-down, I figured, we'll have a backyard picnic. Then on Friday it was was very cold and it rained on and off, so it became an indoor picnic! I told you I was determined! So rather than stay in my pyjamas like I had the whole week, I decided to make an occasion of this little bit of picnic fun and get dressed up and put on some makeup. My mini dress and blue eye-shadow look was completely inspired by Jeannie from the 1960s television show 'I Dream of Jeannie' which I've been re-watching this week. She wore the best mini-dresses in the 5th season, totally epitomising the late sixties trends of bright colou...

Orange you glad to see me? I couldn't resist that pun, as I've made the most delicious batch of glaceed oranges from the oranges on our tree. I cut them into thin slices and boiled them in a sugar and water syrup for one hour...  ...and then placed them onto an orange cake I made. Delicious! I treasure the sight, taste and fragrance of our oranges. I even like taking photos in front of the tree pictured behind me, as the pop of orange colour always delights me.  We've now picked the last of the oranges, so you'll just have to delight in my pink outfit instead. Outfit details: Shawl and block-heeled boots: Secondhand market finds. Corduroy skirt: Uniqlo sale. Turtleneck: Retail, years ago. I've worn this pink cord skirt quite a few times this winter and love the warm colour of it. And this shawl is a perfect way to add some visual interest and a layer of warmth to any outfit. I often find it har...

Hello! We're still in lock-down here in Melbourne and I have well and truly settled into a familiar routine. From Monday to Friday, I work from 7.30am to about 5pm, with quick breaks for breakfast and lunch. I have about 5 video meetings with my students as a whole class and in small groups. They're so eager to go back to school and often tell me that they miss their school friends and I.  Then I plan lessons for a couple of hours and finally do the mammoth task of checking every child's work which takes me 1.5-2 hours at the end of each day. After I've conquered that, I'm keen to get out and go for a walk. Having to wear a face covering while out of your home is not so bad as it keeps your face warm when it's cold.  Yesterday, mum and I got caught in the rain, which nowadays is a bit of an adventure in itself. I  was also happy about these wild flowers that I picked from the top of a hill. Before each weekday ends, I try to squeeze in some crocheting...

Okay, now that all my before-the-virus-took-over-the-world blog posts have been published, I can finally get to what I've been up to during this stay-at-home isolation period. My mum, sister and I have been going on nature walks. We went to the Organ Pipes National Park (last visited  here in 2018 ), named so because about a million years ago, lava flowered over Mount Holden and created what looks like organ pipes.  When babysitting my twin cousins, we took them for numerous bush walks. We were thrilled to have found a nearby oasis - one of the silver linings to all this isolation is that we're getting more time to appreciate nature and discover nearby national parks that we didn't pay much attention to before.  On a day that I was feeling down, my mum cajooled me into having some fun dressing up as our favourite 60s/70s fashionistas and dancing around the house. The week before, we had fun dancing and singing to Stevie Nick...