In The Beginning ...

I adore old houses filled with much-loved objects acquired from flea markets, op shops, jumble sales, garage sales, hand-made and gifted.

And in our last house, boy I really loved to fill every wall with all the things I adored.

It was earmarked for demolition so banging nails in the walls was never an issue.

But now we've moved, I haven't been able to bring myself to put up all the stuff again and replicate the style we had only a few weeks ago.

This house is about the same age, a post-war weatherboard family home, with a good-sized backyard and plenty of room.

But it's just been repainted, the floorboards gleam, it has clean, new blinds and it feels ... nice.

Storage is a problem: there isn't any, so I've been ruthless in moving on even more household stuff we weren't using or saving "just in case".

For now, I'm enjoying my houseplants as they make the place feel homely and loved and I've put up just a couple of paintings as it's what feels right for now.

And I have a horror of having to sift through mountains of clutter when we do have to pack up again.

Ivy Black Chat has a Shelf of Shite brimming with wonderful oddities she's collected over the years and I feel that will be my plan for when the clutter-bug in me strikes once more.

But I'll probably end up with a house strewn with junk anyway.

Here are a few pics of our lounge room so far.

This is Bruce the scotty dog.  I bought him for my sister in New Zealand, but he seems to have become stuck to the couch.

The start of The Phoenix's music corner ... there's a fretless bass on its way here, he's pretty excited about that.

Just a simple house, but it's home for now.

One of the views from the back deck.
It's such a lovely spot to eat, paint, draw, read, chat and drink endless cups of tea.

Dashed off to the city on Friday for a doctor's appointment in a typical last minute mish-mash of clothing.

1940s frock and green skull necklace - markets

1940s bed jacket and earrings - Etsy

Blue spiked bracelet - gift from Vix

Granny bag, glass bead and fruit necklaces - op shops

Creepers - Dolls Kill sale

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend.
Desiree x

Welcome, Come In, Sit Down

Mama's hair is dripping with lovely moisturising olive oil, so no pics today.

Instead we're going for a wee stroll to have a look at some of the few parts of the house to have escaped the domestic sluttery curse.

K?  C'mon, bring your cuppa.

Oh dear it looks like Mama's nodded off here.
My local discount chemist employs a lovely make up artist who recently taught me a good way to apply black eye make-up.
The eye on my left is a bit crooked, but I'm practising and I was still over the moon that it lasted all day.

Oh look, it's The Stylist who has been busy styling up a sweet black floral frock a friend gave her.
The mix of red checks and black florals reminds me of our beautiful Bella of The Citizen Rosebud.

The vintage bangle with rhinestones is just the right size for that wee wrist and the blue floral shoes were one of the free pairs of shoes we found in our Sunday market car park.
The Lego lady, or Flamenco-Lady-Without-Fan reminds me of dancing diva, Veshoevius.

Lily, the rapidly-growing kitten is shown some cute wee bargains from a toy sale at Aid for the Blind last week.

This is one of the spots where Mama gets her non-domestic work done, which of course, includes regularly leaping out of her seat to bounce around with Soundcloud.

This lovely quilted collage geisha is always telling me to "get orf the bleedin' 'puter!"
But she does give me super tips such as "How-to-make-toe-socks-look-sexy and "Oh-the-things-you-can-hide-in-an-obi".

Black and white portraits of children and a sculpture by #2 Son made three years ago.

The drawing was done in Melbourne in October, 2011, but some water seeped into the back of the frame ... grrrrr!

Number 1 Son as a cuddly four-year-old and his red-headed mama (25), who wore lots and lots of black back in the 90s.

Note to self: Buy more frames.

Books, books, books ... but I'm so easily distracted.

Distracted by cheeky-looking children ... 

or distracted by the urge to make stuff, like this pink headband I made for a photo shoot by Sydney photographer and blogger, Dusk.

More children and shelves crammed with stuff I love ... this time in the kitchen.

Now if you're lucky, Lily will give you a foot massage.
I hope you all had a wonderful relaxing weekend :).
Baci,
Desiree xo