Dreaming of Vintage Treasures

  It is the last day of 2021 - where did the year go? I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share my crochet dress that I made this year. I cannot believe I MADE a dress!!    It has a few lumps and bumps in it that aren't noticeable in these photos. A perfect way to sum up this year, I guess. There have been some bumps in the road, with Melbourne having its 6th lockdown and all the stress and uncertainty that entails.  For schools, it was particularly hard, but we did the very best we could and were determined that the children would keep learning, even if they were learning from home. I had a lovely Christmas celebration with some work friends recently and it's such a nice way to end the year and appreciate the support we give one another.  Of course this was a very special year for me because I met my boyfriend early this year and we just celebrated our first Christmas together.   I hope 2022 is a great, happy, healthy year for you.  Lo...

 Happy New Year!  2020. It has already been deemed one hell of a year. For my family and I, it started with lots of terror as we rushed to escape the New South Wales bush fires . That was truly traumatic and I can't even begin to imagine how people who lost their homes or loved ones feel. Then by February, we were all too aware of corona virus and it's restrictions on our lives. Many people suffered in various ways, whether it be financially, socially, emotionally. Having a family member catch coronavirus was really scary and stressful but thank goodness he is alive and well. So many have died due to this pandemic and the numbers are truly shocking. After two lockdowns in Melbourne, I am glad that restrictions have now drastically eased. To all those in lockdown overseas, please have hope that if you stay home and keep doing the right thing, restrictions will eventually be eased. For the most part, I have tried to remain optimistic and hopeful. If certain plans were interrupte...

What a busy time of year it is.  I have finished classes with my students and I am certainly going to miss them. They have progressed in so many ways.  I have completed a very long day of parent-teacher-student interviews, and had two work Christmas parties. Double the fun, hilarity and delicious food! I enjoy working with the teachers at my school and it's always good to have a laugh with them. But right now I am here to dazzle you with some photos!  I have been LIVING in this snake print dress lately.  I love the simplicity of wearing dresses. Just add some boots/summer sandals (if it's hot), a belt, a necklace and a bag and you're ready to go! Everything I'm wearing was found secondhand at absolute bargain prices. Beaded bag - $2 (and I've seen them being sold for $50-$70 in a retail store!) Dress- $10 Belt - $10 Mock-croc boots- $20 (I rarely ever spend this much on one item of clothing/shoes  but I had been searching for a...

Now, I'm not much of a city girl (I much prefer the country) but recently my mum and I had a great day out into the city. We have become one of those people who take photos with their food! Haha! We went there to see the Revolution: Rebels and Records, an   exhibition about showing items from 1966-1970, five years that changed the world.  First things first, we headed straight to an old favourite, Hopetoun Tea Rooms. We shared a lime cake, a chocolate mousse cake and a pot of chai - it was so delicious. It's a bit of a fancy-pancy place for me, but we only go about once a year, so it's a real treat. The cakes are always so yum and I love the green patterned wall paper.  We walked over to the art gallery and I was shocked to find out that the  exhibition wasn't actually at this gallery, in fact it was at the Melbourne Museum. Whoops - only I would make that mistake, I'm hopeless with directions and I just assumed it was at the NGV! We didn...

Hello!  2018 is almost finished - can you believe it? I thought my family and I were having a quiet Christmas at home, but we got a few invites at the last minute! On Christmas Eve, we went to my uncle's house for lunch, the lamb spit and my mum's stuffed peppers were delicious! The jokes in the Christmas crackers had us laughing this year. What do elves learn at school? The elf-abet! It's the silly season, alright! We stopped off at my nonna's on the way home. I don't get to see her as often as I'd like, as I've been working full time this year, and I miss her.  Now that I've got some time off, I'm happy to see her much more. On Christmas day, my family and I had lunch with my best friend Renee and her family. There's nothing like a good ol' catch up. And they're a clever lot. They hired a hall and everyone brought a couple of plates of food, which saved one person the stress of cooking a huge feast...

Hello! I finished work for the year on Thursday. We had a staff lunch at a cute Italian farm estate. The food was delicious and it was nice to celebrate the end of the year with all the lovely staff. I can't believe I've finished my first year as a teacher! It's been such a challenge and steep learning curve, I'm glad I persevered. I'm hoping that next year is a whole lot easier now that I'm a bit more confident and familiar with everything. Now that I'm on holidays, I get a chance to embrace the holiday spirit. I love how my mum decorates the house for Christmas. We've both  been  slowly collecting decorations over the years. A lot of them must be vintage by now, we've had them for that long! My mum has always told my sister and I stories of how much she adored her grandmother's little gold Christmas tree when she visited her in Italy as a child. So my mum was thrilled to find her very own this year for $2.50, ...