Weekend Warriors

I am so excited about the weekend! Yesterday, my husband arrived back from a trip to Australia and my father was with him. My two favorite men in the world both back here in Los Angeles!! When dad visits, it means a whole lot of work on our house so I am ready to get out the shovel and into the garden.

Friday's is our Etsy inspiration day and I found these adorable designers online perfect for a weekend of outdoor time with the kids!

Your Super 'Little' Garden Hero


It's your little one soaring into their imagination and perhaps off your couch to the great outdoors! Help your little one expand their adventures with a one of a kind Little Hero Cape. These capes are made from high quality materials with high quality They come complete and unique with your child's initial placed prominently and dare I say POWERFULLY, on the back. Designed by Discovery Denim on Etsy

Every Kid Needs A TeePee!



Mother of twin girls Fran Bath (who is also a landscape designer) and perhaps deserves one of our superhero capes - makes these incredible tents for her store Little Birds Boutique!





Alimrose Bunting - perfect for indoors and out!

Having a party? Need some flair for your child's playroom? This fabric bunting is the perfect thing to spruce up any party or home! Looks absolutely adorable in the garden for a children's party.


Garden Tools to help Mom and Dad

Now these are FANTASTIC and I want one in my size! Made from 100% recycled post consumer plastic bottle felt! Eco felt, made into fun play belts for kids. Two pictured, tool belt and garden belt. Best of all - no little fingers can get hurt with these tools! Visit Asher82281's store!

Getting Dirty

I didn’t know dirt could get in so many places. Its Christmas day and because we didn’t get through the floor sanding yesterday we decided to cancel our day off today and enjoy a big breakfast and then head to the house to do some work before taking the rest of the afternoon off for a picnic.

Joey let me sleep in until 8.30am when a large delicious latte arrived on by bedside table, which is the happiest way he knows to get me up. I then made macadamia pancakes, southwestern eggs and hash browns and we enjoyed a hearty start to Christmas Day. This year we decided to forgo gifts for each other and instead enjoy the house we have just purchased. That said, my wonderful family in Australia sent us the most generous gifts that make me so proud to be a part of my family.

My brother Julian (his wife Dee and 2 year old Jude) gave us the gift a sheep in China! Sounds strange but it provided a family in the countryside of China with a sheep to care for so that they can profit from the wool sales enabling them to have an income. My parents gave us the gift of a care package for children in Southern Africa where AIDS is robbing millions of children of their parents. This helps vulnerable orphans to live and learn through providing food parcels and school fees. Pretty cool!! And for us that is what Christmas is really about.

So back to the dirt in so many places. Because it’s Christmas, Joey let me out of sanding at first so I could concentrate on something I truly love – gardening. I got our my gloves, tied my hair back to started with cutting back some of the overgrowth. This included some serious pruning on roses, birds of paradise and the huge task of pulling down a vine, which was growing up the porch and across the guttering. This was the point where dirt in the vine unloaded and I was blessed with hurt in my nose, eyes, hair, down my shirt and everywhere else. I am still finding it in new places. I gardened until I ran out of space to put the trash, and then Joey called me to come and help finish the sanding.

My wrist hasn’t quite recovered from the first two days of doing putty and hand sanding so Joey suggested I take on the buffing with the ‘mother’ sander! I was a little nervous but took the Home Depot staff suggestion of doing the cha cha with the machine and pretty quickly I got into the rhythm of it. Finally we vacuumed and then hand wiped the surfaces (well 2 of the 3 rooms) and then we did a small patch of stain to see how it comes up. Tomorrow we will find out!

So its time, to go and enjoy the last of my Christmas day with a hot bath, a glass of wine and home cooked burgers before we head out for a movie. May you have a Happy Christmas and give the gift of love to others.