An Order of Jam

Received a surprise delivery yesterday - a box of my Gran's homemade jam.  Flavours include quince jelly, raspberry, brambleberry, red currant, apricot and plum.  Around ten in total, and looking very moreish!

What a lovely reminder of a woman that enjoyed the art of homemade.

Her jam was legendary!!
And now are the last jars I'll ever receive.  My husband keeps asking when I'll start using the jam, but for whatever reason I'm hesitant to open them.  I just can't.  So I'll keep taking pictures of them for a little while yet, till I get up the courage to have a little on toast.

The wooden box I have them in is a wonderful little gem that we found when we moved into this house.  My husband was actually using it to store powerpoints and electrical gear downstairs in his workshop - silly man, didn't he realise what a vintage treasure he had... nope, and probably thinks I've gone a bit daft too.

The box has such a wonderful worn appearance, I'll be most certainly featuring it in a lot more of my photos.  I can imagine it sitting proud on a floating shelf in the sitting room, holding all sorts of bits and bobs (and books) - or even on the dining table with a load of lovely white candles!


Cheerio!
L

Filing Cabinet Project - Finally Finished!

Hiya!

After what seems likes ages I've finally finished the filing cabinet project.

Looking back, here is what I started with. An old, veneer, filing cabinet from Officeworks.

oh, veneer! what can we do with you?

I know, I could have easily bought another on the cheap, but I was up for challenging myself.

I wasn't sure how successful it would turn out, and whether it would fit in with the whole home office redo.

But here's how it went...

Undercoated..

Two coats of Zinnsers waterbased primer

Topcoat for the draw fronts...

I decided to try and insert a 'fun' element (onto a boring cabinet) by painting the fronts with chalkboard paint. Now that we have a new little addition to the family - I think its time for furniture to multi-task (if possible).  We went with Porters Paints, and still have quite a lot left for other projects - thinking feature shapes for the girls rooms, not sure.. might ponder for a little while longer.

added a little white to the chalkboard paint = lovely grey!

Topcoat cabinet sides and top...

Here we used Dulux Antique White USA semi gloss, two coats - we have used this shade extensively throughout the house and thought the cabinet would blend in very well.

New handles..

I love these old fashioned shell-like handles, so much so I bought two extra for when we tackle the small writing desk.

What about a hook and little bucket to hold all those pieces of chalk?  Might add that to the side if theres room.

Let me know what you think!

Cheerio for now!

L

Missing you!

Whilst pregnant with Amy last year, I lost two very special people in my life. I think about them everyday, and wish desperately that I could see them one last time. How I miss you both, my Gran and Grand-dad.

Emily & Gran

So I thought, it might do me some good to write a little bit about them every now and then, to document my memories (before I lose them) and as a little bit of therapy. I hope to one day look back here, read this and remember.

So here's a snippet..

It's funny, I'll always remember the smells around their house when arriving for a visit - a beach smell mixed with home cooking a roast with vegies, or baking a lovely batch of rock cakes. I hope I never forget that smell! A hug and kiss from gran, a wave to grand-dad out in the garden, then into the kitchen for a cup of tea and a biccie ( and a chin wag of course!)

The house always smelled amazing, so fresh yet old fashioned at the same time, and I loved being there. There I go talking about smell again, perhaps I have a sensitive nose, but I have always been driven by scent (I won't count the number of times I've bought a new book and the first thing I do is stick my nose into it to smell the new pages - weird? Yes, very).

I never realized how heartbreaking it could be to lose someone so close, I must be so naive having reached the grand old age of 36 and not lose anyone so close. So I never could understand.

Cheerio for now,

L

 

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